A basket filled with stones, tied with a rope, was thrown into the water.
It stirred up a large splash of water and quickly sank to the bottom.
The newly arrived boat quickly stabilized itself and slowly stopped on the shore.
Liu Ashan looked away from the water splash, which was called "ding" by boatmen on the Xunyang River.
When mooring at the shore, throw it into the water and anchor the ship according to its weight.
The dull man who helped put down the rocks clapped his hands, raised his hands to the boatman, and muttered a thank you.
Before the boarding ladder of the ship was completely lowered, Liu Ashan quickly turned over on the deck and jumped off the ship.
Both feet stepped firmly on the familiar gray and black floor tiles of Penglangdu Wharf.
At the Penglang Ferry Pier, the early morning sun was warm on his skin. Liu Ashan raised his head and took a deep breath.
An indescribable feeling came over me.
It's like walking on a rickety tightrope for many years and suddenly feeling grounded and able to move around casually.
Peace of mind.
I looked left and right at the bustling streets of Dukou.
Liu Ashan was tired from traveling, and his dull face with slightly rimmed eyes could not help but reveal a smile as he murmured:
"Looking at the house, running with joy... The master said, this sentence means that when you see your humble home from a distance, you can't wait to run towards it.
"The master is worthy of being a scholar and a concubine. He occasionally whispers something, but it always makes sense."
Liu Ashan subconsciously imitated someone and rubbed his face, lowered his head and checked the moonlight sword on his waist.
He reached into his sleeve again and felt a cool touch of bronze metal on his fingertips.
After confirming that everything was brought, Liu Ashan turned his head, waved goodbye to the boatmen who were unloading the cargo on the boat, and left the dock.
As Liu Ashan passed through downtown streets and the Western Temple, he couldn't help but look around.
Before meeting the master, he worked as a porter at the dock, moving goods.
The steward took a nap under the huge old locust tree in front of him. He and his work companions once went to hide in the shade for a while. It was the only fishing spot during the day where they could take a breather.
Later, when I got older, my father died early, and there was a sudden flood that year, which destroyed the house and fields.
The family was so poor that they were registered as official slaves early in the disaster year and were mortgaged to Guyue Sword Shop. Later, he and his sister would come to the dock to cross the river every day to work on the west bank.
Liu Ashan was hard-working, and after finishing the fortification work at Guyue Sword Shop, he squeezed out some time to secretly do some odd jobs at the dock, secretly saving money, and wanted to redeem his sister and mother.
However, before the master came to Longcheng, the hard-earned money he had saved for seven or eight years was not enough to redeem half of my sister.
Not to mention building a new house, marrying a wife and having children, etc. It may be a normal trajectory. It takes a lifetime of hard work to save enough, and you have to avoid major disasters and illnesses.
Liu Ashan's expression was calm, the morning sun was setting behind him, and he was walking on the noisy streets in the early morning, looking back at the roadside from time to time.
At the corner, there is a stall selling oil and sesame cakes. The oil and sesame cakes are excellent.
I heard that the boss is from Guangzhou Prefecture on Lingnan Road and has a long-established craftsmanship: making glutinous rice flour dough, osmanthus sugar, and kumquat as filling, pouring hot oil and frying, "Zila", steaming hot, on the cake
Sesame seeds are golden and oily...
My sister and my mother love it most, but they never talk about it.
Liu Ashan used to take A-mei to the pier every morning to take a boat across the river. When passing by, A-mei often turned around and saw him.
Later, he silently bought a piece of oil and sesame cake for his sister to eat. She only took two small bites. After asking him not to eat it, she wrapped it in oil paper, stuffed it into her arms, and brought it to her mother in the evening, but was caught by the weaver.
The mother scolded her.
He also scolded him for wasting half a penny to buy a piece of oil-paper-wrapped cake, just picking a lotus leaf from a roadside pond and wrapping it in it. Isn't that good?
"Looking at the house, running with joy..."
Liu Ashan murmured.
It's really strange.
Why did he only leave a country like this that didn't hold many happy and happy memories for a short while, eating and drinking on the boat outside?
But once he came back, these things that he had regarded as normal, even suffering, became particularly kind in his eyes?
Speaking of which, this was the first time for Liu Ashan to leave Longcheng County, where he was born and raised. He had never gone as far as possible before, only when he was young and followed old fishermen to go fishing on the river.
But at this moment, stepping on this land again, Liu Ashan suddenly felt an urge to never leave home again.
Do not know why.
The words that the master said are also recurring in my mind.
He is not a person who likes to write and write, but he just thinks that this sentence "It is a good idea to look at the home and carry the happiness and run with it", which is very good.
Liu Ashan got off the boat from Penglangdu and went straight back to Luming Street without any delay. He chewed and pondered this sentence all the way.
But before leaving the West Market, Liu Ashan went to the sesame cake stall at the corner of the busy street, silently took out six copper coins and delivered them to the boss.
By the way, I added half a penny later.
Liu Ashan stuffed the two hot sesame cakes tightly wrapped in oil paper into his arms, and with his chest feeling warm, he returned to the county government office on Luming Street.
Although lotus leaves are cheap and easy to use, my sister likes origami. After eating the cake, I can use the oil paper to make origami flowers.
The tired and dull man put his hand on his chest and nodded.
This time he turned around and returned to Longcheng. Before leaving Miss Ye and the official ship in Jiangzhou, Miss Ye tearfully gave him a lot of money for traveling expenses.
Liu Ashan must return to Longcheng as soon as possible to stop Ouyang Rong.
But Liu Ashan didn't spend much. He just endured the pain and found a cargo ship on Xunyang Ferry that would take him back to Longcheng County. As for the food and drink along the way, Liu Ashan squatted on the deck with the boatmen.
Serve food.
He originally planned to buy some gifts for his sister and grandma when he arrived in Nanlong, but now it seemed that it was too late, so he could only bring two pieces of sesame cakes back nearby.
As for the remaining money, I will return it to Miss Ye later.
The dull man was thoughtful and thoughtful. After he silently sorted things out, he arrived at the intersection of Luming Street and could see the familiar gate of the county government in the distance.
"At this time in the past, I have already come to the county government office for duty. Unless it is true as Miss Ye said... wait, why are there so many people at the door."
Liu Ashan's eyes widened as he muttered to himself.
In front of me, I saw all kinds of officials coming in and out at the gate of the county government office, walking in a panic; on the street in front of the gate, carriages or fast horses were parked, almost blocking the Luming Street entrance.
There was a vague tendency to be noisy and chaotic.
Liu Ashan had a good memory. He saw some familiar clothes in the hurried flow of people entering and exiting the gate in front of him, and he immediately recalled:
"Aren't those officers stationed at the Shuize Monument at the ferry crossings upstream? Why did they come back? Why did they come to the county government office to find someone from the Ming Dynasty?"
Liu Ashan frowned, as if he had realized something, and suddenly looked up at the sky.
It's a hot summer day and the sun is shining brightly.
"How is it possible in this season... In the past, the upper reaches of the river have never seen a flood during this season."
Liu Ashan shook his head with an incredulous look on his face. He quickly ran forward, rushed into the crowd, and entered the county government office.
But very quickly.
The firmness of the dull man was destroyed by the confusing news and flustered conversations he heard from left and right.
With his eyes widened, he quickly summarized the information in his ears:
At the summer solstice, it is true that there has been no rain for half a day upstream and downstream of Yunmengze.
but,
This morning, at the beginning of the morning,
The water level in Yunmengze near Digong Gate has started to rise unreasonably!
An official came staggering over and shouted anxiously:
"Where is Mingfu? Where is Mingfu? Go and inform Mingfu. The water level is rising too fast! We, we can't find the reason at all.
"The water level rose during the last heavy rain. The water level rose in one day and one night. Now it has reached the same level in less than two hours. This speed is too terrifying..."
An official who was left behind at the county government office was dumbfounded and stammered: "Ming... Ming Mansion is not here to take leave, so Master Diao will take care of it on his behalf..."
"As for the other adults, where is Master Diao? Where are the people? Go and report to Master Diao and ask what we should do now? My colleagues upstream are very panicked and need instructions from the county government..."
"President Diao County did not come on duty this morning. He took half of his colleagues to the Zheyi Canal to attend a ceremony to celebrate the opening of the canal..."
"Now let me tell you, it will take at least an hour to come and go. The day lilies are already cold. Why are the two adults not here at such a critical time!"
"Brother, come this way and find Mr. Yan. The two adults are not here for the time being. Mr. Yan has the highest authority. He is summoning all emergency colleagues at the county government hall."
"Yes Yes Yes……"
On the corridor, officials who were hurrying up on horseback were directed and ran towards the county government hall.
Liu Ashan walked slowly from behind and looked in the direction where the former left.
Like this urgent official, Liu Ashan saw many of them as he walked from the county government gate. They were everywhere, coming in waves from upstream and along the way.
Although Longcheng County is located in a remote location on Jiangnan Road, it is a large county with nearly 10,000 households. In addition to the people living in Longcheng County downstream, there are also many villages and towns along the upstream, where many villagers gather.
Once the Dickong Gate blocking the Yuenv Gorge in the upper reaches collapses, the floodwaters that have accumulated to a high level will pour out and can instantly submerge the villages and towns along the waterfront. Therefore, the most urgent thing is the officials and people of these local villages and towns.
"Mingfu is not here for the time being, is Brother Yan here..."
Liu Ashan was stunned and rushed to the county government hall along with the emergency officials ahead.
I thought it would be quieter in the county government hall if there was a backbone.
Unexpectedly, as soon as I walked into the courtyard where the county government hall is located, I was drowned by the noise.
In the lobby of the county government office, there was no one at the table at the top.
The familiar figure of the young county magistrate from the past is no longer there.
Right now, Yan Liulang stood directly in front of the empty case table, working hard with his subordinates to appease everyone.
Emergency officials gathered from all over the place, all talking about urgent matters and worries.
Anxiety spread in the county government hall and was difficult to suppress.
Yan Liulang was extremely busy.
"Everyone, please be quiet. I've already sent people to hurry up and notify Magistrate Diao. He will be back soon. Please don't be impatient. Please don't be impatient. Regarding rising water, please follow previous warnings..."
A senior official said anxiously:
"Also a warning, the previous preparations are all useless, this time is really different from the previous times, Mr. Xiaoyan, the water has risen too fast.
"Today...even before the afternoon, by noon, the water level will exceed the previous highest level.
"Most of the plans made by the county government before were useless, and it was even too late. What should we do now? Should we evacuate the people immediately?
"Why don't we activate the Dagushan refugee camp plan and move the people there first?"
"This..." Yan Liulang hesitated.
A young policeman beside him sneered and retorted:
"Without the clerical orders of these two gentlemen, who would dare to make arrangements easily and issue orders to evacuate the people in the city?
"With such a large-scale mobilization, if something unexpected happened during the period, or if there was an investigation by the court afterwards, the Duke Di Gate could have been rescued to resist the flood, but it missed the opportunity. It was the mistake of the chief who was cowardly and abandoned the city. Who will bear the responsibility."
In the lobby, an official looked displeased and stood up:
"After all this time, if you are still obsessed with responsibility, afraid of taking the blame, and if you don't take action, you are really wasting your time."
"Okay, there's no need to wait for you two adults. Mr. Xiaoyan will also listen to you. Brother Zeng, you can take command..."
"you!"
A rather old official stood up and said:
"Okay, okay, don't argue, don't make sarcastic remarks, and don't care what time it is."
After a pause, he suggested again:
"Speaking of which, do we need to first figure out the cause of the sudden rise in water upstream before taking action? Otherwise, we will be in the dark, get half the result with half the effort, and even be counterproductive... Mr. Xiaoyan, what do you think?"
"I think..." Yan Liulang hesitated.
A frustrated voice came from the crowd:
"Find out the reason? In the summer, the water level surged. Who knows why? Soldiers came to stop it, and the water came to cover it up. What else can be done?
"This year has just passed half way through, and there have already been three floods that either came or went. Maybe... maybe the sky is going to destroy us, and there really is a so-called Dragon King in Butterfly Creek..."
Someone was the first to say such words, and the whole place immediately exploded with mixed opinions.
"Okay! Stop arguing!"
Yan Liulang roared violently, turned his head sharply, and shouted in the direction from which the frustrated voice came:
"The Ming Dynasty hates people who believe in the theory of dragon kings, ghosts and gods. I once rescued Zha Shiyun from the upper reaches. Those who deceive people's hearts should be killed. Whoever dares to spread the words of accepting fate and believing in gods again, I, Yan Liulang, will take your head and hang a flag!"
The whole place was silent.
Yan Liulang breathed heavily, holding the knife and looking around, everyone avoided their eyes.
Just when he was silent for a while and was about to speak again, he suddenly felt his sleeve being pulled by someone. He frowned and turned his head, suddenly surprised:
"Brother Ah Shan, why are you back?"
Liu Ashan pointed in the direction of the back hall at the back door of the county government lobby.
Yan Liulang turned around, temporarily appeased everyone, and then followed Liu Ashan to the back hall.
In the back hall, the tired-looking Yan Liulang looked curiously at the dusty Liu Ashan, feeling that something was wrong with his mood.
The dull man's face was surprisingly calm and he asked directly:
"Brother Yan, where is Mingfu? Have you seen Mingfu recently?"
Yan Liulang was stunned and asked:
"Mingfu has taken leave and returned to Nanlong. Don't you know?"
"The Ming Mansion is not in Longcheng? After Ye...Ms. Ye's ship left, the Ming Mansion didn't appear again?"
"I'm sure. Didn't Mingfu take Miss Ye and the others away on the boat that day? You also asked for leave, didn't you go there together?"
Yan Liulang frowned and asked: "Brother Ah Shan, why did you come back from Nanlong? The round trip is so fast? Also, isn't Mingfu with you? Is he in Longcheng?"
Liu Ashan opened his mouth and swallowed some words.
Yan Liulang saw that his expression was wrong and asked worriedly: "Brother Ah Shan, are you okay..."
All the questions he wanted to ask seemed to have answers. Liu Ashan's ears buzzed and were suddenly drowned out by a burst of white noise.
He didn't hear a word of what Yan Liulang said next.
Stand still.
When I found Ye Weilai in the cabin a few days ago, the latter's words still lingered in my ears:
"I don't know where he is going, but I know that Tanlang is leaving... I can see that he is preparing to say goodbye to us forever..."
Liu Ashan lowered his head in shock, staring straight at the moonlight sword at his waist.
This was the night before he boarded the ship to send Miss Ye back to Nanlong. Before leaving after dinner at his house, the master left the last thing he gave him, along with the mirage mask.
Liu Ashan clearly remembered that at that time, he was worried that he would not be able to handle the matter assigned by the master, and he was frightened. The master patted him on the shoulder, turned around and left with a smile, and waved to Liu Ashan from behind:
"I can rest assured that you will do things...
"Ah Shan, you have always been behind me and listened to my instructions, but one day I will be gone. By then, you must learn to be on your own.
"Ah Shan, if you think of it, just do it. Don't hesitate to stand up. We all have to protect the people or things we want to protect. I am like this, and so are you..."
It turned out that Miss Ye was right, the master had been ready to leave a long time ago, and even gave him farewell instructions quietly, but he was the only one who was still clumsy in the dark.
Liu Ashan suddenly murmured: "I am looking at the house, and I am running away... This is what the master said, but why did you fly away and leave your home..."
This was his final confusion.
In the back hall, a dull man wearing a long sword swayed slightly.
"Brother Ah Shan? Brother Ah Shan?"
Seeing Liu Ashan suddenly talking to himself in a daze, with a strange expression on his face, Yan Liulang couldn't help but stretched out his hand, pushed Liu Ashan, and called out twice worriedly.
Liu Ashan raised his head in a daze, looked around, then looked at Yan Liulang, his eyes a little confused, and asked softly:
"Brother Yan, if there is no master anymore, what should we do?"
Yan Liulang wanted to speak, but at this moment, the noise in the county government hall ahead became louder and louder.
"No, I have to go out and stabilize the situation!"
Yan Liulang turned around and said something bad, and shook his head with a sad face:
"I don't know if Master Diao is back. Why hasn't he come back yet? The Ming Dynasty has left all the affairs to him. It's good for him. He's not here at the critical moment and attends some kind of celebration ceremony..."
Liu Ashan didn't respond. He lowered his head and looked at the moonlight sword, seeming to be deep in thought.
Yan Liulang didn't have time to care about Liu Ashan's condition, he didn't even have time to drink the tea on the table, and quickly left the back hall.
Back to the county government lobby!
Noisy waves came.
At the same time, a piece of bad news came from outside the county government office.
Yan Liulang walked out with a big frown on his face.
If Mingfu was present, who would dare to make such a noise?
Yan Liulang sighed. When he followed Mingfu before, he couldn't help but feel something was wrong.
Only now do I realize how difficult it is to be able to calm down the audience and become the backbone of everyone in critical moments!
"Everyone, stop making noise and be quiet!"
Yan Liulang took off his waist knife, slammed the table, and shouted loudly. Such a stupid method was enough to suppress the anxious noise in the lobby.
Seeing the different looks from everyone, Yan Liulang turned to a close subordinate and asked:
"Have the people who were sent to Zheyi Canal come back? Why hasn't Diao County Prime Minister arrived yet? They have sent people to call. It has been so long that a turtle can crawl back to the county government office, not to mention they have a big boat there.
, you can take the waterway.”
The trusted subordinate lowered his head: "There is no news yet. For some reason, two groups of people have been sent there..."
"Send someone again... No, you go there yourself now!"
"Yes!" He ordered to retreat.
Yan Liulang turned around and said seriously to everyone:
"If we delay it any longer, it will be too late. We need to make arrangements early?"
"What do you think, Master Xiaoyan?"
"First... organize the people to take refuge out of the city..."
Yan Liulang hesitated and said that he tried hard to follow the plan of the Ming Palace last time. In fact, he didn't know much about water control. Most of the time, he was just the executor of the Ming Palace's orders.
Moreover, Yanrokuro was still young and experienced this kind of situation that required courage for the first time, so he would inevitably be easily influenced by other people's "opinions".
But at this moment, a fat-faced official immediately asked with an embarrassed expression:
"Master Xiaoyan, are you sure you want to do this? Is it possible that this rising water level is just a false alarm? After all, it's such a hot summer... it won't end well then."
Someone interrupted angrily:
"He Laosan, do you want to read what you said? Is it human language? Is it a false alarm? We are all locals. Who doesn't know about Yun Mengze's situation?
"In the past few years, which water rise has not been extremely dangerous? Those of us who monitor the water level at the Digong Gate upstream can't tell the truth from the truth, or are we making false reports? The situation is already so dangerous, and you are still feeling lucky. If
If you miss the opportunity, you will be the sinner of the entire county."
The fat-faced official immediately looked down and said firmly: "Okay, tell me what to do! Come on!"
Just when the two parties were about to quarrel.
There was a younger official who looked puzzled and said:
"What did Master Mingfu do last time? Can't we just do it?
"Aren't those batch of official ships still there? Where are the official ships? Go and get them quickly!
"Similar to Xueming Mansion, we divided our troops into two groups. One group of people went upstream to the Digong Gate to rescue the gate and dam.
"A group of people stayed in Longcheng County downstream, organized people to take refuge in Dagushan Mountain, just in case, and then contacted them through the beacon tower... Such a simple thing, why should we argue? The Ming Dynasty has already demonstrated it once...
"
But he didn't expect that as soon as he said these words, the whole place gradually became quiet.
Most people fell silent.
You look at me, I look at yours.
Only a few people nodded in agreement.
Finally, someone forced a smile and said:
"Okay, then...then how do we allocate it. Which group of people will rescue the sluice, and which group of people will stay downstream to organize the people to go to Dagushan to escape the disaster."
Yan Liulang opened his mouth and wanted to say that the latter one was left to him. He was most familiar with it. Last time, Yan Liulang and Diao Xiancheng organized the people of Longcheng to retreat to Dagushan.
As for rescuing the sluice, he is a young agent who has not read a few books and does not know much about water conservancy. He is very unfamiliar.
But the next second, Yan Liulang's peripheral vision suddenly caught everyone's evasive glances.
His face was startled for a moment, and then his heart suddenly went cold.
It turns out that the root cause of all quarrels is not that everyone has no effective plan in the face of disaster.
Instead, the team's hearts were scattered, and everyone was afraid of their lives.
So those confusions and suggestions just now were all based on excuses for their own secret calculations!
Yan Liulang felt cold all over his body, but there was also hot fire rushing through his chest.
His face turned green and red, and at a certain moment, he took a step forward with a straight face.
"Stop arguing, Mingfu is not here, I will take people upstream to rescue the floodgates..."
There are not 1,000 votes on the first day...but we will still add more updates for the good brothers who have already voted! This 6,000-word book will not be split, it will be two in one, and will be sent together. Xiaorong will code another chapter to add more updates.