Chapter 58 Truly amazing, my little princess. ...
Quzhou is adjacent to the sea, so the salinity of the rivers surrounding it is much higher than that of ordinary inland rivers, which leads to faster erosion of the riverbanks.
River embankments are generally constructed using earth and stone. The construction process involves first digging out steps, then building stone walls, and finally compacting the embankments with rammed earth.
On the riverbank, Shen Guitang's pale hand rested on the embankment, which was submerged in water. The outer soil and sand had been softened by several days of heavy rain, while the inner stone walls had been distorted by more than a decade of water erosion.
We don't even need to wait two more days; another heavy rain will probably cause the dam to collapse.
Standing beside him, Zhang Mutou couldn't help but curse: "Quzhou is a dangerous place. If Li Jian had petitioned the court even once over the years, the river embankment wouldn't be in this terrible state now."
Shen Guitang took out a map showing the waterways of Quzhou, pointed to a lake and looked at it with Zhang Mutou, saying, "It's too late to build canals and sluices now. What we need to do now is to minimize casualties as much as possible."
Zhang Mutou stared at the location Shen Guitang pointed out in silence for a long time. He understood Shen Guitang's meaning: once the dike collapsed, all areas along the riverbank would face the flood directly, and if the floodwaters were not discharged in time, the inland areas would also be affected, and eventually Quzhou would fall completely.
However, if they themselves tear open a gap in the riverbank, the pressure on the other banks will be much less, and the lake that Shen Guitang pointed out can be used to store the river water rushing in through the gap in the dam.
This strategy is undoubtedly brilliant in the current situation. However, this means that the area from the breach in the dam to the reservoir, which is used to divert water, will be the first to be affected. Nothing will survive the floodwaters, as this area will face pressure several times greater than before…
And this is the best-case scenario. If the rain continues for any longer, even with this diversion method, I'm afraid the riverbanks in other areas will not be able to withstand it.
A light rain was still falling from the sky, and Zhang Mutou's face was obscured by the misty rain. His voice was no longer as strong and powerful as when he was cursing: "Lord Shen, the imperial court won't be sending anyone, will it?"
Shen Guitang wasn't wearing rain gear. His soft, black hair, dampened by the drizzle, clung to his pale face, yet it possessed a sharp edge: "The court will send people, but not to save the people, but to provide disaster relief. Now, the only ones who can save the lives of the people are themselves."
Saving the people and providing disaster relief are only one word apart, yet they involve the loss of countless innocent lives.
The most unspeakable bitterness in this world is not the inability to do, but the realization that it could have been done. If only the river embankments in Quzhou could have been reinforced sooner, if only the imperial court had been willing to send more manpower…
Zhang Mutou looked up at the sky, the rain trickling down the unfeeling old log. A long sigh shot against the wind and rain, soaring straight to the heavens: "Why did it have to come to this! Why did it have to come to this!"
He removed the straw hat that obscured his vision and the raincoat that was soaked through and made extra heavy, and threw them on the ground. "Lord Shen, what should this old man do?"
Shen Guitang handed him the map, saying, "Then I will entrust the task of evacuating the people to Lord Zhang. Li Jian will fully support you in this matter."
Zhang Mutou didn't ask him why he was so certain, but he still had some worries: "Breaking the riverbank and changing the waterway will require manpower..."
“No need to worry,” Shen Guitang interrupted him, “You can leave this to Guitang.”
...
Hengbo, who had disappeared at dawn, was now sitting leisurely in the front hall of the White Dragon Gang, holding the plaque that Shen Guitang had made for her, waiting for someone.
The White Dragon Gang was the most famous transport gang in Quzhou. Quzhou had a well-developed waterway system, which should have greatly reduced the cost of water transport. However, many officials colluded with Japanese pirates, and merchants and ordinary people who wanted to use the government's transport routes had to pay a lot of bribes, not to mention the risk of encountering Japanese pirates who would take the money and then try to rob the goods.
Therefore, the White Dragon Gang, an organization that was originally not tolerated by the government, was also called the Righteous Gang by the people. It had many followers and made a living by water transport along the banks of the canal. Not only did they charge lower prices than the official transport, but they also did not have to worry about being robbed by Japanese pirates.
Finally, the gatekeeper who had gone to deliver the message returned, panting, followed by a muscular, imposing, shirtless man.
The man, carrying a curved sword, glared angrily at Hengbo, his eyes seeming to spit fire. "Is it you, you little brat, who killed over a dozen of my White Dragon Gang brothers?"
Hengbo frowned. She hadn't killed anyone; those people were still useful to her.
She handed the wooden board she was carrying forward, and the man stared at the four large, bold characters on it for a long time before finally asking the person next to him, "What does it say on this?"
The doorman wiped the large beads of sweat from his forehead with his sleeve. Good heavens, he had forgotten that the third leader was illiterate.
"Yes, yes, I'm here to challenge them."
The third leader immediately sneered, "You?"
As soon as he finished speaking, he rushed forward and swung the large sword on his back down at Hengbo's head.
With a quick step, Hengbo darted three paces away. Not wanting to waste time with this person, she made a "one" gesture, indicating that she wanted to see their leader.
To everyone's surprise, the man misunderstood Hengbo's words as an insult. "Give me a move? You don't even know your own strength!"
After saying that, his aura suddenly changed, and the move he had only used eight-tenths of his strength suddenly surged to its maximum. Where Hengbo had landed a moment ago, there was now a mark.
Hengbo sighed. She really couldn't bear to see any of them get hurt, but this person was just too unreasonable.
The third leader saw the young girl in front of him shake her head with a hint of regret, then draw a long sword, as sharp as snow and moonlight, from her back with one hand. Before he could even see her starting stance, a chill ran down his neck.
A slight stinging pain came from his neck. He reached up and touched it, finding a trace of blood. He had lost.
He spoke in a hoarse voice, his tone full of disappointment: "So you meant to take my head in one move."
Hengbo:……
Left with no other choice, Hengbo took out the paper and charcoal pencil that Shen Guitang had prepared for her from her bosom, and with a few quick strokes, the words "dragon, swish, swish" appeared on the paper.
She handed the paper to the doorman, who was huddled in a corner, trembling. The doorman glanced at it quickly, then gave her a complicated look: "Girl, you should have said you were here to talk business with our boss."
Hengbo touched her nose. It was all because Shen Guitang said that if she had said from the beginning that she was there to discuss business, she probably wouldn't have been able to even get through the White Dragon Gang's door.
The messenger breathed a sigh of relief and was just about to go find the chief when a hearty laugh reached everyone's ears: "Third brother, is this how you treat your guests?"
The newcomer was a spirited woman. Unlike most women from Jiangnan with fair skin, she had a warm tan, which made her two rows of teeth appear exceptionally white when she laughed.
Seeing that Hengbo had turned his gaze to him, the leader of the White Dragon Gang introduced himself: "I am the person in charge of this gang. You can call me Madam Hu."
Hengbo nodded to her, then turned the wooden plaque he was holding over. Only then did everyone realize that the other side of the plaque actually had the four characters "Harmony Brings Wealth" written on it.
Madam Hu was taken aback for a moment, then clapped her hands and exclaimed, "Wonderful!"
"I just wonder, young lady, what business do you want to discuss with my White Dragon Gang?"
Hengbo then took out a letter from his pocket and handed it to her. The envelope was addressed to "Master Hu".
Since Shen Guitang wrote the letter in front of her last night, she knew its contents. Therefore, Hengbo could understand why Madam Hu showed such an incomprehensible expression.
Madam Hu was almost laughing in anger: "Are you trying to get something for nothing?"
Hengbo felt a little guilty. To be honest, when she saw that Shen Guitang wanted to hire people from the canal gang to work as laborers to change the waterway, her feelings were exactly the same as Hu Niangzi's at that moment.
She asked at the time: Would the White Dragon Gang agree?
Shen Guitang waved the palm-leaf fan with the same graceful elegance as a folding fan, "Of course not."
Yokohama: ...If that's the case, what's the point of sending this letter?
"So how to persuade the leader of the White Dragon Gang depends on the princess." Shen Guitang said with a smile, "The princess is intelligent and will surely be able to come up with a solution."
At this moment, the intelligent Princess Shenxiao, though inwardly hesitant to back down in the face of Madam Hu's wrath, still pretended to be calm and composed for the sake of the people of Quzhou.
She shook her head and patted her heart.
In her early years, Madam Hu had traveled all over the country and met all sorts of people, including many mute people, so she could understand the meaning of "horizontal wave" to some extent.
Her expression was displeased. "But I did not see your intentions."
Hengbo pointed to the man who had informed the third leader. The man then remembered that when this fiend first joined their White Dragon Gang, he was carrying a blood-stained cloth bundle. At the time, he thought it contained the remains of one of their brothers who had died in the line of duty, but now it seemed that was not the case.
That cloth bundle is still sitting at their door!
Seeing him rush out and then return a short while later carrying a bundle stained with blood, the third leader couldn't resist his curiosity and went over to take a look, clutching his neck.
Just then, the cloth bundle came loose on the ground, and three still-living human heads rolled out, one of which rolled right to the feet of the third leader.
The third leader immediately clutched his neck and jumped back a step. "Boss, my neck hurts terribly. I'll go down and get it bandaged first."
After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for everyone's reaction.
Madam Hu watched his hurried figure in silence for a moment, but finally couldn't help but say, "If he had walked any slower, his wounds would probably have healed by now."
Yokoha, who was well aware of the force he used, deeply agreed.
Without needing to get any closer, Madam Hu recognized the three heads on the ground as those of the ringleaders of the Japanese pirates who had been causing trouble on the canal.
The canal gangs and the Japanese pirates behind the officialdom were competitors, and conflicts between them were inevitable. These three Japanese pirates did indeed cause them to lose many brothers, but, "that wouldn't persuade me."
There was no disappointment on the surface of the horizontal wave: this was just my sincerity, and the reward I offered was all the Japanese pirates who were nailed to the canal.
Before Madam Hu could say anything more, Hengbo looked directly into her eyes: "Besides, it is you who live off the people."
Madam Hu was taken aback. Indeed, their canal gang was doing business with the common people, so saving the people was actually saving themselves.
“Second Brother,” Madam Hu stood up, a spirited smile on her face, “tell the brothers in the gang that we’re going to pull off a big heist.”
“Besides, young lady,” Madam Hu called out to Hengbo, who was still reeling from the shock of discovering the unremarkable gatekeeper was actually the second-in-command of the White Dragon Gang, “it would be a shame not to call more people for such a beneficial event for the country and its people. I do have some 'brothers' I know in the underworld. But I'll have to trouble you to come with me, young lady…”
So when Shen Guitang finally delineated the water diversion path based on the specific terrain and looked up, what he saw was Hengbo, leading a large group of burly men like a mountain king, heading this way.
Shen Guitang was unusually puzzled: Does the White Dragon Gang really have so many people?
Hengbo was somewhat at a loss for words regarding this. It turned out that the "brothers" Hu Niangzi mentioned were actually some gangs with whom their White Dragon Gang had a past feud. As for how to "persuade" these people? That naturally relied on Hengbo's martial arts skills.
In addition, there were some young and middle-aged people who spontaneously joined in, especially those living near the riverbank who made a living from the water. "Why shouldn't we earn our own lives?"
Shen Guitang looked at Hengbo, who was already showing signs of becoming a leader in front of everyone. She probably didn't know how far she had grown.
With the formidable Hengbo keeping them in check, these scoundrels dared not cause trouble openly. Dividing the area into different gangs, Shen Guitang's solemn expression softened somewhat.
Watching Hengbo inspecting everything like a supervisor, Shen Guitang couldn't help but lean over and wipe away a bit of mud splattered on her face. "You're really amazing, my little princess."
Hengbo turned her face away, staring at him with a serious expression: "Don't try to get close to me, go do your work."
Shen Guitang, suppressing his itch, regretfully withdrew his hand. "Yes, sir."
After two days and two nights of hard work, the irrigation canal was finally dug. With Li Jian's support, the residents living nearby were also evacuated.
On the riverbank, a group of people watched from afar, and what they could see were the leaders of Hengbo and Bailong Gang.
Now that the irrigation canal has been dug, it is imperative to break through the dam.
What Hengbo didn't expect was that the seemingly not-so-robust Hu Niangzi wielded a Xuanhua axe with such ferocity.
With Madam Hu inside and the Third Master outside, the two struck the stone wall together. Almost the instant their moves landed, the torrent, which had been gathering momentum, broke through the dam, which had only cracked slightly.
Hengbo scooped one up with each hand, activated his Shadow Chaser, and finally brought the two safely to the shore before the floodwaters engulfed them.
As the dam broke, the roaring torrent rushed down the irrigation canal, instantly turning villages, fields, and dense forests into dust, and being swept away and flowing into the reservoir.
Everyone on the shore stared intently at the scene before them, speechless for a long time, until someone shouted first, and the crowd erupted in cheers as if ignited. The barriers between gangs seemed to have been washed away by the flood that day; they embraced each other, no longer distinguishing one another.
In the end, it turned out that they were the ones who saved them.
That night, after the initial joy, the arduous work of two days and nights finally came to an end. After arranging for government officials to take turns guarding the area, the rest of the people returned to their residences.
When Shen Guitang and Hengbo returned to the prefect's mansion, it was nearly midnight. However, as soon as they entered the room, they saw Heifeng waiting anxiously.
Hei Feng, who had been assigned to keep an eye on the Prefect's residence, quickly reported to Shen Guitang upon his return: "Young Master, Luo Dai sent word at noon today that Li Jian's concubine, Gui Xiang, has already set off."
Shen Guitang pressed his temples. "No rush. She set off at noon and shouldn't be out of the city yet. We can still catch up with her."
Gui Xiang had already set off two days before the fifteenth. Was it because of the flood?
“Young Master,” Black Wind saw that Shen Guitang was extremely exhausted and advised, “Why don’t you let me go?”
“No,” Shen Guitang refused decisively. “This may be related to the purpose of our trip. I must go there in person.”
Seeing that he was very determined, Hei Feng had no choice but to hurry up and arrange a carriage. However, the three of them going together would definitely attract attention, and figuring out how to shake off Ji Heng's spies was also a problem.
After Hei Feng left, Shen Guitang and Heng Bo hurriedly packed their bags. Just then, there was a rapid knocking at the door. "Lord Shen? Is Lord Shen back?"
Hengbo recognized the old servant that was with Zhang Mutou outside the door, so he went over and opened the door for him.
The old servant outside the door looked panicked. Upon seeing Shen Guitang behind Hengbo, he first breathed a sigh of relief, then said urgently, "Lord Shen, the seawater has flooded Jing County and Bin County. My master has already rushed to Jing County. He asks you to go to Bin County immediately after you return. Lives are at stake!"
Jingxian and Binxian are both coastal counties in Quzhou, but most importantly, they are in the opposite direction from Suixian, where Guixiang is going.
Hengbo turned his head to look at Shen Guitang, whose body was hidden in the darkness. What choice would he make?
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 23:09:55 on March 16, 2024 and 23:49:26 on March 17, 2024!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: JOJO (3 bottles); Haha (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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