Chapter 1457: Can you hold on?
County Lieutenant Zhang Ting had good intentions in letting Lin Ruofu evacuate. He sincerely admired an old man in his seventies who had been in office for many years for being able to shoulder such a heavy responsibility at such a difficult time.
But he also knew that what Lin Ruofu said was true. Lin Ruofu was now the backbone on the embankment. Once Lin Ruofu withdrew... it would definitely end in a general dispersion.
Even if the county magistrate doesn't care about it, who can control these common people and government servants to fight to the death?
If you desperately maintain the levee, you may be able to survive until the water level recedes; but if you give up now, it is almost certain that within two hours, the levee will collapse and the flood will be raging...
Looking at the momentum that was booming in the heavy rain, Zhang Ting could only sigh with a bitter smile, turned around and commanded the government servants in a hoarse voice to continue crazily filling the earth and rocks into the river embankment that had just been created by the flood. .
It rained heavily, the river swelled, and many low places on the river embankment were overflowing.
There was mud under their feet and rain above their heads. All the people of Jingyang and the government officials gritted their teeth and exhausted the last bit of strength in their bodies, vowing to contain the monstrous flood within the river and prevent it from breaking through the dams and destroying their homes. .
However, manpower is sometimes poor. In the face of huge natural disasters, the disadvantage in numbers leads to shortages everywhere. The floods surge on the embankment, and the earth and rocks in many places have been washed away. The gap is getting bigger and bigger, until at a certain place If it completely collapses, the raging floods will pour down along this vent, razing the nearby Jingyang City to the ground with overwhelming force...
At this critical moment, someone suddenly rushed from under the embankment, and the sound of tearing penetrated the wind and rain and penetrated into everyone's ears...
"The army is coming! Your Majesty has mobilized five thousand Youwuwei troops to help us guard the dam!"
This shout was like a sky covered with heavy rain and clouds being split open by a bolt of lightning. Everyone's hearts were shocked at first, and then became bright!
Lin Ruofu wiped the rain off her face, strode forward with difficulty, grabbed the person running up from under the embankment, and asked in a trembling voice: "Is this true?"
There was news before that the imperial court would mobilize a large army to help fight the danger, but Lin Ruofu had been sticking to the embankment and had never seen the document sent by the Ministry of War, so he didn't pay attention to it. When he thought about it, even if the imperial court really sent troops to rescue, it would be three to five days after the coordination between various yamen was completed...
The man looked excited and said loudly: "The young man went with the Prime Minister of Dou County to meet the imperial rescue army. The people who led the army this time were Fang Jun, the Minister of War, and Cheng Zhijie, the Duke of Lu State. Five thousand of the most elite Youwu guardsmen came. The rain has come, but now we are still walking to the bottom of the dam. The small ones are taking the path by the river, and they are the first to report the news! ”
The river embankment suddenly burst into cheers!
Although everyone is holding on to the river embankment to prevent it from being washed away, their physical strength has been exhausted and the number of people is too small. How can the power of heaven and earth be so overbearing? Now that five thousand elite Youwuwei troops have joined, this will greatly increase the success rate of guarding the levee!
Lin Ruofu was excited, but still asked: "Didn't the minister go to the county to meet with the county minister first?"
He had heard that this Fang Shilang, the son of Fang Xuanling, the current chief minister, the son-in-law of His Majesty, and the consort of Princess Gaoyang, was really a first-rate dandy. Lin Ruofu really didn't have a good impression of officials who came from aristocratic families. This is not to say that the children of aristocratic families are incompetent. On the contrary, these people have learned their origins and almost all of them have outstanding talents. They are just arrogant and have never experienced hardships. When faced with desperate situations such as natural disasters and man-made disasters, they lack the necessary responsibility and tenacity. They often shrink back when encountering difficulties and do not fight. And collapsed.
Look at our county magistrate who comes from a noble family. All the people in the city are risking their lives on the embankment, but he stays in the county government office to drink tea and enjoy the rain...
The person who reported the news laughed loudly: "Meeting with the county magistrate? No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. The minister of the house personally led the army to cross the city, and said that the disaster was like a fire, and went straight to the embankment! He even ordered the secretary to serve as the censor, Liu Jie, and the censor Liu. Write a letter to impeach the county magistrate for being afraid of danger and neglecting his duties!”
Lin Ruofu was so energetic that he didn't care about the inappropriateness in the messenger's words. Why could a minister of the Ministry of War order the administration of books and the censor? Feel good and shout happily!
There were cheers and cheers on the embankment!
Everyone is risking their lives here to guard the embankment and protect their homes, but the county magistrate, who is the lord of the county, actually sits peacefully in the government office to show his noble status... Who can have no resentment in his heart?
Just as Lin Ruofu was about to speak, she heard the sound of low footsteps sounding uniformly in the wind and rain, and a large group of black figures running from the bottom of the dam!
He immediately rushed forward to greet him. When he saw the young official who abandoned his horse and was walking in the mud, and a burly general in military uniform, he quickly straightened his clothes, bowed to the ground, and shouted: "Lin Ruofu, a commoner in Jingyang, Meet Mr. Fang! Meet Mr. Lu!”
Fang Jun was about to reach the embankment when he saw this person. He was slightly startled and looked at the county magistrate Dou Zhili beside him.
Who is this person?
Dou Zhili hurriedly said: "Returning Minister, this is the former head of the Ministry of Industry. Now he has returned to his hometown to take care of his old age. However, this time the flood is critical, and the county magistrate is unwilling to go to the dam to direct the rescue in person, so we can only Let Mr. Lin drag his sick body to call on the people of Hecheng to fight against the flood and vow to live and die with the levee! ”
Fang Jun was in awe, and quickly returned the greeting: "It turns out it's Mr. Lin... disrespectful, disrespectful, and able to stand up in this critical moment without fear of danger. He is really a role model for us!"
It seems that this old man has great prestige in Jingyang. Otherwise, how could he be able to direct the rescue on behalf of the county magistrate?
Lin Ruofu sighed with emotion: "I was born and raised here. At this critical moment, I can only throw these old bones on the embankment. I regret that my ability is limited and I cannot turn the tide...Now The room attendant came here on the emperor's order , I have no worries! You are a great talent in water conservancy. Most of the water conservancy projects in Guanzhong were built when you were the minister of the Ministry of Industry. You must be more confident about flood control and dam protection."
Obviously, this former official from the Ministry of Industry also heard about Fang Jun's deeds at the Ministry of Industry...
Fang Jun said hurriedly: "You don't dare to take what you said. I am ashamed of myself... The disaster is like a fire. Let's talk about the gossip later. Since you are an official of the Ministry of Industry, I only want to ask you, can this levee still be restored?" Can you hold it? ”
Don't look at the fact that he has been claiming all the time that "the people are there when the dike is there, but people perish when the dike breaks". In fact, it is just to calm people's hearts. Otherwise, when the people of Jingyang see that the power of heaven is unstoppable and flee for their lives, how can they only rely on a mere five thousand soldiers? Guarding the dike?
Five thousand Youwu guardsmen is already the limit, no more can be allowed.
Any more will definitely cause a chain reaction in many parties. It should be noted that things are not calm between the DPRK and China at the moment...
But if he really couldn't defend it, Fang Jun couldn't really let the people of Jingyang live and die on the embankment.
Be it a city or property, what is more precious than life? Fang Jun is well aware of the people's sentiment that "it is hard to leave their homeland" in this era. I don't know how many people would rather stay until the last moment, even if the flood is over, they will not give up. Therefore, the five thousand armed guards will become compulsory. The force used to move people away from Jingyang...
Lin Ruofu immediately said categorically: "Don't worry, Mr. Fang, the embankment will be able to be defended!"
Fang Jun didn't dare to believe it. He frowned and said solemnly: "Mr. Lin, I admire you as a person and know that you must have noble moral character. But I hope you can understand that compared with the city and with your home, Than, only people are the most important! As long as people are alive, homes can be rebuilt, but if people are gone, what’s the point of talking about homes?”
Lin Ruofu naturally knew what Fang Jun meant. She waved her hand and said with a proud look on her face: "Don't worry, Minister Fang. The old man was responsible for building this embankment when he was an official. Over the years, although the old man has been working at home, he has never been there." Dare to forget that whether the embankment is strong or not means whether Jingyang can be safe or not, so the water level rises every year in spring and autumn. During the high tide, inspections will be carried out on a regular basis. If there are loose soil and rocks and the embankment is unstable, the people will be called on to raise manpower to strengthen it. I swear here by my ancestors that as long as the gap is not washed out by the flood, this embankment will be protected. Even if it is overtaken by floods, it can still stand for three days without falling!" (End of Chapter)