The expected war cannot be fought for the time being with the arrival of a heavy rain.

On the bank of the Fen River, the Zhou army camp located on a higher terrain was muddy everywhere at this time.

The rising river water did not threaten the safety of the camp, but the heavy rains lasted for several days, and the camp was inevitably soaked in rainwater and was wet everywhere.

Zhou Jun commander Wei Xiaokuan stood at the door of the big tent, looking at the heavy rain outside the tent, not knowing whether to be grateful or irritable.

A few days ago, he judged that the Chu army was going to attack, so he dispatched troops and generals to strengthen defense. Now, the rain has been falling and the war cannot be fought. His side has no worries for the time being.

But he stopped in the southern suburbs of Pingyang, and he didn't know what the situation was in Jinyang.

It’s not surprising that there is a lot of rain in summer and autumn. It’s raining heavily here in Pingyang, and there is a lot of rain in Jinyang in the north.

Then, even if the Chu army crossed the Taihang Mountains approached outside Jinyang City, they would not be able to capture the city.

In this way, as long as there is a lot of rain, the Chu army's offensive will become intermittent, and the transportation of food and grass will become difficult.

After all, the Chu army was going to transport grain and grass from Hebei area east of the Taihang Mountains through Jingxing and Fukou Xing to Hedong area on the western foot of the Taihang Mountains. It is not easy to transport grain and grass through mountain roads in the rainy season.

The number of Chu troops entering the Hedong area will not be small, and the needs of people and horses must be supported by mountain roads to maintain transportation, which is quite difficult.

In addition, the transportation of food and grass also requires a large number of young and strong people and livestock to bear it. These people and livestock will also consume a lot of food and forage.

Therefore, the longer the time delays, the more tight the supply of food and grass for the Chu army will be, and the more subtle the situation will be.

Unless the other party has sufficient food and grass reserves before, once the weather is not good, it continues to rain heavily, resulting in the war being unable to make breakthrough progress...

The Chu army might have to withdraw its troops because it could not provide food and grass.

If so, that would be great.

Wei Xiaokuan looked at the heavy rain outside and felt a little helpless. The war required the weather to force the enemy to retreat. This battle was really helpless.

However, the weather itself is one of the factors that affect the war. When the Chu army sent troops to launch an attack in the summer, it must be aware that when the war is delayed due to the continuous rainfall, it will become increasingly difficult to carry out logistics transportation.

The generals who returned from patrol patrol entered the tent and reported the situation of each camp to Wei Xiaokuan. In short, everything was normal.

Because the Fen River is prone to heavy flooding during the rainy season, when choosing a location in the Zhou army camp, choose to be at a higher terrain to avoid the highest water level in the Fen River.

It's not waterproof attack, because if the Chu army wants to build a dam upstream of the Fen River in this area, it will be difficult for it to be done in a short time.

The Zhou army attached so much importance to the terrain of the camp, mainly to prevent the river from swelling after heavy rain, causing the camp to be washed away or soaked.

If soaked in water, a large amount of excrement produced in the camp overflows everywhere, and soldiers and livestock are prone to illness.

Now, there is no such problem. No matter how rain falls, the rising river water will not flood the camp.

Speaking of the heavy rains that caused the war to be interrupted for several days, some generals joked that this was the rise and fall of the "five elements" of the two countries.

When the Zhou State was established, the "water virtue" was established, so the military uniform was black, and the Chu State was "fire virtue", so the military uniform was red.

In terms of the theory of the Five Elements, water overcomes fire.

The rumored powerful weapons of the Chu army seemed to be related to fire. After all, they are indispensable to the description of "flashing fire", so it is consistent with "fire virtue".

Now it seems that it is quite beneficial to our side to rain heavily for several days, "water virtue" has overwhelmed "fire virtue", that is, "water overcomes fire".

This "five elements are incompatible" and "water virtue overwhelms fire virtue" is just a saying, but it also won the knowing smiles of the generals.

This rain may take a few days, so the big battle cannot be fought, but there must be some caution when it comes to what you should do. Wei Xiaokuan arranged defense and reiterated that he must not be careless.

For this reason, he also specifically mentioned his old opponent, Duan Shao of Qi, as a warning:

"In the past, Duan Shao from the Eastern Kingdom was not careful and was attacked with water, and was defeated and killed. You should keep the lessons of the past in mind."

After he said this, the generals' relaxed feelings disappeared.

All the generals of the Zhou State knew Duan Shao’s name.

Duan Shao was good at fighting. More than 30 years ago, the treacherous prime minister Gao Huan was chased by the official army (Western Wei) and fled alone. General Hebasheng led his men to pursue him, and he was about to capture Gao Huan alive.

But he was intercepted by Duan Shao alone.

Duan Shao rode a horse and shot archers, shot down Hebasheng's mount, and shot down Hebasheng's entourage one after another, protecting Gao Huan from escaping.

Therefore, Duan Shao's personal martial arts and ability to lead troops to fight are outstanding.

As a result, nearly twenty years ago, Duan Shao was accidentally attacked by Liang general Li Li and defeated and died.

This lesson from the past must be kept in mind. The government troops camped on the riverside, which is convenient for water withdrawal and transportation, and it is necessary to prevent the river from rising rapidly and the enemy's water attack.

After days of heavy rain, the water level of the Fen River has soared, so some people in the army specifically observe the water level. Once an abnormality is found, they will report it immediately.

Now, the water level is rising, but it seems that it is impossible to pass the camp, so there is nothing to worry about.

As for water attack...how could there be water attack?

The generals could understand that the Chu army could not have the chance at all and could not calmly build dams and store water in the upstream areas.

The scouts could find out clearly that there was no sign of the Chu army building a dam for dozens of miles upstream.

......

In the drizzle, on the edge of the Chu army camp, the marching governor Wu Xiang patrols the camp in the rain. He stood beside several charcoal kilns, looking at the kilns that had been converted into drying kilns, and asked the kiln workers:

"Are you busy? The whole army has to dry clothes for so many people."

The kiln worker replied, "I'm so busy." Wu Xiang nodded and turned around and explained to the intern military academy students who followed the patrol patrol:

"Marching and fighting in the rainy season, drying clothes is a problem. If the soldiers' clothes or bedding are wet all day long, they will easily get sick."

"Especially if the close-fitting clothing is not guaranteed to be dry, the skin will easily rot, and food such as dry food will easily become moldy. If the soldiers stay in such an environment, they will easily get sick."

He briefly said that a "intern" raised his hand, and after his agreement, he asked:

"During the festival, may I ask if the construction of this charcoal kiln was from the beginning, considering that the heavy rains lasted for several days, the soldiers' clothes needed a lot of fuel to make a fire and bake it?"

Wu Xiang hesitated for a moment and replied:

"Yes, be prepared for any eventuality. When marching and fighting in the rainy season, you should pay special attention to stocking up fuel. Otherwise, even if the trees are cut on the spot, the firewood will be wet, which is not easy to burn, right?"

This explanation makes sense. The interns nodded and asked some questions again, but these questions were answered by the generals who accompanied the patrol patrol.

Wu Xiang looked at the charcoal kilns in front of him, remembered the answer just now, and sighed in his heart: It was not intentional concealment, it was really a secret relationship.

This time, the army was going to cross the Taihang Mountains and attack the Hedong area. Because the army was equipped with firearms, it needed to use a large amount of gunpowder.

Then the problem is: because the amount of gunpowder is very large, but long-distance transportation via mountain roads is very difficult, and accidents are prone to accidents on the road, such as gunpowder explosion, so the staff members have formulated a very special plan.

A large amount of gunpowder is "produced on site" after arriving at the destination, such as Pingyang area.

The ingredients of gunpowder are kept confidential, but the relevant personnel of "Yousi" are clear about the ingredients: a small amount of nitrate, sulfur, and a large amount of charcoal.

Then, the march only requires carrying a large amount of nitr and sulfur. After arriving at the destination, logging wood and burning charcoal on site, and then grinding the charcoal into toner with special equipment.

Then strictly follow the ratio and "promote" gunpowder on site.

In this way, the problem of "explosion" of a large amount of gunpowder during long-distance transportation is solved, and the burden on the transport team is much less.

Of course, because firearms are used along the way to overcome difficulties, the necessary amount of gunpowder must be guaranteed.

Wu Xiang was about to explain some precautions for marching and combat in the rainy season to the "interns", the accompanying staff looked at the pocket watch and whispered: "During the festival, the time is almost over."

"Is that so? How are you prepared?" Wu Xiang asked, and the staff officer replied: "Everything is ready."

Wu Xiang nodded and took the interns to the west side of the camp and climbed onto a newly built platform.

There is a canopy on the platform, so people on stage don’t have to worry about getting wet in the rain.

"Everyone should already know that after heavy rain, the river water will inevitably rise." Wu Xiang said loudly, pointing to Pingyang City to the west and Fen River behind Pingyang City.

"Who can tell me what the overall terrain of the Hedong region looks like?"

The interns raised their hands one after another, and Wu Xiang pointed: "You say."

"Yes, at the festival." The intern coughed a few times and said, "The terrain of Hedong is north-south. Considering the situation of flat and mountainous land, it is similar to a gourd..."

"The plain area where Jinyang is located is the upper half of the gourd, and the plain area where Pingyang is located is the lower half of the gourd, and the Fen River passes through from north to south."

"The narrow waist of the gourd is the narrow Fenshui River Valley, which runs north and south. This valley is called Rat and Chou Valley. It has roads connecting the two major areas of Jinyang and Pingyang. Since ancient times, it has been a place that military strategists must fight for."

Wu Xiang asked again: "Rat Chop Valley, or, in other words, the names of several important places along this narrow and long Fenshui River Valley?"

The intern replied: "Jiexiu at the north end, Yong'an at the south end, also known as Huoyi."

Wu Xiang asked again: "Fen River goes south out of the river valley, where is the south of the valley mouth?"

The interns have studied the Hedong terrain and are quite familiar with the place names in various places. Without thinking, "It's Hong Cave, which is about forty miles away from Pingyang."

Wu Xiang was very satisfied with this answer, looked at the students and asked the second question:

"Is it feasible if our army wants to build a dam upstream of the Fen River, store water, then dig the dam to release water, flood the Zhou army in Pingyang City downstream, and even Fenqu?"

The interns shook their heads: "No."

"Tell me the reason?"

"Under the festival, this is related to the terrain and the battlefield situation..."

Seeing that it was still early, Wu Xiang asked the interns to tell their opinions. Since the students came to the battlefield for internship, they had to have their own understanding based on the actual battlefield situation, terrain, and how to fight the battle.

The interns first hold a small meeting to summarize their opinions, and then the representatives will speak.

They didn't know why Governor Wu asked them to look out on stage, but since they had the opportunity to express their opinions, this opportunity should not be missed.
To be continued...