Chapter 120: Shouchun, a strong city that is not afraid of flooding
Shouchun was originally a fortified city.
Over the years, after Yuan Shu's expansion and reinforcement, it has now become the most important town in Huainan.
Shouchun is the hub connecting Xuzhou and the Jianghuai region. Its success or failure will inevitably affect the situation in Huainan.
Therefore, both Cao Cao and Sun Ce regarded Shouchun as a top priority besides the crusade against Yuan Shu.
If Cao Cao wins Shouchun, Jiangdong will always be under the eyes of Cao Jun.
If Shouchun is captured by Sun Ce, then Jiangdong will have a bridgehead to directly invade the Central Plains. Boss Cao will be like a thorn in his back, and he will not be able to live in peace.
If Yuan Shu loses Shouchun, he will directly lose the capital to intimidate Jiangdong and covet the Central Plains.
But now he just wants to enjoy his life as an emperor. Yuan Shu has actually given up on the thought of fighting for world supremacy.
Shouchun is the best if he can defend it. If he can't defend it, he will settle down and enjoy his happy time.
If Cao Cao wants to kill them all, the worst he can do is not become the emperor, but Yuan Shu can go north to join Yuan Shao.
We are all a family. If we lower our heads, call him big brother, and admit our mistake again, Yuan Shao will definitely accept him and Yuan Shu because of his old friendship...
After Yuan Shu adopted Yang Hong's suggestion, he immediately recalled the troops stationed in Jiekou and other places.
In addition to the 100,000 troops who stayed behind in Shouchun, Yuan Shu and most of the civil and military officials moved their families to Runan County on a large scale.
Yuan Shu also ordered the returning soldiers to plunder all the food around Shouchun, with the intention of wearing down Cao's army by strengthening the walls and clearing the country.
However, this brutal method aroused dissatisfaction among a small number of Yuan Jun soldiers.
Among these dissatisfied people, the one with the highest official position was Lei Bo, the general who conquered the north.
But so far, Lei Bo is only a little dissatisfied.
Cao Cao was determined to win Shouchun. In order to ensure the safety of Xuzhou and to prepare for his future march south, Shouchun must be in his hands no matter what!
After the Yuan army stationed at Jiekou and other places retreated,
Lu Yan ordered the army to march straight in, and they reached the foot of Shouchun City in one breath.
Looking at the ten-meter-high solid city wall, as well as the moat and high-stretched suspension bridge outside the city wall;
Then look at the barbicans inside the outer city wall, the turrets on the city wall, the police auxiliaries, and the lookout holes and perforations on the battlements;
Not to mention there are 100,000 Yuan soldiers and countless civilians in the city...
As long as he took a brief look at these things and thought about them, Lu Yan instantly lost all thoughts of attacking. Even if 20,000 people got in, they might not be able to break through the outer wall.
Lu Yan stood on the hillside in the distance, using a telescope to observe the basic situation of Shouchun City.
"No wonder in history, when Boss Cao attacked Xiapi, he had to dig up the Surabaya River to break the city... The fortified city in ancient times was indeed somewhat unsolvable.
Just looking at Shouchun's defense, it's probably not inferior to Xiapi City, and it can even be said to be more perfect, right?
If you want to rely on human lives to build the city, I don’t know how many people will have to die to capture such a fortified city."
Shaking his head, Lu Yan put away the telescope, called Zhao Yun and Xia Houlan, and began to look for local people to get information.
Anyway, there was still some time before Cao Cao's arrival, so Lu Yan asked people to retreat ten miles to set up camp, while he calmly waited for Cao Cao's army to arrive.
...
After two days of visits and inquiries, Lu Yan finally had a certain understanding of Shouchun City.
In fact, Shouchun is surrounded by water on all sides.
To the west and north is the Qianli Huaihe River, to the east is the Dongfei River, and to the south is Wabu Lake. Almost all of the surrounding rivers of nearly 4,000 square kilometers flow through Shouchun.
At first glance, it seems a bit strange that the location where Shouchun City was built is in a low-lying area compared to its surroundings.
Logically speaking, this kind of place is prone to floods, but the ancients still built Shouchun City here!
Do you think the ancients were really stupid?
If someone really thinks that the ancients are fools, then he himself is actually a big fool.
Lu Yan vaguely remembered that one year in later generations there was a huge flood that swept almost the entire East China region.
But in the face of such a huge flood, after the ancient city of Shouchun was besieged by floods for more than 50 days, the people in the city were safe and sound!
According to local people, there were huge floods outside the city at that time, but life in the city continued as usual, and they were basically not affected.
Why is it so good?
That's because Shouchun City has its own drainage system!
In Shouchun City, there are two strange-shaped buildings, which are ancient drainage systems called Yueba.
At the base of the city wall, there are several huge culverts for drainage.
Even if there is a flood outside Shouchun City, its tall city wall can first block part of it.
The accumulated water in the city can be discharged to the moat outside the city with the help of culverts connected to the city's sewers.
With such an "advanced" underground drainage system, the last thing Shouchun City has to worry about is water attack.
This is why since ancient times, there have been almost no examples of Shouchun being attacked by water diggers in history books.
The only shortcoming caused by the terrain problem was solved by the wisdom of the working people.
Then the rivers and lakes surrounding Shouchun, plus the Bagong Mountain standing to the north of Shouchun City, have all become the natural barriers to Shouchun City.
"Controlling Huaiying and carrying Jiangtuo, it is the key hub of the northwest and the shield of the southeast." For such an evaluation, Shouchun is well-deserved.
Three days later, Cao Cao led his army to Shouchun City.
Boss Cao took Cheng Yu and Jia Xu to the Chinese army's tent at Lu Yan's camp.
"Sir! You saved Cao's life again!" When Cao Cao saw Lu Yan, he suddenly opened his arms and gave Lu Yan a man's hug.
Lu Yan resisted the thought of using his innate strength to fly away Lao Cao, and replied: "Mr. Cao, what kind of storms and waves have you never seen? How could you lose your life so easily?"
After letting go of Lu Yan, Cao Cao nodded and said, "It's true that I didn't lose my life, but I was still under a lot of pressure during that time. You see, my hair is a little thinner."
Lu Yan looked at Cao Cao, who seemed to have gained some weight. The corners of his mouth twitched and he said, "That really makes you feel wronged."
"No grievance, no grievance! Hahaha!" After Cao Cao laughed heroically, he looked at the generals lined up in the tent and said with emotion: "I think back then, I, Cao, only had four or five generals... Now...
It’s really disappointing to see that there are already so many generals!”
"Brother, let's defeat Shouchun first and then sigh... Shouchun is a tough nut to crack." Only Cao Ren and Xiahou Dun dared to talk to Cao Cao directly like this.
"Zixiao, you are right, we can't be happy too early." Cao Cao put away his smile and asked Lu Yan: "Sir, you have been here a few days ago. Have you found out any news?"
"Yes!" Lu Yan nodded, and then told everything about Shouchun and its surroundings, including his own views.
At this time, Jia Xu suddenly raised his hands and said to Lu Yan, "Before I went down, I suggested that the lord store water and flood the city... Now it seems that I am ashamed... ashamed!"
"Wen He is just not familiar with the situation in Shouchun." Lu Yan smiled and waved his hand: "Actually, I only learned from them that Shouchun City is not afraid of flooding when I visited the people the day before."
"Know yourself and your enemy and you can win a hundred battles... Lu Piao is indeed a famous general in the world!"
"Don't do this." Lu Yan rolled his eyes at Jia Xu, and then asked: "Tell me, can this Shouchun Fort be broken?"
Without waiting for Jia Xu's reply, Cao Cao suddenly replied: "I don't care whether it can be broken or not! Since the coalition forces of the three families of Cao, Liu and Sun have arrived, we have to go up and try the strength of Shouchun City!"
Even if the fortified city ahead looks like iron, I will go up and take a bite of it!
Sure enough, this is Boss Cao, who will never be intimidated by difficulties!