Chapter 72: Water Submerges Yan Liang (Part 2)

  The Hutuo River originates in Shanxi, flows southwest through the area between Mount Heng and Mount Wutai, then turns east at Jiehe, and joins with the Ziya River in Hebei Province before emptying into the sea. Historically, the name of the Hutuo River has changed many times: it was called "Evil Pool" or "Huo Pool" in the Book of Rites, "Thick Pool" in the Rites of Zhou, "Callous Water" during the Warring States period, and "Thick Pool River" before the Qin dynasty. It wasn't until the Eastern Han dynasty that it got its current name.

  The Hutuo River flows out of Shanxi Province and Wuji County is one of the regions it passes through.

  Zhoujiazhuang, south-facing valley!

  This place is the area where the Tuo River flows through. The terrain here is high, and the water flow is relatively rapid, while the road passes below the mountain. There are hundreds of soldiers in the valley, busy non-stop. A young man wearing a white long gown, slender and handsome, is directing the soldiers to use sandbags to intercept the river flow. Row upon row of sandbags piled up, the river was blocked, and the water level rose higher and higher.

  The young man was Guo Jia, and his task was to build a dam to block the river water, then wait for an opportunity to break the dam and release the water.

  Guo Jia looked up at the empty sky and asked: "Where has our lord arrived?"

  The officer in charge replied: "Reporting back to the military advisor, the general led the army to lure Yan Liang into Zhoujiazhuang, but no news has been received yet."

  Guo Jia nodded and ordered: "Pay attention to the situation at all times."

  "Roger!"

  Zong Chang went down busy, while Guo Jia gazed at the embankment in front of him, his mouth hooked up with a curved line.

  This time, I must win.

  Time flies, the sun sets in the west, and the sky gradually darkens. After the sun went down, Guo Jia and Wang Yue still didn't see any news, and their hearts became a bit anxious. He sent someone to investigate the situation and learned that Wang Yue and Yan Liang's armies were facing each other across the riverbank, temporarily without movement, and his heart stabilized, knowing he had to wait for a while longer.

  After nightfall, the autumn wind was cold, Guo Jia wore a large cloak, closed his eyes and meditated in the valley.

  In the dead of night, a rustling sound came.

  Under the light of the flames, Wang Lie returned. He rushed to Guo Jia's side and said: "Fengxiao, our soldiers at the foot of the mountain have all withdrawn. Earlier, Yan Liang and we were facing each other on both sides of the riverbank. If we left, Yan Liang would definitely chase after us across the river, making it difficult to achieve the best results. Now that it's deep in the night, his soldiers are all asleep, and the sky is dark, we can quietly withdraw without him knowing. Everything is ready, we can breach the dam now."

  "Great!!"

  Guo Jia smiled thickly.

  He waved his hand and shouted loudly: "Release water!"

  In an instant, the soldiers immediately breached the dam.

  In an instant, the gathered river water burst through the dike. A loud rumbling sound was heard, and the rolling river water rushed out, heading straight for Yan Liang's army at the foot of the mountain. Yan Liang heard the river water rushing over and knew he had been tricked. Before he and his soldiers could react, the river water arrived in an instant, and with a huge wave, Yan Liang was directly swept away by the floodwaters.

  Wen Chou's heart was in a great hurry, and he hastily shouted for help, but he himself could not escape, and in an instant he was swept away by the rushing water. The rest of the soldiers who were resting on the riverbank were still drowsy with sleep, and before they could react, they were all submerged in the floodwaters.

  The river is overflowing its banks, and the water is too rapid and too great. The roads on both sides of the riverbank are submerged in floodwaters.

  Yan Liang led tens of thousands of troops, and the entire army was annihilated.

  Boat after boat came down from upstream, carrying torches and slaughtering the enemy soldiers who had fallen into the water. The slaughter continued from midnight until dawn, and only stopped when the sun was high in the sky, with all captured soldiers under control.

  Temporary campsite, central army tent.

  Wang Lei and his generals gathered together, everyone was beaming with joy.

  With a dark eye circle, the scout reported: "Master, this battle has killed 2,500 enemies, captured 4,600 prisoners, and more than 3,000 people have escaped. This battle was a great victory."

  "Good!"

  Wang Lei clapped his hands, laughing and saying: "This battle was a complete victory, all thanks to Feng Xiao's planning. If it weren't for Feng Xiao's strategy, we would have had to fight hard against Yan Liang, with an uncertain outcome."

  Yu Du nodded and said: "The military advisor's plan is truly breathtaking!"

  Guo Jia shook his head lightly, extremely humble.

  Wang Lei's eyes rolled around, and he asked: "Yan Liang and Wen Chou suffered a great defeat. Have these two been captured?" Wang Lei also had some appreciation for Yan Liang and Wen Chou. Although their martial arts were not the best, they could undoubtedly serve as fierce generals in the vanguard.

  Dian Wei shook his head slightly and sighed, "My lord, when the soldiers searched the captives, they only found Yan Liang, but not Wen Huo. It's possible that he escaped or was drowned..."

  "Bring it over!"

  Wang Lei did not lose, and was able to grasp one which is already a stroke of luck.

  On command, the soldiers immediately brought the person up.

  Before long, Yan Liang was bound and brought to the central army tent. He held his head high, stood upright in the tent. Even when the soldiers pressed down on Yan Liang's shoulders, trying to make him kneel, Yan Liang refused to yield. Seeing that the soldiers were about to use force, Wang Lie waved his hand for them to retreat and smiled: "General Yan, we meet again."

  "Hmm..."

  Yan Liang snorted, his eyes full of disdain.

  Yan Liang's expression enraged Dian Wei, who stood up, but was ordered by Wang Lie to "Sit down!"

  Dian Wei was unwilling to back down, staring at Yan Liang with intense killing intent. Yan Liang seemed not to have noticed, looking around in all directions, but refusing to glance at Wang Lie even once.

  Wang Lei's expression was calm as he said, "General Yan, you..."

  As soon as the words came out, Yan Liang interrupted: "Wang Lei, wanting me to surrender is absolutely impossible. How you answered me back then, I will answer you now. Whether to kill or to cut, it's all up to you."

  Wang Lei was choked with emotion and looked embarrassed.

  Dian Wei said impatiently: "My lord, this little brat refuses to surrender, let's kill him."

  "Come on!"

  Yan Liang puffed out his neck, with a straight tone and a proud air.

  Guo Jia waved his hand and said, "Bring the man in, take General Yan down, and serve him well. Don't be careless." The soldiers took Yan Liang away again. Wang Lei saw Guo Jia's calm demeanor and smiled, saying, "Fengxiao, what clever plan did you use to capture Yan Liang?"

  Guo Jia replied, "Lord Cao, it's actually quite simple to subdue Yan Liang. People like him are straightforward and once they've made up their minds to be loyal to Yuan Shao, it's hard to change them. If you want to persuade him to surrender, the only way is to push him into a desperate situation and force him to give in. You can send someone to Nanpi County to bring Yan Liang's family over and spread the word that Yan Liang has surrendered. This way, even if he doesn't want to surrender, he'll have no choice but to do so."

  "Great!"

  Wang Lei's eyes lit up and he gave a thumbs up in praise.

  Dian Wei muttered to himself, "Scholars are really despicable, full of evil intentions. Yan Liang is also a hard bone, but after being calculated by Guo Jia, he can only surrender and jump into the Yellow River to wash away his guilt."

  In Du Yichen's and Mu Xi's eyes, small stars twinkled, filled with admiring gazes.

  Guo Jia smiled lightly and said, "Your Excellency, what you should consider now is reporting the results of the battle to Wuqi County and dealing with the prisoners. The five thousand captives are like five thousand mouths, which is a huge burden!"

  Wang Lei's face fell upon hearing this.

  With the ability of Wuji County, it is a big problem to support 5,000 prisoners!