The struggle of the reborn prince

Zhao Tong went back to Yuzhou and sat on the deck for half a day, thinking about what Zhao Yong said just now, even if the embankment outside Liaoyang City can be destroyed to divert water into the city.But now, unlike when the embankment broke, the flood has lost its impact and has calmed down, and it cannot break through the city wall as the second line of defense.But now the river water is still leaking into the floodplain area, the city wall will not collapse if the flood does not recede, and they will not be able to attack the city and open the road to the north.

After much deliberation, Zhao Tang felt that the only way to stop the breach was to block the breach. If the breach was blocked, the water in the flooded area would leak out quickly. Now that it is summer, it will not take long for the remaining water to evaporate, and the muddy ground will also be exposed to the sun. It has become a hard road, which can be passed with a little cleaning.As for how to block the breach, Zhao Tun hasn't figured out a way yet, but in his previous life, the Yangtze River breach could be blocked, so there is no reason why the 'small' opening on the Liang River cannot be blocked.

Zhao Tang thought to himself that professional things like sealing the breach could not be done. It would be no problem for the generals to ask them to open another opening. It would definitely not be possible to block the breach. It would depend on the civil officials, so he immediately summoned his followers Zheng Qiao, Minister of the Ministry of Industry, and others discussed the matter.

"Zheng Aiqing, today you are following me to inspect the water regime, and the situation has become clear. I wonder if the situation in this situation can seal the breach?" Zhao Tun asked after giving her a seat.

"Your Majesty, I think the breach can be sealed." Zheng Qiao replied respectfully.

"Oh, what can you do?" Zhao Tuo was very surprised to see that Zheng Qiao said "yes" without even thinking about it, because he knew that although Zheng Qiao had studied a lot and was proficient in a variety of arts, water control was a very professional thing. Being so straightforward made him suspicious instead.

"Your Majesty, I don't know, but someone can." Zheng Qiao can be said to be half of the emperor's student.The two spend more time together and talk more casually.He smiled and blinked.

"Oh, who are you talking about. But in the army?" Zhao Tang asked anxiously.

"Your Majesty, this person is Zhao Lin, Prime Minister of Dushui. Your Majesty may have an impression." Zheng Qiao laughed.

"Of course, he has spent three years managing the Bianhe River, keeping the capital safe from floods, and ensuring smooth water transportation. How could he be in the army?" Zhao Tang pondered for a moment, then thought of this person, and asked a little puzzled.

"Oh, this is really a mistake. When selecting the entourage that day, I thought that there are many rivers in the Liaodong area. Once it is recovered, it needs to be developed and utilized. Why not take this opportunity to investigate and use it later, so I took him with me. After patrolling the river today, I knew that I would definitely ask about the sealing of the breach, so I went to ask Zhao Jiancheng first." Zheng Qiao said with a smile.

Zhao Tong also laughed out loud when he heard this, it seems that God is still standing by his side, otherwise how much time would it take to transfer him from Bianjing!He immediately summoned the generals and Zhao Lin.He is asked to preside over the project to block the breach of the Lianghe River. The required materials and personnel must be dispatched first, and all armies must fully cooperate.The current action is all about blocking the breach...

Zhao Lin was ordered to be the commander in chief of flood control when he was in danger. After inspecting the water situation, his first order was to cut down trees and mobilize craftsmen from each army's supply brigade to make flat-bottomed tank boats.Order each army to send people to excavate a large number of stones and transport them to the shore.And let people make wooden cages and weave ropes.Prepare soil bags and bind rafts.Gather twigs, straw, etc.At the same time, soldiers were recruited from the supply brigade and sailors to serve as river workers, and a series of training was carried out.Then Zhao Lin sent another army to dig several east-west trenches, each with a certain depth.

Although the Song Dynasty had a tradition of governing the military with civil and military affairs, a group of high-ranking generals in the army were commanded by a civilian officer of the fourth rank. If they could not complete the tasks assigned by them on time, they would be reprimanded by them. Feeling resentful, but because of the emperor's strict order, he did not dare to express it.But they all held their breath, once they failed to seal the gap, they must rectify it properly, and let out this bad breath.

At this time, the banks of the Liang River became a large construction site, various materials were constantly being transported, and various types of tank boats were constantly being launched. Countless people were devoted to this battle.The emperor also came to inspect many times, and the Dragon Boat Festival was spent on the construction site with the army.Of course, it was Zhao Lin who had the hardest time. Not only did he have to constantly monitor the water situation and adjust the plan, he also had to urge the various ministries to speed up the production of various equipment and stockpile the necessary materials.

"Zhao Jiancheng, when can we start to seal the breach?" Of course, what Zhao Tong is most concerned about is how and when he can close the gap. Hundreds of thousands of horses and horses are here, and the money and food consumed by them are all in the same amount. According to Wan Guan's calculation, one extra day would be a huge loss, so he decided to ask more questions.

"Your Majesty, you can start sealing the breach after the necessary materials are ready. According to the current progress, it will take three to five days." Zhao Lin saluted. The busy days made him feel exhausted, and his eyes were bloodshot.

"What are these tank boats used for?" Zhao Tang asked, pointing to the dozens of boats that were rushing to be built.

"Your Majesty, due to the shallow water, our existing warships are unusable. The new tank boats are all flat-bottomed and not afraid of shoals, which is convenient for transporting supplies and personnel." Zhao Lin explained.

"What's the use of those straw bales?" Zhao Tang asked puzzledly as he watched many soldiers roll and bundle branches, straw, grass, earth and rocks into huge straw bales dozens of steps long.

"Your Majesty, this is '埽', which is used to build revetments and block breaches." Zhao Lin replied and asked the emperor to demonstrate it.

"Oh, that's how it is." After reading it, Zhao Tun understood. This is to use the scorpion to retreat into the river when the breach is about to close, and to use its own weight to sink to the bottom of the water to block the water flow, and then to fill in the gaps to complete the closure of the breach.

"Those wooden cages are used to fill the stones and throw them into the water first, so as to reduce the impact on the bottom, so as to prevent the bottom of the embankment from being hollowed out by water and seeping water, which will cause the embankment to burst again." Seeing that the emperor was very interested, Zhao Lin introduced them one by one.

"I think a big boat can sail into the gap, lay across the gap, and then sink itself. Is it possible to speed up the progress?" Zhao Tong remembered that in his previous life, when the Yangtze River breached, he used a boat full of stones to sink into the gap due to the large current. Blocking the mouth, he made a suggestion.

"Hiss, the method Your Majesty said has never been used, but I think it is feasible. Closing the dragon's mouth with a gong has a lot to do with the water potential, soil quality, and river engineering technology. If the water potential is too high, the gong cannot sink itself, and it will break and be swept away by the water." , often fail, but the big ship is not like it is full of earth and rocks, and it is one body, and it will not be swept away by the current since it sinks at the crevasse." The emperor's method was novel but reasonable, and he thought for a while and said.

"I just had a random thought, whether you can use it or not is up to you to weigh, and you must not influence your decision because of me." Zhao Tong said, he knew that there was a complete and mature set of water control regulations and regulations in ancient times, if it was because of his own If the breach could not be blocked due to the proposal, wouldn't it be that he shot himself in the foot with a stone.

"Your Majesty understands that he will definitely consider carefully before making a decision. If your Majesty's method is applicable, it will benefit all people!" Zhao Lin saluted deeply, adding a little more respect to the emperor. He could come up with such a clever plan just by chance , if it is dedicated to water control, wouldn't there be another Dayu Lord in history...

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The first thing Wan Yanyong does after waking up every morning is not to shit and pee, but to check the water situation outside the city. He is more than happy to hear that the water has risen a few points and that the levee is safe and sound.The torrential water outside the city is the amulet of Liaoyang City. Although the Song army saw through their plan on the day the embankment broke and failed to wipe out the enemy soldiers with the flood, it also drove them back for more than ten miles, allowing Liaoyang City to survive. Keep safe from the flames of war.

Now more than ten days have passed, and under the sanitation of the flood, the people in Liaoyang City have also been relieved from the panic at the beginning, and Wan Yanyong understands that Zhao Er has traveled all the way here and will never give up easily. He didn't know that the city would be besieged. At that time, he strictly controlled the food in the city, but all the fields outside the city were flooded, all workshops were destroyed, and many people lost everything. In order to prevent the people who entered the city from causing trouble due to lack of food and clothing, Wanyan Yong ordered the government to place these people in temples and military camps and give them relief.

The common people can receive four liters of rice grain every day, and only the soldiers can distribute it in full.At the same time, Wan Yanyong severely cracked down on lawlessness. Soldiers patrolled day and night to maintain law and order, and immediately suppressed anyone who behaved inappropriately.Under his hard and soft measures, the lives of the people in the city are still stable, and they hope that the Song army can retreat as soon as possible.However, the city was besieged by water, and all news from outside was cut off. They had no idea whether the Song army was leaving or staying, or what they were doing.

This kind of life that Wan Yanyong thought was very comfortable did not last long. The soldiers who defended the city for two consecutive days reported that the water outside the embankment not only did not rise, but dropped a lot.At first he didn't pay attention to it, thinking it was due to the decrease of upstream water flow, but today he reported that the water level has dropped by more than two feet, and there is still a downward trend.At noon, he sailed to check the water condition of the Liang River. The soldier's report made him even more uneasy. The hole dug by them on the Liang River was actually blocked by the Song army for most of the time.

"Could it be that Zhao Er really has the ability to throw a whip to cut off the flow, and blocked two breaches overnight. If this continues, the flood will soon recede, and the city will fall into crisis again." After receiving the news, Wan Yanyong immediately Calling all the generals to discuss how to deal with it, Kong Yanzhou, who offered advice, said in amazement that since Zhao Er's birth, he has shown his supernatural skills several times.

"Zhao Er is a man but not a god. If he had such supernatural powers, he would not have waited until today. There must be someone in his army who is capable of controlling the water and figured out a way to block the breach." Li Qiong twitched her face a few times and said.

"The matter has come to this, no matter whether it is Zhao Er who has great supernatural powers or a capable person in the army, the most urgent task is to find a way to prevent him from blocking the breach." Wanyan suddenly said in a low voice.

Everyone present here understands that without the protection of the flood, the Song army cannot be stopped if they are close to the city. Only by finding a solution as soon as possible can the Liaoyang Mansion be saved. ... (To be continued..)