Chapter 181: 188. A Letter to the Elders and Fellow Villagers of Longcheng

188. A Letter to the Elders and Fellow Villagers of Longcheng

Since the beautiful sunset scene in the gap when the rain stopped that evening.

One day and two nights have passed.

During this period, it rained continuously in the upper and lower reaches of Butterfly Creek. The rain also fell for one day and two nights.

Around Yunmeng Marsh and Digong Sluice upstream, it was a torrential rain with dark clouds pressing on the city. Near the county town of Longcheng downstream, it was a continuous fine rain with constant dark clouds.

And at this moment in the early morning, on the straight official road from the county town to Mount Dagu, the hearts of the many Longcheng people who were dragging their families and rushing forward with their heads buried.

The former, the heavy rain upstream, was like a sharp sword with a compelling edge, hanging over their heads, and at any time, accompanied by the loud noise of the water sluice being washed away, their heads might fall.

The latter, the fine rain overhead, was like a soft knife, finely grinding the fragile will of the tired crowd who were already frightened birds.

Fine rain in the sky, looking down from a high place, on the winding official road was a piece of black, moving heads. They flowed slowly and depressingly like a black water flow from the starting point of Longcheng County to the destination of Mount Dagu in the distance.

Horse-drawn carriages with wheels creaking to the point of being unbearable. Boxes and cabinets placed and collided in a mess. Pots and pans dropped casually on both sides of the road.

And, the Longcheng people who were holding each other and moving forward with their heads buried in units of families or fellow villagers and neighbors. The background was the gray sky and rain curtain, the muddy and damp road, and the pitch-black forest on both sides of the official road. "Waa--!"

In the crowd moving to Mount Dagu for refuge, there was a burst of baby crying from time to time, which was immediately embraced by the tearful women, the crisp baby crying turned into a muffled sound, and it took a while to be comforted.

However, the two or three adults in the crowd who occasionally had emotional breakdowns were not comforted by their mothers like babies, only adding to the heaviness of the atmosphere on this official road.

The heavy and depressing migration crowd was silently performing various states of life. And the reason why such a dull and depressing team did not collapse and scatter, and flee in a panic. It was just because of the fast horses that galloped past from time to time beside the crowd on the official road, and the unified slogans shouted by the catchers until their throats were hoarse:

"A letter to the elders and fellow villagers of Longcheng... Today, there is heavy rain. To prevent flood disasters, a refuge camp on Mount Dagu is established, with grain and bedding fully prepared...

... It is scheduled that all officials and people will arrive in full number before You time today... Presented by the Longcheng Magistrate."

Since last night, Yan Liulang arranged for the catcher class to ride fast horses along the official road, shouting this concise notification letter handwritten by a certain young magistrate from the outskirts of the county town to the foot of Mount Dagu.

The catchers shouted until their throats were dry, and two batches of horses were run to death, but no one dared to be sloppy. Along the way, they also rectified the crowd and guided the team to the Mount Dagu refuge camp.

Perhaps it was the signature of a certain young magistrate in the notification letter that gave some peace and comfort to the people who had experienced the disaster relief and water governance in the past two months.

Or perhaps it was the steady and confident tone of the young magistrate in the notification letter, and the promise that the Digong Sluice would not collapse under the concerted efforts of officials and people.

Or perhaps it was just following the crowd and walking with their heads buried.

Under the organization of Yan Liulang and others, except for a small burst of panic and running at the beginning in the county town, most of the people's emotions stabilized relatively.

There was no scene of order collapse that was expected.

There was no crowded situation of frantically packing all family wealth, fleeing to the wharf, and fighting for boats and trampling.

Most of the people in every household in the county town listened to the arrangements of the Magistrate and the government, packed some necessary luggage, and went out.

Dragging their families to the Mount Dagu disaster relief camp, which was said to have been arranged properly by the Magistrate like the disaster relief camp in the suburbs.

At the foot of Mount Dagu, on a hillside, Yan Liulang, wearing a gray-black coir raincoat and hat, stood still on horseback and looked into the distance. He looked at the orderly crowd lined up like a long snake on the official road ahead, and couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief.

Fortunately, under the helm of the Magistrate, the credibility of this Longcheng county government among the people was relatively good.

From the distribution of grain in the disaster relief camp at the beginning, to the later suppression of grain merchants and the crushing of grain prices, to the later ribbon-cutting ceremony and the public trial of the Liu family...

... In the past few months, a lot of confidence had been accumulated among the people.

Only then did the team of people fleeing the city be relatively stable.

The public credibility of the Magistrate and the county government could temporarily suppress the terrifying wave of panic before the disaster that was easy to spread rumors. Otherwise, if it were before the last flood.

Let alone organizing the team of people like this, it would be good if everyone didn't rush the wharf like ants on a hot pot and frantically grab boats.

At this moment, on the small hillside, Yan Liulang, who had experienced the panic before the Yunmeng Marsh flood last time, and the group of dusty catchers behind him looked at each other and let out a long sigh of relief.

So far, the retreat was relatively successful and had not yet deviated from the plan left by the Magistrate. With his back to his subordinates, Yan Liulang, who was riding at the front, silently reached into his arms, took out a wrinkled silk handwritten letter, and unfolded it in his palm.

The blue-clothed catcher blocked the rain with his horizontal palm and lowered his head to look at the dense, steady, and powerful handwriting of the Magistrate.

Even though he had read these arrangements laid out by the Magistrate for the rear of Butterfly Creek a hundred times, and was familiar with them, he could recite them backward.

But Yan Liulang couldn't help but take out the Magistrate's handwritten letter and look at it every time he stopped for a while these past two days. It was as if only after confirming that it was correct could he feel at ease and continue to bury his head in work.

It was as if... the Magistrate was still by his side.

"Go, let's go back to the city again, assist the brothers left behind, don't let a single household in the city be left behind, be sure to persuade them all to leave."

Yan Liulang, who had rested for a while, suddenly put away the handwritten letter, whipped his horse, and left the small hillside first, leading the men behind him to continue to implement the arrangements left by Ouyang Rong.

This team of catchers had just come down from Mount Dagu, had met with Assistant Magistrate Diao, and explained some important matters, and now continued to go down the mountain to get busy.

And the latter was also busy with his head and face covered in dirt.

According to Ouyang Rong's arrangement, Yan Liulang and other catchers were responsible for organizing all the people of Longcheng County to go up the mountain, and at the same time responsible for receiving the refugees running down from upstream.

And Assistant Magistrate Diao was responsible for allocating the disaster relief resources prepared in advance on Mount Dagu, connecting with Donglin Temple, forming a refuge camp, and accepting nearly six Battalion Commander of Longcheng people.

These were all work in the rear.

As for Ouyang Rong, he was leading the remaining six-department officials and the brave men organized by Liu Ashan to sail ships, at the forefront of Digong Sluice in the distance, trying every means to guard the water sluice and resist the flood...

Yan Liulang's gaze silently withdrew from the direction of a certain key water sluice in the south. He turned his head, exhorted and left two catchers to guide the subsequent people to go up the mountain in an orderly manner at the foot of this mountain.

Yan Liulang took the remaining brothers and galloped back to Longcheng County, shouting the letter to the elders and fellow villagers of Longcheng all the way, gathering people's hearts.

Gathering most of the people was relatively easy, but what made Yan Liulang feel tricky was some special situations. Ouyang Rong had explained that he must not leave behind a single household of Longcheng people.

Yan Liulang naturally did not dare to be sloppy, knocking on doors one by one to investigate. He was busy until his throat was dry.

Until the evening, the group of blue-clothed catchers were panting and full of fatigue.

They encountered many special situations all day long.

The fighting and brawling in the migration crowd on the official road were small matters.

The key was that some nail households in the city just refused to leave. Good words and persuasion didn't work. In the end, they had to show the tools for eating at their waists to half-scare and half-coax them back to Mount Dagu.

At noon, Yan Liulang and others also heard from the refugees fleeing from upstream that some village elders had a fluke mentality, thinking that the village terrain was relatively high, so they acted like turtles and did not move... Yan Liulang had to rush ten miles to persuade them in a hurry.

They even encountered people who were afraid that they would never come back, and asked them to help dig up the ancestral wealth hidden somewhere in the courtyard.

All kinds of things like this.

By the time the sun set this evening, before the You time, Yan Liulang and other catchers finally brought back the last batch of refugees and "nail households" they could find and rushed to Mount Dagu.

Along the way, as if they felt some closeness to these catchers who were dutiful and full of fatigue.

From time to time, people in the crowd turned their heads, talked to them who were breaking the rear, and asked if the Magistrate Ouyang was also waiting for everyone on Mount Dagu.

Regarding this, Yan Liulang smiled and nodded one by one before his subordinates could talk too much.

The people dragging their families on the road heard this, their tight expressions relaxed, relieved, and told each other, and the atmosphere was not so depressing.

There were also enthusiastic people who handed clear water to Yan Liulang and others whose lips were dry and blistered. At the very back of the crowd, a group of silent catchers kept silent.

They looked sideways at Yan Liulang, who was leading the smile and nodding from time to time. Sighing in their hearts.

In order to appease the hearts of the people and suppress the panic, Yan Liulang and Assistant Magistrate Diao did not tell everyone about the dangerous situation of Digong Sluice at this time.

Nor did they mention that Ouyang Rong and others were currently rescuing at Digong Sluice upstream in a hurry.

As for where the young magistrate, whom the people of Longcheng trusted and were close to, was at this time, it was also ambiguous, defaulting that he was also organizing a refuge camp on Mount Dagu at this time, waiting for the elders and fellow villagers to arrive.

This was also one of the reasons why the work of gathering people to migrate today was relatively smooth.

However, among the refugees in the last batch, there were also individuals who ran down from near Yue Nu Gorge upstream, who couldn't help but raise questions.

They said that on the way of fleeing, they heard that the young magistrate seemed to be at Digong Sluice, so many villagers near Yue Nu Gorge did not run to Longcheng County downstream, but rushed to Yue Nu Gorge where the young magistrate was...

Fortunately, these questioning voices were slight and few, and under the tacit interruption of the nearby catchers, they did not spread, and did not bring up the rhythm.

"Head, Digong Sluice..."

Among the group of silent catchers, someone couldn't help but ask Yan Liulang.

Yan Liulang pursed his lips, grabbed the handwritten letter in his arms, and suddenly turned his head:

"The Magistrate and brother Ashan can handle it well. We do our own things in the rear and don't add chaos, which is the greatest help."

The blue-clothed catcher suddenly whipped his horse, rushed forward for a stretch, turned his face and pointed to the second phase of the Zhe Yi Canal that was just passing by, the young man held his head high, his face determined:

"Besides, there is the Zhe Yi Canal. It has been repaired for more than half. If the flood comes, just open this canal, and it will be enough. The Magistrate said there is nothing to be afraid of. Why, you don't even trust the Magistrate?"

The group of people cheered up one after another and followed with whips.

Yan Liulang whipped his horse and rushed out, shouting:

"Go, go to the hillside, check the beacon tower, this is an important matter entrusted by the Magistrate, can't drag the hind legs!" At this moment, it was the You time in the evening, because it had been raining for a day, the sky was still covered with dark clouds.

The sky was gray, no different from the day, and it was not obvious that it was dark.

Yan Liulang arrived at the foot of Mount Dagu with the last batch of refugees and handed the people over to Assistant Magistrate Diao and other clerks.

The latter's eyes were full of bloodshot eyes, and it looked like they had been busy and staying up late since the day before yesterday, lacking sleep, and full of fatigue.

However, Yan Liulang and others were no better. After whispering a few words, supplementing a few mouthfuls of clear water, and dropping the horses, they went up the mountain lightly.

On both sides of the mountain road, there were refugees and people lying down, but some tents and camps had been set up in the open spaces on both sides.

Hot water, bedding, grain, and other things, looking at it, it was not lacking.

And the extra people were all settled by Assistant Magistrate Diao and others in Donglin Temple on the top of the mountain. Yan Liulang and his party walked through the crowd and arrived in front of the Zhumu Pavilion halfway up the mountain.

Not far from the Zhumu Pavilion, on a piece of open grass with a wide view, a huge beacon tower had been set up, with government office runners guarding it, covering their eyes with their palms, looking into the distance towards the Yue Nu Gorge upstream of Butterfly Creek.

In the mountains there, where the eyes couldn't see clearly at the moment, there were also several beacon towers erected.

This early warning system, like the water level monuments along the upstream, was also prepared by Ouyang Rong some time ago.

Once Digong Sluice was washed away for the first time, the beacon fire would be lit all the way, and finally seen by everyone on Mount Dagu. Then this beacon tower on the sunny side of the hillside of Mount Dagu would also be lit immediately, and the people still scattered around Mount Dagu would also return to Mount Dagu immediately and not stay outside anymore.

Including the craftsmen and young and strong men who were still performing their duties at the Zhe Yi Canal not far from the foot of the mountain.

After telling his brothers to rest in place, Yan Liulang walked up silently, poked his head and looked at the dry and flammable materials replaced on time in the beacon tower, nodded gently, walked to the edge of the cliff, and looked at the direction of the Zhe Yi Canal.

According to the Magistrate's message, until the flood is confirmed to come, it is better not to open the second phase of the Zhe Yi Canal that is still under construction.

This large-scale construction project is related to the century-old plan of Longcheng County's water governance. Currently, only half of the second phase has been repaired, so try to avoid forced operation.

This is also the last fight after Digong Sluice collapses.

Yan Liulang took off his bamboo hat, shook off the raindrops, learned from the Magistrate, and rubbed his face hard. "Liulang."

Just then, a familiar shout from behind broke Yan Liulang's distraction. "Dala? Miss Ye, Miss Su... are you all here?"

Yan Liulang looked back and found that in the Zhumu Pavilion not far away, there were all familiar faces. Su Dala, who was surprised and greeted him.

The little sister of the Su family with purple gauze on her face and calm eyes, and the bun-faced maid behind her. And Ye Weilai, who was sent to Mount Dagu by Yan Liulang himself yesterday.

Although Ouyang Rong only earnestly exhorted him to bring all the people of Longcheng to the mountain before leaving, he did not specifically instruct him to take care of the Meilin Courtyard side.

It seemed that he had also classified his own maids as "normal people" and did not arrange special treatment.

Yan Liulang understood and admired the Magistrate's taking the lead.

And he must take the lead, because all the subordinates and colleagues around him, regardless of their positions, were silently paying attention to him. Is the Magistrate's fairness true or not?

But understanding is understanding.

"Catcher Yan, where is my Tanlang."

Just then, Ye Weilai grabbed a handkerchief, stepped forward, and asked urgently.

Su Guoer, who was about to speak, silently stopped her feet and looked at Yan Liulang, who was hesitant, together with everyone. ===== CHAPTER 182 =====

Just then, Ye Weilai clutched a handkerchief, stepped forward, and asked urgently.

Su Guoer, who had been preparing to speak, silently held back her steps and, along with the others, looked toward Yan Liulang, who was hesitating to speak.