At this moment, the raindrops outside lessened a bit, and Li Guang stood up and said:
"Brother Zhao, that's settled then. I'll go to the military camp now to arrange things, and we'll set off tomorrow morning to get to Xunzhou as soon as possible."
"Okay, be careful on the road and when you arrive in Xunzhou. I will deliver two hundred life jackets to the military camp this afternoon."
Li Guang nodded, put his raincoat back on, turned and went out, heading towards the military camp.
Seeing Li Guang leave, Zhao Xian began to think. Judging from all the signs, it was highly likely that the dikes in Xunzhou would break and a severe flood would break out.
As a result, hundreds of thousands of people will be affected in Xunzhou. Due to the wide extent of the disaster, waiting for the imperial court's rescue will definitely not be enough. We must think of a way to prevent the disaster from spreading further.
At this moment, Zhao Xian recalled that two years ago, a major earthquake struck Dezhou, and Shuixian Village used waterways to transport disaster relief supplies and help the local victims.
Zhao Xian remembered that there was a merchant ship from Xunzhou at the dock. It had been in Shuixian Village for a day and was waiting to load its cargo. He could go over and find out about the situation in Xunzhou.
Thinking of this, Zhao Xian prepared to go out, only to find that Li Xue had arrived with several guards.
"Brother Zhao, it's been raining for days, so I couldn't go anywhere. The rain has let up a bit now, so I came out of the inn."
"Don't worry, Li Guang just came and said there won't be any rain for the next two days, and the sun will be out," Zhao Xian said.
"Really? That's great! The sky has finally cleared up. I haven't seen the sun in so long."
"Princess, don't be too happy. It's currently the rainy season, and it won't end for another ten days or so. Even if it doesn't rain for two days, the rain will continue."
Upon hearing this, Li Xue was stunned. She sighed and said:
"Why is there so much rain this year? It will last for more than ten days. Too much rain is not good for crops. It looks like we have to endure for more than ten days."
"By the way, what was Li Guang doing here just now? Surely he didn't just come to talk about this little thing."
"Of course not. Due to continuous rain, floods occurred in the southern part of Zhengyang County, and the construction of the irrigation canal was halted. The soldiers who were building the irrigation canal have returned."
This is not the main issue. Due to continuous rainfall, Xunzhou, which is more than 300 miles away from Shuixian Village, has suffered severe flooding, with many areas submerged.
What's even more worrying is the soaring water level of the Xunjiang River. If the rains continue, the Xunjiang River will be at risk of breaching its banks. If the riverbank collapses, tens of thousands of people in Xunzhou City will suffer a devastating disaster.
Li Guang just discussed this matter with me. We are preparing to go to Xunzhou to oversee the relocation of all the people in the city to a safe area.
The weather has been fine these past two days, and Li Guang will take this opportunity to travel to Xunzhou to finalize this matter.
Upon hearing this, Li Xue couldn't help but feel a little nervous and said:
"Is it very dangerous to travel to Xunzhou at this time?"
"There is certainly danger, but Princess, you don't need to worry. Li Guang will be leading a hundred soldiers to Xunzhou this time."
I will provide them with life jackets. As long as they wear life jackets, even if they are swept away by the muddy water, they will not lose their lives.
"That's great! I didn't expect Brother Zhao to have such a good thing. As long as it can save my life, that's fine."
"That's not necessarily true. While life jackets can save lives in critical situations, they are not foolproof. If the flood is too large and pulls a person into a rapid current or whirlpool, the life jacket will not be of much use."
Zhao Xian's words made Li Xue worry again, so Zhao Xian comforted her.
"Princess, there is no need to worry. Li Guang's trip to Xunzhou is mainly to oversee the evacuation of the local population."
Even if the river dike breaches and Xunzhou is flooded, the floodwaters will only rise steadily. As long as people can evacuate in time, there will be little risk.
Zhao Xian's words reassured Li Xue considerably. Seeing that Zhao Xian was about to leave, she said:
"Brother Zhao, are you going out?"
"Yes, a merchant ship from Xunzhou arrived a day ago. I plan to go there to inquire about the situation in Xunzhou. If necessary, I will arrange for some disaster relief supplies to be transported to the disaster area for rescue."
"So that's how it is. I'll go with Brother Zhao then."
“Yes, Princess, the rain has stopped now, so we can head over there.”
At the canal docks, many merchant ships were moored. Due to the recent continuous rain, they were unable to load cargo, and the ship owners were very anxious, hoping for the weather to clear up.
The rain stopped, and the boat owners disembarked and came to the dock to check the weather, hoping it would clear up so they could load their cargo.
Upon seeing Zhao Xian and Li Xue arrive, the boat owners quickly stepped forward and bowed to them.
"Greetings to Marquis Zhengyang, greetings to the Princess."
"No need for formalities. The weather will be fine for the next two days, so you should hurry up and load the goods. It will rain again in two days."
"Really? Then let's hurry up and load the cargo, and try to finish loading it in two days before setting sail."
After the ship owners finished speaking, they all left to urge the sourcing of cargo and prepare for loading.
At this moment, Zhao Xian saw the boat owner from Xunzhou disembark from the boat, accompanied by a man who was probably the manager who had come with the boat.
Seeing that Zhao Xian and Li Xue were also on the dock, the boat owner brought the manager over and introduced them to the two.
It turned out that the two people in front of him were Marquis Zhengyang and Princess Li Xue of the current dynasty. Although this shopkeeper had always purchased goods from Zhao Xian, this was his first time visiting Shuixian Village.
"My name is Lu Dalin, a native of Xunzhou. I have met Marquis Zhengyang and Princess."
"So it's Manager Lu. No need for formalities. Have the procedures for purchasing the goods been completed?"
"It's all taken care of. This batch of goods cannot get damp, so we need to wait until the weather is clear before loading. The rain has stopped now, but I don't know if the weather will clear up," Manager Lu said.
"The weather will be fine for the next two days, which is enough time to load the goods. Two days is sufficient to load the goods."
"This dock is very advanced. Other docks take at least three days to load goods, but here it only takes one day, and it also saves a lot of loading costs," Manager Lu said excitedly.
Zhao Xian nodded. It seemed that the loading and unloading facilities he had set up at the dock were very effective. They not only improved the efficiency of loading and unloading but also saved a lot of money.
"Manager Lu, since you are from Xunzhou, I would like to ask you some questions."
"What does Marquis Zhengyang wish to inquire about? Please speak freely."
"With continuous rainfall recently, I heard that there has been severe flooding in the Xunzhou area, and the Xunjiang River has risen sharply, with the river embankment in danger. I wonder if this is true."
Upon hearing this, Manager Lu was stunned and quickly said:
"Reporting to Marquis Zhengyang, I have been here to purchase goods for four days now."
Four days ago, some areas of Xunzhou did experience flooding, with many farmlands submerged. These incidents occurred in the surrounding rural areas. The situation within Xunzhou city itself remained relatively stable, and no major emergencies were reported.
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