The beautiful view of the burning clouds when the rain stopped that evening.
One day and two nights have passed.
During this period, rainfall continued continuously in the upper and lower reaches of Butterfly Creek.
It also rained one day and two nights.
Upstream, around Yunmengze and Digong Gate, there was a majestic heavy rain with black clouds covering the city.
Downstream, near Longcheng County, there were constant clouds and a steady drizzle.
As for the many Longcheng people who were dragging their families and hurriedly along the straight official road leading from the county town to Dagushan in the early morning.
In the former, the heavy rain in the upper reaches is like a sharp sword hanging above the head. At any time, there may be a loud sound of the sluice collapsing, and people's heads will fall to the ground.
For the latter, the falling rain above their heads was like a soft knife, sharpening the fragile will of the already frightened and tired people.
There was drizzle in the sky, and looking down from a high place, one could see a dark mass of people's heads on the winding official road.
They were as slow and depressing as a black stream, flowing from the starting point of Longcheng County to the foot of Dagushan Mountain at the distant end.
The wheels creaked and the carriage was overwhelmed.
Boxes and cabinets arranged in a mess and clanging against each other.
Pots and pans were thrown carelessly along the road.
There are also the people of Longcheng County who support each other and move forward in groups, with each household or neighborhood as a unit.
The background is the gray sky and rain, the muddy and wet road, and the dark woods on both sides of the official road.
"Whoa-!"
Among the people on the official road who were organized to move to Dagushan for refuge, a baby's cry could be heard from time to time. Soon, the baby seemed to be hugged by women wiping tears. The crisp baby's cry turned dull, and it took a while to be comforted.
But the occasional broken-down adults in the crowd were not comforted by their mothers like babies, which only added to the solemn atmosphere on this official road.
The overwhelming flow of people migrating and seeking refuge is silently showing various scenes of life.
And the reason why the team was so dull and depressed would not collapse and scatter in all directions.
It's just a solemn atmosphere and a confused and confused progress.
Because of the crowds of people on the official road, the fast horses galloping past from time to time, and the policemen shouted the unified slogan until their throats became hoarse:
"A letter to the fellow citizens of Longcheng... Today is a heavy rain. In order to prevent disasters, a refuge camp in Dagushan has been set up. Food and supplies are all available... It is hereby scheduled that all officials and citizens will arrive before Unity hour today... Submit to the Longcheng County Magistrate."
Starting from last night, Yan Liulang arranged for a team of arresters to ride fast horses along the official road, shouting this concise and concise notice written in a hurry by a young county magistrate from the farthest outskirts of the county town all the way to Dagushan underfoot.
The detectives shouted so dry that their horses ran away in two batches, but no one dared to be careless. They rectified the crowd along the way and led the team to the Dagushan Refuge Camp.
Perhaps the signature of a young county magistrate in the book gave some comfort to the people who had gone through disaster relief and flood control in the past two months.
Or maybe it’s the calm and confident tone of the young county magistrate in the book, and the firm promise that the public and officials work together to keep the Di Gong Gate from collapsing.
Or just go with the flow and follow the big army.
Under the organization of Yan Liulang and others, except for a small initial burst of panic, most of the people in the county were relatively emotionally stable.
The worst-case scenario of a breakdown in order did not occur.
For the time being, there is no crowded situation where people are frantically packing up all their belongings, fleeing to the dock, fighting for ships, and being trampled by the crowd.
Most of the people in every household in the county followed the arrangements of the county magistrate and the government, and anxiously packed some necessary gift baggage and went out.
I dragged my family to the Dagushan disaster relief camp. I heard that it was just like the original suburban disaster relief camp and had been arranged by the county magistrate.
At the foot of Dagu Mountain, on a hillside, Yan Liulang, dressed in a gray-black coir raincoat, was riding on horseback and looking into the distance.
He looked at the people lined up in an orderly manner like a long snake on the official road ahead, and couldn't help but let out a long breath.
Fortunately, under the leadership of the Ming government, this term of Longcheng County Government has a better reputation among the people of Longcheng.
From the initial distribution of food to the disaster relief camp, to the subsequent suppression of grain merchants and the collapse of grain prices, to the subsequent ribbon-cutting ceremony and public trial of the Liu family... In the past few months, a lot of confidence has been accumulated in the hearts of the people.
Only then did the crowd leaving the city feel relatively stable.
The credibility of the county magistrate and the county government can temporarily suppress the pre-disaster panic that is prone to rumors.
Otherwise, if it were placed before the last flood.
Not to mention reorganizing the people's ranks like now, it would be nice if everyone didn't attack the ferry terminal like ants on a hot pot and snatch boats.
At this moment, on the hillside, Yan Liulang, who had experienced the panic scene before the Yunmengze flood last time, looked at each other with the dusty detectives behind him, and they all breathed a sigh of relief.
So far, the retreat has been relatively successful, and it has not yet departed from the plan left by the county magistrate before he left.
With his back to his subordinates, Yan Liulang, who was riding on the horse at the front, silently reached into his arms, took out a crumpled silk handwritten book, and unfolded it in the palm of his hand.
The blue-clothed detective held his hands across his face to block the rain, and looked down at Mingfu's dense and steady handwriting.
Even if I have read the arrangements for the rear area downstream of Butterfly Creek that Ouyang Rong has made a hundred times, they are all so familiar that I can memorize them.
But every time Yan Liulang stopped for a moment in the past two days, he couldn't help but take out Ouyang Rong's handwriting and take a look.
It seems that only after confirming that everything is correct can we continue to work with peace of mind.
It's like... Mingfu is still by his side.
"Let's go back to the city to help the brothers who are left behind. We can't leave any family behind in the city. We must persuade them all to leave."
Yan Liulang, who had rested for a moment, suddenly put away his handwriting, mounted his horse and raised his whip, and left the hillside first, leading the men behind him to continue to implement the arrangements left by Ouyang Rong.
Their team of detectives had just come down from Dagushan. They had met with Diao Xiancheng before and explained some important matters, and now they are continuing to work down the mountain.
And the latter is also very busy.
According to Ouyang Rong's arrangement, Yan Liulang and other detectives were responsible for organizing all the people in Longcheng County at the foot of the mountain to go up the mountain, and at the same time, they were responsible for successively picking up the refugees who came down from the upper reaches.
Diao Xian Cheng was responsible for allocating disaster relief resources prepared in advance on Dagushan, contacting Donglin Temple, and setting up a refuge camp to accommodate nearly 6,000 households in Longcheng.
These are all tasks on the home front.
As for Ouyang Rong, he was leading the remaining Liucao officials and the militia warriors organized by Liu Ashan to sail to the front line of Di Gong Lock in the distance, doing everything possible to hold the lock and resist the flood...
Yan Liulang silently withdrew his gaze from the direction of a key sluice in the south. He turned his head, and left two detectives behind to guide the people who came after him up the mountain in an orderly manner at the foot of the mountain.
Yan Liulang took the remaining brothers and returned to Longcheng County at high speed. He shouted a letter to the people of Longcheng all the way, which shocked the hearts of the people.
The task of gathering most of the people was relatively easy, but what made Yanrokuro troublesome was some special circumstances.
Ouyang Rong said that not a single family of Longcheng people should be left behind.
Naturally, Yan Liulang did not dare to be careless and knocked on doors from door to door to investigate.
I've been busy all day with a dry mouth.
Until the evening, all the detectives in blue were panting from exhaustion and their faces were full of fatigue.
They encountered many special situations throughout the day.
The fights and fights among the people migrating on the official road are nothing serious.
The key is that some tough households in the city just refused to leave, no matter how hard they talked or tried to persuade them. In the end, they showed off their waistbands to eat, and were half-frightened and half-coaxed back to Dagushan.
At noon on the way, Yan Liulang and others heard from the refugees who had fled upriver that the elders of a village were lucky and thought that the village had a higher terrain, so they just acted like a turtle and did not move away... Yan Liulang had no choice but to rush ten miles away. , hurriedly came to the door to persuade.
There was even a silent incident where some people were afraid that they would never come back and asked them to help dig up the ancestral belongings stored somewhere in the yard.
All kinds of things.
At dusk that day, just before the hour of the hour, Yan Liulang and other detectives finally returned with the last batch of refugees and "nail households" they could find, and rushed to Dagushan.
Along the way, he seemed to feel a little closer to the conscientious and tired police officers like Yan Liulang.
From time to time, some people in the crowd turned around and spoke to them who were finishing up at the back of the crowd, asking if Magistrate Ouyang was also waiting for everyone to arrive in Dagushan.
In response to this, Yan Liulang stopped his subordinates from saying anything. They all responded with smiles and nodded in agreement.
When the people with their families on the road heard this, their tense expressions relaxed, they were relieved, and they whispered to each other, and the atmosphere became less depressing.
There were also people who enthusiastically handed over water to Yan Rokuro and others whose lips were chapped and blistered.
At the very back of the crowd, a group of detectives remained silent.
From time to time, they looked sideways at the leader, Yan Liulang, who smiled and nodded.
I sighed in my heart.
In order to appease people and suppress panic, Yan Liulang and Diao Xiancheng did not tell everyone about Di Gongzha's dangerous situation at this time.
It was also not mentioned that Ouyang Rong and others were currently conducting urgent rescue operations at the Dee Gong Gate upstream.
They are also unsure about where the young county magistrate, whom the people of Longcheng trust and are kind to, is currently. It is assumed that he is also organizing a refuge camp in Dagushan at this time, waiting for the arrival of his fellow villagers.
This is one of the reasons why the work of gathering people to migrate today is relatively smooth.
However, among the refugees in the last group of people, some were villagers who had run down from near Yuenv Gorge upstream, and they couldn't help but raise questions.
It is said that on the way down, they heard that the young county magistrate seemed to be at Di Gong Gate. Therefore, many villagers from the villages near Yuenv Gorge did not run to Longcheng County downstream, but rushed to where the young magistrate was. Over there at Yue Nu Gorge...
Fortunately, these questioning voices were small in number and were interrupted by the tacit understanding of the nearby police officers. They did not spread, nor did they set up a rhythm.
"Boss, over there at Di Gongzha..."
Among the silent police officers, someone couldn't help but ask Yan Liulang.
Yan Liulang pursed his lips, grabbed the scroll in his arms, and suddenly turned around and said:
"Brothers Mingfu and Ashan can handle it well. Let's take care of the local affairs in the rear area and don't cause trouble. This is the greatest help."
The captain in blue suddenly whipped his horse and rushed forward. He turned and pointed at the second phase of the Broken Wing Canal that happened to be passing by. The young man raised his head and said with determination:
"Besides, there is also the Broken Wing Canal. Most of it has been repaired. If a flood comes, it will be enough to open this canal directly. The Ming government has said that there is nothing to be afraid of. Why, you can't even believe it. ?”
Everyone got excited and followed suit with whips raised.
Yan Liulang hurriedly rushed out and said loudly:
"Let's go to the mountainside and check the beacon tower. This is an important matter assigned by the Ming government. We can't hold back!"
It was midnight in the evening, and the sky was still overcast because of the light rain that had fallen all day.
The sky was gray, just like daytime, and the darkness was not obvious.
Yan Liulang took the last group of refugees to the foot of Dagu Mountain and handed the people over to Diao County Cheng and other scribes for resettlement.
Many of the latter's eyeballs were bloodshot. It looked like they had been busy and stayed up late the day before yesterday. They had lacked sleep and looked tired.
However, Yan Liulang and others were not much better. They exchanged a few words, added a few sips of water, left their horses, and went up the mountain lightly.
Both sides of the mountain road were filled with wandering refugees. Fortunately, some tent camps had been set up on the open spaces on both sides.
There seems to be no shortage of hot water, bedding, food and other items.
Moreover, the more common people who came out were placed in Donglin Temple on the top of the mountain by Diao County Cheng and others.
Yan Liulang and his party made their way through the crowd and arrived at the Shamu Pavilion halfway up the mountain.
On a lawn with a wide view not far from the Zhemu Pavilion, a huge beacon tower has been erected. There are government officials standing guard beside it, covering their eyes with their palms, looking in the distance towards the Yuenv Gorge upstream of Butterfly Creek.
Among the mountains there, there are actually several beacon towers erected in places that cannot be seen clearly even with all the eyesight.
This early warning system, like the Shui Ze Monument along the upstream coast, was also prepared by Ouyang Rong some time ago.
Once the Di Gong Gate collapses immediately, the beacon will be lit all the way, and will finally be seen by everyone on Dagushan.
Then the beacon tower at the end of the Dagushan Mountain at the sunny position will be immediately lit as an early warning. People who are still scattered around Dagushan will immediately return to Dagushan and no longer stay outside.
Including the craftsmen and young men who are currently working diligently on the Zheyi Canal not far away from the mountain. They will open the Zheyi Canal before leaving...
Instructing his subordinate brothers to rest where they were, Yan Liulang silently stepped forward and looked at the dry and flammable materials in the beacon tower that were replaced regularly. He nodded gently, walked to the edge of the cliff, and took a look in the direction of Zheyi Canal.
According to Mingfu's message, the second phase of the Zheyi Canal, which is still under construction, cannot be opened until the flood is confirmed and as a last resort.
This huge construction project is related to Longcheng County's century-old water control plan. At present, only half of the second phase has been repaired, and it is necessary to try to avoid being forced to open for business.
This is also the last resort in case the Di Gong Gate collapses.
Yan Liulang took off his bamboo hat, shook off the raindrops, followed Ming Fu's example, and rubbed his face hard.
"Mukuro."
At this moment, a familiar shout not far behind him broke Yan Liulang's trance.
"Da Lang? Miss Ye, Miss Su... are you all here?"
Yan Liulang looked back and found that the blinding pavilion not far away was full of familiar people.
Su Dalang came forward with a surprised look on his face.
The little girl from the Su family wearing a purple veil with calm eyes, and the bun-faced maid named Cai Shou behind her.
And Ye Weilai, who was sent to Dagushan by Yan Liulang as soon as possible yesterday.
Although Ouyang Rong only seriously asked him to take all the people of Dragon City up the mountain before leaving, he did not specifically ask him to take care of Meiluyuan.
It seems that his maids are also classified as "normal people" and have no privileges.
But as soon as Ouyang Rong left yesterday, Yan Liulang turned around and went to take Ye Weilai and other Meiluyuan maids, as well as other family members of his colleagues who went to Di Gongzha with the Ming Mansion to support them, to Dagushan for resettlement.
Yan Liulang understood and admired Ouyang Rong's example.
Ouyang Rong must also take the lead, because all his subordinates and colleagues around him, regardless of their stance on good or evil, are all silently watching his every move.
As a parent officer.
If you arrange for your family to run away immediately, then everyone can also arrange for your family to run away, which is blameless.
If you abandon the city immediately, then everyone can abandon the city too, and you have no right to blame everyone.
In addition, you said when you first took office that you would only do one thing in Dragon City.
Disaster relief, flood control, justice.
It’s really just one thing – justice.
So what the county magistrate says is fair, is it really fair? Have you forgotten?
Regarding this, not only the Longcheng County Government Office, but all the officials and citizens of the entire Longcheng County were watching silently.
Otherwise, the prestige and admiration established before could collapse in an instant, and except for close associates like Yan Liulang, it would be difficult for anyone else to move.
But on the other hand, it was precisely because he always upheld justice that Ouyang Rong was able to quickly consolidate the power of a county order and control the entire Longcheng County government and the entire Longcheng County...
I understand, but there are some things in this world that Yan Liulang feels should not be like this, and those who bravely stand up should not be treated like this...
"Yan Captou, where is my Tan Lang?"
In the blind pavilion, Ye Weilai ran into the rain, grabbed the handkerchief with both hands, and asked quickly.
Under a wet veil stained with raindrops, the pink lips that were about to open were quietly closed.
Su Guoer silently retracted her feet and looked at Yan Liulang with her brother who was about to speak but hesitated.
(End of chapter)
