Wait, please don't call me Emperor Zhaolie

Chapter 76: Flood is coming
In the middle of August in the fourth year of Chuping, the weather suddenly changed.

Heavy rain fell day and night for more than ten days, and the fields and houses of people in many places including Ji, Qing, Xu and Yan were flooded.

In Yanzhou alone, countless people suffered the disaster and were washed away by the flood in their sleep.

Liu Bei moved his camp to a high place on the northern hillside of Dongjun and dispatched officials from various counties who had surrendered to provide disaster relief.

The tribe sent assistants to evacuate the people from the neighboring villages and lead the livestock to high ground.

At the same time, check the waterproof condition of the granary to see if there is any rainwater dripping or soaking.

Liaocheng, Leping, Yangping and Dongwuyang are close to the river bank. Fortunately, although the city walls are slightly dilapidated, they are still strong as a whole. Even in heavy rains and floods from the western plains, the city walls can withstand it and will not collapse.

The water flows through the city, separated by the city, and then flows rapidly into the river.

Liu Bei urgently sent people to and from Qingzhou to inquire about Xun Yu about the flood situation in various parts of Qingzhou and the casualties among the people.

Can the government orders of various counties still be implemented smoothly?
Xun Yu replied, saying that the flood in Qingzhou was not serious and the officials were diligent in their work. Only a lot of fertile land was destroyed and the casualties among the people were not very heavy. However, the harvest of autumn grain this year would be far less than in previous years.

Liu Bei finally breathed a sigh of relief. Natural disasters and man-made calamities often occurred during this period, and drought and locusts would come to many places next year. It was necessary to resolve the war this year.

It would be best to keep the army in place for the whole year and endure the drought for several months, otherwise countless civilians and officials will starve to death, and there will be tragedy of cannibalism.

It rained heavily for more than ten days in a row, and even the river became much wider.

A military officer suggested to Liu Bei that it would be better to take advantage of the opportunity given by heaven and use the turbulent water of the river to flood Puyang and capture the fortified city in one fell swoop.

Liu Bei refused and said, "The sudden flood has caused great harm to the people. If the flood continues to flood the city for several months, not only Puyang but also Jiyin and Chenliu counties in the south will become swamps. Do you want me to never get Yanzhou?"

There are many clever people in the army who only look at the immediate benefits and ignore the consequences.

There is no food left, and there will be a drought next year. The wealthy may be able to survive, but the common people have no hope and can only eat each other’s children.

Guo Jia wanted to speak out, but was afraid that the envoy would be too eager to attack the city and adopt this vicious plan. He was relieved only when he heard Liu Bei's anger.

He advised: "Sir, there are many noble families and aristocratic families in Yanzhou. If we handle it improperly, it will cause backlash. Moreover, this is a plan to destroy the whole family, so we must be more cautious."

"Scholars should not be executed without guilt. The main thing is to win the hearts of the people and not act too hastily."

Guo Jia thought about it and decided to explain what he wanted to say.

"In the past, Xiang Yu rose up without virtue. Emperor Gaozu held a funeral for the Righteous Emperor in Chang'an and defeated the powerful troops in the name of righteousness. Only then was he able to control the four directions and stabilize the country."

"Since you value Cao Mengde, you may as well capture him instead of killing him and imprison him with courtesy as a guest. The reason is that Cao Cao's fame spreads across the world as he followed Yuan Shao to fight against Dong. Killing him will easily lose the hearts of the scholars in Dongjun."

Liu Bei nodded and said with a smile: "Don't worry, Feng Xiao, I know the harm of flooding the people, but I don't want to do it. A real man should act like the sun and the moon, how can he treat the people like grass?"

"Whether they are nobles or common people in Dongjun, they are all under my rule now. I will treat them the same as I do in Qingzhou."

Upon hearing this, Guo Jia bowed in admiration and said, "Your Excellency has the demeanor of an elder. Scholars all over the world will surely submit to you."

Liu Bei smiled, looked at the busy Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci and other generals, and said: "Fighting for the world may be for power, or for fame, wealth, beauties and treasures. In my opinion, in addition to giving up these desires, you also need to retain a trace of sincerity."

“Do not do evil for the sake of small gains, and do not refrain from doing good for the sake of small gains. How many people fight to the end and become alone, forgetting who they are.” “I, Liu Bei, would like to be like Emperor Gaozu, who wore the Liu crown until his old age and still had some chivalrous spirit left.” Liu Bei said with a smile, clapping his hands.

Guo Jia also echoed and laughed, "Your Excellency, if you always have the spirit of Emperor Gaozu and the heroic spirit, even if you meet Emperor Guangwu still alive, you can still compete with him."

When Liu Bei heard this, he couldn't help but secretly thought, "That's not necessarily true. A time traveler may not be able to defeat Xiu'er."

At that moment, Guo Jia suddenly coughed a few times, shook his face and sighed, "It rained these days and I caught a cold. Thanks to the envoy who boiled ginger soup and hot water in the army, otherwise I would not have recovered so quickly."

"I usually stay at home. If I catch a cold, I will be half dead. My wife often wipes my tears for me."

Because soldiers in Liu Bei's army often caught colds during battles, he planted large amounts of ginger in various places in Qingzhou, dried it, and brought it with him to the army just in case.

Except for the Treatise on Febrile Diseases and Miscellaneous Disorders which came out later, there were few prescriptions using ginger to dispel wind-cold at that time.

As soon as the heavy rain started, Liu Bei sent people to boil ginger soup and requisitioned straw mats to prevent the tents from leaking.

He also planned to use infantry to lure Lu Bu's hundreds of cavalry into a trap, but heavy rain drove Lu Bu back to Puyang City.

Liu Bei had no choice but to sigh that Fengxian was lucky, and then withdrew to Shengshe Camp.

He and Cao Cao and Lu Bu first faced each other across the river, and then planned to cross the river from the southeast, but gave up because the river water rose sharply and the floating bridge was unstable.

It continued to rain, so Liu Bei moved the camp northward to the hillside and sent some soldiers to the county town to take shelter from the rain.

At present, Yanzhou includes three counties, namely Dongjun, Jibei and Jiyin, and 17 counties. Its land area is no less than the sum of Pingyuan County and Jinan County.

Cao Cao only had three counties left and most of his soldiers had been lost. Liu Bei sent someone to shoot a letter of surrender into Puyang City, explaining that Bao Xin and Cao Hong were not dead, and urging Cao Cao to surrender as soon as possible.

Cao Cao first thanked Liu Bei for his magnanimity in the letter, and then said: "Lord Xuande is so powerful that I cannot stop him. However, the governor of Dongjun was appointed by the court, so I cannot surrender. I have my wife and children in the city, so I must be more cautious. If you come with the imperial edict, I will open the city and surrender immediately."

When Liu Bei received the letter, he couldn't help but smile. Don't think I don't know that your title of the Prefect of Dongjun was forcefully appointed by Yuan Shao, and at that time, the Governor of Yanzhou, Liu Dai, was unhappy.

Although Cao Cao said that he was loyal to the court, he was ruthless in dismissing Yuan Benchu ​​from his official position.

If the flood had not caused the river water to surge, making it impossible to dig a tunnel to break into the city, I would have really wanted to break through the city wall and capture Cao Mengde alive to see if he would still be stubborn.

This battle destroyed Cao Cao's foundation of many years, and also captured Cao Hong and Bao Xin alive. He must have died of heartache.

When the rain stopped for a while, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and others volunteered to attack the city.

Guo Jia said: "We should attack them with our troops and join forces to meet the enemy. If we delay, Cao Cao and Lu Bu will not be able to get along."

"Puyang City accommodates two groups of troops, so there will be disputes. It is better to besiege the city and keep the troops stationary, and then divide the soldiers to take Baima and Yan County."

"When the two families are fighting, that will be the time for you to take over Dongjun in one fell swoop."

Liu Bei wanted to adopt Feng Xiao's good advice, but unfortunately Xun Yu sent him a secret letter saying that the food and grass in Pingyuan had been used up for disaster relief, and advised him to withdraw his troops as soon as possible.

(End of this chapter)