It rained heavily for three consecutive days, and Lu Meng and others were relieved. More than half of their troops were lost this time. If Cao Jun attacked again, the consequences would be unpredictable.
Just as they were dispatching men and horses to patrol, they suddenly reported that Cao Cao had left the camp, and Cao's army was also preparing to withdraw from the camp. They would retreat within a day or two.
Huang Gai let out a sigh of relief: "The Cao thieves have finally retreated. As long as Governor Lu deploys the Huainan defense line, Jiangdong will have no worries!"
Lu Mengyan said: "Cao's thieves have many tricks. The governor has learned from his mistakes. His army has not retreated, so we should not take it lightly."
The generals all nodded when they remembered that Zhou Yu was seriously injured and was confused by Cao's army's retreat.
Lu Meng ordered his people to continue to monitor the movements of Cao's camp. As long as Cao's army did not retreat, they would not relax for a moment and only reduced some patrol tasks to allow the soldiers to relax.
After finishing his military duties, Lu Meng prepared to take an early rest, but lying on the bed, listening to the sound of rain outside, he felt uneasy.
I don’t know how long it took, but just as I fell asleep, I was suddenly awakened by a rapid knock on the door: “Wake up Ziming, something bad is going to happen!”
Lu Meng turned over and sat up, opened the door with his bare feet, and saw Ding Feng. It was him who was patrolling the camp tonight. He was already soaked, and he hurriedly asked: "What happened?"
"The flood is coming, retreat, retreat quickly!" Ding Feng dragged Lu Meng and walked out.
"Shut up!" Lu Meng pushed Ding Feng away and said in a deep voice: "It has rained heavily for several days, and floods are inevitable. How can we retreat lightly and disturb the morale of the army?"
"It's not that there is water in the city!" Ding Feng said anxiously: "The outside of the city has been flooded. The Huaihe River must have burst its banks. If we don't leave, it will be too late."
"What?" Lu Meng said in shock: "The Huai River bursts its embankments? How is this possible? How could the flood reach Shouchun?"
Ding Feng said: "This must be Cao Jun's deliberate digging of the river in order to flood Shouchun City. There is flood all around. General, leave quickly. If it is too late, it will be too late!"
Lü Meng changed greatly, looked at the sky and shouted: "Thief Cao, how dare you do this unscrupulous thing?"
Ding Feng cursed: "Thief Cao has no humanity. He slaughters Xuzhou and eats human flesh. He does whatever it takes to achieve his goal. What can't he do? Leave quickly -"
At this time, there was a chaos in the government office. The soldiers retreated in a hurry. Lu Meng got on his horse and left the house in confusion. He saw floods rushing in the streets, people crying and the floods had reached their knees.
Huang Gai, Chen Wu and others were leading their troops to retreat, beating gongs and drums to call on the people to flee, but many people did not believe it and hid in their homes and did not dare to go out.
The sparse torches were extinguished in the night wind and heavy rain, and everything fell into darkness. Lu Meng led his troops out of the city, and a bolt of lightning tore through the night sky. As far as the eye could see, there was a vast ocean.
"Cao Mengde, you must die a good death——"
Lu Meng clenched his fist and roared, cold raindrops slapped on his face, but there was no response...
Lu Su looked at the soldiers who had fled back in embarrassment. He was stunned for a long time, and then he looked up to the sky and sighed: "Shou Chun is no longer an option. Fortunately, there are only docks in the waterway. We can build Hefei City on the spot and use the fat and water as the boundary to set up defenses."
Huang Gai said angrily: "When the rain passes and the sky clears up, I will get my longevity back."
Lu Su shook his head and sighed: "The flood passed by, leaving no people or animals behind. Shouchun just experienced a fight, and corpses were everywhere. There will be a plague after the rain. The water flows from north to south, and Cao's army will benefit first. After the disaster, Shouchun will be managed, and Jiangdong The human and material resources are not enough to support it, and it is useless.”
Huang Gai was furious. Thinking that Cheng Pu had died in battle, he felt as sad as a rabbit dying as a fox. He gritted his teeth and said, "If there is no Shouchun, Huang Gai will not be able to set foot in the Central Plains in his lifetime."
Lu Su said: "Jiangdong's advantage lies in defense. Only by retreating can we advance. If we want to conquer the Central Plains, Gong Jin will not be able to do it."
Huang Gai sighed: "According to this, there will be no war in Huainan in the near future. The general will return to Jianye to attend to the funeral of Cheng Gong and see him off for the last time. I will go to Chaisang to visit Gong Jin. I hope he can recover soon. Wait until we enter the Central Plains to avenge Cheng Gong."
Lu Su frowned and said: "There has been no news since Gong Jin returned to Chaisang. It is really abnormal. If it were in the past, he would have written to inquire about the military situation. I was about to write a letter to send greetings, so General Lao Huang will be brought with him. .”
Huang Gai returned to Jianye with a letter and reported the military situation to Sun Quan. When he heard that Shouchun was still lost, Sun Quan was shocked and angry and cursed Cao as a traitor.
After burying Cheng Pu, he just returned to the city when he suddenly saw a man wearing sackcloth and mourning coming in crying. It was Tai Shixiang whom he had not seen for a long time.
Sun Quan's heart sank, and he hurriedly helped Tai Shixiang up: "My nephew looks like this, could it be that my son is right to him..."
Tai Shixiang cried: "My father was seriously injured. Although he has been treated, he still has no way to save himself."
Sun Quan took two steps back, held his forehead and lamented: "Losing two generals in a row in one month is like breaking my arm, which is heartbreaking. How could God treat me so badly in Jiangdong?"
Huang Gaihu's eyes were red, and he held back his tears and asked, "Where is Ziyi's... body now?"
Taishi Xiang replied: "I wanted to transport the coffin back to Jiangdong, but the wound rotted and suppurated, and the weather was hot, so I had to bury it in Xiakou."
"Whether it's Xiakou or not!" Huang Gai took a deep breath, "At least Ziyi can still look far away to the east of the Yangtze River and talk to the heroic soul."
Sun Quan sat there covering his face, secretly thinking that it was very dangerous. Fortunately, Zhou Shan had not succeeded yet. If anything happened, not only would he be ruined, but Jiangdong would also be distraught.
After pausing for a long time to calm down, Sun Quan looked sad and sighed: "Ziyi has made great contributions to Jiangdong. I will go with you to the riverside to worship him tomorrow. From now on, my nephew will stay in the house, practice literature and martial arts, and continue his father's ambition."
Taishi Xiang was greatly moved and knelt down to thank him. Sun Quan ordered someone to take him down to rest first, and he sighed endlessly.
Huang Gai sighed and said: "The meritorious people in Jiangdong are old, sick, and dead. There are not many left. Bo Fu is under the spring, I guess he won't be lonely anymore, right?"
Sun Quan frowned slightly and comforted him: "Why should an old general be a hero but short of breath? He is seventy years old and can still kill the enemy. The general is the minister of Jiangdong, the magic needle of Dinghai. I have inherited the career of my father and brother, and I still need to rely on the public!"
Huang Gaiyan said: "I am afraid that the war in Huainan cannot be presided over by the governor. I don't know what his condition is. I plan to visit Chaisang to discuss the military situation. I hope Wu Hou will be kind."
Sun Quan nodded and said: "I have been thinking about Gong Jin a lot lately, so Gong Fu also sends my greetings to me. Now Liu Qi has returned to Jingzhou, and Xichuan has been decided. It may not be good for Jiangdong, so we need to make early plans."
Huang Gai thanked Sun Quan, hired a boatman, and took a boat to relax on the river. The death of Taishi Ci made him feel even more depressed. Now only Zhou Yu can talk to him.
Sun Quan returned home and took Taishi Xiang to visit Wu Guotai. The old lady comforted her personally and asked, "What symptoms did General Taishi have when he was dying? Can you explain it in words?"
Tai Shixiang replied: "My father was so angry that he vomited blood and died because he could not bear the pain and could not serve Jiangdong. He ordered me to return to Jiangdong and wait for the orders of Marquis Wu."
"Alas, people cannot be resurrected, so be sorry!" Wu Guotai sighed softly: "General Taishi devoted himself to Jiangdong for half his life, and he worked with Bo Fu heartily. His contribution is no less than that of Cheng Pu. Let's mourn for him tomorrow!"
"That's what I meant!" Sun Quan obeyed and led the civil and military forces to the riverside to pay homage the next day.
The whole city had just held a funeral for Cheng Pu, and had to pay tribute to Taishi Ci. For a while, Jiangdong Civil and Military Affairs had a dark cloud in their hearts, which could not be dispelled in this plum rainy weather.
