The next morning, the city gates were opened, and as expected, five more Wu Ji grain ships arrived, still heavily loaded with rice.

Groups of people saw this scene as they left the city carrying hoes and bamboo baskets.

Rumors were rife in the city last night. Some said there was a conflict between the Dongting Chamber of Commerce and the county magistrate, and that grain was not allowed to be transported into Kunshan.

But some people said that it was not the case at all, and that they saw with their own eyes the grain ship of Wu Ji sailing into the city last night. The officials also shouted that grain ships would arrive every day from now on.

However, the credibility of the government's rumor-busting was insufficient, and people were still inevitably in a state of panic. It was not until they saw Wu Ji's grain ship arrive as promised that the people felt slightly relieved.

After leaving the city, they, led by their respective village heads, came to the dike section assigned yesterday.

The section chiefs first mobilized them emotionally and focused on the scene where the Buddha appeared!

The common people were most fooled by this and immediately knelt down and worshiped Nanshan Temple.

"We will definitely be able to defend the dike this year!" The section chiefs waved their crutches and shouted at the top of their lungs:

"Young and old men, follow the damn Wusong River and fight!"

"Let's fight!" The village heads and parents took the lead in responding. All the people in Kunshan, from the north and the south, followed suit and shouted.

“Let’s fight, let’s fight!”

Mr. Zhao stood at the gate of Nanshan Temple, listening to the shouts from the river waves, and smiled to the two classmates beside him:

"If the people are not used, they are the same as if they have no people. If the people are united, then Mount Tai can be moved and the waves of the river can be calmed!"

"Brother, you are right." Generals Heng and Ha praised: "It is amazing that you can mobilize the people in just a few days!"

"Oh, haha..." Mr. Zhao smiled embarrassedly: "Actually, I didn't do anything."

Oh, brother, you are so humble.

~~

The energetic people, under the command of the section chief, reinforced the weak river embankment.

Tens of thousands of Kunshan men are densely scattered along the long 60-mile river embankment.

They began to dig soil and put it into baskets, and then carried it to the levee. Then they went down the levee to load soil and put it back on the levee!

This cycle continued without stopping, and before I knew it, it was already noon. The dam seemed to have really grown higher and thicker.

Below the dike, the sound of a gong signaling dinner could be heard.

The people, who had been starving for a long time, rushed down the dike.

Not far below the river bank, there is a cooking shack every hundred steps.

Each shack provides food for one mile of residents...that's 110 people. Just cooking the food requires two large iron pots.

People who were getting their meals were pleasantly surprised to find that the brown rice, which was half dry and half watery yesterday, had become completely dry today.

"Oh, did they accidentally harvest so much rice?" The laborers were pleasantly surprised. They were already satisfied with yesterday's harvest, but today they harvested two or three dozen more tons of rice than yesterday.

"We'll put down as much as they give us." The village head said happily as he served the food, "They said they'll put 30 kilograms of food in each pot, so that everyone can eat their fill and have the energy to work."

This way you can get more oil every day.

"Great!" Cheers rang out from the shacks one after another.

"I didn't expect that we could still have a full meal after the disaster." The people were talking excitedly while waiting for their meals.

"It seems that it is true that food arrives every day, otherwise we wouldn't dare to do this."

"That's right. There are also rumors that the Dongting Chamber of Commerce does not allow grain to enter Kunshan. It's pure nonsense!"

"Who dares to throw dirty water on the master again by saying that I will tear his mouth apart?"

"That's right. Things are different now that the master has come. I think there is hope this year!"

Just a full meal can boost the morale of the people and sweep away their dejection!

~~

In the county town, next to the dilapidated Huiju Temple, rows of extremely simple shacks extend all the way to the bank of Zhihe Pond.

These shacks that stretch as far as the eye can see are the Anmin Society in Kunshan County.

When Gu Dingchen designed the county town, he took into account that the people in Kunnan suffered disasters almost every year, so he insisted on expanding the county town two or three times, despite the opposition of many people. He also agreed with the elders that in the north of Hetang, except for the original few buildings, no new construction could be carried out, and paddy fields could not be opened, and only wheat could be planted.

Because the wheat was harvested before the plum rain season, the vacant space was just right for accommodating the disaster victims in Kunnan.

Gu Zhuangyuan has devoted all his efforts to his hometown people. It is no wonder that the Gu family is so prestigious in Kunshan.

It is precisely because of the Gu family's persistence that the people of Kunnan have been able to have a place to live in the city for the past thirty years.

Otherwise, with floods every year, all the people in Kunnan would have fled long ago...

At this time, all the men living in Anmin Community went out to work, but the women, children, the elderly and the weak who were left behind were also busy. Under the guidance of the elders in the village, they weaved baskets, twisted hemp ropes, and produced materials for flood control and dike repair.

This is also part of the work-for-relief program, so the government will also provide meals at noon.

Of course, the food quota is half of that for able-bodied men.

So when they got their lunch which was half dry and half liquid, with half more rice than yesterday, they were all very happy.

Coupled with the fish, shrimp and vegetable soup, the old, weak, women and children all laughed out loud, and no one believed the nonsense about food shortage in the city anymore.

~~

Amidst joyful cheers, Xu Wei and Wu Cheng'en walked out of Anmin Society and boarded the small boat back to the county government office.

"So, is there anyone still believing and spreading rumors?" Xu Wenchang stood with his hands behind his back, looking very proud.

Wu Cheng'en stood side by side with him, shook his head and smiled, "No more."

Once the news of increased food allowances spread after work in the evening, naturally no one would believe the nonsense that there was no food to buy in the county.

This is naturally the result of Xu Wei's two methods.

The so-called "Dong Zhuo enters the city" refers to the fact that when Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang to seize power, because he had too few troops, he had his troops enter from the west gate and exit from the north gate, and then enter from the west gate again, in order to exaggerate his strength.

Xu Wei divided Wu Ji's grain ships into two groups, one entering the city and the other leaving, repeating this cycle every day, creating the illusion that grain ships were entering the city every day.

As for the story of "Liu Xiu conquered the city", Wu Cheng'en had never heard of it before. It was Xu Wei who told him that it was about Emperor Guangwu's clever capture of Yancheng.

At that time, he had been besieging the city for a long time and was running out of food and fodder, and it was difficult to continue.

Normally, he should have reduced food intake and retreated, but he did the opposite. He ordered his men to take out all the food in stock and let the soldiers eat three meals a day. As a result, the enemy spies mistakenly believed that he had sufficient food and grass, and sent the news back to the city. The city defenders completely lost the courage to hold on. The next day, they opened the city gates and surrendered.

Xu Wei asked Wu Cheng'en to increase the daily food allocation for workers by 20 to 30 percent, so the people naturally thought that the county had sufficient food supply.

With these two approaches in place, the rumors will naturally dispel themselves.

"You have suppressed the rumors with these two strong doses of medicine. But the food consumption has increased by 30% for no reason." Wu Cheng'en was a cautious person. He was naturally happy to dispel the rumors, but he couldn't help but worry about the consequences of doing so.

"Once the food is gone, even the gods will be unable to hide our lies, and we will be sinners."

ps. The fifth update, please give me a monthly ticket~~~~