Chapter 67 (Please read) Time is running out and the situation is worrying
Chen Ping has been waiting for Mr. Ye to come back in the back office.
At midnight, Ye Laocai hurriedly returned to the county government office with half his body covered in mud.
There was still moisture on his body, and there were fine lines on his temples, and his whole person was enveloped in a gloomy and cold aura.
It turned out that Magistrate Wang was concerned about the river embankment, and a group of people rushed there to check it out in the middle of the night.
Chen Ping did not ask in a hurry, but poured hot water from the small stove into a wooden basin and carried it over.
Mr. Ye dipped his cold hands into the hot water, and his numb joints moved.
His face did not show any signs of comfort, but instead looked very sad.
The sound of footsteps coming and going in the county government office was heard one after another, which seemed extremely harsh at night.
Mr. Ye sighed deeply.
The severity of the situation far exceeded everyone's expectations, and was even worse than the worst-case scenario previously imagined.
Mr. Ye originally thought that important defenses such as river embankments would not be completely useless no matter how dilapidated they were.
But just now he walked around the embankment in person, and when he saw the gravel and rotten wood on the river and the water stains seeping out, his heart suddenly became cold.
What should have been a solid river embankment built with rammed earth and rocks has now turned into a pile of rotten soil, with not much sand, gravel and bamboo reinforcements visible.
Without these two materials, how can the river embankment withstand the strong impact of the flood peak?
It’s like a mantis using its arms as a cart!
Even though Mr. Ye had great wisdom, he was at a loss when faced with this mess and didn't know where to start.
You can also use local materials to repair the road. If it doesn't work, you just need to ram the soil to make it passable.
But the river embankment must not be so rash. It must be made into a large frame with bamboo tendons and then filled with pebbles or large rocks to serve as the base of the river embankment.
The amount of money required to make a base of dozens of miles is huge, and it is definitely not something that a small county can afford.
Even if Magistrate Wang invests all the remaining money from road construction into river embankment construction, at most he can only strengthen key parts.
If we really want to completely renovate the dozens of miles of river embankments, we must have a large amount of funding from the imperial court.
Thinking of this, the wrinkles on Mr. Ye's face became deeper.
No matter how knowledgeable he is, he has no better solution to this matter and can only say no.
When Mr. Ye informed Chen Ping of the current situation, Chen Ping said comfortingly.
"Teachers don't need to worry, everything has its priorities. Our most urgent task now is not to strengthen the river embankment, but to measure and dig the flood discharge channel."
"As long as we get through this difficulty, we can find ways to apply for construction funds from the court."
Mr. Ye shook his head and said: "You don't know something. Most of the money and food expenses of the imperial court are based on established rules. It is not that the emperor and the court can use it how they want."
"Moreover, since the founding of our country, the Dayu Dynasty, two hundred and forty years ago, the population has multiplied and flourished, and more wasteland has been opened up, which is twice as much as when the country was founded."
"Only the imperial court taxes are decreasing year by year. Last year, they were only about half of what they were at the beginning of the dynasty. Do you know what this means?"
This was the first time Mr. Ye mentioned things in the court to Chen Ping, which made him look stunned.
He was shocked that the financial situation of the Dayu Dynasty was so bad.
A country's taxation capacity is almost equal to the ability of those in power to control all forces.
Now I live up to the name of a peaceful and prosperous age, I don’t want to be so weak inside.
Chen Ping was silent for a moment, and then said in a low voice: "It seems that applying for funding from the imperial court will not work."
Without funding from the imperial court, no matter how famous County Magistrate Wang was, he would never be able to use his old trick of donating money to build roads again.
Donations from ordinary people are just a drop in the bucket.
Most of the country gentry and wealthy businessmen are looking for profit. Repairing the dam is very expensive and cannot be accomplished overnight. It has no real benefits for them. How can they lend a helping hand again?
If they want to gain a reputation as a charitable person, they have already done it by building roads.
Chen Ping finally understood the reason why Mr. Ye's face was pale.
Without enough money and food, the river embankments in Yongshun County can only be repaired and repaired, and it is impossible to rebuild them. Then there will always be hidden dangers.
Even if this hidden danger does not break out today, it will affect the people at some time in the future.
"Let's do our best to think about how to discharge the flood now. The affairs of the court are not our concern and that of the common people."
Mr. Ye said after adjusting his thoughts.
Digging a flood discharge channel was his suggestion to Magistrate Wang, but where exactly the mouth of the channel should be opened still required further on-the-spot investigation and detailed calculations.
According to tonight's field survey and estimation, as long as the canal mouth can be opened in the most reasonable place, less than 10% of the land in Yongshun County can be sacrificed to survive this flood.
However, if the canal mouth is opened in the wrong direction, causing the flood to deviate from the direction, 20 to 30% of the fields may be submerged.
Farming is not easy, and the 20% to 30% of the land is what many families can count on for a year.
Realizing the seriousness of the matter, Chen Ping cheered up.
I saw Chen Ping drawing a cross-section of the river on the paper while listening to the numbers reported by Ye Lao.
Although it is not accurate, in this world, such a cross-section diagram is definitely a great progress in water conservancy.
Mr. Ye looked at the drawing and knew that it was of little use at this time.
Because the most critical section is still missing, the details of the area near the flood discharge channel.
The height of the embankment and the depth of the river bed in this section, as well as the height difference between the embankment and the surrounding depressions, all need to be measured on the spot again to draw accurate conclusions.
No one dares to fool around with this matter, because it means unbearable tragic consequences.
Mr. Ye looked at the disciple with glaring eyes and said, "Okay, hurry up and rest and recuperate your energy. Tomorrow morning, you and I will go with the county magistrate to measure the flood discharge river section on the spot!"
"Strive to calculate the accurate location of the flood outlet as soon as possible and start construction as soon as possible, so that the people can reduce their losses!"
If the crisis were not imminent, Mr. Ye would actually not want Chen Ping to participate too much in government affairs.
Sometimes in officialdom, the more you do, the more mistakes you make.
But now that the whole county is in danger of flooding, we can only ask disciples who are proficient in arithmetic to temporarily help!
......
Early the next morning, the heavy rain still continued.
The river is getting fiercer and the water level is rising crazily.
All old people who have experienced floods can see that if no intervention is done, a catastrophe is just around the corner!
Magistrate Wang tucked his official robe into his belt and stood on the tattered embankment with a livid face.
He stared at the roaring river and shouted, "Two days, we still have two days at most!"
"If the flood discharge channel cannot be dug properly, the county's autumn grain production this year will be reduced by at least 30%!"
What he did not say was that if the excavation of the flood discharge channel fails and the flood breaks down the dam, it may spread to the entire Yongshun County.
Thirty percent is already a conservative estimate.
This is the conclusion reached by County Magistrate Wang after repeated discussions with many elderly people in the county who have experienced flood disasters.
He who accumulates money is the great destiny of the world!
How can people live and work in peace and contentment if they don't have fields to grow grain?
It also takes time to pile soil and fertilizer. If floods are allowed to pass through, will the farmland be safe?
This is the foundation of the country!
Once grain production is reduced on a large scale and people have no food to store, a large number of refugees will inevitably occur.
When hungry people start wandering around, it will inevitably destroy the stability of the region.
If one thing affects the whole body, it will form an intractable vicious circle!