There was a moment of silence on the field. People were either laughing or worrying, but the crowd was still somewhat silent, with only a few people responding or standing up.
Yan Liulang took a deep breath.
Knowing that he does not have enough prestige, even if he takes the lead in standing up, not many people will follow him and go to the front line with confidence.
Yanrokuro looked around at the crowded lobby.
The anger in my chest suddenly disappeared, and I just felt tired and tired.
In the past, when Mingfu was here, no matter how tiring the task was, he didn't feel anything.
Yan Liulang silently turned his head and looked at the empty koan table behind him.
A familiar slender figure is missing.
In the lobby, a clerk broke the deadlock:
"Master Xiaoyan, even if you want to go upstream now to support Zheyi Canal, there are no official ships at Penglangdu."
"Where are the official ships borrowed by the Ming Dynasty?" Yan Liulang asked without turning around.
"I'm reporting that I was also taken to the celebration of Zheyi Canal by Diao County Cheng. These official ships were originally going to be returned to Jiangzhou. They are now being transferred to be used as the first batch of ships to sail through the new canal and return to Jiangzhou.
…
"There are no official ships at the moment. How about we arrange manpower to evacuate the people in the county and evacuate to Dagushan first?"
Yan Liulang fell into silence, his expression hesitant.
Behind him, the people gathered in the lobby began to make noise again. The noise could not be suppressed and became louder and louder.
Yan Liulang felt various emotions and feedback coming from all directions, whether they were angry, anxious, or frustrated.
Even when Yan Liulang returned to the lobby just now, he glanced around and found that several of the clerks whom he had previously scolded for "bewitching people" had disappeared and might have run away.
Yan Liulang gritted his teeth and prepared to turn around, trying to suppress everyone.
But at this moment, he suddenly heard the noise of the crowd behind him, which suddenly became a lot quieter.
The noise in the crowd quickly fell silent.
Yan Liulang frowned in confusion. He had just turned halfway when he heard a familiar voice in the quiet hall:
"Everyone get out of the way."
The voice belonging to the young magistrate echoed in the hall.
The crowd of officials, who were originally in chaos and had different opinions, fell into silence, and they all took a step back to make way.
"Mingfu!"
Yan Liulang turned around in a daze, and Ouyang Lianghan's figure in official uniform walked into the lobby from the middle road where the crowd separated.
Ouyang Lianghan didn't squint his eyes, passing by the dazed blue-robed head catcher, he walked to the public case table, shook his sleeves and sat down.
The young magistrate's calm eyes slowly swept across the people in the lobby.
Especially those people who took the lead in making noise before.
He didn't speak, so the atmosphere in the county government hall was quiet.
For a moment, everyone's faces had wonderful and complicated expressions, some were surprised, some were relieved, some were ashamed, or some were looking down.
Yan Liulang pursed his lips slightly, looking up and down at the young county magistrate who had suddenly arrived.
Ouyang Lianghan didn't go to see him.
There was a "bang" sound.
There was a koan table that was split in two and fell to the ground like a page was being turned.
Ouyang Lianghan put away his moonlight sword and stood tall.
He holds his sword in his crown, looks forward, and speaks.
Ever since.
Everyone in the audience clearly heard those sonorous words that were extremely familiar and awe-inspiring.
"Anyone who advocates abandoning the escape route will be killed!"
…
Back hall.
Liu Ashan lowered his head and took out his sleeves.
Silently put on the mask and walked into the lobby.
He didn't know where he could muster the courage to be himself and go out.
Liu Ashan just vaguely saw a silhouette in front of him that was gradually getting further away in the night, waving and smiling goodbye.
"Master, don't worry while I'm doing the work."
…
The sun is still bright this morning.
It falls on the ancient eaves of various buildings in Longcheng County.
But unlike the eternal sun that rises every day, only when you are in a world full of mud can you know how much effort it takes to survive.
The sudden arrival of a young county magistrate with a sword brought the chaotic thoughts in the Longcheng County Yamen into order.
Everyone quickly gathered around the former and took action.
At this moment, almost no one asked why Ouyang Lianghan suddenly returned from his hometown in Nanlong.
Because he is the magistrate of Ouyang County, there is no reason why, and there is no need to ask why.
The impossible things that this young magistrate has done in these days have convinced everyone in the county government, and no one dares to question it easily.
County government hall.
Liu Ashan wore a mirage mask and temporarily replaced the Ming government. In less than half an hour, he quickly integrated everyone, assigned tasks to each, and issued a handwritten letter from the county magistrate.
Yan Liulang took the lead in leading the arrest team and followed the last refuge camp plan to gather the people from Longcheng County and surrounding areas and take them to Dagushan for refuge.
And Liu Ashan personally led the remaining people to the upper reaches of Butterfly Creek to rescue the sluice gate.
However, there is currently no response from the Zheyi Canal, and the official ship has not yet sailed back to Penglangdu Pier.
So Liu Ashan made a decision.
First, let the officials who had come back from the upper reaches to warn the people to quickly return to the villages and towns in the upper reaches by small boats, publish the county magistrate's handwriting, and summon the villagers to go to Dagushan to avoid the possible flood.
Or you can seek shelter in nearby mountains and wait for subsequent rescue by official ships.
And Liu Ashan temporarily stayed in Longcheng, leading people to prepare corresponding disaster prevention and flood relief materials, and gathered at Penglangdu Pier - this can be regarded as learning from the last time Ouyang Rong took a boat overnight to the upper reaches to rescue the floodgates, and the result was in a hurry
When we arrived, there were not enough rescue supplies, so we had to learn from experience and lessons learned from the local area.
At the same time, Liu Ashan once again sent people to the Zheyi Canal Ceremony side with great urgency to sail the official ship back to Penglangdu.
Orders were issued one after another from the county government hall, and everyone dispersed with a tacit understanding, each performing his or her duties.
The entire county government is like a machine, with each component being steadily replenished and slowly starting to run.
This is like a small gear that moves a thousand pounds, affecting the big gear of Longcheng County.
The entire Longcheng County was mobilized and rioted.
At this moment, Yan Liulang, who had honestly accepted the order and was about to leave with his men, returned to the county government hall alone.
Liu Ashan, who was dispatching official documents, turned to look at him, retreated from everyone, and took Yan Liulang to a deserted place in the back hall.
"Are you... Mingfu, or..." Yan Liulang held up his knife, but stopped talking.
Liu Ashan raised his hand to support his chin and took off his mask directly in front of him, his face calm.
"Brother Ah Shan!"
Yan Liulang stared, and the palm that was silently holding the handle of the knife loosened.
He was shocked and relieved at the same time.
Doubts are instantly resolved.
"The sword and the mask were given to me by the master. They were originally used for other purposes. Now they can only be used urgently." Liu Ashan said in a short sentence and nodded to Yan Liulang: "The master is not here, so we have to stand up."
Yan Liulang frowned, "Are these arrangements made by Ah Shan also made in advance by the Ming Dynasty?"
Liu Ashan didn't answer. He just put on his mask again and went out towards the lobby without looking back. Before going out, there was a muffled voice:
"Brother Yan, we used to follow the master silently. Although the master didn't say anything, he actually taught us everything."
Yan Liulang was silent.
"I see."
Take a break.
At the gate of the county government office, a certain blue-robed policeman led a group of police officers and hurried away to organize the evacuation of the people in the county.
Liu Ashan continued to stay in the county town, leading the remaining officials to run around, collecting various emergency and disaster relief materials, and gathered at Penglangdu Wharf.
More than an hour later.
The formerly crowded Penglangdu Wharf has been emptied out, freeing up many ferry docks. The shore is also filled with various supplies transported there.
As for the originally bustling markets around them, they became deserted after Yan Liulang and others carried a handwritten letter from the county magistrate and widely announced that they should evacuate and take refuge.
Liu Ashan checked the supplies on the shore of the dock and helped him from time to time.
He also summoned his former subordinates from the Civil War Corps to get ready together.
At this moment, looking at his subordinates in good order, Liu Ashan breathed a sigh of relief.
In fact, when he first took over for the master, the dull man was a little nervous, afraid of exposing his flaws, but after a while, he realized that he was just overly worried.
And the situation is just the opposite. He is dull and talks little, and his words are concise and concise.
Now that he is commanding everyone, he looks even more decisive, efficient and neat.
Of course, this is also possible with the help of Ouyang Rong's accumulated unparalleled authority, but there is also something called talent...
Another half hour passed.
Everything was almost ready. While waiting for the official ship from Zheyi Canal to return, Liu Ashan and his subordinates took a short rest and wiped their sweat.
Liu Ashan held up his mask and turned his head to look at the empty long street that was littered with debris after the people had evacuated.
He turned his head again and took a distant look at Liu's house on the west bank of the Butterfly Creek.
For some reason, the calm and unremarkable little solitary mountain opposite gave Liu Ashan a strange feeling.
It seems like something is happening silently under the sun.
It's a pity that Liu Ashan didn't know how to be angry. In the end, he could only suppress his vague premonition and touched his arms.
After a busy morning, he found that the two sesame cakes wrapped in oil paper hidden in his arms were already cold.
But Liu Ashan, who had been waiting for the official fleet for a long time, immediately received two pieces of news.
Good news.
A bad news.
It was all coming from the Longcheng County Government Office.
The good news came from a letter personally delivered to the dock by a government official.
"Mingfu, this is what Master Xie left when he suddenly came to the county government just now."
"Thank you, aunt...thank you, master?"
Liu Ashan turned around and asked the yamen servant who was handing over the letter: "Where is she?"
"Master Xie seemed to be just passing by. He left a letter and walked in a hurry. He seemed to be heading into Luming Street."
Liu Ashan turned around, took out the letter paper, and saw the familiar handwriting. He was stunned for a moment, and his face suddenly became happy.
"The master is back!"
He quickly turned his back to his subordinates, tried hard to suppress his expression, and waved his hand to dismiss the yamen servants.
Whisper to yourself in a low voice that no one can hear:
"The master is over at Dagushan and is rushing back to the county seat...
"But counting the time it took Miss Xie to deliver the letter on the way, I should be here soon. Just in time, I have prepared the rescue supplies for you, and the official ship will be transferred back. I will wait for you to come back and take charge of the overall situation."
After thinking for a moment, Liu Ashan frowned slightly again:
"Wait a minute, Miss Xie is in such a hurry to leave, why are you going..."
At this moment, Liu Ashan turned around and saw that the government servant who had just delivered the letter did not leave, and hesitated to speak.
"If there's anything else, tell me quickly." He said seriously.
The officer lowered his head and said:
"There is something that may be bad news... Mr. Mingfu, there was someone in the county government just now. He passed by and found the gate of Meiluyuan open. When he went in, he saw that it seemed to have been rummaged through and looted. No one was there.
The officer quickly glanced at the officer's face, but he couldn't see Liu Ashan's stiff face under the mask, and hurriedly explained:
"I think some thieves and robbers must have sneaked into the city. They took advantage of the chaos when the people of Dragon City were evacuating and stole Meiluyuan. But they are really short-sighted. Don't you know that Mr. Mingfu is as incorruptible as water..."
"Wait a minute." Liu Ashan grabbed the officer's wrist and interrupted: "You...you said there is no one there? What about the people who used to live in Meiluyuan?"
"Hiss." The officer's wrist hurt but he didn't dare to move his hand. Hearing this, he was also stunned:
"I remember, my subordinates, Master Mingfu took all his relatives and maids back to his hometown. There shouldn't be any important people left in Meilu Garden.
"Master Mingfu, are you talking about the old and young servants who stayed at the house? The people from the county government went in to investigate and didn't see them. They must have escaped or been killed..."
Realizing that the Mingfu's eyes in front of him suddenly became frightening, the Yamen servant quickly swallowed his original words:
"Don't worry, Lord Mingfu, the county government has sent people to investigate..."
Liu Ashan turned a deaf ear and murmured: "Mom, Amei..."
Just when everyone was looking at him and wondering if something was wrong with the magistrate's state, the clatter of horse hooves suddenly came from the end of the street.
"Mingfu! It's not good!"
A horse was rushing towards him. The official on horseback braked suddenly, fell off his horse, got up hastily in front of Liu Ashan, took out the envelope from his arms and handed it over.
"A stranger brought a letter from the Zheyiqu Festival, saying that it was to be delivered to you, Mr. Mingfu..."
Everyone saw that the "young county magistrate" in front of him took the unfamiliar envelope with a blank expression, lowered his head to open it, and browsed it carefully.
The expected change in expression did not occur.
His face was surprisingly calm.
It seemed like he was relieved.
Liu Ashan raised his head, looked around the whole place, and said calmly to everyone:
"Next, it will be hard work for you guys."
Everyone was stunned.
A subordinate asked cautiously: "Master Mingfu, where are those official ships?"
"Here we come." Liu Ashan nodded.
He turned his head indifferently and looked at the snorting brown horse in front of him.
…
Zheyi Canal, Pine Forest Crossing.
Working with Penglangdu of Longcheng County to transport supplies and prepare for flood control in full swing.
There is also the bustle and crowding of people from all over the county slowly gathering into Dagushan, which is all different.
Today, Songlindu, which should have been lively due to the grand celebration, was completely silent at the moment.
Songlin Ferry is the starting point of Zheyi Canal. The high platform where the celebration is held today was built on the open river beach not far from the ferry.
The high platform is naturally as luxurious and festive as the lanterns and festoons. It is beautifully decorated, and you can tell that a lot of thought has been put into it.
Now, looking around, there are crowds of people on and off the high platform, and everyone is gathering.
But the strange thing is that the entire celebration was silent and no one made a sound. Only occasionally there were some children crying and women sobbing, but they were quickly stopped.
Upon closer inspection, it turned out that whether it was on the high platform or under the high platform, there was a group of strangers with unkind expressions beside the crowd.
I saw that on the high platform under the sun, Diao Xian Cheng, a group of county government officials, a dozen Longcheng squires, and some wealthy businessmen and scholars from surrounding counties were all imprisoned in the center of the high platform.
They were imprisoned and guarded by a group of men wearing blue domestic slave uniforms and armed with swords.
Actually, the word "imprisonment" is not quite accurate. After all, there was a cup of tea and corresponding pastry trays in front of Diao County Cheng and others on the stage.
If this scene were to exclude the cold-faced private slaves of the Liu family around it, wouldn’t this be a scene of warm hospitality?
It's a pity that these guests who were warmly invited by Liu Zian still had half a mouthful of tea in the porcelain cups in front of them.
As for the audience, the hundreds of Dragon City people who originally came to watch the celebration were also surrounded and controlled by a group of strong men in black.
The slaves in green clothes and the strong men in black are strictly disciplined, and both groups seem to obey the unified order.
At this moment, in addition to these people, there are several familiar figures standing on the edge of the high platform, moving freely and looking around the audience from time to time.
It's Liu Zian and Liu Zilin.
The two of them were dressed up today and fully armed.
But the strange thing is that although he clearly controlled the entire audience, at this moment, Liu Zian, who was the focus of the audience, had a gloomy face, and veins popped out in the palm of his hand holding the hilt of the sword.
On the high platform, you can hear the needle drop in the air.
Liu Zian's eyes were like a wolf's, and his unkind gaze slowly swept across the crowd on the stage.
Diao County Magistrate and others all kept silent, shrank their heads and buried their faces.
Liu Zilin, who was standing next to Liu Zian, also stood there, bowing his head deeply, as if he had made a mistake.
Liu Zian's eyes finally fell behind Liu Zilin:
Liu Fu led several servants in Tsing Yi and surrounded the servants and porters who were originally staying at Meilu Garden.
Ah Qing and Liu Mu were also among them, but Liu Zian's eyes passed directly over them.
Seeing these old, weak, sick and disabled people brought back in front of me.
Liu Zian's face looked as if he had eaten a fly alive, very ugly.
He turned his head without saying a word and stared at the silent Liu Zilin...