He changed Tiwat

"Don't you want to blow up the dike?" the reporter asked curiously. "If you blow up the dike, Captain Yanbo, you'll go down in history!"

"But I'd rather not be famous!" Yanbo's voice was a bit loud, startling the reporters.

The reporter's eyes darted around, recalling the information he'd obtained through special channels: "I heard that your unit underwent rigorous training for this mission. And your ranks even include Lord Ningguang's personal guards..."

"I'd rather this training had been a waste... Sigh." Yanbo shook his head, knowing that further discussion was pointless.

Despite the complaints, everyone present, including Yanbo, believed that the dam would soon burst.

There shouldn't be much time left before the flood peak arrives, and they need to finish the detonation work before then.

The soldiers were fully prepared and just waiting for Yanbo's order, while Yanbo was waiting for orders from Guiliyuan.

—The order has arrived.

Zhenhai, whom Yanbo had sent to deliver the message, has returned.

He pushed his way through the chattering reporters and ran up to Yanbo.

Despite being out of breath from the run, Zhenhai still shouted the order at the top of his lungs: "Commander-in-Chief Han of the Guiliyuan Flood Control Center has issued the order: 'Dismantle the detonating device! This government has not diverted the flood!'"

The moment the order was given, the reporters were in an uproar; all their previously prepared press releases were rendered useless! Several reporters immediately grabbed Zhenhai and began to question him about what had happened.

Boyi wanted to squeeze through with Shiyun to ask questions, but when he turned around, he found that Shiyun had already run away, and she was running towards Guili Plain.

"What are you doing!" Boyi jumped up and down in anger.

Shih-yun ignored him and ran faster and faster. In her notebook, she had already written a title: "This government has not diverted the floodwaters."

She's going to write a real exclusive!

Chapter 386 Pre-Battle Mobilization

"As long as the dike stands, we will stand! This government will not divert the floodwaters!"

Han Fulai's order quickly spread throughout Guili Plain.

It represents one thing—this Liyue government will not abandon anyone.

Liyue will not abandon its people, nor will it allow floods to destroy anyone's home.

The order was issued, and the entire camp was invigorated.

Han Fulai then gathered all available resources, including those on leave, and anyone who was still able to move, and assembled them in front of the dike.

The Guiliyuan Dam was quiet for a while in the early morning, with only the flickering torches for lighting making a soft sound.

Standing on the embankment, Han Fulai delivered a brief speech to the officers, soldiers, and workers of Qianyan below.

"Everyone, I am Han Fulai, the deputy commander-in-chief of the flood control work in Guiliyuan. I am here to tell you that this flood peak is the last one."

"According to experts, this flood peak will reach a height of over 17 meters, last for up to 20 hours, and be unprecedentedly intense."

"But on the other hand, being able to hold out for 20 hours is a victory for us!"

"As you may have heard, we once planned to divert the floodwaters to Mingyun Town to protect Guiliyuan, but the final decision I made was the order you just heard. Because I wanted to save every person and every family."

“I can’t predict what the final outcome will be if I do this, but I want to choose hope.”

"This is very dangerous. Everyone needs to be prepared to risk their lives. Some may sacrifice themselves, and we may fail. The flood peak is imminent, and the only time to evacuate is now. Those of you in the Qianyan Army who are not prepared can leave now, and I guarantee no one will hold you accountable; staying means you are willing to live and die with this riverbank..."

He fell silent, preparing to wait for some time for people to make a decision.

However, just a few seconds later, a familiar voice came from the crowd. It was Jing Yuan, who had gone down to the bottom of the river with Han Fulai to plug the crack.

He then shouted, "The cliffs are firm, the peaks are unyielding!"

Then this shout spread throughout the entire Thousand Rock Army formation, and every soldier roared out those eight words.

They were responding to Han Fulai, saying, "Don't look down on us! There are no deserters in the Qianyan Army!"

As if in a fit of pique, after Qian Yanjun shouted, the workers around him became unhappy, and the leading foremen yelled, "Chairman Han doesn't trust us!"

"Let me ask you all, are there any cowards among our workers?"

The workers made a lot of noise, but finally they all said one thing: "There are no cowards among us workers!"

Looking at these vibrant faces before him, Han Fulai once again felt the responsibility of bearing life on his shoulders.

It felt heavy, but also touching.

His words were certainly meant to boost morale, but they were also his genuine feelings.

Despite making the most thorough preparations, he could not guarantee success in the face of the might of heaven and earth.

However, with such an army and such people, there is no difficulty that cannot be overcome.

Just as the "that gentleman" from China said, "To struggle against the heavens is to find endless joy."

A surge of heroic spirit welled up within him, and he bowed deeply to the crowd below the embankment.

"Thanks……"

He straightened up and pointed to the surging blue water behind him.

"There is only one thing I can assure you all—as the commander of the flood control efforts, I will take full responsibility for this decision, and I will be with you for the next 20 hours."

"If the dam breaks, one person will die, and that person is me."

He raised his right fist and shouted three words:

"Follow me!"

During this period, Han Fulai was always at the forefront, sharing weal and woe with them. He turned the tide several times when piping and breaches occurred, saving many lives. In particular, his order to never divert the floodwaters further enhanced his prestige among the soldiers and civilians of Guiliyuan.

There are two kinds of leaders in this world. The first kind will shout "Get out there!" when something happens, while the second kind will shout "Follow me!" when something happens.

The kind of leader who inspires people to work themselves to the bone is always the latter.

Such a person, if placed in the People's Army that Han Fulai was familiar with, would be called a "political commissar".

Everyone sprang into action, making the most of this final preparation time to complete all possible preparations.

The sand-loving trees growing in this area have all been cut down, and the soldiers are busy carving the trunks into stakes.

Soldiers on the dam secured themselves with safety ropes, grabbed the completed wooden stakes, and jumped into the water, firmly holding them at designated positions in front of the dam. Once they gave the signal, another group of soldiers, armed with shovels and hammers, would leap into the water and drive the stakes into the hardened soil.

This is a breakwater designed to replace the "stone embankment". Due to time constraints and the complexity of the "stone embankment" process, it was difficult to manufacture in a short time, so the soldiers came up with an alternative method to reinforce the embankment.

This principle is actually similar to a wedge in woodworking, used to fill gaps between objects and increase friction.

The soil on the original embankment was soft, but the driving in of wooden piles could compact the soil layers and fill the gaps between the soil particles. The closer the piles were to each other, the more pronounced this compaction effect on the soil would be.

Furthermore, these rough wooden stakes with bark naturally possess strong friction, or, in the words of the Fontainebleau Academy of Sciences, "good anti-sliding coefficient." As long as they are driven deep enough into the soil, they are essentially connected to the foundation of the dam, becoming an extension of the dam.

Adding sandbags, boulders, and gravel to the top of the wooden piles and between the gaps can significantly increase the strength and shear strength of the dam body, making the sand-retaining wooden piles, gravel, stones, and sandbags form a unified whole. This greatly improves the strength of the flood control dam.

Of course, its most important function is wave protection. Several rows of these wooden pile walls were arranged on the west side of Guiliyuan, which directly faces the impact of flood peaks, just like speed bumps on modern highways, effectively blocking the impact of floodwaters on the embankment.

Meanwhile, the dam is also undergoing final heightening work.

The entire flood control dike has been raised several times in recent days, from 15 meters to a maximum height of 17 meters.

The newly added rammed earth layer is actually quite worrying in terms of strength—but with concerted efforts, we can overcome any obstacle!

Thousands of soldiers from the Qianyan Army were deployed to the dike, lined up in a row, one soldier standing every meter. On critical sections, the soldiers even held hands and used their shoulders and backs to hold up sandbags and layers of earth, forming a human wall of flesh and blood against the flood. They were ready to use their own bodies to seal any breaches. Their mission can be summed up in four words: "The dike stands, we stand!"

Behind the Thousand Rock soldiers were nearly two thousand workers from the Liyue Laborers' Association. They had volunteered for this final and most dangerous flood relief effort.

The reserve team of workers is currently making intensive preparations for "battle". Soybean bags, T-shirts, sandbags, including blankets and quilts from the camp, and even carts and planks... almost everything that can be used to seal the breach has been moved to the side of the dike. Whether there is piping or a breach, they will seal it as soon as possible.

Most of these workers are from Mingyun Town. They participated in this battle to protect Guiliyuan from the flood, not for anything else but to safeguard their homeland.

—And of course, there's the statement, "This government will not divert floodwaters."

The workers are always honest and straightforward; if you don't abandon them, they will never leave you.

Chapter 387 The Great Cavern Miro Frost Cloud Technique [4k]

At 8 a.m., the third flood peak arrived as scheduled.

The water level of the Bishui River is slowly but steadily rising.

Han Fulai sat on the No. 4 flood control dike north of Guiliyuan, the section he had first reinforced with concrete.

Shen He stood beside him, sitting cross-legged in a meditative posture. A chilling aura emanated from her, and her long white hair moved without wind, like the wings of a crane. Even though she remained silent, an invisible pressure emanated from her, awe-inspiring and unapproachable.

The appearance of such a fairy-like figure on Guili Plain naturally attracted attention, especially given her close relationship with Commander Han. Even in such a tense environment, some young soldiers still secretly cast glances at Shen He.

Many people felt a mix of bitterness and relief—only Commander Han was worthy of such a fairy-like woman.

Han Fulai's mind was not on the beautiful woman beside him.

A new measuring scale has been erected above the rock in the middle of the river that he used to check the water level, and the river is slowly swallowing the red line on the scale. His eyes are now fixed on the scale's markings.

Twenty hours, almost a day, is neither a long nor a short time.

Normally, a day would pass in the blink of an eye, but during these twenty hours, Han Fulai had to keep his nerves on edge every minute.

Maintaining constant focus is, in fact, a form of torture. His eyes scrutinize the slightest clues, his ears listen to the deepest undercurrents, and his brain relentlessly considers how to respond to any situation. Every second is intensely draining his mental energy, but he must persevere.

He is now like a general defending a city, facing the enemy's endless "ant-like" siege. He holds Shen He's reserve force, which can turn the tide of the battle, but the timing of deploying this reserve force must be the most opportune moment—too early, and there will be no follow-up; too late, and it will be of no use.

Shen He is currently meditating, which is actually a way of "accumulating power." The faint, chilling aura surrounding her is a manifestation of this power accumulation.

According to her master, "The path to immortality is not about attaining enlightenment through abstract concepts. Only by contemplating the myriad changes of heaven and earth and understanding the causes and effects of the mortal world can one realize one's true nature."

One must first enter the world before one can transcend it; without understanding the causes and effects of the mortal world, one cannot attain enlightenment.

Shen He had previously descended the mountain to participate in the Battle of Ba Che, experiencing the warmth and coldness of human relationships. His cultivation had reached a new level, and his meditation and contemplation were becoming increasingly closer to the essence of immortals.

She is currently visualizing the eternal, unchanging formless ice. The closer her visualization gets to the essence of the ice element, the stronger the power she can mobilize.

Such preparation takes a lot of time, and Han Fulai will be responsible for buying her that time.

Han Fulai also had a squad of Qianyan soldiers by his side. These soldiers were barefoot and wore only the bare minimum of clothing, keeping their load to a minimum—they were the fastest messengers transferred from various companies, and their task was to memorize Commander Han's orders and ensure that the orders reached every section of the dike in the shortest possible time.

This time, he will use "micromanagement" to ensure that his orders are implemented in every corner of the Guiliyuan defense line.

It can be said that the entire guard force on Guili Plain is now connected with Han Fulai, who is the mind that commands the body.

Correspondingly, the safety of the entire Guiliyuan flood control dike rests on his shoulders.

Success or failure hinges on his single thought.

From this moment on, he cannot make any wrong judgments at any instant; this is a command with zero tolerance for error.

Even the messengers who only needed to follow orders and run errands couldn't help but feel their hearts pounding and their tension was palpable, but Han Fulai remained calm and composed.

Such pressure would probably cause someone to have a mental breakdown, but it wouldn't happen to him.

Those in power should remain calm in the face of major events; the greater the pressure, the more they need to stay composed.

Surprisingly, he didn't feel anything special at the moment, as if this was just his daily work at Yuehaiting—just another overtime shift.

Perhaps, as Gan Yu said, "All your talents are exactly what Liyue needs, and your past records fully demonstrate your abilities. You are now the successor of the Geo Archon and the next Executive Secretary of the Moonlit Pavilion."

Over the past six months, everything he did in Liyue has become nourishment for his growth, helping him build strong self-confidence.

He is now the "successor of the Emperor", the "prospective executive secretary", and a "half-god, half-saint, and half-immortal". What he needs to do now is what he should do and what he is capable of doing.

He firmly believed he could succeed.

The water level of the Bishui River has been rising.

The first hour has passed.

The water level reached 16.95 meters.

The breakwaters built by the soldiers using sand-repellent wooden piles had a good effect. The surging river water was absorbed by these breakwaters, reducing the instantaneous impact of the waves on the dam.

At the same time, these rows of breakwaters also divide the impact of the waves into several waves, just like breaking the tightly clenched "fist" of the Bishui River into individual "fingers". As the saying goes, "even a strong crossbow at the end cannot pierce silk", the river water weakened by the layers of breakwaters cannot exert enough pressure on the dam.

The Guiliyuan Dam remained steadfast and unmoved.

The second hour passed.

The water level reached 17.02 meters.

A messenger rushed to the No. 4 dike where Han Fulai was located.

"Reporting to Commander Han, multiple cracks have appeared on the crest of section eight of the dam, the widest of which is ten feet!"

"Ten feet...!" The messenger standing next to Han Fulai, listening to the order, couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.

The Guiliyuan Water Conservancy Project currently consists of eight sections of dikes. The No. 8 dike is located on the east side of Guiliyuan, which is considered the "rear" of the entire dike system. It faces relatively less pressure and has not experienced any problems in the past few days, so it has not undergone concrete reinforcement.

The ten feet of the Liyue measuring ruler, when converted to the metric system, is approximately two and a half meters!