On the bank of Wusong River, in a thatched pavilion in the rain.

Zhao Shouzheng stood up and gave a speech to his assistants:

"Some of you are in charge of schools, some are in charge of taxes, and some are in charge of monks and Taoists. On weekdays, each of you performs your duties and does not interfere with each other."

Mr. Zhao changed the subject and said in a deep voice:

"But this is not an ordinary day. It has only been less than a month since the beginning of the plum rain season, and the flood has submerged the entire Kunnan. The flood is fierce and far worse than in previous years!"

"Just now, this county and other gentry inspected the river bank and saw that the river water was less than one foot away from the bank. Moreover, the bank was eroded by the flood and many parts of the bank were broken off."

"If this trend continues, even without waiting for the hurricane season, after a few more days of plum rain, Yaojiayan, Nanshan Temple, Longwang Temple, and the bends of the river, as well as Sanjiangkou, will all be washed away." Mr. Zhao said, emphasizing:

"However, only the people from a few nearby villages, led by the elders in the village, spontaneously carried soil to reinforce the embankment. The rest of the people were nowhere to be seen. If they continue to mind their own business, Kunbei will definitely be flooded before the summer harvest!"

"Is it so serious?" Except for Ambassador Yang of the River and Lake Bureau and several sluice officers and dam officers, no one else knew the situation on the dike.

It is difficult for people who live in safe county towns all day to have any sense of crisis about flood disasters.

What does the flood have to do with me?

"You can tell how serious the situation is by walking along the river bank!" Zhao Shouzheng snorted coldly, "Our county now has only one mission, which is to repair the bank and prevent flooding!"

"I hereby declare that a flood control headquarters will be established immediately, with me as the chief commander. All officials in this county must obey the headquarters' dispatch. I don't care what your original duties were, you must all put them aside and go all out to fight floods and provide disaster relief in the next few months!" His stern eyes swept over the officials again, and then Master Zhao said in a deep voice:

"The command center is located in Nanshan Temple. As long as the flood does not recede, I will not return to the county town!"

"Ah!" The officials were stunned upon hearing this.

"Hiss..." County Magistrate He and Chief Clerk Bai both gasped.

Xiong Dianshi, who had been silent all this time, suddenly had a light in his eyes.

"No, sir!" After a moment of surprise, the officials hurriedly tried their best to persuade Master Zhao not to do anything stupid.

“Nanshan Temple is flooded every year!”

"Before, there was Guishan Academy, but it was later destroyed by a flood, so Nanshan Temple was rebuilt on the original site..."

"It's too dangerous, Master!"

"No need to persuade me any more." Mr. Zhao waved his hand and said sternly, "As the father of the county, I have to protect the peace of the area. Why should I cherish my life?!"

"Please think twice, magistrate!" Although County Magistrate He was angry with Zhao Shouzheng, he couldn't just watch him die in vain... After all, the head of a county was washed away by the water, and all of them, the assistant officials who assisted the magistrate, would be sentenced.

"It's still far from being a severe flood. When a hurricane arrives, with high winds and rough waves, the water will be ten times more severe. If we're not careful, the levees will collapse and people will die!"

"Then we should hurry up and repair the dam!" Master Zhao showed his domineering and dandy attitude.

Don't you care? Then I, the county magistrate, will live on the dike and won't leave.

This is naked kidnapping!

The county magistrate lived on the dike, so how could the assistants dare to go back to the county town? They had to accompany him obediently.

Otherwise, the master would give them trouble in the future. If they were reported for deserting the battlefield, they would be dismissed from office and punished.

For these low-ranking officials, the imperial court would not even send anyone to investigate, but would hastily decide their fate based on the county magistrate's one-sided statement.

The miscellaneous officers couldn't help showing frustrated expressions...

"I am willing to stand by your side!" Xiong Dianshi suddenly became energetic, stepped out of the line, clasped his fists and said, "From today on, I will guard Nanshan Temple day and night and serve you!"

With Xiong Dianshi taking the lead, Bai Shouli, Zheng Qian and others had no choice but to bite the bullet and express their willingness to live in Nanshan Temple and live and die with the master.

"There's no need for everyone to be here." Zhao Shouzheng waved his hand and declined everyone's kindness.

The assistants felt relieved upon hearing this and hoped that they would be lucky enough to stay.

"We should be stationed at various important sections of the dike." But Zhao Shouzheng suddenly changed the subject and said:

"How about this, County Magistrate He will take a few officials to guard Sanjiangkou; Chief Secretary Bai will also take a few people to guard Yaojiayan; and Dianshi Xiong will take people to guard Longwang Temple. The four of us will each guard 15 miles... Of course, you must follow my unified command."

"It's not just you guys in official uniforms, but also the clerks from the six chambers. They are all from the same hometown, and it's their duty to protect their hometown. We need to break down the responsibilities and assign them to specific people. Every section of the riverbank must have a clear person in charge. If someone's section collapses, they can just jump into the river."

"I will have someone make the specific arrangements later. You should have an idea in mind first. Hurry back and explain the tasks at hand. You must all be on duty tonight! Tomorrow morning, you must all start working to reinforce the dam!"

"As you command..." The assistants responded reluctantly. County Magistrate He had no choice but to remind them, "Your Excellency, it will take some time to recruit the laborers."

"The flood situation does not wait for anyone, we cannot recruit troops according to the routine!" Zhao Shouzheng said decisively:

"First, we will implement work-for-relief among the disaster victims. From tomorrow on, all young and strong people will go to the embankment to carry soil, and women and the elderly will weave baskets and cook. Those who don't work will not get food!"

Master Zhao then announced several decisions that had been discussed last night. "The people of Kunbei will be led by the gentry and village heads, and must bring their own food and tools. They must be in place tomorrow!"

Although there is no specific water control strategy yet, it is always a good idea to get the entire county moving first, entering the rhythm of flood control and rescue, and reinforcing the weak river embankments.

"From now on, this county has entered a state of emergency, and those who drive up food and commodity prices and spread rumors and cause trouble will be severely punished!"

~~

After all the officials received their orders and left, only Zhao Hao and his son were left in the thatched pavilion.

Zhao Shouzheng then took off the disguise of a majestic master and smiled at Zhao Hao as if to seek credit: "Son, son, is your father like that?"

"It's better than yesterday, but the emotions are not well controlled, the transitions are abrupt, and there is a lack of foreshadowing. Also, don't shout slogans all the time. It's useless to sing too many high-sounding slogans."

Zhao Hao sighed and concluded, "How many big words has father said recently? 'We will live and die with the river bank', 'We will never let anyone starve to death', 'We will not stop until the flood recedes' - he said so many big words, what if he gets slapped in the face? It will become an excuse for others to attack father!"

"Ah..." Zhao Shouzheng couldn't help but said nervously: "Didn't Mr. Qingteng say that officials should talk big and do big things? If you don't make any noise, you're no better than a toad."

"Father, just listen to his advice from now on. Don't take his nonsense seriously." Zhao Hao held his forehead helplessly. His father was too trustworthy. He believed whatever Fatty Xu said. If he was not careful, he would be led astray by him.

But then again, the officials, gentry and common people in the entire Kunshan County all had a certain air of being defeated dogs.

Through just a brief contact, Zhao Hao clearly felt that everyone was shrouded in a terrible mood of loser.

Under the control of this emotion, people do not believe that victory will come or that miracles will happen, but instead fall into a vortex of fate.

The result was what he saw - officials were lazy, gentry were selfish, and common people were numb.

Think about the former Magistrate Feng, how he was ruined by such an environment?

Perhaps Mr. Zhao, who is confident, fearless and insensitive, is just the type of old parent that is suitable for the officials and citizens of Kunshan?

Of course, the prerequisite is that all the boasts made by Mr. Zhao must come true.

Otherwise, the officials and citizens of Kunshan who are forced to act will definitely become completely gloomy fatalists.

Anyway, it won’t change no matter how hard we struggle, so let’s just waste less energy in the future.

Alas, Master Zhao felt like he had a heavy burden on his shoulders.

Hey, what does this have to do with me?

ps. The third update is completed, let’s add another one today.