After the Han army built a weir at Zi River, they built another embankment downstream of Shi River. It also took ten days to complete the embankment. Now both the northeastern and northeastern sides were flooded. No matter how vast Linzi was, to the Han army stationed in the mountains, it was just an isolated island floating in the ocean. The surrounding water was wide, and fish and turtles could be seen from time to time.
This greatly facilitated the exchanges of Han troops. Xu Shu had prepared hundreds of walking boats and fifty boats. When the water rose to about two feet, the Han soldiers came in by boat, making it very convenient for them to come and go.
After the flooding, the city wall became much shorter. The Qi and Han defenders stood inside the wall and built many arrow towers to defend themselves against the enemy. People took turns to rest and kept burning bonfires at night without daring to extinguish them.
Guan Cheng, the prime minister of Qi and Han Dynasty, stood firm in the isolated city. He acted as a target and worked hard with the soldiers. The people around him all followed the army to fill in the soil and build buildings to plug the gaps. The water outside the city seeped into the city, and the water rose several feet in the flat areas. In summer, people and horses have to wade through water for daily life. Under the sun, the city is as hot as a steamer. The stagnant water soon begins to cause problems, and then breeds mosquitoes and flies, causing malaria. There was no clean water to drink in the city, so they had to put wooden supports in the water, hang the cauldron and boil the water before drinking.
But what's more serious is the shortage of food. Originally there were many scattered fields in the city that could be used by the people to grow vegetables. However, once the flood flooded, there was no harvest. In addition, after the water rose, the water gate in the southwest of Linzi was also submerged, and there were ships of the Han army patrolling outside, so the Qi people's ships could no longer go out of the city to fish. In this situation, they couldn't even send someone to ask for help. Xun You's plan to irrigate the city can be said to have cut off all the grain and rice in Linzi to come to aid, forcing the Qi people to rely on stored grain to survive the day.
At this time, Linzi's food reserves were less than half a month old.
It was not until mid-August that people began to starve to death in Linzi City. People simply took the meat from the corpses, dried them in the sun, boiled them with rats, leather and other materials, and then mixed them with millet to make Thin porridge for people to eat. But this was still not enough, so some people took edible soil from the ground and wrapped it with bark to eat. As a result, many people in the city suffered from edema. Their hands and feet were swollen, their movements were slow, their stomachs were swollen, and they could not sit or stand. Nine out of ten people in the army died because of this.
In this case, Guan Cheng couldn't hold on any longer. After the death of his brother Guan Hai, he was extremely sad. Now that he was working hard on Linzi's defense, he was even more exhausted mentally and physically, and soon fell ill. Ever since the floods flooded the city, Guan Cheng's face has been haggard and his bones have been broken. Now, he can only drink three mouthfuls of porridge a day, and even needs help to defecate. All the guards could see that he was dying.
They say that when a person is about to die, he can do anything, but when he saw the scene in Linzi, he didn't want to do anything. But he is the final helmsman of this dying regime, and he must bring an end to the struggle that has lasted for more than ten years.
On July 23, Guan Cheng, who was lying on the bed, suddenly woke up, opened his bulging eyes, and said to his guards: "Invite your Majesty and all the gentlemen over, I have something to say to them. "Knowing that he was about to return to his former glory, his followers all agreed with tears. Not long after, Emperor Liu Chao of Qi and Han Dynasty and dozens of remaining officials in the city came to the attic where Guan Cheng lay dead.
Liu Chao was only seven years old when he was made emperor. From the Linzi Rebellion to the siege of Linzi, only three years passed. He is only ten years old now. In the past few years, he has been called the emperor, but in fact he is just a puppet. He does not even have a teacher to teach him knowledge, so he knows nothing about government affairs. He can only sit aside and listen to Guan Cheng's arrangements.
Most of the ministers who followed were veterans who had followed Guan Cheng for many years, and some were bandits who had been recruited by Qingxu. Most of the celebrities whom Zhang Rao had comforted before took advantage of the chaos and left. In addition, Guan Cheng's two sons and Guan Hai's only son also came with them.
Seeing these old friends, Guan Cheng felt that he was in better spirits. The concubine on the side fed him two mouthfuls of soup, and he struggled to sit up, leaning on the bed, and asked everyone to sit down in the room. . When everyone sat down, they all lowered their heads to listen to Xiang Guo's teachings. But after waiting for a while, they heard no sound. When they looked up, they found that Xiang Guo had fallen asleep again on the side of the couch.
No one disturbed Guan Cheng, so he kept sleeping for two quarters of an hour, and then he suddenly woke up. He tried to grab something with trembling hands, but missed it, and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, his concubine helped him. , he sat firmly again. He sighed and said to everyone: "I just dreamed about my brother. He said he would see me soon."
He paused and said slowly: "Master Daliang told me that the dead body is nothing worth cherishing, it is just a pile of bones. I think it makes sense."
This sudden sentence made everyone confused, but Guan Cheng's face showed a relaxed smile. He said: "I will die soon. After I die, you will present my body to Liu Bei and lead the people to surrender. He has imperial ambitions. He will only use my bones to make a fuss. He will not embarrass you." .”
Weiwei Luo Shi was furious when he heard this and firmly objected: "Is it because we have no shame? Guan Zhen can fight to the death, and we are also hard-core!"
Guan Cheng smiled, nodded and said, "I know, but Master Daliang persuaded us to rebel because we wanted to survive, not to die."
Having said this, he looked around and saw the little emperor beside him. He smiled at him and continued: "Even if something embarrassing happens, don't take revenge. Just live. Just live." I understand now , living is better than anything else, but it’s a pity that I’m about to die.”
Everyone listened to his painstaking efforts. Even if they didn't agree in their hearts, they didn't express it. Instead, they sat aside and listened to his words. Guan Hai asked them to take out the last rice grains in the storehouse in the next two days and let the whole city know. After finishing his meal, he waved them out again, lay down on the couch, and soon fell asleep again.
From this sleep, I never woke up again.
After Guan Cheng's death, his old troops did not intend to obey his last wish, but they no longer had any intention of coexisting with the city. Instead, they planned to break out of the encirclement with their coffins in hand and go north to join Yuan Shao. They discussed their strategy privately. First, an envoy was sent to the south of the city, asking him to hold a white flag representing surrender and go to Liu Bei's camp, stating to Liu Bei that Guan Cheng was dead and that the Qi and Han court was willing to surrender to the court. They just made a request and said that they hoped that the court would give them one day to tidy up their clothes and make a decent surrender tomorrow. Liu Bei couldn't ask for it, so he naturally agreed with a smile.
After the Qi people in the city learned the news, they prepared a dozen ships from the north of the city that night, planning to open the city gate and float out from the north after the water rose in the city. Unexpectedly, just after the sandbags blocking the city gates were removed, before the door could be opened, the gate in the north of the city collapsed, and the nearby city walls also collapsed in many places.
It turned out that after two months of soaking, Linzi's city gates and city roots were soaked. If there was any movement at the city gate, the entire city tower would collapse together. The broken rammed earth fell into the water, crushing and killing many people. Then a wailing sound like a whimper sounded in the city.
Qi Ren's plan to go to Beitou was ruined.
When Liu Bei received the news, he thought it was caused by flooding. Then he ordered people to go downstream to release the water from the breached weir, and at the same time sent people to inquire about the situation in the city. An hour later, the patrol sergeant came to report that there was no movement in the city. At this time, all the generals gathered in the big tent and asked to lead troops into the city.
Liu Bei was not in a hurry to enter the city. He said, "Since we have made an appointment with them, let's wait until tomorrow."
We waited until the afternoon of the next day, when there was no wind, the sky was covered with gray clouds, and the sky was dark. The water from the weir has gone away, and the ground is wet and soft, with many puddles still there. But the whole Linzi city was silent, and the doors were not opened. It was gloomy and seemed like a dead city.
Liu Bei asked the Xihe Army to enter the city through the collapse first. Although the Bafu Army was his most trusted force, the siege lasted for a long time, and he might have resentment in his heart. Liu Bei was really afraid that they would cause trouble when they entered the city, so he let the Xihe Army, which had the best military discipline, enter first.
The Xihe Army stepped on the mud and gravel on the ground and poured into every gap like dense ants. Before they could search, dying voices were heard from everywhere in the city: "Your Majesty, they are on the mountain!"
The Han army quickly passed through the rugged and dirty gates, and the dense formations surrounded the earth mountain with one end leaning against the city wall. There were no flags on the mountain. There were about 3,000 people, noisy and no one knew what they were doing.
The Han soldiers wanted to take advantage of the situation and rush forward, but unexpectedly saw a strange scene. They were all stunned and couldn't recover for a long time.
These more than three thousand people were scattered around, standing in dense rows. Their clothes were torn and covered with blood. Long-term hunger and fierce fighting had made them lose their human form. Their two big, deeply sunken eyes were like two bottomless black holes, staring blankly ahead. , looking at the enemies that were gradually increasing and getting closer, there was no expression on his face. Some of them had broken hands, leaving only a hollow sleeve; some had broken legs, which were supported by a stick and spear. Everyone was close to each other, arms tightly linked, quietly and silently, like a stone dam or an iron wall. In the middle of them was a simple coffin, inside which was the person who had just died in the Yellow Turban. The final beginning.
Someone came down with a few children, pointed at them and said to the Han army: "This is our Majesty and several of the emperor's younger brothers. They are all coerced by us. I hope you will not make it difficult." Now the leader is It was Fu Xie's son Fu Qian. After traveling in northern Xinjiang, he was arranged by Chen Chong to join the army in Bafu.
Fu Qian took over Liu Chao's group and asked the visitor: "This is not a difficult task, but what are you going to do?"
The man chuckled and said, "You'll know it just by looking at it."
After hearing this, Fu Qian couldn't help but take a few steps closer to take a look. At this time, he was even more shocked: a two-foot-high line of dry firewood had clearly been set up in front of the human wall, tightly surrounding the people behind. There are a few people pouring oil on the firewood. Their expressions were calm and their demeanor was peaceful, just like farmers irrigating gardens or gardeners watering flowers. The menacing Han army standing twenty or thirty feet away, armed with swords and guns, did not seem to exist in their eyes.
The man who came walked back, and when he returned to the crowd, the murderous aura that was still there just now dissipated. There was only a smile on his face, and then he raised a torch, straightened his waist, and approached the pyre step by step with very steady steps.
Suddenly, a string of raging fires rose up in front of the Han army, adding tens of thousands of dazzling rays of light to the originally damp and decadent earth mountains, reflecting the three thousand Qi and Han soldiers like golden figures made of iron and bronze.
At the beginning of the founding of the country by Emperor Gaozu, Tian Heng, a nobleman of Qi State, first restored the country, but was later destroyed by Han Xin and was forced to flee to the island. Emperor Gaozu thought that he was a wise man, so he planned to pardon Tian Heng's sins and let him serve as an official in the court.
But Tian Heng said: "Before, Emperor Gao and I were both kings, but now I want to worship him as the emperor. This really undermines the dignity of the Tian family. Emperor Gao is indeed much more generous than me. This makes me sad. Ashamed. Emperor Gao wants to see me, so I will give him my head as a thank you for his kindness!" After saying that, Tian Heng faced his homeland in the east, paid homage to the mountains and rivers of Qi State from afar, and sang: "Great justice carries heaven, If you keep your word to the ground, your life will be adapted to your ambition!" Then he cut himself with a knife.
Emperor Gao was very moved when he saw Tian Heng's head, and ordered the two retainers who sent Tian Heng to be recruited. The two retainers committed suicide immediately. So he ordered to recruit Tian Heng's 500 old troops on the island, and those 500 people also committed suicide. Emperor Gao therefore called Tian Heng a virtuous man, buried him with lavish ceremonials, and sent two thousand people to keep vigil for him.
At that time, everyone in the world was shocked by Tian Heng's loyalty and called him high integrity. Now three thousand people can be buried with Guan Cheng. Isn't it similar to Tian Heng? After Liu Bei learned the whole story, he was very moved. Like his great ancestor, he ordered Tian Heng to be buried at the foot of Gui Mountain according to Tian Heng's story.
