Chapter 7: River Governance (7)

In the end, there was a bit of heaviness in the words.

The crown prince Chai Rong listened to it in his ears, and could only nod silently.

The war has lasted for more than 70 years, and the once prosperous era of the Tang Dynasty has completely become a legend. The Khitan savages, who were once defeated by any local prince, have now become behemoths that require the strength of the Great Zhou to withstand the whole country, and once attacked Bianliang and swept half of the Central Plains.

If the Central Plains continues to be chaotic, I'm afraid it will not only be a few families and wives who are separated. Instead, it is necessary to repeat the Wuhu Rebellion of that year, all Han people will become two-legged sheep, and all carved beams and paintings and subsets of scriptures and histories will be burned again. 、

Stepfather Guo Wei, Later Han Taizu Liu Zhiyuan and Zelu Jiedu made Chang Si and the three of them work hard for half their lives, just to end this catastrophe. They walked crookedly, and as they walked, they gradually forgot their original intentions. And themselves, Zhao Kuangyin and Zheng Ziming, can take over their original ambitions, avoid the detours they once took wrong, and try to bring Da Zhou and the entire Central Plains back on track!

Himself, Zhao Kuangyin and Zheng Ziming are still young, and they have energy and time. The starting point of himself, Zhao Kuangyin and Zheng Ziming is higher than that of their father-in-law's generation, and in the future, they should go further than them!

"Go ahead, remember to make the song more beautiful tomorrow morning, don't let Wang Xiufeng find fault with you!" Seeing Chai Rong's solemn expression, Guo Wei knew that his words were not in vain today, so he pressed lightly on his shoulder and commanded in a low voice.

"Yes, father, the son will live up to your expectations!" Chai Rong nodded vigorously and said goodbye. The moment he turned around, his back was a little decisive.

The father and son tossed and turned that night, and the next morning, they were full of spirits, cooperated with each other, and fulfilled all the arrangements in advance.

During this period, although he was elbowed by Wang Jun and other old ministers, after all, Guo Wei had made up his mind, and governing the river has been a thankless drudgery since ancient times, so everyone else avoided it. So, soon, the opponents automatically died down.

After dispersing, Chai Rong immediately began to prepare. It took some time to mobilize personnel and supplies, and finally left Bianliang by land and water before the next wave of rainstorms.

He was in a hurry to make achievements to block the mouths of some people in the court, so as early as before leaving, he sent someone to send a letter to his good brother Zheng Ziming, asking the latter to meet him in Bozhou. Although Zheng Ziming is in Cangzhou, he is not ignorant of Wang Jun's small actions against him in Bianliang City. Therefore, whether it is to help his righteous brother Chai Rong or to protect himself, there is no reason to delay. After receiving the letter, he immediately picked up 3,000 elites, carried dozens of boats of baggage, and ran all the way along the canal to the destination.

Bozhou, ten days later.

The turbid water of the Yellow River, like a dragon roaring towards the sky, came with a whistling sound, rolling up the mud and sand in the sky, rushing away.

The rolling waves crashed vigorously against the shore, bringing up one terrifying whirlpool after another.

Zheng Ziming and Guo Rong are no strangers to this place.

Two years ago, Guo Wei raised troops to the south for revenge, and the agreed meeting place for people from all walks of life was Bozhou. At that time, the fledgling Cangzhou Army also caused a burst of exclamations from friendly troops with its neat military appearance, high morale, and skillful array cooperation. Gao Huaide, Fu Zhaoxu and others also met Zheng Ziming here, and then became close friends with each other.

And now, the former Dajiaochang has completely sunk underwater. What was once a riverbank wharf has been transformed into the center of a large lake. At that time, the high ground where the generals competed was still there, and it was next to the edge of the large lake that had just formed, and it looked like a monster leaning over to drink. At the back of the "monster", there is a wooden pavilion full of bird droppings, which is the point of the general when the revenge army was launched.

In the general platform, Zheng Ziming and Guo Rong stood together with a wry smile. As far as the eye can see, the turbid waves are empty, the mist is filled, and there is an ocean in front of you, and a swamp on the left and right.

The rest of Bozhou City is similar to the situation under your feet. The raging river has turned all the low-lying areas into lakes. The original city walls and the buildings in the city have all been collapsed by the river. More than 30,000 men and women in the city were drowned by the river, and the remaining 70,000 people fled to Jiahe County, which is 30 miles away across a dry ditch. Together with the hundreds of thousands of other victims who flocked to the disaster from all over the country, they were like a few newborn lambs, waiting to be fed.

And Jiahe County was originally just a small place. There are only about 4,000 urban and rural households in the county, so how can they accommodate the sudden influx of more than 200,000 displaced people? Almost in a few days, the entire county town has become a large grocery stall, a hotel, inn, a temple, and a Taoist temple, all of which are crowded with people. The streets and alleys, the walls and eaves, are all simple shacks three feet high. In the past, the noisy streets were covered with feces, urine and garbage. Nine out of ten shops on both sides of the street are closed. The only one that is still open is the brothel, and you only need to pay a few buckwheat noodles to pull the yellow flower girl inside. And you can also pick hard, short stature, spots on the face, not docile temperament, don't do it!

"Fortunately, you brought food and pickled whale meat here, otherwise, for my brother, I will really kill in Jiahe County!" Thinking of the ugly behavior of big families in some places in the city who took advantage of the fire to rob, Chai Rong's anger did not come out. kicked the pillar of the general's platform hard, gritted his teeth and said.

Zheng Ziming's plan for him to control the river is indeed feasible, but at present, his priority is not to control the river, but to find ways to calm people's hearts first. Otherwise, no matter how good the strategy is, it will not be implemented, and in the end, the two brothers will only end up with a joke on paper.

"Don't be in a hurry about killing. Instead, find a way to evacuate the people from the city first, temporarily camp on the nearby highlands!" Although Zheng Ziming is much younger than Chai Rong, in the face of the chaos in front of him, he is far more calm than the other party, smiled, and explained in a low voice. "As long as all the displaced people are evacuated first, the local lawbreakers will naturally lose the opportunity to fish in troubled waters. And Jiahe County is too closed, if too many people gather, excrement and garbage cannot be cleaned up in time, sooner or later there will be an epidemic!"

"The problem is that the displaced people have become frightened birds, and they always think that the broken wall in Jiahe County and the dry river ditch outside the city can completely separate the water of the Yellow River. So, no matter how much I send people to persuade them, they won't listen at all!" Chai Rong kicked the pillar again in annoyance, complaining in a hoarse voice.

"Don't be convinced, just wait and see the excitement. Tomorrow morning, they will naturally run out of the city!" Zheng Ziming always confident, with a maturity that was not commensurate with his age, he added with a smile. "Rest, the sky can't fall. I just happened to take the time to take your pulse. I remember you said in your letter that you will get dizzy when you are angry this year. According to medical theory, it may be a blockage of the heart arteries. I brought some herbs this time, let's treat the river while regulating your qi and blood. When the river is cured, the root of your illness is gone. You will be an eternal gentleman in the future!"