Red Mansion: Picking up a Lin Daiyu

Chapter 267 Damage to dikes and flooding of fields, disaster

July is the last rainy season in Suzhou.

The plum rain fell several times, washing away the scattered smoke and dust, like clear water washing on lotus flowers, making this water town in the south of the Yangtze River even more beautiful.

The prefectural government office,

The raindrops hit the eaves, dripping loudly.

As the official in charge of Suzhou, he is now plotting a heinous conspiracy.

In the hall, lights flickered.

In addition to Sun Yicai, who was acting as the prefect of Suzhou, there were also Xu Yaozu, the head of the Xu family, and Zhen Yingjia, the supervisor of the Suzhou and Hangzhou Weaving Bureau.

The three of them got together for no other reason and without outsiders around, so they spoke their minds.

Zhen Yingjia immediately asked, "Doctor Sun, how are the preparations going?"

Sun Yicai sighed, "I have explained everything, but now that the door has been opened, it will be difficult to control the disaster situation. This..."

Zhen Yingjia shook his head and said, "Don't worry, the big shots above know about this matter, and they gave the idea, it's just your turn to do it."

"Moreover, the blame is not on you, it is Zhu Huailin's fault. As for what happens after the disaster, Brother Xianzong will naturally take the responsibility."

"By combining reform and relief, the dilemma will be resolved."

Xu Yaozu and Zhen Yingjia raised their glasses to each other and drank a cup of tea as a gesture of respect.

Sun Yicai was still unsettled in his heart. He was greedy and did what he did, but humans are not plants or trees. Who can be heartless? Destroying the dikes and flooding the fields would push the two counties of Suzhou and tens of thousands of people into a dead end. Who could have the heart to do that?

Seeing that Sun Yicai still couldn't make up his mind, Xu Yaozu comforted him again: "Sir, even if there is a mistake in this matter, it is the responsibility of the people above. Why should you be restrained?"

"This is the way of the officialdom. Those who do things inappropriately will not have a good ending. Your Excellency might as well think about the fate of Governor Zhu."

"Besides, Marquis Anjing has already arrived in Dongping Prefecture. It will take less than a month to reach Suzhou."

"During this period, if you do a good job of handling the aftermath, you will be rewarded and not punished. How does Marquis Anjing know that the dike was damaged, not breached?"

At that time, an official came to the court and reported, "Sir, the water level of the Wusong River has risen by three feet, and it can rise by half a foot every two hours. We need to drain the floodwaters urgently."

Zhen Yingjia and Xu Yaozu both looked at Sun Yicai.

Sun Yicai nodded slightly and said, "Okay, I understand. You can go down first."

After the messenger left, Zhen Yingjia said, "Today's rain came at the right time. The water level has risen by three feet, and the floodwaters will flood most of the fields. Doctor Sun, you can't miss this opportunity."

"I don't know which will arrive in Suzhou first, the next heavy rain or the Marquis of Anjing."

"Could it be that you are sure you can do things under the nose of Marquis An Jing?"

"The big guys will remember your contribution today."

Sun Yicai clenched the teacup in his hand and said with difficulty, "Okay, I know. I will send someone to dig up the river bank now."

……

The Wusong River flows out of Taihu Lake and runs through the entire Wu County.

Due to the flat terrain of Suzhou, whenever the water level of Taihu Lake rises during the rainy season, the Wusong River becomes a natural flood discharge outlet, the water level will rise sharply, and in serious cases, floods will occur.

At present, as the water level continues to rise, villages everywhere have begun to evacuate people to prevent disasters.

This is a common occurrence during the flood season, but the water flow generally will not break the dam, only the fields near the river will be partially flooded due to the flood discharge.

Such a natural disaster is not an unacceptable loss.

And today, the flood situation came very suddenly.

Before everyone had even left, they could see the river water already flowing into the rice fields.

The fields are gone, but life is what matters most.

In the pothole-ridden areas, farmlands near Taihu Lake and Wusong River were soon engulfed by the ferocious flood.

The people had no time to grieve and fled to Xuanmu Mountain with their families.

The impact of this flood spread to the two counties of Suzhou, and more and more farmers began to gather in the mountains.

Everyone's face was filled with grief. Once the flood passed, all the hard work of the year was wasted.

The silt brought by the floods changed the originally soft soil of the rice fields. If you want to sow seeds, you have to repair the fields first.

Apart from this, the most troublesome thing is the insect eggs brought by the flood.

In Suzhou's warm and humid environment, insect plagues are very likely to occur, which is beyond human control.

For farmers, the future is bleak.

The stone steps of Xuanmu Mountain were crowded with people climbing up the mountain, each carrying young children and luggage, their clothes covered in mud.

When people climbed to a high place and could see the scenery outside from afar, they realized that the dam had broken and the flood was still continuously impacting the rice fields. They were afraid that even the nearby cities would not be spared and that the flood would continue to flood hundreds of thousands of acres of fertile farmland.

There was no harvest this year. What should we do to survive the winter?
Panic quickly spread throughout the crowd, and when someone could no longer hold back their emotions and burst into tears, there were more and more wailing sounds.

It is even harder to stop a baby’s crying.

The Sheng’en Temple on Xuanmu Mountain opened its gates to provide relief to the refugees. Many people cursed the governor Zhu for embezzling public funds, which resulted in the failure to dredge the river and the disrepair of the embankment.

The vulgar words in it are unbearable to hear.

Xing Xiuyan looked at Miaoyu beside her with concern, and said caringly: "Sister, things will be over soon, the Marquis will have a way."

Miaoyu murmured, "These people are really crazy. The Marquis's words really came true."

She couldn't help but secretly clench her hands in her robes. Miaoyu raised her hands and said softly, "Amitabha, I hope the Marquis really has a way to solve today's problems."

Xing Xiuyan's eyes turned, and thinking of Yue Ling's confident look, she couldn't help but respond generously: "After all, he is the Marquis of Anjing, he will have a way."

Miaoyu looked at Xing Xiuyan in confusion, and Xing Xiuyan also looked at her in confusion.

"What, what I said is wrong?"

Miaoyu shook her head, "No, it's just that the tone of your voice as a maid always feels like it is mixed with special emotions."

Xing Xiuyan blushed and whispered softly, "Why? This is not your good marriage, so you don't allow others to say good things? You are such a stingy sister. No wonder you hid the Buddhist scriptures from me."

Miaoyu frowned slightly, "You are not going to join the Buddhist sect, so why do you study so many Buddhist scriptures? Now that you can read, go read other books."

"Besides, when did I ever say that this was my good marriage? I am a cultivator."

Xing Xiuyan emphasized: "If you practice Buddhism with your hair uncut, you can return to secular life at any time."

Miaoyu curled her lips and didn't want to argue with Xing Xiuyun anymore.

It’s also because she lacks confidence.

In the past, she had vowed that if someone could clear her father's name, she would marry him. In fact, she had never thought that anyone could do this, and she even thought that being treated like a slave was not a big deal.

But right now, Marquis Anjing has been secretly investigating for a long time.

All he needs is strong evidence to redress his father's innocence. There is real hope of accomplishing this. Then what has become of the oath he made before?

It will become a demon in her mind during her practice.

Recently, she has been meditating and chanting scriptures, but her heart has always been unsettled. Whenever she thinks of Yue Ling's face, she feels even more throbbing, and she can't even feel like a monk anymore.

The girl next to her teased her like this, which made her even more confused.

Touching her forehead gently, Miaoyu sighed, "Stop playing around. There are many people in the temple now. It's time for us to do something."

Xing Xiuyan nodded, "Okay, I'll lend a helping hand to the Marquis and clear your father's name as soon as possible. Return all these dirty words to those who deserve them!"

……

Caoyun Guild Hall,

In the lobby, Yue Ling sat in the middle, listening to the report from the people below.

A row of people knelt on one knee, raised their hands and said to Yue Ling: "Your Majesty, the Cangzhou army has sent 5,000 people to escort the grain south, a total of 300,000 stones. According to the Marquis's instructions, the livestock they brought and the grain collected along the way numbered over 100,000. They were all transported south by the Cangzhou River Governor and the Cao Gang, and the news has not been leaked."

"Yes, you did a good job. But 300,000 dan of grain is too much. What will the people of Cangzhou City eat?"

The lower level responded, "Suzhou has more than 400,000 mu of land. Even if you buy 10 dan of grain per mu, you will need 4 million dan of grain. This amount is too huge for one state to provide."

"Cangzhou currently has enough grain reserves to support the people's autumn harvest. The 300,000 shi of grain was also gathered together by the eight surrounding counties."

Yue Ling nodded slightly, "Alright, if I cause trouble to the people of Cangzhou, I will feel guilty. What you said is also right, 300,000 dan is just a temporary solution for Suzhou."

"I need to find another way."

At the right time, someone else spoke up, "My Lord, the Cao Gang is doing its best to rescue the victims. We notified the first few villages that were affected very early, and no one died from the flood. The besieged have now been taken to the various Caoyun Guild Halls and properly resettled."

The Cao Gang developed rapidly in various places and was considered a non-governmental organization that often provided assistance to refugees. It was not surprising that it provided help to the people in this matter.

With this banner, the Cao Gang was able to do their work easily and accumulated a lot of reputation.

After the report, someone else said, "My Lord, after our thorough investigation, we found that the dam was dug up. From the upper reaches near Taihu Lake to the Wusong River near the city, there were several breaches, all caused by human beings."

"It was hard to see clearly in the rain, but the man who saw him left on horseback was an official."

After this report was made, everyone below was filled with indignation.

The government dug the dike and flooded its own people. This is an act that is outrageous to both humans and gods. I am really unworthy of being a human being. I wish I could rush into that crappy government office right away and catch the corrupt officials and punish them.

"There are many people who are just sitting there doing nothing. Since this has happened, they will also provide disaster relief. And if we work together, it won't be a problem for the people to get through this difficult time."

"However, our disaster relief strategy is definitely different from that of the government. After all, we are a private charity organization and cannot open our warehouses to distribute grain like the government does. Otherwise, we will arouse the suspicion of the government and be suppressed in secret."

"They flooded the fields in order to buy them at a low price. We blocked their way to make money, and they won't give up easily. You all need to be careful in the future."

Everyone raised their hands and said, "Yes, sir."

Yue Ling then ordered: "The flooded fields are not without value. If the people realize that the flooded fields are valuable, they will not sell them."

"I have written down what to do next on a piece of paper. You will each take the note and go do your work. Remember not to conflict with the government."

"Another group of people, follow me to Xuanmu Mountain..."

(End of this chapter)