Chapter 1519: The Hardest Period Has Passed

The military camp was set up in front of Yinggong Dike. Yinggong Dike was named in memory of Guo Rong, because in his early years Guo Rong had served as Military Governor in Chanzhou. This reasoning was indeed somewhat far-fetched, for Guo Rong's life was full of legends—the posts he held and the great achievements he established left him no shortage of places worthy of commemoration. Chanzhou was merely a stop along the way, hardly representative.

At the very least, in Huaidong and Hexi there were buildings and steles associated with Duke Chai, Duke Ying, and meritorious officials. Of course, none of this mattered; what mattered was the sentiment of commemoration.

Unfortunately, the renaming did not last long before Yinggong Dike burst its banks in the summer floods, and it even later became the first line of defense for the court and the soldiers and civilians of Chanzhou in fighting the flood.

In succession, the court conscripted over three hundred thousand person-times of disaster-relief soldiers and civilians to Chanzhou, which already exceeded the local population. After all, although Chanzhou held an important geographical position, its territory was not extensive, and while its population was concentrated, the numbers were not large.

The camp's layout was very strict, with a very high level of alert, fully comparable to wartime. This was not because of the imperial visit, but because with the epidemic spreading, control had to be strengthened. The epidemic might be frightening, but even more frightening were chaos and disorder.

Fortunately, with the forceful execution by the government and the military, the initial chaos was quickly quelled, and the more turbulent the times, the more important the role of authority and rules became.

The troops assembled locally in Chanzhou numbered over thirty thousand at their peak, including not only the local imperial army but also government troops from the capital region, Henan, and Hebei.

The camp's location had originally been a village that also bore responsibility for dike maintenance and river patrols, but after the river broke, it was completely destroyed. However, on the original foundations, two rows of buildings had risen anew to house the troops and lay the groundwork for the village's reconstruction.

There were few officers and men left in the camp—only a portion of the Imperial Guard Command's imperial army remained on duty. The rest had either returned to their posts or been assigned to roadblocks and passes controlling public order in various places.

From the reduction in troop numbers, one could see that the situation in Chanzhou had been completely brought under control. The officers and men looked to be in good spirits, without any sense of oppression or heaviness. All the soldiers were neatly turned out with clean faces, just like the clean and tidy camp itself.

Of course, two months earlier it would have been a different scene entirely—back then, the camp was awash in mud and filth, and most of the officers and men were covered in grime.

But with the outbreak of the epidemic, hygiene requirements were naturally raised to the highest standard. By now, even the most ordinary soldier and commoner knew that the spread of epidemic disease was closely tied to environmental sanitation.

"How many soldiers are still in this camp?" Emperor Liu asked.

"To answer Your Majesty, those still in Chanzhou now total seven thousand six hundred and thirty-two. This camp holds only two thousand men; the rest are assigned to duty at the prefectural city, docks, granaries, and various passes and thoroughfares. Additionally, four thousand are arranged in the epidemic prevention camps!" Song Yanwo recited the figures as if counting family treasures.

Emperor Liu nodded and said, "Epidemic prevention camps?"

Song Yanwo immediately replied, "Your Majesty, the Chanzhou government and military have coordinated to establish several epidemic prevention camps, gathering all infected soldiers, civilians, and corvée laborers within the territory—along with those showing symptoms—for centralized management and centralized treatment..."

"It seems Chanzhou's quarantine measures have been done quite well!" Emperor Liu commented, then after a moment's thought asked, "What is the situation now?"

"Those still infected in the epidemic prevention camps number fewer than seven hundred. The rest, having recovered and been confirmed, have been issued travel permits and money and grain in succession to return home!" Song Yanwo said.

"It's been confirmed that the lockdown can be lifted?" Emperor Liu's brows furrowed slightly.

At this point, Li Shaoyou stepped forward and explained, "To answer Your Majesty, this epidemic was entirely caused by contaminated drinking water after the great floods. The outbreak was also concentrated in severely affected areas with complex populations such as Chanzhou and Daming Prefecture.

Since the drinking water problem was resolved, combined with medical treatment and population control, it has now been basically brought under control..."

Emperor Liu pondered for a moment, then suddenly pointed out, "And what about the rural areas?"

Li Shaoyou hesitated briefly, then reported, "According to what the investigation has found, the villages have not been afflicted by the epidemic. Since late July, I have ordered the affected prefectures and counties to organize manpower, assemble craftsmen and tools, and go to every township and village to dig new wells, ensuring the people have enough clean drinking water..."

"The policy is good, but if the water quality is unclear, what use is digging more wells?" Emperor Liu pointed out.

Li Shaoyou said, "Your Majesty speaks truly, but by now the newly dug wells have clear water that is fit for drinking."

"Don't just keep an eye on these towns and cities, and don't grow careless just because the rural areas are in good shape!" Emperor Liu instructed. "The government must set an example and strictly supervise epidemic prevention! The common people are not without ignorance, and the government must guide and correct them in a timely manner!"

"Yes! This concerns the people's own safety after all—no one will be careless!" Li Shaoyou said.

Hearing this, the corner of Emperor Liu's mouth twitched slightly. That was not necessarily so. Even setting aside the mere risk of infection, even if the epidemic were truly rampant, there would still be plenty of self-righteous people—perhaps because they found it troublesome, perhaps simply because they were in a bad mood, they would dare to disregard government orders.

The world was never short of such people—what others thought good, they always found bad; what others thought should be done, they always thought wrong. Unless a knife were held to their throats, perhaps then they would reluctantly follow the rules...

The epidemic prevention camps were located far from the military camp, in the distant outskirts, quarantined very thoroughly. In the end, Emperor Liu still did not propose visiting those still under observation and treatment, and could only judge their specific conditions through his ministers' reports. Although he had decided to personally tour Chanzhou, he still had to exercise some restraint in the actual process.

This also let Zhao Pu and the others breathe a sigh of relief—"high-risk" areas were best avoided from afar, and they had indeed worried that Emperor Liu might personally take risks for the sake of face or showmanship.

"Is that the rebuilt Yinggong Dike over there?" Emperor Liu pointed southeast of the camp, where a shadow was clearly visible in the distance.

"Exactly!" Song Yanwo replied. On this matter he had the most say—organizing manpower, fighting the flood and rescuing victims, including the subsequent reconstruction of the dike, had all been his responsibility.

Under Emperor Liu's gaze, Song Yanwo said, "The government mobilized a total of one hundred thousand soldiers and civilians to plug the breach and build up the dike embankments. Now it has been completely repaired!"

After all this touring and inspection, the sky had grown somewhat late, and the late autumn weather always gave one a feeling of desolation. However, Emperor Liu still had some energy left. He waved his hand and ordered, "Saddle the horses—let's go to the dike and have a look!"

"Yes!" There was no help for it—after walking a circuit through the camp, the group accompanied Emperor Liu without pause to Yinggong Dike.

The river waters of late autumn were already very calm, with low water levels and slow currents. In a little while longer, perhaps even the great ships belonging to the transport directorate would find it hard to sail fully loaded.

Emperor Liu had seen more than enough of the great river—whether surging or calm, whether upstream or downstream, once one grew accustomed to it, it was hard to feel much more emotion.

His gaze still fell upon the newly built long dike. Compared to many dikes Emperor Liu had inspected, Yinggong Dike could hardly be called neat—it was even somewhat ugly.

Random stones and rammed earth were packed together, uneven and irregular, like a hodgepodge. The gaps followed no pattern, jagged and sprawling, and even the trees on the dike looked disorderly.

Yet it gave one a feeling of solidity—perhaps this was the practical effect gained at the expense of aesthetics. Additionally, Emperor Liu could sense the haste and urgency of its construction.

"Repairing the dike is not enough; it must also be maintained. The threat of the river cannot be entrusted to this one long dike alone—no matter how sturdy the embankment, it cannot withstand the erosion of time and flowing water!" Emperor Liu said.

Finally, Liu Yanyun, Prefectural Administrator of Chanzhou, got his chance to speak and reported, "Your Majesty, the prefecture has already begun arranging dike-protection villages. Once winter arrives, dredging of the prefecture's waterways, ditches, and reservoirs will also commence. We will certainly carry out river and dike protection work according to the Ministry of Works' regulations, ensuring the peace and security of Chanzhou's people!"

"I don't care what you say—I only watch what you do!" Emperor Liu said flatly.

After walking a short stretch along the dike, even testing whether the planted trees were firmly rooted, Emperor Liu's face finally showed a relaxed smile. He said to Song Yanwo, "Tonight, we'll stay at the camp. Prepare a banquet—I want to reward you all, the heroes of disaster relief. It's been a long time since we, ruler and ministers, have drunk together; it's time to raise our cups and talk freely..."

"Yes!"