Li Guang didn't quite understand what the official was saying, so he asked:
"Could it be that there are still people in the city who shouldn't have been evacuated? What's going on? Who are they?"
“There is a gang in Xunzhou City whose members are mostly elderly people, numbering over a hundred. They hold regular gatherings, eat vegetarian food, chant Buddhist scriptures, and are not very friendly to the government.”
The government investigated the gang but found nothing unusual. According to the regulations of the imperial court, the government would not interfere too much with some folk organizations as long as they were not rebels or cults.
The people resisted the government's organization to evacuate Xunzhou City, believing that the government was wasting resources and manpower and that it was a disguised way of extorting money. They even secretly instigated the people in the city not to evacuate, saying that the God of Liang would protect them.
The evacuation of the residents was not smooth, which was partly due to this gang.
"General Li, should we go back to this gang again and take forceful measures to make those old fogies leave?"
"Forget it. Since this gang likes to go against the government, doesn't want to leave, and is even preventing others from doing so, let's just leave them be and let the Liang God they worship protect them."
After the flood, this gang must be thoroughly investigated. If it's not an organization recognized by the government, it must be banned.
"Your humble servant obeys," Prefect Jiang finally spoke.
Seeing that Prefect Jiang was able to speak, Li Guang then spoke:
"Your Excellency, please take care of your health. The river is still rising, and the river embankment will definitely break tonight. Before dark, everyone must be evacuated to a safe area."
Next, Li Guang toured the city and found that there were only some people waiting to be evacuated on the streets, and there were basically no people in other areas.
Xunzhou is an ancient city with many historical sites and scenic spots. It has a very developed water and land transportation and a very important strategic location. During times of war, it was a place that military strategists fought over.
This city, in just a few hours, will be submerged by the flood.
This is a natural disaster, and there's nothing anyone can do about it. All we can do now is minimize the damage caused by the disaster.
Li Guang and his soldiers were constantly busy, working alongside local officials to help the people evacuate.
As darkness fell, Li Guang saw that most of the people in the city had left, so he wrote a letter describing the situation and then tied the letter to the leg of a pigeon and released it.
After completing this task, Li Guang led his soldiers and, together with the officials of Xunzhou, began to withdraw.
By the time everyone had evacuated to a safe area, it was completely dark. The rain was pouring down and lightning was starting to appear.
Through the fleeting flash of lightning, one can see that the outside world is a seamless blend of water and sky.
After a thunderclap, it was as if countless holes had been punched in the sky, and a torrential downpour began.
Everyone was still shaken. If they hadn't evacuated by now, or were still on their way to evacuate, the heavy rain could have easily drowned them.
Then someone brought dinner, just a few steamed buns. In the face of disaster, being able to fill one's stomach was already a blessing.
While munching on a steamed bun, Li Guang was still wondering if the pigeons he had released earlier had flown back to Shuixian Village. If the pigeons had encountered such a heavy rain, they probably wouldn't have been able to fly back.
I sent two messages by carrier pigeon, but I don't know if Brother Zhao received them, or what the situation is like in Narcissus Village. I hope everything is alright.
At this time, it was not raining in Narcissus Village, and Zhao Xian was reading the letter sent by Li Guang.
After reading the letter, Zhao Xian said:
"Li Guang finally evacuated all the people in Xunzhou City to a safe area. According to his description, the river embankment of Xunjiang River was about to collapse, and Xunzhou City would be submerged in water."
Fortunately, Li Guang had made preparations in advance and evacuated the people of Xunzhou in time; otherwise, countless people would have died.
“Yes, this is just the urban area. I don’t know about the other areas. Although Xunzhou is only a county and a prefecture, it is quite large,” Li Xue said.
"I remember many years ago, a flood broke out in Xunzhou, killing tens of thousands of people. The city was the hardest hit area, and most of the people in Xunzhou drowned."
"Princess, there's no need to worry. The government should have already made arrangements for other areas of Xunzhou. People there have a better chance of escaping, and there shouldn't be too many casualties."
Li Xue nodded and said, "I hope so."
"According to Li Guang's prediction, this rainy season will last for more than ten days. This is just the beginning, and the Xunjiang River is about to breach its banks. There will be many difficulties ahead."
The rainy weather will continue, and the flooded houses of the disaster victims will leave them homeless. Fortunately, the government has set up resettlement sites, so there is no need to worry about where the disaster victims will live.
From now on, Xunzhou is already short of food. With such a severe flood, the imperial court will certainly provide assistance, but distant water cannot quench immediate thirst.
Shuixian Village isn't too far from Xunzhou, and relief supplies can be transported to the disaster area by waterway. What we need to do now is to collect food.
“Brother Zhao is right. Let’s hurry up and get on with this. I estimate that in a few days, Li Guang’s third message by carrier pigeon will arrive, instructing Shuixian Village to donate grain to the disaster area,” Li Xue said.
"There is no time to lose. We must hurry up and prepare enough disaster relief supplies. Once we receive Li Guang's message by carrier pigeon, we will transport these supplies to the disaster area."
“Brother Zhao, then I’ll donate some money to the disaster area. With the money, the victims can buy some daily necessities.”
“Okay, thank you, Princess. The rice is not yet ripe. I plan to buy some grain to make up a million catties, and also donate some daily necessities to be transported to the disaster area.” Zhao Xian said.
At this moment, Master Qin, who was sitting to the side, spoke up: "When one place is in trouble, help comes from all sides. I will donate all my savings to the disaster area."
Seeing that Master Qin was about to donate all his savings, Zhao Xian felt it was inappropriate and quickly spoke up:
“Master Qin, you mustn’t do that. You should keep some savings for emergencies.”
Upon hearing this, Master Qin spoke up:
"Over the years, my daughter and I have helped Marquis Zhengyang manage his businesses. Marquis Zhengyang has given us a lot. Shiyu and Yingying's savings can remain untouched, but I can use my savings."
Over the years, my savings have been growing rapidly, but I have nowhere to use them. I'm taking this opportunity to help the disaster victims.
I have always looked up to Marquis Zhengyang as my role model and wanted to do something for the Great Northern Dynasty. Now that this opportunity has come, I certainly cannot miss it.
Having said this much, Zhao Xian said nothing more. He couldn't stop Master Qin from donating to the disaster area, so he spoke up:
"Then thank you, Master Qin. Tomorrow I will go to the village head and ask him to mobilize the villagers to donate money and supplies to the disaster area, preferably more grain, since the disaster area is most in need of grain."
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