Chapter 67: 68. New Construction, Completely Smashing the Board!

68. New Construction, Completely Smashing the Board!

A cold piece of common knowledge.

Many commoners who ran to Luming Street to watch the young Magistrate solve the case were actually there to see the reserved program of the criminals wailing during the execution at the end.

Therefore, the number of people on Luming Street was growing.

In the Jiang Nan area where the poor's spiritual life was scarce, the novelty index of watching a Magistrate hold a trial was second only to the beheading platform at the vegetable market.

Follow-the-crowd mentality, and love for watching the excitement.

Should one reflect on this with sorrow?

It seems so.

But it was precisely these simple "ignorant people" who followed the crowd that had something called justice in their hearts.

Seeing not only the villain exiled and the evil young master punished, but the young Magistrate even personally whipping his own trusted female secretary, he stood under the plaque of "Longcheng County" at the gate of the county government office, and every whip he raised broke the silence of the air.

Not a bit of pretense or perfunctoriness.

The crowd packed from one end of the street to the other, some looking curiously, some showing respect, and some unable to bear the sight.

Among the grain merchants and local gentry who watched from beginning to end, some who had been wavering and hesitant about the new construction attitude in the main hall just now also calmed down.

Whether you are pretending or sincere, remaining clear-headed in any situation, restraining your emotions, and doing things according to the rules will always be the best sedative.

It was more powerful than all the words spoken behind closed doors in the county government hall and all the big cakes drawn just now.

Because everyone knew you were a principled person, and naturally you would only do principled things.

Why was Liu Ziwen able to unite all the local gentry in the county to act in unison against outsiders before?

Besides the Liu family having the greatest strength and inheriting the connections of their predecessors to manage Longcheng for many years, it was also because Liu Ziwen was principled in his actions before.

It's just a pity that after the new Magistrate took office, Liu Ziwen didn't lead the local gentry to handle the contradictions with the Longcheng County government well, didn't put everyone's interests first, and more wanted to fight the Magistrate to his knees. Actually, this would have been fine, but Liu Ziwen failed to fight the new Magistrate to his knees for a long time.

This was very unprincipled.

For the local gentry who had tacitly agreed to the new construction of making money at the moment.

A grain merchant tilted his head and joked in a low voice:

"Young Manager Wang, you didn't recognize your brother-in-law wrong. He has principles, doesn't lack flexibility, and the key is that he can get things done and get them done well."

"This is just the beginning of his official career, and he doesn't lack the stepping stone of a Metropolitan Graduate's clean reputation. If he really completely cures the water disaster in Longcheng County one day..."

The corners of Wang Caozhi's eyes couldn't help but twitch. You all admire him, but the one being whipped is a descendant of the Wang and Xie clans.

Another grain merchant suddenly realized and said in surprise:

"So the business of this new construction is just a side dish; what's really earned is the favor of this official."

Wang Caozhi remained silent at these words.

His colleagues were indeed right, but he hadn't expected that Ouyang Rong would dare to treat the Xie clan's daughter like this.

Although Wang Caozhi had been calling him "brother-in-law" happily these days, it was just a playful remark to cater to his preferences.

Because he had always thought Ouyang Rong was pursuing Lingjiang, after all, a daughter of the Five Clans had a super-doubled attraction for weak scholars.

Ouyang Rong was lucky enough to be able to worship a great Confucian of the Xie clan as his teacher, and he already had a young junior sister; to be able to get the moon first near the water, shouldn't he cherish his junior sister and maintain her well?

But looking at it now, why is it a bit different from what Wang Caozhi imagined? Is this... disciplining Lingjiang?

And he didn't expect Lingjiang to be so obedient, being whipped seventy times by Ouyang Rong, and she stood nailed to the spot without moving a step.

This information is a bit heavy.

Ouyang Rong didn't know what the people below were thinking.

Every time a whip was struck, he could hear a faint "hmm" sound from his junior sister, who was burying her face, so it wasn't silent, which only Ouyang Rong, who was closest, could hear.

By the time he put down the whip with a slight tremor in his hand and finished asking his questions to get her exceptionally obedient answer, he could already see blood stains seeping through the fabric on Xie Lingjiang's back.

For scholars and women, there is no need to remove clothes for punishment. Xie Lingjiang's outfit was made of high-quality silk and satin, and there should be a thin chest-binding garment inside, so the outer clothes were not damaged, but the soft material also caused every whip to strike the flesh.

The cane punishment on this side was finished, and the seventy lashes on Liu Zilin's buttocks on the other side were also whipped without any hesitation.

The latter went from begging for mercy with soft words at the beginning, to cursing and insulting in the middle, and then to miserable wailing... The two sides formed a sharp contrast.

Ouyang Rong found something wrong.

Why was there a sound of a wooden fish in his ears every time he whipped her?

Was it the merit points given by the surrounding audience, or the merit from Liu Zilin being beaten, or was it... Ouyang Rong couldn't help but look at the junior sister in front of him.

It shouldn't be...

In addition, besides the sound of the wooden fish, Ouyang Rong found that whipping seventy lashes continuously with a thin thorn was also a technical job, especially since he had to be careful to avoid certain parts of the back, although a few lashes still accidentally hit... The junior sister's ear roots were flushed red, and her slender shoulders were trembling.

Seventy lashes, not one less, finally ended, and the sound of the wooden fish in his ears disappeared at the right time...

Someone was speechless, dropped the whip, wiped his sweat, and asked in a severe tone:

"Do you still dare to draw your sword without a brain in the future?"

"No... won't dare anymore." She buried her face and whispered: "Never dare again."

Thanks to the good brother "A Little Fluorescence" for the support! Stick together and fence!! ===== CHAPTER 68 =====

"I eat the people's salary, yet I have been slow to act; I am deeply ashamed."

"You must know, the flooding in Longcheng County is by no means as simple as pacifying refugees, cleaning up ruined houses, and reviving trade! If one only provides disaster relief without controlling the water, if one only prays to fate without human effort, if one only buries their head in fear without standing tall to face it bravely..."

"Then everything that I and you gentlemen have painstakingly regained on these ruins today—your pots and bowls, your warm beds, your farmsteads, your wives and daughters... will surely be crushed and swept away again by the next unexpected flood, turning into nothingness once more!"

"The great flood of Longcheng is by no means fate; if we do not act, it is a man-made disaster!"

The entire scene was silent.

In the ears of the crowd, the young magistrate's voice was not impassioned, nor could it be called particularly sonorous, but his eyes were firm; he was stating, word by word, something he was absolutely certain of.

He was earnestly telling all the people of Longcheng a truth that was very ordinary yet incomparably cruel.

Such calm words, spoken by a speaker who firmly believes in them, are exceptionally infectious.

Some Longcheng people whose houses had been washed away and whose loved ones had been taken in the last flood could not help but cover their faces and weep. The silence of the crowd on the main street was broken, and grief is also the most contagious thing.

Everyone gathered on Luming Street at this very moment was focused, their gazes falling as straight as the sunlight overhead onto the young magistrate.

Liu Ziwu, who had originally flicked his sleeves to leave and return to his carriage, also paused his steps. The more he listened, the worse his premonition became, and he could not help but knit his brows and look back at the magistrate who was playing god.

"Then how exactly should we control the water?" Ouyang Rong nodded. "You all must be very eager to ask this question. Should we continue to repair the Di Gong Sluice?"

"No." He shook his head firmly: "The Di Gong Sluice treats the symptoms but not the root cause."

"What is the root cause?"

The young magistrate pointed his index finger sharply to the west:

"The Butterfly Creek, which winds and twists and cannot discharge floodwater into the river, is the root cause! Every time the great waters of Yunmeng Marsh overflow the banks of Butterfly Creek, the gentle river water that nurtured the generations of Longcheng people turns into a beast that devours living souls as soon as the flood season arrives!"

"This beast, baring its fangs and brandishing its claws, is utterly lawless!"

"If we do not tame this wild beast, the flooding in Longcheng County will never end. The rich can still move away and flee, and officials can still leave their posts and rotate."

"But what about you? What about your children? What about your children's children? Must they live forever in the fear of a flood every four years?"

"Perhaps some of you have already become accustomed to it, have accepted your fate, and have even come to view it as normal, but I am not accustomed to it, I do not accept my fate, and I do not view it as normal. Serving as an official for a term, I may not be able to bring prosperity to the region, but I must seek a clear conscience and exhaust all human effort!"

"And I also firmly believe that among you children of Wu and Yue, there are those who will not forever be accustomed, will not forever accept their fate, and will not forever view it as normal!"

"If you are not such a person, then you may go home on your own now, because what I say next is only for the people of Longcheng who do not accept their fate! The things to be done next can only be done by us!"

The crowded masses remained motionless, looking up with undivided attention. No one lifted a foot, and some even could not help but speak weakly:

"My lord, what exactly should we do? If we don't repair the Di Gong Sluice, how else can we block the water?"

"Well asked."

Ouyang Rong nodded and turned to look at Yan Liulang, who immediately led the constables up the steps to push open the main gate of the county government office behind Ouyang Rong.

The main gate had been kept tightly closed during the court session, but now, with the combined efforts of the constables, it was finally thrown wide open.

Soon, the scene in the courtyard behind was revealed to everyone:

Inside the courtyard was a massive sand table, about eight meters in length and width.

The sand table simulated the general landscape of the upper and lower reaches of Butterfly Creek where Longcheng County is located, quite intricately. If there were people who often climbed mountains to look into the distance, they would be amazed to find that this sand table restored the winding river course of Butterfly Creek very realistically.

And the more magical part of this micro-landscape sand table was that it had well water pumped from a well circulating into it, and under the control of the equipment operated by Liu Ashan and others beside the sand table, the water flow injected into this "Butterfly Creek" on the sand table was very rapid.

Logically speaking, if it were a complete simulation of the winding and twisting river course of Butterfly Creek, this rapid water flow would likely rush out of the river course and flood most of the sand table.

But at this moment, no matter how much water was injected and how rapid it was, it passed steadily through the huge sand table, and the water flow did not overflow anywhere in the river course.

Among the puzzled people on the street who were standing on tiptoe and craning their necks to look, someone with sharp eyes suddenly discovered that the Butterfly Creek river course on the sand table seemed to have one more difference.

It seemed to have an extra "straight" river course, which directly ignored the winding river course that looked like two "Ji" characters like butterfly wings, connecting the two ends and turning into a river course pattern like a "concave" character.

And the section of the butterfly-wing-like double "Ji" river course where Peng Lang Du was originally located became a tributary.

The extra "horizontal stroke" below allowed the river water rushing down from the upper reaches of Yunmeng Marsh to pass through Longcheng County in the middle reaches unimpeded and rush into the Yangtze River in the lower reaches.

The more everyone looked, the more amazed they were. It was this simple extra "horizontal stroke" that, as if by supernatural workmanship, made the Butterfly Creek, which was easily violent when the water rose, submit like a delicate little lamb!

The simulation of the sand table might have the implication of "talking on paper," but a certain rule of time and the twilight in despair slowly emerged from it, like the first ray of light before dawn.

Ouyang Rong looked at the Longcheng people whose expressions were beginning to change. Without turning his head, he pointed to the sand table behind him and said spiritedly:

"Since it is difficult for the great waters of Yunmeng to enter the river every time, then we will open up a river course to let it enter the river! Since Butterfly Creek is winding and twisting and cannot discharge floodwater, we will straighten it and let it discharge floodwater obediently! Since this beast is baring its fangs and brandishing its claws and is utterly lawless, then we will work together as officials and people to wield shovels to dredge and expand until it is dug through and tamed!"

Once these words were spoken, it was like a thunderclap on flat ground, shocking the whole scene. Many people were stunned and speechless, and even Xie Lingjiang, Yan Liulang, Wang Caozhi, and others, who had already digested the shock, subconsciously looked sideways at the young magistrate.

However, even though it was convincing, someone in the crowd still asked with a worried expression:

"My lord, if a new river course is opened, what about the current Peng Lang Du... and those ancient sword furnaces on the west bank? Wouldn't that divert the water of Butterfly Creek? I heard from the elders that the water of Butterfly Creek has dragon energy, and the location of the sword furnaces cannot be moved, not to mention changing the river course..."

The young magistrate stretched out two slender fingers and interrupted coldly:

"First, Peng Lang Du is not being abandoned; it is just built too small, and the county government is just building another ferry to share the pressure;

"Second, may I ask whether the swords of the distant high-ranking officials are more important, or the pots, beds, wives, and daughters of the Longcheng people before your eyes are more important."

The person who asked closed his mouth instantly.

The young magistrate's tone—this did not seem to be a multiple-choice question; it was a life-or-death... no, that's wrong, it was a giveaway question.

The only question was "solved," and the whole scene returned to silence. The people who had been destroyed by flooding for generations looked at each other, and at the thought that this massive and novel "supernatural workmanship" was about to begin, the breathing of many people who were fantasizing gradually became heavier.

Under the scorching midday sun, the young magistrate, who was sweating on his forehead but looking straight ahead, had a voice that resounded throughout the scene:

"I announce that starting today, the Longcheng County government will take the lead in recruiting the vast number of Longcheng's young and strong, uniting dozens of merchants and local gentry, to begin the water conservancy construction of straightening Butterfly Creek! We will dig a brand-new river course east of Luming Street and build a brand-new ferry and several brand-new wharf commercial streets!

"I understand that this move is unheard of by you all. Before Longcheng County, it had never happened in the Jiang Nan Circuit or even the entire Great Zhou Dynasty, but I firmly believe that this water conservancy project will definitely benefit the present and contribute to the future! I hope you will all actively help and work together to thoroughly control the flooding in Longcheng."

"Finally, I also know that there may be a few individuals who have a little bit of disagreement, but... this is a notification, not a discussion."

With the last sentence, Ouyang Rong seemed to be pointing at something, and he turned and left.

Behind him, most of the people on Luming Street were extremely excited, and many people flocked to the displayed water conservancy sand table to compete to study it.

But behind this bustling crowd, a certain young master of the Liu family felt his hands and feet go cold in the sunlight, and his body was swaying, fortunately supported by the arm of a lame servant beside him.

Liu Ziwu took a deep breath, and he suddenly understood one thing:

This Ouyang Lianghan is not here to snatch that object; he is actually here to control the water, and he is even willing to... thoroughly smash the board for this!

Four thousand words.