In the early morning of Guo Beicheng, the rapid sound of gongs came from the streets. Along with the sound of gongs, a loud voice echoed: "Everyone, run away quickly, the flood is coming, the flood is coming.
....”
The sound rang out in more than one place, but from all directions in the city.
These people were all men from the city's escort bureau. They rode fast horses and beat gongs around the city.
At this moment, Li Xiuyuan came to the city wall with a few guards, and he looked at everything in the city solemnly.
"Master Li, the effect you sent to notify people was not very effective. The people did not really believe in the flood. There were not many people who actually fled. After all, there has never been a record of Guo Beicheng being submerged by floods since its founding, and even if
Some people believe that the flood will come back, but there is no sign of the flood happening right now, and it is impossible for them to take action within half an hour."
Next to him, the Eight Kings were lying on their knees, stretched out their heads, took a look, and then said.
Li Xiuyuan closed his eyes and said slowly: "Yes, you are right, so I sent someone to inform the prefect. If the people from the government are willing to come forward, the people will definitely believe about the flood."
The people in ancient times were like this. They were very wary of outsiders, but they would blindly trust the government.
As long as the government comes forward, many things will be easy to handle.
At this time, a guard came on horseback and came to the city wall and shouted: "Young master, the younger one has not found the prefect. The officer of the Yamen said that the prefect left Guo Beicheng yesterday."
"What, the prefect left?" Li Xiuyuan's face suddenly condensed slightly.
The Eighth King said: "The prefect here should have also received information about the flood and left here in advance to take refuge."
"How could the prefect know about the flood in advance?" Li Xiuyuan asked.
The Eight Kings said: "Since ancient times, officials have been surrounded by ghosts and gods. Officials who can sit in the position of prefect always have many ghosts and gods to help them before a disaster strikes. And the prefect here is greedy for life and afraid of death. He is afraid that after receiving the news,
At that moment, I had already left Guo Beicheng."
"In this case, why didn't the prefect publish a notice to inform the people about the flood?" Li Xiuyuan said.
The Eighth King sighed and said, "It's not that we don't publish the list, it's that we can't publish the list."
"Why." Li Xiuyuan frowned.
"Once the list is published, if the flood really comes, the blame for the flood will be blamed on the prefect, and the court will have a reason to ask questions. On the contrary, if the prefect pretends not to know, the flood will not be implicated.
For magistrates, this is the way to be an official with prudence and self-preservation." The Eight Great Kings said.
Li Xiuyuan couldn't help being stunned.
"This, this is a matter of life and death, so how dare the prefect do this?"
"Which official would really care about the life and death of the people? Isn't it all for his own benefit? Not to mention that the court is corrupt and the national destiny is weakening. It is not surprising that such a situation occurs. Mr. Li, you
Even if you have the intention to save the world, you can't do anything at the moment. The flood is coming soon. Look, how many people are fleeing now?" said the Eight Kings.
Li Xiuyuan suddenly fell silent.
"Young Master, what should we do now? Time is running out. If the people cannot be summoned, the brothers in the city cannot be buried here with them. I suggest that the brothers withdraw." The man under the city wall shouted.
.
Li Xiuyuan looked around the city, but there was still not much commotion. Although some people believed it, they didn't know that the matter was urgent and were still packing their things unhurriedly.
"Retreat, let all the people in the escort agency retreat and go to Wangchuan Mountain." He gritted his teeth and waved his hand.
The people in the escort agency are also common people, and I really have no reason to let them suffer the same disaster.
"Yes, young master."
The man responded and immediately left on his fast horse, shouting all the way: "The young master has spoken, asking us to evacuate Guo Beicheng immediately and go to Wangchuan Mountain."
Suddenly, Li Xiuyuan saw the overflowing moat under the city wall. He had a flash of inspiration and suddenly said: "Eight Great Kings, I have given you a share of the merit of saving all people, will you earn it?"
"Master Li, what you said is serious. Now the flood is coming. Even if my Taoism rises for another thousand years, I can't stop the flood. If I had the ability, how could I not earn this merit?" The Eight Kings smiled bitterly.
road.
"Instead of asking you to stop the flood, I asked you to go into the moat under the city and raise the water, so that the water in the moat pours into the city." Li Xiuyuan stared at him and said, "This shouldn't be difficult."
"The flood is coming soon. Mr. Li, why do you ask me to raise the flood again?" the Eighth King asked in confusion.
Li Xiuyuan said: "It is precisely because the flood is coming that I asked you to raise the flood. The water in the moat is not enough to flood the city, but it can remind the people in the city that the flood has come and scare them."
Go and take refuge.”
"good idea."
The Eight Kings' eyes lit up and they understood immediately.
"I still have quite a few turtle sons and grandsons hiding in the moat. Mr. Li, please wait a moment and take a look at me."
After saying that, the Eight Kings fell down from the city wall with a thud, and fell into the moat below the city.
Although the Eighth King's moral ability was damaged, he was not unable to use any magic. As he was carried headlong into the moat, the water in the moat soon began to roll and surge.
Soon, the water in the moat rioted, and unexpectedly gathered towards the city gate, and then poured into Guobei City along the city gate.
The water poured in, and the people in the city reacted immediately.
"Oh my god, the flood is really coming, the water is rising so fast." Some people on the street suddenly exclaimed.
"Quick, run, those people were right what they said before, there is really going to be a flood."
"No, the city is going to be flooded."
Now the eight kings sent floods first and poured them into the city. Only then did the people in the city understand the seriousness of the matter. They didn't care about waiting any longer and immediately began to flee.
"There's still time."
Li Xiuyuan looked at the sky and thought to himself.
People still have time to flee before the flood comes, as long as there is no further delay.
If it's too late, there won't be time to leave the city.
"Young Master, aren't you leaving yet?"
Everyone in the escort agency gathered together at this moment and wanted to leave the city.
Li Xiuyuan took a look and said: "The people on the east side of the city already believe that the flood is coming. I want a few people who are not afraid of death to stay and lead them out of the city to higher ground. Which of you is willing to go and lead that side?"
the people?”
Everyone in the escort agency was stunned for a moment and looked hesitant.
"I won't force you." Li Xiuyuan said.
"I'm going to the east of the city."
A mean-looking man among the crowd gritted his teeth, responded, clasped his fists, then turned his horse around and ran away.
"Okay, he is a man. I, Li Xiuyuan, did not misjudge the person." Li Xiuyuan nodded.
"Young Master, I will go with him." Another man took a deep breath and followed without hesitation.
Li Xiuyuan warned again: "Don't stop all the way after you leave the city. The good horse you sit on is enough for you to escape to a safe place. Although there is some danger, it is not enough to lose your life."
He would not assign a fatal mission to his subordinates.
"Young Master, I'll go too." Several more men said.
"No, it's useless to have too many people. You go to the west and north of the city, and the others leave along the south of the city. You still have your family members to escort. There is no need to stay here and take risks." Li Xiuyuan ordered.
Several more men left the team and ran away quickly. The remaining people from the escort agency just left the city gate and quickly headed towards Wangchuan Mountain.
At this time, Li Xiuyuan looked up again and saw that people were already running out of Guobeicheng to seek refuge.
And the number of people is gradually increasing.
"It's up to people to make things happen, and it's up to God to plan things. I've done everything I should do. How long the people in this city can live depends on God's will."
Li Xiuyuan closed his eyes, sighed, and walked along the city wall to the north of the city.
If a flood strikes, the north of the city will be the first to be affected.
However, in the north of the city, a large number of people gathered in front of a Taoist temple.
A Taoist with a bald head and wearing a Taoist robe was standing on a high platform and shouted loudly: "The Dragon King is angry and rains heavily. Only by worshiping the God of All Spirits can we pray for peace. Everyone, as long as you are sincere, all spirits will be saved."
God will definitely protect you and resolve your disasters,”
Behind the bald Taoist is Qingfeng Temple. Countless people burn incense and worship in front of the temple. For a time, the incense in Qingfeng Temple is far more prosperous than before.
But the so-called All Souls God in Qingfeng Temple is the statue he built for his own ghost to collect incense.
"This bald Taoist still refuses to give up. He has clearly been punished by God, his statue has collapsed, and his ghost has been frustrated. Unexpectedly, he is still deceiving the public with his evil words, gathering pilgrims, and wanting to return to the Shinto." Li Xiuyuan was furious at this.
It's okay for this Taoist to take the opportunity to confuse the people, but it happened at this time.
Now that the flood is coming, these people are seeking death if they stay here.
Immediately, Li Xiuyuan rushed down the city wall and shouted: "You bald Taoist dare to come here and confuse the people with your lies. Now the flood is about to hit. What is your intention in gathering the people here?"
When Taoist Bald saw Li Xiuyuan, he was immediately frightened, but then he took advantage of the breeze to see so many believers and pilgrims in front of him. He then said, "This man is disrespectful to the God of All Spirits, and will arouse the wrath of the God of All Spirits. Quickly
Drive this person away, otherwise disaster will befall you."
"The Taoist Master has spoken. Why are you still standing here? Why don't you leave quickly? It would be bad if you offend the gods of all spirits."
"Yes, scholar, how can you scold the Taoist Priest for confusing the public with his evil words? The Taoist Priest is an expert with magical powers."
"Scholar, what does it have to do with you when we worship the gods? Don't mess around here and leave quickly."
The nearby pilgrims were immediately incited and drove Li Xiuyuan away with every word.
If Li Xiuyuan hadn't been dressed like a scholar, his attitude might have been even worse.
"It doesn't matter if you don't understand the truth. I won't blame you, but I won't forgive those who deceive others with their evil words."
Li Xiuyuan glanced at the people nearby, and suddenly took out a big bow from behind his raincoat.
This is his golden goose bow.
The big bow opened, Li Xiuyuan took the arrow, and aimed it at the bald Taoist on the high platform with murderous intent.
The Taoist Bald was shocked when he saw this situation. He thought he was just a scholar and had nothing to fear, but he didn't expect that he actually had a weapon on him.
"Wha~!"
He couldn't help but be surprised. Li Xiuyuan shot an arrow, and with the whistle of the arrow, it accurately penetrated the Taoist Bald's head and nailed him to the wall pillar of Qingfeng Temple.
"Uh~!"
The Taoist Bald's eyes widened with fear on his face, as if he didn't expect that this scholar would dare to kill him, but he didn't give him time to regret it now.
Being shot through the head will kill even the most advanced Taoist, let alone a Taoist who is bald.
Li Xiuyuan shouted: "The God of All Spirits can't even protect him, so how can he protect you? The flood is coming. If you continue to burn incense and pray here, you are waiting to die. If you don't flee quickly,"
When all the people saw this scene, they were all frightened.
Li Xiuyuan didn't bother to talk to them anymore, put away his golden goose bow, and strode away.
He did everything he could do at the moment, but Li Xiuyuan couldn't care less about whether he could save them or not.
"I remembered that this scholar seemed to be the scholar who talked to the Dragon King of Wujiang on the Pagoda a few days ago. The Dragon King of Wujiang said that he was a saint in the world and had a distinguished status. What he said should not be false."
"Speaking of which, I heard someone say on the way here that the flood is coming and Guo Beicheng will be flooded soon. Is this true?"
"Whether it's true or not, we'd better take shelter quickly. It's been raining heavily for so many days, maybe the flood is really coming."
After Li Xiuyuan left, the people talked a lot, and the crowd quickly dispersed.
"Rumble..."
Just as the people were fleeing, suddenly the rumble of thousands of troops and horses came from the distance in the north.