I play the role of Jiajing in Zongwu: What crime have I committed?

"I swear by the Luo River, I, Gu Xichao, will serve as a subject of Chu for all eternity."

As the last word was uttered, a sudden surge of waves rose in the Luo River, as if in response from the heavens.

Gu Siling breathed a sigh of relief, her tense shoulders finally relaxing.

He reached out to help Gu Xichao up, but Gu Xichao subtly avoided him.

Seeing this, he stopped insisting and instead looked up at the Luo River.

"Okay, remember what you said today."

The next second, he seemed to realize something, and his heart suddenly tightened.

He quickly asked, "Have you noticed anything unusual about the Luo River's water level during this time?"

Gu Xichao was taken aback by the question, and then frowned.

"The Luo River was unusually calm when we crossed it; otherwise, our army wouldn't have been able to cross it so easily."

"But it's the autumn flood season now, how could the Luo River possibly be calm?"

Gu Siling suddenly felt a chill run down her spine.

He said something that chilled even himself to the bone.

The next second, the father and son looked at each other and saw horror in each other's eyes.

Gu Xichao rushed to the crenellation and gripped the bricks tightly with both hands.

From this vantage point, the eeriness of the Luo River is laid bare.

The autumn floodwaters, which should have been raging and turbulent, were now like a tamed python, their surface eerily calm.

"It's a levee, a levee."

Gu Xichao gasped in shock.

"Someone is building a dam to block the flow of the Luo River upstream."

After hearing her son's analysis, Gu Siling felt a wave of dizziness wash over her.

He had just considered the same possibility.

But he didn't want to believe it.

"How dare they..."

Gu Siling's fingers gripped the crenellations of the city wall tightly, her voice trembling.

How could he not understand the ruthlessness of this plan?

Once the upstream dikes are breached, the floodwaters that have been accumulating for days will pour down like a ferocious beast.

Luozhou is a low-lying area, and within a radius of hundreds of miles, it can be turned into a vast ocean in an instant.

Not only his hundreds of thousands of troops, but also the people of Luozhou, will not escape annihilation.

Good fields and crops will be destroyed in an instant.

Chapter 148 The Flood Runs Out

"Father, could it be that we've guessed wrong? The Azure Dragon's Imperial Guards are the imperial army."

"How could they possibly do something so self-destructive?"

Gu Xichao comforted himself with a sliver of hope.

Yes!

The imperial court should be protecting the borders and ensuring the safety of the people, so how could it commit such an inhumane act?

If Luoyang is flooded, there will be countless deaths and starvation.

At that time, it won't just be the Gu family army that will be flooded, but also the very foundation of the Southern Chu court.

Once this news gets out, the people of Southern Chu will become disloyal to the court and will rise up in rebellion.

This move can be described as digging its own grave and destroying its own empire.

Unfortunately, Gu Xichao was wrong.

Zhu Houcong didn't care whether the Yuwen clan of Southern Chu could secure their rule.

On the contrary, he wanted the Southern Chu to be thrown into chaos.

Only after great chaos can there be great order.

When the time comes to take over Southern Chu, we will be a righteous army, acting on behalf of Heaven.

Suddenly, both of them heard a distant, rumbling sound, growing ever closer.

Gu Xichao suddenly grabbed Gu Siling's arm.

"Father, listen, it's thunder."

Gu Siling felt her throat was a little dry.

That's not thunder at all.

It was clearly a raging flood that had breached its banks.

Both of them looked upstream and saw a white line approaching at an alarming speed.

hiss~

hiss~

They looked at each other and saw despair and disbelief in each other's eyes.

"quick!"

"Order the entire army: the flood is coming, evacuate to higher ground."

Gu Siling's roar ripped through the city walls, but it was too late.

Boom! ! !

The distant rumble of thunder grew closer, and the earth began to tremble slightly.

The Gu family army outside the city was the first to notice something was wrong. Experienced veterans looked up at the upper reaches of the Luo River and their faces turned pale instantly.

"Flood! The flood is coming!"

"Run!"

"Get out of the way!"

...

The previously orderly procession entering the city instantly erupted into chaos.

The warhorses neighed in alarm, and the soldiers threw down their helmets and armor, shoving each other.

The mounted cavalrymen galloped wildly, trampling and injuring countless people, their screams echoing everywhere.

"Form ranks, form ranks, everyone don't panic."

Gu Siling roared hoarsely from the city wall, but his voice was completely drowned out by the wave of panic.

Gu Xichao grabbed Gu Siling and headed down from the city wall.

"Dad, run! It's too late!"

A white line could be seen approaching at a visible speed in the distance.

Wherever it went, trees were uprooted and houses and villages crumbled.

A colossal wave arrived in an instant.

The Gu family army, which had just fought a bloody battle, was suddenly swept away by the flood and scattered.

The walls of Luozhou, which had survived a bloody battle, collapsed under the impact of the flood.

The Gu family army and civilians who had not yet evacuated from the city were instantly swept up in the monstrous waves.

Wherever the flood passed, it turned into a vast swamp in the blink of an eye.

Zhu Houcong sat upright in the Wanshou Palace, looking down at the raging flood with an expressionless face through the vision of the Azure Dragon and White Tiger.

He felt no excitement whatsoever at the masterpiece he had created with his own hands.

Prosperity, people suffer; death, people suffer.

A single misstep by those in power can lead to the utter ruin of the common people.

This has always been the case in national wars.

Everything we do is in order to achieve our established strategic goals.

Back then, Bai Qi, the Marquis of Wu'an of Qin, slaughtered nearly a million people for the sake of Qin.

Battles such as the Battle of Changping and the Battle of Yique resulted in countless deaths.

I've only caused a flood, so what's the big deal?

"Pass on the order."

Qinglong (Zhu Houcong) said calmly.

"The entire army is assembled and awaiting orders. Once the floodwaters recede, we will immediately pursue and annihilate the remnants of Gu's rebel forces."

"At the same time, it is announced to the world that Gu Siling, in order to attack Luozhou, has gone mad by digging up the dikes and flooding the city, causing widespread suffering and death."

"May all righteous men of the world unite to punish this traitor!"

The guard behind him trembled and quickly replied, "Yes, sir."

It must be said that Hu Ruzhen and Mei Changsu's schemes were truly insidious.

The raging floodwaters swept across the land like a giant dragon, turning everything in their path into a vast ocean.

The villages along the river collapsed the instant the flood peak passed.

Countless people were swept away and then completely swallowed by the turbid waves.

Fertile fields, ripe for autumn harvest, were instantly turned into swamps.

After the floodwaters calmed down, countless bloated corpses floated on the surface of the water.

There were soldiers wearing Gu's armor, and also commoners in coarse linen clothes.

This flood not only submerged the rebel army, but also destroyed the imperial court's prestige among the people.

"Azure Dragon, I swear to kill you!!!"

Gu Siling's roar echoed across the desolate wasteland after the flood.

His whole body was soaked, and his armor was covered in mud.

His long sword was deeply embedded in the soil, used to support his swaying body.

Beside him, Gu Xichao and Yuwen Quan were equally disheveled.

The three stood on a high slope, gazing at the hell on earth before them.

Gu Xichao slammed his fist into the ground, and blood instantly seeped from his knuckles.

His face was filled with hatred.

"Father, what should we do now?"

Upon hearing this, the sorrow in Gu Siling's eyes was immediately replaced by a sharp edge.

"Since the Azure Dragon dared to flood Luozhou, it will never let us off the hook."

"We need to regroup as soon as possible."

"This battle is not over yet; we cannot sit idly by and wait to die."

Upon hearing this, Gu Xichao and Yuwen Quan immediately exchanged a glance.

Both of them saw an unprecedented solemnity in each other's eyes.

Yes!