It was late at night on the fourth day of the torrential rain.
Thunder roared and lightning flashed across the night sky, illuminating the darkness as if it were daytime.
Startled awake by the noise, Shen Tangning turned her head and stared blankly out the window. It was tonight…
Chi Yan's cool fingertips were grasped. He didn't open his eyes, his voice languid and hoarse: "Can't sleep?"
"I have a feeling that something bad is going to happen tonight," she murmured.
He couldn't help but open his eyes and look over. The drowsiness in his eyes faded a little, and he turned his head to look out the window with her, his brows furrowing slightly.
Meanwhile, outside Yanjing.
The surging river relentlessly pounded the embankment with destructive force. At one corner of the Yunlong Weir embankment, gravel kept rolling into the water, and after several rounds, it collapsed under the weight.
The riverbank was swallowed up with a "boom," and the river water spread wildly, like a giant dragon, instantly encroaching on the surrounding fields and villages!
Fortunately, the villagers in this area had already moved to the mountains to take refuge, but the destructive power of the flood was still alarming.
Someone woke up in the middle of the night and looked down the mountain, just in time to see this scene, and immediately turned pale:
"Flood! The flood is coming!"
More people gathered on the hillside. An elderly man, his face filled with grief, knelt down with a thud: "Our crops, our houses... all gone!"
Young children don't understand what a flood is, but upon seeing this scene, they instinctively hide in their parents' arms and cry out in fear.
Crops can be replanted, but houses must be rebuilt, which is a devastating blow to them!
——
The following day, Yanjing was shrouded in dark clouds.
The flood raged overnight, completely submerging low-lying areas and even those in higher areas, with water reaching knee-deep.
Gong Shangshu was ashen-faced and could not utter a single word. Emperor Chongde ordered him to be imprisoned in the imperial prison to await his fate, and no one in the entire court dared to plead for him!
Such a massive project, built at great expense and with a huge manpower investment, was so vulnerable to floods, even after being reinforced!
What if it hadn't been reinforced? You can imagine how perfunctory the construction was back then!
So much silver was spent, only to end up in someone else's pocket. One can imagine Emperor Chongde's fury!
However, now is not the time to assign blame. The most important thing right now is to fight the flood, rebuild the dikes as soon as possible, appease the affected people, and implement various remedial measures.
With Minister Gong imprisoned, the Ministry of Works was leaderless. Emperor Chongde's eyes darkened: "Chi Jingyu, I order you to immediately lead men to Yunlong Weir and control the spread of the flood as soon as possible!"
Chi Jingyu's eyes flickered slightly as he stepped forward: "Your humble servant obeys the decree!"
At the same time, Chi Yan was inevitably chosen by imperial decree.
"Chi Yan, you will assist the Jingzhao Prefecture in the rescue efforts, searching for any people trapped by the flood and relocating them in a timely manner."
Chi Yan bowed solemnly and said, "Your subject obeys the decree."
Just then, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Grand Tutor Xie stepped forward and said slowly, "Your Majesty, the people are currently suffering from the floods. This old minister also wishes to do his part and is willing to donate half of his family's wealth to the disaster relief efforts. I beg Your Majesty's permission!"
These words elicited various reactions from the crowd, stirring up a wave of emotions within them.
Some were taken aback, some were secretly annoyed, and some admired.
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