A caravan arrived in Mingyan County, following closely behind the disaster relief and grain escort team. The leading merchant immediately handed over his travel permit.
The county gate was guarded by the Imperial Guards. After reviewing the trade documents, they smiled slightly, because the caravan had brought medicinal herbs that the county urgently needed.
After a quick check to confirm that the goods being transported were medicinal herbs, they immediately applied the travel stamp and politely handed the documents back, saying, "Thank you for your trouble."
"It's all what I should do." After carefully putting away the documents, the merchant called for someone to bring out a wooden bucket. "It's filled with clean water, please accept it."
"This..." The soldier couldn't help but lick his lips, but in the end he didn't refuse. "Then thank you very much."
The caravan entered the city smoothly. Some of the medicinal herbs were required by the princess's decree and could be directly delivered to the city's quartermaster. The rest had no worries about finding a market.
They settled into a three-courtyard house, and someone immediately ushered the leading merchant inside.
As soon as they sat down in the back hall, they all knelt down.
The merchant's face was now solemn, all traces of his previous smooth demeanor gone. "What exactly happened?"
"My lord, we have searched everywhere..."
Bang! The merchant slammed his hand on the table. "State your conclusion."
The servant trembled, "We haven't seen any trace of the young master. Unless he's in trouble... he could only be in the intensive care unit."
"But that place is guarded by the Imperial Guards; our men can't sneak in."
The merchant pointed to his entourage behind him, "Tell him where he is. You'd better hope the young master is lucky and survives, or you'll all be buried with him!"
"Yes, yes!"
The servant dared not utter a word in defense and staggered away, leading the attendant away.
——————
In the main hall of the government office, a simple sand table was laid out on the table.
Before everyone could rest, the relief delegation gathered here to listen to the princess recount the disaster situation in Mingyan County.
The flood destroyed the tea plantations, and the resulting mud dragon, with terrifying force, destroyed caves, swallowed seven villages, and blocked the Qingchuan River, forming a barrier lake.
Fortunately, the rain stopped; otherwise, the consequences would have been unimaginable. However, it is the height of summer, and no one knows when it will rain again.
The landslide-dammed lake contained large amounts of tea plantation compost, rotten mud, and rotten roots. When disaster victims drank the water from it, it caused widespread poisoning.
Even the groundwater has been contaminated, and most wells are no longer usable.
Left with no other choice, the princess ordered water to be diverted from a neighboring county, but due to transportation limitations, the amount that could be obtained was only a drop in the ocean.
The most urgent tasks are: first, to obtain sufficient clean water; second, to detoxify and rescue people; and third, to dredge the river to prevent further heavy rains from exacerbating the disaster.
Qin Zhaoyue listened quietly, which showed that her elder sister was not stupid.
I spent two days clarifying my thoughts and pursuing three parallel paths:
Send people to divert water from a neighboring county;
The patients were treated by the imperial physicians who accompanied the emperor and by local doctors who were conscripted.
The Tiangong Company led a team to investigate the area around the landslide dammed lake to find the most suitable flood discharge area.
The last one is of paramount importance and the most urgent, requiring the most manpower; a plan has already been developed within two days.
The flood discharge area has been designated, and the relocation of downstream villages is being arranged in full swing.
Apart from that, the other two things did not go smoothly.
The water resources allocated were far from sufficient for the entire county, and the imperial physicians could only treat mild cases of poisoning, but were powerless to help those with severe cases.
The disaster relief team members fell silent after hearing this.
The eldest princess acted with great method and consideration, taking appropriate measures for each matter.
They couldn't linger in one county for too long; the princess had already assigned tasks.
Moreover, she mobilized the garrison, and the grain-protecting troops stationed outside the city rested for a night to join her. They would set off tomorrow to provide disaster relief to other counties in Qingyao Prefecture.
Besides, once the most important dredging project is completed, it will be impossible to stay here any longer.
Everyone fell silent, but Qin Zhaoqiong's gaze fell on her sixth sister.
More and more people are realizing this; a few have made some guesses, and most are clueless, but more and more attention is being focused on this issue.
Qin Zhaoyue seemed oblivious, as she was currently pondering a solution.
There is no room for error in disaster relief; any detours could mean the bloody loss of lives.
When you're reviewing intelligence reports, it's just a collection of cold, hard numbers, but when you're actually there...
She only had an idea, but couldn't guarantee it was right or wrong. She gritted her teeth and spoke.
"Elder sister, I have a few ideas. Please listen to them and see if they are suitable."
Many officials frowned upon hearing this.
They didn't see anything wrong with the eldest princess's arrangements; even they didn't have any effective suggestions. How could this sixth princess be better than them? And yet she spouts off a few ideas all the time?
"Your Highness, I know you mean well, but disaster relief is a matter of great importance and cannot be taken lightly."
"Yes, this involves the lives of disaster victims, so we must be extremely careful."
Qin Zhaoqiong frowned, but did not reprimand the officials, which was a mature and prudent approach.
After the Imperial Study raised funds for disaster relief, she had high hopes for Xiao Liu, but she would have to wait and see how she fared.
If the suggestion doesn't work, she can then step in to defend it;
If it works, it will also teach these self-important officials a lesson about the saying that there are always people more capable than you.
Qin Zhaoyue completely ignored the criticisms of others and spoke cautiously:
"Regarding water collection..."
"I don't know the specific extent of the disaster in Mingyan County, nor do I know the geography."
I wonder if there are any sections of the mountain that haven't collapsed, or if there are any unpolluted springs on the mountain.
If an unpolluted water source can be found, laborers and women can be recruited to weave bamboo strips to guide the flow and build bamboo canals to divert water.
Qin Zhaoqiong immediately ordered, "Go and summon the tea farmers."
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