White-robed Minister

Chapter 132 0130 [Flood Relief]

While it was pouring rain in Kaifeng, it was only drizzling in Yingtian Prefecture.

A fast boat braved the rain and drifted downstream. It came to a stop just as it reached the shore of the prefectural city. Wu Zhongxing practically jumped ashore and ran straight to the magistrate's office.

Wu Zhongxing was an envoy dispatched by the Directorate of Waterways to Yingtian Prefecture, in charge of all waterway affairs in Yingtian Prefecture. The local official he was in contact with was Prefect Zhuang Gongyue.

"A flood is coming! I need to see Magistrate Zhuang!"

Wu Zhongxing, disregarding everything else, shouted at the gatekeeper from afar, "Report immediately! Report immediately!"

The doorman was startled and hurriedly went to report.

Upon receiving the news, Zhuang Gongyue dared not delay and quickly sent someone to invite Wu Zhongxing in.

Seeing that Wu Zhongxing was soaked to the bone, he immediately sensed something was wrong: "Minister Wu, what exactly happened?"

Wu Zhongxing said, "The Bian River's water level has risen sharply; it must be due to a major flood upstream. I've already sent people to Biankou to inquire about the specific situation, but we can't just wait idly by, because the water level is rising alarmingly high, and Yingtian Prefecture is very likely to breach its banks!"

Each region had a "river embankment judge," either concurrently held by the prefectural magistrate or the assistant magistrate, who was in charge of river defense affairs in the prefecture.

The river embankment judge of Yingtian Prefecture was Zhuang Gongyue, but he only served as an official for a few years and stayed in the capital to hold a prestigious position. He had absolutely no experience in river defense.

"A breach in the dike?"

Zhuang Gongyue was startled and hurriedly said to Wu Zhongxing, "Come with me to see Lord Gong!"

They hurried away from the hall of judges, and on the way, Zhuang Gongyue instructed the clerks: "Go and invite Judge Xu to the inner hall of the government office for a meeting."

No matter what conflicts or disagreements we may have, we must unite as one when it comes to flood control and disaster relief!

At this moment, Yingtian Prefecture had finished its investigation, but the matter was too big for them to make a final judgment. They had to wait for the central government to set up a special task force to take over.

Upon receiving the news, Xu Lai hurriedly went to the inner hall of the government office, where he found Gong Dingchen, Zhuang Gongyue, and Wu Zhongxing already waiting for him.

A map of the river defenses was placed on the table.

After Xu arrived, Wu Zhongxing immediately began to explain: "The Bian River originates from the Yellow River, and it is often clogged due to excessive silt."

Starting in the first year of the Jiayou era, methods such as narrowing the river with wooden banks and constricting the water flow to attack the sand were adopted to alleviate the problem. Four years ago, the Water Conservancy Bureau officially delineated the width of the river channel, and excessively wide sections were narrowed with wooden banks.

Pointing to the river defense map, Wu Zhongxing said, "This project stretches from Biankou all the way up to Xiangyi County upstream. Today I discovered that the water level is rising too fast. If we add the impact of the narrow Mu'an River, Yingtian Prefecture could easily breach its banks!"

Zhuang Gongyue didn't understand: "According to you, the narrow riverbank is a good thing, so how could it bring about even worse consequences?"

Wu Zhongxing patiently explained, "The upstream section has just been repaired, but the section in Yingtian Prefecture hasn't been repaired yet. The narrow riverbank will cause the upstream water flow to be even stronger, while Yingtian Prefecture's drainage system is inadequate. This time, there's a very high possibility that the dike will breach in Yingtian Prefecture!"

Now everyone understood, and Zhuang Gongyue looked extremely flustered.

Xu Lai asked directly, "What are the possible solutions?"

Wu Zhongxing said, "There are two methods, and it would be best to use both at the same time."

"First, reinforce the riverbanks. And immediately notify the downstream state governments to reinforce their own dikes as well."

"Second, find a place ready to release floodwaters at any time. It's in the southwest of the prefectural city and the southeast of Ningling County. The terrain there is low-lying, and there's also an abandoned ancient Song city. That's the most suitable place to release the water, but the surrounding villagers must be evacuated in advance."

In ancient times, floods were rarely dealt with in this way because there was not enough time to react and it was difficult to mobilize manpower and resources immediately.

Especially in those wild river sections, how can we quickly mobilize laborers to carry sandbags and build dikes?

They often only protect the cities, leaving the countryside to its fate.

But Yingtian Prefecture could do it because the Bian River was just too important.

Along the Bian River, there were soldiers stationed along the riverbanks. They did not perform any other duties but were solely responsible for guarding the dikes. Historical records describe this as "one soldier for every step," meaning that on average, one soldier was assigned to every 1.5 meters of dike.

This may be an exaggeration, but the density of defenses along the river must have been very high.

He Qingbing is stationed on a rotating basis, and most of the time he goes home to farm. He is immediately conscripted to carry out rescue operations when floods occur.

In addition, there were sweepers and patrolmen, who set up sweeping stations and patrol houses along the river. They were responsible for daily patrols and would take immediate action if they found anything wrong.

Every July, the government would mobilize dike-building materials in advance, often amounting to "tens of millions." These materials were stored in various material yards along the river, allowing them to be mobilized without long-distance transportation.

Everything is for the sake of ensuring the safety of the canal transport!

Xu Lai then asked, "How much time do we have?"

Wu Zhongxing said, "I don't know, because I'm not clear about the situation upstream."

Gong Dingchen glanced at Zhuang Gongyue and Xu Lai, and began to assign tasks: "Prefect Zhuang, you are responsible for maintaining order in the city, requisitioning houses, allocating grain, resettling disaster victims, and preventing plague."

Duke Zhuang Yue bowed and accepted the order.

Gong Dingchen then said, "Xu, you will help me draft and issue disaster relief orders to ensure smooth communication of government policies. When I am not in the government office, you will be responsible for coordinating all disaster relief matters."

"yes!"

Xu Lai cupped his hands in greeting.

The first order issued by Gong Dingchen was to summon the Heqing soldiers from various counties and villages back to their posts.

The second order was to instruct the seven magistrates of Yingtian Prefecture to fully cooperate with the disaster relief efforts, and to quickly mobilize more laborers and supplies to help.

He promised to recognize those who performed well in disaster relief and to submit a memorial to the court requesting that their merits be redeemed from their crimes. If the disaster relief efforts were ineffective, he would have to consider the consequences himself!

Everyone needs to be mobilized.

Even the old officials who had been sitting idle in the Censorate in Nanjing had to contribute their remaining energy at this time. These old officials had a lot of influence, so they were responsible for persuading gentry and merchants to donate money, goods, and manpower.

Military officers also had to lead troops into action to maintain order, reinforce dikes, and transport supplies.

The Transport Commissioner's Office and the Judicial Commissioner's Office also need to play their roles. Gong Dingchen has already sent people to invite Wang Yirou and Shen Qi.

The position of military commissioner is vacant.

This is not a permanent position; it is only created when needed.

Xu Lai quickly became extremely busy.

All the disaster relief orders were signed and issued by him. Due to the urgency, there wasn't even time to check for any prohibited words.

The information reported by various departments also needs to be compiled and summarized by Xu Lai, and feasible proposals should be formed and handed over to Gong Dingchen for decision-making.

That evening, the Transport Commissioner's Office, the Judicial Commissioner's Office, and the Yingtian Prefecture jointly established a disaster relief dispatch center. All key personnel were transferred to the vacant Military Commissioner's Office for joint work—this place was very close to all the other offices, and the servants had already cleared it out that afternoon.

"The water level has risen another half foot, faster than expected."

"Instruct all counties along the river to expedite the construction of dikes!"

"An official document from Tokyo has arrived. The water level on the upper reaches of the Bian River has risen so high that it is no longer possible to sail. The document was delivered by horse-drawn carriages in the rain."

The imperial palace was flooded, and countless people in Tokyo were killed or injured. The imperial court ordered downstream prefectures and counties to make preparations as soon as possible.

"Why did it take so long to arrive?"

"I don't know. It's common for people and horses to slip and fall when the roads are slippery in the rain."

"Report! Rumors are spreading throughout the prefectural city that the dikes are about to burst. Countless people have gathered inside the north gate, clamoring to leave the city and flee to Yucheng County to escape the disaster. Magistrate Zhuang and Supervisor Li are about to lose control."

"Useless! I'll go myself. Judge Xu, you'll handle all matters on my behalf."

"Yes."

Gong Dingchen clearly did not trust the abilities of Tongpan Zhuang Gongyue, so he entrusted all the most important matters to Xu Lai and left his personal advisors by Xu Lai's side.

Gong Dingchen took his son to the north gate of the prefectural city, where thousands of people had gathered despite the rain, and more and more people were arriving.

Upon hearing that the prefect had arrived, prominent figures in the city appeared one after another, pleading with Gong Dingchen to open the city gates and allow everyone to leave the city to avoid disaster.

The old officials who remained in Nanjing to oversee the Censorate were also there.

Wang Jichen stepped forward shakily, and his servant quickly followed with an umbrella.

The old man said, "Lord Gong, the water level is rising too fast, and the prefectural city is truly in danger. Please open the city gates and allow the people to seek refuge in Yucheng County. It's farther from the Bian River and the terrain is higher—"

"Shut up!"

Gong Dingchen shouted angrily, then said in a low voice, "You are a wise and experienced minister, I don't want to say anything more. Let's not make things unpleasant for everyone."

Wang Jichen said, "You didn't even consult me ​​about the specifics of flood prevention and disaster relief. I know nothing, how can I cooperate with you? You asked me to persuade the gentry and merchants to donate money and goods, and I've already sent someone to deliver the message. You should at least tell me the truth, shouldn't you?"

"If the water level gets too high, the upstream will release water on its own. The prefectural city won't be flooded!" Gong Dingchen said.

Wang Jichen asked, "Have the people in the villages used for flood control been relocated?"

Gong Dingchen said, "I signed a joint document with the Transport Commissioner and the Censorate to transfer all the Nanjing Imperial Guards there. Those people have no choice but to move; we'll compensate them afterwards."

Wang Jichen thought for a moment and said, "I will help you appease the people in the city."

Thank you.

Gong Dingchen told his son, "Go and guard the dike outside the city. Do not return to the city until the floodwaters recede!"

Gong Fugui's mouth dropped open in disbelief as he stared at his father. He wanted to say something, but held back, finally uttering only one word: "Yes!"

Gong Dingchen loudly addressed the nearby people, "This is my son. He's guarding the dike outside the city. If the dike breaches, he'll be the first to drown!"

The scene gradually quieted down.

Wang Jichen finally put his words to use: "With the prefect's own son guarding the dike, what are we afraid of? Why don't we ask the government to open the south gate, and we can all go and build the dike together? Those with money can contribute money, and those with strength can contribute strength. Even women can deliver meals to the laborers and soldiers building the dike."

Wang Jichen was extremely influential in Yingtian Prefecture, and several merchants immediately expressed their support, sending their servants to help at the dike.

"Although I am old and frail, I cannot sit idly by. I will also go and guard the dike!" Wang Jichen said.

He didn't want to retire in Yingtianfu, so he kept cultivating relationships, hoping to return to Tokyo to serve as an official.

Historically, Wang Jichen was quickly transferred back to the Ministry of Revenue, and the following year he even became the tutor of Prince Zhao Xu. He also served as the second-ranking official in the Prince Ying's household!

Now that a flood discharge plan had been prepared, there was not much danger in the prefectural city, and Wang Jichen was thinking of taking the opportunity to make a gamble.

When everyone saw that Wang Jichen was going to personally guard the dike, their worries were completely dispelled. Some went home to sleep with peace of mind, while others ran to the dike south of the city to help.

He truly made the most of his remaining energy; regardless of Wang Jichen's original intentions, he did indeed stabilize people's hearts.

Xu Lai remained at the "Flood Control and Disaster Relief Command Center" throughout the day.

His work wasn't particularly exciting; he didn't have to personally go to the dike. But he was always on high alert, constantly collecting, organizing, and signing various documents. He also had to represent the government, communicating with the Transport Commissioner's Office and the Judicial Commissioner's Office.

The provincial judicial commissioner, Shen Qi, was not in the prefectural city; he had gone upstream to oversee the situation. He was stationed at a designated section of the river, and once the water level rose to a dangerous level, Shen Qi would order the breaching of the dikes to release the floodwaters.

Shen Qi was also in charge of directing the evacuation of residents from the flood discharge area.

Only Wang Yirou was relatively free. He paced anxiously back and forth in the command center, delegating all the specific tasks to his subordinates. Only when signatures and stamps were required would this high-ranking official be bothered.

Putting everything else aside, at least his attitude was commendable; he didn't give bad advice or hinder progress.

Many civil officials in the Song Dynasty were considered good officials if they didn't cause trouble at crucial moments.

Around midnight, Wu Zhongxing sent someone to report: "The water level rise has slowed down, and the first wave of flooding has passed. You can all go home and rest for now, but some people can stay here to take turns on duty."

Upon hearing this, the entire audience cheered.

Gong Dingchen was unable to bear it any longer and was helped back to sleep by the officials.

Xu Lai stayed behind to be on duty and dozed off in his chair.

He worked from the afternoon until the early hours of the night. Although the time was short, he learned a lot and became familiar with various procedures for flood control and disaster relief in ancient times.

Meanwhile, the seven magistrates of Yingtian Prefecture, along with their subordinate officials, devoted themselves wholeheartedly to disaster relief.

They felt it was better to make amends for their mistakes than to make merits, and they were eager to atone for their sins with good deeds.

Even the three counties of Chuqiu, Yucheng, and Zhecheng, which are not even adjacent to the Bian River, took the initiative to send money and grain to provide support, fearing that they would miss this opportunity.

(Seeking monthly votes at the beginning of the month.)

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