Seeing that Gu Yun had gone into the water, Fan Li quickly took off his official uniform and waved his hand to call over a dozen people to go to work.
Fan Li slowly went down into the water carrying a sandbag. He had not done any heavy work since he came to Tanzhou to serve as the prefect, and his hands and feet were all delicate and tender. As soon as he got down into the river, he felt his feet hit by the messy gravel at the bottom of the river. He stumbled, and the sandbag on his back fell into the water.
Gu Yungang piled the sandbags in his hand on the embankment, and quickly caught the sandbag that slipped off Fan Li's back.
Fan Li stood firm and saw Gu Yun holding sandbags and piling them on the river bank. He said flatteringly, "Young Marquis Gu is very strong. You, a martial artist, are stronger than us civil servants."
Gu Yun ignored his flattery. He took the sandbag from the old man next to him and put it on the river bank, saying coldly, "I asked you to find a hundred people for me, and you only found these few?"
Fan Li hurriedly explained, "I knocked on every door in the city, but unfortunately the people were used to a good life and refused to come to work. It was all because I made Tanzhou too peaceful and prosperous, which made them lazy. But don't worry, young marquis, I have arranged for people to go to the surrounding countryside to find people. I will definitely find all 100 people for you."
Gu Yun was most annoyed by those officials who spoke in official language and presented their political achievements in a roundabout way. Moreover, the prefect of Tanzhou was not a good official who was willing to help the people. This could be seen from the construction of the Xiangyuan dam.
He doesn't have the time to deal with them right now. He will make a big fuss when he returns to the capital and deal with these inactive officials one by one.
"Why are you talking so much nonsense? Get to work!" Gu Yun scolded with a cold face.
Fan Li said awkwardly, "I'll go right away."
While moving sandbags, he came to Zhou Fang, who was in a state of disgrace and pale. He looked in the direction of Gu Yun and whispered, "Master Zhou, what should we do about the official silver?"
Zhou Fang was almost fainted by the rain. His right ear, which was cut off by Gu Yun, was buzzing. He couldn't hear what Fan Li was saying. He shouted, "What did you say?"
Fan Li was shocked when he saw his bloody right ear. He walked to Zhou Fang's left and whispered into his left ear, "Master Zhou, what should we do about the government silver?"
Zhou Fang glanced at Gu Yun with hatred and whispered, "What does the government silver have to do with me? The government silver I brought from the capital has been fine and has never been opened. It was only when Young Marquis Gu touched the government silver that something went wrong. If you don't want to get involved in this, just keep your mouth shut. Lord Fan, I don't need to teach you what to say and what not to say, right?"
Fan Li smiled awkwardly, "I know it in my heart, but I know nothing about the official silver."
Zhou Fang nodded, bent down to move the sandbag, and fell to the ground.
Fan Li shouted exaggeratedly, "Master Zhou, Master Zhou, what's wrong with you?"
He helped Zhou Fang up from the muddy water and deliberately shouted towards Gu Yun, "Why did Lord Zhou faint? Come quickly, help Lord Zhou to rest."
In the river, Gu Yun was driving piles with iron nails as thick as iron rods. When he heard the noise, he just glanced towards the river bank and ignored it.
Fan Li stopped pretending and helped Zhou Fang to rest in the straw hut nearby.
"Sir, the rain is too heavy and the water level has been rising. If we build the bridge one meter higher, the water level will rise as well." A man wiped the rain off his face and spoke loudly to Gu Yun.
The river embankment is two meters wide, and it takes three bags of mud to cover the full width.
There was really a severe shortage of manpower. With only a few dozen people, the speed of building the embankment could not keep up with the surging water level. There were no tight iron chains, and in some places, the sandbags were washed crooked by the river as soon as they were put in.
Gu Yun frowned, pointing at the box of government silver on the river bank, and shouted, "Hurry up, everyone! Sorry for the trouble! The silver allocated by the court is on the river bank. As long as the dam is built, each of you can get 20 taels of wages!"
"We have worked for so many days but haven't seen a penny. Sir, you don't coax us." Someone whispered.
Gu Yun glanced at everyone, strode up to the river bank, opened the box, and revealed the shining silver ingots.
The workers in the river saw the silver and there was a commotion.
Gu Yun said loudly, "I, Gu Yun, keep my word. I swear on the title of Annan Marquis that as long as the dam is built, you will definitely get the silver. Otherwise, my title of Annan Marquis will be in jeopardy! I, Gu Yun, the young marquis of Annan Marquis, will be buried in this Xiangyuan River!"
"I'm sure you all know how terrible floods are. The Xiangyuan dam is related to the livelihood of thousands of people. If we can't defend the dam, hundreds of thousands of people in Qingzhou and Danzhou will be affected and die. By then, there will be wailing and crying everywhere. The people of the two states will be displaced and lose their loved ones! If there is a famine or plague, how can you not be affected? We all have families too. Whether we can help them defend their homes depends on you."
Everyone in the river was silent.
It turns out that there are still officials who care about the people like them.
It turns out that there are still officials who are trying their best to protect the safety of the people.
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