Chapter 29 Heavy Rain in Fengxian
People looked at the gloomy sky, still holding on to a glimmer of hope in their hearts - maybe the rain would stop soon? Even if it didn't stop, at least it would be lighter!
But things did not go as planned. This time, Fengxian City experienced heavy rain that had not occurred in more than ten years.
For a time, the people of Fengxian City were in panic.
The crops in the fields that were about to bear ears were soaked by the rain, and mud and water flowed everywhere. The farmers threw themselves into the mud and cried bitterly.
The people in the city also stayed indoors, and occasionally they could see people wearing straw raincoats, but they were all in a hurry.
The heavy rain continued, and the dam that the laborers had worked so hard to build could no longer withstand the repeated floods. I heard that the mountain mud and water behind Fengxi Village in Fengxian City were rolling down mixed with stones. Fortunately, the village was far away from the mountain, so there were no casualties.
Just when people were in panic, Fengxian City Governor Lu Liang issued an order in the city - farmers must harvest the grain in the fields within two days and pay enough grain tax.
It is only July now, which is not the best time to harvest rice. The heavy rain has destroyed most of the crops. Moreover, the rice is not growing well at this time, so even if it is harvested, not much can be harvested.
Lu Liang didn't care about the lives of the people at all, but wanted the farmers to harvest the grain and hand it over to the government.
...
"Feng Guangwei! What are you doing!" Lu Liang's face changed drastically.
Feng Guangwei's expression showed no emotion. He simply said calmly, "The Great Zhou law requires a grain tax of 30-40%, and Fengxian City pays a full 50%. Lu Liang, what crime have you committed?"
Lu Liang's face changed after hearing this. "I, Lu Liang, have been an official for many years, and I never knew Fengxian City collected 50% of the tax! It must be the tax officials who are causing trouble!"
He saw Feng Guangwei and his guards approaching him, and suppressed his anger and said, "Although you are an official from the capital and have the emperor's token in your hand, do you know one thing..."
In an instant, groups of officers and soldiers rushed in from outside the prefect's mansion, all of them holding weapons. They almost filled the entire yard and surrounded Feng Guangwei and his group.
On the other hand, Feng Guangwei had less than ten guards around him, and looked outnumbered.
Lu Liang looked at Feng Guangwei, but found that there was not a trace of fear on the latter's face.
Okay, let’s see if you still look like this after a while!
A malicious smile appeared on Lu Liang's face.
There was a lot of arrogance in the prefect's mansion. At this moment, footsteps suddenly came from the archway leading to the backyard.
Lu Liang's men had kidnapped Madam Han. Now, Madam Han and several maids serving her were being pushed together towards the front yard.
Feng Guangwei's expression changed slightly when he saw Mrs. Han.
Lu Liang laughed heartily when he saw the newcomer, and continued what he had just said: "Feng Guangwei, there's a saying that goes 'A strong dragon cannot suppress a local snake'."
Mrs. Han knew that the governor of Fengxian City had arrested them to threaten her husband, so she suddenly shouted, "Master, don't worry about me, just kill this corrupt official!"
Lu Liang's face turned cold. It seemed that they had not yet realized the current situation.
Since this woman wanted to die, he would grant her wish. The reason why Feng Guangwei was not killed now was because he had stolen the account book of the prefectural government, which contained all the evidence of his corruption and bribery over the years, including what evil deeds the wealthy families in Fengxian City had done and how much gold and silver they had given him.
Lu Liang originally wanted to keep these to control the rich families in the city, but he didn't expect that Feng Guangwei would get them first.
Thinking of this, he glared at Feng Guangwei fiercely. Feng Guangwei still had the emperor's token in his hand. He believed that this trip to Fengxian City was also instructed by the emperor. Building a temporary palace was probably a cover, and the real purpose was to catch corrupt officials!
But the emperor is far away, and as long as he forges all the evidence and kills Feng Guangwei, he, Lu Liang, will be the most honest official in the entire Zhou Dynasty.
Feng Guangwei suddenly said, "Leave them alive."
Just as Lu Liang was about to laugh at Feng Guangwei for being so frightened that he started talking nonsense, he saw a maid who had been following Madam Han suddenly draw out a soft sword and start fighting with the officers and soldiers.
The maid was Huaying, one of the secret guards that Yan Xuanyu asked Feng Guangwei to bring with him before he set off.
Fortunately, Feng Guangwei took the trouble to let her stay with Mrs. Han.
The officers and soldiers surrounding Mrs. Han were stunned for a moment. There were so many of them and Huaying didn't even have the strength to fight. Huaying followed Feng Guangwei's orders and of course would not hurt these people's lives, so not long after, they all fell to the ground. They were covered in blood and looked scary, but they were not actually seriously injured.
Lu Liang was shocked and looked at Feng Guangwei in disbelief.
Mrs. Han was also stunned. She looked at her husband, and then at Huaying, who was standing beside her holding a soft sword in a protective posture.
Huaying had a tense face, completely different from the Huaying she had been with these days.
Feng Guangwei laughed. "Lord Lu, since you know the saying 'A strong dragon won't suppress a local snake,' why don't you know the true meaning behind it? Not suppressing isn't about being unable to do so, but about not wanting to resort to violence on someone else's territory."
"If you had just been doing your job as the governor of Fengxian City, why would I have done anything unnecessary?"
Of course, this is not true. Lu Liang's post as prefect will of course be removed. It is only a matter of time. It's just that Feng Guangwei has been busy with the dike issue these days. Lu Liang has been the prefect for many years, so some things must be easier for him to do than him. It's just that Lu Liang should never have thought about his own interests at such an emergency, and didn't care about the lives of the people in Fengxian City at all.
Lu Liang could not see the skinny and pale farmers lying in the mud and crying.
Such a person is not worthy of being an official at all. He is rotten from the inside out.
The situation in the prefect's mansion suddenly turned around. Seeing that so many people were no match for a maidservant beside Mrs. Han, the officers and soldiers saw the fate of that group of officers and soldiers, and they were all afraid for a moment.
Lu Liang retreated without leaving a trace. "Let's go together! Feng Guangwei, the magistrate of Fengxian City, dared to trespass into the prefectural government office and harm the prefect. Take them all and put them in jail!"
Feng Guangwei raised the token in his hand, "Who dares?!"
The glittering gold medal changed the expressions of the officers and soldiers who were about to gather around.
...
The rain finally died down a little, but the oppressive feeling still weighed on everyone's heart.
Because the prefectural government had previously ordered farmers to rush to harvest, Lu Liang's original intention was to rush to harvest the grain and hand it over to the government, but Feng Guangwei added another order -
Try your best to harvest.
Even if the prefectural government did not issue an order, the farmers would still work hard to harvest grain. This was their hope for the year and the hope of having a full stomach next year.
At the same time, the prefectural government also ordered the conscription of laborers, but this time they were not there to build anything, but to stay by the dam and repair the dam, which could be washed away by floods at any time.
Everyone knows what will happen if the floodwaters breach the levees, but it's always inevitable, isn't it?
In the eyes of the people, floods are invincible. Once a flood comes, they can only leave it to fate. In Fengxian City, there was a record of a flood more than ten years ago. At that time, the dam was broken on the first day of heavy rain. The surrounding villages were all submerged and countless people died in the flood.
In everyone's eyes, if one accepted the call from the prefectural government to repair the dam, it would be a matter of life and death.
...
"Where are you going?" Zhu Cheng's wife stopped him.
Zhu Chengyi frowned: "I'll go to answer the call!"
The wife burst into tears and screamed like crazy, "The government didn't say that everyone in the village must go to the army! Zhu Cheng! Why are you so stupid?! Look at how many people in the village went? Besides you, did anyone go?!"
"Even if you don't think about yourself, think about the little kid, think about our mother..."
With every word she said, Zhu Cheng's heart tightened a little, and he was almost persuaded to stay at home and continue to remain silent.
"Mo Niang."
Suddenly an old voice came from the room. It was Zhu Cheng's mother.
"What can you do to persuade your man to do what he wants to do?"
Mo Niang stopped because of what Zhu Cheng's mother said, but she couldn't help sobbing.
Zhu Cheng's lips moved: "Mo Niang, as human beings, we should be grateful and repay kindness."
It was Lord Feng who gave these laborers copper coins. Their family had extra money, and before the rain even started, they'd even thought about what to do with it. They could buy a few chicks to raise at home, and the eggs they'd lay would nourish the children, and they could have some meat on the table. Chinese New Year was just a few months away, so they could go to the city and buy some scraps of cloth to make clothes for the children...
As Zhu Cheng thought about it, his originally wavering heart became firm again. He believed in Lord Feng and believed that Lord Feng could bring them back safely.
His wife collapsed onto the bench, exhausted. "You go..."
...
What surprised Zhu Cheng was that there were three or four other people from the same village who had gone there. They were all laborers who had worked together to move stones and build the dam.
When they arrived at the place where they were called, they found many familiar faces in the crowd, all of whom were brothers they had worked with before.
...
Ever since Lu Liang was captured, all the prefectural orders issued by the prefectural office were issued through Feng Guangwei. The reason why he did not force the laborers to respond to the call at the beginning was that he wanted to see if there would be any people who would come when the government did not force them.
But when he saw that the group of people who came were almost all laborers with whom he had eaten and lived before, Feng Guangwei almost burst into tears.
"Sir, tell me what you want us to do!"
"We all listen to the adults!"
Every rough, dark red face was filled with trust in Feng Guangwei.
And this wholehearted trust and support was only because Feng Guangwei lived and ate with them, helped them move stones and build dams, and once gave them some very small amount of silver - no, that was not given by Feng Guangwei, but was earned by them doing the most tiring work these days.
It's human nature to fear death and love life. How could anyone not fear death? Wasn't he afraid as he watched the roiling river? Did he dare to get any closer?
But as long as there are people holding on to the dam and repairing it when the flood slows down, filling up the cracks that have been washed out, as long as they block this barrier, countless people can be saved from death.
When Madam Han arrived in Fengxian City, the carriages she followed were loaded with gourds, which were only found in the north of the Great Zhou. His Majesty said that if you tie the gourds tightly around your waist, you'll be able to float even if you accidentally fall into the water. There were also sheepskins...
His Majesty had thought of everything before him. Since he was loyal to His Majesty, Feng Guangwei was willing to believe that following His Majesty's method could save Fengxian City from this disaster. Feng Guangwei knew that His Majesty had prepared many life-saving things and methods, so he had a little confidence when facing the flood.
But the people of Fengxian City knew nothing, and neither did the group of laborers who followed him.
When Feng Guangwei gave the order, he didn't think about how many people would come. In the end, if there were not enough people, he would have to recruit them. It was not because he was cruel. Once the flood broke the dam, all the surrounding villages would be submerged, and even Fengxian City might not be spared.
Now, most of these laborers were wearing straw sandals and the roughest linen clothes. They were wearing straw raincoats and standing in the rain with Feng Guangwei.
He thought of how His Majesty had bowed to him when he was leaving, after telling him many things to pay attention to.
"Please ask Mr. Feng to go and see for me what the people of the Great Zhou are like."
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