The first stop that Xia Xun and his party rushed to was Suzhou Prefecture. Once they passed Changzhou, they had to abandon their horses and board the boat and paddle down. They were already close to the waters of Taihu Lake, and Taihu Lake had long been filled by Master Tian.
The flood spread, and the entire Taihu Lake seemed to have doubled in size. The boat Xia Xun, Xia Yuanji and the others were traveling on was not small. The boat carrying rice grains donated by Prince Zhu Gaosui and some Jinling gentry had a deeper draft.
It can travel freely on land and water.
The further the boat went, the more green areas it saw. Some large trees that had been submerged by the floods still had their green treetops swaying gently in the turbid floods, as well as some houses and buildings.
The houses were submerged by the flood, and only some roof tiles were exposed on the water. These houses that have not collapsed are all houses built by wealthy families. The construction quality is very good, the eaves are in different shapes, and they are extremely gorgeous. Today
What is looming in the water makes it look even more desolate in human eyes.
This is a low-lying area. As the rain in the high-lying areas has decreased in the past few days, the situation has improved slightly. In some areas, the muddy ground has been exposed. However, the low-lying area is miserable. The flood is too great and the water suddenly floods down.
Many houses and buildings have been washed away, sediment has fallen, and some rivers have been blocked. The water cannot be drained out. It will evaporate in the sun, and I am afraid it will not wait until the Year of the Monkey.
Xia Xun, Xia Yuanji and his party were walking forward by boat while observing the water conditions. Seeing this scene, they expected that most of the rivers were blocked and the water could not be drained out, so they discussed that after arriving at the place, they would release food while providing disaster relief.
, we must quickly organize people to dredge the rivers and drain the accumulated water into the rivers as soon as possible, and then into the East China Sea. Otherwise, the longer the water accumulates, the greater the disaster the local area will suffer.
Xia Xun, Xia Yuanji and others stood on the bow of the ship, looking at the flooding situation and studying corresponding countermeasures. Unknowingly, the ship entered an area with more serious water accumulation. The terrain here was originally the lowest.
After the water rushed in, there was no smooth channel to discharge to the downstream as quickly as possible, so many debris and corpses accumulated in this water area.
Looking down, in addition to weeds, firewood, and dead trees, there were also tables, chairs, stools, pot lids and other household items. The bodies of the dead pigs and cows had swelled to a huge size after being soaked in water. Looking at the soaked
The animal carcass was as swollen as a ball, and people were really worried that it would explode with a "bang" and splash filth all over the body.
If there were only the corpses of livestock in the water, that would be fine, but there were also many human corpses rolling in the turbid current. From time to time, the corpses of men, women and children would appear. Some were covered in filth and could not get close.
They couldn't understand what it was at all. Seeing the common people, cattle, sheep, livestock, furniture and sundries all soaked together, their shapes were so horrific that Xia Yuanji, Yu Shiji and other scholars who had never seen a dead person die in such a miserable way couldn't help but
His face was as white as paper, and he almost felt sick.
Even Xia Xun, who had experienced fighting on the battlefield and had lost lives under his men, could not bear to see such a situation. Seeing the pale faces of all the adults, Xia Xun felt the same and thoughtfully ordered everyone to rest temporarily. Several adults
If he was granted amnesty, he immediately turned back and ran into the cabin, not daring to take another look.
Xia Xun glanced into the water again with a heavy heart. Just as the turbid current surged, a female corpse rolled up. Judging from the black hair, she should be a young woman. Judging from the clothes, her family background was quite good. As for beauty and ugliness,
It's impossible to be sure. The corpse has been soaked in water until now, and its shape is so strange that it makes people just have nightmares after looking at it. It has absolutely nothing to do with beauty or ugliness.
Behind the fleet, a large number of bamboo rafts were coming down the river. They were idle men recruited from Jinling and along the road. They formed a salvage team, specifically responsible for salvaging human and animal corpses, so as to avoid further deterioration of the water source, and at the same time, so that the dead could rest in peace.
It’s just that those corpses that cannot be laid to rest must be cremated later to avoid spreading the plague.
The salvage team behind will take care of these corpses. Xia Xun sighed sadly and turned back to the cabin. Lao Fan has lived in Liaodong for a long time and has never seen such a big flood. He is ruthless and fierce, and he can kill people with his eyesight.
Even if he didn't blink, he couldn't stand such a scene. As soon as he saw the adults entering the cabin, he pinched his nose and slipped into the cabin too.
Along with the ship were many officials and subordinates. Xia Xun, Xia Yuanji and other adults were responsible for the overall command of the disaster relief work. Of course, someone had to do the specific work. Many yamen of the local government have been turned into crystal palaces.
The officials were swept away by the floods and disappeared, so they also transferred many young and junior officials from various yamen in Beijing to be responsible for specific disaster relief matters.
These people were also watching the situation in the water, but the adults were standing at the bow, so they consciously moved to the sides or the stern. After Xia Xun, Xia Yuanji and others entered the cabin, some officials felt uncomfortable seeing the tragic scene.
, as soon as they saw the adults entering the cabin, they followed Shan Ruliu and went their separate ways. The ones with stronger nerves still stood on the side of the ship and watched.
"I was very familiar with this place, but at this glance, I didn't recognize it at all!"
Standing on the side of the ship, looking excitedly at the hellish situation after the catastrophe, the person who expressed his emotion loudly was an eighth-grade warehouse manager named Hua Ming. Manager Hua looked at the water and suddenly pointed to a place
The local said anxiously: "Hey, Brother Li, look, look there, there is a pregnant woman there? Oops, one corpse and two lives, it's really miserable!"
Seeing him tutting and shaking his head, he seemed to be quite sympathetic, but the expression on his face was only curious and excited. The big ship passed by, and the gentle water surged, lifting the half-sunken body.
The half-floating corpse was pushed to lie on its back on the water, with its swollen belly sticking out high. Hua Ming took a closer look and couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief: "Oh! It turns out it's a man, and a fat man at that. He made a mistake...
"
Even if officials are not usually said to love the people like their own children, most of them will become withdrawn when they see this tragic situation. However, he is gesticulating and talking loudly, which makes people look at him. If there is an official who is two or three grades higher than him, at this time
After scolding him, he told him to get out of the cabin and settle the matter. However, the people around him were all officials of similar rank to him. Even if others were dissatisfied, they would only give him a cold look, not bothering to get into trouble with him and make an unreasonable enmity with him.
.This Hua Ming was completely unaware of the gazes of others, still looking around.
Suddenly, he screamed in surprise, holding tightly the sleeve of another official next to him with one hand, half-leaning out of the side of the ship, pointing forward with the other hand, and said to the colleague: "Brother Li, you saw it.
Well, look at the top of the tower on the water. That is the Lake Watching Tower. Haha, I finally recognized it. Back then, I was ordered by the Ministry to go to this area to audit the accounts and accounts. I had climbed this tower before, so I remember it.
Very clear. Yes, this is the Lake Watching Tower. Tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, tsk, even though the tower is only three stories, it is not short, but now only the top of the tower is visible, it is really..."
Brother Li, who was standing with him, was already fidgeting under the cold and contemptuous looks of the officials around him. He forced a smile and said: "Ah, Brother Hua, the wind is strong on the bow of the ship, and I feel a little uncomfortable. Let's... still
Go to the cabin and have a rest."
Hua Ming was in high spirits and was reluctant to leave. He quickly stopped him and said, "Hey, Brother Li, what you said is wrong. Such a flood is rare in a hundred years. Have you ever seen such a spectacular scene when you are so old? What a chance."
It’s rare. Look again, there is no shop like this after passing this village.”
People and animals were drifting, and corpses were floating in the water. When he saw this tragic sight in his mouth, it turned out to be a spectacular sight that was rare to see in a hundred years. Some older officials couldn't help but change their colors. They couldn't help but look at such a "scenery".
So excited, this man is wearing a human skin in vain, but does he have a human heart?
But no one spoke, even those who couldn't hold back and wanted to refute him didn't say anything, because they suddenly found that there were three people standing behind them: Duke Fu, Shilang Xia, and Yu Shi.
The reaction of the people around him was quickly sensed by Na Hua Ming. He turned around quickly and saw three adults standing there with sullen faces. Hua Ming and Director Li hurriedly saluted: "I have seen you in this humble position!" Na Hua said in his mouth.
Ming seemed to feel that he had made a mistake just now, and rolled his eyes, trying to show a look of sadness and pity without making the change in his face too sudden.
Xia Xun stared at him and said slowly: "When my father-in-law was in Liaodong, one day there was a heavy snowfall in the middle of winter. My father-in-law took to the streets incognito and visited the market. He was afraid that some people's houses would collapse due to the heavy snow and they would have nowhere to live. When we arrived,
In a tavern, I happened to see three people sitting inside, simmering wine, eating vegetables, and enjoying the snow scene!"
The surrounding officials, including the ship's servants, all quietly gathered around. Hua Ming didn't understand why the Duke suddenly started telling a story. He blinked and looked like he was concentrating.
Xia Xun said: "Those three drinkers were a scholar, a county magistrate, and a wealthy gentleman. Seeing the heavy snow filling the sky, it was very spectacular. The scholar was very interested in poetry, so he suggested that each of them recite a poem and write a poem together.
It became a poem. The scholar spoke first and then said: 'The snow is falling one after another!'"
The officials who were listening to him telling stories, even the most junior officials, were all great people. They were well-read in poetry and books. When they heard such mediocre poems, they couldn't help but snicker to themselves: "I heard that
In order to promote the cultural and educational style of Liaodong, the Duke of the country relaxed the restrictions on the admission of scholars from Liaodong. Sure enough, the poems recited by this scholar from Liaodong are not much better than those of the schoolboys in my private school in the countryside!"
Xia Xun said: "The county magistrate raised his hands to the sky and complimented: 'This is a royal atmosphere!' When the rich man saw that the scholar was so interested, the county magistrate was also happy, so he quickly flattered him and said: 'It will be three years from now on.'
Why not?'"
Xia Xun paused for a moment before saying, "There was a farmer walking past in a thin winter coat with his hands in his sleeves on the street. When he heard what the man was chanting, he stopped and answered a poem. You guessed it, he
What did you pick up?"
Manager Li said in astonishment: "What kind of poetry can a farmer recite?"
Xia Xun said seriously: "Wrong, absolutely wrong! The poems these three people recited are mediocre. It's all because of the farmer's finishing line that the whole poem comes alive!"
Hua Ming said in surprise: "I just don't know what the poem this farmer is reciting is?"
Xia Xun glared at him and said, "This farmer said: 'Fuck your mother's shit!'"
Hua Ming's face suddenly turned the color of eggplant, and he was almost ashamed of himself.
Xia Xun coldly swept away all the officials and said in a deep voice: "Gentlemen, you and I are ordered to rectify the disaster. We are not here to give out a few grains of rice and pretend to be the reborn parents of the people! The people fatten the people and take it from the people. You and I
We must use everything we have for food and clothing. The common people are the parents of food and clothing for you and me! During this disaster relief, we must keep the people in mind, think about what the people think, worry about their worries, and work hard, and more
Don’t chill the hearts of the people!”
Xia Xun said and walked away.
Xia Yuan Jihan said to Hua Ming with a straight face: "You can go home, the court cannot afford people like you!"
Hua Ming's face was like dust, his knees softened, and he knelt down.
p: I’m tired. I have a sore back. I wanted to stand up and wander around a few times, but I know that as long as I relax once, it’s easy to form a habit. It’s not easy to form a good habit. It’s very easy to become lazy. Finally, I decided.
I’ve got my teeth fixed, and I’ve finished coding carefully. I’m going out to socialize tonight. A relative’s baby is one month old, and I’ve invited a lot of relatives and friends. I have to go, and I haven’t had time to read and reply to the book reviews. I’ll read them carefully when I get back.***, recommended