The world of film and television begins with the God of Medicine.

Chapter 1504 Natural and man-made disasters
A farming proverb says, "A strong wind doesn't last all morning, and a torrential rain doesn't last all night." But in the 40th year of the Jiajing reign (1551), the torrential rain that was supposed to fall on the Dragon Boat Festival in Xin'an River lasted for three days and nights...

"The dike has burst! The dike has burst!"

"Run! The water is rising!"

……

The heavy rain continued, accompanied by thunder. The whole of Chun'an County was in an uproar, with gongs and drums beating so loudly that they drowned out the rumbling thunder.

A loud knocking sounded at the door, and before the owner could give permission, the clerk, already soaked by the heavy rain, pushed the door open and barged in.

He didn't even bother to wipe the rain from his face, even though it had gotten into his eyes. He stared wide-eyed and said in a panic, "Third Master, something terrible has happened! The Xin'an River has breached its banks! The water has already flooded in! Second Master sent me to inform you that we need to go over there for a meeting immediately."

With disheveled hair and dressed in a white undergarment, Wang Yan put down the book in his hand, casually tied his hair up with a green hairpin, picked up a blue silk outer robe and put it on, put on his official boots, and took the lead in walking out with an umbrella.

After walking around the county government office for a while, Wang Yan arrived at the main hall of the county government office.

County Magistrate Chang Boxi, County Assistant Tian Youlu, Clerk Zhang Song, and the heads of the Workshop and Household Department were all present, except for Wang Yan, the third-in-command, who was the last to arrive.

"Registration Officer Wang, the Xin'an River has breached its banks, and the county has been flooded. Our county is completely submerged, and the surrounding area is probably already a vast expanse of water."

Chang Boxi looked at Wang Yan with a serious expression and said, "Registrant Wang, you have just taken office. I have entrusted you with important responsibilities such as the Household Registration Office and the Workshop..."

Wang Yan shook his head: "Your Excellency, you're a real scoundrel. You son of a bitch, I've only been in office for two days, and it was raining heavily when I arrived. You, the county magistrate, arranged everything, and now you want me to take the blame for you? Do you think the Second Division and the Governor's Office are just for show?"

"Wang Yan! How dare you be so rude?" Chang Boxi was furious and shouted.

Tian Youlu, with his shifty eyes, also jumped up: "That's right, Wang Yan! How dare you speak to the esteemed leader like that? I will definitely report this matter to the Emperor."

The term "Taiyuan Kedao Yanguan" is an alternative name for the Censorate, whose department was the Censorate. It was in charge of supervision, impeachment, and recommendations. It could not only supervise the judicial organs, but also had the power to "report major matters to the emperor for decision and make immediate decisions on minor matters." It was the highest supervisory organ of the Ming Dynasty.

This is the normal reporting procedure, equivalent to going directly to the disciplinary inspection commission. Alternatively, reporting to a higher-level government official would cover up the matter and handle it internally.

There are also irregular reporting procedures. You can contact secret agencies like the Embroidered Uniform Guard or the Eastern Depot. Generally speaking, they can actually deliver reports directly to the emperor's desk. Of course, whether they can survive is another matter entirely.

"Get out of here too!"

Wang Yan cursed, "Do you think I'm a fool? I heard on the way here that the imperial court is going to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields, and that 500,000 mu of land in Hangzhou will be converted to mulberry trees. A while ago, you rode your horses and trampled the rice seedlings, destroying the fields and causing quite a commotion. Minister Hu personally brought General Qi to suppress it."

"It's only been a few days, and the Xin'an River has already breached its banks? Huh? Chang Boxi, Tian Youlu, how did the dam break? You two really don't know anything about it? This is a serious matter; you two could be beheaded!"

Wang Yan's sinister voice echoed in the empty main hall of Chun'an County Government, causing Chang Boxi to shudder involuntarily.

He stubbornly insisted, pointing at Wang Yan and saying, "You little brat, what do you know? The flood control during the Dragon Boat Festival is handled by the river management department; we don't need to send any of our people to patrol the river."

"Then why are you trying to shift the blame onto me? Chang Boxi, you're the county magistrate, and the waterways of Chun'an are your responsibility. If something goes wrong, you can't escape it. It's the middle of the night now, the people are all asleep, they won't be able to react at all, how many people will drown?"
You think anyone can protect you? Don't dream! Something this big needs an explanation, and who will? You, Chang Boxi! Still dreaming of a promotion? Even ten chops of your head wouldn't be enough!

Wang Yan snorted coldly, then looked at the officials in charge of the ceremonies, workshops, and household registration offices who were watching the commotion from the sidelines. "At this point, what's there to discuss? I just arrived, so it has nothing to do with me. You're all just here to watch the show."

The fields were flooded, and those people upstairs made a fortune, but you got nothing. You even had to help seize the people's land. When the time comes to punish you, you'll be the first to die.

You still have the mind to watch my mishap? Huh? Quickly, those in the household control area, go and guard the granary, don't let it flood. Those in the workshops, quickly take people to the river channel for emergency repairs, block as much as you can.

You, clerk, shouldn't be idle either. Lead your constables and lackeys to maintain order. Arrest anyone who tries to cause trouble. Anyone who dares to cause trouble now will be dealt with. Also, quickly gather the local militia and villagers to block the weir!

No one spoke; all eyes were on Chang Boxi.

Wang Yan slapped the clerk across the face, and the man, who was called the Fourth Master in the yamen, covered his burning face in disbelief.

With a slap, Wang Yan slapped him across the face again and kicked him to the ground. "Damn it, Chang Boxi is about to be beheaded, and you still dare to listen to him and let him make the decision? Do you want to die with him?"

"Get your ass off and get to work! At this time, anyone who makes a mistake will be killed by me. If I don't live, nobody else will! Second Master, do you have any objections?"

Tian Youlu looked at the fierce-looking Wang Yan and the inscrutable Chang Boxi, and shook his head dejectedly: "I'll do whatever the Third Master says."

Wang Yan's sudden outburst was too intense; he was afraid that if he said anything more, Wang Yan would really kill him. So, despite his resentment, he dared not say anything more at this moment.

After Tian Youlu spoke, the others naturally stopped hesitating. They all looked at Chang Boxi and hurriedly ran out to gather people to solve the problem.

Wang Yan is right; in the end, they really will suffer the consequences. Especially the original river patrol personnel and the relevant supervisors—a whole string of people will be implicated.

If those in power want to characterize this incident as a construction quality issue, then they should also implicate those who provided the materials and those who built the weir.

Clearly, this was the original plan, as envisioned by Yan Shifan and his associates. The final assessment was that it was a quality issue, not a result of human error.

But none of those damned ones escaped; they were all killed one by one, which could be considered a very politically oriented way of ending things...

Only Chang Boxi, Tian Youlu, and Wang Yan remained in the hall.

Chang Boxi sat in the chair, took a sip of tea, and said, "Wang Yan, you don't really think I'm going to die, do you?" He sounded quite relaxed.

“You don’t think you’re still alive, do you, sir?” Wang Yan shook his head repeatedly. “Where do your connections go? Can they reach the cabinet? How much money do you have? How many people can you feed?” “Wang Yan, I really don’t know!” Chang Boxi emphasized.

Wang Yan smiled indifferently: "Then you're a fool. They told you not to patrol the river, so you dismissed them and said it had nothing to do with you. Then tell me, where is the official document? Whose seal is on it? There isn't one, is there? Now only the weir has breached, Chun'an has suffered a disaster, and the losses are heavy."

You've been working in Chun'an for over two years, haven't you? At this point, if you say you know nothing and it has nothing to do with you, who will listen to you? Who will believe you? Do you even have a chance to speak?

In Chun'an, you're the first master, you're the second master, and I'm the third master. But the clerks and heads of the various departments, who really takes us seriously? Aren't they all just fooling around? We're just temporary officials who leave after three years, while they are the masters of Chun'an for life.

There's always someone higher up in officialdom. Even in Chun'an, your words might not carry much weight, let alone outside of Chun'an. And what about something this big? A mere county magistrate—which of the two provincial offices or the governor's office couldn't kill you, Chang Boxi?"

Tian Youlu said hesitantly, "Third Master, you can't be so absolute. Our patriarch didn't do anything, so surely he doesn't deserve to die?"

Chang Boxi also snorted. He didn't believe he was doomed until the knife was at his neck.

Wang Yan said strangely, "You two gentlemen must have handled a lot of cases. Should everyone be sentenced? Are those sentenced to death really deserving of death? There are plenty of innocent people who did nothing wrong, but you still managed to deal with them. How come you can't see the situation when you yourselves are the meat on the chopping block? How dare you say such things?"

The imperial court wanted to convert rice paddies to mulberry fields. This was proposed by Grand Secretary Yan, approved by His Majesty, and overseen by the Junior Grand Secretary. The Zhejiang Provincial Governor's Office, the Provincial Judicial Commissioner's Office, and the Governor-General's Office were all staffed by these two Grand Secretaries, and Minister Hu was even Grand Secretary Yan's disciple. Countless people were waiting to profit from this. How could this end if you didn't die? How would they get rich?

At a time like this, instead of thinking about how to save your own life, you're shirking your responsibility for disaster relief. Chang Boxi, you deserve to die!

With a cold snort, Wang Yan turned and left.

Chang Boxi, with a grim expression, and Tian Youlu, lost in thought, sat listlessly in the hall...

After leaving the main hall, a minor official helped him put on a raincoat, and he stepped into the rain.

The rain was really heavy, practically pouring down in buckets. Even wearing a raincoat couldn't keep out the water; Wang Yan was already soaked after only a few steps outside, though it was still much better than being drenched directly by the downpour.

He went outside and saw even more people arriving at the county government office. After being introduced by a minor official, the people learned that he was the newly arrived Third Master, and they followed his instructions, dispersing to do their respective tasks.

Some people went to contact doctors and medicines, some went to secure food supplies for disaster relief, and some went to find various tools to prepare for flood control efforts outside the city.

As for reporting the danger to higher authorities, Chang Boxi had already sent someone to report it to the prefectural government the moment he learned of it...

"Third Master, Third Master..."

Wang Yan looked at Tian Youlu strangely and said, "Second Master, why are you being so polite to me?"

"I'm caught in the middle, it's not directed at you," Tian Youlu said with a kind smile.

"Really? Second Master isn't afraid that First Master won't die?"

“Even if he doesn’t die, he’ll lose his post. Such a huge incident can’t just end without any explanation from below, can it? That would be deliberately deceiving the Emperor, wouldn’t it? That’s what truly deserves beheading. You’re newly appointed, and I didn’t know the situation. We need to work together to fight the flood and provide disaster relief. Once the flood is over and the fields are all reclaimed, you’ll have your share of the benefits, Third Master…”

Seeing his sly, villainous grin, Wang Yan chuckled and said, "Second Master, I'm in a bind right now. I don't know if I'll be able to enjoy myself in the future, but I do know that if the disaster relief efforts are ineffective this time, I'll be finished."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely do my best," Tian Youlu said sincerely. "Now we brothers are in the same boat. If we don't do a good job, we're both finished. You can leave the things in the city to me, and you can take care of the things outside. Such a big storm has fallen on our heads, so we can only work together."

Wang Yan patted him on the shoulder, said nothing more, and led a group of people away towards the outskirts of the city.

The Xin'an River flows through Chun'an County from northwest to southeast. The famous Qiandao Lake is a section of the Xin'an River, which is also the upper reaches of the Qiantang River.

This breach truly turned Chun'an County into a vast swamp.

We hadn't gone far from the county seat when the water began to deepen, and every now and then we could see helpless villagers dragging their families toward the county town. These were the villages closest to the county town; those farther away had to find higher ground to hide in.

When Wang Yan led a large group of people to one of the weirs, it was already late at night. At the broken weir, a torrent of water was gushing out.

A large group of people had been busy here trying to salvage the situation, carrying bags of sand and gravel down the weir. However, the bags of sand and gravel were carried away by the river as soon as they were put down, and it was difficult for them to sink properly to the weir.

At this point, unless a miracle happens, there's no effective solution. The only thing to do is to gradually fill the gap with sand and gravel, like ants carrying food, slowly sealing the dam. The more important thing is to relocate the disaster victims.

These tasks are all done by someone. Wang Yan's role here is to supervise, to water the plants alongside the people, so that everyone feels at ease.

Although Tian Youlu is not human, he is still quite decent when he acts like one.

He didn't leave the city, so he wasn't implicated, and staying in the city allowed him to coordinate efforts. In the city, he was responsible for the logistical support of the disaster relief efforts.

A large group of women gathered and went out of the city to a safe place near the weir to cook. They had food delivered by horse-drawn carts or simply by carrying it on shoulder poles. Various tools and sacks were also constantly being brought along.

At this time, the people of Chun'an County were truly united in their efforts to overcome the flood, because the flood had devastated the area and left everyone unscathed. The landlords' land was submerged, and the common people were even worse off, displaced and homeless.

Blocking floods and repairing breaches is a form of self-rescue. This is something that everyone, from landlords and powerful figures to corrupt officials and ordinary people working on the ground, understands.

And so, the people of Chun'an County worked together with one heart and one mind. Wang Yan traveled to various weirs, handling many matters related to the relocation of disaster victims.

From night to day, from day to night, the cycle of day and night passed without anyone noticing. Ten days later, the dam was finally blocked. The urgent message traveled between Zhejiang and the capital, and countless horses died and countless people were exhausted. Finally, Chang Boxi, the magistrate of Chun'an County, was beheaded...

I want to express my sincere gratitude to all the kind readers who have given me generous support through tips, monthly tickets, recommendation tickets, and those who have been reading quietly!