Cypress Boat Floating

Zhang Quansheng handed these bandits over to the nearest government office and repeatedly told them not to let them go. Then he continued on his way. It was still six or seven days' journey to Nancheng, and he didn't know what the situation in Nancheng was like.

The rest of the journey was safe and smooth. We didn't encounter any problems on the road and arrived safely in South City.

"Great, South City is just ahead." Zhang Quansheng excitedly shared the news with Lu Ci Qiu.

"Finally..." After riding for nearly a month, Lu Ci Qiu and his friends' waists were almost broken, and they finally arrived at South City.

During the past few days on the road, the closer they got to South City, the less stable the weather was. There were frequent heavy rains, and then they stopped. According to the information they received, it had been raining in South City for more than a month, and the floods were only rising and not receding.

They saw that South City was just ahead of them at the bottom of the mountain, but as they stood on the high ground and looked down at the road into the city, they were filled with worry.

The army brought only food with them. The water visible outside the city was about thigh-high. It was not known how high the water inside the city was. If they rushed in rashly, the food would be damaged.

Fortunately, when they were still worried and preparing to send people into the city to inquire, Nancheng City Lord Nan Chengyi and County Magistrate Liu Hanyun, who had received the news in advance, happened to come out of the city to greet them.

"Eighth Prince, Lord Zhao, General Zhang, you are finally here. Did you have a smooth journey?" Nan Chengyi was a man who looked very shrewd. He had a chubby face, small eyes, a big belly, and sparse hair. He stood at the front and hurried forward when he saw the army.

"Lord Nan, why is the flood so serious? It has spread outside the city?" Zhang Quansheng frowned. It is only outside the city now, but the water looks like it is almost up to the thighs. The situation inside the city must be even more serious.

Nan Chengyi made a bitter face and said in embarrassment: "General Zhang, this... is mainly because the heavy rain has been falling for more than a month. There is really nothing we can do."

Zhang Quansheng glanced in the direction of Lu Ciqiu, who was sent by the Second Prince. Lu Ciqiu was the Second Prince's younger brother. Although he was a rookie, he was still a prince after all. He also received the Second Prince's order. Not only did he have to take good care of the Eighth Prince, but he also had to obey his orders. As a soldier, everything was based on military orders. Naturally, he followed Lu Ciqiu's lead along the way.

Lu Ci Qiu looked at the situation around him, his brows furrowed deeper and deeper. He really didn't want to waste time chatting with them outside the city. He just wanted to go into the city to see the situation: "Let's go into the city first, don't waste time. The situation here is so serious, let alone inside the city. We have to hurry up now. Lord Nan, County Magistrate Liu, please tell us about the situation along the way."

Who would dare to refuse Lu Ci Qiu's words? Nan Chengyi brought a few small boats with him when he came. Taking advantage of the fact that they were on a high ground, Zhang Quansheng had people put the food on the boats and carry it, while the others sat in the carriage brought by Nan Chengyi.

Lu Ci Qiu took Ye Jianqing to the front carriage. Seeing this, Nan Chengyi hurriedly followed with Liu Hanyun. Zhao Wenbin and Zhang Quansheng, as people who came to provide disaster relief, naturally needed to hear about the situation in Nancheng, so they also got on the car.

Fortunately, the carriage that Nan Chengyi brought was relatively large, so even with six people sitting in it, it didn't feel crowded.

Seeing that everyone was seated, Lu Ci Qiu spoke up, "Let's first talk about the current situation in the city. How are the personnel? How many casualties have there been?"

“Reporting to the Eighth Prince, there were originally 8,000 people in the South City. When the flood hit, the northern part of the city closest to the Sannan River suffered the most serious damage. Houses collapsed and crops were destroyed by the flood.

At present, nearly half of the people's houses have been destroyed, and more than 6,000 people are homeless. I have temporarily placed some people in the Tianhou Temple on Qinglian Mountain, and the rest can only set up a shed on Qinglian Mountain for everyone to live there temporarily. The number of casualties has not yet been counted. "Liu Hanyun reported the current situation of the people in Nancheng truthfully.

"How much food do we have now?" Lu Ci Qiu asked.

"We still have about 5,000 kilograms of grain left, but it won't last for a few days. All the grain shops in the city have taken out their grain, but it's still not enough. Most of it has been soaked and cannot be eaten."

Lu Ci Qiu thought for a moment and said, "Five thousand kilograms. This time I brought twenty thousand kilograms, which should be enough for everyone to eat for a while. How is the flood situation?"

"Although it has not rained in the past few days and the river water is slowly decreasing, the water in the city has not completely receded. The water level of the river outside has not dropped significantly enough, and the water in the city cannot recede."

Lu Ci Qiu nodded. He roughly understood what Liu Hanyun said and knew what to do. The most important thing now was to let the flood recede and let the people come down the mountain. Houses could be rebuilt and farmland could be cultivated again, but people could not live in the mountains and live in fear forever.

"Is there any statistics on the losses suffered by the people?" Lu Ci Qiu asked again.

Liu Hanyun opened his mouth and looked at Nan Chengyi awkwardly, but Nan Chengyi responded fiercely: "The Eighth Prince is asking you, why are you looking at me!"

Liu Hanyun was so scared that he quickly turned his head around. Lu Ciqiu looked at Nan Chengyi with dissatisfaction. Anyone with a discerning eye could see that Liu Hanyun's status in Nancheng was not as good as that of the Nancheng Lord. Nan Chengyi was doing this in front of him. On the surface, he was blaming Liu Hanyun, but in fact, he was slapping Lu Ciqiu in the face.

"Well, Your Highness, the losses of the people cannot be counted because the flood has not yet subsided." Liu Hanyun said awkwardly with an apologetic smile.

Lu Ci Qiu was a little dissatisfied with Nan Chengyi and Liu Hanyun. The casualties and losses of the people had not been counted. Moreover, after so much time, the flood had not subsided and the people could only live in sheds on the mountain.

What on earth are these civilian officials doing for a living? It's been so long, and they haven't done anything. But even if I think this way, I still have to do the superficial work. Didn't we know from the beginning that these people are unreliable? What can we expect?

"That's nothing. The casualties and losses of the people must be counted in a timely manner. The money distributed by the court will be distributed to those homeless and penniless people. Don't let the people feel disheartened."

"Yes, yes, yes. I will definitely follow your instructions, Your Highness." Liu Hanyun responded quickly.

"Eighth Prince, it must be tiring to travel through mountains and rivers all the way. Why don't you go to the City Lord's Mansion to rest first? We will give you some fresh air and a rest." Nan Chengyi said to Lu Ci Qiu with a smiling face and like a lackey.

"No need." Lu Ci Qiu refused him: "After entering the city, I have to ask Lord Nan to find out the current situation of the people. General Zhang should prepare the relief food and arrange the food, silver and money properly and count them clearly. Lord Zhao will go with me to the city to see how we can rebuild the homes for the people."

Lu Ci Qiu acted decisively and arranged everyone's itinerary in an instant.

The situation in the city was not much better. There was turbid water everywhere. The water was now only up to the knees, but there was a layer of silt visible to the naked eye on the outer walls of the buildings in the city. Those were all traces left by the flood, and the height was at least up to Lu Ci Qiu's waist.

Lu Ci Qiu lifted the car curtain and looked outside. He couldn't imagine how desperate the people would be when such a severe flood came.

"The flood in the city has subsided for the time being, but the water in the north of the city, near the river, can't recede. Whenever it rains, the water rises, and it has been happening over and over again these days."

Liu Hanyun followed Lu Ciqiu and sighed as he looked at the street outside, but his behavior disgusted Nan Chengyi, who quietly kicked him from below. After being kicked, Liu Hanyun realized that he seemed to have said something he shouldn't have said, and quickly closed his mouth, lowered his head, and pretended to know nothing.

Lu Ci Qiu didn't see the little movements between them, but Ye Jianqing saw it clearly. She silently kept an eye on the two of them and secretly made a plan in her mind.

The City Lord's Mansion is located in the most central location of the South City. After getting off the car, everyone went to do their own things according to Lu Ci Qiu's instructions.

Lu Ci Qiu asked Liu Hanyun to take them to the north of the city to check out the situation.

The north of the south city is a poor area of ​​the south city. The people here are all very frugal. They don't have smart minds, and some of them don't have healthy bodies. They can only do menial jobs to earn a little food. Those strong young men go to the port to unload goods for others.

There is a very famous river outside Nancheng City - Sannan River.

The Sannan River flows from Junyang in Nanlin Kingdom to the South China Sea and finally converges at Nancheng and Fengcheng. Many people take boats along this river to Nancheng to do business, so this river supports more than half of the people in Nanlin Kingdom and all the people in Nancheng.

But the only bad thing about this river is that it is prone to flooding once it encounters heavy rain. In the past, it was relatively small and houses would not be destroyed. At most, people living by the river would have their fields planted by themselves destroyed by the flood. But this time it was a once-in-a-century rain that lasted for more than a month, and the water completely rushed to the center of South City.

Fengcheng is across the river from Nancheng. Although the two cities are across the river from each other, they are involved in everything. All trade between the two countries passes through these two towns, and a river runs between the two cities. If Lu Ci Qiu really wants to control the water, he would not only have to manage his own side.

Both cities have built dams on the other side of the Sannan River, but they are totally insufficient. The heavy rain this time destroyed the dams in both cities. Even if they are repaired, they will be useless the next time there is such severe rain like this one.

The opinion that Lu Ci Qiu reported to the emperor this time was that both prevention and treatment were necessary.

The first is to build dams. The dams in the south city are simple and cannot even stop daily floods, let alone those major floods.

So if it needs to be repaired, it must be built without disrupting trade between the two countries or the daily lives of the people.

The second is to make the water flow. If you want to completely control the water, you have to make it flow, not block it. The Sannan River passes through Fengcheng in the south and converges here, but there is a sea area not far from Fengcheng. Instead of letting the Sannan River converge here, it is better to completely open it up to the seaside.

So he had to check the situation first, and then compile the specific methods of flood control into a memorial to the emperor. According to his calculations, he would have to stay here for at least one or two months.

Lu Ci Qiu and Ye Jianqing took a carriage from the city center to the north of the city. Although the flood in the city center had not yet subsided and few people went out, the city looked very prosperous just by looking at the buildings and decorations.

However, when we arrived at the north of the city, we found it was indeed a desolate place. The houses had collapsed and no one was looking after them. The ground was covered with mud and there was not a single person to be seen.

"Why is the north of the city so desolate?" Lu Ci Qiu asked Liu Hanyun.

Liu Hanyun replied: "The people in the north of the city are all poor. They don't have much money. They have no money to eat, so how can they have money to do other things?"

Lu Ci Qiu wanted to say something to him, but he couldn't. There are prosperous areas and poor areas everywhere. Even in such a bustling place like the capital, there are such places.

Liu Hanyun took Lu Ci Qiu for a walk around the South City. After looking around, Lu Ci Qiu had a rough idea in his mind.

When he returned to the City Lord's Mansion, Liu Quansheng had already collected all the food and cooked the food to be distributed.

A few people carried several large pots of porridge and walked towards Qinglian Mountain.

There were quite a few people hiding on Qinglian Mountain. When they saw Lu Ci Qiu and the others coming, they came out from the bushes one by one and followed them. They didn't say anything and didn't dare to grab the food. They just followed them quietly.

Lu Ci Qiu felt very uncomfortable watching this.

When we arrived at the soup kitchen on the mountain, there was already a long line of people following the team, so crowded that we couldn't see the end of the crowd.

"Everyone, we are sent by the court to help you. We have cooked some porridge. Please line up and come one by one to get it." Following Lu Ci Qiu's eye signal, Zhang Quansheng stood at the front of the line and shouted to everyone.

When the people heard that there was food to eat, their eyes lit up and they quickly lined up.

Some soldiers were there to maintain order, while others followed Lu Ci Qiu around the mountain to see if anyone was sick.

As they walked along, Ye Jianqing suddenly said to Lu Ciqiu: "Now you know how terrible the flood is."

Lu Ci Qiu nodded.

"The flood is not as kind as you think. These people are just survivors. When the flood hits, no one can escape."

Lu Ci Qiu turned and looked at Ye Jianqing, his eyes filled with sadness.

"I have never thought of the flood as being very kind," said Lu Ci Qiu.

He was very afraid of water. No matter how much time had passed, he was still very afraid of water. Perhaps he was really scared when he was eight years old.

Ye Jianqing didn't say anything, and the two of them just walked quietly.

All the people in the Tianhou Palace came out to get porridge, and no one stayed behind. But when Lu Ci Qiu walked deeper into Qinglian Mountain, he always found some people along the way who had lagged behind in the news and didn't know about their arrival, or they were injured and unable to move, or some people could not accept the death of their loved ones and stayed with their dead family members and did not go to get porridge.

When Lu Ci Qiu and Ye Jianqing found someone, they would tell them that there was porridge available at the porridge shed. When they encountered injured people, they would ask the soldiers to send them to a treatment center they had set up.

Those who were guarding their families comforted them one by one and asked the soldiers to carry the bodies to another place.

After a flood, plague is very likely to occur. Once any corpse is found, whether human or animal, it must be burned.

After walking around, they found that there were more refugees on Qinglian Mountain than they had imagined. Most of them were in rags, and most of those who escaped in time did not have time to take any clothes with them.

Although it was summer now, the temperature would drop a lot at night in the mountains. So Lu Ci Qiu quickly asked someone to get more clothes to share with everyone.

In this way, I was busy all day and did a lot of things.

He paid attention to the actual situation of the refugees and asked Zhang Quansheng to lead his troops to build several tents and arrange a new place for them to rest.

In one day, the originally chaotic situation on Qinglian Mountain was much better. Healthy people were in one area, the injured were degreased together, and the bodies were prepared for burning in another area.

Everyone was in an orderly manner, waiting for Lu Ci Qiu's arrangements.

Although there was nothing wrong with Lu Ci Qiu's arrangement, there were always people who couldn't stand it.