Chapter 97 A Clever Solution
On the other hand, Xie Qingyu was summoned away by his subordinates because the river defense works had encountered another unexpected problem.
“You said before that if anyone tries to obstruct or interfere with the river defense work, we must report it to you immediately, so I rushed here by car.”
"The moment you returned to the city, Lord Xiao Che's attitude changed completely. He started yelling that he wanted to withdraw all the supervisors and go upstream to cut off the river channel. Since you weren't there, how could we officials present stop him?" The subordinate reporting the mission wore a bitter face. "Sir Xie, I really tried to persuade him, but that Lord Xiao Che just wouldn't listen..."
The two walked quickly toward the main gate, where the carriage that had left the city was already parked outside the official residence.
Xie Qingyu remained expressionless, neither surprised nor angry upon hearing this, but instead chuckled lightly: "Is that so?"
"He really can't sit still for even a second."
The "Young Master Che" I mentioned is none other than Che Zilong's second son, Che Minwen. Before Xie Qingyu took over the river defense works, this matter had always been in Che Minwen's charge.
On the first day Xie Qingyu took over as chief engineer of the river defense, he could already see that Che Minwen was a complete incompetent fool who relied on his father's position as a local official to get a minor post.
After inspecting the river embankment project, Xie Qingyu had a new assessment of Che Minwen—a veritable parasite.
The continuous torrential rains after the start of summer were the main factor in the flooding, but the severity of the disaster in the Qinghuai River basin can also be attributed to the shoddy construction of the river defenses. Prying open the cracks in the stones, the interior of the dike, which should have been filled with lime and glutinous rice slurry, was found to contain only a few clumps of withered yellow reeds. The filler material used was the lowest quality, with sand used instead of stone, a clear case of inferior materials being used instead of high-quality ones.
Che Zilong likely placed Che Minwen in this official position to facilitate their abuse of power for personal gain. Presumably, the funds allocated by the court for the river embankment construction project ultimately ended up in the pockets of the Che family.
Xie Qingyu flipped through the official list of Qinghuai and saw that the most lucrative positions were held by either scions of powerful families or relatives of officials in office. The hard, dirty, and strenuous work was all left to scholars from humble backgrounds without connections. Honest and upright officials saw no hope of climbing the ranks and were left with no choice but to become lackeys of the powerful families in office or find a way to leave Qinghuai and seek another path.
Xie Qingyu had a clear idea of what was going on and began to work on the river defenses, but he was repeatedly interfered with by Che Minwen.
Knowing Xie Qingyu's background, Che Minwen naturally dared not offend him, so he could only take a backseat and assist Xie Qingyu. However, knowing this was one thing, he was still very dissatisfied with it, and would often suddenly say a few sarcastic remarks, making the surrounding atmosphere extremely awkward.
The servants laid out mats for the two of them, and Xie Qingyu and the official boarded the carriage. The driver cracked the whip, and the horse sped off towards the outskirts of the city.
Xie Qingyu asked calmly, "How many people did Che Minwen transfer?"
The official cautiously replied, "He took away a third of the laborers working on the river. When I arrived, the construction of the river embankment had already stalled due to a shortage of manpower..."
The car fell silent again, as if a giant, transparent hand had gripped everyone's necks, making it hard to breathe.
I observed Xie Qingyu's expression. This Lord Xie from Yanjing, though possessing a handsome face, is a decisive and adamant person. Despite numerous internal and external difficulties, he steadily advanced his water management plan.
He is a deep and reserved person; it is truly difficult to guess what he is thinking just by looking at his expression.
He gritted his teeth and said in a low voice, "Lord Xie... May I be so bold as to ask you a question?"
"What is it?"
"...How long will it take for the water-binding sand-attacking method you mentioned to take effect?" The official rubbed his hands and said awkwardly, "As you know, I'm not the only one with this question. The sand-filling work has been going on for more than half a month, and there's still no progress. Everyone is extremely anxious."
"Please don't blame Lord Xiao Che. He was just thinking about the people of Qinghuai City. He may be a little impatient, but his intentions are good."
Xie Qingyu ignored him, her fair and beautiful profile turned toward the window.
Che Minwen's decision to transfer his servants was not intended to stop him from controlling the floods. After all, what benefit could he, a son of an official, gain if Qinghuai City were flooded? He was resentful and believed that Xie Qingyu's flood control plan was flawed, which is why he refused to follow his orders.
Xie Qingyu was perfectly clear-headed; he knew that Che Minwen wasn't the only one among these officials who didn't approve of his plan.
Everyone knows that water management should focus on dredging, digging canals to divert water. Therefore, his method of river management, which mainly involves filling sand, is like a random command given on a whim by an ignorant playboy.
Unfortunately, they were all destined to be disappointed.
The rain was still falling, and the carriage splashed up circles of muddy water; they were almost at the nearest city gate.
Xie Qingyu opened her mouth and gave a specific time: "Soon, before September 15th."
Although Yue Yining had made a boastful promise that she would not touch the medicine Xie Qingyu sent, after more than ten days, she clearly felt that her body had become much heavier.
She was waking up later and later every morning. Normally, she could get enough sleep with four hours of sleep, but now she was sleeping for five hours straight without waking up, which indicated that she was experiencing symptoms of dampness entering her body.
That day, Fu Yao came to her bedside and woke her up again.
After days of continuous rain, it was rare for the sun to shine today, but even on a sunny day, the sky seemed overcast. Yue Yining slowly sat up, rubbing her forehead. Although she had just gotten out of bed, her back and waist were inexplicably sore.
She had a feeling that something was wrong with her, and was thinking about whether to ask Fu Yao to find a doctor to take her pulse, when a commotion came from outside the door.
She looked around and found that Fu Yao was not in the room and had disappeared.
Before long, a young maid came in carrying a basin of water, and Yue Yining stopped her: "What's going on outside? Why is it so noisy?"
The maidservant curtsied and said, "Your Majesty, good news has come from the flood control efforts in Ganjiang outside the city."
Yue Yining was taken aback: "Good news?"
"Yes, an urgent report came back early this morning! It said that the water level has dropped significantly, thanks to Lord Xie's river management plan," the maid said with a smile. "Now that the water level has dropped, the subsequent flood control will not be difficult!"
"When Prefect Che learned of this, he was very pleased and said that he would host a banquet at his residence tonight to celebrate with all the guests."
At dusk, the burning clouds swallowed the sun.
After Qiu Yuebai and Shen Liude returned from the south of the city, they also mentioned this matter to Yue Yining, but they knew much more details: "Xie Qingyu had a group of laborers fill the banks of the main river with silt and sand. They filled it for a full forty-five days, and the river channel has narrowed considerably compared to before. Last night, the water level of the Ganjiang River began to drop suddenly, and this morning it was almost back to the safe level. Now the Ganjiang River channel flowing through Qinghuai is basically under control."
Shen Liude: "For the other tributaries, he had his servants build twelve wooden sieves in the middle of the river to sift out the muddy water mixed with silt. After the tributaries were gradually blocked by silt, he then arranged for his servants to reinforce the dikes. This saved time and effort and also reduced the danger to the workers."
Qiu Yuebai clicked her tongue in amazement: "He didn't dig a single ditch, and he narrowed the main river channel entirely by filling it with mud, yet he actually managed to lower the water level... How did he do that?"
Yue Yining lowered her eyelashes, pondered for a moment, and then gave her answer: "He took advantage of the rapid current of the Ganjiang River."
"Water flow?"
"Yes. He knows the terrain of Qinghuai very well, as well as the river conditions of Ganjiang."
“The Ganjiang River has a high sediment content because the soil in the Suyang area in the middle reaches is loose, and the river is prone to siltation when it reaches the lower reaches. Over time, this has created a landscape in the Qinghuai region where the river is higher than the fields,” Yue Yining said, her mind becoming clearer as she spoke, as if the clouds had parted to reveal the moon. “This special geographical condition in the lower reaches of the Ganjiang River leads to frequent floods in the Qinghuai region. Once the water level rises, the dikes are prone to breach, and the floodwaters will rush directly into the fields on both sides of the river.”
"Xie Qingyu's sand-filling method is essentially to artificially narrow the river channel, increase the water flow speed, and use hydrodynamics to flush away the sediment in the riverbed. The faster water flow speed in the narrow river channel can wash away the deposited sediment and lower the water level."
Qiu Yuebai gritted her teeth and sighed, "He's too clever... How did he even come up with this method?"
“Once the water level drops, we can start building dikes to reinforce the river defenses. Unless there is a sudden flood, it is unlikely that anything will go wrong. He actually achieved results in just over a month in such a difficult task of flood control.”
It is almost impossible to contain the flood within 45 days. Whether it is building new dikes in the midst of torrential rain or digging several irrigation canals against the raging river, these are not projects that can be completed in two or three months, and there will be no visible results in the short term.
Moreover, most of the local labor force had become disaster victims, and organizing them to carry out river defense works was even more troublesome. If not handled properly, it could easily arouse public resentment and bring trouble upon themselves. That's why they sincerely lamented the difficulty of the water management task when they first took over the Qinghuai disaster relief affairs.
“Yes. But he didn’t take credit for it. Instead, he said that His Highness the Seventh Prince had prepared a flood control plan for him in advance, and he was just following instructions.” Shen Liude glanced at Yue Yining’s expression and said, “Now the people of Qinghuai are praising His Highness the Seventh Prince’s achievements. Some say that he has blessed Qinghuai, and others say that they want to erect a stone tablet for him on the riverbank…”
The three female officials fell silent for a moment. Flood control was the most difficult task, but once done well, it was also the most effective way to win the hearts of the people.
Qiu Yuebai frowned slightly. "Lord Yue, what should we do now? We have very little grain left, but the number of disaster victims receiving relief grain in the city is increasing every day. We need to come up with a solution quickly."
Shen Liude also looked solemn: "Not only that, a few days ago, some disaster victims in the city suddenly fell ill and died. After Yuebai and I found out, we immediately ordered people to burn the bodies and bury them. However, during the flood, it is easy for plagues to spread. We must remain vigilant and take measures in advance."
"Furthermore, as more and more disaster victims flood into Qinghuai, there are not enough guards in the city. In recent days, the lines for receiving porridge have been very chaotic, and the disaster victims often quarrel. If this continues, I'm afraid that one day someone will fight in front of the relief tent. We must negotiate with Supervisor Dong to see if more soldiers can be transferred to the south of the city to maintain order."
Both of them looked at Yue Yining, who was sitting in the center. Problems kept piling up, but the hope of a solution seemed elusive.
The female official in a blue and white robe sat upright, holding the lid of the teacup in one hand, gently skimming off the floating leaves, her eyes lowered in thought, still silent.
"...However, the most important thing right now is how to get more disaster relief food." Qiu Yuebai was afraid that Yue Yining was under too much pressure, so she quickly said, "Liu De and I will share the burden of other matters with Lord Yue, so you don't need to worry too much."
Yue Yining looked up at the two of them, her bright eyes suddenly curving into a smile, and she said gently, "Of course I trust you both."
Her smile relieved both female officials, and Qiu Yuebai couldn't help but complain, "Liu De and I traveled through the city today to see the shops still selling rice and to check the current rice prices. We were almost scared to death!"
"Logically, rice should cost sixty coins per dou, but they're selling it for one hundred and thirty coins per dou! This price is outrageous! Isn't this just taking advantage of the famine to raise prices and rob people in distress?"
Shen Liude: "Yes. There are quite a few wealthy merchants in Qinghuai who hoard grain for speculation, and the amount of grain they have must be considerable. If we can collect some relief grain from these merchants, we can probably last until the end of next month."
Qiu Yuebai sighed, "Who doesn't know that? But since they are wealthy merchants from Qinghuai, they must have given a lot of gold and silver to high-ranking officials like Che Zilong and Dong Qi. How could Che Zilong not protect them? The rampant rice prices are also due to the government's tacit approval. I'm afraid that if we beg Che Zilong, he will only make excuses and will not help us at all."
For many days, Yue Yining had been locked inside, pondering a solution. She had actually come up with an idea about their still-shortage disaster relief supplies, but the solution was too unconventional, and she wasn't entirely confident in its success.
Yue Yining's fingers intertwined; her skin was fair and smooth, and her slightly protruding knuckles had a rosy hue.
She said, "I have an idea. Let's all listen to it and see if it's feasible?"
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Author's note: Xie Qingyu has successfully cheated by relying on his historical knowledge.
But our Ningbao is even more amazing! [kissing emoji]
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