In the middle of the night, the door of Fulai Inn was knocked. The waiter yawned nonstop and opened the door with an oil lamp. In the pouring rain, two officers and soldiers with swords stood outside the door, surrounded by a majestic-looking, burly man. With a sullen face, the waiter's sleeping bug was immediately chased away.
"You...are you staying in a hotel or staying in a hotel? Our inn is full, why don't you go and check it out somewhere else?"
The waiter's voice was trembling, and the officers and soldiers next to him shouted in a low voice, "Open your eyes wide, this is the prefect!"
"Zhi...Mr. Magistrate?" His legs were weak and he was about to kneel down. Cold sweat was already breaking out on his forehead. He never thought that it was raining in the middle of the night and that the Magistrate would come to their inn.
"Get up, Shen Yanqing, which room does Master Shen live in?"
Ma Liangji was anxious and asked the waiter to lead the way. After receiving the news from Cangnan County, he couldn't sit still and came to the inn to find Shen Yanqing himself.
The sound of rain outside was getting louder and louder. It was raining as if the sky was leaking. Shen Yanqing had not fallen asleep at all. When he heard the noise outside, he got up from the bed and got dressed. Jiang Miao opened her eyes softly, " Mr. Xianggong?"
She looked out the window. It was still dark. Seeing Shen Yanqing dressed neatly, she woke up and asked, "What happened?"
"Prefect Ma is here. I guess there is news about flood control." And it's not good news.
As soon as Shen Yanqing got dressed, there was a knock on the door.
"Brother Shen, Cangnan County has collapsed!" Ma Liangji couldn't wait to tell him the news when he saw him coming out.
Shen Yanqing paused. From Ma Liangji's words, he could hear the danger at that time, "Are the people okay?"
"It's okay. They were all far away from the village before the flood. Now they are placed in a thatched shed outside the city." In less than half an hour, these people's lives were almost lost in the flood. He thought about it. He was afraid, "Fortunately, I listened to your words and asked the guards to evacuate the people in the village, otherwise the consequences would be disastrous."
"Brother Shen, I need your help with this disaster relief matter."
Ma Liangji kept his posture very low. Shen Yanqing's reminder made him keep the black gauze hat on his head. He now sees Shen Yanqing as the same as his reborn parents.
"Okay, let's discuss the specific matters in detail."
Shen Yanqing followed Ma Liangji to the magistrate's office. Except for asking Zhu Kuan to send a letter at dawn, he did not come back for the next three days.
The rain in the south of the Yangtze River is getting heavier and heavier, and the streets have been flooded. There have been complaints in the inns these days. Most of the people staying overnight are businessmen. I wanted to wait for the rain to stop and continue south, but I was delayed by the rain. I couldn't leave even if I wanted to.
"The store is still waiting for the goods to be loaded. I haven't been able to go back for a long time. Do you think this will delay a lot of business?"
"No, the cloth I brought in was still stored in the warehouse of their inn. It was all flooded by the rain, and tens of thousands of taels of silver were wasted!"
The group of people looked at the street with sad faces, the water reaching their thighs, and everyone hoped that the rain in the sky would stop soon.
Jiang Miao only ate half a bowl of plain noodles for lunch and couldn't eat any more. She called Li Biao, "Hasn't your Excellency sent a message yet?"
There was no news for several days, and she was impatient to wait.
Li Biao shook his head, "Not yet, why don't I go to the government office and ask?"
"No, just wait."
There are floods everywhere outside, and some sections of the road have collapsed, and people will fall if they are not careful. Shen Yanqing is staying in the government office. At least everyone is safe, and no news is actually the best news.
Jiang Miao asked him to leave, and sat by the window, listening to the sound of rain, and wrote a few pages of the Lotus Sutra, and her chaotic heart gradually calmed down.
The rain continued for another ten days. In addition to Cangnan County, news of flooding came from other places. Although Ma Liangji had sent officers and soldiers to evacuate the people in advance, the evacuation speed was not as fast as the flooding speed. , bad news is coming every day, Ma Liangji’s head is getting big.
"Sir, Fuyuan County was also flooded. Half of the people who escaped were trapped in the village. Brother Lin and others took people to see it. The entrance to the village was blocked tightly with stones, and people could not get out at all. Come, and most of the people trapped are old people, young women, and children, and they won’t be able to hold on for long..."
The officers and soldiers were so busy these days that they were all unshaven, but no one complained. In the face of such a natural disaster, they should be more united.
"First let people send clean water and clothes, pay attention to calm the people's emotions, and tell them not to worry, the government people will rescue them."
"yes."
After the officers and soldiers were ordered to go out, Ma Liangji breathed a sigh of relief and poured a cup of hot tea for himself and Shen Yanqing behind the desk.
"Now most of the entire city of Yangzhou has been flooded. Although most people have been evacuated, many are still trapped inside, and accommodation and food for the evacuated people are a big problem..."
He rubbed his sore eyebrows. Fortunately, Shen Yanqing assisted in this disaster relief work, otherwise he would have been in a hurry. After working together for more than ten days, Ma Liangji was convinced of Shen Yanqing's ability. With his talents , he will definitely ascend to a high position in the future. Even if his official position is as high as Shen Yanqing, Ma Liangji will not dare to think of himself as a high official.
Shen Yanqing put down the pen in his hand, his face solemn, and asked Ma Liangji to look at the data of the flood.
"From the collapse of Cangnan County to today, a total of sixty-eight villages have been flooded, with 135 casualties and 135 casualties. In addition to the news from the officers and soldiers, the livestock in each village have been drowned, and there are floating things on the water. "Floating corpses, the food stored in people's homes has been soaked to death, and there is still a lack of clean water. Mr. Ma, the weather is hot now, and rotten gas spreads quickly. I am worried that there will be a plague after the flood!"
"plague?"
Ma Liangji's heart was shaken, and his heart that had just been relieved was lifted again.
"What should we do?"
Misfortune never comes alone, and there will be plague after the flood. This is recorded in books. Ma Liangji naturally knew that Shen Yanqing was not an alarmist.
But now the heavy rain has not stopped, the people in the city have not been properly resettled, and food and water sources are in short supply. If a plague really breaks out, all the things they did in the early stage will be in vain.
That was a plague. According to legend, it had happened once before during the reign of the late Emperor, and it was only after two cities were massacred that it was completely contained and prevented from spreading again.
He had just promised the people that the government would rescue people and would not let any of the people go. Now he regarded them as sources of infection and avoided them. Ma Liangji felt heavy in his heart and did not speak for a long time.
"First, let the doctors in the city cook a medicinal soup for epidemic prevention. Every citizen must drink a bowl. The carrion in the water cannot continue to soak in the water and must be burned and buried. Drinking water must be boiled before drinking... …”
The heavy rain has been going on for a month or two and should stop, but the next disaster relief is the top priority.
