Bachelor

Chapter 439 Breaking the Embankment ([-])

On the embankment of Suining River.

At this time, there was a dull rumbling sound in the distance, and there were occasional flashes of light.

This bright light startled Xia Yan and Fu Lin, they turned their heads to look at the same time, but saw that the bright light was in the direction of Suining City ten miles ahead.

"What the hell are you doing?" Xia Yan was puzzled and couldn't help asking.

"The embankment has burst!" Fu Lin yelled hoarsely.

Xia Yan looked at it intently, at this glance, the whole three souls and six souls seemed to be about to come out of the cavity.

I saw a group of red flames rising from the river embankment, forming a big fireball in the air, illuminating the distance brightly.

"Someone blew up the embankment!" This thought came together in his mind, which made Xia Yan tremble all over.

Fu Lin also trembled his lips: "Someone blows up the embankment, and someone blows up the embankment. Is this a natural disaster or a man-made disaster?"

Suddenly, a burst of anger rose in Xia Yan's chest, and he shouted loudly: "Man-made disaster, this is a man-made disaster! I didn't care about the lives of tens of thousands of people in Suining, and I didn't care about the lives of hundreds of thousands of people in Huai'an Prefecture. Who is it? Are you so daring?" Just as he yelled, Xia Yan couldn't catch his breath, his face turned purple.

The ball of fire rose slowly into the air before it was extinguished.

It was suddenly dark in front of my eyes, as if I couldn't see anything.

But in less than a moment, under the moonlight, an earth-shattering sound of collapse seemed to come from under the feet, shaking people almost unsteadily.

Another flash of light flashed by, but that light was the flickering moonlight of the flood that burst out of the embankment.

With a sound of "Boom!", the white water pierced like a sharp sword towards the city of Suining under the embankment, and everything it passed by collapsed like building blocks under the huge and majestic impact. , falling apart, drowned.

This is still the beginning, just when Xia Yan and the others were too shocked to speak by the mighty power of the world.The breach kept expanding, as if being torn apart by an invisible hand, a creepy tearing sound came along with the wind, as if it was going into a human bone.

In an instant, the breach that was blasted widened to two feet, and the rushing water of the Yellow River was wider and more urgent.

And this breach is still expanding. In the water of the Yellow River, this dam is really as vulnerable as tofu.

The Yellow River is originally a river on the ground, condescending, and rushed to the city of Suining in a blink of an eye.

The land of Suining is originally a great plain, and it has no ability to resist in the face of this unprecedented flood.

For a moment, there was only a piece of yellow water in front of my eyes, and I couldn't see anything.

The breach on the dam is still expanding, as if there is no intention of stopping.

The breath in Xia Yan's chest finally eased, he let out a long cough, and coughed up a mouthful of blood.His face was frighteningly pale, and he stood by the water in a daze, muttering: "As the prime minister of Nanhe River, Xia Yan has no face to meet Junfu, and the people of Huainan. If you die here, you will not be ridiculed."

Fu Lin also laughed bitterly: "Fu Lin is not a river official, and he has no face to live anymore. Master Xia, you and I will go to Huangquan together, but we will not be lonely along the way."

Xia Yan said hello three times in a row, and said: "Fu Lin, I finally saw the right person, you really are a responsible person."

After speaking, the two of them were about to jump into the Yellow River.

Xia Yan's subordinates have already noticed that something is wrong with these two adults, and they have also paid attention to it.Seeing that the two of them wanted to commit suicide, they shouted loudly, and several servants rushed up, and threw Xia Yan and Fu Lin viciously into the mud: "My lord, my lord, it must be done!"

Xia Yan was originally a handsome man, and he was very tidy in his daily grooming. At this moment, a man was pushed to the ground by a slave, covered in mud, and immediately roared: "Bold, what do you want to do?"

The servant shouted again and again: "My lord, you can't."

Xia Yan shouted: "Nowadays, Huainan is flooded like never before, and people are dying. Xia Yan, as Prime Minister He Dao, has failed His Majesty's entrustment. How else can he live in this world? If he doesn't die in the line of duty, he can stay innocent. Err Are you trying to trap me in injustice by waiting hard to persuade you?"

Fu Lin was also full of tears: "Fu Lin has no face to live on."

A servant said to Xia Yan with tears in his eyes: "My lord, you can't commit such short-sightedness. You have only been in Huai'an for a few days, and you haven't been to the other side of the river twice. This water has nothing to do with you?"

Xia Yan was still yelling: "I am the river channel, why is it okay?"

But Fu Lin was stunned, came to his senses, and said to Xia Yan: "Yes, my lord, this matter has nothing to do with you. For such a big flood, he, Wang Shu, has been working on the river channel for more than ten years. He should be responsible for this." That's right. Master Wang didn't throw himself into the river, so why do you, Master Xia?"

Xia Yan was furious: "Fu Lin, shut up, Hedao Yamen, everyone is responsible for their own duties. I read the book of benefits for my life, and when it comes to the big juncture, why can't I hold it back and get scared?"

Fu Lin said in a low voice: "My lord, as you have seen just now, this unprecedented flood is obviously a man-made disaster, someone blew up the embankment. Could it be that my lord just watched those villains get away with it? Did my lord just helplessly watch the victims of the disaster get away with it?" The people are displaced, but there is no one to help them. My lord, whether it is rebuilding the river defense or helping the victims in the future, we will need you and me. Does the lord want to give up his responsibility?"

"Yes, yes!" Everyone tried to persuade each other.

Xia Yan let out a long breath: "Okay, I, Xia Yan, will live on for a few more days with a thick skin. When things are over here, I will return to Beijing to plead guilty in front of Your Majesty. Help me up."

Only then did the crowd lift Xia Yan, who was covered in mud and water, from the ground, and the boatman who had been standing on the embankment tremblingly for a long time yelled, "My lord, get on the boat quickly, the breach is over."

Everyone raised their eyes and looked at the past, the section of the embankment collapsed even faster, and in a blink of an eye it had turned into a gap of two miles, and the whole of Suining had also turned into a vast ocean, and it was no longer possible to tell where the river was and where the shore was.

Under the moonlight, there are turbulent yellow water everywhere, and the voice of saving lives is everywhere.

"Get on board, get on board." Xia Yan shouted.

Then everyone hurried to board the boat.

Fu Lin asked: "Master Xia, are you going to rescue the victims?"

Xia Yan had already calmed down, and said: "We only have one boat, how many people can we save, and return to Huai'an City."

"My lord, are we just going to die without saving him?" Fu Lin burst into tears: "My lord, this is not you!"

Xia Yan took a deep look at Fu Lin: "Fu Lin, do you think that I am greedy for life and afraid of death, and refuse to help the victims?"

Fu Lin: "The lower officials dare not."

"No, no, no, you really misunderstood me." Xia Yan said: "As I said just now, we only have one boat, how many people can we save? 23 ten, or one hundred. But this Suining has There are tens of thousands of people, how can they be saved? Suining is high in the north and low in the south. Soon, the flood will pour down, sweeping the Yellow River for a year, and the entire area north of Hongze Lake. At that time, there will be even more floods. Many disaster victims need us for a long time. Besides, you and I, as river officials, have our own responsibilities. Our duty now is to prepare to go back to Huai’an immediately to confiscate all ships, prepare money and food, and prepare to relieve the victims. That’s what we should do now, rescue With 100 people, one yamen servant is enough. Fu Lin, don't you know the importance of it?"

Xia Yan gave Fu Lin a slap in the face, and immediately understood, saying: "Your Excellency is right, Fu Lin is also confused?"

Because of the smooth flow, Xia Yan's boat also traveled extremely fast.Along the way, he was also very puzzled: the explosion just now was clearly man-made, who is so bold as to blow up the embankment?Don't they fear death?
When he told Fu Lin about the doubt in his heart, Fu Lin remained silent and only sighed: "Who knows?"

Seeing Fu Lin's endless words, Xia Yan was puzzled, but it was difficult to ask further.He had more important things to deal with, so he spent a day on the boat and stayed until the afternoon before finally returning to Huai'an City.Along the way, Xia Yan had already thought of countermeasures.

As soon as he entered the city, he immediately ran to see the prefect of Huai'an.When the magistrate of Huai'an heard that the Suining section of the Yellow River had breached, he fell to the ground in shock.It was Xia Yan who comforted him for a long time before he came back to his senses.Not daring to delay, the magistrate immediately took people to recruit civilian husbands, collect food and clothes, and prepare to save people.

However, boats are needed to save lives.However, all the ships in Huainan were in the hands of Wang Shu and Eunuch Gan, and ordinary people could not move them.

Unfortunately, Mr. Wang went to Gaoyou to buy salted duck eggs early in the morning. He said that Eunuch Huang Jin liked to eat this kind of food, and he would not come back within three or five days.

"Duck eggs, duck eggs, ducks can float on the water when the water comes, but the people are going to feed the fish and shrimp?" Xia Yan was so angry that his hands and feet were cold, and he asked if Gambida was there.

The people in the Hedao Yamen said that Eunuch Gan had gone out on business and hadn't seen anyone for two days, but he didn't know when he would come back.

"Vegetarian meal for corpse, vegetarian meal for corpse, I want to write a memorial to impeach these two mediocre officials!" Xia Yan was so angry that he almost vomited blood, but for a while, he didn't know what to do.Without a boat, nothing can be done.

At this time, Fu Lin, who had been stomping beside him, suddenly called out: "My lord, I know where there is a boat."

Xia Yan grabbed his sleeve: "Say it quickly, say it quickly."

Fu Lin: "In addition to the river course, there is also a place in Huai'an City where there are boats. Your Excellency has forgotten that there is a Dahewei ten miles east of the city. There are thousands of garrisons and a hundred or so boats in it. Now, they are transferred to use It's time."

Xia Yan was overjoyed: "I forgot, let's go, go to Dahewei to transfer people and boats."

Fu Lin hesitated: "My lord, according to the laws of my Ming Dynasty, if the army moves a hundred miles without an order, it will be regarded as a rebellion, but it can be wiped out on the spot. I'm afraid they won't agree."

Xia Yan was furious: "When is it, who can control these things?"

When we arrived at Dahewei, I heard that the prime minister, Mr. He Daoxia, came out. A man who looked like a military officer came out to receive him, and his attitude was respectful, but he just said that Mr. Qianhu was not there, and no one dared to leave the camp without his order. This is the rule of the army.

Xia Yan immediately became angry: "What nonsense rules, no matter how wordy, I will not be polite."

The military officer was also angry, and sneered: "So what if you're welcome, don't think we are ordinary garrisons. To tell you the truth, our general is Feng Zhen, and General Feng is the family of Mr. Sun Dansun. Don't say you alone Even the governor of Nanhe, Mr. Wang, has to be polite to the small sixth-grade river."

(End of this chapter)