Chapter 44 Using the Body to Block the Dike
Chu Jiubian quickly finished reading the remaining contents of the letter, and the more he read, the heavier his heart became.
When Qin Xiao arrived at the governor's mansion in Hexi County, he found that the governor, Lü Yuan, had committed suicide by poison in his bedroom and left behind a suicide note.
In his suicide note, he confessed that as the prefect, he failed to protect the people. Even after the dike breached, he ordered people to frame and kill innocent civilians and craftsmen in order to escape responsibility.
Now that he knew that Prince Ning had come in person to provide disaster relief, he felt uneasy and thought he deserved to die. So he took his own life to atone for his sins, only asking Qin Xiao to spare the lives of his innocent family.
After reading the suicide note, Qin Xiao immediately summoned the local prefectural commander.
The local official system in Da Ning was somewhat different. In areas under the jurisdiction of the imperial court, the highest level was a prefecture, which was equivalent to a province in later times. The highest administrative official was the prefect, and the highest military official was the military commander. The two were in charge of their own affairs.
Next comes the prefecture, with the highest-ranking official being the prefect, followed by the county and township.
In the areas governed by the vassal kings, the vassal kings and their own "mini-courts" were the highest government offices, followed directly by prefectures, then counties and townships.
For example, Guizhou and Guangxi, which did not take action during the previous drought, were originally the fiefdoms of a prince during the reign of Emperor Seongjong, and were only later taken back. Emperor Yeongjong never took care of them, so the highest administrative official there was the prefect.
The prefects of those two places have now been escorted back to the capital by Qin Chaoyang and are temporarily under the management of officials from Southern Zhili who were there to provide disaster relief. Qin Xiao will send someone else to take over the management later.
That said, after Qin Xiao finished reading Lü Yuan's last letter this morning, he summoned the Commandant of Hexi County and ordered him to lead men to arrest Lü Yuan's family members. The Prefect's residence was also surrounded.
Qin Xiao then kept two officials from the capital who had gone with him, and asked them to find out the truth behind Lü Yuan's "suicide".
He himself continued to travel with Jian Hongzhuo and other officials from the Ministry of Works, led by Cui Jin, the registrar of Hexi County, to Huai and Pu counties.
The two counties are closely connected, which saves the trouble of traveling between them.
Moreover, it is said that Prefect Zhou Boshan went to the disaster area two days ago to oversee the situation, but it is unknown whether he has managed to control the situation.
Chu Jiubian read the last part of the letter: "[The situation here is fraught with hidden dangers, and I, the king, am unable to hold it alone. I earnestly hope that you, my lord, will come to my aid.]"
The regent, a man of great stature, is quite adept at feigning weakness.
Chu Jiubian, however, was not in the mood to laugh at him.
He burned the letter, then quickly put on his coat and went out, asking the postmaster to wake everyone up and pack their belongings to prepare for departure.
Chu Jiubian sat in the carriage, listening to the busy sounds of people outside, his eyes filled with an inscrutable expression.
If we travel through the night, we should be able to reach Hexi County by noon tomorrow.
The letter was sent by Qin Xiao before noon today, and Chu Jiubian received it tonight. This means that, given Qin Xiao's speed, by the time the disaster relief team arrives in the county seat tomorrow, the other party may have already returned from Huai and Pu counties.
If Qin Xiao hadn't returned in time, he would have taken the disaster relief funds and grain directly to the two counties and not lingered in the prefectural city.
However, with the night dark and windy, and accompanied by such heavy rain, the procession must be even more difficult than during the day.
If you accidentally get stuck in the road, it will take even more time.
Thinking of this, Chu Jiubian lifted the carriage curtain and gently beckoned with one hand.
In less than two breaths, the carriage curtain was lifted, and a bodyguard, completely covered in armor, appeared in the carriage, kneeling on one knee with his head down, not making eye contact with Chu Jiubian.
These bodyguards were originally sent by Qin Xiao to protect him, so it's convenient and they're obedient to ask them to do errands and run errands.
Chu Jiubian bought three remote-controlled, high-powered, waterproof flashlights from the system store and handed them to the guards, instructing them to fix the flashlights to the roofs of the first and last carriages. His own carriage was in the middle, so he also had one fixed to it.
After a while, all three lights will be on, and the whole group will be able to see the road clearly.
The guards acknowledged the order and withdrew, without asking a single unnecessary question.
The bodyguards moved elusively, but their obvious presence on the roof of the vehicle was still noticed by some soldiers.
But they knew that it was Chu Jiubian's secret guards, so they just assumed that the other party was probably checking whether the amount of silver and grain was correct, and didn't take it seriously.
What they are really concerned about right now is that traveling so late is inconvenient and painful.
"Yesterday we were able to rest at the post station and get some sleep, but now we're forced to travel all night. I don't know what Lord Chu is thinking."
"That's right. Even if we set off later tomorrow, we can still reach Hexi County by nightfall. Why are we in such a hurry now?"
"I can understand your anxiety, sir, but with such heavy rain, the roads are all muddy and difficult to walk on. It's a little better during the day, but at night you can't even see the road clearly, and I'm afraid you'll sink into the mud after just a few steps."
"Why don't we go and talk to the adults? We can set off earlier tomorrow to avoid traveling at night."
The civil officials had similar thoughts, but they all noticed Chao Shun's reaction today.
As a senior official in the Ministry of Revenue, the other party was the highest-ranking among these officials. He had always been very respectful to Chu Jiubian before, but now that he had fallen ill, he seemed to have even more awe for him.
Just now, when Chu Jiubian said that he wanted to travel overnight, the other party was the first to respond, and even directed people to do things everywhere, being as attentive as could be, showing no signs of having had a high fever before.
Everyone guessed that it was because Chu Jiubian's medicine was so effective that Chao Shun recovered quickly and was more grateful to Chu Jiubian for giving him the medicine.
However, some people have mentioned his other identity—an immortal.
They believed that it was Chu Jiubian who gave Chao Shun the immortal medicine, and that the latter sensed the immortal power, which made him even more aweful.
However, not many people had such thoughts. After all, these minor officials had never had the opportunity to come into contact with Chu Jiubian before. Even the "miracles" that were widely circulated in the capital were all hearsay, half true and half false.
Some who considered themselves intelligent saw that Chu Jiubian ate and lived with everyone and had nothing special about him except for his hair, so they thought the rumors were wrong and that this Grand Tutor Chu was clearly a normal person.
Therefore, their current reluctance to contradict Chu Jiubian is not due to fear of his divine status, but simply because Chu Jiubian is a superior official. If the sky falls, someone higher will hold it up, and these minor officials do not want to be the first to stick their necks out.
In the end, these civil officials were better at assessing the situation and thinking more deeply than the military officials.
Therefore, in the end, it was one of the temporary captains among the soldiers who took charge who approached Chu Jiubian.
"My lord," the captain said respectfully, clasping his hands in a fist salute as he stood outside the carriage, "I have something to report."
Chu Jiubian lifted the curtain of the carriage window and looked outside.
The clouds completely obscured the moonlight, and it was pitch black outside. Only when the curtain was lifted did the light from the oil lamp inside the carriage shine out, illuminating the captain's expression.
The captain didn't look up; he knew from the light that his superior had given him a chance to reply.
At the same time, hundreds of subtle glances were cast from the surrounding area.
Knowing that a captain had gone to Chu Jiubian to offer suggestions, everyone turned their attention to the sound of rain, making it difficult to hear what they were saying. As a result, even the subordinates slowed down their work.
"What is it?" Chu Jiubian's voice was cold and distant.
The captain then continued, "Sir, the road at night is difficult to travel, and we may get our carriages and horses stuck. Why don't we wait until tomorrow morning to set off?"
The official road is straight, so there's no fear of taking a wrong turn.
But nowadays the road isn't paved with sand and gravel; it's all dirt. Over time, it's become uneven and full of potholes. After it rains, the soil becomes soft, and if you don't avoid it, you might actually get stuck.
The rain showed no signs of letting up, and was accompanied from time to time by flashes of lightning and rumbling thunder in the clouds.
Chu Jiubian rubbed the remote control in his hand.
The flashlights had already been strapped to the roof of the car. Because they were produced by the system, their performance was excellent, and the remote control could be used even from a distance of one kilometer.
So at this moment, as soon as he presses the switch, the three powerful flashlights will light up instantly.
Chu Jiubian glanced at the distracted soldiers outside and, seeing that everyone was paying attention to them, pressed the switch.
Instantly, the three carriages were illuminated by a light as bright as day, and the powerful flashlights illuminated the road for hundreds of meters in front and behind them.
The gasps of surprise from the crowd, accompanied by the slight jolt of the horses, stirred up the entire group.
"What's going on! How is it already daylight?!"
"It's not that it's dawn, it's that only our side has light, while the rest of the world is still dark!"
"This is...this is Lord Chu..."
The crowd looked at the carriage where Chu Jiubian was, and were blinded by the white light shining from the roof. They were either terrified or nervous, but also filled with inexplicable excitement and trembling.
This is a miracle! They actually witnessed a miracle!
The captain closest to Chu Jiubian was the most shocked. He felt as if he had just said "It's hard to travel when it's dark" and then it suddenly became bright.
He almost instinctively looked up at the people inside the car, his expression shifting from bewilderment to horror in an instant.
As it became bright outside, the light inside the carriage dimmed.
The captain could only see Chu Jiubian's delicate face illuminated by the warm yellow light of the oil lamp. His dark, tousled hair slightly obscured his eyebrows and eyes, while his long, silver-white hair cascading over his shoulders seemed to radiate an eerie halo.
Like a banished immortal.
The captain could hear his heart pounding wildly, and his legs felt weak.
"Can we go now?" Chu Jiubian asked calmly.
Coincidentally, just as he finished speaking, a thunderclap rang out, and the captain's legs went weak, almost causing him to kneel down.
Meeting Chu Jiubian's indifferent eyes, the captain's teeth chattered as he managed to say, "Y-yes."
Fortunately, Chu Jiubian lowered the curtains after receiving a reply; otherwise, he certainly wouldn't have been able to stand up.
After the initial panic subsided, the restless crowd became even busier.
Everyone packed their luggage and belongings as quickly as possible, not daring to have any objections or thoughts. Only two words filled their minds—miracle!
To turn night into day in an instant—what else could this be but a miracle?!
Some people, driven by curiosity, secretly looked toward the light source on the roof of the car, only to be blinded by the intense light and immediately dared not look again, their hearts filled with horror.
Could that be the sun?
In order to travel at night, Lord Chu actually borrowed the sunlight!
Is this the work of ghosts and gods?
Lord Chu, you are truly a god!
Inside the carriage, Chu Jiubian saw his faith value increase by more than thirty points.
The convoy bumped along the way, but thanks to the light, the journey was relatively smooth.
As dawn broke, Chu Jiubian turned off the lights and ordered his guards to retrieve the flashlights.
After the guard respectfully handed him the items, he was about to leave when Chu Jiubian stopped him and handed him some cold medicine he had prepared in advance: "Take another one."
When he gave medicine to everyone in the caravan, he also prepared medicine for the guards, because when traveling at night, the biggest fear is catching a cold.
The guard was somewhat surprised the first time and lost his composure slightly, but this time he accepted it skillfully, silently kowtowed, and left.
After traveling like this all morning, around noon, the convoy indeed entered the territory of Hexi County.
It was only half an hour's walk to the county town, so Chu Jiubian didn't allow them to rest and went straight to the county town in one go.
Everyone now listens to him without question, and whatever he says goes.
The convoy moved slowly forward, but they didn't see a single disaster victim all the way to the gate of the county town.
Have all the disaster victims in Huaipu and Pu been settled?
Or perhaps these two places are quite far from the prefectural capital, and the disaster victims stayed in the county towns or prefectural capitals along the way?
Chu Jiubian frowned slightly, feeling that something was amiss.
With such a massive disaster, tens of thousands of people in two county towns were affected, and countless farmlands and villages were submerged. It was impossible for all these disaster victims to stay put; many would inevitably flee to larger prefectural or even county towns.
Unless, these people are suppressed by the authorities in their hometowns and cannot leave at all.
Thinking of Qin Xiao's letter saying that Zhou Boshan, the prefect of Hexi County, had gone to the disaster area two days earlier, Chu Jiubian immediately had a guess in his mind.
If the other side really ordered people to gather all those disaster victims in one place, would they have enough food?
Can you guarantee that people won't starve or die from disease?
If someone died of illness or starvation, how did he handle it?
Was it burned, or was it left to soak in the rain and mud?
If it is the latter, so many rotting corpses, combined with the filth from rainwater and floods, would be a breeding ground for disease!
Or perhaps, someone has resorted to even more ruthless and decisive measures...
Hopefully, the truth is not what he thinks.
"My lord, we have arrived at the prefectural governor's residence," someone reported from outside the carriage.
Chu Jiubian got out of the car, and the officials who had been left at Qin Xiao's residence to handle related matters came out to greet him.
The leader was a junior official in the Ministry of War named Kou Zimo. Chu Jiubian knew this man; he was one of the few people in the court who openly sided with Qin Xiao.
Born into the Qin family army, he later rose to the position of Assistant Minister of War. However, due to his low rank, he had little influence in the court and could not outwit the civil officials, so he was never able to help Qin Xiao much.
Kou Zimo naturally knew the relationship between Chu Jiubian and his master. Upon seeing him, he felt a sense of kinship and quickly stepped forward to bow and greet him.
Chu Jiubian interrupted him, asking, "Hasn't Qin Xiao returned yet?"
Now, who in and outside the court doesn't know that he and Qin Xiao are on the same side?
Moreover, the story of their "love tribulation" became more and more believable, and people who didn't know the truth actually believed that there was something between the two of them.
Qin Xiao did not deliberately suppress or refute the rumors, and Chu Jiubian was even less likely to do so.
Therefore, Chu Jiubian did not mind showing the difference between his relationship with Qin Xiao in front of outsiders, such as calling him by his full name.
Kou Zimo was momentarily surprised when he heard him refer to Qin Xiao, but he quickly understood.
They're family, so there's nothing wrong with calling each other by name.
So he quickly composed himself and replied, "Your Excellency, Prince Ning has not yet returned. He sent word this morning that a method has been found to block the dike in Pu County. He has left Liu Junqi, the Assistant Minister of Works, to keep an eye on it, and it will be completely blocked today."
"At this moment, Prince Ning should have gone to Huai County with Minister Jian of the Ministry of Works. The dike there is more severely damaged, making it more troublesome to block it."
Chu Jiubian nodded and then asked, "Have the grain and officials from the nearby counties all arrived?"
Upon receiving news of the damage to the dikes, they immediately sent messengers on horseback to the surrounding counties, instructing them to send all available grain to Hexi County and to dispatch more officials, craftsmen, and soldiers to help alleviate the disaster in Hexi County.
When Chu Jiubian and the others deliver the silver and grain, they won't be too flustered.
Kou Zimo observed Chu Jiubian's expression and carefully chose his tone, saying, "Anyang County and Liucheng County have both sent grain, and several officials and craftsmen have also come, but the total amount of grain is only a few cartloads."
The food supplies are almost gone.
If Chu Jiubian fails to arrive tonight, the disaster victims may run out of food.
For those displaced people, life has lost its meaning. Many are in poor mental condition. Running out of food for one night might normally mean missing one meal, but in this tense and vulnerable state, it could very well be the last straw that breaks the camel's back.
I'm afraid the disaster victims might riot, and the consequences would be unimaginable.
"No food supply?" Chu Jiubian frowned and asked, "What about the food supplies of Hexi Prefecture itself?"
It's impossible that such a large prefecture city wouldn't even have enough food to feed the people of the two counties.
“The night before we arrived with Prince Ning, more than a dozen granaries in the prefecture leaked rainwater, and all the grain was soaked. Moreover, we checked the grain, and it was all old grain, much of it already moldy. Even if it hadn’t been soaked in water, it would still be inedible.”
Moldy grain, unrepaired granary roof—this governor of Hexi Prefecture was truly playing with the lives of the people; no wonder he "committed suicide out of fear of punishment."
Kou Zimo said, "My lord, please come in and rest for a while before we talk. I have already ordered someone to prepare lunch and hot water."
“No need,” Chu Jiu argued. “Just bring all the grain merchants in this county town.”
Since we're about to run out of food, let's buy some more; otherwise, the few cartloads of grain they brought back won't last more than two days.
“Lord Ning has already contacted them,” Kou Zimo sighed. “But these grain merchants said that grain prices were high in the south before, so they transported all their grain to the south, and gave all the grain they had with them to you, sir.”
Chu Jiubian: "..."
What a coincidence!
One coincidence is one coincidence, but two coincidences are unlikely to be another.
The granaries in Hexi County are moldy and leaking, and the grain merchants in the county have run out of grain. If the imperial court does not come up with other solutions, won't the people of Huai and Pu counties really revolt?
If such a thing really happens, then who should take the blame for such a huge mistake?
Is it the Prince of Jiannan? Or the Emperor?
The person behind this didn't leave anyone any tricks up their sleeve; they were planning to completely disrupt the situation.
There is one question: the person behind this did cut off all the grain they could to cause such a result, but why did the disaster victims still have enough grain to last until the imperial relief team arrived?
"Find someone to lead the way, and head to Pu County immediately," Chu Jiubian said.
The grain they brought from the capital could feed the people of the two counties for two days. These two days would be enough time for Qin Xiao to come up with another solution. Even if they couldn't get any more grain, Chu Jiubian still had the system.
The problem is that he doesn't have enough faith points right now, so he'll need to collect more when the time comes.
However, he didn't want the faith points from the southern border; what he wanted was the faith of the people of Hexi County.
He can't always be the one to save these people; they need to be allowed to save themselves.
Using their contributed faith points to buy food and save their own lives, Chu Jiubian can also gain more faith points and reputation, which is a win-win situation.
==
Led by the local county official, the disaster relief team arrived safely in Pu County.
Liu Junqi, a senior official in the Ministry of Works, was wearing a raincoat and running around in the rain, directing people to repair the dike. His voice was hoarse from shouting.
He only turned around when someone reminded him that the disaster relief team had arrived. Upon seeing the convoy, he quickly walked over.
Chu Jiubian lifted the carriage curtain and saw this scene.
This Liu Langzhong is a student of Wang Zhiyuan, the Minister of Rites, but now he seems to be a man of action.
This should be one of those diligent officials Qin Xiao mentioned, but who were deeply involved with powerful families.
But the Wang family?
Chu Jiubian felt it necessary to inquire with Wang Qichen. If this Doctor Liu was of good character and not a particularly wicked person, then he could be appropriately promoted.
As for the position of Assistant Minister of Works, the next highest rank one can naturally attain is Vice Minister of Works.
Chu Jiubian lowered his eyes to hide the dark glint in them, and when he looked up again, he had regained his indifferent and aloof demeanor.
"Greetings, Grand Tutor." Liu Junqi bowed.
Chu Jiubian got out of the car, and a soldier rushed over to hold an umbrella for him, his expression extremely respectful.
Liu Junqi noticed this, and realized that it wasn't just this soldier, but everyone in the entire disaster relief team, whether civil officials or soldiers, looked at Chu Jiubian with awe.
But the forces behind these people are actually very complex and intertwined; they could be spies or informants for some other faction. Yet now, without exception, they have all become so respectful.
In just a few days, Chu Jiubian has managed to subdue all these people?
Liu Junqi suppressed his surprise.
Chu Jiubian returned the greeting and said, "I'll leave you two days' worth of food and 100,000 taels of silver for now. The Ministry of Revenue will help you. I will send more food to you in two days."
"Yes," Liu Junqi quickly replied.
Just when he was worried about running out of food the next morning, the imperial court's disaster relief grain arrived, which relieved his immediate crisis.
He knew about the food situation; it would be difficult to obtain more food in a short time. But this man in front of him was Chu Jiubian, and anything could turn around or change when he was around.
So he waited patiently for good news.
"By the way," Chu Jiubian asked casually, "why haven't I seen many disaster victims in Pu County along the way?"
This is true, and these disaster victims all have food, temporary shelters, and blankets to keep warm. Logically, they should be in good condition, but they all look lifeless.
Liu Junqi's face instantly turned grim. He said, "My lord, you are unaware that more than half of the 20,000 people in Pu County have died. The remaining people survived only because they were fortunate enough to meet Prince Ning."
Ironically, if it weren't for this, they wouldn't have had this much grain until Chu Jiubian arrived.
Chu Jiubian's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "But what did Zhou Boshan do?"
Liu Junqi was surprised for a moment, astonished that he had guessed the truth so quickly.
“It is indeed related to that Prefect Zhou,” he said. “In order to prevent the disaster victims from flocking to other counties and causing more chain reactions, and also to plug the breached dike, he…”
He took a slow breath before saying in a trembling voice, "He actually ordered the people to jump into the raging river and use their bodies to block the breach in the dike!"
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