In the valley east of Shanwu, the rapid sound of horses' hooves echoed.

Liu Wei, Xue Rengui, Liu Du, and Li Su rode on horseback, followed by Guo Luo with about ten guards.

After running for five or six miles along the upper reaches of the Qingshui River valley, the terrain gradually rose.

Surprisingly, there is a waterfall cliff in the valley.

The group had no choice but to abandon their warhorses and climb up.

After walking another three or five miles, we climbed up a mountain pass, and suddenly the view opened up before us!

This place is surrounded by mountains that rise high into the clouds, with a clear pond in the center.

"My lord, this is the source of the Clear Water River!"

Li Su pointed to the pool of water in front of him, which was about 100 meters in diameter, and said.

"Is this Daihai Lake?"

"No!"

Li Su shook his head and pointed to a large mountain behind the pool. "My lord, the edge of Daihai Lake lies behind this mountain!"

Looking at the towering mountain that stretched out before them, Xue Rengui and Liu Du were dumbfounded.

The group hurried along the pool and then struggled to climb halfway up the mountain.

The path suddenly turned, and a vast expanse opened up before us.

A boundless lake came into view, like a bright green pearl nestled among the mountains.

"What a beautiful pearl in the mountains, a paradise on earth!"

"It would be wonderful if I could spend my remaining years here someday!"

Liu Wei couldn't help but sigh.

He squinted, looking at the boundless Daihai Lake on this side of the mountain, then at the small pool of water a hundred meters in diameter on the other side, lost in thought.

From Shanwu City to the source of the Qingshui River, there are no tributaries along the way.

The Qingshui River has a very abundant flow, flowing continuously.

Needless to say, this pool provides a continuous supply of water to the Qingshui River.

However, the waterline along the shore of the pool remained unchanged, and the water volume did not decrease.

This indicates that there must be a passage beneath this pool that connects to Daihai Lake on the other side of the mountain.

Liu Wei immediately thought of the principle of U-shaped tube communicating vessels from his middle school textbook.

After examining the terrain again, he had already made up his mind.

"My lord, my humble hut is over there!"

Li Su pointed to a thatched hut faintly visible by the lake in the distance and said, "If Your Excellency doesn't mind, please come and sit down and have some hot tea!"

"My mother would be overjoyed if she knew you were a prince!"

"OK!"

Liu Wei, however, was in high spirits. "Lead the way!"

Xue Rengui and the others were taken aback.

The Marquis has come to survey the terrain and see how to excavate and divert the water of Daihai Lake into the Qingshui River to create a massive flood!

But the mountain beneath their feet abruptly disrupted their previous calculations.

That's absolutely impossible!

But the Marquis was not in a hurry at all; instead, he was in high spirits and wanted to go to Li Su's house for tea!

"Alas, my lord's plan to flood Shanwu is probably unlikely to succeed. I should hurry back and set up the city's defenses, relying on the city to inflict casualties on the Xiongnu!"

Seeing this, Xue Rengui was extremely anxious.

Three thousand archers and one thousand swordsmen and shieldmen, plus a makeshift earthen wall defense line, would be good enough if they could hold off the Xiongnu for half a day!

When the archers run out of arrows, they must retreat back into the city.

At that time, the Xiongnu army besieged the city.

If they rush back from here, they might not even be able to get into the city!

Liu Du was also extremely anxious:

"My lord, if we want to divert the water from Daihai Lake into the Qingshui River to create a flood, we'll have to dig through at least half of this mountain!"

"Or perhaps we could dig another canal!"

"This...this is simply impossible to accomplish."

Li Su was leading Liu Wei when he overheard Xue Rengui and Liu Du's conversation and was immediately horrified:

"My lord, you sent me to Daihai Lake only to dig it up!"

"What...what are you trying to do?!"

Liu Wei didn't hide anything at this moment and said loudly:

"The Xiongnu army will soon gather at the foot of Shanwu City. I will use the water of Daihai Lake to send the Xiongnu on their way!"

“How dare they occupy my four counties of Yunzhong and bully my Han people! I will make them know what divine retribution is.”

"Impossible, absolutely impossible, my lord!"

"How could we possibly dig through this mountain? Even if Yu Gong came, he couldn't do it!"

"Even if we were to dig a canal, how many people would it take, and how many years would it take?"

Upon hearing that Liu Wei intended to flood the Xiongnu with the waters of Daihai Lake, Li Su, while admiring Liu Wei's bold act, shook his head vigorously.

"Hehe, Li Su, take me to visit your mother and ask for a bowl of hot tea first!"

"Captain Xue, Captain Liu, aren't you thirsty?"

"ah!"

Xue Rengui and Liu Du were both speechless with shock.

It's like the emperor isn't worried, but the eunuch is!

Left with no other choice, the two could only follow Liu Wei along with Guo Luo and the other guards.

Liu Wei, however, leisurely followed Li Su to his thatched hut.

Guo Luo and the others surrounded the thatched hut and stood guard outside, while Xue Rengui and the other man followed them inside.

Li Su called out, and an elderly woman with white hair, supported by a simply dressed woman, came out of the thatched hut.

There was also a tiny little boy hiding timidly behind the woman, his eyes curiously observing Liu Wei and the others.

They were clearly seeing so many strangers for the first time and seemed quite panicked.

The old woman, being more knowledgeable, recognized Liu Wei and the others as Han Chinese based on their clothes and appearance.

Li Su quickly went up and introduced everyone to the greetings.

The old woman trembled, and immediately led her family to kneel before Liu Wei, tears streaming down their faces.

"This old woman greets Your Excellency!"

"I never expected to meet a royal nobleman at my age. It is truly an honor!"

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