Digging ditches and building dams doesn't mean we're actually building a palace here!
Instead, Jiang Ming wanted to complete a large-scale "water conservancy project" here.
Yancheng and Yingcheng were the two core twin cities of the State of Chu, with Yingcheng being the capital of Chu.
The tombs of the Chu kings throughout history, as well as the ancestral temples where they worshipped their ancestors, are all located here...
The people of Chu were cunning. They believed that a capital city could not be built as a standalone city. No matter how magnificent or well-defended a city was, it could still be breached!
They chose a defense model similar to that of the main city and satellite cities, like the moon and Earth.
Yingdu is naturally the main city, while Yancheng is the secondary capital... If the enemy attacks Yancheng, Yingdu will send troops to support it.
If Yingdu were attacked, the garrison of Yancheng would cut off the enemy, causing them considerable trouble.
However, it was impossible for the enemy to capture both Yingdu and Yancheng at the same time.
This defense system is virtually impenetrable.
The King of Chu once said that if he wanted to take Yan and Ying at the same time, he would have to gather an army of 1.5 million!
However, Jiang Ming only brought 70,000 to 80,000 troops to attack the core area of Chu, which was simply wishful thinking.
Nevertheless, the rational King of Chu did not let his guard down and did not send out troops as easily as the enemies who had been defeated by Jiang Ming before.
With 70,000 to 80,000 people, if they wanted to achieve a great victory in the State of Chu, there would have to be a "sinkhole trap" waiting for the people of Chu to jump into it themselves. He wouldn't be a fool for that!
After cutting off the face of Jiang Ming's envoy, the King of Chu ordered people to tattoo words on it and then tour the states to display it.
The purpose was simple: to show all the feudal lords in the world that the State of Chu did not take this son-in-law of the State of Yan seriously at all, and that his so-called "inspection tour" within the territory of Chu was nothing more than a self-deceiving clown performance.
Furthermore, the King of Chu even sent someone with the envoy's face to the court of the Great Gan Emperor, Ji Buyi, to humiliate him: Tell the old man, don't be ungrateful, or next time I'll cut off your face!
Faced with this series of political humiliations, Jiang Ming remained calm and composed, steadily pushing forward the construction schedule, even working day and night, personally guiding the 'engineering soldiers' on how to dig canals and ditches!
Those with truly great abilities dare to do things that seem "absurd" and disregard their own safety.
The core of it all lies in 'anticipating the other party's predictions': What kind of person is the other party? If you know this in your heart, you can be confident and act boldly...
For two whole months, Jiang Ming and his 70,000 to 80,000 soldiers stayed in the deep mountains by the Han River to build a temporary palace for the emperor.
The King of Chu was happy to see Jiang Ming continue to deceive himself and put on a brave face right under his nose.
He was waiting for the King of Qin's move. At this moment, 560,000 troops had already gathered in Yan and Ying, the capitals of Chu, and were marching into the two 'capitals' respectively.
The King of Chu's idea was this: the previous campaign of sending 500,000 troops to attack Jiang Ming was just a "bait and switch" to provoke the King of Qin.
The King of Qin was afraid that he would swallow up such a big piece of the pie as the State of Jin, so he would definitely be eager to make a move. After he fought a bloody battle with the armies of the three Jin states, the State of Chu bypassed Jiang Ming's garrison and went straight into the heart of the State of Jin.
Jiang Ming's 70,000 to 80,000 men could pose a certain threat if they were used as an ambush force.
But for them to take the initiative and attack Yingdu and Yancheng is pure wishful thinking!
The King of Chu believed his plan was flawless and that he could reap political rewards at the lowest cost.
If we cut off Jiang Ming and his men's supply lines, we can starve and trap them to death...
They started working on the site first, and once the foundation was laid, it would be like building a palace for the King of Chu on the banks of the Han River...
However, to the King of Chu's surprise...
Jiang Ming only had 70,000 to 80,000 human soldiers, but he had millions of naval and celestial soldiers.
In summer, the south is rainy, and the Han River swells... while Yingdu and Yancheng are both located in low-lying, flat areas.
Not only is the terrain low-lying, but drainage is also inconvenient... Jiang Ming built a dam across the river to accumulate 'potential energy' in preparation for giving the King of Chu a surprise!
By the end of August, the project was nearing completion under Jiang Ming's personal supervision.
And Chen Damei was also nearing her due date.
Chen Ermei, who conceived more than a month later than her sister, also helped Jiang Ming take care of her sister every day in the military camp while heavily pregnant, doing what she could!
Jiang Ming had many wives and concubines, such as Dugu Yan and Changsun Yuenu, whom he had entrusted to look after his fiefdom.
Meanwhile, noble princesses like Murong Xue and Ji Shishi were also tasked with fulfilling their political duties.
Jiang Ming always kept his two younger sisters with him...
Seeing that Chen Damei was about to give birth, Jiang Ming finally stopped going to the construction site every day and personally stayed by Chen Damei's side.
In the late hours of the night of the 15th of August... with the cry of a baby in the military camp, Chen Damei gave birth to a baby boy for Jiang Ming!
At the same time, Jiang Ming, who was extremely excited, ordered the sluice gates to be opened and the water released to completely destroy the dam!
The surging Han River, like a giant dragon in motion, rushed madly into the Yan-Ying Basin, following the ditches Jiang Ming had dug...
At this very moment, the people and soldiers of Yancheng and Yingdu were still fast asleep...
The soldiers guarding the city walls heard a sound like a dragon's roar in the distance, growing louder as it approached, but they couldn't tell what it was... However, the overwhelming pressure that shook the heavens and earth terrified them, and their legs trembled uncontrollably...
The moon was exceptionally round that day.
Under the bright moonlight, the soldiers guarding the city saw a vast expanse of white rushing towards them. It wasn't until the floodwaters were less than a few hundred meters from the city walls that they realized... it was a flood, the flood was coming!
The soldiers were dumbfounded...
Although Yancheng and Yingdu are located in a basin, they have never experienced floods before. Where did this flood come from?
The objective world doesn't give emotional humans much time to think.
In the brief moment they were stunned, the mighty Han River, like a reversed Milky Way, surged forward, directly engulfing Yancheng and Yingdu, both swept away by waves several meters high, submerging them in a vast ocean...
Massive floods swept into the city, engulfing and destroying houses and palaces, and even pulling people into the torrents while they slept.
Countless people never dreamed that they would drown, and... they didn't even have a chance to beg for mercy or cry for help!
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