Guan Yu Floods Seven Armies

This is a story from Three Kingdoms. Cao Cao appointed Yu Jin as the chief commander in charge of the southern expedition¹， together with Pang² De in the vanguard. They led seven armies to rescue Fancheng City. When Guan Yu of Shu learned this， he led his army to take them on. Guan and Pang fought over one hundred rounds with neither gaining an advantage. The fight continued on the second day without an exchange of words. After another 50rounds， Pang rode his horse to flee and Guan rode after him. Pang shot an arrow at Guan who was unable to dodge³ it. The wounded Guan went back to his camp for recuperation. Ten days later， Guan's wound got healed. Guan Yu learned from Guan Ping that Cao Cao's army had moved to the north of the city. Guan Yu went to a nearby hilltop to look at the terrain⁴. He saw the enemy's troops in the northern mountain valley； also， he noticed that the Xiangjiang River was unusually swift. He hit on the idea of flooding the seven armies. He ordered his army to get boats and rainwear ready. He had his men dam up several points in the river so as to flood Cao Cao's army. Pang De talked with his generals of moving out of the valley onto higher ground the next day. That night， wind blew fiercely and rain came down heavily. Pang De， sitting in his tent， heard the restless movements of the horses and the sound of battle drums. Alarmed， he went outside to look. From all sides， floodwaters were rushing in； the seven armies， thrown into a panic， had already lost untold⁵ numbers in the tide. The water reached a depth of over three meters. With their soldiers， Yu Jin and Pang De climbed to higher ground. Guan Yu urged his forces to strike. Yu Jin and Pang De's armies， seeing no way out， surrendered. Pang De， who had gotten hold of a boat， tried to escape westward⁶. The boat， however， was knocked down by Zhou Cang's raft and Pang De was captured alive.

水淹七军

曹操命大将于禁为南征将军，庞德为先锋，统帅七路大军，星夜去救樊城。关羽得信，亲自披挂前去迎敌。关羽、庞德大战百余回合，不分胜负。第二日交战，二将齐出，并不答话，拍马交锋五十回合，庞德拨马逃走，关羽紧追不舍。庞德取箭，关羽躲闪不及中箭，回营养伤。十日后，箭伤愈合。又听关平说曹兵移到城北驻扎。关羽不知何意，骑马登高观望，看到北山谷内人马很多，又见襄江水势汹猛，水淹七军之计，油然而生。遂急命部下准备船筏，收拾雨具，又派人堵住各处水口。庞德与众将商议，山谷不易久留，准备明日将军士移入高地。就在这天夜里，风雨大作，庞德在帐中，只听万马奔腾，喊声震天。出帐一看，大水从四面急剧涌来。七军兵士随波逐浪，淹死很多。于禁、庞德率将士登上小土山躲避，关羽带大军冲杀而来，于禁见四下无路，投降关羽。庞德和身无盔甲的残兵败将，被关羽的兵马团团围住，战不多时，众将全都投降。只有庞德夺一小船，想顺流西去，却被周仓的大筏撞到水中，后被生擒。