The next day, the sky was overcast with low-hanging dark clouds, indicating that a heavy rain was imminent. Li Guang's prediction was correct; the next ten days or so would indeed be rainy.
For the sake of safe production, Zhao Xian took Qin Yuanwai to inspect all the workshops and factories, and asked the managers to take precautions against risks, dig drainage ditches, and drain water in a timely manner.
Meanwhile, Zhao Xian brought Meng Yaoyao and Li Nan to the village to stay in the old house to prevent the farm from flooding due to continuous rainfall.
In the face of nature, humanity appears very small; all we can do is take precautions and try to minimize losses.
This kind of weather is irritating, even frightening, giving one a feeling that disaster is about to strike.
The dull day finally came to an end. As evening approached, a light rain began to fall, and the air started to feel fresh.
Zhao Xian knew this was not a good omen. The rainy season, which had lasted for more than ten days, had begun, and no one knew what kind of disaster the continuous rain would cause.
At this time, the people in Xunzhou did not take the notices issued by the government seriously; they had no intention of leaving at all.
At this time, Li Guang was inspecting the banks of the Xunjiang River. Although it had not rained for three days, the river water was still rising. Judging from the situation, the river embankment was definitely not going to hold.
Li found a high spot next to the river embankment. It was a small hill, much higher than the surrounding area, from which he could have a commanding view of the embankment and the river.
Li Guang set up camp here, stationing his soldiers to guard the area and keep a close watch on any potential dangers to the river embankment.
After a cool breeze, it started to rain. Li Guang left behind twenty soldiers, and the rest of his soldiers returned to the city with him.
Upon returning to the city, Prefect Jiang came out to greet them. Seeing that Li Guang and his soldiers' clothes were soaked, he quickly ordered someone to find them dry clothes so they could change.
"Prefect Jiang, the river has risen in the past two days, and the clouds in the sky are extremely thick. This rain will last for at least ten days, which will lead to another round of rising river levels."
Once the river rises to the middle of the dike, the dike will inevitably collapse, and the evacuation of all residents from the city will be urgent.
Li Guang's words left the officials present stunned. How could they possibly evacuate everyone from such a large place as Xunjiang Prefecture?
Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, Li Guang knew that the evacuation work had made no progress today. Perhaps these officials were still hoping for the best, which was unacceptable.
It's understandable for the public to have a sense of complacency, but officials absolutely cannot have that.
Thinking of this, Li Guang's attitude became serious. He stared at Prefect Jiang and said:
"The people in the city are unaware that disaster is imminent. The government must not make a mistake and put all its eggs in one basket by relying on the Xunjiang River embankment. The damage caused by this flood will far exceed your imagination."
Even if the river embankment is as solid as a rock, the rising river water will still overflow the embankment, and Xunzhou City will still be flooded. You are the officials in charge of Xunzhou; only you can save their lives.
Li Guang's words shocked everyone once again. In fact, these officials had been working hard all day, going door to door to spread the word, but no one believed them at all.
"General Li, to be honest, almost all the officials and yamen runners in the government office were mobilized today, going out into the streets and spreading the word from house to house, but very few people in the city believed it."
It is extremely difficult to get the people to follow the government's arrangements and voluntarily evacuate Xunzhou City.
"Let's assess the situation tomorrow. If it continues like this, the government will take forceful measures to evacuate everyone from the city."
It seems the problem lies with the people; they are unwilling to evacuate, mainly due to a lack of risk awareness and an inability to realize that disaster is imminent. Thinking of this, Li Guang spoke up:
"It is not easy to make the people understand the government's good intentions, and coercive measures should only be used as a last resort."
How about this, everyone? Starting tonight, the government will send people to announce in the streets and alleys of the city that the Xunjiang River embankment is in dire need of attention. Starting tomorrow, every household in the city will send one person to guard the embankment, and anyone who disobeys will be thrown into jail.
In order to create a tense atmosphere in the city, starting tomorrow, all officials' families will begin to evacuate. The evacuation will begin with you.
A notice will be issued tomorrow stating that all shops must close and cease operations after opening for the day, and are required to vacate the premises. This is mandatory, and those who violate this rule will have their business licenses revoked.
With these three measures in place, the city's residents will no longer remain indifferent and will consider evacuating.
As we were talking, the rainy weather began. In less than five days, the river embankment will surely break, and most of Xunzhou will be submerged.
The Xunzhou region, comprising one county and one prefecture, has hundreds of thousands of people, making it impossible for everyone to escape to safety.
The government will begin requisitioning ships now to participate in the rescue operation.
Li Guang's words made everyone tense again. Now the government's task was to strictly carry out the orders given by Li Guang without any ambiguity.
Li Guang was a prince of the current dynasty, the future emperor. The fact that he personally came to supervise the matter shows how important it was. If these people failed to do a good job, they would definitely lose their heads.
Prefect Jiang dared not delay and immediately summoned all the officials in the prefectural government for a meeting. He asked everyone to put down their work and concentrate on the tasks that Li Guang had just assigned them.
Li Guang nodded. According to Prefect Jiang's plan, the people in the city would be evacuated soon.
"Prefect Jiang, I have brought a hundred life jackets. Wearing them will protect you from floods and save your life in critical moments."
Life jackets are in short supply, making it difficult to provide one for everyone. Prefect Jiang should know who needs life jackets the most.
After Li Guang finished speaking, he immediately ordered someone to bring over the one hundred life jackets he had brought.
No one expected that Li Guang would bring such a good thing. Wearing a life jacket would save their lives in the event of a flood. Wasn't that a treasure?
It was raining outside, and the officials, accompanied by their yamen runners, began to travel through the streets and alleys of the city, banging gongs as they went and reading out notices.
The notice contained three points: First, all families in the city, except for elderly people living alone, should arrange for one person to guard the river embankment every day.
Secondly, families of public officials must evacuate within two days and go to resettlement points set up by the government.
Third, all residents of the city must purchase sufficient daily necessities by tomorrow, and all shops will be closed and shut down the following day. Those who violate this rule will have their business licenses revoked.
This time, Prefect Jiang issued a strict order, and the yamen runners took turns reading the proclamation in the city until after midnight before stopping.
In other words, from dusk till midnight, no one in the city could sleep; they had to listen carefully to the announcements issued by the government.
The purpose of this is to let everyone know that everyone must evacuate as soon as possible and go to the resettlement point for refuge.
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