When Liu Xiuren arrived at the county seat, the water gate had already closed. Several government officials and a group of civilians were busy blocking the waterway. There were also many people on the city wall building huts with bamboo and wood.
After getting off the boat, we entered the city through the south gate in the rain. We saw that earthen wood, bricks and stones were being piled up next to the city gate. The atmosphere in the city was a bit tense. Every household was burning lights, sorting out food, soft goods, etc., and dismantling door panels and other wood to make simple rafts. , there are still people carrying supplies to some two- and three-story buildings...
Arriving at the county government office, Xu Tianyi and other prisoners were no longer there, the prison cages were being dismantled into pieces, and the people stationed at the door were no longer government officials but armored guards.
After checking his identity, Liu Xiuren could only bring two followers in. When he entered the brightly lit court hall, he found that it was decorated like a military festival hall. The hall was filled with seats and there were many people, including people from Wujiang County. Officials, garrison commanders, and gentry living in the county.
Zhao Mengqi, who was at the head of the hall, was saying, "Since floods are unavoidable, it is better to actively respond to them than to wait for the floods to rage. I hope that everyone can work together as one, do what they can, and work together with me to lead the people through this disaster. Perhaps many of Gu's measures will cause you losses, but you should take a longer-term view. As the saying goes, if the skin is not preserved, the hair will be attached. The common people are the foundation for everyone to enjoy wealth and prosperity, and the contributions you have made are also important to me. I will see it in my eyes and remember it in my heart, and I will never treat you badly in the future. Of course, if some people insist on doing something selfish, they can also try the sword in their hands, as the advantages may be disadvantageous!"
All the people in the hall agreed to this offer of inducements and threats, whether they wanted to or not.
Among them, Sun Deliang shouted the loudest, "In our Sun family, His Highness is always looking to the east, and the common people will never go west. Not to mention losing a little land, money and food, we will not hesitate to lose our family and property..."
This grandson is really shameless. Most of the family property has been used to extend his son's life. What a heck of a loss! In order to please King Yan, no one really did anything.
Many gentry denounced Sun Deliang, but they expressed their opinions unwillingly, "Your Highness, don't worry, I still understand the right and wrong. As long as Your Highness gives orders, the Zhang family will never be ambiguous."
"His Highness is truly virtuous and kind, yet he did not hesitate to put himself in danger during a great disaster to share the hardships and struggles with ordinary people like us. How could we dare to be selfish?"
"Yes, yes, having such a wise master as your highness will be a blessing to all the people of the Song Dynasty. It is truly a great honor for us to have your highness lead us and contribute our small amount to fight against the disaster."
"In order to fight the disaster, I am duty-bound. Whether it is money, food, manpower, etc., as long as my Lu family has it, we will contribute everything we need to fight the disaster. I will not be stingy!"
These wealthy landlords are so enthusiastic, but in fact they are bleeding in their hearts. After this flood, the wealth of each family will definitely shrink significantly.
Originally, these gentry were the least worried about disasters. They had enough savings to easily survive the disaster. Some even welcomed the disaster because they could make a fortune through it.
Now that Zhao Mengqi is here, it is their real disaster.
If ordinary officials dare to ask them to sacrifice their own interests for the sake of the overall situation, they will definitely encounter collective resistance. Not only will it be difficult for them to govern, they will even have to run away in despair.
But in front of the prince Zhao Mengqi, they seemed too small and had no capital to resist. In addition, today's trial also made everyone in Wujiang realize that King Yan was by no means a merciful master. If he wanted to kill people, then But it's really easy.
Between life and money, every fool knows how to choose. Instead of being forced, it is better to be more proactive. Maybe you can win the favor of the future emperor, and the future benefits will be better than anything else.
"Very good. From now on, military control will be implemented in Wujiang. All supplies must not be increased in price or be hesitant to sell. If necessary, they will be uniformly distributed by the government. All the literate children in your family will report to the county government and be on standby. Strong laborers will also be dispatched. Come out and be under the unified command of the government..."
Zhao Mengqi issued a lot more orders. His mouth was dry and he stopped to take a sip of tea.
Only then did Liu Xiuren have the time to step forward and pay his respects, "Your Highness, I wonder what your instructions are when summoning the ministers."
Zhao Mengqi looked up at Liu Xiuren and looked at the case
He picked up a pamphlet and threw it over, "This is the flood control regulations. You must immediately follow the above requirements and issue a decree to the entire Pingjiang Prefecture... There are still eighteen hours before the floodgates are opened, so you must hurry up."
Liu Xiuren opened the booklet with a little confusion. He was shocked when he took a look at it, "Your Highness, how can this happen!? If the gate is opened, most of Pingjiang Prefecture will be transformed into a Zeguo, and water transportation will also be cut off..."
"Stop! I don't have time to explain to you now. You should go back to the government office right now. Read the regulations in the brochure carefully on the way, and you will probably understand. In short, from now on, Gu's orders are military orders. If you understand, you must implement them. If not, Understanding must also be implemented. If you can't do it, speak up now and find someone who can do it!"
Zhao Mengqi waved his hand and his tone was extremely stern.
Liu Xiuren was not a strong commander. He had the spirit to dare to confront the powerful. Seeing King Yan's murderous look, he suddenly felt that his arms could not hold his thighs, so he gave in and said, "If your highness insists, I will not dare to disobey."
"Okay, time is life. You should act immediately. I reiterate that from now on, disaster relief matters are the same as the military. All officials must obey unconditionally. But if there is a mistake, military law will be dealt with!"
Liu Xiuren did not dare to stay, and left in a hurry with the disaster relief regulations. The gentry and officials with orders also left the court one after another and went their separate ways.
The policy of the Song Dynasty was that officials did not go to the countryside, so many affairs had to rely on the squires. To convey disaster relief mobilization orders to the people, most of them still had to be handled by the squires.
This would inevitably lead to low efficiency, so Zhao Mengqi and Wu Qian deliberately set aside enough time before opening the gate to ensure that as many people as possible were prepared.
Most of the people in the south of the Yangtze River have access to water, and there is no shortage of boats. However, Taihu Lake floods are not as menacing as river floods. Generally, there is enough time to escape. Moreover, the gates are opened manually and the water volume can be controlled. It is not big. May cause casualties.
However, floods will also pose a huge threat, and that is hunger. If you are prepared and can transfer and preserve food materials as much as possible, you can naturally reduce the pressure of survival in the disaster.
Of course, the measures announced by Zhao Mengqi are based on the worst-case scenario, because if the rain continues, floods will come sooner or later, and if the gate opening is well controlled, it can greatly slow down the water potential and shorten the time for the floods to flood the land.
By the ninth day of May, after two nights and one day, the preliminary flood control work in Wujiang County was basically completed. At Chen hour, it was scheduled to open the Wusongjiang gate.
Wusongjiang was first named after Songling Town, where Wujiang County is located. It was located at the junction of Taihu Lake and Wusongjiang River. At that time, it was a marsh country. Only the town station was higher than the surrounding ground, like a hill, with dense pines and cypresses on it, so it was called Songling. Later, after the Yuan Dynasty set Huating as Songjiang Prefecture, the river was renamed Wusong River.
Zhao Mengqi arrived at the river mouth in advance and walked to the lake embankment. At this time, the water surface seemed to be under his feet, only a few feet away from the top of the embankment.
Looking towards Taihu Lake, the mist is vast and seemingly endless. Under the rain curtain, it seems as if the sky and the earth are filled with water, which is suffocating.
There was originally a horizontal embankment in front of the river mouth, which was like a cover to protect the river mouth to prevent the lake water from rushing directly into the river mouth with sediment. However, in order to allow the water to enter the Wusong River faster, a horizontal embankment was dug. Big mouth.
"Your Highness, the time is almost up, give the order." Wu Qian reminded.
Zhao Mengqi took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, "Open the gate."
After the order was given, the soldiers opened the three gates at the front and back one by one. As the gate facing the lake was lifted, the lake water found a vent and poured in crazily, rolling in waves and rolling downstream.
Zhao Mengqi stared at the waterline under the embankment. Until half an hour passed, he did not see any sign of lowering.
As if he knew what Zhao Mengqi was thinking, Wu Qian said, "Your Highness, with the water storage capacity of Tai Lake, a single water outlet will not be able to achieve results for a while. Now we just hope to use the water flow to flush the Wusong River, and at the same time try our best. The sediment in the lake will be discharged through the river channel to avoid damaging the polder later. The real water discharge will have to wait until the day after tomorrow when all the sluice gates in Daugang are fully opened and the intensity can be increased."
After Zhao Mengqi listened,
, did not speak, just nodded silently, but his eyes did not leave the waterline.
With the opening of the Wusongjiangkou gate, a large amount of lake water has been poured into the waters in Wujiang County, and the water surface has risen rapidly, but it has not yet overflowed the embankment.
Also because of the advance warning, there was not much panic among the people, and there were no more boats on the canal in this section.
On the tenth day of May, the rain became lighter, which made Zhao Mengqi breath a sigh of relief, but Wu Qian poured cold water on him, "Your Highness, I think this is only temporary. It won't take long before the rain will get heavier again. Moreover, even if the rain stops near Wujiang, as long as it continues to rain west of Taihu Lake, the situation will not change."
"So, the opening of the port gate is inevitable?" Zhao Mengqi's face was filled with regret.
The Wusong River opened its gates. After all, the amount of water was limited, and the water flow was still in the waterways. At most, it would flood some low-lying areas.
Once Hong Kong is opened, most of the fertile farmland will inevitably be submerged, and at least most places in Wujiang will be turned into marshes.
If this fails to slow down the water, most areas in Pingjiang Prefecture and Huating downstream will also be flooded.
Zhao Mengqi seemed a little unwilling, so he ran to the lake embankment again and looked at it for a long time. He felt that the water line seemed to be no different from before the gate was opened. He could only put aside his fantasy and accept the reality.
