The raging flood rolled in like a tsunami, and the sky and the earth seemed to change color.
Countless people screamed and ran towards the higher hillsides. At this moment, nothing mattered. Saving their own lives was more important.
There were old people and children in the crowd, and there was no order. The sounds of crying, screaming and fear were endless.
The roaring waves rolled, and the roaring water made the whole world submerged in the terrifying waves.
Zhao Jun and others at the foot of the mountain in the distance had no time to go to the village to rescue supplies. They almost crawled up the mountain after discovering the collapse of the dam several miles away.
The young men carried the old men on their backs, supported each other, and climbed up with difficulty.
Almost as soon as they reached the top of the hillside, a roaring sound came from behind, and the splashing water was more than ten meters high.
Looking back, Zhao Jun was already sweating profusely.
Because the village at the foot of the mountain has been completely submerged, the houses have been washed away, and not even rubble is left. All kinds of wood chips, vegetable leaves, and branches are floating, and you can see chickens, ducks, pigs, cows, and sheep struggling in the water.
If they were a few minutes later, all of them would have been swallowed by the water, like an insignificant wave in the tsunami tide, sinking to the bottom of the water in an instant.
Fortunately, they went down the mountain to pick up the elderly people, otherwise more than ten lives would have been lost.
All around were sounds of all kinds: some were shouting, some were howling, some were grieving. Rain from the sky continued to fall with a crackling sound, and the rolling floodwaters headed north towards Changsha City, crashing violently against the city walls before being diverted and surging downstream again.
Zhao Jun was among the crowd, and he took care of four lost children, as well as the elderly, the weak, women and children. Everyone helped the elderly and carried the young, and struggled to leave for higher ground. The area within a radius of more than ten miles, and the hilly and mountainous areas in the Yuhua District of Changsha City in later generations, were crowded with people.
It was not until the afternoon that Chen Xiliang, who had not slept all night, found Zhao Jun. At this time, he was in a miserable state, covered in mud, and looked similar to Zhao Jun at the moment. His face looked ugly, as if he was seriously ill and dying.
"Zhiyuan."
Chen Xiliang walked up to Zhao Jun in a very depressed mood and said bitterly, "The river bank burst, and more than 20 of my men are missing."
At that time, the river bank was already flooded by water, but the foot of the mountain was a little higher, so many clerks from the provincial and county offices, including some of Zhao Jun's guards, were piling sacks in the area that had not yet been flooded.
After all, the quality of the sacks in the Song Dynasty could not be compared with the polypropylene woven sandbags of later generations. The flood broke through the dam and rushed to the foot of the mountain, directly destroying the sacks and sweeping away the people.
Although most people reacted quickly and immediately evacuated to the slope, including Zhao Jun, who was relatively far away and relatively safe.
But some people did not make it in time and died in the flood.
"You've done your best."
Zhao Jun's face was dull and numb, but he comforted Chen Xiliang in a mellow tone, "If you hadn't acted decisively last night, I'm afraid even more people would have died in the flood."
"God's will cannot be violated."
Chen Xiliang sighed to the heavens, "Why does Heaven treat its people this way? What have we done wrong to deserve this punishment?"
"There's no such thing as God's will; it's just the laws of nature. Near the southeast coast, southeasterly winds blow in summer and autumn, bringing moisture in. This brings rain every year during this season. In the Lingnan region, this is called plum rain weather."
Zhao Jun was sitting on a large rock. After hearing Chen Xiliang's words, he slowly seemed to recover from his numbness and sluggishness. He stood up with difficulty and said, "The power of nature is great and terrifying. Sometimes human power is indeed difficult to contend with. But what makes us human is that we use our mortal bodies to fight against the heavens and the earth."
"Man is stronger than nature?"
Chen Xiliang stared at Zhao Jun blankly.
"Yes, man is stronger than nature."
Zhao Jun didn't even bother to pat his muddy pants. He took a deep breath, turned his head and looked at the dense crowd behind him. He said, "The flood is ruthless, but people are kind. Immediately transfer all the remaining supplies from the provincial and county governments. Send someone to notify the Wugang army to immediately transport a batch of military tents to Changsha to relocate the victims."
"yes."
Chen Xiliang responded with difficulty and staggered away.
The disaster had a relatively good impact on Changsha City, because the flood water level did not rise above the city walls and was blocked by the walls. However, there was water accumulation in the city, which reached a maximum of one meter.
But the people outside the city suffered. Later, most of the land in Shanhua County was flooded, more than a dozen villages were destroyed, and tens of thousands of acres of farmland were ruined.
Strictly speaking, the scale of this flood was much smaller than the one in 1998. Although the affected areas included not only Changsha, but also Xiangtan, Liuyang, Ningxiang, Xiangyin and other places, except for Changsha and Xiangyin downstream, the rest of the places were relatively okay.
Only the villages along the river were affected, unlike Changsha and Xiangyin, where the city was almost submerged.
Zhao Jun also immediately organized the aftermath. The heavy rain finally began to subside after three days, but the flood had not yet receded. The people were living in wooden houses and tents temporarily built by the government, and they relied on porridge and rice distributed by the government for food.
Fortunately, there were granaries in various places in Tanzhou. In addition, the Wugang army sent a large number of military tents, and asked the surrounding Shaozhou and Hengzhou to collect a batch of clothes, which barely comforted the victims.
After more than twenty days, the flood finally receded slowly. The foot of the mountain was in ruins, and the city and its surroundings were deserted and dilapidated.
The fields were completely destroyed and many houses collapsed. Nothing was left after the flood.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
