Although the surviving scholars were all frightened, they were not stupid. When they heard that the imperial court was no longer in charge, Li Xiuyuan wanted to call all the scholars together to make plans to provide disaster relief and rescue people. No matter what their moods were now, they would be stunned for a while.
They rushed over immediately.
The passionate scholar believes that this is an opportunity to save the people. How can he avoid or delay the great task that comes from heaven at this moment?
Of course, there are some scholars who believe that this is a good opportunity to spread their reputation and establish their prestige. If they can succeed, their status in Guo Beicheng will be extraordinary in the future.
At this moment, it was already dark, and there were only a few scattered bonfires lit on the city wall.
And next to a weak bonfire, all the surviving scholars on the city wall gathered here.
The number of people was not large, only less than twenty people.
Among them, Li Xiuyuan also met many acquaintances, such as Zhu Yu, Wang Ping, and Ning Caichen.
As for Zhong Qingxu, he was lucky. Because his mother was seriously ill, he gave up the hospital examination and returned home. At this time, he was neither in the city nor encountered a flood. It was a blessing in disguise.
"According to this trend, the floods in the city will begin in two days. At that time, there will be no government officials, and the first thing to bear the brunt will be the public security issues in the city. After the disaster, people's hearts will be unstable, and force is needed to deter some evildoers who want to take advantage of the opportunity to cause chaos.
Please, to avoid turmoil in the city."
Li Xiuyuan sat by the bonfire and said slowly: "Secondly, the corpses of the people who died in the disaster need to be cleaned up. The weather is still hot now, and the corpses of the people who died in the disaster need to be buried in time. Otherwise, the corpses will rot and cause diseases. The consequences will be
The most serious.”
"Finally, food and drinking water. Food is easy to handle. Although it has been flooded, the food of each household has not been ruined in the past few days. The most important thing is drinking water. The well water in the city must be contaminated, but I have a
The method can purify water, take charcoal and wrap it in gauze, pass the sewage through it to get clean water, and then boil it, it will ensure no worries, but there are many things to do, and I need you to share them for me."
After finishing speaking, the scholars around him fell silent for a while.
After truly discussing disaster relief, you will find that each of these things is very difficult.
For example, the public security in the city, how to organize manpower, how to pacify the victims, and how to deal with the villains are all worth thinking about.
"Why, are these things difficult?" Li Xiuyuan glanced at everyone and said.
Ning Caichen was very embarrassed at this moment and said: "Master Li, I have never done these things before. If I start rashly, I'm afraid I won't be able to do the same well."
Li Xiuyuan said: "It is because of the difficulty that we need to do it. If we don't do it, who will do it? Do we expect the people to save themselves? The people will save themselves, but what if something goes wrong? You can do it this time.
You have to do it, even if you don't do it. Since you are a scholar, you will have fame in the future, and sooner or later you will be an official. Now is the time to test your ability. If you can't do these things, you will be a corrupt official in the future."
"Li Xiuyuan, how can you say this? You have a profession and a specialization. We are not disaster relief officials. We are still taking exams for merit. How can we know how to provide disaster relief and save people?" A scholar covered in mud and water.
Said somewhat angrily.
"Since you don't want to save people, what are you doing here, brother? Do you want to sing with me?" Li Xiuyuan glanced at him and said.
The scholar immediately retorted: "Don't insult anyone. I'm just here to discuss disaster relief matters for the sake of the victims. I'm not here to be insulted by you. Besides, you are just a child, what qualifications do you have?"
Humiliate me?"
Li Xiuyuan frowned and said, "I don't have time to argue with a scholar like you now. If you can do something, stay here. If you can't, just go away."
"Go away, just go away. Do you think I'm happy to stay here?" The scholar swung his sleeves and left angrily.
Li Xiuyuan ignored him and said: "Is there anyone else who wants to leave? What I want for this disaster relief is like-minded people. If you have the heart to save people, then work with me. If you are not like that scholar,
If you don't do anything and are arguing with me here instead, please leave."
"Li Xiuyuan, you have average ability and mediocre appearance. You only want to tell us to do things. If we do all the other things, what will you do?" said an ordinary scholar.
Li Xiuyuan glanced at this person, but he recognized this ordinary-looking scholar. He was so lucky that he did not die in this disaster.
Then, he said: "I need to command and mobilize you to ensure that no trouble occurs. This matter must be done by me."
It's not that he is boasting, but there are no practical people among these scholars, and most of them are people with high ambitions and low abilities.
"It's ridiculous. How can it be that you are the only one who can do the commanding and dispatching? I can do even the smallest things." Immediately, another scholar stood up.
"Who are you?" Li Xiuyuan asked.
"I am a local scholar, Qin Chang." The scholar said somewhat proudly.
Li Xiuyuan nodded and said, "Do you think commanding and dispatching is easy? Then let me ask you, how should you command when the water in the city recedes in two days?"
"Of course we will send people to maintain public order, clean up the corpses, and try to calm down the people as much as possible," Qin Chang said.
"How to maintain public security and where will the manpower come from?" Li Xiuyuan asked.
Qin Chang was stunned for a moment and said: "We can recruit strong men among the victims to serve as manpower. This can not only prevent the villains from causing chaos, but also ensure the stability of the city. Kill two birds with one stone."
"Well, this makes sense. In that case, tomorrow you can try to recruit strong men among the victims. If you succeed, I will listen to your arrangements." Li Xiuyuan said.
"What's so difficult about this?" Qin Chang said quite proudly.
"Okay, then it's settled. It'll be up to you tomorrow." Li Xiuyuan said.
"Please wait and see."
Qin Chang said that he felt that recruiting refugees would not be easy as he was a scholar.
After this discussion, there was no result, but some temporary countermeasures were made. It was very late, and the scholars dispersed.
However, Zhu Yu, Wang Ping, Ning Caichen and other scholars had friends with Li Xiuyuan, so they did not leave.
Zhu Yu said at this moment: "Brother Li, that Qin Chang is a vain man and not a business person. Why should he be allowed to recruit people and listen to his orders?"
Li Xiuyuan said: "I am new here, so naturally it is difficult to convince the public. Qin Chang is not the first person to disobey me. I need to use him to establish his authority to ensure that other scholars will not jump out to ruin my affairs like him."
"I see, but how can Brother Li be so sure that Qin Chang will not be able to recruit people?" Wang Ping asked doubtfully.
Li Xiuyuan said: "On weekdays, what does a wealthy family need to recruit guards?"
"It's money." Wang Ping said immediately.
"Does Qin Chang have it?" Li Xiuyuan asked.
Wang Ping shook his head: "Of course he is just like us, penniless."
"Since we have no money, how can we recruit people?" Li Xiuyuan said.
"His status as a scholar may be useful." Ning Caichen said next to him. "A scholar is equal to half an official. Maybe he can persuade some people."
Li Xiuyuan said: "The status of a scholar is somewhat useful, but it is not used in this way. If the situation can be stabilized, your status as a scholar will naturally convince the public. But now, he wants to recruit people with empty talk, which is simply a fantasy.
"
"Okay, it's getting late today. You all should go and have a rest. We still have things to discuss tomorrow."
Several people nodded and looked tired, leaning against the city wall and quickly fell asleep.
Li Xiuyuan also sat cross-legged and meditated facing the bright moonlight.
The next day.
As soon as the sun sets, the sun rises in the distance.
It looks like the weather is very good today and there will be plenty of sunshine.
Such good weather has advantages and disadvantages. The advantage is that there is no continuous rain, so the surviving people will not catch cold and get sick. The disadvantage is that when the weather is hot, the chance of epidemic disease is greater.
However, early this morning, yesterday's scholar named Qin Chang was running around on the city wall and began to recruit the surviving strong men. He was also very smart and brought a few scholars with him to build up his momentum. I don't know where he came from.
Winning over.
"Everyone, please listen to me. The flood has just passed. The imperial court cannot be counted on now. The people in our city must organize manpower to provide disaster relief on their own. I, Qin Chang, am a scholar in the city. Are you willing to be dispatched by me to provide disaster relief?"
Save people?"
Qin Chang had indeed gathered a lot of people because of his status as a scholar. At this moment, he stood in the turret and said loudly.
The people who gathered nearby looked uninterested when they heard this and left in a depressed mood.
A few idle men said directly, "It's a good thing that you recruit people for disaster relief, but I don't know how to calculate the wages. If the price is fair, I am willing to contribute."
Qin Chang was overjoyed, but a scholar next to him immediately became angry and said, "It is our duty to provide disaster relief to the people. How can we talk about such vulgar things as money?"
"A soldier has to take care of food. He has military pay. If you don't have money, no one will do anything for you."
A few idle men booed and disappeared immediately.
When Qin Chang saw that everyone had dispersed, he was anxious and angry. Finally, he shouted several times, but it had no effect, so he sat on the ground panting and rested.
"Hateful, hateful, these stupid people have no sense at all. Don't they understand that this disaster relief is also for their own good? Otherwise, as Li Xiuyuan said, if the disaster relief is not timely and unrest arises, wouldn't the losses be even greater? At this time
You still care about petty profits."
"Yes, we have been busy for almost the whole morning and haven't recruited anyone. How can we go to disaster relief without manpower?"
"Hey, I already knew that this would not be easy, but I didn't expect it to be even more difficult than I imagined."
Qin Chang was devastated at this moment and let out a long sigh.
At this time, Li Xiuyuan strode over from a short distance away. When he saw Qin Chang and several other scholars, he asked, "How is the recruitment of manpower going?"