At the turn of spring and summer, Huangzhu Mountain is as peaceful and leisurely as usual. Children chase and play at the beginning and end of the village, and adults work in the fields.
Birds jumped around on the branches, curiously looking at these busy green creatures, and occasionally showing contempt. There are so many bugs on the trees, and you can be full just by eating two. Why do these big creatures have to work so hard?
Farming.
The rain has increased significantly recently, and many elderly farmers in the village vowed to the gloomy sky that a heavy rainstorm will come in a few days.
Ancient agricultural production relied on experience passed down by word of mouth. With so many old people insisting that there would be heavy rains soon, the officials of the Tang Dynasty would not sit idly by and ignore it.
Liu Bagou had already led a large group of cabinet officials to the fields two days ago, leading people to dredge ditches and build flood control structures on both sides of the small river in the middle of the small plain to prevent the flood from raging and destroying the land they had finally reclaimed this year.
rice fields.
In order to dredge the ditches and prevent floods, even the soldiers who had been trained full-time put down their swords and guns and went up the embankment with their hoes and poles.
Although these soldiers have become professional soldiers in name and are off-the-job training on weekdays, they still need to help with labor production during busy farming seasons and other critical periods.
After all, these more than 300 soldiers were all the young and middle-class labor force of the Tang Dynasty. With them joining or without them, the preparation for the flood control work would be quite different.
In the evening of that day, just as the old farmers in the village expected, it started to rain.
After dinner, Li Xuan stood in front of the window and looked at the pouring rain outside, frowning slightly.
The rain is getting heavier and heavier. It was only a moderate rain in the evening, but now it has turned into a heavy rain. The raindrops hit the tiles on the roof, making a huge thumping sound. Wasn't it accompanied by the sound of rain?
With rumbling thunder and strong wind.
It was a thunderstorm night, and I didn't know how much damage this heavy rain would bring to my weak Tang Dynasty.
Liu Bagou and the others led people to repair the flood control system for two consecutive days, and they had not been idle all winter before. They had built a lot of water conservancy facilities, so they should be able to withstand this heavy rain!
"Your Majesty, it's so windy and rainy outside, don't let it get wet!" While he was deep in thought, Li Xuan heard the voice behind him. Before he could turn around, he felt the lady behind him put a coat on him.
Li Xuan turned around and looked at Ye, who was not tall but had a curvy front and back. He reached out and grabbed her hand, and then said: "It will rain heavily tonight, so I won't go back!"
Hearing this, Mrs. Ye's face showed a clear blush under the kerosene lamp. She did not speak, but just hummed and lowered her head.
Since Li Xuanxing broke her body seven or eight days ago, she has not been able to keep Li Xuan with her every day like Dong Yunyun. Counting this way, tonight is the second time that Li Xuan has stayed at her place.
.
"I'll go get some hot water first!" After Ye said this with a red face, she slightly broke away from Li Xuan's hand and turned around to leave.
Li Xuan tightened his coat and turned his gaze back to the darkness outside the window. The heavy rain was still falling, and it was probably going to rain all night.
Although Li Xuan stayed in Ye's room that night, he was obviously not in a high mood tonight. After handing over the food as usual, he didn't know what he was thinking even as he lay there.
Mrs. Ye obviously knew that Li Xuan was worried tonight, so she quietly buried herself in Li Xuan's arms like a cat and just stayed there quietly.
That night, the thunder stopped until midnight, and the rain gradually became less heavy. However, by the next morning, there was still light rain in the sky.
After breakfast, Li Xuan, who was thinking about the heavy rain last night, hurried to the meeting hall in front.
But when I went to the back of the meeting hall, I found that several people were not there. Liu Bagou, Fang Dongquan and the others were not there. When asked, the leader Wang Wenhua said: "Master Liu and General Fang are on the embankment now.
Early this morning it was said that a section of the dike had burst, and as soon as they got the news, they took it to the dike!"
"The dam is breached? Is it serious?" Li Xuan asked. Although his face was calm at this time, his tone was already a little nervous.
This breach of the embankment is not a trivial matter. If it is good, I am afraid that all the fields in the small plain of Huangzhu Mountain will be flooded.
Wang Wenhua said: "The previous report said that some fields have been flooded, but now the military people have rushed over, and it should be blocked soon!"
After hearing this, Li Xuan stood up immediately: "Let's go and have a look on the embankment!"
Li Xuan stood up and went to the embankment. Wang Wenhua opened his mouth and wanted to say something about the danger of the flood ahead, but looking at Li Xuan's eyes, he didn't dare to say it. The master said: "Your Majesty is concerned about the safety of the people, and I am really concerned about it."
What a blessing to the countless people of the Tang Dynasty!"
Li Xuan ignored his flattery and just took the people out of the palace, preparing to go to the embankment ahead to see the situation.
Before leaving the palace, he specially put on long rawhide copper-tipped boots. These boots were also a small invention of his own. They were specially made by shoemakers for war boots. They were made of cowhide and smeared with tung oil to make them waterproof.
There are also small copper nails on the bottom to prevent slipping.
Because it was expected that the Ming army would fight in the spring, and Li Xuan planned to fight in person, a pair of waterproof and non-slip shoes would make it easier to escape when the battle situation was unfavorable.
Now it’s easy to wear when going out on rainy days. At least you don’t have to worry about walking unsteadily in the mud like Wang Wenhua next to you.
Wearing a raincoat and a bamboo hat, and with a guard holding a large oil-paper fan beside him, Li Xuan went out in the drizzle.
As soon as he went out, Li Xuan saw a large group of people in the distance busy digging and lifting soil. The direction they were transporting soil was where the embankment broke ahead.
Looking from the direction where Li Xuan was, he could see a small area of farmland in front of him that had been submerged, and a large group of people on both sides of the embankment were throwing sand and filling the gap in the rain.
The small plain at the foot of Huangzhu Mountain has become a small plain suitable for farming because the river in the middle has been washed out for thousands of years. The small river called Huangzhu River is not usually very wide.
, the width is only about ten meters, and the depth is only a few meters. On weekdays, the river level is so slow that there is no danger at all.
But during the rainy season, the water in this small river will surge, flooding both banks.
Not long after, Li Xuan approached the embankment, and Liu Bagou and the others also saw Li Xuan coming, and immediately ran over with a few people to say hello.
However, Li Xuan did not ask them to be polite and asked directly: "How is the situation now? Can this gap be closed?"