☆ Chapter 208 Is Zhao Yunjing never coming back?
Zhao Yunjing took this into consideration, which is why he dared not sleep.
The three discussed the map for a while, and less than half an hour later, it started raining again outside. The rain was not as heavy as it had been yesterday, but rather it came down gradually. After half an hour, the rain became really heavy, and by dawn, it was so heavy that it felt like someone was pouring water down from the sky, bucket after bucket.
Zhao Yunjing hadn't slept all night, and now his eyes were bloodshot. He stood by the window, holding "The Annals of Nanjiang" in his hands, but his eyes weren't on the book; they were looking out the window.
It had only been two days since he arrived in Nanjiang City, but he seemed to have lost weight. His clothes, which used to fit him well, now looked a bit loose, and his shoulder blades were faintly visible under his robes, giving them a broken beauty. However, his eyes were firm and his will was exceptionally strong.
The rain intensified, and everything became a white blur, obscuring everything from view and sound.
Hu Peiran couldn't stay awake and fell asleep just before dawn. A gust of cool wind blew, and the blanket on his body fell to the ground, waking him up. He Jiu next to him also woke up with a start. The two of them looked out the window at the same time and jumped up at the same time.
"Why is the rain getting heavier?" Hu Peiran exclaimed.
"Who's messed up this time? This is never going to end!" He Jiu exclaimed in disbelief.
Hu Peiran said worriedly, "Brother Zhao, what should we do now? The rain is too heavy! Zhou Yun Logistics has a limited number of deliverymen, and I'm afraid they'll be stuck here too, unable to go anywhere. If even they can't move, what about the affected people..."
Before he could finish speaking, He Jiu sighed, "I just hope that Prefect Liang really did something last night, otherwise even if they manage to bring the people back to the city, the disaster victims won't have anywhere to stay. Brother Zhao, did you not sleep all night? Lie down for a while, and we'll wake you up when the rain gets a little lighter."
Zhao Yunjing looked away and threw the book on the table: "I'm not sleepy, come with me."
The two quickly followed and asked where they were going.
“The rain isn’t going to stop today. But our work can’t stop.” Zhao Yunjing paused for a moment before saying what he had been thinking about all night, “I need to blast the mountain ahead of schedule. Also, I need to dig another canal on the north bank of the Qiulan River for drainage. It’s too late to dig it out using the normal procedure, so I need a lot of explosives to blast out a canal!”
Not only do they want to blast the mountain, but they also want to blast a canal across the flat ground?!
Even if the Emperor were standing here, he would still ask Zhao Yunjing, "Are you crazy?"
At this moment, He Jiu and Hu Peiran were speechless. After a moment of silence, they both spoke at the same time: "Alright! Then let's blast a channel through it!"
"I'm going to transport the explosives. We'll meet at the blasting site at noon."
"I'll go find Xie Jiang and Song Chengyu. Brother Zhao, we're short-handed right now, so the task of blowing up the canal will be handled by a few of us!"
Watching He Jiu and Hu Peiran leave quickly, Zhao Yunjing took a deep breath and plunged into the rain as well.
Although the rain was heavy, we couldn't just do nothing because of it. Moreover, there was one thing he didn't tell He Jiu and Hu Peiran: he thought the rain would be even heavier tomorrow and the day after!
"Lord Zhao!"
As soon as Zhao Yunjing stepped out of the city gate, he heard Prefect Liang's voice. He turned his head, and his eyes met the other's through the rain. Prefect Liang shouted, "They've all been evacuated! All the people near Xiaoniang Mountain have been moved into the city!"
In just one night, he managed to relocate all the residents of Xiaoniang Mountain. This Prefect Liang does have some ability, but he used to be too lazy and only wanted to take shortcuts. He could handle all the cases by simply talking to people. For cases that were a little more difficult, he would send people to the higher-level authorities. Over time, the people lost faith in him.
When it comes to actually getting things done, it's actually quite capable.
Zhao Yunjing nodded, then remembered the matter of blasting the mountain ahead of schedule and blasting an additional canal. He felt he should inform him, so he went over and mentioned the two matters.
Prefect Liang paused for a moment, then nodded: "I will leave it all to Lord Zhao's arrangements. If there is anything I can do, please give the order, and I will certainly do it!"
Zhao Yunjing didn't stand on ceremony and gave his instructions directly.
Prefect Liang turned and went in another direction. The rain was getting heavier. Zhao Yunjing watched his increasingly blurry figure and the officials following behind him, stumbling along. He felt a mix of coldness and warmth in his heart.
In this natural disaster, some people may have been at a loss at first, and some may have wanted to hide away like turtles. But now, everyone is working hard for the city and buying time for every life.
He looked up at the sky. The rain was still pouring down, as if it would flood the city. But he thought, God deserves our respect, but man can conquer nature.
Noon.
Zhao Yunjing arrived at the foot of Xiaoniang Mountain, and Hu Peiran also arrived just in time. Behind him were five oxcarts, on which were wrapped in huge oil paper the explosives used for blasting the mountain and diverting the water.
The explosives were stored at Zhou Yun Logistics' warehouse, thirty miles away from Nanjiang City. Even on a sunny day, it would take more than two hours to travel there and back. In this thunderstorm, it's a mystery how he managed to make the round trip in three hours.
He Jiu and Xie Jiang had already arrived and dug the place where the explosives were buried. They immediately went to greet Hu Peiran when they saw him.
Xie Jiang didn't even ask where the explosives came from, and went straight to the point: "Did you bring enough supplies?"
"Bombing up Nanjiang City would be more than enough!"
"What are we waiting for? Brothers, each of you grab a bag, let's go!"
Ten sons of noble families, each carrying a dynamite pack, first buried it on Xiaoniang Mountain, then went back and forth twice to fill all the pits and connect all the fuses properly.
The rain intensified. Xie Jiang carefully took a piece of charcoal from a waterproof copper can. Just as he was about to head towards the nearest explosives point, his vision blurred and his hand went empty. By the time he realized what was happening, Zhao Yunjing had already rushed to explosives point number one with the charcoal in hand.
"Lord Zhao!"
Xie Jiang was terrified: "Danger! Come back quickly!"
But all they saw was Zhao Yunjing gesturing for them to quickly scatter. Xie Jiang paused, about to rush forward, but was stopped by He Jiu and Hu Peiran on either side: "Go quickly!"
"Everyone retreat!"
The fuse is long enough, and as long as you run fast enough, there shouldn't be any accidents. But we can only say "should" because no one can guarantee there won't be any danger. It's precisely because there are so many uncertain factors that Xie Jiang thought he had martial arts skills and could run faster than others, so he volunteered to light the fuse. But now, Zhao Yunjing still has to do it himself!
The crowd retreated continuously, everyone staring in the direction Zhao Yunjing had left, but he never returned.
A minor official from Nanjiang City trembled, "Lord Liang, Lord Zhao wouldn't be planning to just stand there and watch the explosion, would he?"
If this isn't the case, then why hasn't Zhao Yunjing returned yet?
Prefect Liang's face turned deathly pale, but he forced himself to remain calm: "Don't talk nonsense. With such heavy rain, the charcoal might have gone out. Soon, Lord Zhao will—"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A sudden, earth-shaking tremor!
This is—the explosives have detonated!
But Zhao Yun Jing has not returned yet!
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