Chapter 408 Listen to others' advice and eat a full meal
King Huai summoned people to discuss in detail the matter of guarding Jinzhou. The troops arranged by Xuanyuan Ling to come to Jinzhou were still on the way, so he had to guard the city. The accompanying officials stayed up all night discussing countermeasures.
When they came, they had thought that there would be a plague after the flood, but they didn't expect it to really happen. The medicinal materials they brought were totally insufficient. It rained continuously in Jinzhou and there were many people affected by the disaster. First of all, the supply of medicinal materials was a problem, and then they had to guard against riots among the people. In this situation, the most taboo thing was riots among the people. If there was a riot when King Huai was in power, King Huai would be to blame. There were too many problems and he was very unlucky.
The dam has collapsed over the years and is not very solid to begin with. Unfortunately the weather has not been good and it has rained continuously these days. The water level has been rising. We currently do not have the capacity to dredge the dam first and then rebuild it. We can only repair it upwards and then dig other channels just in case. However, the current situation is not optimistic.
Chen Zhizhuo watched helplessly as everyone around him said something, some suggested dealing with the refugees first to prevent the spread of the plague, others suggested sending people to stabilize the dam first before considering other things, in short, everyone was saying all sorts of things.
The other officials said a lot and were also waiting for King Huai to make a decision. Shen Zhizhuo had been in the officialdom for a long time and knew that it was not that these people did not understand, but that this matter had become a big deal and someone had to make a decision and take the blame.
At this moment, no one was thinking about what achievements they would make after the disaster relief. After something like this happened, as long as it could be resolved safely, it would be good. If anything went wrong during the process, those officials would not be able to afford the blame.
But King Huai could afford to take the blame, and fortunately he was there this time. If another official was in charge of this matter, he would feel uneasy.
King Huai was also feeling uneasy, how could he not feel uneasy after such a thing happened? Besides, he was not a fool, he could see what these officials were planning, they meant to put all the pressure on him, but he couldn't refuse. In his heart, he just hated these officials who seemed so respectful on weekdays, but turned out to be so cunning at this time.
But he really had to take this responsibility, and he had to make the decision even if he couldn't make it. After saying so much, it was nothing more than controlling the plague and settling the people. The most important thing now was to separate the people who were originally infected with the plague from those who were not infected, and then gather them together for treatment. As for the problem of the dam: "Lord Shen, are you sure that you have built this dam for more than ten days?"
Shen Zhizhuo knew that King Huai would definitely ask about this matter. As he was the chief organizer of this matter, he naturally told King Huai about the problem of the dam.
King Huai felt bad when he saw Shen Zhizhuo. There was really no good news. He had thought that Shen Zhizhuo had improved the water conservancy in many places before his father sent him abroad. He thought that he was a capable person who could be used. But now there was still no good news: "So, if the rain does not stop and the water level continues to rise, the dam will collapse again sooner or later."
Shen Zhizhuo was helpless, but there was nothing he could do. The dam had been patched up over the years, like a rag that had been patched up too many times. If it was pulled apart by both sides, it would fall apart. He had a plan to improve it, but he couldn't just let the tide recede under such circumstances. He wasn't that smart, but he had a bold plan in mind: "I have been looking for the source and investigating the upstream and downstream in the past few days. If we can abandon the downstream for dredging when the water level rises, it may be able to solve the urgent problem."
As soon as Shen Zhizhuo said this, everyone else looked at him in disbelief. In his heart, he was used to it because he always encountered such looks.
King Huai was also angry: "I asked you to build a dam, but you not only cannot protect this place, but also want to abandon the downstream? What about the people downstream?"
"With the current rising water level, it's hard to hold the water downstream. It would be better to make plans to evacuate the people downstream and consider other things after the water is drained out."
At this time, another accompanying Lord Wang from the Ministry of Works understood what Shen Zhizhuo meant: "Your Majesty, what Lord Shen said is not without reason. The most important thing now is to protect the people. Although the dams downstream are the most repaired and the strongest, the water level is rising and it will sooner or later collapse. Instead of being caught off guard after the dam breaks, it is better to evacuate the people now and treat the plague after the flood is temporarily stabilized."
The more Lord Wang thought about it, the more he felt that Shen Zhizhuo's words were reliable. At this time, saving people was more important than saving other things.
"What I want is to protect the dike and the people." After receiving Xuanyuan Ling's order, King Huai just wanted to do this job well. Both the dike and the people must be protected before the reinforcements arrive.
Lord Wang then understood King Huai's intention and stopped the day.
"Sir Shen, my father has always valued you, and he has praised your achievements in water conservancy many times. This time, I will leave this matter to you, so please don't let me down."
King Huai is putting pressure on him.
Shen Zhizhuo understood that he was being asked to give an explanation: "Minister, I obey your command."
What else can be said now? King Huai has already given the orders.
After hearing what Shen Zhizhuo said, King Huai made the final decision: "Gather the sick people together for treatment, and deal with the rest according to the method of dealing with the plague."
There have been plagues in the past, so there is naturally a set of ways to deal with them when they occur. This does not need to be figured out now.
The officials received the order and went about their business.
Shen Zhizhuo also came out. When he got outside, Lord Wang said to Shen Zhizhuo, "Little Lord Shen, the prince has arranged the dam this way. What do you think..."
He was also unsure in his heart. In fact, he knew that what Shen Zhizhuo said was quite reliable. King Huai had good intentions and wanted to save the dam. However, floods were ruthless and would not listen to people. He was afraid that with the heavy rain, the dam would be lost sooner or later. If the people did not evacuate in advance, the casualties would be horrible.
Now we have to prepare for the worst, right?
Shen Zhizhuo said: "If it really comes to the last resort, this official will disobey orders."
As soon as Lord Wang heard it, he knew what he meant and was also shocked. Then he thought about it carefully and gritted his teeth: "Lord Shen, take me with you. I still think what you are thinking about this matter is right." After all, King Huai was too young and had never done any real work outside. He was a little naive and a little anxious. This matter could not be rushed. If something really happened, they would all be implicated.
Now he still doesn't listen to people's advice, it's really... If other officials are doing their own jobs and don't understand water conservancy, but there is someone who does, why doesn't he listen to advice?
Shen Zhizhuo didn't expect that Lord Wang was so bold in doing things. If he did this thing well, he would offend King Huai.
How could Lord Wang not understand? He was already thinking in his mind that Lord Shen was the younger brother of Concubine Xian. In fact, everyone in the court had taken sides on the issue of establishing the Crown Prince. Lord Wang gritted his teeth and decided to take the risk, so he did it.
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