When Yang Ji gathered Sui soldiers from the north and arrived at Chang'an City in the upper reaches of the Xishui River from Liaodong City, the sky was never clear for a moment. The continuous heavy rain made many people forget how long it had been since they saw the sun.
Today's heavy rain stopped for less than half an hour. The gentle drizzle just now turned into a heavy downpour at Shenshi. The heavy raindrops hit the ground, creating a momentum like thousands of troops and rushing torrents.
The pouring rain enveloped the plains, mountains, and city gates. The vast rain curtain made it difficult to see faces of people even a few feet away.
The water level in the south of the city, which had dropped due to the cessation of rain, surged again. The torrential flood carried many trees and other debris that had been dumped into the river, and rolled southward.
The main army was stationed on a high ground in the north city. The heavy rain was pouring like a curtain of water all around the military camp. The air was filled with a damp breath and a strong earthy smell. The soldiers stood in front of their tents and looked at the gloomy sky, feeling themselves Soaked by moisture, no part of his body was dry.
The side hall of the city guard mansion is a small courtyard. This courtyard is full of the architectural style of the Central Plains, with rockeries, screen walls, green bamboos, and even an exquisite waterside pavilion built beside a small lotus pond.
At this time of year, the lotus flowers in the Central Plains may have turned into a pool of residual lotus, but here the lotus leaves are graceful and swaying in the wind, and the lotus flowers embedded in the green leaves are also in full bloom.
Under the rain and fog, the entire courtyard is quite poetic and elegant. In the study room in the courtyard, after Yang Ji read several military reports sent by Yang Yichen, he walked to the window to watch the rain.
Looking at the rain outside the window, I felt quite happy: Fortunately, the Liaodong battlefield,
The "Qianshan-Yalushui" battlefield ended quickly and quickly; if the war was left unresolved until now, the Sui army would be stuck in a situation that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
"Qianshan-Yalushui" battlefield. The time spent on the entire Eastern Expedition will also increase several times, and the various losses caused by this are simply unimaginable.
"Your Majesty, the generals are here." Zhu Can's voice came from outside the door.
"Okay! Let them go to the outer hall to discuss matters." Yang Ji said as he quickly walked to the lobby in the courtyard to wait.
He waited for a while in the main hall. Jun, Quan Ming and others walked in.
They took off their bamboo hats and raincoats and handed them to the soldiers on standby. Although they all wore hats, raincoats or hooded cloaks, everyone was wet. Yang Ji quickly ordered people to prepare hot water and handkerchiefs, and everyone washed their faces with hot water. He wiped his face and neck with a handkerchief before taking his seat.
After another sip of steaming ginseng tea, I felt much better.
"How are the mood of the soldiers? Not affected by the weather, right?" When Yang Ji met with Gao Jianwu, Fuyu Zhang, and Kinderman, the generals were settling down soldiers in the barracks. Their arrival indicated that the settlement had been completed.
Xue Shixiong is the governor of Zhuojun and concurrently serves as the Sima of Youzhou. He is the first person under Yang Ji. He bowed his hands and said with a smile: "Your Majesty, our soldiers are inspired by the great victories and their morale is like a rainbow. , The fighting spirit was high and was not affected by the weather. Apart from cursing the sky and rain, they were different from usual."
"It's good if you can scold!" Yang Ji suddenly laughed. The Eastern Expedition Army is composed of armies from various places. When they are concentrated in one place, they are divided into advantages and disadvantages, and their combat effectiveness and fighting will are also different. Fortunately, It is impossible to attack and win. If the battle is stalemate or fails, the mood of the soldiers at this time will not be like this.
Yang Ji looked at Quan Ming, the surrendered general who was captured in Changtu City, and asked with a smile: "Looking at the intensity of the rain and the color of the sky, it will continue for at least a few days; General Quan, is this kind of weather rare in the south?" "Although Quan Ming is one of the core members of the Yuan Group, he is from Seoul in the south; out of consideration for the interests of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Ji decided to let Goryeo, which was about to be founded, continue to maintain the political structure of North-South confrontation.
It's just that the influence of the Northern Faction in the South is far less than that of the Southern Faction, and it is so weak that the Yuan family is likely to be liquidated by Gao Jianwu and the Southern Faction in the future, so Yang Ji gave Quan Ming, Li Yong, Wu Ning, and Dong Jun two choices. : One is to be an ordinary general in the Sui Dynasty, and the other is to serve as the ambassador of Goryeo.
As Yang Ji expected, all four of them were characters who would rather be chicken heads than phoenix tails. They pretended to think for a moment and without hesitation chose the Goryeo ambassador who was like the general of Erliu Weifu.
Quan Ming was far more familiar with the weather here than Hulu Jin, Wu Ning, and Dong Jun in the north. As soon as he heard Yang Ji asking him, he stood up quickly and saluted respectfully: "Your Majesty, every time this season comes in the south, There are heavy rains, and the duration this year is the same as in previous years. There is not much difference. The rain this year is indeed heavier than the previous two years, but it only happens once every two or three years. People in the south are used to this." After learning about it, Yang Ji said to everyone: "According to the military information just sent by Yang Yichen, the rain has overflowed the moat of Pyongyang City, and the water around the city is more than two feet deep. However, the military camps in the south are on higher ground. , they won’t be troubled by stagnant water, and they have prepared sufficient supplies before, so we don’t have to worry.”
"The current bad weather and the water around Pyongyang City make it difficult for us to attack the city with military force. If we do it forcefully, it will be unsightly. I will rest in Chang'an first, wait until the rain has passed, and the weather will clear, and then go to the south to join forces."
"Your Majesty is wise!" Everyone nodded silently and agreed with Yang Ji's decision. After all, the water around Pyongyang was so deep that it was impossible to fight. If they rashly went south, not only would it have no effect, but it would put huge pressure on the logistics.
However, Hao Yuan, as one of Yang Ji's masterminds, had different opinions. He pondered for a long time and said to Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, the weather is like this. It is indeed not suitable for our army to march or attack the city, but the Pyongyang soldiers and civilians trapped in the isolated city are also being attacked. Trapped, even the city gate cannot be opened. But our army is outside the city, but there are many things it can do. If this happens, the city of Pyongyang may be broken without attacking."
"Oh?" Yang Ji suddenly became energetic and asked quickly, "Let's talk about it."
"It's actually very simple, that is, use the right time and place to flood the city!" Hao Yuan gave an answer and introduced with a smile: "The terrain of Pyongyang City is high in the north and low in the south, high in the west and low in the east. To the northeast of the city is the main stream of the Xishui River, and The ordinary river in the northwest flows into the Zhu River in the north of the city. According to military information, the ordinary river will overflow every time it rains heavily, and the place where it merges into the Zhu River will turn into a marsh."
"Since the water around the city exceeds two feet and has overflowed the moat, our army might as well build a dike with earth on the north side of the city and a weir for the Ordinary River, and then rush the water outside the city and the water from the Ordinary River toward the city and seep into the city."
"Once the city foundation is soaked in water for a long time, even if it does not sink or collapse, it will become softer. During this period, our army will release giant trees from the upper reaches of the Dongfang River to hit the city wall. I believe that both the inner and outer city walls will not be able to hold on. How long." At this point, he smiled and said: "Taking a step back, even if the whole city cannot be flooded, and even if the city cannot be washed away, the water that seeps into the city can still destroy the houses, food and supplies. If most of it is lost, it will be difficult for the soldiers and civilians in the city to even light a fire to cook."
"What a flood plan!" Ling Jing also vaguely had this idea. He said to Yang Ji: "Your Majesty, in my humble opinion, this method is completely feasible. In terms of topography, Pyongyang City is in a low-lying area. It is easy to be flooded, and what's more, it has been raining heavily recently; if we use the soil in the north of Hao Shenjun's Dharma City as a dike and build a dam to block the Dongfang River, Pyongyang City will be ruined." Yang Ji saw that everyone was happy and did not immediately After giving the answer, he asked Quan Ming again: "General Quan, how is the water flow of the Ordinary River?" Quan Ming knew the situation of Pyongyang City well, and they had secretly deduced the attack and defense of Pyongyang City before, and the final result was Even though the city of Pyongyang was tall and strong, what they feared most was the water attack plan. However, after all, the people in the city were the people of Goguryeo, and Yang Ji did not ask him about the plan, so he, Li Yong and others did not speak out.
When Hao Yuan and Ling Jing said this, they knew they couldn't hide it. He sighed secretly and replied bravely: "Your Majesty, the Ordinary River flows from north to south, and merges into the Haishui River in the northern suburbs of Pyongyang. It has collected many tributaries along the way, making its downstream water flow extremely large. According to the old people, The Pyongyang Plain encountered a heavy rain rarely seen in a century, and the Pongyang River burst its banks and flooded the city of Pyongyang. Therefore, the Pongyang River has other names such as "River of Tears" and "River of Resentment". But due to time It has been too long, and the general has not encountered such a thing, so he thought it was a legend." Seeing everyone's ugly faces and their eyes full of evil, he felt extremely nervous and managed to use a normal tone. He said to Yang Ji: "The general has been negligent and acted poorly. I hope the king will forgive me."
"That's it!" Yang Ji was not a fool. Even if he didn't know that Quan Ming was not doing his best and was hiding something? He took a deep look at Quan Ming, waved his hand and said, "After all, I didn't ask. I can't blame General Quan for this matter. If you don't do this next time, sit down!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your kindness." Quan Ming secretly breathed a sigh of relief and sat down, only to be filled with fear.
Yang Ji no longer paid attention to Quan Ming. He felt that the entire army was idle. The water attack strategy could be tried. And as Hao Yuan said, even if this strategy could not destroy the city, it could still inflict damage to the enemy. bring some losses.
Thinking of this, he said to everyone: "The water attack strategy is very promising. If we can break the city with floods, our army will not have to attack by force." After saying that, he directly nodded and said: "Prefect Xue, General Daxi."
"Last general!" Xue Shixiong and Da Xijing stood up quickly. Yang Jiling said: "The two of you will return to the camp immediately to prepare the necessary tools, and then lead the soldiers of your headquarters to go south and take full responsibility for handling this matter."
"Hao Canjun, you go with them and be responsible for communicating with Yang Yichen and others about this matter." Yang Ji arranged the task for Hao Yuan and warned: "If you need anything, report to me as soon as possible, or you can ask General Manager Yang sent someone to assist." Hao Yuan responded: "I humbly obey my orders!" Yang Ji glanced at Quan Ming and said in a solemn tone: "General Quan, I will give you a chance to make a contribution, and you will give Hao Canjun the direction. You Don't be 'negligent' this time. Otherwise, don't blame me for falling out." Quan Ming's cold eyes and solemn tone made Quan Ming's heart beat fast and sweat break out. He stood up hurriedly and said: "The final general will definitely do his best to achieve success. If there is any wrongdoing, I am willing to accept military law."
"That's good!" Yang Ji arranged the matter and said to everyone: "Building earth into embankments and building dams to block rivers is not an easy task. With the strength of Prefect Xue and General Da Xi alone, I am afraid that it will not be possible to do this before the heavy rain ends." Good thing, everyone is going back to camp and getting ready."
"General, please obey your orders!" Seeing Yang Ji giving orders again, everyone excused themselves and left. Only Yang Ji, Ling Jing, and Fang Xuanling were left in the main hall.
Yang Ji wrote a letter to Yang Yichen, explaining to him the navy's plan to move north and the water attack, and ordered him to cooperate.
As soon as he handed the letter to Zhu Can and asked him to send someone to send it away, he saw Zhang Chuchen walking along the handwriting corridor on the left.
She was dressed in red, like a sky-high pepper that was red from head to tail. Yang Ji saw her walking very fast, as if something big had happened, so he stood up and went to meet her, and asked from a distance: "Chuchen, what happened?" What happened?" Zhang Chuchen said: "Sir, Princess Kinderman of Silla is back again." Yang Ji was stunned for a moment and asked strangely: "What is she doing back?"
"We can't ask what the specific matter is." Zhang Chuchen said that he first replied to Yang Ji, and then explained: "According to Commander Yang Ze, Kinderman and her more than 30 guards were at the gate of the city with crossbows. After Lifu said goodbye, she claimed that she had something to ask the young master. Commander Yang couldn't refuse, so he had to bring her back. However, she went back to the posthouse first. She changed into regular clothes at this time, so she must not be acting as an envoy. Come and see the young master." When the envoys of the two countries interacted, their clothes were more formal and solemn. This was not only respect for the other party, but also respect for himself. Zhang Chuchen had been following Yang Ji for so long, so he knew these basic diplomatic etiquette.
Her last sentence was to prepare Yang Ji mentally. Yang Ji asked again: "Is she alone, or are there others?" Zhang Chuchen said: "Master, she only brought a young general and two girls here, and she is waiting in the side hall to serve tea. As for Her bodyguards are now resting in the capital post house." Yang Ji thought for a moment and then told Zhang Chuchen: "Chuchen, you are a guest and we should not be rude; you can ask someone to arrange dinner. , come with me to receive and entertain guests later.”
"Yes!" Zhang Chuchen happily responded and left. Yang Ji walked a few steps and then realized that there was a young general accompanying him, so he turned around and said to Ling Jing and Fang Xuanling who were working: "Jingzhi, you stay here to handle military affairs and wait for military information. If it's an ordinary You can take care of things by yourself; if there is anything important, please inform me as soon as possible. Xuanling, you come with me to receive the guests."
"Here!" Ling Jing and Fang Xuanling stood up and responded. Fang Xuanling put down the military merit book in his hand and followed Yang Ji to the front hall.
