The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Lao Bale and Zhang Ping'an looked at each other, reacted at the same time, and were both shocked by fear.

"Did the Huaiyang Canal burst its dike?" Zhang Ping'an stood up and asked in surprise.

The bald old man nodded and was about to speak.

At this moment, there was a knock on the door outside the room.

Each voice is more urgent than the last!

Zhang Pingan went forward to open the door and saw Captain Chen and others who were equally anxious.

Captain Chen didn't waste any words. He asked the two men with a serious face, "Master Zhang, Master You, I hear something's wrong. It seems like the Huaiyang Canal has burst its banks. Should we go talk to General Li about this?"

"Of course, let's go now," Zhang Pingan said immediately.

The old bald man trusted the people under Lord Zhou very much. He said while holding the umbrella, "I guess Lord Li has already arranged for people to go out of the city to check. Let's go and see if there is anything we can help with."

How to deal with this matter depends on what General Li, the city defense official, says.

They have no soldiers and no power, so there is no point in worrying.

Several people held umbrellas and braved the heavy rain to go to the city wall together.

The sky was gloomy all the time. Although it was only after 3 p.m., it was already as dark as night.

The heavy rain is still falling with no sign of stopping. Holding an umbrella is just better than nothing and doesn't help much.

They had barely walked a hundred steps when they were soaked.

The boots were stuck in the puddles and water seeped into them.

Everyone ignored these things and just kept moving forward.

After nearly two quarters of an hour, we finally reached the city wall.

He was taken to the lookout tower by a soldier to meet General Li.

General Li, who was staying at Huaiyang Pass at this time, was Zhou Ziming's direct confidant, and also a fellow villager from the same village.

He is not too old, only twenty-five or twenty-six years old.

The fact that Zhou Ziming was able to arrange for him to stay at Huaiyang Pass without any worries not only shows his close relationship and trust in him, but also shows his ability.

Not a mediocrity!

Although it was still raining heavily, the man seemed unconscious. He stood on the watchtower of the city wall in armor, motionless, gazing into the distance, like a sculpture.

It blends with the dark sky around it into a depressing black and white ink painting, forming a world of its own.

The bald old man took the lead, stepped forward to break the solemnity, and shouted loudly: "General Li!"

Li Yue then turned his head, his eyes calm and solemn, without a trace of fluctuation.

The old bald man felt something was wrong, but he didn't have time to think about it. He just said anxiously, "General Li, did you hear the loud noise coming from the northeast just now? The other adults and I suspect that the Huaiyang Canal has burst its dike. I wonder if we can send someone to investigate?!"

Li Yue then nodded and replied: "I heard it!"

Then, meeting their gazes, he said solemnly, "Master Zhou had already given instructions before he left. No matter what noises came from outside the city, we should ignore them and wait until he returns from the battle. Don't worry, everyone! Please return!"

Captain Chen lost his temper and shouted, "What nonsense are you talking about? The Huaiyang Canal is the largest water storage canal in the Huanghuai Plain. It's raining so hard now. If the Huaiyang Canal really has burst its banks, we must quickly send people to plug the breach and evacuate the people. Otherwise, the surrounding counties will be flooded!"

"Captain Chen is right. After the Huaiyang Canal broke its dike, the downstream is right near Xi County. There are still so many people in the city. We can't just ignore it," Zhang Ping'an also stepped forward and said.

Li Yue frowned after hearing this, but still insisted: "Everyone, please go back! We can discuss everything after the commander returns from the battle!"

His tone was very firm, and no matter what others said, it was useless.

Zhang Ping'an sensed something unusual from Li Yue's attitude.

His intuition told him that this dam burst was not that simple!

"Well, if you are worried about being blamed by Lord Zhou, why don't you let me take people to check out the situation first and then make a decision?" The bald old man suggested after scratching his head anxiously.

"And me, I can go too. I come from the navy, so it's not a big problem for me to lead people to investigate whether the canal has burst," Captain Chen said with a serious face.

Li Yue still shook his head.

After a long stalemate.

Li Yue stopped arguing with the others and simply gestured for them to leave. He said solemnly, "Please return, my lords. I appreciate your kindness, but military orders are as heavy as a mountain. I cannot disobey Lord Zhou's orders without permission!"

Then he signaled to his men with his eyes.

Li Yue's relative came forward and forcefully asked them to leave!

On the way back, several people were drenched in cold water.

Zhang Ping'an had come to his senses somewhat. Old Baldy and Captain Chen were not really stupid.

After returning to their residence to change clothes and wash up, they gathered together to drink ginger tea to drive away the cold.

The relationship became closer for a while.

Captain Chen lost his temper and spoke first, "What is Lord Zhou planning? Are you planning to use the tactic of flooding the seven armies to deal with Abula and the others?"

Lao Tu and Zhang Pingan didn't respond.

Captain Chen continued to analyze, "Otherwise, given Lord Zhou's personality, there's no reason for him to give such an order. It's completely unnecessary! Besides, his subordinates are no mediocre people. Normally, they would have to send someone to investigate. If something is out of the ordinary, there must be something wrong!"

His tone became more and more certain as he spoke, and suddenly he thought of something, looked at the two of them and said, "And our grain boats, maybe they didn't even return to Huai'an, but were used for other purposes!"

I have to say, this is the same idea as Zhang Pingan's.

"That's possible," Zhang Ping'an couldn't remain silent any longer and nodded in response.

However, he still warned the two of them, "Let's just speculate about this matter in our hearts, don't tell anyone else. Let's wait and see what happens in a few days. The truth will eventually come out!"

The old bald man felt mixed emotions at this moment and said nothing.

After Captain Chen left.

He said to Zhang Pingan with a bitter face: "We have set up such a big game this time, I hope we can return victorious! Otherwise, the deaths of those civilians will be too unworthy!"

If the Huaiyang Canal was deliberately blown up and the gap was not blocked, coupled with heavy rain, the three counties below it, Xi County, Yang County, and Cai County, would all be affected.

The casualties among the civilians are bound to be significant.

Zhang Ping'an, Lao Tu and others could all predict it.

"A good chess player plans for the situation, a bad chess player plans for the pieces, and a wise man only plans for the situation!" Zhang Ping'an felt a dull pain in his heart when he said this.

Then he stood up and walked to the window, looked into the distance and stopped talking.

On the second day, the heavy rain gradually stopped and turned into light rain.

The slanting wind and drizzle wet my clothes!

For a time, the soldiers in the city drank ginger soup to ward off the cold.

On the afternoon of the third day, Mr. Zhou returned triumphantly with a large group of people.

Amid the resounding horn sounds, Zhang Ping'an stood on the top of the city wall and looked over. He saw that although the soldiers were covered in mud, they were all in high spirits.

The team stretched for several miles, and there were many captured enemy soldiers behind it.

Appearance, clothing, and hair color are all clear at a glance.

Very easy to distinguish.