"Qian Xian, the flood season of the Yellow River this year is earlier than in previous years, and the water flow and rainfall are also heavier. Now the dam at the breach cannot withstand the erosion of the water flow, and it is still collapsing and widening the breach. It is extremely difficult to plug it."

"Since last night, Xiaguan has led thousands of people to continuously place sandbags, but with little effect. Judging from the sky, the heavy rain shows no sign of stopping, and the water level of the Yellow River may still rise."

At this moment, Chen Tao did not dare to cover up or evade the important points, and fully reported the crisis he was facing to Shen Yichen. Even if Qian Xian was angry and charged because of this, it was better than watching the situation deteriorate.

Last year, the Zhangqiu Town in Yanggu County was severely eroded, and the problem lay in the evasion and cover-up by all parties, which ultimately led to a catastrophic disaster that displaced millions of people.

No matter what, this scene cannot be staged in Shawan, Dong'a County this year!

Shen Yichen listened to Chen Tao's report without saying a word. He had already seen the civilians throwing bags of sandbags into the breach. However, under the impact of such a huge flow of water, the sandbags were washed away instantly, and there was no way to block the breach.

After observing for a while, Shen Yichen finally said: "You can't just throw sandbags to block the breach. Master Chen, you lead the people to build a skeleton with wooden stakes and ropes, and move forward step by step along the embankment to seal it."

In fact, sealing the breach is just like building a load-bearing wall. Without steel bars as a framework, there is no way for cement to adhere to it, and it will collapse when it reaches a certain height.

In ancient times, there was no such thing as reinforced concrete, so we could only rely on wooden piles to build the skeleton, and then stack sandbags so that they would not be easily washed away. In addition to sealing the breach, the existing dams were damaged both by river water and rainwater. Under erosion, it is also in danger and must be reinforced.

As the "chief engineer" in building embankments and dams, Chen Tao knew almost all the construction principles. After receiving the order, he immediately organized the people and started driving wooden piles along the embankments and connecting them with thick hemp ropes, and then stacked them with sandbags. Build high walls.

The heavy rain was still pouring down, and as night gradually fell, the sky became darker and darker.

By changing the method of sealing the breach, the Shawan Dam has stabilized the deteriorating situation. Although the breach has not yet been closed, the existing dam has been reinforced and has finally stopped collapsing.

Shen Yichen, who was standing on the river embankment to lead, had rain falling continuously on his face. Faced with the improved situation, he did not show any joy.

Because he knew very well that strengthening the river embankment was only the first step in sealing the breach. As the embankment breach narrowed, the water flow would inevitably become faster and more rapid. If he wanted to drive wooden piles and put sandbags, it would be too far away. It's far from as simple as it is now.

After the narrowing of the embankment breach, if you want to prevent the wooden piles and sandbags from being washed away by the current, you must use larger and heavier stones to block it. However, in ancient times without construction machinery, there was no way to seal the breach. Stones weighing hundreds of kilograms or even tons were transported up the Yellow River embankment.

So the real problem is still not solved!

When night fell, thousands of people organized by the county magistrate Jiang Pei rushed to Shawan, Dong'a County despite heavy rain.

"Chief Jiang County, you immediately lead the newly arrived people. No matter what method you use, a new arc-shaped cofferdam must be built behind the Shawan embankment breach."

Shen Yichen has no absolute confidence that the Shawan embankment breach can be blocked. Or, even if it is blocked, will the temporarily blocked embankment be able to withstand the test when a larger flood peak comes later?

If you want to completely block the flood beyond the safety line, you must have a backup plan, and the arc cofferdam is the final guarantee.

"I obey my orders."

Jiang Pei had already seen the monstrous water at the Shawan embankment breach. This scene reminded him of the scene of the Zhang Qiuzhen embankment breach last year, which was exactly the same as today.

But the difference from last year is that today there is more Shen Qianxian in charge and more officials and people are working together. Will it have a different ending?

Time passed by, and as the news of the levee burst in Shawan, Dong'e County continued to spread. In addition to the thousands of people led by Jiang Pei, there were also several groups of people from surrounding state capitals who spontaneously came to support flood control!

"He Li, the Tongzhi of Linqing Prefecture in Dongchang Prefecture, heard that the embankments in Dong'an County had burst, so he led 300 officers from the prefecture's squadron to obey Qian Xian's dispatch!"

"I am under the command of Ji Wenfan, the general judge of Ziyang County, Yanzhou Prefecture, and he has recruited more than 1,200 civilians. I am willing to seal the breach under the leadership of Qian Xian!"

"Cao Hongqing, a village sage from Liaocheng County, Dongchang Prefecture, led a hundred and forty members of his clan and is willing to do his part to control floods and protect the countryside!"

"Ren Xu, the commander of the Jinan Guard, who is a humble officer, came from the Yanggu County garrison to provide support. I sincerely abide by the order of the Constitution!"

…

When the imperial court issued an imperial edict, in addition to arresting King Zhu Zhaohui of Lu for questioning, it also investigated the charges of "colluding with foreign vassals" on the officials of the Chief Secretary of Shandong, and escorted them back to the capital for trial.

Although Zhang Ji and others are no longer stationed at the Yanggu County Government Office, the Jinan Guard sergeant who once guarded them on the periphery was retained by Shen Yichen.

Because the refugees from three provinces and eight prefectures who suffered from floods continued to rush to Zhangqiu Town in the following period. To settle the victims and maintain order, relying on the thousands of Dongchang Guards and Tai'an Guards was far from enough, and it was just enough. Jinan Wei comes in handy.

And working under Shen Yichen is also something that the Jinan Guard soldiers have long dreamed of. Not to mention the illusory things such as respect and equality, this kind of treatment with double pay is simply unparalleled in the Ming Dynasty!

The food and salary are in place, the treatment is in place, and they can still be considerate to the soldiers. If Jinan Guards doesn't work for Shen Yichen, who else will they work for?

Three days later, with the concerted efforts of everyone, the breach that was originally tens of meters wide was gradually blocked to a distance of less than five meters. However, this last large hole could not be blocked at all, and the wooden stakes could not be blocked at all. If you can't hit it to the bottom, if you put down the rocks and sandbags, it will be like a stone sinking into the sea.

Faced with this situation, Chen Tao gritted his teeth and organized a wave of suicide squads to find out. As a result, only three of the ten people tied with ropes were pulled ashore, and the remaining seven were directly swallowed by the rolling torrent.

And this situation is not the worst. I don’t know when a lot of floating branches and broken trees washed down from the upper reaches appeared in the river section of Dong’e County, which means that the water potential in the upper reaches has increased greatly, and a larger flood peak is about to come.

After hearing the report from his subordinates, Shen Yichen rushed from the cofferdam to the breach. Looking at the helpless people, he asked: "What happened? Why can't it be blocked?"

"Going back to Qian Xian, this cave is like a bottomless pit, and it's completely impossible to reach the bottom."

As soon as Jiang Pei finished speaking, Shen Yichen heard the people nearby discussing in panic.

"There are ghosts and ghosts under this opening. They will be gone if you go down."

"Yesterday, many bones were washed out of this cave. There must be evil at work."

"If the evil is not eliminated, this hole will not be closed, and whoever gets there will die!"

"Qian Xian tried his best to control the flood, but God's will is such that the breach may not be blocked."

Monsters?

To Shen Yichen, these words were simply nonsense, but in the hearts of the people of the Ming Dynasty, when encountering such a force majeure event, they would subconsciously rely on evil spirits to cause trouble.

Not only Shen Yichen heard the discussion of the people, but also the county magistrate Jiang Pei who was following him.

"Qian Xian, how about we find three animals as tributes to sacrifice to the river god and see if we can appease him and seal the breach?"

Jiang Pei whispered a suggestion. In the past, when the government encountered such unexplainable events, the chief officer would perform sacrifices to appease the "gods" of all parties.

"ridiculous!"

After hearing this suggestion, Shen Yichen refused without hesitation.

He looked at the frightened officials and civilians in front of him, and said loudly in a sonorous and powerful tone: "As early as in ancient times, when faced with flooding, Dayu did not sit back and wait for death, let alone pray to gods and Buddhas."

"In thirteen years, I passed through my house three times without ever entering, and I succeeded in defeating nature!"

"I never believe in any unbreakable will of God, let alone the existence of any evil spirits in the river. My colleagues and fellow villagers, please have the confidence to work with me to seal the breach!"

Shen Yichen knew very well that once caught in the dispute between ghosts and gods, any problems on the river embankment would be infinitely magnified into evil spirits, which would severely damage the morale of water control.

It is necessary to reshape the belief of officials and civilians to seal the breach. In the history of China, it has never been the ghosts and gods that determine destiny, but everything depends on man!

"I am willing to work with Qian Xian to seal the breach!"

Almost instantly, the chief clerk Chen Tao responded.

He has been planning flood control strategies for more than ten years. To put it bluntly, what he is doing is what man can do to conquer nature. Why should we fear evil spirits and ghosts?

"This is a lie made by a lower official. There is a constitution to control the floods. Why worry about not sealing the seal?"

Jiang Pei also quickly realized the problem. Offering sacrifices to the river god was a trivial matter, but if it had no effect, it would have an immeasurable impact on everyone's confidence.

When the flood control people believe that this is destiny, they no longer have the will to block the breach. Relying on backup cofferdams alone cannot block a larger flood peak.

All previous efforts will be in vain!

"The Number One Scholar is Wenquxing who has descended to earth. With his status in heaven, will he be afraid of evil spirits?"

"No ghost dares to disturb Duke Zhuangyuan. I'm afraid he is impatient with life."

"If Duke Zhuang Yuan says that the breach can be sealed, it will definitely be sealed!"

"That's right. After Duke Zhuangyuan came to Shandong to control floods, did he break his promise on one thing?"

"Folks, please work harder. I don't believe in this evil and can't stop the breach!"

The people who had been worried before were inspired by Shen Yichen's status as the "No. 1 Scholar" and rekindled their fighting spirit to seal the breach and no longer feared the illusory "ghosts and gods".

However, Shen Yichen did not relax. He knew very well that the breach could not be blocked, more because the water flow became faster and the sandbags and rocks thrown in were washed away instantly.

If you want to solve this problem, you must use desperate measures!

"Chief Jiang County, go upstream and recruit a few ships to load them with rocks and soil, and then sail to the breach and scuttle themselves."

Since the sandbags and stones would be washed away instantly, Shen Yichen wanted to see if "Shenzhou" could fill this "bottomless pit".

If one ship is not enough, then use two ships; if not, use three ships, four ships...

There may be a shortage of everything else in Shandong, but there is no shortage of boats on the Yellow River, canals, and Qinghe River. If we use sunken boats to smash them, Shen Yichen will have to smash this hole!

"I understand!"

Jiang Pei may lack creativity, but he does not lack execution ability at all.

Within an hour after receiving the order, seven ships loaded with stones and soil were brought in. After tying ropes, hundreds of people pulled them, like trackers, to the breach.

At the same time, dozens of men who had been living on the water all year round formed a suicide squad. After tying ropes to their bodies, they jumped into the fierce flood and dug through the bottom of the boat.

After a fully loaded ship sank into the water, it caused so much waves that it seemed as if the breach was really a bottomless pit.

The second ship, then the third ship, were scuttled until the fifth ship was scuttled. Finally, a sharp mast emerged from the breach, and fierce cheers rang out from the crowd.

"It's popping up, it's popping up, this bottomless pit has finally been filled!"

"Sure enough, we still have to rely on Duke Zhuangyuan. No evil spirits or ghosts dare to get close to him."

"The No. 1 Scholar once said that man can conquer nature, but you are still acting like a monster."

"I was wrong. From now on, whatever the champion says will be whatever he says!"

Seven sunken ships entered the water. Not only did they fill up the big hole, but the civilians took this opportunity to quickly throw sandbags and stones into the water, completely blocking the breach of the Sandy Bay.

Seeing that the once raging flood had turned into a trickle, Shen Yichen let out a deep sigh of relief. The history of Zhang Qiuzhen would not repeat itself!

"Qian Xian, we succeeded!"
To be continued...