When the sound of drums came from the direction of the county government, the two brothers Li Chenggang and Li Chengjin were standing on the top floor of the tallest three-story building in the house, looking out of the city. Pen ~ fun ~ pavilion www.biquge.info

Although it was still dark at the moment, he couldn't see anything outside, but Li Chenggang still looked at the outside of the city with interest, and there was still a smug smile on his face. After a while, he looked back at his brother: "This time the money was not spent in vain, and Yu Ding and they really didn't disappoint me." ”

Li Chengjin also smiled as if he agreed: "This time it's enough for our Yang County Order to drink a pot." Not to mention him, just the matter of the river embankment breaching, his responsibility as a county magistrate is not small. ”

"The embankment is just a trivial matter, he can still carry the Jinshi County Order from a two-rank rank, after all, the officials of our court are also divided into three, six, nine and so on, and an official like him on the right path will not be blamed too much by the court even if he causes problems. But then there is a shortage of food in the city, and it is not something that can be solved by a county order. Once the people in the city, as well as the victims who may enter the city next, are cut off, no matter how good his reputation Yang Chen is among the people, it will not help. As he spoke, a grim look flashed on Li Chenggang's face.

During this period of time, his Li family was really deceived by the county government. Since he was sensible, the Li family had never suffered such a big loss in Zhuji County. It was precisely because he couldn't swallow this bad breath that he didn't care about the safety of the people in the county, and brazenly ordered people to dig embankments and pour back the county seat.

Hearing him mention this, Li Chengjin was a little puzzled, and even said with a hint of uneasiness: "Big brother, I'm just a little strange, who helped us burn the position when Chang Ping was closed?" I've thought of several ways before, but it's hard to get things done, and the people who can do it are really not small. "The facts are different from what Yang Chen and they thought, it turned out that it was not the people of the Li family who set fire to Chang Ping's position.

Li Chenggang couldn't help frowning at this time: "This thing is indeed a bit strange, even what we can't do, let someone else do it." But it's only in our favor, so why should we have to get to the bottom of it? With Yang Chen's style of acting, he will naturally offend others, and there are always people who can't hold back and want to take revenge. ”

"Big brother, although there is some truth in what you say, I am always a little uneasy. Now that the people in the county government know that we are making enemies against them, if they count both of these things against us, won't we suffer on behalf of others? Li Chengjin was a little unwilling.

"So what? If he has no basis for the Yang County order, can he still be unfavorable to us because he suspects us? Li Chenggang snorted disdainfully: "And judging from the current situation, it is difficult for the people of the county government to even pass the current hurdle, let alone pursue us." ”

"Big brother...... Although this is a good statement, I always feel that someone seems to be planning to take advantage of the conflict between us and the county government...... We must be on guard. Li Chengjin still said with a little uneasiness.

Li Chenggang listened, his brows tightened slightly, but then he relaxed: "Even so, it's not a bad thing for us." It's only serious to drive Yang Chen out first, as for who did this, and whether they are using us, then we have to wait for the future. ”

As he spoke, he paused suddenly, and said in a very serious tone: "Call everyone ready, soon, we will be able to carry out the next plan." ”

"Okay, I'll arrange everything." Seeing that his brother had such an attitude, Li Chengjin didn't insist on his opinion anymore, nodded his head, and hurried downstairs.

At this moment, a ray of sunlight has passed through the clouds on the horizon, shining on Li Chenggang's face, making his face flickering bright and dark, so that people can't understand it.

Fortunately, the people of Zhuji have long been accustomed to the disaster in Puyangjiang. Although it was rare for a dam to collapse like this one in the past, they were still able to panic and save themselves in a timely manner.

And under the reassurance and rescue of many people in the county government, some people who did not have time to save themselves and panicked were also able to get out of danger.

Especially when the sun rises overhead, shining ten thousand rays of light on them, the greatest worries in the hearts of the people are also dissipated. At least it won't rain anymore, and it won't be long before the river that broke through the dam and poured into the city receded.

However, after appeasing the hearts of the people, the people in the county government did not dare to relax in the slightest. Because they know in their hearts that the real trials and problems are yet to come.

Although this sudden flood had some impact on Zhuji County, the impact was limited after all. As long as the people are calm enough and the government is appeased in time, at least there will not be too much chaos in front of them. But for the people in the countryside who were not protected by the city walls, the situation was completely different, and it was a complete catastrophe.

After Yang Chen was sure that the city was safe at noon, he climbed to the top of the city and looked around. The more he looked at it, the tighter his heart twitched. The official roads and trails that used to lead to various places have become a swamped country, whether it is fertile land or lakes, but now they are all swallowed up by the contiguous waters. Looking out now, as far as the eye can see, there is a large area of white ocean.

"The nearby towns and villages have been destroyed by this levee burst, and the homes of those people are only afraid of ......," Zhao Bangfu stood behind him, and said slowly in a voice full of regret.

Yang Chen nodded slowly: "I just wonder if those people can escape this catastrophe?" Speaking of this, he suddenly looked at Jiang Chong: "Master Jiang, how many boats can we gather now?" ”

"What do you mean...... Do you want to send a boat to rescue the people? Jiang Chong immediately guessed what Yang Chen meant by asking.

Yang Chen said: "Not bad." Since we are county officials, both the people in the county town and the people outside are our people, and we should treat them equally. How can we ignore the suffering people who are in dire straits? ”

"Xiaguan is going to dispatch ships, although our Zhuji County is not as vertical and horizontal as Shaoxing Fucheng, and the boats are dense, but it should not be a problem to find dozens of large and small ships." Jiang Chong was completely on Yang Chen's side at this moment, and seeing that he had made up his mind, he didn't delay any longer, and hurriedly went downstairs to prepare.

However, Zhao Bangfu looked like he wanted to speak at the moment, as if he wanted to persuade Yang Chen to something. Yang Chen also saw his embarrassment, so he smiled reluctantly: "Zhao Xiancheng wants to persuade me not to do this?" ”

"Exactly...... It's not that the lower officials are unwilling to help those people in the countryside, but judging from the current situation in the city, it is really not suitable to take them into the county seat. Zhao Bangfu was a little embarrassed, and at the same time glanced at the south of the city, where Chang Ping, who had been burned to the ground, was located.

Yang Chen naturally knew what he was worried about, there was obviously not enough food in the city, if more people entered, I was afraid that the situation would be even worse. Moreover, they also have to face the threat of the Li family, once the people can't eat enough and people have an opportunity to take advantage of it, the pressure on Yang Chen, the county commander, will be even greater.

But Yang Chen was still unmoved, and said with a resolute expression: "I know that Zhao County Cheng said this for my good, but seeing that the people under his rule are suffering from such a catastrophe, how can I, the county commander, ignore it?" No matter what, I'm going to do everything I can to get people out. ”

Looking at Yang Chen's firm eyes, Zhao Bangfu could only sigh, and then arched his hand and said: "Adults can have this kind of insight, it is indeed not comparable to the lower officials." As long as the adults order it down, the lower officials will definitely give it their full support. Saying that, he hesitated for a while and said: "In addition, there are still more than 1,000 catties of grain in Xiaguan's family, if the adults don't dislike it, Xiaguan is willing to donate all of them." ”

Yang Chen nodded at him gratefully: "Zhao Xiancheng has a heart." On behalf of the people of the county, I would like to thank you for your generosity. Although he knew very well that this was just a drop in the bucket, he was quite satisfied with the other party's attitude.

However, there is one thing that Yang Chen did not tell the truth, so he made this decision, not only from the purpose of saving people, but also to grasp the initiative. He believes that once the water calms down, the rural people whose homes have been destroyed will inevitably come to the county seat for refuge, and at that time, will they still be able to keep these refugees out of the city?

Since they will be allowed to enter the city, why not take the initiative? At least in this way, those refugees will be grateful to him for his county order, so that if there is any problem with food or other living conditions in the future, they will still be able to obey the government's arrangement.

However, Yang Chen still thought about this matter too simply.

Just after dusk that day, a number of boats that had been sent out to rescue the people of the stricken towns and villages rushed back, and there were five or six people in each small boat. As time went on, more people were brought into the city, some of them even paddling small sampans or canoes.

By noon the next day, there were nearly 10,000 more people in Zhuji County, and what made the officials who were settling these refugees even more alarmed was that the population was still increasing, and they were afraid that in two or three days, the population of this small county town with a population of only 30,000 or 50,000 would double.

In this way, the test for the entire county will be great. There weren't too many spare houses to accommodate outsiders, and the city was still flooded with water, making it difficult to live in some low-lying areas, and some people were living together.

What makes it even more troublesome is the food supply. When Yang Chen continued to instruct the people below to make more room for the refugees, Jiang Chong rushed over with a hesitant face: "Your Excellency...... The accommodation soon became no longer a problem. ”

"Oh?" Yang Chen was overjoyed when he heard this: "But are those big families willing to vacate their own courtyards?" ”

"Not really." Jiang Chong smiled bitterly and said, "But soon the official warehouse will be able to live in." For there was only enough food left there to feed the whole city for three to five days. ”