In mid-May, Cao Cao received a letter from Xun Yu in Xudu.
Ma Teng and Han Sui united the Yongliang princes to attack Guanzhong. Gongsun Kang of Liaodong also gathered a large army and was ready to move, and the Hu people on the border were restless.
Cao Cao didn't take it seriously and wrote back saying that if we return to the north now, all the achievements of the southern expedition will be wasted, and the difficulty of the southern expedition will be too much higher next time.
He ordered Zhong Yao, Cao Hong and others to fortify the walls and clear the country, mobilize troops from Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Sili and other places to rush to support Guanzhong. He also ordered Zhang Liao, Tian Chou and others to defend Youzhou. If necessary, troops could be sent from Jizhou.
Then Cao Cao ordered to intensify the supervision of the construction of warships. By mid-July, Cao Jun had nearly 3,000 warships launched into the water! Gan Ning attacked Cao Jun's naval camp several times without success. Cao Jun could only shrink in the water camp.
At the end of July, the Fancheng area of Xiangyang has been experiencing either light rain or torrential rain for nearly two months.
"It's been raining for two months." Liu Cong stood in front of the hall and murmured as he looked at the thousands of thin lines in the sky.
"Lord, summon all the civil and military officials to discuss matters!" Pang Tong beside him said to Liu Cong.
"Send an order to summon the civil and military forces to come to the Prefectural Shepherd's Mansion!"
"My lord has an order! All civil and military personnel should go to the meeting hall of the Prefectural Mufu Mansion!"
"My lord has an order! All civil and military personnel should go to the Prefectural Mufu Mansion immediately!"
In the heavy rain, there were few pedestrians on the streets of Xiangyang. The soldiers carrying orders were riding war horses through the streets of Xiangyang. The horses' hooves splashed as they ran, trampling the rainwater accumulated in one place into droplets.
The messengers knocked on the doors of each mansion to deliver orders, then mounted their horses and continued to the next place in the heavy rain.
Half an hour later, Jingxiang's civil and military personnel had arrived at the Prefectural Mufu.
Liu Cong was wearing armor in the meeting hall!
Historically, Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty also wore armor and went to court when he deposed the crown prince. This showed his determination to get things done.
Seeing everyone gathered, Liu Cong looked around and said: "Everyone, two months ago, Gu returned from Fancheng. Some people in Xiangyang thought that Gu was defeated."
"Today, I tell those idiots to withdraw their fists in order to swing them out more powerfully! Today, I want to tell you that if you save the land and lose the people, you will lose both the people and the land; if you save the people and lose the land, you will save both the people and the earth!"
"Cao's army is elite, and our Jingxiang army cannot stop it. I admit this. But now! It has been raining heavily for two whole months, and now Xiangfan is full of water and swamps! Cao Jun's cavalry can no longer play its role, and our Jingxiang army can no longer do its job.
It’s time for Xiang’s navy to show off its capabilities!”
"Pang Tong!"
"Lord!"
"I worship you today as the great governor. You will control the Jingxiang generals and all the troops. I will defeat Cao Cao's thieves on my behalf!"
"I will never let my lord down!"
In the meeting hall, after Liu Cong worshiped Pang Tong as the governor, Pang Tong led the generals directly to the military camp outside the city.
There were more than just Liu Cong's cronies in the meeting hall, so it was naturally impossible to deploy troops and generals here.
Entering the Chinese army's tent, Pang Tong took off his raincoat and shook it, "Xingba, how many warships do the navy have now?"
"Reporting to the Grand Governor, there are more than 7,000 large and small warships, and 20 giant ships such as Feiyun and Gaihai! There are 800 warships, warships, fighting ships, and medium-sized ships! They have all been covered with iron armor! The rest have been covered with iron armor!
They are all small ships carrying troops. All ships can carry 90,000 troops!"
Each large ship can carry 2,000 soldiers. The ship is used to attack enemy ships, and the fighting ship is used to fight.
"Huang Zhong, how is the situation of the Han River?" Pang Tong asked Huang Zhong again.
"Report to the Commander-in-Chief, according to your instructions, we used diversion methods, and Cao Jun did not notice any difference in the water volume of Han River!"
"Okay!" Pang Tong stood up, "Generals, listen to the order!"
"Huang She, lead a thousand people and set off immediately to go to the upper reaches of the Han River to dig out rocks! Su Fei, lead a thousand people and go downstream to block the Han River!"
"promise!"
"Gan Ning, Wei Yan, Wang Wei, Liu Pan!"
"The general is here, lead an army of 40,000, and set out immediately. Wait until the Han River floods Fancheng and surround the city!"
"promise."
"Huang Zhong, Wenpin, Xu Feng, Li Yan."
"The end is here!"
"Follow me to deal with Cao Cao's half-baked navy!"
"promise!"
In Fancheng, Cao Cao looked at the water in front of the governor's house and felt a little annoyed, "With this rainy season, our cavalry will not be able to function."
"Prime Minister, recently many soldiers in the army have been suffering from vomiting and diarrhea due to acclimatization, and the bows and crossbows cannot be used because of the rain." Cheng Yu, who was beside Cao Cao, said.
"Haha, Zhongde, do you want to retreat?" Cao Cao chuckled.
Without waiting for Cheng Yu's reply, he added, "The disadvantage caused by the weather is not only for us, but also for Liu Cong. If our crossbows can't be used, can his?"
"As for the sick soldiers in the army, they are just caused by the cold and wet weather in the rainy season. They can be easily transferred back. As long as the naval force is formed and can cross the Han River, can Jingzhou's mob stop us?"
Cheng Yu watched the confident Cao Cao move his lips, but ultimately did not speak.
"Prime Minister, the Jingxiang army has suddenly mobilized!"
Xun You thought for a while, "Why are they sending troops now? To attack our water stronghold? To attack Fancheng?"
Cao Jun's water stronghold and shipyard are both in the south of Fancheng, and they are almost integrated with Fancheng.
Cao Cao also couldn't figure it out, "The Han River wasn't blocked by them? It's impossible to flood us even if it's released, right?"
"Bring me the map!" Cao Cao said.
"Prime Minister, the water is coming, big water!" While several people were thinking about it, the messenger came in again to report.
"What kind of water? Big water?" Cao Cao asked impatiently. At this time, he suddenly felt a little impatient and uneasy for some unknown reason.
There was no need for the ordering soldiers to reply, the flood had already rushed into the prefect's mansion! It rushed directly to the hall where Cao Cao and others were!
You must know that the terrain of the Governor's Mansion is the highest in the entire Fan City. The water can rush here, which means that the entire Fan City has been submerged.
"The water flooded Xiapi!" Cao Cao's mind suddenly thought of his operation when he surrounded Lu Bu in Xiapi and dug out the Si River to flood the city.
"Didn't the Han River rise? Aren't you sure they didn't block the Han River?" Cao Cao kicked down the soldier who was delivering the order and shouted loudly.
"I want to kill them! How did those idiots detect it?"
"How do people in the school affairs office do their jobs?"
"Prime Minister, Jing Xiang's army is out and heading towards Fancheng!" Xu Chu strode over.
"Woo, woo, woo..." The melodious sound of the horn mixed with the sound of the water flow reached the ears of everyone present.
Fancheng is located in a basin. Under the guidance of Liu Jun, the Han River surged back here! Cao's soldiers standing at the top of Fancheng could even see Jing Xiang's ship!
Split the waves and head towards Fancheng quickly!
"Resist the enemy! Resist the enemy!" Zhang Jiao, who was guarding the tower, drew his sword and commanded the soldiers.
But he soon became desperate. Cao Jun's crossbows were soft and weak because they had been soaked in the water. Liu Jun's fleet directly hit the city head, and the hull was higher than the city wall!
"Fire the arrow!"
Although Liu Jun's crossbows were also dripping with rain, they were much more powerful than Cao Jun's due to their high position.
"Brothers, go into the water and let Cao Jun see the power of our Jingxiang navy!"
Compared to Zhang Jia in the west of the city, Xu Huang in the south was in a more miserable state.
"Dong dong dong!"
"Kill, kill, kill!"
On the boat in the distance, the big flag with the word "Gan" fluttered even more powerfully in the violent storm!