The Daling River runs east-west and crosses hundreds of miles, connecting more than a dozen rivers in the east-west direction and converging into a mighty river, which flows from the southeast into the sea of Liaodong Bay. The Daling River has abundant water and will not dry up all year round.
Its drainage basin covers a radius of hundreds of miles, nourishing a large area of land east of Dading Prefecture, forming a land of rich pastures and forests, and feeding a large population of the Liao Kingdom.
The reason for its abundant water is not only the source, but also the injection of more than a dozen large and small rivers along the way, which makes it full of vitality. Among them, a tributary called the Mangniu River contributes almost half of the water source.
The Mangniu River is also a big river. It is a river running from north to south, passing through the central and northern areas of Zhongjing Road and extending to Yuntai Mountain in Shangjing Road. Although Yuntai Mountain is not a high mountain, its mountain range covers hundreds of miles, and because it is close to the north
There is a large amount of snow accumulated in the mountains every year. Every spring and summer, the ice and snow melt and flow into the Mangniu River. It passes through the northern part of Zhongjing Road and flows into the Daling River in a vertical cross manner more than ten miles south of Xingzhong Prefecture.
This section of the river.
There is a large Gobi area in the north of Zhongjing Road, which is dry and rainless. The Mangniu River runs through it, and the water is abundant. This will naturally arouse the desire of the Liao Dynasty to use the water of the Mangniu River to alleviate the drought in the Gobi. So,
Sixty years ago, after Liao Xingzong ascended the throne, this relatively wise emperor in the history of the Liao Kingdom ordered the construction of a dam on the Mangniu River to block water, in an attempt to use the water resources of the Mangniu River to alleviate the water shortage in the northern Gobi.
After nearly ten years of construction, Emperor Xingzong finally saw the completion of the Mangniu River Dam before he died. It was located more than fifty miles northeast of Xingzhong Prefecture, using a canyon in the remaining veins of Dahua Mountain.
A super dam was built. The construction process needs to be briefly described in order to understand the majesty of this dam.
The construction of the dam is divided into three steps. The first step is to choose a canyon in the remaining mountains of Dahua Mountain as the construction site of the dam. But this is not where the river flows, so the second step is to dig the river channel to lead to the dam.
The canyon runs through artificial rivers to allow the river water to flow. The last step is to completely block the original river channel and allow all the river water to flow into the canyon dam.
It's easy to say, but so difficult to do. Especially in this era, it was completely done by manpower. No wonder it took ten years to complete the migration of the entire river. Complete the storage of water in the canyon dam.
After the Liao people completed the dam, the Liao court proudly declared that this dam was the largest dam in the world, surpassing the Gezhou Dam of Zhou Dynasty. But in fact, they themselves knew that this was a lie.
Although this dam is majestic, it is still far behind compared with Gezhouba. However, the water storage capacity of this canyon dam is amazing. The tens of feet tall dam built on the canyon cliffs as a barrier directly makes the entire canyon
It became a vast ocean, submerging all the trees in the small mountain villages and villages twenty to thirty miles upstream.
However, anyone with a little knowledge will understand that such a dam standing upstream is definitely an extremely dangerous hazard. If the dam breaks, the downstream area hundreds of miles around will suffer disaster. Daling River
Unable to withstand the influx of huge amounts of water, it will inevitably flood and submerge everything within hundreds of miles. The Liao court naturally understood this. In addition to stationing heavy troops for protection, it had already taken measures when building the dam.
Many measures.
The entire dam is equipped with nearly a hundred water valves, of different depths and sizes. Its main function is to release floods when the dam is in danger. Depending on the level of the water, different valves will be opened to release water and control the water level.
Within the bearing capacity of the dam. As for what water level the dam can bear, only those specialized water conservancy officials who are well versed in this know. In short, under their control, the dam has
The dam has never been in danger. Instead, it has played an important role by regulating water levels and diverting floods upstream and downstream to relieve drought.
Destroying this dam was Yelu Zongyuan's last resort to prevent the Jurchens from attacking. The Jurchens were currently under the city of Xingzhongfu. Once the dam was destroyed, within half an hour, the rolling torrent would sweep away the entire city.
The downstream sweep will be clean. Including the hundreds of thousands of Jurchen cavalry, they will be washed into dust and disappear without a trace. Of course, the cost of doing this is huge, and the hundreds of thousands of Jurchen soldiers and horses will certainly be wiped out.
, but the cities, markets and villages hundreds of miles downstream will also be destroyed. Millions of people will also lose their homes, and countless people will die and lose property.
But Yelu Zongyuan had no choice. Yelucai's defeat completely reversed the situation of the war. The morale of Daliao soldiers and horses was low, and they could not fight directly with the opponent. Instead of waiting for the opponent to conquer Xingzhong Mansion, seize the Zhongjing Road.
Half of the territory is approaching Dading Mansion. Why don't he be ruthless and end it all? If the Jurchens are allowed to wreak havoc before his eyes, the prestige he has already lost will be even more difficult to regain. He must use thunderous means, regardless of the cost.
After dealing with the Jurchens, he would be free to deal with Da Zhou, a fisherman in troubled waters. He could not wait any longer.
So, yesterday evening, after he received the news of Yelucai's defeat, he immediately made such a decision. It was not that he didn't know what this decision would bring and what consequences it would have. But in fact, he could no longer care too much.
. The fire is imminent, let’s think about the present. Then we will kill a few officials and say that they are not good at guarding the dam to prevaricate. In short, we can’t think too much anymore.
The two golden eagles did play a role in preventing the message from being intercepted and unable to be conveyed. One golden eagle was robbed of the bamboo tube, but the other one conveyed Yelu Zongyuan's decree to Xingzhong Fuzhong. Zhang Yuanqing, the prefect of Xingzhong Prefecture, and Daliao
Xiao Zheng'an, the Privy Councilor of the Northern Privy Council, was waiting anxiously in the lobby of the government office. When they saw this order, they both took a breath of air.
The two people looked at each other silently, and both saw the horror in each other's eyes. They both understood what the word "digging a dam" meant. Digging a dam, what kind of dam was it digging? Naturally, it was dozens of miles away from the north.
The canyon dam on the Niu River. What does that mean? It means that the floods are pouring down from the sky, and the villages and towns in Chengchi Prefecture, hundreds of miles away, will be wiped out. It means that the floods are raging and an unknown number of people have died.
"Master Zhang, since the emperor has an order, we can only obey it. The golden eagle sent a message, which means that we can take action. Master Zhang, what do you think?" Xiao Zheng'an finally said in a deep voice.
Zhang Yuanqing frowned and said: "Master Xiao, you should know the consequences of this matter. Dam digging... Not only will our Xingzhong Mansion be swallowed up by floods, but hundreds of miles downstream will be covered with marshes, and the casualties and losses will be incalculable. The Emperor wants us to do this
Doing it means... making us sinners for the ages. The emperor has no imperial edict and no imperial envoy. He just issued an order with this secret letter. If you and I do this, we will be held responsible in the future."
Xiao Zhengan frowned and said, "What do you mean, Mr. Zhang? Do you want to disobey the emperor's order?"
Zhang Yuanqing said: "Master Xiao, I think we should think twice about this matter. Should we send another letter to ask the emperor what he means? Even if the emperor insists on doing this, there must be a formal decree. And we must be given time.
Transfer the people in the city. Several cities and people in the lower reaches must also be notified, otherwise how can it be done?"
Xiao Zheng'an looked at Zhang Yuanqing and smiled bitterly: "Mr. Zhang, what are you saying that's so funny? The emperor sent the golden eagle to send a message, asking us to take action. The Jurchens were building siege equipment and were about to attack the city as they spoke.
Do you think there is still time for you to notify the state capitals at this time? And once the news leaks out, the Jurchens will have to escape. All fools know the emperor’s intention. The emperor is going to annihilate the Jurchens’ power with floods at all costs to ensure that I
The safety of Daliao Sheji is in danger. Many people may die, but this is nothing compared to my Daliao Jiangshan Sheji? Mr. Zhang, it’s better not to worry about it. Let’s make a decision.”
Zhang Yuanqing frowned and said nothing, hesitating. Xiao Zhengan said in a deep voice: "Sir Zhang, to be honest, when I led the army from Dading Mansion... the emperor already told me... that the dam must be dug as a last resort. So...
None of this is beyond my expectation. You said you would ask the Emperor for instructions again, but it is actually not necessary. Because...this was the Emperor's original plan."
Zhang Yuanqing looked at Xiao Zheng'an in surprise and said: "It turns out...it turns out that you have had this idea for a long time. I didn't even know about it."
Xiao Zheng'an said seriously: "Master Zhang, what do you want to do? I advise you to quickly find a way to evacuate the soldiers and civilians in Xingzhong Mansion. I understand that you love the people. We still have time to evacuate the people to the mountains to the north for shelter. I also
I can't bear that the people in the city will die from the flood. But it's only for the people in Xingzhong Prefecture. It's too late for other places. I will take people to the dam overnight and the soldiers and horses in the city will be withdrawn in an hour. You'd better hurry up.
.”
Zhang Yuanqing had no choice but to look up to the sky and sigh, knowing that things could not be changed, so he immediately started to evacuate the people. Xiao Zhengan led a group of fast horses out of the city and went straight to the dam overnight. At dawn, they arrived at the dam from Xingzhong Prefecture
Where he was, he woke up the water conservancy officials who were managing the dam from their sleep, and announced a news that nearly fainted them in horror.
Every year when the water surges in summer, the doctor of the Ministry of Water Resources under the Ministry of Industry, Shen Mozhi, will personally sit at the dam on Zhongkyo Road to monitor the water level and safety of the dam. Because the dam is too important to tolerate any slightest change.
Wrong. Officials of the Water Department of the Liao Kingdom spent half of the year on this dam. A Water Department Yamen was even built here because many daily affairs needed to be handled here.
When Shen Mozhi heard the news from Xiao Zhengan about digging a dam to release floods, he almost fainted. His white beard flew up and he waved his hands repeatedly: "No way, no way. It's just a joke. What's the matter with the emperor?"
Would such a decree be made? Impossible, absolutely impossible."
A group of water department members and chief officials also agreed, saying it was impossible to dig a dam? How is it possible? How could the emperor issue such an order? Wouldn't that mean millions of people in the lower reaches would die? As the emperor of Liao,
Even the most stupid emperor would not issue such an order.
Xiao Zhengan did not quarrel with them. He knew that it was useless to argue. This matter was unreasonable. So Xiao Zhengan ordered his soldiers to control Shen Mozhi and others, and called the general of the dam garrison to explain the situation. The dam garrison was originally the troops of the Northern Privy Council, and Xiao Zhengan was their superior, so they naturally obeyed orders completely. Although they didn’t understand why there was such an order, they didn’t think too much about it, and took Xiao Zhengan and others on the journey. The dam.
Xiao Zheng'an stood on the tall dam, looking back at the huge dam body tens of feet high on the southwest side, which was like a cliff. Then he looked at the vast clear water on the northeast side, and he felt emotional in his heart. The dam blocked it. The water surface area is ten to twenty miles in radius, and the high cliffs on both sides of the canyon only reveal a narrow edge. The originally tall peaks have become isolated islands in the water. The amount of water intercepted by this dam is really amazing. Even Xiao Zhengan realized The horror of a dam bursting.
However, he had to carry out his mission. So Xiao Zhengan issued an order to start opening the gate and releasing water. The so-called order to dig the dam did not require the actual digging of the dam. In fact, when the dam was designed and built, it had already been opened. Taking into account the requirement for vigorous flood discharge at critical times, 360 water gates were installed up and down the dam. Once these water gates are opened, it is almost equivalent to a breach of the embankment. In the decades since the dam was built, the most critical Only 20 water gates were opened once, which solved the crisis of rapidly rising water levels in the dam. But this time, all 360 water gates will be opened.
The rusty crankshaft creaked, and the water gates were opened one after another. The water roared like a giant dragon and rushed out through the dam body under huge pressure. It made a shocking sound, and the water was about ten feet thick. The flood gate sprayed out more than ten feet away, which shows the great water pressure. Except for more than 30 water gates that could not be opened due to corrosion, more than 300 water gates were all opened in just half an hour.
At this moment, the mountains and fields were filled with the sound of the rushing river. Hundreds of water columns were like hundreds of wild dragons spitting water. In a very short time, the river below the dam was flushed out into a huge deep hole. The rushing rocks slid down and the ground shook.
Since the dam was built, there has been no precedent for all the water gates to be opened, so this is an unprecedented first time. No one knows what will happen, but the doctor of the water department, Shen Mozhi, knows what will happen. He was escorted by soldiers to the dam. In the house at the west end of the dam, I could hear the roar of the water gate getting more and more violent, and the silent voice yelled: "Stop it, you bunch of bastards who don't understand anything, you are going to destroy this dam." "
None of the soldiers would pay attention to him and looked at him with bulging eyes. Silence violently broke free, stumbled out of the door and ran towards the dam. He shouted: "Stop, stop, the dam can't hold it." The dam cannot hold it."
Xiao Zheng'an, who was returning quickly with the soldiers from the top of the dam, saw Shen Mozhi rushing towards him waving his hands, frowning and thinking: Who let him go? This old doctor is really annoying.
Suddenly, Xiao Zheng'an felt the shaking of the dam under his feet, and he stopped in surprise. Amidst the noise of the dragon's roar, Xiao Zheng'an clearly heard the silent laughter stumbling in front of him.
"You guys are damned, idiots. It's all over, it's all over. You have to die too. The dam is going to fall, hahaha, you all have to die. It's a pity that I've been protecting you for half my life. God, I'm going to punish you for this." Damn you idiot."
Silence's voice was annihilated in the huge roar, and the dam under his feet began to vibrate, tilt, and then collapse. Xiao Zheng'an and hundreds of soldiers on the dam, as well as Shen Mozhi, were all swallowed up by the flood in an instant and shattered to pieces.
.
The dam has gone through many vicissitudes over the decades since it was built. Due to the water pressure created by the dam, there have been many small-scale earthquakes here, and the entire dam body has actually been damaged. But the dam can still withstand it. Yes, as long as you don't act recklessly. However, today all the water gates were suddenly opened, which seemed to reduce the pressure on the dam body, but it accelerated the collapse of the dam. The reason is very simple. The strong flow of water released from hundreds of water gates The flow of water was astonishing, and the river below the dam body was quickly hollowed out. The more than 300 water gates had also been silent for decades, and had already been corroded to varying degrees. The huge water flow penetrated them, immediately eroding the surrounding earth and rocks. Loose and burst. Just like water washing through the channels between the tofu, the entire piece of tofu will be hollowed out.
Under the influence of the two aspects, the dam collapsed under the huge water pressure after less than a stick of incense. Xiao Zhengan didn't understand this, but Shen Shenzhi understood this. It's a pity that Xiao Zhengan and the others don't know how to do it. Asking for his opinion caused the entire dam to collapse.
The dam collapsed, and the water in the dam rushed out like an angry dragon. It was like countless giant dragons and beasts breaking out of the cage with their claws and teeth, violently hitting the river below and the canyon slopes on both sides.
Large swaths of canyon cliffs began to collapse, and entire hillsides began to slide and fall like a torrent. But the falling rocks and earthworks could not stop the flow of the flood at all. The overflowing flood carried all the silt, sand, rocks and trees and rolled forward. Like thousands of troops galloping out of the mouth of the canyon and river.
The narrow river channel was like a small ditch in front of the flood, unable to carry the overwhelming torrent. The flood overflowed and surged, forming waves more than ten feet high when it rushed out of the canyon. When it rushed to the flat river beach, It was like a wall of water built high on the ground, blocking out the sky and the sun, roaring forward with ferocious claws.
Everything in front of them was swept away. The houses and trees on the ground, the cattle, sheep and shepherds on the wilderness, everything disappeared without a trace after this huge wave hit. The entire land looked like a scene of a doomsday flood. The white waves, which were more than ten feet high, formed a white line several miles long, galloping southwards like thousands of troops charging forward, moving forward inexorably.
Soon after, the torrent reached the Daling River that lay across the front. At this moment, the Daling River was calm and open, moving mightily to the east. But the next moment, the roaring floods broke through the north bank and broke into it, and the entire Daling River suddenly started churning like boiling water. Huge waves swept over the south bank embankment, uprooting the willow trees that protected against the waves. The south bank embankment was broken by the waves. The rolling torrent rushed towards the vast wilderness south of the vast Daling River.
The terrifying thing about violent floods is not the huge volume of water, but the force of their rapid impact. Wherever the torrent reaches, a layer of skin will be ripped off the ground, and the turf and ground that are several feet thick will be torn apart. It came out and was carried in the flood. Many trees were uprooted, and the huge rocks on the ground were rolled up and carried far away. It was like a giant standing tall on the sky, with thunderous anger, using His huge palms waved on the ground. Those grassy trees and houses were as vulnerable as playthings under his palms.
The torrent rolls southward. Although the wave head becomes lower and lower as the area it passes through becomes larger and larger, and the impact force becomes smaller and smaller. However, its power is still enough to destroy everything in its path.
Half an hour after the embankment burst, Xingzhong Mansion ushered in a huge flood peak more than ten feet high. Because Xingzhong Mansion was built on the Daling River, the impact it withstood was not only the huge floods rolling down from the north.
It is not only violently hit by waves, but also has to withstand the overflow caused by the sudden rise of water in the Daling River. In fact, the strong walls of Xingzhong Mansion can withstand the impact of the flood peak. After all, they are all made of rammed earth and bluestone.
However, for the people in Xingzhong Mansion, the most terrifying thing was not the impact of the flood, but the sudden overflow from the Daling River.
In the short tea time when the flood peak reached the Daling River, the flood in Xingzhong Mansion suddenly rose to a height of six to seven feet. This height was even higher than the top of the tower on the city wall of Xingzhong Mansion. The entire Xingzhong Mansion
Almost instantly, it fell into disaster. You must know that the location where Xingzhong Mansion was built is on a high slope. The Daling River rose many times, but it failed to cause floods to Xingzhong Mansion. However, this
Once, Xingzhong Mansion failed to escape this disaster.
More than an hour ago, the prefect Zhang Yuanqing organized the evacuation of the people in the city. However, because it was late at night, and Zhang Yuanqing could not tell the people that the emperor wanted to dig a dam to release floods, he could only lie that the Mangniu River dam was there.
It was dangerous and there was a possibility of a dam collapse. But this reason obviously did not convince the people. The people were reluctant to leave, and Zhang Yuanqing persuaded them to leave. In the end, when the flood peak hit, there were still many people in the city.
Nearly half of the people have not yet evacuated, including Zhang Yuanqing himself.
The flood quickly submerged the entire city. In the entire Xingzhong Prefecture, only a few city towers and a tall tower on a hill in the city were exposed out of the water. Apart from that, there was a vast white water surface. Nearly 50,000 people in Xingzhong Prefecture were all swallowed up by the flood. It was obvious that
, none of them will be spared.
Within three hours after the dam collapsed, the roaring floods raged for eighty miles, submerging all places within a hundred miles. They flooded the city, destroyed everything in the wasteland, and carried away everything that could be contained.
, rushing towards wherever they wanted to go. In the end, the flood stopped at the foot of Helong Mountain, and the huge waves rushed up the slope of the Helong Mountain Pass, which was already the end of their efforts. They turned back, gasped and calmed down, and finally became
A vast expanse of stagnant water.
The sun was hot and dazzling, and it was almost noon. In this stretch of wilderness and mountains on the eastern section of Zhongjing Road, there were originally lush green rivers and magnificent scenery of great rivers and mountains. But at this moment, the scorching sunshine could only shine on the white and yellow fields.
Above the orange flood. The flood was dirty. There were large piles of foam, sawdust and grass floating on the water, tangled together to form patches of black spots. Drowned corpses were everywhere, and the corpses were round and like inflatables.
Dolls. The carcasses of humans, cattle, sheep, and animals rippled beside the garbage on the water. The branches of the surviving trees were hung with rags and large tangled grass branches, and the branches were covered with dying rats and snakes.
.Other than that, there was total silence in the flooded land with a radius of hundreds of miles. Not even a bird could be seen in the sky.
Yelu Zongyuan created a man-made catastrophe. In order to keep his throne as emperor of the Liao Kingdom, in order to stop the Jurchens' troops, and for his own selfish interests, Yelu Zongyuan risked everything and committed this heinous crime that was outraged by both humans and gods.
In just a few hours, the number of Liao soldiers and civilians killed by the flood exceeded 200,000. Countless cattle, sheep and wild animals also lost their lives. Countless houses, dozens of cities and towns, hundreds of villages, and even
The entire prosperous oasis area in the eastern part of Nakakyo Province was destroyed in one fell swoop.
