When Fan Yingguang received the call, his face turned as black as the bottom of a pot.
I had thought Lu Zhan was calling to report that the rescue efforts in Anfeng Town were complete and requesting permission to move on to Tianxing Town. I hadn't expected him to be so audacious as to demand the entire population of Anfeng Town be relocated to the mountains, and even asked me to report this news and notify all troops to evacuate the victims?!
"Do you even know what you're doing?!"
Fan Yingguang was very disappointed with Lu Zhan. He wondered if Lu Zhan was getting too obsessed with something and insisted that the reservoir upstream was at risk of bursting.
"Captain, I'm not kidding!"
"The water level in Anfeng Town rose forty centimeters in a single day. Large fish, only found in reservoirs, have appeared in the water. The torrential rain has been falling for three days and three nights, and there's no sign of stopping. We're unable to contact the Banqiao Reservoir or the local garrison. Both civilian and military communication lines are down. Just now, several red flares were fired from the direction of the reservoir!"
"These abnormal phenomena are telling us that there is a problem upstream. It's not just the rainstorm disaster, but also the danger of the reservoir bursting!"
"Second Company Commander Bi Guoguang has lost contact during the rescue. I cannot bear to watch as more civilians and comrades' lives are put in danger. If we don't evacuate them now, it will be too late!"
Hearing that some soldiers might be sacrificed, Fan Yingguang felt heavy in his heart. He had never heard Lu Zhan argue with him so excitedly and stubbornly. He couldn't help but think seriously about the situation mentioned in his words. If it was really as Lu Zhan said, then there was indeed a possibility of the reservoir bursting.
But he has been guarding the command center almost non-stop these days, and has not received any notification about the dangerous situation in the upstream reservoir, not even a warning. What is going on?
Fan Yingguang pondered for a moment, and finally said:
"I will report your situation to headquarters. Don't act rashly. Wait for my notification."
Lu Zhan is a rare talent in their regiment, and he also cherishes his talent. He doesn't want Lu Zhan to make mistakes at such a young age because of blind self-confidence and ruin his bright future.
Lu Zhan understood that Fan Yingguang's words meant that he had some faith in his judgment, but in the face of a natural disaster, he did not have time to wait for notification from the command center before taking action.
He didn't want to embarrass Fan Yingguang, so he didn't raise any more objections.
After hanging up the phone, Lu Zhan said to the communicator without hesitation:
"Put away your equipment immediately and move with the main force!"
There was a commotion outside the town hall. The residents who were originally taking shelter from the rain in the town hall heard that they needed to move to a higher mountain immediately. For a moment, everyone was in a panic. Some people thought that the conditions on the mountain were too bad and wanted to stay in the town hall and were unwilling to move in the rain.
Lu Zhan stood on the platform with a loud speaker and spoke to everyone, clearly explaining the dangers that might occur in the upstream reservoir.
However, there are still many people who think that they have lived in Anfeng Town for decades, and there have been heavy rains for several days and nights in the past. The water will naturally recede after the rain stops. The reservoir bursting as Lu Zhan mentioned has never happened. They all think that he is making a fuss and worrying about nothing.
Not only did these old stubborn people refuse to cooperate, they also kept encouraging others to stay where they were. There was not even a roof on the mountain to shelter from the rain. If the rain didn't stop, they would have to keep getting wet and would definitely catch gonorrhea.
For a time, this created considerable obstacles in organizing the evacuation of the masses. The soldiers tried their best to persuade them, but many people still refused to be persuaded.
The masses are not soldiers who will obey orders as soon as he shouts. Lu Zhan can only hold a loudspeaker and mobilize people over and over again without getting tired of it.
But now, time is precious and danger may happen at any time, and Lu Zhan is very anxious.
At this moment, someone suddenly climbed onto the platform and shouted loudly into the loudspeaker in Lu Zhan's hand:
"Everyone be quiet and listen to me!"
This unusually loud and familiar voice made the residents of Anfeng Town look up, only to find that it was Director Zheng.
Director Zheng, still wearing his ragged clothes, stood on the platform with a bruised face and an expression that looked as if he was laughing or crying. He shouted with all his might:
"Comrades from Anfeng Town, think about it carefully. If it weren't for these soldiers who came all the way here to provide disaster relief, how many of us would still be standing here in good health like this?!"
"What are they trying to achieve? Helping us move to a higher mountain will only make them more tired and overworked. They could have just left us alone and returned to hand in their mission and receive praise. Why would they do such a thankless task?!"
"You don't know, they have already sacrificed a soldier to save a selfish sinner like me, but even so, they still didn't abandon us and walk away!"
"They are soldiers, but they are also human beings. Their lives are lives too! They risked their lives to save me, so I listened to them! It's up to you to listen or not!"
The audience was stunned. They only knew that the soldiers had rescued Director Zheng, but they had no idea that anyone had sacrificed their lives. The scene suddenly fell silent.
Soon after, someone raised their hand and shouted:
"I'm going with the People's Liberation Army!"
"I'm going with you too!"
“…”
More and more people responded, and Lu Zhan pursed his lips, finally feeling a little relieved.
Except for a very small number of people who were unwilling to cooperate, the vast majority of residents chose to obey Lu Zhan's call and continue to move to higher mountain tops.
The huge crowd formed a long line and followed the winding mountain road explored by the vanguard troops.
Lu Zhan was the last one to leave the town hall. With a heavy expression, he quietly looked towards the road leading to the flooded area, silently hoping to see a familiar figure walking towards him cheerfully as usual. He feigned composure, spreading his hands and jokingly saying to himself in a familiar tone:
"I never thought that even an old horse would stumble one day!"
But the only response he got was the sound of heavy rain, and at the end of the road there was only endless darkness.
Lu Zhan turned around, turned on the light at the town hall gate, wrote the troops' destination on the door panel with a pen, and finally turned around and left.
Because his mission has not been completed yet.
......
“Boom—”
A loud thunder woke up Shao Jingque, who was already sleeping uneasily. Her heartbeat was clearly audible in the quiet and dark room. Suddenly, she felt a chill on her back. She touched it and found that she had broken out in a cold sweat, which had soaked her pajamas.
She was worried about catching a cold, so she quickly got up, changed her clothes, and prepared to find the medicine to make a packet for herself.
But when she took it, she found that the box of Isatis root that Lu Zhan gave her was empty.
She was stunned for a moment, put down the medicine box and walked to the window. The rain outside the window was still falling without stopping. The lightning that flashed from time to time was like a sharp blade, constantly cutting countless cuts in the night sky, and the heavy rain poured down from these cuts.
She felt that this rainy night was particularly cold. She wondered if the rain had stopped in Lu Zhan's place.
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