People in the Song Dynasty were lawless

Chapter 206 The dam bursts

"Boom!"

There was a thunder in the sky, which seemed to turn the rainy night into daylight in an instant.

Chen Xiliang's expression changed drastically after hearing what Cao Fang said.

In ancient times, Changsha County had a very large territory and the scale of urbanization expanded, but the ancient city wall area was very small.

The approximate location is in the central area of ​​Wuyi Square in Changsha, a palm-sized place.

Moreover, the West City Wall is close to the Xiangjiang River. Originally, the terrain of Changsha is quite high, and the city cannot be flooded under normal circumstances.

But if the Xiangjiang River water overflows, the problem will be big, and it will pour directly into the city through the water gate.

So after hearing Cao Yan's words, he immediately asked anxiously: "Is the water gate closed?"

"It's closed, but it's raining heavily and the water level in the city is still rising."

Cao Yan pointed outside and said: "The terrain of the county government office is higher, so you can't see it, but the west part of the city near the Xiang River is already up to your ankles."

Chen Xiliang had already walked out of the house quickly, scurrying along the corridor like an ant on a hot pot. After thinking for a few seconds, he turned to Zhao Jun and said: "Zhiyuan, please stay in the county government office. The lower official must guard against the danger all night." It’s water.”

Zhao Jun also came out of the room at this time and asked: "What are you going to do?"

Chen Xiliang gritted his teeth and said: "There have been cases like this before, but it has been heavy rain for several days in a row. The water will rise only after the rain is a little lighter. As long as we are prepared, the flood will not enter the city. But this year's rain looks so strong. It’s getting bigger and bigger, and the official suspects that this year’s flood will be bigger than in previous years, so people inside and outside the city must be evacuated.”

"Can we evacuate in such heavy rain?"

"can."

"it is good!"

Zhao Jun raised his head and looked at the sky. The pouring rain was still falling. Occasionally, a flash of lightning flashed across the night sky. He could see that the dark clouds as thick as ink showed no sign of dissipating. He said in a deep voice: "I will go with you."

"The Zhiyuan has a body worth thousands of dollars, so we can't take any risks."

Chen Xiliang was shocked.

"How can there be such a thing as a body of ten thousand gold? The people are human, but I am not a human being? The emperor is also a human being. There is no distinction between high and low in personality. When disaster strikes, I am just an ordinary person who is willing to stand with the people. .”

Zhao Jun waved to Jiang Dalang and pointed to the outer wall of the neighboring house. Jiang Dalang had no choice but to take down a raincoat from the wall of the wooden house next to him and handed it over.

Chen Xiliang hesitated and said: "But."

"No need to be."

Zhao Jun put on his raincoat and said: "It was the people who supported the Song Dynasty, not officials and emperors. If officials and emperors could not solve problems for the people, then what kind of officials and emperors would they be? Just do it, I will go up and help and won’t cause any trouble.”

Chen Xiliang was frightened by these words, but he couldn't resist Zhao Jun, so he had to say: "Yes."

At that moment, everyone put on their raincoats and ran into the rainy night.

Following the order, the entire county government became agitated. Chen Xiliang ordered Cao Fang to immediately summon many government servants and all officials to be dispatched. He himself immediately went to Xicheng to check the water situation outside.

There was no way to light a torch in such a heavy rain, and there was barely any lighting in the city, because lanterns could be hung under the eaves of many houses to provide a faint light.

It was really dark outside the city. Except for the occasional thunder and lightning, and a little bit of vision, nothing could be seen clearly.

Zhao Jun's personal guards were stationed outside the city, and he immediately ordered Huang Sanlang to gather men.

When Zhao Jun and Chen Xiliang arrived at Xichengtou, they could hear the roaring sound and the sound of the surging river water lapping the shore, as if this was not an inland river at all, but a coastal beach.

With a flash of thunder in the sky, they saw that the red river outside the city had slowly risen to the foot of the city wall, and occasionally large waves rolled and surged.This means that in addition to the rain in Changsha, I am afraid that the upper reaches of the Xiangjiang River and the coastal areas have also been in heavy rain recently.

Zhao Jun was a high school student in Changsha in 2017 and had witnessed this situation before. At that time, the water level reached 38.37 meters, exceeding the warning water level by 2.37 meters. The foundation platform of Du Fu Jiang Pavilion was submerged, and large areas of waterlogging and water accumulation occurred in the city.

Although it should not have reached that level at this moment, the flood discharge capacity in ancient times must be inferior to that of later generations. If measures continue like this, the interior of Changsha City will also suffer from the falling rainwater alone.

"Quickly, inform the people in the city to evacuate to the south city. Send out all the government officials and knock on the doors of every house to let the people go. Open the water gate of the east city gate and divert the water away from the water gate of the east city gate."

"Recruit young and strong laborers, collect sacks from all over the city, fill them with sand, and pile them up on the shore to prevent the water from the Xiang River from continuing to pour into the city."

"People along the river outside the city, please immediately inform them to go to Shanhua Town in the southeast. Be sure to notify every household. The flood may be coming soon. Don't take any chances."

"Also, the grain stored in the yamen must be properly kept. Immediately ask the storekeepers to use sandbags to surround the warehouse. Don't let water flood in. Even if water floods in, the grain must be lifted to a high place immediately. Be sure to The stored grain and grass are preserved.”

Orders were issued from Chen Xiliang's mouth one by one. Flood relief and containment were of no use now, because it was too dark and people had difficulty moving, so there were only two most important things - evacuate the people and protect supplies.

After a while, Wang Yao, Li Suzhi, Wang Han, Liu Yuan and others also got the news and hurried to the city wall.

Tanzhou is the administrative center of Jinghu South Road, and all the government offices are in the city, so when they heard that Zhao Jun came to the city wall, they all followed him.

But unlike Chen Xiliang, who was calm and composed and noticed something was wrong immediately, these people saw such a large amount of water for the first time and were a little at a loss.

It was Zhao Jun who said to Wang Yao and others: "What are you still doing? Chen Xiliang has known Changsha County for many years and knows better than you how to control floods. Now you are all following his orders."

"Yes!"

Everyone quickly agreed that their tenure in Changsha was indeed not as long as that of Chen Xiliang. For example, Wang Yao was only transferred this year, and Wang Han and Li Suzhi both took office last year. They are indeed not as rich in experience on this issue as their counterparts.

Chen Xiliang received Zhao Jun's authorization and did not refuse. He immediately asked them to arrange for the officials of their respective yamen to act separately.

Now the main task of the entire Tanzhou government and county government is to immediately evacuate the people along the riverside, especially in the direction of Xicheng. People must be moved to Nancheng or Dongcheng.

After the order was issued, all the subordinate officials in the yamen all over the city took action. At least hundreds or even thousands of subordinate officials in the city began to call door to door, waking up the people in their sleep and telling them that the heavy rain was coming and the flood was coming. Let them evacuate to the shore.

In fact, at this time, only the west side of the city was over the ankle, and it had not yet flooded the entire city. However, Chen Xiliang judged that it was very likely that heavy rain would continue in the next few days, so he had to evacuate in advance.

Before the water reached the people's heads, the people were unwilling to move. They all promised to be fine. When the subordinate officials who urged them to leave left, they closed the door and continued to sleep.

All kinds of bad news soon followed.

"Report, another dam outside the West City Gate has been washed away. The water level continues to rise, and the water flow has submerged under the city wall."

"Bao, many people in Xicheng are unwilling to leave. No matter how we persuade them, they don't want to leave." "Bao, water has overflowed to the shore on the west side of Shanhua upstream. The dam has not been washed away, but the fields and villages close to the Xiang River There’s been a lot of standing water coming in.”

As the news came one by one, Chen Xiliang could not sit still, so he could only confess to Zhao Jun, and then personally went to the city wall to persuade the people.

Zhao Jun raised his head and looked at the sky. Even though he was wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, he could still feel the big raindrops coming towards his face, crackling on his face. It didn't hurt, but it felt as cold as a cold night.

A thunder streaked across the sky, the dense raindrops seemed to cover the dome, and the endless thick dark clouds with no end in sight enveloped the entire world.

The current situation is actually not very bad, but there is internal waterlogging in the city. After the four water gates in the West City are closed, even if the water flow outside the city rises another two or three meters, it will probably not be able to flood the city. What I am afraid of is that the rain is still falling, and it will directly flood the city. The rain flooded the city, which was terrible.

Not long after, Zhao Jun's army also gathered. He ordered the soldiers to move the things to higher ground outside the south city first, leaving dozens of people to guard them. The rest immediately joined in to persuade the people to leave and help the people move their things. among the team.

At that time, the total population of Jinghu South Road reached more than 500 million, of which Changsha, as the administrative center, was responsible for the largest number of residents. It was densely populated, narrow and crowded, and nearly one-tenth of the population was scattered in Changsha and surrounding towns and villages.

Therefore, the task of evacuating people is still very difficult.

Fortunately, at least there are no signs of the upstream river bank being washed away. At least this flood is much less harmful than the one in [-]. However, the flood control construction of ancient waterways is indeed not as good as that of later generations, and the water can easily flood into the city. .

By daytime the next day, after Chen Xiliang's persuasion, some people had already evacuated from the city with their families and belongings. People along the riverbank outside the city were also moved away.

This time we have no choice but to leave. Fortunately, the water gate in the city is closed and water cannot come in. There is no city wall protection outside the city. Several villages near the river have been flooded to the point where they are almost half a person high. Originally, ancient houses are not of later generations. High-rise buildings are, at most, two-story earthen or wooden buildings, and swimming is often available on the first floor.

Zhao Jun had already climbed down the city wall at this time, and the rain was still falling. He just ate some dry food at will, and then left Nancheng with more than 20 guards to inspect the relocation and cleanup of the people and the situation of the river embankment upstream. The rising water was the most worrying thing. It means the water level has overflowed the river bank.

Because once the river embankments cannot be maintained, water will rush to both sides, causing flooding.Historically, the Yellow River changed from a mother river to a stepmother river, which was caused by the collapse of the embankments of the Sanyihui River.

Fortunately, the river embankment has not been washed away yet, but the terrain in the south of Changsha is very high, which is the area of ​​Yuhua District in Changsha in later generations. There are many hills and hills there, and the Provincial Botanical Garden, Ecological Zoo, and Ecological Tourism Scenic Area are all clustered nearby, so The water flows continuously from south to north towards Changsha City.

In addition, the Xiangjiang River originally flows from south to north and flows into Dongting Lake. The water level has risen to overflow the embankment, and after the water flowing down from the mountains in the south has merged, the entire south city gate is now almost turned into a marsh, the shallowest. It can reach the ankles everywhere, and can even drown people at its depth.

But that seems to be it. Although the heavy rain is still falling, apart from the damage to the villages along the coast, it has not had much impact. It is just that the water slowly overflows the farmland and villages outside the city, trapping the city of Changsha. Into the big water.

During the day, the people finally realized the seriousness of the matter. Under the urging of the officials, they began to wade out of the city because the water outside could not get in, but there was still serious waterlogging inside due to heavy rain.

The city can only rely on the east gate to drain water to the lower Liuyang River, but it is obvious that the size of the Liuyang River cannot accommodate it when the water itself has already risen.

Once the water level on the Liuyang River rises to a level higher than Changsha City, it may have to pour in, and Changsha will be completely flooded by then.

Zhao Jun was covered in mud at this moment, his boots were soaked with water, and his feet were cold. He stood on the hill outside Nancheng and looked far away. The mountains outside Changsha were not high. The highest peak was Dawei Mountain in Liuyang. In later generations, The mountains at the southern foot of Yuhua District are basically about 100 meters high.

However, this terrain is enough to withstand floods.

The mountains are lush with vegetation, and at the foot of the mountains are turbid red-yellow rolling water, overflowing along the Xiangjiang River to the west, and rushing towards Changsha City.There were many things floating above the water, including wood, rice seedlings, clothes, and vaguely corpses.

There is a long gentle slope from the foot of the mountain to the mountain. A large number of people stood on the mountain and looked out. The densely packed crowd had a look of confusion on everyone's face.

Many subordinate officials in Changsha City and Zhao Jun's soldiers are now digging sand from the southeastern highlands. Bags of sacks filled with sand are transported to the foot of the mountain and piled up into high embankments. From time to time, the southeast land There are large troops still migrating to the mountains.

Human power only has this ability in front of nature.

This small mountain is the place closest to the flood. Its geographical location is probably on the hillside of the Hunan Educational Television Station. There are some mountains behind it, where a large number of people affected by the disaster were resettled.

At this moment, the migrating team in the distance was in chaos. After Zhao Jun noticed this situation, he immediately walked over and asked.

"Just let us go back. My father is still at home."

"Yes, I came out in such a hurry that I only had time to bring the two children up. The old man walked slowly."

"Even if the dam breaks now, we will accept it, please."

There were about 30 or [-] people begging for help, but several subordinate officials around them prevented them from going home. They were from the mountain village on the west side of Shanhua Town. The government moved them away before the water came over.

Many people thought that the water had broken through the dam, and they had to bring their children up in a hurry. However, the elderly at home were walking too slowly and were still in the village at the foot of the mountain, so they wanted to go back and bring the elderly up.

But the subordinate officials were ordered to move the people away as soon as possible. Now they have finally managed to escape to a higher place. What if they go back again if the embankment breaks, so they won't let them.

After learning about this situation, Zhao Jun hurried over and said: "Fellow folks, I know that you are worried about your family. But it is still too dangerous now. If you can't go back, just don't go back as much as possible, and let the government help you bring the old man up."

When the people saw a young official surrounded by people, they thought someone in charge had arrived, so they hurriedly shouted: "Official, unless we want to go back, how should we abandon our parents, family, chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep? "

Zhao Jun looked embarrassed and looked down the hillside in the distance. The village was actually flooded now, but the water flow was not that fast. It only reached his ankles. He thought for a while and said: "In this way, leave the child alone, Qing Qing Zhuang, come with me and bring out the elderly at home first, chickens, ducks, cattle and sheep as the second choice."

"The Zhiyuan."

Jiang Dalang said quickly: "Don't take risks yourself."

Zhao Jun shook his head: "For the sake of the safety of people's lives and property, we should go down to help the people before the dam is washed away."

You must know that even if there are floods in later generations, the productivity has been quite developed. After the disaster, people have disaster relief materials, and the local government will help people rebuild their homes. It is impossible for the people to starve to death. However, when the People's Liberation Army fights floods and provides disaster relief, it always protects the lives and safety of the people. Property safety is the priority.

Not to mention the ancient times when productivity was backward.

These are all farmers. After the flood, I am afraid that this year's food harvest will fail. If the rest of the property is gone, then life will really be unbearable. Selling land, selling children, and selling daughters is a small matter. It is very likely that No one can survive.

And there are more than a dozen old people at the foot of the mountain.

Therefore, Zhao Jun had no choice but to make this last resort and help the small village at the foot of the mountain evacuate their property before the water came over.

At Zhao Jun's call, more than 20 young men, plus the guards Zhao Jun led, a total of more than 50 people, headed towards the small village at the foot of the mountain.

At this time, the old people had almost reached the foot of the mountain. They had just met the old people and were about to enter the village and take away their property.

At this moment, there was a loud noise.

"Boom!"

The dike quietly opened a small gap, and then there was a roar, and a large area of ​​​​sand collapsed.

The turbid river water was like a herd of crazy wild horses, and instantly opened a more terrifying breach. The subordinates, officers and soldiers near the river embankment who were still transporting sand and soil were swallowed by the flood before they could run away.

The river bank has burst!
(End of this chapter)