Chapter 41: Flash Flood I should have guessed it long ago. I would wait for this day...
The dungeon was dark and gloomy, filled with a pungent smell of decay and dampness.
He Huaijiu, dressed in tattered, stained clothes, huddled on a pile of straw in the corner. A few days had passed, and he looked emaciated, a shadow of his former self. He stared blankly at the cold stone wall, his body trembling uncontrollably as he muttered incoherently.
There was a sudden "rustling" sound behind him, and the chains of the cell were untied. He Huaijiu's back shuddered and he turned his head with horror on his face.
"Laojiu, you should understand why I am here." A low voice came.
A man in black walked in from the cell door. His face was hidden in the shadow of his hood, and only a long scar could be vaguely seen.
He Huaijiu's lips trembled, and there was no light of desire to live in his eyes. He pleaded in a crying voice: "You promised me to let my wife and children go. Will you do it?" There was a last glimmer of hope in his eyes.
"You will see it in the afterlife." The man in black's voice was still cold and emotionless.
He held out a sharp stone spike in his hand.
He Huaijiu's tears streamed down his face, and his body was shaking violently like a sieve. He reached out to take the stone spike, but his hands were shaking so much that he could hardly hold the weightless object.
"I should have guessed that this day would come..."
He Huaijiu made up his mind, moved the spike to his neck, and then wiped it hard. A line of bright red blood spurted out, and the hot blood splashed on the gray wall, leaving several shocking blood spots.
He Huaijiu's body fell down and hit the ground heavily, completely motionless.
The cell chains were locked again, and the man in black walked out while ordering his men, "Go and kill all his family members. Don't leave any alive."
"yes."
...
"General Fang, Wenbin is currently suffering from flooding. Are you willing to go to Wenbin to resolve the flood problem?"
After Emperor Jingwen asked this question, the hall fell into a long silence and no response was received for a long time.
Eunuch Li stood by, sweat dripping down his forehead. He glanced at Fang Yilan, who seemed a little dazed, and whispered, "General Fang? His Majesty is asking you a question."
Fang Yilan finally came to her senses and raised her head, revealing two dark circles under her eyes. She had been tossing and turning last night until daybreak, when the effects of Zhao Huaixu's medicine gradually wore off. She hurriedly contacted Shadow to take him back to the palace, but Zhao Huaixu left without even drying himself, leaving behind only a shaky figure.
She hardly slept the whole night. After seeing Zhao Huaixu off, she forced herself to rush to court. The sound of court officials discussing matters was endless. Fang Yilan felt that it was extremely difficult to open her eyes every time and she almost fell asleep on the spot.
Emperor Jingwen's face turned ashen, his eyes like knives fixed on His Highness Fang Yilan. He thought of the ridiculous behavior of the useless prince caused by her last night, and he gritted his teeth in hatred.
But now Wen Bin is a hot potato that needs to be dealt with urgently, and someone is urgently needed to come forward to solve it, and Fang Yilan is the most suitable candidate.
It is rainy during the Jingzhe season. Yesterday, an urgent report came from Wenbin City that heavy rains in recent days have caused rivers to burst their banks and floods to become disasters. The court is in urgent need of sending capable people to carry out rescue operations.
But dealing with floods is indeed a tough job. For the pampered noble families in Shangjing, who are used to a life of luxury, who would be willing to take off their robes and do hard labor in the muddy fields? If they fail to handle the situation properly and the dam collapses, resulting in too many deaths, they will be punished by the emperor. After the floods, epidemics are very likely to breed, and medical conditions in the disaster areas are scarce. If someone is unfortunately infected, they may even lose their lives. It is really not worth it.
Fang Yilan felt that taking on this task was a good choice.
If the account book issue remains unsolved, with so many eyes and ears in the capital, investigating under their watch would be inconvenient and could easily alert the enemy. Furthermore, there's someone she desperately wants to avoid, so temporarily leaving the capital would give her a break. However...
Fang Yilan's eyes swept around the court imperceptibly, and her heart sank slightly. Zhao Huaixu hadn't attended court today. Thinking back to how frail he had been yesterday, she thought he must have fallen ill.
She quickly collected her thoughts, stepped forward, clasped her fists, and said, "Your Majesty, the people of Wenbin are suffering. How can we sit idly by? I am willing to go to Wenbin to rescue the victims and live up to your Majesty's trust."
"Well," the emperor patted the throne and said loudly, "Since General Fang has such a heart, we should set off immediately without delay. We must properly resettle the victims and quell the disaster. Don't let me and the people of the world down."
"I obey the decree."
Early the next morning, Fang Yilan simply packed his luggage and hurriedly set off with his team, riding at full speed to Wenbin.
After several days of travel, they finally arrived at Wenbin. Fang Yilan reined in his horse and stopped. A middle-aged man in official uniform was already waiting there at the city gate.
When the Left Assistant Magistrate saw Fang Yilan arrive, he quickly stepped forward, clasped his hands together, and said with a look of sincere apology, "General Fang, Lord Liang is currently directing the dredging of the river and is unable to spare time, so he sent me here to greet you. I hope you will forgive me."
Fang Yilan nodded and replied, "Nothing, disaster relief is the most important thing."
She ordered Zhuang Gu and Xun Yun to take a group of soldiers to the prepared mansion to stay, while she took Xiao Yue to the river to check the flood situation.
The sky was still covered with dark clouds, and fine raindrops were falling, covering the entire Wenbin City in a layer of wet gauze.
Led by the Left Assistant Magistrate, Fang Yilan stepped onto the main road in the city.
Although the rain has not stopped, the streets are still crowded with people. There is only a shallow layer of water on the ground. The people look calm and walk hurriedly but not in a panic. Most of the shops on the street are open for business as usual, with a row of sandbags neatly stacked at the doorsteps to prevent flooding.
From these details, we can see that Liang Qian is indeed a good administrator.
Speaking of Liang Qian, he was a well-known official in Ruining who loved his people like his own children. Wenbin, with its low terrain and two river basins running through it, has always been a frequent site of floods. Two years ago, floods ravaged Wenbin, flooding vast swathes of farmland, leaving the harvest completely wiped out and the people starving.
Liang Qian traveled through the cities surrounding Wenbin seeking help, knocking on the doors of countless local gentry, but no one responded. Finally, he journeyed north to Shangjing. A fourth-rank official arrived in Shangjing dressed like a scavenger beggar, his straw sandals worn to the soles. He was stopped by soldiers as he entered the city to see his pass. His shabby appearance made it difficult to believe he was an imperial official, and he was nearly detained as an imposter.
Once word of this incident spread, it instantly caused a sensation in Ruining, and even the army in the far northwest heard about it. Emperor Jingwen was deeply moved after hearing it. Thinking of Liang Qian's sincere heart for the people, he ordered the opening of the national treasury and allocated 20 million taels of silver for disaster relief.
After the food crisis was resolved, Liang Qian declined a promotion, determined to remain in Wenbin. He continued to live a simple and frugal life, devoting himself to local governance. The people, filled with gratitude, often spontaneously offered him food and grain as tokens of their gratitude, but he politely declined all of them, never accepting any gifts, believing that serving the people was his duty.
Fang Yilan rode Jiaoyue to the bank of Tang River. Although the main urban area had not been seriously affected, the flood situation along the river was not optimistic.
Wenbin City is located in central Ruining, a region with loose soil. The Tang River, which flows through it, accumulates massive amounts of silt and continuously raises the riverbed. Recent heavy rains have caused the river level to rise dramatically. Without immediate dredging, it's only a matter of time before the river overflows and bursts its banks.
Wenbin’s main urban area is located in the downstream area.
Fang Yilan frowned, "We can't go on like this. We must open a way to release the floodwaters."
Liang Qian noticed the two people coming on horseback, wiped his muddy hands, and walked over.
He was thin, like a bamboo pole, with deep sunken cheeks and dark skin. He did not look like a fourth-rank official, but more like an ordinary farmer.
When he saw that it was Fang Yilan, his face turned pale instantly and he saluted awkwardly: "General Fang, you...you are here."
As he spoke, his eyes kept dodging, trying his best to avoid Fang Yilan's gaze, and his whole body was filled with an unconcealable fear.
But I have clearly never met him, so where does this inexplicable fear come from?
Fang Yilan continued, "Lord Liang, the water level is rising too fast. We must dig a channel to drain the floodwaters. Otherwise, Wenbin City will be in danger. Once it is engulfed by the flood, the consequences will be disastrous. The most urgent task is to relocate the residents in the southeast corner. This is the most feasible solution we can think of at the moment."
Liang Qian was also a bit troubled: "I have thought so, but these villagers are already living in poverty. They usually save money and have worked hard to accumulate these belongings. It is not easy for them to abandon them all."
Fang Yilan sighed and said, "There's no point in saying more. Let's go to the scene first to see the situation, and then we can make a long-term plan."
So the two of them went to Anshui Village together to check the situation.
At the entrance of the village, a girl about ten years old was squatting in the corner, feeding a skinny puppy with rice porridge.
As the surrounding villagers passed by carrying hoes, they all cast mocking glances at him, muttering, "They can't even eat enough themselves, and they're feeding a stray dog with grain."
The girl looked up at the sound and smiled innocently. Her appearance betrayed her naiveté. She casually lowered her eyes and continued to watch the puppy eat with relish.
Fang Yilan and Liang Qian found the village chief, and the three of them began to go door to door to persuade the villagers to evacuate.
But most of the villagers stayed behind to guard their own belongings, looking reluctant and refusing to leave no matter what.
A white-haired old man, hunched over, clutched a worn farm tool tightly, his cloudy eyes filled with tears: "This is all my life's work, and you're leaving at any time. How am I going to live in the future? If I leave here, there will be no way out!"
Several villagers had gathered together and, upon hearing the news of the evacuation, became agitated and shouted, "We're not leaving. Our families have lived here for generations. Why are you leaving just like that?"
"That's right! The flood hasn't come yet, why are you chasing us away? You just want to trick us into leaving and take over my land." Another person echoed, his face full of resistance.
Fang Yilan sighed helplessly, understanding the villagers' resistance. "Floods are coming. If you don't evacuate in time, you will all die here. You can earn more if you lose your property, but if you lose your life, you lose everything. As long as you evacuate immediately, the court will pay for your resettlement."
The villagers looked at each other but still refused to move. Some said that they had to sign a written agreement first, while a few said that a nest of gold or silver was not as good as their own doghouse, and even if they were drowned, they would rather die in their own hut.
Fang Yilan was about to speak again to persuade them, but when he looked up, he saw a hill in the distance suddenly collapse, and a torrent of mud and water like a raging monster rushed from afar.
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The author has something to say: The transition chapter is killing me, it's too difficult to write.
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