Niu Fu's three camps were transformed into one. Zhang Heng's goal had been achieved and he could finally prepare for the water attack with peace of mind.
The weather is getting warmer and warmer, and the ice on the Yellow River has completely disappeared in the past two days. With the river water rolling in from upstream, even the water level of Bianshui River began to rise visibly to the naked eye.
Zhang Heng asked Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and other generals to continue to take turns attacking Niu Fu's camp to paralyze Niu Fu, but he came to the upper reaches of Bian River.
Five thousand people built three simple dams very quickly. One dam was built in just two days.
When Zhang Heng arrived, Zhang Liao was working with his soldiers with his upper body naked, soaking in the water.
There was no reinforced concrete in this era, not even a brick. To build the embankment, we could only use local materials and pile up some stones with rammed earth.
Fortunately, Zhang Heng didn't need the dam to be very strong, as long as it could temporarily block the river water, so it wasn't too troublesome to build it.
"Wenyuan!"
Zhang Heng stood on the bank and smiled and shouted at Zhang Liao in the river from a distance.
Zhang Liao looked up, with a smile on his face. He quickly walked over from the water, washed the mud on his body, and then bowed to Zhang Heng.
"The general will finally pay his respects to the chief registrar!"
"No need to be polite." Zhang Heng waved his hand, "Wenyuan, why did you go into the water yourself?"
"As a general, you should take the lead, not just in battle." Zhang Liao replied seriously.
Upon hearing this, Zhang Heng nodded with deep understanding.
"That makes sense."
Zhang Liao wiped the sweat from his forehead and said, "Master Secretary, are you here to check the progress of the dam construction?"
"Yes, the flood attack is imminent. How long will it take for your dam to be repaired?"
"Don't worry, Chief Secretary, it will be completely completed tomorrow at the latest." Zhang Liao promised, "Besides, the water level has risen sharply in the past two days, and the river must have opened upstream. If it is not repaired tomorrow, it will be difficult to repair later."
Before building a dam, the river must be dammed. As the water level soared, the previously dammed river was almost unstoppable.
Zhang Heng calculated the time. After completing the work tomorrow and storing water for a few days, he should be able to make it in time.
"Okay, then speed up."
"only!"
Zhang Liao responded solemnly, cupping his fists.
While the two were talking, a group of cavalry suddenly ran over from a distance, and the leader was none other than Tai Shici.
"Master's book!"
Taishi Ci dismounted and cupped his fists at Zhang Heng.
"Ziyi is in a hurry, what do you mean?" Zhang Heng said with a smile.
Taishi Ci said sternly: "General Xuande has ordered us to come. Please return to the camp immediately."
Hearing this, Zhang Heng's heart suddenly jumped and he quickly asked: "What happened?"
"The convoy sent by the jujube princes to transport grain has arrived. Duke Xuande asks you to go back and inspect it."
Zhang Heng breathed a sigh of relief, as long as there was no problem with Niu Fu.
"knew."
Zhang Heng nodded, turned to Zhang Liao and told Zhang Liao a few details, and then returned to Guoting with Tai Shici.
There were three people sent by the princes to supervise the grain this time, namely Chen Gong, the meritorious Cao of Dongjun, Wang Hu, the engaged Cao of Yanzhou, and Zang Hong, the meritorious Cao of Guangling.
Chen Gong was a member of Yuan Shao's vassals, and Wang Gong was Liu Dai's confidant. As for Zang Hong, he came over on his own initiative.
And he didn't come to watch the success or failure, but really wanted to help Liu Bei fight against the thieves. When the Suanzao oath was made, all the princes pushed back and forth and refused to accept the oath. In the end, Zang Hong took the lead on the altar and made an impassioned speech to help the princes conclude the alliance.
It can be seen from this that he is a truly loyal person to the Han Dynasty, and he has always advocated sending troops to fight against thieves.
Originally, Chen Gong and others transported grain and grass to Xingyang, and the task was completed. After all, although Liu Bei led his army to confront Niu Fu in Guoting, his base camp was still in Xingyang.
But they still had the task of watching the battle, so they had no choice but to come to Guoting.
Their arrival was naturally warmly received by Liu Bei. After all, who doesn't like a boy who gives money to others?
While Liu Bei held a banquet in honor of the three of them, he quickly sent Taishi Ci to retrieve Zhang Heng. After all, Zhang Heng had plans with the jujube princes, and Liu Bei didn't know the details and was afraid of screwing it up.
Zhang Heng was still sighing in his heart on the way back.
This grain transport team from the Suizao princes came at the perfect time. He had just planned to carry out a water attack, and they arrived just in time to give them a glimpse of it, thus motivating the Suizao princes to join the battle.
In Guo Pavilion, Zhang Heng walked into the military camp and came to the big tent, but happened to encounter Liu Bei entertaining Chen Gong and the others.
"Ziyi is back, please take a seat!"
Now that we were not in Suanzao, there was no need for Zhang Heng to pretend to be so domineering. He first bowed to Liu Bei, then greeted Chen Gong and the others, and finally sat down in his seat.
This move made Chen Gong's eyes filled with surprise.
Zhang Ziyi has changed his gender, why are you so polite today?
On the main seat, Liu Bei smiled and said: "Ziyi, this time the jujube princes have brought 100,000 stones of grain and grass, which has solved our urgent need!"
"The princes are so generous and worthy of being loyal to the Han Dynasty!"
The kind words were free of charge, so Zhang Heng followed Liu Bei's lead and praised him.
Hearing this, Chen Gong immediately raised his hands and said with a smile: "Gong Xuande and Lieutenant Zhang are being polite. Since they are allies, they should help each other. What's the point of mentioning just food and grass!"
Liu Bei is now different from what he used to be. He has nearly 20,000 troops under his command. Chen Gong naturally saw it when he entered Guoting just now, so in addition to being polite, his words were also a bit respectful.
"What Gongtai said is reasonable, everything is for the great cause of defeating thieves!" Liu Bei immediately nodded and smiled.
Speaking of this, Zhang Heng said with a smile: "Mr. The princes know it.”
Good guy, it’s only been a few days, have you won another battle?
Chen Gong took one look at Zhang Heng's face and guessed something, and couldn't help but sigh in his heart.
"That's right, I forgot about it." Liu Bei patted his head and smiled at Chen Gong and the others, "Just so you know, Dong's former army arrived in Xingyang a few days ago, and I went out to fight with them. By luck, Victory. Kill two thousand of the bandit army and capture three thousand."
Hearing this, the expressions of Chen Gong and the other three people immediately became exciting.
Although I had expected it, I was still shocked by this result.
That's five thousand people, and they just defeated the prisoners so casually?
You, Liu Xuande, are really the Marquis of Huaiyin!
"Xuan Degong is worthy of being a clan member of the Han Dynasty. This attack on the bandit army is really admirable!"
At this time, Zang Hong, who had been silent until now, suddenly patted the table and praised him.
"Ziyuan is ridiculous." Liu Bei waved his hand and smiled.
Looking at Chen Gong again, he pondered for a moment, then raised his hands and said: "May I ask Mr. Xuande, how many people are there in the bandit army and who will lead it?"
"Dong's former army totaled more than 30,000 people, led by Dong's son-in-law Niu Fu. Of course, there are less than 25,000 left." Liu Bei said with a smile, "As for how many soldiers and horses Dong's central army is, we have not yet determined You know."
Chen Gong nodded and continued to ask: "Then how does Duke Xuande plan to use his troops next?"
This question is actually a bit over the top, but Chen Gong's trip represents the jujube princes, so it is expected to inquire about the battle situation.
"this……"
Hearing this, Liu Bei looked troubled and remained silent.
"Mr. Xuande, Gongtai is not an outsider, so there is no harm in telling him." Zhang Heng said with a smile at the right time.
"Okay." Liu Bei nodded and said to Chen Gong, "To be honest, Niu Fu's more than 20,000 bandits outside the city have already fallen into our army's trap. If nothing goes wrong, the victory or defeat will be decided in these two days. ”
Hearing these words, Chen Gong suddenly became energetic.
"That being the case, I kindly ask you to accompany the army for a visit so that you can admire the heroic demeanor of Duke Xuande's warriors."
Liu Bei waved his sleeves and said: "Yes, when the general attack is launched, the public platform can accompany the army to watch. After the victory, you can go back to report the good news to the princes."
"Thank you Mr. Xuande!"
Chen Gong cupped his hands and smiled.
