Chapter 310: Stalemate
Yu Dayi, magistrate of Huazhu County.
At the age of thirty-two, he was born with Jinshi.
According to legend, he enforces the law fairly and is diligent. He has never made any serious mistakes. He is not an unwise person. This behavior is normal.
Liang Qu asked: "Which township did Yuzhi County go to?"
Chai Shiqiao sweated on his forehead: "Xiaguan is ashamed. Yuzhi County has not told Xiaguan the itinerary of the fleet before, but according to the current distribution of villagers, I would venture to guess that it should be in the Xiangxi Town area, because there are no victims in that area. How come?"
Liang Qu points to Huangshan.
"Are all the victims on the mountain?"
Chai Shiqiao said: "Only part of it is included. Yuzhi County has designated many resettlement sites, and Huangshan is just one of them. Master Yu is worried that the flood level will continue to rise, so he asked the people to gather in high-lying places, regardless of whether the local disaster is serious or not. "
Liang Qu took out the map and found the Xiangxi Town mentioned by Chai Shiqiao. It was not far from Huangshan and had plenty of time.
"I want to go up and have a look."
"Of course, of course." Chai Shiqiao dusted off his sleeves, made way, and bowed to accompany him, "I don't know your name yet..."
"My surname is Liang."
Liang Qu pulled out the badge from his waist.
The night watchman put up his torch.
Chai Shiqiao read it briefly and handed it back respectfully.
Official uniforms are easy to forge, but dragon-blood horses are not easy to fake. The current inspection is just a process.
Without delay, the group turned around and headed up the mountain.
At this moment, Lu Xinqing staggered over, holding his hands on his knees and running out of breath.
Lao Shizi's dragon-blooded horse was so powerful that he, a fourth-level martial artist, couldn't catch up.
Chai Shiqiao looked surprised: "My dear friend, is..."
Liang Guangchang: "The water bandits are blocking the road and trying to rob my boat. Capture them and lead the way."
Chai Shiqiao's face turned red: "I'm extremely ashamed. Huazhu County is now full of water bandits. It's just that the Heishui River has fast currents and stretches on both sides. It's hard for us to deal with it, and it has hurt Mr. Liang."
"Okay, no need to say any polite words. Water bandits are a trivial matter. The top priority is to deal with the floods. Take me up quickly!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Chai Shiqiao hurriedly led Liang Qu up the mountain, "Do you want me to send someone to call them all up?"
"No, if I come to put on airs, Yamashita should call you directly."
"Master Liang is really diligent in serving the people. I am ashamed to be a low-ranking official."
Lu Xinqing gasped and looked at Chai Shiqiao and sneered.
When he was the leader of water bandits, his subordinates also paid him such compliments.
A sycophant.
The camps on Huangshan Mountain are densely packed, and most of them are occupied by marching tents. From time to time, you can see bonfires burning under a few wooden boards.
You can still hear snoring after passing a few tents.
Several people from the night watch village took the initiative to say hello when they saw Chai Shiqiao.
Liang Qu looked at them one by one.
There is a lingering odor in the air, mostly from excrement.
When I opened the tent, the stench of sweat and feet came out, as well as a rancid smell that had been soaked in water for a long time.
Many people were not asleep at all. They were sitting next to each other, their faces sallow, and their overall appearance was in a state of lethargy, and some were trembling non-stop.
It was late August or early September. The weather was not cold, it could even be said to be hot, but they were still shivering.
A couple held two children who were breathing heavily and with red faces, whispering comfort.
Liang Qu glanced around, saw other families in the corner, and lowered the curtain.
No one knew that not long after Liang Qu and others left, the man holding the child in the military tent touched the boy's forehead with a look of surprise on his face.
"My dear, check quickly. Is your fever gone?"
The woman on the side quickly reached out her hand and touched her and the boy's foreheads repeatedly, and then touched the other little girl, overjoyed.
"The fever is gone, the fever is gone! God bless you! River God bless you!"
The heavy breathing of the two men sleeping on the other side gradually became smoother and more comfortable.
Similar things happened from time to time in other military tents.
An invisible force is dispelling the disease that has enveloped Huangshan Mountain.
Liang Qu inspected the victims and drove away the flood. Chai Shiqiao also looked at Liang Qu carefully.
The more I look at him, the younger I feel. He is only around twenty, but he is actually riding a scaly dragon-blooded horse and is a seventh-rank official!
There must be a big background!
Chai Shiqiao's expression became more and more respectful.
"How many people are there currently on the entire Huangshan Mountain? Have there been any statistics on casualties? What is the scope of the disaster?"
"There are currently more than 28,000 people in the entire Huangshan Mountain, mostly from two nearby towns and three townships. It is difficult to get a specific number of casualties. We can only make a rough calculation, which is more than 8,000..."
Lu Xinqing was shocked: "So many?"
Chai Shiqiao turned around with a contemptuous look and did not answer the other party. He continued: "More than 80% of the territory of Huazhu County was flooded, and the two surrounding counties were also affected. Jiangling County is also very serious."
More than eight thousand...
Liang Qu knew that the other party was not exaggerating.
The still water formed by the slow rise of the river allows people to walk in it even if the water is up to the chest level.
But if it is a relatively strong flood, it only takes half a foot to knock someone down. Once he falls, the probability of standing up again is extremely low.
And the true number is most likely higher than eight thousand.
Liang Qu read in "A General Survey on Embankment Construction" that when the former dynasty Qian was defeated, he sent ten great martial artists to Fengcheng and opened up the Majiakou embankment of the Huangsha River near Fengcheng.
As a result, the Huangsha River rushed straight into the closed city, and 840,000 people died in the city. In the end, only more than 60,000 people survived.
“The dead are in the tens of thousands!”
In just a few days, the death rate exceeded a terrifying 90%!
Liang Qu walked all the way deep.
"How's the food situation?"
"It's not optimistic. Judging from the current situation, although we have sent people to dig food in the surrounding area, most of them are soaked in water. The edible ones can only last less than five days. In addition, there are often big crocodiles in the water, and the manpower is very tight."
"Is the excrement handled centrally?"
"Excrement? No, we haven't built public toilets, and most of the victims are left to deal with it themselves."
Chai Shiqiao was puzzled. What's the point of dealing with excrement now? It's completely useless for autumn ploughing.
"There is epidemic air in the excrement. If it is handled casually, it will easily spread the plague. It should be buried in the soil."
"Are you serious, sir?"
Liang Qu glanced at Chai Shiqiao: "Just do as I say. Do you need me to explain?"
"I dare not! In the future, I will definitely assign people to deal with excrement."
Chai Shiqiao lowered his head.
Liang Qu continued to move forward.
This is the advantage of being a high-ranking official.
"Do you know the cause of this flood?"
"I don't know. When the flood came, I was having dinner at home, and was called by the county magistrate to come and settle the victims."
No "guilty conscience".
Ear sense told Liang Qu that Chai Shiqiao did not lie.
"Do you have a disaster map?"
"Yes!"
"Give me one."
"Please wait a moment, sir."
After a while, Liang Qu had a rough map in his hand. He glanced at it and put it in his arms.
The map is a strategic material. If Liang Qu was not in a high position, it would not be easy to get it.
After Liang Qu walked around Huangshan Mountain and confirmed that his water-repelling disease should have taken effect, he gave Chai Shiqiao a few instructions, rode up Chishan Mountain and left in a hurry, heading towards Xiangxi Town.
At about 5:00 pm, before 10 o'clock, the barge arrived at the boundary of Xiangxi Town.
Without going too deep, Awei was the first to find the fleet mentioned by Chai Shiqiao in mid-air.
Dozens of large ships were in the middle, and hundreds of fishing boats were surrounding the large ships, forming a vast fleet with sparks.
Several flood victims standing on the rooftops were getting on the large ships with the help of fishermen.
Liang Qu's golden eyes swept around and finally found the target of this trip on the bow of a large ship - Yu Dayi!
However, the fleet encountered some troubles at this moment.
A water beast with black scales was harassing the fleet, and several martial artists were spreading a large net and confronting the water beast.
The water beast was ferocious, and the martial artists did not dare to go into the water rashly, and they were worried that the water beast would break through the encirclement, so a stalemate was formed for a while.
