Chapter 311 Stalemate
Chapter 311 Stalemate
Yu Dayi, magistrate of Huazhu County.
He graduated as a Jinshi at the age of 32.
According to legend, he is fair in law enforcement, diligent in his work, and has never made any serious mistakes. He is not an unwise person, so it is normal for him to do this.
Liang Qu asked, "Which town did Magistrate Yu go to?"
Chai Shiqiao's forehead was covered with sweat. "I am ashamed. Magistrate Yu has not told me the itinerary of the fleet before. However, based on the current distribution of villagers, I dare to guess that it should be in the Xiangxi Town area, because there are not many disaster victims from that area."
Liangqu points to Huangshan Mountain.
“Are all the victims on the mountain?”
Chai Shiqiao said: "Only part of it is included. County Magistrate Yu has designated many settlement points, and Huangshan is just one of them. Lord Yu is worried that the flood level will continue to rise, so he asked all the people to gather in high places, regardless of how serious the disaster is."
Liang Qu took out the map and found the Xiangxi Town mentioned by Chai Shiqiao. It was not far from Huangshan Mountain and there was plenty of time.
"I want to go up and have a look."
"Of course, of course." Chai Shiqiao brushed his sleeves, made way, and bowed to accompany him. "I don't know your name yet..."
"My surname is Liang."
Liang Qu pulled out the badge from his waist.
The night watchman brought up his torch.
Chai Shiqiao took a quick look at it and handed it back respectfully.
Official uniforms are easy to forge, but dragon blood horses are not. The current inspection is just a formality.
Without delay, the group turned around and headed up the mountain.
Just at this moment, Lu Xinqing staggered over, supporting his knees with his hands, running out of breath.
The dragon-blood horse was so powerful that he, a fourth-level martial artist, couldn’t even catch up with it.
Chai Shiqiao looked surprised: "Brother, you are..."
Liang Dao said: "The pirates are blocking our way and trying to rob our boat. Catch them and lead us."
Chai Shiqiao's face flushed, "I am extremely ashamed. Huazhu County is now full of water bandits. However, the Blackwater River is turbulent and the two banks are long. It is difficult for us to deal with it. Sir Liang has to bear the brunt of the trouble."
"Okay, no need to be polite. The water bandits are a small matter. The most urgent task is to deal with the flood. Take me up quickly!"
"Yes, yes, yes." Chai Shiqiao hurriedly led Liang Qu up the mountain, "Do you want me to send someone to wake them all up?"
"No need. If I were to put on airs, I should have just called you directly from the mountain."
"Lord Liang is really diligent in serving the people. I am ashamed."
Lu Xinqing panted, looked at Chai Shiqiao and sneered.
When he was the leader of the pirates, his subordinates also flattered him in this way.
A sycophant.
There are many camps on Huangshan Mountain, most of which are marching tents. Occasionally, you can see a bonfire burning under a few wooden boards.
Snoring could be heard passing several tents.
Several villagers who were on night watch came forward to greet Chai Shiqiao when they saw him.
Liang Qu looked at them one by one.
There was a persistent stench in the air, mostly from excrement.
When I opened the tent, the stench of sweat and feet gushed out, as well as a stench of being soaked in water for a long time.
Many people did not fall asleep at all. They sat together, leaning against each other, with sallow complexions and an overall listless state. Some of them even trembled constantly.
It was now the end of August and the beginning of September. The weather was not cold, it could even be said to be hot, but they were still shivering.
A couple held two children whose breathing was heavy and whose faces were red, and whispered comfort to them.
Liang Qu glanced around, saw other families in the corner, and lowered the curtain.
No one knew that not long after Liang Qu and others left, the man holding the child in the military tent touched the boy's forehead and showed surprise on his face.
"Mother, come and check if the fever has subsided."
The woman at the side quickly reached out her hand and repeatedly felt between her forehead and the boy's forehead, then touched the other little girl, overjoyed.
"The fever is all gone, all gone! God bless! The river god bless!"
The heavy breathing of the two men sleeping on the other side gradually became steady and comfortable.
Similar things happened from time to time in other military tents.
An invisible force is dispersing the disease-infected atmosphere that is shrouding Mount Huangshan.
Liangqu investigated the situation of the victims and drove away the water plague, while Chai Shiqiao was also carefully observing Liangqu.
The more I looked at him, the younger he seemed. He looked to be no more than twenty years old, yet he was riding a scaly dragon-blood horse and held the seventh rank in the government!
He must have a big background! Chai Shiqiao's expression became more respectful.
"How many people are there on the entire Huangshan Mountain now? Have the casualties been counted? What is the scope of the disaster?"
"There are currently more than 28,000 people in the entire Huangshan Mountain, most of whom are from the two towns and three villages nearby. It is difficult to get a specific number of casualties, so we can only roughly calculate that there are more than 8,000..."
Lu Xinqing was shocked: "So many?"
Chai Shiqiao looked back with disdain and did not answer the other party. He continued: "More than 80% of Huazhu County was flooded. The two surrounding counties were also affected. Jiangling County was also seriously affected."
More than 8,000...
Liang Qu knew that the other party was not exaggerating.
The still water formed by the slowly rising river is enough for people to walk in even if the water is chest-deep.
But if it is a more turbulent flood, it only takes half a foot to knock a person down, and once you fall down, the probability of standing up again is extremely low.
And the real number is most likely higher than eight thousand.
Liang Qu had read in "A General Study on Dike Construction" that when the previous dynasty Daqian was retreating, it sent ten great martial artists to Fengcheng to dig up the Majiakou dike on the Huangsha River near Fengcheng.
As a result, the Huangsha River rushed directly into the city, killing 840,000 people in the city, and only more than 60,000 people survived in the end.
"The death toll is in the tens of thousands every day!"
In just a few days, the mortality rate exceeded a terrifying 90%!
Liangqu went deeper and deeper.
"How's the food situation?"
"It's not optimistic. Judging from the current situation, although we have sent people to dig for food in the surrounding areas, most of it has been soaked in water. The edible food can only last less than five days. In addition, there are often big crocodiles in the water, so we are very short of manpower."
“Is excretion handled centrally?”
"Excretion? No, we haven't built any public toilets. We'll just let the victims deal with it themselves."
Chai Shiqiao was puzzled. What was the point of dealing with the excrement now? It would be of no use in autumn ploughing.
"There is disease in excrement. If you handle it carelessly, it will easily spread the plague. It must be buried in the soil."
"Sir, do you really mean what you say?"
Liang Qu glanced at Chai Shiqiao and said, "Just do as I say. Do you need me to explain?"
"I dare not! From now on, I will definitely assign someone to handle excretion."
Chai Shiqiao lowered his head.
Liang Qu continued to move forward.
This is the advantage of having a high official position.
"Do you know the cause of this flood?"
"I didn't know that when the flood came, I was having dinner at home, and was called by the county magistrate to come and settle the victims."
There is no "guilty conscience".
The ear-consciousness method told Liang Qu that Chai Shiqiao was not lying. With such strength, it was difficult for him to control the leakage of his information.
“Is there a disaster map?”
"Have!"
"Give me one."
"My lord, please wait a moment."
After a moment, Liang Qu had a rough map in his hand. He glanced at it and put it in his arms.
Maps are strategic materials. If Liangqu were not located at a high position, it would not be easy to obtain.
After Liang Qu walked around Huangshan Mountain and confirmed that his water-repellent medicine had taken full effect, he gave a few instructions to Chai Shiqiao, then rode away in a hurry on Chishan Mountain towards Xiangxi Town.
At about three quarters past midnight, before ten o'clock, the barge arrived at the border of Xiangxi Town.
Without going too deep, Awei was the first to find the fleet that Chai Shiqiao mentioned in mid-air.
Dozens of large ships were in the middle, and hundreds of fishing boats surrounded the large ships, forming a vast fleet with faint sparks.
Several flood victims standing on the rooftops were getting onto the big boat with the help of fishermen.
Liang Qu scanned with his golden eyes and finally found the target of this trip - Yu Dayi - on the bow of a large ship!
However, the fleet encountered some trouble at this moment.
A water beast with black scales is harassing the fleet, and several martial artists are spreading a large net to confront the beast.
The water beasts were ferocious, and the martial artists did not dare to go into the water rashly. They were also worried that the water beasts would break through the encirclement, so a stalemate occurred for a while.
(End of this chapter)