Chapter 183: 190. The Three Armies Cannot Be Deprived of Their Commander!

190. The Three Armies Cannot Be Deprived of Their Commander!

"Magistrate, most of the surrounding villages have been evacuated, but some villagers, hearing that you are here, ran here regardless of everything. There are also others who fell behind in the migration villages, and those who came after hearing the sound, all gathered here.

"Everyone can't be persuaded to leave, so they have to be connected to the water sluice. It's too dangerous to stay on the river beach below..."

Ouyang Rong's expression froze.

The few clerks responsible for evacuating the villagers lowered their heads, stepped forward, and said bitterly:

"Magistrate, the rain doesn't stop, and there have been many mudslides on the slopes along the middle reaches of Butterfly Creek, blocking the river with gravel and miscellaneous trees. There are too many people gathered, and they can't be transported out.

"The ships you brought have also capsized two, and the other ships sent to transport materials downstream have also lost contact. I don't know if they can bring new goods for support..."

Ouyang Rong was silent. The fire that had just risen in his heart also extinguished, and he swallowed the words of blame. He turned his head and looked silently at the crowded crowd on the sluice dam.

Under the dark clouds.

This sluice dam across Yue Nu Gorge is like a thin and stubborn straight line, connecting Longbei Mountain and Colorful Min Min Fengshan on both sides of Yue Nu Gorge.

In front is the unpredictable and capricious Yunmeng Marsh, and behind is the Butterfly Creek, which is prone to mudslides and has blocked the retreat.

It is on such a narrow sluice dam that it is now crowded with hundreds of villagers, as well as their messy luggage, all squeezed together.

All around are whistling strong winds and hitting raindrops. Cold and damp.

Ouyang Rong raised his hand and wiped his stiff, wet face under the bamboo hat hard.

Looking out, on this narrow sluice dam, the black heads of the villagers, a pair of clear or turbid black eyes, are frequently cast towards him.

Around him, there are also a group of dejected clerks.

There is a group of young and strong men who are burying their heads in hard work and carrying sandbags.

There are also Liu Ashan and other men who are silent and standing by his side.

The chaotic and disorganized information of the environment, the expressions of everyone with different expressions... all of this feedback around him turned into a wave of pressure like a mountain, rushing towards Ouyang Rong's bloodshot eyes.

At this moment, he suddenly felt so tired, not just the fatigue of the beating heart in his chest, but... the powerlessness of his heart.

Although he stood at the forefront without thinking, in fact... he was just an ordinary person? An ordinary college student who just wanted to save merit and go home? Ouyang Rong's thoughts did not waver.

Aiming at one thing, he never wavered.

Whether it was deciding to take the postgraduate entrance exam at the beginning, or climbing out of the palace to take a look, or deciding to go home. He just suddenly doubted whether he could do it, guarding this only water sluice in front of him. He just... was a little tired.

"Excuse me... is it Magistrate Ouyang?"

An old man with a white beard, dressed like a village elder, walked out of the silent villager team and asked cautiously. It interrupted Ouyang Rong's trance.

"It is... it is me."

Ouyang Rong nodded and replied. The official uniform he wore when he came had long been lost somewhere. At this moment, he was wearing a coir raincoat.

Ouyang Rong took off his bamboo hat and forced a smile at the old man with a white beard who was trembling and had some timidity on his face.

The old man with the white beard turned happy, turned his head and said happily to the villagers who were lying on their sides behind him:

"Magistrate! It's the Magistrate! The Magistrate is here! Everyone, get up and look, don't worry, we will definitely be saved!"

"Magistrate? It really is the Magistrate! I have seen the Magistrate in the disaster relief camp..."

"I said the water sluice would be fine. With the Magistrate here, it was built by the Magistrate, so it will definitely hold. We don't have to..."

The name of a certain young magistrate was activated like a chicken blood in the crowd of villagers who were originally silent.

The intimate shouts were now resounding on the sluice dam, which was originally heavy, and even covered the noisy rain.

Ouyang Rong was stunned.

In this crowd of women, children, and the elderly, the faces with surprised and happy expressions, and the waves of enthusiasm that seemed to come from the bottom of their hearts, made Ouyang Rong feel a little dazed for a while.

The old man with the white beard leaned on his crutch and stepped forward, leading the villagers behind him to salute. Ouyang Rong hurried forward to support him.

"Old man, don't be polite." "Magistrate."

After being helped up, the old man with the white beard had a look of hope on his old face and asked: "This rain is a bit heavy, is Digong Sluice okay?"

"We heard the officials who came to the village say that you said there is no need to be afraid of rising water. Digong Sluice will not collapse with you here. We all believe it, but everyone wants to send you some food, hearing that you are on the sluice."

Ouyang Rong looked silently at the local specialties such as pickled radishes, eggs, and steamed buns handed over by the villagers from all directions. He opened his mouth, but those words reached his throat, but he swallowed them silently.

Facing the simple and expectant gazes cast from all directions.

Ouyang Rong put on his bamboo hat again, pressed the hat hard on his head with his hand, and stretched out his other hand, grabbed a steamed bun handed over by a little girl with a bun, and bit it hard.

The steamed bun was cold and hard.

Ouyang Rong puffed up his cheeks and chewed with relish.

He picked up the brim of his bamboo hat with his index finger, showed a pair of pitch-black eyes like torches to everyone in the audience, and his voice was hoarse but sonorous:

"Digong Sluice will be fine! With us here, it doesn't matter, villagers, don't be afraid!" The villagers on the sluice dam cheered.

Liu Ashan and other men, as well as the clerks around, all looked at the young magistrate who was drenched like a drowned rat in the center of the crowd.

Standing like a pine and cypress, bathed in wind and rain for a long time, but restored his spirit.

The old man with the white beard looked left and right, as if he found that the clerks around him were in a dilemma, sighed, and his tone was apologetic:

"Alas, Magistrate, everyone gathered here, is it adding chaos to you?" Ouyang Rong shook his head and smiled:

"What chaos, everyone is needed! The old man with the white beard and the villagers all showed stunned expressions, looking at each other. Ouyang Rong didn't delay anymore and made arrangements quickly.

The women, children, and the elderly among these hundreds of villagers were naturally not suitable to continue staying on the sluice dam.

Under Ouyang Rong's earnest guidance, the women, children, and the elderly were all transferred to the nearby Longbei Mountain and Colorful Min Min Fengshan. At the same time, on these two mountains, sick camps and rest camps were set up.

A few clerks were left to unite with the women, children, and the elderly to take care of the injured or sick personnel who retreated from the sluice, and were responsible for cooking and boiling hot water.

And the local specialties, bedding, pots, and pans brought by the villagers were put to great use.

As for the middle-aged and young people among the villagers, under the condition of being suitable and volunteering, Ouyang Rong allowed them to be included in the rescue team of Digong Sluice.

Although the number of people is small, at the moment, in this state of upstream and downstream isolation, every extra person is one more force.

So, the villagers are not a burden, but a force that can be united. Under Ouyang Rong's calm command, the upper and lower sides were temporarily united.

Everyone performed their duties, no one was idle, and even the wild temple priests who were pulled to labor reform honestly worked.

Perhaps it was the back of the young magistrate who was running around commanding and never stopped in everyone's vision, like an unfallen flag, always encouraging morale.

Perhaps it was the back of a certain young magistrate, who was constantly moving about to give orders and never stopped for a moment in everyone's sight, working himself to the bone; he was like an unyielding flag, standing on the city wall and constantly boosting morale.

Confidence also naturally accumulated silently in the hearts of some people.

Ouyang Rong naturally saw these subtle changes. His expression was calm, and he looked at Yunmeng Marsh, which was vast and vast with smoke and mist, from time to time in the rain. The string in his heart never loosened, but the fatigue in his eyes decreased slightly.

In this way, he also spent a rare half-day of peace after the rush to Digong Sluice. The officials and people of Digong Sluice performed their duties, and no moths happened.

At the time when it was estimated to be noon, he finished gnawing two steamed buns, huddled in the dry grass pile of the inner sluice gate room, and closed his eyes to rest for half an hour.

Until the dull sound of rain in his ears suddenly became crisp and louder, Ouyang Rong woke up in a daze.

"Master, we..."

Liu Ashan, who pushed open the sluice gate room door in a hurry, saw the young magistrate's figure dozing with his head down, closed his mouth quickly, stepped back lightly, and prepared to close the door.

But it was too late. In the darkness, a pair of eyes with slightly reduced bloodshot eyes had already opened. "What's the matter, speak."

Ouyang Rong got up, patted the thatch on his buttocks, crossed Liu Ashan, reached out to push open the sluice gate, put on his bamboo hat, and walked into the rain.

"Master, rest for a while, you didn't even close your eyes last night." "It's okay, I'm already energetic. You speak yours."

Ouyang Rong shook his head.

Liu Ashan followed the former who took the lead.

"Master, the sandbags we brought have been used up, all filled into sandbags, piled up on the sluice dam side..."

"The brothers who mined stones and dug sand on the Colorful Min Min Fengshan side have all returned. I sent them to the Longbei Mountain side to help transport bamboo and wood..."

"In addition, according to your instructions, I found two fishermen among the villagers who had some experience in weaving nets and are teaching the women and children to use coarse cloth and hemp to bundle and weave fishing nets... These preparations are almost ready."

Ouyang Rong listened while passing through the sluice dam, and the piles of sandbags beside him made him feel quite at ease.

The water level continues to rise. In case Digong Sluice is critical, these seemingly inconspicuous materials prepared at the moment are all life-saving things.

"Go, go to the Longbei Mountain side and see."

Ouyang Rong took Liu Ashan and others to Longbei Mountain, at a slightly higher position. He paused slightly, looked back silently, and overlooked the water sluice and the surrounding tide-blocking dam below. Digong Sluice does not mean that a whole water sluice occupies the entire Yue Nu Gorge.

Although Yue Nu Gorge is located between Longbei Mountain and Colorful Min Min Fengshan on both sides, it is relatively narrow. But where in the world would there be such a large water sluice that can span the two sides of this gorge?

Digong Sluice is composed of a water sluice and a tide-blocking dam.

A tide-blocking dam is its main body, built with stone strips and wooden piles, spanning the entire Yue Nu Gorge, as the name suggests, used for flood prevention.

And the water sluice is located in the center of the tide-blocking dam.

Although the scale is not large, it occupies less than one-tenth of the tide-blocking dam, but the design is exquisite, can block water in both directions, and has great use.

It can block tides, discharge floods, drain water, etc.

Simply put, when Yunmeng Marsh rises, close the sluice gate to block water; when the tide recedes, open the sluice gate to drain water. At the moment, Yunmeng Marsh is in a state of continuous heavy rain and rising water.

The water sluice naturally can only close the sluice gate, and together with the surrounding tide-blocking dam, stands in the Yue Nu Gorge, blocking the big water of Yunmeng Marsh, striving for flood discharge time, and protecting Longcheng County downstream.

It is worth mentioning that the terrain of Yue Nu Gorge is extremely interesting.

The Longbei Mountain and Colorful Min Min Fengshan on both sides extend from the shore to the bottom of the river, with stones protruding. The stones at the bottom of the river are like corridors, spanning dozens of feet.

So the terrain of Yue Nu Gorge is extremely high.

As the north gate flood discharge outlet of the nine hundred miles of Yunmeng Great Marsh.

The relationship between Yunmeng Marsh and it is like a teapot full of water and its raised teapot spout. The water in the teapot is deep, but the water at the long spout is not deep.

Even if Ouyang Rong jumped down from Digong Sluice towards Yunmeng Marsh at the moment, he could easily dive to the bottom of the water.

Therefore, the Digong Sluice across Yue Nu Gorge naturally has an excellent water-blocking effect.

But no matter how good the water-blocking project is, there is a limit, and it cannot withstand the infinite rise of the water level... Rumble—!

In the sky in the direction of Yunmeng Marsh, silver-white lightning had long covered the sky, and dull thunder came later. The rain suddenly became urgent.

Ouyang Rong suddenly came back to his senses, spread his hands to catch the rain, as if estimating the rain, his eyebrows gradually frowned. "Go, go to the camp to get the fishing nets, it's time to use them."

Ouyang Rong turned around suddenly and left a sentence vigorously.

An incense stick later, a group of people full of mud rushed to the temporary camp built on Longbei Mountain. Liu Ashan and other men went to collect fishing nets, and Ouyang Rong paced in place at the entrance of the camp.

He looked at the Yunmeng Marsh with strong wind and heavy rain from time to time, his eyebrows were a little uneasy, hesitated for a moment, and he turned around in an instant, preparing to walk to the edge of the cliff to observe.

But at this moment, a girl's surprised crisp shout suddenly came from a tent in the camp behind him, making his footsteps pause. "Tanlang, you, are you okay!"

"Weilai?!"

Ouyang Rong looked back and immediately found the familiar little figure not far away.

On Ye Weilai's body, that elegant and slim maid's clothes were long gone, and she was wearing a coarse cloth dress like an ordinary civilian girl, suitable for work and travel. Her blue eyes were bright and looking over.

This scene is a bit familiar, giving Ouyang Rong a sense of déjà vu of going home. But this is not Meilin Studio.

The rain all around pulled him back to reality, shaking his head hard, it was not an illusion.

Ouyang Rong's expression froze for a moment, then his tone changed unknowingly:

"Why are you here? Who brought you here!"

"Don't worry, Tanlang, Nu'er is fine... You drink a bowl of hot ginger soup first, warm your body, you are all soaked, Tanlang has a root of illness, be careful of catching a cold again... The ginger soup was just boiled, ready to be sent down, it was Nu'er and Xiu..."

Ye Weilai said with concern on her little face, and in her hurry, she accidentally said the name behind, and her voice became quiet. Her little body moved secretly, blocking the tent where a woman was hiding behind her.

But Ouyang Rong had no intention of paying attention to these at the moment. "Simply nonsense!"

His heroic eyebrows frowned, and he stepped forward quickly, preparing to catch this naughty girl and ask carefully.

Ouyang Rong's reaction made Ye Weilai, who was familiar with his temper, shrink her little head, and the girl held the ginger soup bowl over her eyebrows and presented it. She stood in place, burying her silver-haired head in her chest, looking pitiful.

Ouyang Rong approached, not knowing whether to be angry or laugh.

But at this moment, a thin-faced clerk suddenly ran up from the direction of the foot of the mountain, fell at the entrance of the camp, gasped for breath, and looked around.

Seeing Ouyang Rong's figure, the thin-faced clerk hurriedly jumped and waved, shouting in panic:

"Not good, Magistrate, something big is bad. Just now the wind was urgent, and large waves rushed with trees and hard objects, hitting the water sluice. The patrolling craftsmen said that a crack might have been hit, and there is an undercurrent pipe gushing under the water. If it is not found and repaired, it may collapse at any time!"

Ouyang Rong turned his face, his expression changed drastically. "Undercurrent pipe gushing? Bad!"

The uneasiness in his heart not long ago really came true.

There was no time to care about the little girl's affairs, Ouyang Rong immediately dropped Ye Weilai, turned around, and led Liu Ashan and others to rush down the mountain. ===== CHAPTER 184 =====

The unease in his heart from not long ago had indeed come true.

With no time to worry about the little girl's affairs, Ouyang Rong immediately left Ye Weilai behind, turned around, and led Liu Ashan and his group to rush down the mountain.