A Farm Girl: Three Acres of Fertile Land Can Be Exchanged for a Country

Chapter 67 Plugging the Gap

As expected, the tree fell and was swept away by the raging river, disappearing without a trace. The girl also vanished, but her cries seemed to linger in our ears.

The boy initially remained motionless, but after he was rescued, everyone realized why he hadn't moved.

His stomach was pierced by tree branches, and his intestines were sticking out. He was crawling face down, so no one noticed.

Zhao Dabao never expected such a tragic situation. Holding his dying son, he cried in despair.

Wutong and the others had no time to comfort him, as they were busy rescuing others.

It took them about a day to search the mud thoroughly, rescuing twelve people alive and digging out more than twenty bodies. The number of people did not match the number of missing persons reported by the village chief. Perhaps some people had already fallen into the river at the very first moment of the collapse.

Rescuing people is a very tiring task. By the end of the day, Wutong was so exhausted that she was numb and didn't even have the strength to lift her arm.

As the soldiers returned to port, she leaned against the cabin, the image of the girl falling into the water still lingering in her mind.

She was pitiful, but who isn't pitiful when disaster strikes?

The only thing to blame is the cruel way of Heaven, and those who indulge in nightly revelry in their tents and do nothing.

That night, Tian Weitang and Li Duwei talked all night and came up with a general plan for flood control.

The water has already overflowed, and it's unrealistic to try to stop it with manpower alone. Dozens of kilometers outside Jingzhou City, there is a branch of the Dingjiang River that extends out, and the water flow is much weaker than this one.

Perhaps we could connect a tributary river to it and let it share some of the water level.

Lieutenant Li brought three thousand men, and Tian Weitang also had some men under his own command, so the digging wouldn't be too slow.

The King of Southern Xinjiang did not only order Abuduo to send people; he also worked to dredge the upstream and downstream areas. He himself put aside all affairs of the royal palace and personally led people to guard Fuzhou, the city most severely affected by the disaster.

As long as we get through the most difficult time, things will definitely turn around.

The two made a decision and went to sleep at dawn. After sleeping for three hours, they gathered the soldiers to prepare for departure.

Unexpectedly, another accident occurred. Less than half an hour after they set off, they were stopped by someone on the vast, boundless shore of the water.

The leader was Vice Minister Liu.

Lieutenant Li and Tian Weitang stood at the bow of the ship, looking at them with great confusion, while hundreds of wooden boats behind them were forced to stop.

The two ships collided, and the guards lifted the curtain, allowing Vice Minister Liu to emerge, followed by a group of officials sent by the imperial court.

Their faces were grim, their bellies protruding, and they looked ready to confront and punish anyone.

"I heard you're planning to connect the tributary river to the Dingjiang River?"

The owner of "Baby" held it and asked slowly.

Tian Weitang nodded: "That's right, this is the only way to control the flood situation."

Vice Minister Liu said, "Nonsense! The flood is raging only because the dike has breached. Just plug the breach, won't that solve the problem?"

"With the water flowing so rapidly, how can we possibly stop it by human power?"

"With so many of you, are you worried you can't come up with a solution?"

Lieutenant Li stepped forward and said, "The situation is urgent, and I'm afraid we can't wait to think of a solution."

Vice Minister Liu said, "So you're determined to dig it up, is that it?"

Tian Weitang and Lieutenant Li exchanged a glance: "Yes."

"Then you're courting death!" Vice Minister Liu's face was ashen as he raised his chin and said, "Don't blame me for not warning you. The water level of the Dingjiang River is unstable right now, and the imperial cargo ships can only travel through this branch. The Prime Minister's birthday celebration is next month. If we're not prepared enough, will you take the blame?"

Tian Weitang said, "But the flood..."

Vice Minister Liu waved his hand, a gust of wind escaping his official sleeve: "I don't care about that! You can do whatever you want, but you absolutely cannot touch this branch!"

After listening for a while, Wutong finally understood that these people had come here just to watch a free show.

Jingzhou has a population of two million, and the number of people upstream and downstream is countless.

With so many people struggling to find food, how can that damn prime minister possibly be in the mood to celebrate his birthday?

Celebrate his mother's birthday!

Is the emperor out of his mind or dead? Is the country just going to be squandered by these bastards?

The baby's owner glanced at her and asked, "What are you glaring at?"

Wutong, his blood boiling, couldn't contain himself and blurted out, "I glare at you shameless scoundrels!"

Upon hearing this, all the officials' faces darkened.

Lieutenant Li hadn't expected Wutong to act so impulsively, so he stepped in front of her to stop her.

Wutong, having given up all hope, pushed him aside and walked up to Vice Minister Liu, pointing at his nose and cursing: "You damned officials! Have you all wasted your time studying? What does 'worrying about the world's troubles before enjoying its pleasures' mean? What does 'water can carry a boat, but it can also capsize it' mean? How many people died in Jingzhou this time? Eight thousand! Eight thousand! And you still eat and drink every day, sleeping soundly? You even have the mind to celebrate your birthdays? You all deserve to be childless!"

Liu, the Vice Minister, was so angry that his beard almost flew up. He was furious: "How dare you! Do you even know who I am?"

Wutong laughed angrily: "Oh, baby's so scared... Pah!"

She spat at him fiercely.

Liu, having reached his limit, beckoned to his guards: "Men! Drag him away and behead him!"

Lieutenant Li, his face stern, stepped forward with his sword to protect Wutong, and said meaningfully, "Minister Liu, she is one of our people from the Southern Frontier."

To oppose the soldiers of Southern Xinjiang is to oppose the King of Southern Xinjiang.

How could a mere Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites possibly contend with the King of Southern Xinjiang, who commands a large army?

Liu, the Vice Minister, was so angry that he almost vomited blood.

"Fine! Fine! You just wait!" He pointed at the group of people forcefully as if he had a stroke, then turned and crawled into the cabin, so angry that he didn't even need anyone to lift the curtain.

Vice Minister Liu was the highest-ranking and oldest among these officials, making him a true leader.

He had already left, so naturally the others didn't dare to stay and all crawled back into their cabins.

Their ship sailed away, and the road ahead was clear.

Tian Weitang watched the ships disappear into the distance, then suddenly beckoned to one of his guards and whispered, "You go alone to their mountain and evacuate the men and ships."

The guard exclaimed in surprise, "What will they eat from now on? Who will serve them?"

Tian Weitang said without any concern, "They have plenty of meat."

The guards took the order and left.

Lieutenant Li glanced at Tian Weitang and said with a half-smile, "My lord, you're really going all out."

Tian Weitang calmly rolled up his sleeves, put his hands on his hips, and said, "In chaotic times, who doesn't die? Haha..."

A casual remark made this civil official more magnanimous than many military officials.

Wutong looked at him with longing.

Tian Weitang felt her gaze, turned around and pinched her nose, praising, "A quick-witted and audacious fellow, General Abdo is truly lucky to have you."

She scratched her cheek, lowered her head, and looked still shaken.

She was really caught up in the heat of the moment. Luckily, Lieutenant Li and Tian Weitang helped her, otherwise she would definitely have been beheaded.

Nanxing hated being touched, but she couldn't beat Tian Weitang up like she beat Zhao Sanyang. She could only cross her arms and glare at him coldly, pouting unhappily.

End of this chapter