Chapter 1124: West High, East Low

Eight villages had already been struck by disaster, along with three large estates that had flourished in recent years. The number of afflicted households suddenly swelled to over 2,500. The headcount was done — dead and wounded certainly exceeded two thousand, and that was without being able to count carefully in the dead of night. Once daylight came, the trouble would surely be far greater.

Quite a few shops and workshops were flooded, but the ones truly affected were three wine workshops and two granaries. Though they hadn't been washed away, the losses were bound to be substantial.

The city of Xuzhou itself had also taken on water. The deepest area was the border region between the eastern and southern parts of the city, where it was said the water could drown a person. Most areas had water up to the waist or the calves. There weren't too many dead or wounded inside the city, but two wine workshops suffered grievous losses — their distiller's grains and fermentation pits would likely need a complete overhaul after this. There were also two warehouses inside the city, and the goods stored within were probably in trouble as well.

At a time like this, the city gates were shut according to regulation. To avoid unrest within the city, Zhao Jin had no intention of entering at night either. According to the messengers who arrived later, Zhao Shiyilang had already gathered over three thousand men and rushed to the breach. Though they still didn't know how large the breach and the collapsed dam section were, the news itself brought relief — if it could still be plugged, it meant the situation wasn't that severe.

The clerks and runners of the Xuzhou magistrate's yamen had also been mobilized, gathering refugees and settling the common people outside the city. In all fairness, the forces of the Zhao Character Camp around Xuzhou had reacted very quickly, and the follow-up handling kept pace. But a breach was still a breach — no matter how complete the aftermath, the losses had already been incurred.

The only comforting thing was that the night sky was clear and cloudless, filled with stars and moonlight. At the very least, the rain wouldn't continue, adding frost on top of snow.

By the time they neared the city, new information arrived: the collapsed dam had been plugged, and they were urgently reinforcing it with earth and stone. Then Zhao Shiyilang asked Zhao Jin not to go any further in, because after the breach, water had spread everywhere. Though nowhere was it very deep, traveling at night was still dangerous.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Jin had no way to go further in either, so he waited outside while the cavalrymen formed squads and went in to scout for news.

But when daylight came, Zhao Jin discovered the situation wasn't as bad as he had judged. The damage from this breach was far greater than the one a few days ago. That earlier one had merely washed away a single village, but what lay before his eyes now looked like a vast expanse of water. The entire city of Xuzhou was submerged within it — a truly shocking sight.

Yet a closer look revealed that the water was very shallow. Within the visible range, the Yellow River water couldn't even submerge a calf, and it was receding rapidly.

This was when the benefits of the usual maintenance showed. The channels that had been dug out and constantly repaired and protected were all brimming with water, and they were draining it away at flying speed.

Zhao Jin stood there watching for a long time, then turned and mounted his horse. The personal guards escorting Zhao Jin had also made their own assessment: it looked dangerous at the moment, but if they were careful while wading through, it shouldn't be a major problem. At worst, they could send a few more guards ahead to test the path and simply stop if they encountered trouble.

They hadn't expected that Zhao Jin would not head toward the city, but instead ride toward the river embankment. When he reached the great dam, he dismounted and began to walk up. Someone tried to dissuade him, but Zhao Jin glared them back.

Zhao Jin walked very slowly atop the great dam, stopping from time to time to observe and examine closely. The Yellow River's current had grown fierce again, but compared to a few days ago, it hadn't surged to any alarming degree. He walked like this for over two shichen. When he reached the spot directly facing the city, Zhao Jin stopped on the dam. Somewhat irritably, he waved away the guards blocking his view and stood there, concentrating intently, as if he had discovered something.

The spot where he stood was not far from the site of the most recent breach. Zhao Shiyilang was also there with his men, busy at work. Before long, he hurried over. Compared to his deeply worried state last time, this time Zhao Shiyilang's face was full of smiles — though a closer look revealed it was the relief of a man who had narrowly escaped disaster.

"Master Jin, I thought this was a calamity upon us, never imagined we could still plug it. The current wasn't as fierce as expected, and its force was limited once it rushed in. I led the brothers in a charge, throwing earth, stone, and bamboo cages down without regard for our lives, and we cut it off quickly. I won't hide it from you, Master Jin — when I heard the news, my legs went weak. I thought Xuzhou was completely finished this time. Never expected it wouldn't be such a big deal. Have you seen, Master Jin? The water's receding fast — all thanks to the channels we dug. All thanks to this great dam, all thanks to this layout. I think we don't need to fear the Yellow River anymore!" Having thought everything would be destroyed, only to find the situation could still be salvaged — great joy after great sorrow, this state of mind was only natural.

Zhao Jin smiled. Hearing Zhao Shiyilang speak like this lifted his own mood a little, but he still admonished him: "Don't look down on this Yellow River. These past few days there's been little rain, and our defenses have been strict — that's the only reason we held. If things were the way they used to be, we'd truly have suffered a great loss this time!"

"Master Jin speaks the truth. But the fact that we could achieve this outside is all thanks to Master Jin's brilliance. Inside the city, it's inconvenient for us to move, but the water inside the city still hasn't receded much even now. I've arranged for patrolmen and yamen personnel to conduct a city-wide inspection. The weather's too hot now — if things aren't cleaned up, an epidemic breaking out would be trouble."

After saying this, Zhao Shiyilang had his own reflections to share. He was the most familiar with the city inside and out: "If not for how my elder brother properly overhauled the southern part of the city back then, many commoners from the south city have moved out because their sons joined the Zhao Character Camp or took jobs with Cloud Mountain Trading. A lot of people moved out of Xuzhou. Without that, who knows how many would have died when the floodwaters entered the city this time."

"That village which stole earth — execute one in every five from the entire village. The rest are sentenced to hard labor. The heads are to be displayed at every single village and stockade along the Yellow River. If there's a next time, I won't leave even a chicken or a dog alive in the whole village!" When Zhao Jin spoke of this, his tone turned cold at once.

Zhao Shiyi at his side hastily acknowledged the order and said bitterly: "The people of that village are utterly contemptible. When they saw it couldn't be plugged, they scattered and fled in all directions. Some even ran back home — and were swept away by the water. If our Zhao Character Camp hadn't rescued them in time, the entire village would probably have died in this flood. Their deaths would be deserved, but the common people of those eight or nine other villages and stockades were innocently dragged down by their contemptible actions. Where can those dead, wounded, and damaged go to seek justice?"

"All corpses must be burned as quickly as possible. If anyone insists on keeping the body for mourning and won't bury it, use force. You must be diligent in this matter. The city is an enclosed place — corpses left out in this heat can easily cause trouble."

"Rest assured, Master Jin. All able-bodied men in the city have been mobilized. Any drowned livestock — what can be eaten is cooked immediately; what can't is hauled out at once to be burned or buried. We can't afford any chaos at this juncture."

After a few brief words, Zhao Jin continued to gaze in the direction of the city. This puzzled the people around him. They thought this could be called a close call with no real danger, and the city hadn't suffered any major harm. Though these years had been peaceful, in earlier years floodwaters entering the city had happened more than once or twice, and Xuzhou city still stood firm. The current water situation truly counted for nothing.

Zhao Jin watched for a while, then spoke: "The water from the breach rushed in from this direction, yet it only reached the east and south. The water in the west and north has mostly receded already. Hmm, the west side barely saw any water at all — it still looks quite dry. I rode all the way here from He Village, and the road and the areas along the way were also fine, no pooling from the rain."

As he spoke, Zhao Shiyilang at his side answered casually: "Our Xuzhou terrain is high in the west and low in the east. The area around He Village is the highest point in Xuzhou — how could water possibly collect there? Who knows what our ancestors were thinking when they chose the city site, picking a low-lying area. Every time there's a flood, it gets inundated."

At this point, Zhao Shiyilang's interest was piqued, and he said with a grin: "Master Jin, you don't know, but the older folks in the city all say our Zhao Character Camp has destiny's favor. They say that back when you were first rising up, Master Jin, anyone else would have stayed inside the city, but you led everyone to He Village. At the time, everyone said your vision was short-sighted, but looking at it now, who doesn't say Master Jin stands high and sees far? That He Village terrain doesn't fear floods — this is what they call the favor of heaven!"

"Back then, how could I have thought that far ahead? I just felt that staying in the city made us too conspicuous, and that He Weiyuan came knocking to court death — that's why I led everyone over there." Zhao Jin laughed in spite of himself. After saying this, Zhao Jin shook his head, also finding the coincidence remarkable.

"Master Jin, this is heaven's will, this is heaven's will — the heaven's will for our Zhao family's rise!" The usually composed Zhao Shiyilang grew visibly excited when speaking of this.

Seeing that Zhao Jin showed no reaction, Zhao Shiyilang lowered his voice and said: "Elder Brother, some people are spreading word that our Zhao family are descendants of Zhao Kuangyin of the Song Dynasty. Back then..."

Halfway through the sentence, Zhao Jin's face had already darkened. He cast a cold glance over, and Zhao Shiyilang immediately dared not continue, lowering his head and hands.

Zhao Jin stared at him for a few moments before speaking sternly: "What heaven's will are you talking about now? Don't let others speak of it, and don't you get involved in it either. Doing this is utterly useless and only creates trouble. Do you understand?"

"Your subordinate realizes his mistake. Please rest assured, Master Jin. I will not speak of it again and will also investigate strictly." Zhao Shiyilang had one good trait — when it came to orders, he obeyed absolutely and without the slightest ambiguity.

Zhao Jin nodded, then looked toward the city again and said indifferently: "What glory is there in that Zhao of the Two Songs? Claiming such ancestors is truly disgraceful."

"If Master Jin wishes to suppress such rumors, we must also ask Master Yong to handle it through the general office. It's said the rumors are spreading everywhere..." Zhao Shiyilang spoke up.

"Investigate strictly. If anyone tries to use this to stir hearts or seek profit, deal with them severely!" Zhao Jin's tone was icy.

The Yellow River water that had burst through the dam did not linger long. By the evening of the second day, it had mostly receded. For the common people of Xuzhou who had lost their homes, things weren't too dire. The Zhao Character Camp had already provided a resettlement plan — there were farm estates in Shandong and Guide Prefecture that could take people in, and after they worked there for a period and earned enough for their household expenses, they could settle down permanently.

What puzzled everyone, however, was: wouldn't resettling them on the spot be better? The damage from this flood wasn't so severe as to make that impossible. Relocating them elsewhere — wouldn't the expense be far too great?

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