Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1414

The morning mist had not yet dissipated, and the water from Baoqiu, wrapped in a little chill, rushed towards the mouth of Heilongtan.

Pei Xiu stepped into the icy river water, scooped up half a bucket of water and splashed it on his face:

“Divide the water first!”

Thirty shirtless strong men carrying rafts rushed into the shallows.

Three-meter-long pine wood was tied into a tripod, with a basket filled with stones hanging at the bottom, which splashed blue-black mud when it hit the riverbed.

Mats woven with tree bark are spread out layer by layer on the wooden frame, and from a distance they look like the wings of a giant bird.

When the seventh raft was in place, the turbulent flow was forcibly split into two streams - the main river channel on the west side roared like thunder, while the water flow in the construction area on the east side became docile, and one could even vaguely see the jagged riverbed.

"Now!" Pei Xiu's copper whistle pierced the morning mist.

Two hundred strong men shouted as they stepped into the chest-deep water, the wooden stakes on their shoulders rising and falling in the mist like the spine of a black dragon.

The moment the first wooden stake was driven into the riverbed, a loud "bang" was heard.

Liu Hun was the first to swing a fifty-jin hardwood hammer and smash it hard.

"One hammer will take over Youzhou!"

"Two hammers will break the thief's courage!"

The sound of the horn hit the rock walls of the canyon, startling countless birds.

……

Yanshan Mountain in July is like a burning brick kiln.

The flags of the Wei army on the Yuyang Pass City seemed to have been exposed to the sun. They drooped drooping and did not move.

The Wei soldiers on the city wall held their spears and hid their bodies in the shade as much as possible to avoid the scorching sun.

A soldier stretched his neck as far as he could and looked down at the city wall.

"If you're not on duty, what are you looking at?"

A light rebuke from Bo Zu came from behind.

The soldier turned around and looked at his fellow soldier, "Boss, I'm looking at the water."

"What's so good about water?" Bo Zu came over and poked his head out to take a look at the city. He said, "Be careful if the higher-ups see us, or they'll beat you with a military stick."

He didn't mean any harm and was quite caring towards this young fellow who had only been there for three months.

It is because of care that I give you this reminder.

The soldier shrank his neck, looked in the direction of the corner tower, and muttered:

"Isn't it?"

The officials are all hiding in the shade to enjoy themselves, but it's bad enough that they have to stand under the sun, and if they are not careful they will be beaten. Is there any justice in this world?
"Tsk!"

Bo Zu retracted his head and glanced at the new soldier. Seeing that he looked unconvinced, he wanted to say something, but in the end he sighed and said:

"Forget it. I can't explain it to you. Anyway, it's always better to be careful."

As a veteran who has been in the army for nearly twenty years, in the past he would definitely not want to have such new recruits under his command.

If they really go to the battlefield, these new recruits will have no other use except to die.

But looking at the soldiers around him, most of them were standing in the same manner as his fellow villager, so he was in no mood to say anything more.

Youzhou is no longer the Youzhou that existed when Captain Tian was here, at least not in the military.

Ever since Captain Tian (i.e. Tian Yu) left Youzhou, the camps in Youzhou have become more and more weak and deserted.

Those generals are becoming more and more ruthless when it comes to making money.

Especially those who sit in the position of guarding the pass, they have even more lucrative benefits.

Whether it is a caravan wanting to go out of the border or the Hu people wanting to enter the border, if they want to enter and exit the pass, they have to make arrangements from top to bottom.

As long as everything is arranged properly, no matter who you are or what you bring in and out, everyone will turn a blind eye.

If you don't take care of it properly, you won't be able to get in or out at all.

This is actually not difficult to say, since the soldiers at the pass can all benefit from it.

The general eats meat, and the soldiers under him can also drink some soup.

The key point is that there has been no war in Youzhou in recent years, and the problem of empty salaries in the army has become more and more serious. For a team of 100 people, the officers have the courage to eat up five, six, or even seventy or eighty people.

Otherwise, when the Han invaded this time, so many civilians would not have been stuffed into the army.

Looking at his fellow villager who was still glancing towards the city, Bo Zu shook his head and thought, forget it, it was not his turn to worry about such things anyway.

"What on earth are you looking at?"

"Water! Boss, haven't you noticed that it's getting hotter these days? I'm almost roasted standing here."

Bo Zu looked up at the sky and wiped his sweat. "It's so hot and humid today. It's probably going to rain soon."

The fellow pointed downwards and said, "I'm not talking about that. I mean, the water below the city seems to be getting less and less. No wonder it's so hot."

Yuyang Ancient Pass was built on the west bank of Baoqiu River. On weekdays, there is water vapor rising from it, so even if it is not cool, it is not too hot.

But as the water level dropped, and the sun has been strong these days, it feels a lot hotter than usual.

"Hmm?" Hearing this, Bo Zu leaned over and looked down again. "If you hadn't told me, I wouldn't have noticed that there is indeed a lot less water than usual."

"Yeah, you find it weird too, right?"

"Not surprising." Bo Zu shook his head. "You are still too young. How many good years have you seen in these years?"

"Either there is a severe drought causing a locust plague, or a severe flood causing a flood, or a cold weather causing a plague. It's simply impossible for people to live a good life. This world is so difficult!"

"Although it is reasonable that the water volume of Baoqiu will decrease in at least another month, you may not know that it flooded heavily in the autumn of the year before last."

Bo Zu said, nodding in a certain direction, "During the flood two years ago, the Hu people couldn't get through and the caravan couldn't leave. I heard that even Envoy Wang was alarmed."

I heard that since the Han army annexed Bingzhou, the entire Wei Dynasty has relied on two or three checkpoints in the northeast of Youzhou to buy horses from outside the Great Wall.

Once there was a problem at the pass, the horses from outside the Great Wall could not come in, and Youzhou Governor Wang Xiong would naturally be anxious.

"So, God is not normal, what can you do?"

Hearing what Bo Zu said, the young fellow immediately remembered that someone in his family had starved to death due to a locust plague a few years ago, and he stopped talking.

"Ow~"

The howling of a wolf not far away caused the two of them to turn in a certain direction.

"Listen," Bo Zu pursed his lips again, "This world is in chaos, everything has become abnormal, even wild wolves dare to come out and howl in broad daylight."

"It seems that a group of wolves have come down the mountain these days. I have heard them howling non-stop for some time."

"Most likely they are wolves from outside the Great Wall..."

The two chatted for a while. After Bo Zu left, he thought about it and decided to report the drop in the water level of Baoqiu River in order to prevent his fellow villager from being accused of being lazy while on duty.

"Is there less water flowing in Baoqiu?"

When Cui Zi, the city guard who received the news, thought to himself, what the hell is this?
It doesn’t matter if it’s less, as long as there is no shortage of water.

In the past, he would never have cared about such things.

Less water is a good thing. Those barbarians outside the Great Wall might come here earlier to trade.

Too much water would be a bad thing. If it were really like last year, Envoy Wang would be furious again.

But it's different now.

I heard that the several passes in the west have been attacked by the Han army and the Hu people in turn, and the war is intense.

Although there is no war here, and there are Hu people outside the border to help with surveillance, it always helps to be careful.

As Wang Xiong's confidant, Cui Zi is able to stay in this position not just for the sake of making money.

On weekdays, he also had to find ways to supply horses to Youzhou, or to Dawei, so he did have the ability.

He just waved his hand and said, "Then send someone out to take a look."

"General, now?"

"Tomorrow, it's getting late today. We should send someone out to investigate early tomorrow morning."

"Here."

At noon the next day, there was a loud thunder in the sky.

The heavy rain came as Bo Zu had said.

Cui Zi always felt that he seemed to have forgotten something.

It was not until his subordinates came to report that the scouts he had sent out had not returned on time that he remembered:

"did not return?"

Cui Zi looked at the heavy rain outside and asked, "Could it be that the rain was too heavy and they couldn't walk in the mountains, so they couldn't return on time?"

"Wait a little longer until the rain stops. If they haven't returned yet, send someone to look for them."

After thinking for a while, he instructed again: "Send more people, there are many wolves in the mountains recently."

There's no way it was taken away by a wolf...
-
Upstream of Yuyang Pass, the sudden heavy rain also caused considerable trouble for the Han army's dam construction.

The last wooden stake had been completed. A soldier was carrying a basket full of stones in the rain. One of them slipped and fell into the undercurrent along with the stake.

The safety rope around the waist was instantly stretched straight, and the other end was tied to the back of a packhorse on the shore.

The horse was frightened and raised its hooves, pulling the man out of the whirlpool.

Everyone worked together to drag the man to a safe place. The military doctor tore open Li Sanwa's clothes which were soaked through. The bloodstain on his chest caused by the safety rope looked like a coiled dragon.

"You are lucky, this rope is made of Nanxiang hemp, it can hold a thousand-pound object!"

Nanxiang hemp rope, Nanxiang sack, Dahan famous trademark.

In addition to hemp ropes, the army also brought a large number of sacks, which were of great help in building the dam.

He grabbed a handful of medicine powder and smeared it directly on the wound, causing the soldier to grimace in pain.

Seeing that the rain was getting heavier, it was impossible to continue building the dam, so General Zhendong had to order a temporary rest.

But the trouble brought by this heavy rain is far from over.

"General, the rain is too heavy. The water level will definitely rise. If there is more flooding upstream, those piles will be in danger."

Pei Xiu anxiously found General Zhendong and expressed his concerns.

"Send someone to watch the stake! If you find that the situation has changed, stabilize it if you can. If you can't stabilize it... don't force it."

General Zhendong's expression remained calm, and he did not seem to be disturbed by the possibility of failure in dam construction, and he gave orders in a calm tone.

Since she dared to lead her army here, it was impossible for her to pin all her hopes on water attack.

The General Staff of the Grand Marshal's Mansion is not a place to keep useless people.

If they don't provide adequate plans and deductions, General Zhendong will hang them up one by one and whip them with a whip dipped in salt water when he returns!

In the military, if you can't even do your job well, don't blame the military law for being ruthless.

Seeing General Zhendong so calm, Pei Xiu felt relieved at once.

“Students understand.”

However, no matter how much we expected it, after the clouds cleared and the rain stopped, the small flood front that we prayed so hard not to get through still arrived unexpectedly.

"Crack!"

The two wooden stakes in the middle shook and were actually washed away by the water.

"Protect the piles!" Someone jumped onto the bamboo raft, roared and rushed towards the gap, carrying a basket full of stones on his shoulder and diving into the rapids.

The water flow carried the man against the wooden stake, causing him to spit out a large mouthful of blood, but the twisted bamboo cage frame managed to block the gap.

"Don't want to die!"

The soldiers rushed forward to help.

General Zhendong saw what had just happened, pursed his lips and said nothing.

She recognized that this was an officer from Yuexi.

The men from Nanxiang and Yuexi were the most elite soldiers in the Han army, and they were also the most fearless and the most courageous soldiers.

Most of the people who followed her out this time came from these two places.

I don’t know if the rain stimulated the wolves, but after the rain stopped, the wolves’ howling became more frequent.

Lian Xiao also joined in the fun.

General Zhendong was standing on the mountain with his sword in hand, watching the dam below taking shape bit by bit, when suddenly a messenger came to report.

"General Guan, General Zhao has sent someone over here, saying that there is a spy who wants to see the general."

"Hmm? A spy?"

We just captured the scouts sent by the enemy army yesterday, and today another spy has arrived. Could it be that the people at the checkpoint have discovered something unusual?

"Bring it up."

Several spies were brought up quickly. When General Zhendong saw the newcomers, his eyebrows raised, and a rare look of surprise appeared on his face:
"Coach Han, you are finally here?"

Han Long, dressed as a hunter, laughed:
"General Guan, your army is really well hidden. If I hadn't been prepared, I wouldn't have been able to find it when I saw that there was so much less water in Baoqiu in the past few days!"

General Zhendong also showed a rare smile on his face: "Coach Han, now that you are here, my chances of taking the pass will increase by at least 50%!"

General Zhendong still has great respect for the chivalrous and courageous deputy leader of the Wulin Alliance.

In her opinion, Han Long is indeed worthy of the title of "the greatest hero".

"Thank you for the compliment!" Han Long was modest for a moment, then he couldn't help but exclaimed when he saw the situation at the foot of the mountain:

"General, is the dam almost finished? It seems that even if I don't come, you will be able to capture the pass."

"It's not difficult to capture the pass, but the difficult part is how to take the hills on both sides. Coach Han, can you teach me?"

"To be honest with you, General, my friends and I have been wandering around here for a month, but we have been learning how to howl like a wolf and howl like an owl, and we are looking forward to your coming here soon!"

The combination of the howl of a wolf and the cry of an owl turned out to be the secret signal for contact.

As Han Long spoke, he introduced his two friends to General Zhendong:
"These are my close friends from Youzhou. They have long admired the Grand Marshal! This one is called Ji Yang, and this one is called Ji Hui. They are brothers."

"The poem "Xia Ke Xing" by Da Sima has made all the knights in the world regard him as their confidant. The greatest poem of chivalry is about serving the country and the people, which makes the knights in the world feel like the clouds have been cleared."

"If they can see the Grand Marshal, they are willing to sacrifice their lives and tell him what they have done."

With a book, a poem and a sentence, Feng Dasima raised the knights to a high level and helped them find their way in life.

He is revered as the chief leader by the knights all over the world, and his influence is so great that it is hard to imagine for those who are not knights.

The two men stepped forward to greet each other: "Ji Yang and Ji Hui greet General Guan."

General Guan was the most powerful general under General Feng Dasima, also known as the Winged Tiger of Hedong, and was very famous.

The two saw that although he was covered in mud, it did not affect his handsome appearance at all, and they couldn't help but praise him in their hearts:

Such a godly figure is willing to be inferior to Mr. Feng. I wonder what kind of person Mr. Feng is?
But I heard Han Long explain:

"The two brothers are quite skilled in martial arts and are often hired by caravans as guards. They follow the caravans out of the border and are very familiar with this area. They can guide the general."

"Great, great!" General Zhendong couldn't help himself, "This is really great! This way, I have nothing to worry about!"
-
Just as the sun was setting on the top of the mountain, a group of Hu cavalry appeared at the foot of the pass in a disorderly manner.

"who?"

The Wei soldiers on the city wall immediately drew their bows and arrows and aimed at the city.

An old Xianbei man was pushed out and shouted in awkward Chinese:

"General, we are from the Wuluolan tribe of the Xianbei, and we have something very important to report to General Wei."

"Ulolan tribe?"

Not only the soldiers, but even the officers on the city walls were puzzled, as no one had ever heard of this tribe.

But that's not a big deal.

After all, the Xianbei people are now divided into numerous tribes, large and small, and no one knows exactly how many there are or what they are called.

"Sir, the situation is urgent. It concerns the news of the Han army. We must not delay!"

As soon as they heard about the Han army, there was an immediate commotion on the city wall.

The Wei general in charge of the city wall naturally knew the situation outside the Great Wall. He did not dare to delay and immediately sent someone to report to Cui Zi, the commander of the pass.

When Cui Zi heard that a Hu person had come to report the news of the Han army, he was immediately shocked:
Could it be that the Han army had really crossed the swamp and reached the Yuyang border?

"How many Hu people are there?"

"About three hundred riders."

"Is there anything unusual?"

"No, they all have the appearance of Hu people, speak Hu language, wear Hu clothes, and most of them have bow feathers made of bones."

So, so, it is indeed a tribe outside the Great Wall?

"Let the leader come in first, and let the rest stay outside and don't move."

Soon, the two Hu people were brought before Cui Zi.

One of them was in his prime, with half of his hair shaved and the other half braided into a small braid. He was the leader of the tribe.

As for the other person, he was an old man with a copper bell tied around his waist and an animal tooth around his neck. He was the witch of the tribe.

Cui Zi, who was familiar with the Hu people, knew at once that the two men were indeed from outside the Great Wall.

After asking about the situation, he was so shocked that he almost jumped up:
"What did you say? Has the Han army really reached the border?"

"It's absolutely true, General. They crawled out of the swamp, covered in rotten mud, like a group of evil spirits, killing anyone they saw."

"We are a small tribe. We have no way to compete with the big tribes for pastures. We can only graze on the edge of the swamp."

"I had planned to summon the warriors of the tribe to hunt some yellow sheep and foxes to supplement the tribe's food, but I didn't expect to run into them."

"We couldn't win, so we had to flee." Old Wu Zhu started to cry. "The women and children in the tribe didn't even have time to get on their horses before they rushed over..."

"General, you must take charge of our affairs. Without women and children, we will all be finished..."

Seeing the old witch Zhu start crying, the tribal leader who couldn't speak Chinese, a big man on horseback, also had tears in his eyes.

I am the master of your mother!

Cui Zi's mouth twitched. It was impossible that the Han army sneaked across the swamp just to rob the small tribe.

They definitely want to go south along the natural channel of Baoqiu River and launch a surprise attack on the pass!
I can hardly protect myself, how can I be in charge of you?
But considering that the other party came to tell him the news, he naturally couldn't refuse directly.

After comforting them with kind words, he ordered people to let the Hu people in and settle them down in front of the two of them, and promised that he would find a way to avenge them.

However, when the two men retreated with profuse thanks, Cui Zi turned around and had already thought of how to kill these 300 people and eat their horses.

More than three hundred horses, that's a great achievement!

As for those barbarians, you can chop off their heads and claim credit.

Of course, not now, but after defeating the Han army.

These people have grudges against the Han army, so when the Han army attacks, they can be asked to help defend the city.

Hey, I'm a genius!

Cui Zi quickly thought about it in his mind, and then called someone in:
"Have the people who were sent out to look for someone the day before returned yet?"

"Not yet, General."

"No one came back?"

"No."

Looking outside, the sun had already set behind the mountain.

Oh no, what an accident!

The Han army scouts were extremely brave and were the elite among the elite.

It was obvious that these people had most likely encountered Han scouts who came to explore the way or conduct reconnaissance.

The Han scouts are already nearby, so the Han army is probably not far away.

Thinking of this, Cui Zi's face changed and he immediately ordered:
"Pass on my military order. From tonight onwards, have everyone be on high alert!"

"Send more people to patrol at night! Remember, anyone who dares to neglect the duty will be punished by military law!"

"Also, ask the deputy general and the military commander to come over and tell them that I have something important to discuss with them!"

PS: 5,500 words, a gift for starting work after the Chinese New Year! (I seem to have forgotten to write the chapter title, never mind, it doesn’t matter.)
In the previous article, a book friend from the water conservancy industry said that building a dam is not easy. Thank you for the reminder.

The author naturally knows that modern water conservancy is a very complex project, and he had some understanding of it when he was in college.

The author has tried to stick as close to the actual situation as possible. He not only checked historical data, but also the actual geography, but also used artificial intelligence to deduce and calculate data, and let it give detailed construction steps.

But novels are novels after all. This book actually refers to the construction of Dujiangyan, so there is no need to be too fussy about it.