Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 636 The Su Causeway is bathed in wind and rain all day long

Liang Su and Zhang Baiyu's plan was perfect, but unfortunately, war is a chaotic model and will not change according to individual will.

On December 9th, just as Zhang Baiyu was ready to make his move, a message arrived that caught everyone off guard.

The Jin army dispatched several hundred troops to occupy the river embankment north of Pengcheng and forbade anyone from approaching the vicinity of the embankment.

This immediately aroused suspicion and panic among the local powerful families and common people of Xuzhou.

Furthermore, the terrain around Pengcheng is low in the north and high in the south, so every major flood starts from the north.

Therefore, the Yellow River dike has a semi-enclosed structure, surrounding Pengcheng on the east, west, and north sides.

Nearly a century ago, the Yellow River breached its banks at Puyang and rushed southward.

As the saying goes: The northern flow of the Chanyuan River was cut off, the river channel shifted south, and it converged eastward at Zhangze Lake in Liangshan. It split into two branches, one of which joined the South Qing River and flowed into the Huai River, and the other joined the North Qing River and flowed into the sea. It irrigated 45 counties, with Pu, Qi, Yun, and Xu being the most severely affected, destroying more than 300,000 hectares of farmland.

When the floodwaters reached Pengcheng, the water was already 28 feet deep.

At this critical moment, the prefect of Xuzhou stepped forward without fear of danger, leading by example to build this great dike and saving the lives of everyone in the city.

This prefect of Xuzhou was none other than Su Shi, a famous minister and great poet of the Northern Song Dynasty.

This dam was not completely destroyed until the Tianqi period of the Ming Dynasty, and it was rebuilt during the Kangxi and Qianlong periods of the Qing Dynasty.

This dike is what later became known as the Su Causeway in Xuzhou.

Returning to the present, the reason why Su Causeway has been able to stand for hundreds of years is not because Su Shi had the ability to turn stones into gold, but because officials, gentry and common people throughout the ages have contributed money and effort to maintain Su Causeway.

After all, everyone is equal under the flood. It won't spare you just because you're from a wealthy family, nor will it show you any pity just because you're an ordinary citizen. Mother Yellow River beats everyone equally.

Even if the puppet Qi state and the Jin state were utterly despicable, they couldn't stop the gentry from spontaneously maintaining the dikes.

Because the Su Causeway was so important, its actions immediately triggered a chain reaction among the local powerful families and common people of Xuzhou.

What is the Jin army planning to do? Do we need to think about it any further?
Could we possibly go and build water conservancy projects or maintain the Su Causeway?
Are you kidding me?
Although the river water is not abundant in winter, it is still the Yellow River. The thought of the disaster that would result from digging it up is chilling.

On the second day after the Jin army stationed itself on the Su Causeway, an elderly local man went to the prefectural government office to petition.

Guo Anguo had no habit of respecting the elderly and caring for the young, and directly imprisoned all the respected people in these places.

On the third day, as the conscripted laborers climbed onto the embankment, Cheng Feng, Zhao Baiying, and others, who had already gathered, stood on Shifo Mountain at the southern end of Pengcheng, gazing at the Jin army camp at Ximatai in the distance, their faces gloomy and unreadable.

"General Zhang from Xiapi has already sent confirmation that the army will arrive in Pengcheng by the morning of the day after tomorrow at the latest."

"General Xin and General Wang from the north have also sent a joint message. They will no longer concern themselves with Jeju and Danju. The entire army will march south at full speed and will arrive within three days."

“Cheng Dalang, you know the surrounding terrain. The Jingnan army has already done its best.”

Listening to Zhao Baiying's words, Cheng Feng stood in the cold wind, clasped her hands together, and remained silent.

On the other side, Jiang Mingyi, whose family was in the ironware business, said angrily, "I think it's because Liu Dalangjun isn't here that these military leaders are doing their own thing and trying to preserve their strength."

"Shut up, Lao Jiang!" Li Zhongqing hissed. "Is it even appropriate to say such things?"

Meng Tang, who was standing to the side, nodded and said, "How can Zhao Dalang face people with such words?"

Only Zhao Baiying was fully committed to the Jingnan Army. Although the others had also established connections with Liu Huai, their relationship was not a stable superior-subordinate one.

Zhao Baiying knew that the three of them were trying to provoke her, but she was not angry. She slowly shook her head and said, "We are all locals from Xuzhou, so there is no need to hide how dangerous Pengcheng is. It was originally agreed that the Jin bandits would fight after leaving Pengcheng. Now, the two armies have rushed here to save Pengcheng, which is already extremely conscientious."

Cheng Feng sighed and nodded, saying, "That's true. The Jin bandits are really too insidious. They can leave now, but they even want to destroy Xuzhou."

"However, this also confirms one of my guesses: the Jin thieves don't want to fight anymore, but want to escape."

Everyone nodded.

If Wu Jie's army wanted to continue fighting, Xuzhou would be their forward base, and they would never destroy it. Xiang Yu's "breaking the cauldrons and sinking the boats" only meant cutting off his own retreat after crossing the river; it didn't mean he destroyed the entire Jiangdong region.

Then there is only one possibility: Wu Jie's army is about to retreat and breach the Yellow River, flooding the vicinity of Pengcheng and leaving Liu Huai with a huge mess.

After a moment's thought, Zhao Baiying said, "The Jin bandits are going to flee west, but it's uncertain whether they will return to Bianliang along the original Bian River or flee to the Central Plains."

Cheng Feng turned around and looked intently at Zhao Baiying: "Let's not worry about these trivial matters, Zhao Dalang. Do you think that if we force the Jin bandits out of Pengcheng, General Xin in the north and Chief Steward Zhang in the south will be able to come and fight the Jin bandits without any worries?"

Zhao Baiying felt inexplicably nervous, but dared not be negligent, and nodded repeatedly: "That's right."

Looking at the four notorious troublemakers from Xuzhou, Cheng Feng asked again, "Tell me, is Xuzhou still Xuzhou for us Xuzhou people?"

Meng Tang and the others also began to breathe heavily: "Naturally, it's Xuzhou of the Xuzhou people!"

Cheng Feng turned around, her hand already gripping the hilt of her knife: "Then answer my question again. It's understandable that you don't want to fight when you can make a living; but now, the Jin bandits are going to breach the dike and wreak havoc on the entire Xuzhou, wanting us all to die without a burial place. Don't you dare to fight?"

Zhao Baiying, also holding her sword, said, "Brother Cheng, you are the oldest among us, and we usually regard you as our elder brother. If you have something to say, please speak frankly!"

Seeing that the others were also nodding, Cheng Feng laughed twice before saying, "I am your elder brother, but you also lead a group of wealthy young men. Below the wealthy young men, there are also ordinary peddlers, farmers and merchants."

These people are the pillars of every family in Xuzhou.

"When we come together, we represent the entire city of Xuzhou. Now, Xuzhou is in grave danger, facing the calamity of floods and imminent destruction. If we don't step up now, who will?"

Cheng Feng did not try to muffle his voice, and as a result, the young men of the local powerful families on the periphery all looked up at Cheng Feng with expectant eyes.

This was actually a standard process for starting a rebellion. If Cheng Feng hadn't made arrangements with Liu Huai early on and acknowledged him as his lord, he might have become a rebel leader like Geng Jing, and even a warlord who controlled a region.

Cheng Feng continued talking, and his voice grew louder: "You all know me, and I also know that behind my back you call me 'the boatman' to mock me for being too cautious and cowardly."

I don't want to deny it, after all, my Cheng family is large and powerful, and I have many brothers following me. Every time I act, it's like I'm sailing a small boat on a big river, facing the wind and waves. I can't help but be cautious.

However, at this moment... the Jin invaders have gone too far! They actually want to kill everyone! Do they really think we people of Xuzhou have no backbone?!

"Kill the Jin traitors!"

"Start an uprising!"

"Save Xuzhou!"

The crowd surrounding the hill cheered and echoed.

Among them were sons of powerful families, private soldiers of peasants, boatmen on the river, and horsemen on the shore; their status varied, and their ages differed.

These people were not usually on good terms, and some even had irreconcilable grudges. But now, the ethnic conflict had completely overwhelmed the class conflict. The Jurchens even wanted to drown all the Han people in Pengcheng, so everyone in Xuzhou had to join hands to deal with the crisis in front of them.

"The platform in front of us is called Xima Platform. In the past, it was the place where Xiang Yu, the King of Western Chu, stationed his troops. Today, it is the place where the Jin invaders set up their camp."

As she spoke, Cheng Feng took a rolled-up flag from the person beside her, and then with a flick of her wrists, a large 'Han' character flag, slightly smaller than the one Liu Huai carried, fluttered in the wind.

"In the past, Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, defeated Xiang Yu, the King of Chu, and established the great Han dynasty that lasted for four hundred years. Today, Liu Dalang of Shandong, under the banner of the Han dynasty, resists the Jin dynasty and wins every battle. We, as Liu Dalang's subordinates, raise this banner of the Han dynasty against the bandits of Ximatai. Is this not the will of Heaven?!"

The crowd looked up at the black flag with red characters for "Han" that was clearly hastily made, and their words and expressions became even more intense.

Could there be anything more in line with the historical trend than assisting the Liu family in pacifying Pengcheng, the stronghold of Xiang Yu, the King of Chu?

Seeing that the atmosphere had been stirred up, Cheng Feng, leaning on the banner with the character "Han" on it, said loudly, "Now that things have come to this, there is no other way! Follow me, kill the Jin invaders! Save Xuzhou!"

"Kill the Jin invaders! Save Xuzhou!"

"Kill the Jin invaders! Save Xuzhou!"

(End of this chapter)