You were made to farm, and now you're the emperor of an empire?

Chapter 271 Flood Control
in the afternoon.

Those who dug the pit noticed that the rain suddenly intensified.

They worked shirtless, truly deserving of the title "mud-legged laborers."

The cold rain pattered against their shoulders and backs, and some people shivered.

It's summer now, but they feel a bit cold.

Roman ordered the construction of numerous temporary rain shelters.

More than a hundred horses pulled the carriages one after another.

The vehicle contained wooden barrels filled with warm, salted meat broth, fried bacon, and soft, fragrant bread.

The laborers began to eat in shifts. These warm lunches replenished their body heat, making their stomachs feel warm and comfortable. They didn't rest much after eating and continued digging the pits.

They are carrying out the construction in batches and sections.

Digging ditches and canals to guide the water flow to lower-lying areas.

But progress is slow.

Damn it! Those wastelands are so hard to dig; there are rocks everywhere.

Roman's face was gloomy.

He rode his white horse, passing through place after place.

The rainwater increased, submerging our feet.

The ditches that were dug out were also full of water.

He had an overhead view and discovered that these depressions couldn't hold much water either.

This is normal; every summer, the lower reaches of the basin become a vast expanse of water.

The water from those marshes will slowly flow into the Bro River, or be absorbed by the soil; in any case, it will eventually recede.

But this process may take ten days to half a month.

What is meant by developed land?

It means that when encountering heavy rain, it can quickly release floodwaters through infrastructure and water conservancy, and has a certain flood control capability.

Those crops would have been submerged for at least ten days or half a month.

Even three to five days wouldn't be enough to bear it.

He is planting legumes again this time.

After a day of flooding, the water receded, and things could barely recover.

Two days later, production will be significantly reduced.

Three days later, they were all dead.

No, we need to find a way to dig a flood discharge channel leading to the Bro River.

Roman observed and searched patiently, and finally found a suitable location.

Excavate!
……

evening.

Just an hour or two after construction began, it got dark.

Roman had no choice but to call it a day.

Agents in each residential area began to gather the laborers by banging gongs, drums, and whistles, using various means of communication.

They won't be able to go home tonight.

Let's quickly set up camp and rest on the spot, so we can start construction as soon as it gets light tomorrow.

Roman had already brought in a large amount of dry firewood, as well as iron pots for boiling water and freshly cooked food from the main kitchen.

Let's keep things simple and make do for one night.

He himself didn't go back; instead, he ate and lived with the other managers.
The sky became completely dark.

Not only did it rain heavily, but intermittent thunderstorms also became the only source of light in the sky.

Darkness descended, thunder roared, rain poured down, and water surged.

The whole world seemed to be submerged in water.

On the earth, only the bonfires flickered like candlelight in this dark world. From a distance, they resembled thousands of lights in this thunderstorm, small yet undying, just like the way humans fought against natural disasters in primitive times—it was so then, and it is so now.

……

Roman was suddenly awakened from his sleep.

He realized that it was now the third day of the rainy season.

When he looked at the screen, he found that it would still be pouring rain tomorrow.

Roman's vision went black.

The worst fears have come true!
He was still sleepy when he woke up; it was not yet four o'clock and it was still pitch black outside.

But I can't worry about that now.

Roman led the white horse away from the temporary camp and headed towards the military camp.

When the soldiers in the camp found him, it was just getting light.

He was soaking wet, and his thick hair clung to his body; the guards almost didn't recognize him.

"Master?...Master!!"

Roman entered the military camp with a gloomy face!
...half an hour later.

All troops have completed their assembly.

They live in a secluded and isolated place; they only know that it's raining and have no idea what's happening outside.

“I need you now! Not for war, but for flood relief!” Roman got straight to the point, with Jet standing behind him.

The rain was noisy, and his voice wasn't a whistle; it wasn't sharp or piercing, and it couldn't even travel more than twenty meters, let alone be heard by five thousand soldiers.

But the row of people in front of him heard it.

That's enough.

"First Battalion! Ninth Battalion! Eleventh Battalion! All company commanders and platoon leaders, drop all your weapons and follow me!" Aaron roared, tilting his head back.

Aaron took the lead.

He mounted his warhorse and raised the square flags of the First, Ninth, and Eleventh Battalions. The three flags were hung on the same flagpole and distinguished by their colors.

The so-called flag knights were those who commanded the army.

"Second Battalion! Tenth Battalion! Twelfth Battalion! All company commanders and platoon leaders, follow me!" Green shouted immediately afterward.

Then Green mounted his horse and raised the flag high.

"Third Battalion! Thirteenth Battalion! Fourteenth Battalion! Did you hear that? Our master needs us. Follow me!" Nathan's voice boomed like a drum.

He did not usually ride a warhorse because he was already superior to others, and he would hold the square flag high with one hand.

"Fourth Battalion! Fifteenth Battalion! Be loyal to our King! Die for our King!" Kao's voice sounded harsh and cold.

He moved swiftly and planted the flagpole on the saddle.

"Heavy Armor Brigade! The time has come to need you!" Dick said in return.

"Scout squad! All men, follow!" Dota gave the order.

"Cavalry battalion! No one is allowed to fall behind!" Luca shouted.

"All archers..."

"The mess hall..."

……

The floods have arrived.

The army also set off.

Their level of organization is higher than that of farmers.

No one made a sound, no one spoke.

They followed their respective captains in silence.

Throughout history, no army has ever done anything unrelated to war, plunder, and killing.

Everyone believed that they were an army and should play a role on the battlefield, not crawling around in the mud.

Their hands should be wielding swords, knives, spears, and shooting deadly arrows; they should do everything in their power to harm others.

But this moment is different.

A real army emerged, whose soldiers swore an oath of allegiance to their masters and people upon enlistment.

From then on, they only did what they were supposed to do.

The spirit has been united, dignity has been awakened, the soul has been revived, and the spine has been straightened.

Thunder and lightning rose from the earth, and spirits were born from piles of white bones.

All those hypocritical things will be exposed in front of them.

Roman also believed that one day they would sweep away all the monsters and demons.

This sky and this land will eventually become clear and bright.

……

The torrential rain lasted for a full seven days.

This was a basin-wide flood with extremely heavy rainfall, causing a significant rise in water levels in the middle and upper reaches of the basin.

The phrase "flooding and causing disaster" refers to a massive flood.

According to the elderly residents of Sige Town, this was a flood they hadn't seen in thirty or fifty years.

If there were no breaches in the basin, this place would become the largest freshwater lake in the entire landmass.

The military's involvement in the construction greatly accelerated the project's progress.

Roman ordered his men to work day and night, investing all available manpower and resources without regard to cost, and finally, on the fifth day, they dug through the canal.

At that time, the flood had already submerged a small portion of the farmland.

But the water was quickly diverted, and although the crop yield decreased, it shouldn't be considered serious.

By the end, Roman's eyes were red and swollen, his body was cold and damp, and he was exhausted and sleepy. Even his warrior's physique was failing him.

Others slept directly in the mud and water.

But the story doesn't end there.

The torrential rains brought floods, and the floods brought disease.

(End of this chapter)