"Why are there still people who haven't evacuated? Who are they?" Magistrate Jiang asked.
"Your Excellency, they might be members of a gang. When the government asked them to leave, they were very earnest and persuasive."
These people wouldn't listen; they only believed in the God of Liang, thinking that with his protection, the flood wouldn't occur. Furthermore, they incited the people to disobey the government's orders.
“These are all stubborn people, but we are the officials of Xunzhou City, how can we stand by and watch them die?” Prefect Jiang said.
"Your Excellency, the current in the city is swift, and it would be too difficult to stop the boat to rescue people."
"Besides, our boat is small and we have a lot of people. If we're not careful, we could easily capsize the boat. In that case, we won't be able to save anyone, and we might even lose our lives," an official on the boat replied.
"Yes, Your Excellency, these people don't trust the government at all. Let the god Liang they worship save them."
“Rescuing people now is indeed dangerous. As long as these people upstairs stay upstairs, their lives are not in danger. We can either wait a few days until the flood recedes a bit before arranging for rescuers to come.”
That's absolutely true. The disaster has only just begun, and there are still many important things to do. I can't waste time here.
Thinking of this, Prefect Jiang spoke up:
"Throw the steamed buns you brought to them and tell them to be patient for a few days, and the government will send people to rescue them."
"Yes, Your Excellency."
After the constable finished speaking, he went to do as he was told.
Prefect Jiang rode in a small boat and toured the city. To his surprise, some people in the city had not yet evacuated.
They noticed that the families who hadn't evacuated were probably well-off, as their homes were mostly multi-story buildings.
In their view, even if the downstairs is flooded, there is still the second floor, so there is nothing to worry about.
Prefect Jiang knew that the rain would continue for several more days, and the floodwaters entering the city would continue to rise, making it highly likely that their upstairs would be flooded.
The floodwaters will recede in a long time; these people are disobeying the government's orders, so they need to suffer. They will not be given any assistance for the time being.
And so, the small boat toured the city, and when Prefect Jiang saw that it was about time, he ordered the boat to leave the city.
Once the small boat left the city, Prefect Jiang ordered his yamen runners to row it to several other resettlement sites to check on the resettlement of disaster victims in those areas.
At the several resettlement sites set up by the government, the overall situation was good, and the disaster victims were in stable spirits; however, their living quarters were extremely crowded.
These are all temporary; once the floodwaters recede, the victims can return home.
The disaster victims were deeply moved when they saw Prefect Jiang come to inspect the area. They knelt down and thanked the Prefect for saving their lives.
By the time Prefect Jiang finished his inspection for the day and returned to the resettlement site, it was already dusk.
At this time, Li Guang also returned. After a busy day, he went to the surrounding rural areas and found that some low-lying areas had been completely submerged by the flood.
Most of the villagers in these areas fled to higher ground, but a few remained trapped, climbing onto rooftops or trees to await rescue.
Li Guang arrived by boat, discovered the trapped people, rescued them, and moved them to higher ground.
Of course, when Li Guang was carrying out the rescue, he also found some villagers who were rowing wooden boats and were also doing the rescue. These rescue efforts were all spontaneous by the villagers and were not carried out by the government.
Seeing this, Li Guang was quite pleased; the villagers were helping each other, and the efficiency was very high.
At the resettlement site, Prefect Jiang paid his respects to Li Guang. They each briefed each other on the situation they had inspected that day. Given the magnitude of the disaster, it was quite remarkable that they had achieved such a result.
Next, the group continued their discussion. Li Guang told them that the rainy weather would continue, the river would rise further, the disaster would worsen, and some low-lying farmland and villages would continue to be flooded.
It is estimated that the flood will recede slowly in more than ten days. This period will be the most difficult time for the disaster victims, and the government should have some countermeasures.
Li Guang's words made Prefect Jiang frown with worry, as the biggest problem at present was the grain issue.
A few days ago, Prefect Jiang transferred a lot of grain to several resettlement sites. Due to the continuous rain, some of the grain got damp during transportation. Since it could not be dried, it was easy for it to mold in such a temperature, making it inedible.
Due to the large concentration of disaster victims, several resettlement sites require a large amount of food every day, and they will face food shortages in a few days.
From now on, we must consider the supply of food. Without food, the disaster victims will go hungry. The imperial relief grain will take at least a month to arrive, which is definitely not acceptable.
Judging from the current situation, the flood has affected a very wide area, and surrounding areas will also face the same problem. It will be difficult to collect enough food, and it seems that the victims will inevitably go hungry for some time to come.
Seeing this, Li Guang said, "Prefect Jiang, there is no need to worry. We can transfer a batch of grain from Shuixian Village to ensure that the disaster victims can get through this difficult time."
Due to the flooding of vast amounts of farmland, this year's harvest will be significantly reduced. Even after the floodwaters recede, the people of Xunzhou will still have to tighten their belts to make ends meet.
"Thank you, General Li. With the help of Shuixian Village, Xunzhou will be able to overcome its difficulties. I know that Shuixian Village has built a canal, and disaster relief grain can be transported to Xunzhou by waterway."
"Please write a letter, General Li, and I will have it sent to Narcissus Village." Prefect Jiang said excitedly.
"Prefect, please don't be impatient. It's already late. Tomorrow morning, I will send a letter by carrier pigeon. Marquis Zhengyang will receive the letter in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea."
The relief grain will arrive at Xunzhou Wharf in a few days. After receiving the grain, please be careful to keep it dry and prevent it from getting wet in the rain.
Li Guang's words excited Prefect Jiang. He hadn't expected that Li Guang could send a message by carrier pigeon, and that it would arrive in an instant, over three hundred li away. This was truly amazing.
At this time, in Narcissus Village, after a busy day, Master Qin finally managed to collect one million catties of grain.
Meanwhile, Wang Li was in the village publicizing the flood situation in Xunzhou and mobilizing villagers to provide assistance to the disaster-stricken areas of Xunzhou to the best of their ability.
In a short time, villagers donated money and goods, and in just one day, Wang Lizheng received more than one million catties of grain and a large amount of silver.
Although it continued to rain for the next few days, the rainfall was not heavy and did not dampen the villagers' enthusiasm for helping the disaster area. The villagers continued to donate money and food early the next morning.
At this time, Zhao Xian received a message from Li Guang via carrier pigeon. Upon opening it, as expected, Li Guang described the situation after the flooding of Xunzhou.
The biggest problem in Xunzhou right now is the food shortage, and they are requesting food assistance from Shuixian Village.
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