In a chaotic world of infrastructure development, a woman's path to survival after being reborn

People only strive to improve themselves when their lives are threatened, and when they are in dire straits, they think about turning the tide.

A few days passed in the blink of an eye, and the water level had risen to the seventh floor. Now it has leveled off and it seems unlikely to rise any further, so the people in the building breathed a sigh of relief.

These days, everyone has been busy. The soldiers with free time have been assigned to retrieve supplies. A considerable amount of supplies have been retrieved from the water. The most abundant items retrieved are food, along with clothing and bedding.

Food that has been soaked in floodwaters is not clean in principle, but nowadays there is no other way. Even if it is not clean, it has to be cooked and eaten. It's just that we have to be more careful when cooking it and soak it in hot water several times.

The bedding and clothes soaked by the flood were not clean, but at this time there was no time to worry about that, they had to be put to good use. So during this period, you could see some old ladies and gentlemen busy taking the cotton out of the bedding and clothes that had been soaked by the flood, drying them by the fire, and then making other items to keep warm.

To survive, one must work hard, so during this time, everyone except for some young children is busy, extremely busy.

The water level had stopped rising, which meant the flood would soon recede. Whenever he had free time, Zhao Zexuan would discuss the next steps with his generals.

The flood caused huge losses to the team, including the oxen, horses, and donkeys used to transport the luggage.

The flood came so suddenly that everyone was focused on escaping, and the placement of these animals became a major problem. These animals were all alive and could not be placed in a cellar like cart frames or other objects to pray for their survival. These animals were the most troublesome.

Because of the time constraints, after discussion, the horses in the group were released, while the cattle and donkeys were bled and eaten.

A good horse has a strong ability to escape and has a chance to escape being swallowed by the flood, but animals like cows and donkeys have limited ability to escape, and it would be a pity to release them. So, with great reluctance, the people had no choice but to kill these cows and donkeys.

It's a pity, but at least it played a certain role, so no one regrets the decision.

Zhao Zexuan was also discussing this matter with his generals. He asked, "We must set off as soon as the flood recedes. We probably can't stay in Tongcheng any longer!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Zong chimed in, "Is the general worried that something might happen in the capital and the refugees would scatter?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zexuan did not deny it and said directly, "Although Tongcheng is quite far from the capital, the flood was so fierce that the capital may not have been unaffected. There are many people in the capital and the surrounding cities. If it is really as you guess, then the number of disaster victims is countless."

Upon hearing this, the generals, recalling the current absurdity of the capital's ruler, felt that Zhao Zexuan's guess was very likely true. Therefore, one of the military advisors worriedly said, "If that's the case, then the world will be in chaos."

Upon hearing this, his companion immediately said, "It should have fallen into chaos long ago. The current emperor only cares about enjoying himself, while the people live in misery. Taxes are getting heavier every year. What is the point of such a dynasty existing?"

"But this will plunge the people into hardship again, and such days will not be easy."

"What's so hard about it? Life is always this tough, and no matter what, the sky above is always gloomy."

……

The generals around him were arguing amongst themselves, and Zhao Zexuan listened silently, wondering when this suffering would end.

The generals debated endlessly about which situation made the people suffer more, but they couldn't reach a conclusion in the end. Everyone knew in their hearts that life was hard for everyone under any circumstances.

Although Zhao Zexuan had a vague idea in his mind, it was impossible to realize at the moment, so he quickly drew the attention of the generals back and said, "The most important thing now is to solve the problem of transportation. Right now, there is not a single horse or ox in the team."

Upon hearing this, the generals said with worried expressions, "I wonder if my beloved horse can survive this calamity. If only it were still alive."

Zhao Zexuan's horse was also released during the flood, so he remained silent in the face of the generals' worries.

“General, this flood came suddenly, and I’m afraid all the cattle and horses in the area near Tongcheng will perish. If we want to buy cattle and horses, we have to go to this area,” Wang Zong said after careful consideration.

Zhao Zexuan had the same idea. He took out a map from his pocket, unfolded it in front of everyone, circled the area with his hand, and said, "This is the area I estimated based on the river flow and the general mountain peaks on the map. This flood is very likely to occur in this area."

Upon hearing this, the generals hurriedly gathered around the map and examined it closely. Then, they frowned and said, "If this is the area in question, then the disaster area is vast. Based on our planned route and our current pace, it is estimated that it will take a month and a half to get out of this area."

Upon hearing this timeframe, Zhao Zexuan shook his head and said, "Not only that, not to mention the damage caused by the flood, just the fact that we no longer have oxen and horses to transport our belongings means it will take us at least two months to get out of this area."

The disaster-stricken area is still two-thirds of the way from the destination, so the journey is still very long.

The longer the journey takes, the more food will be wasted. The flood has already caused significant food losses, and if this delay continues, the food supply will certainly not last until Lingnan.

"How about some people set off first, while others go ahead to buy cattle and horses? That would save a lot of time," one of the recruits suggested.

“That’s a good idea, but it can only be implemented as a last resort,” Wang Zong replied after a moment of thought.

Zhao Zexuan understood Wang Zong's meaning, so he rejected the idea after initially thinking of it. He thought that perhaps they could use the flood to achieve their goal.

Just as he was about to voice his thoughts, he heard a series of hurried footsteps. Zhao Zexuan and the others looked over and saw a soldier running up in a panic, panting, "Generals, a ship is approaching. We don't know if it's friend or foe."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Zexuan and the others immediately went to the window and looked around. They immediately saw several large ships swaying and drifting towards them with the floodwaters. The sharp-eyed general took a closer look and exclaimed in surprise, "That man is not dead!"

Zhao Zexuan also looked towards the large ship in the distance and saw a familiar figure on the ship. It was one of the refugees who had escaped. He was surprised that this person had survived the flood and managed to gather so many people in such a short time.