“Did you know this would happen all along?”
Looking at his beaming face, the carriage driver asked awkwardly.
“Hahahaha, kid, you’re telling me this is the first time you’ve found out? You can’t even compose a poem or a couplet, and you still dared to go there. Did you really think money could buy everything in Bianliang City? The top courtesans in Xiao Tianshui Alley, just simple tea, playing the zither, and singing a tune for a night can cost tens of thousands of strings of cash. How could they even glance at the meager amount of money in your hand!”
“Then why didn’t you say so earlier?”
The carriage driver’s face was filled with gloom. If he had known this, why would he have gone there to humiliate himself?
To experience it in Xiao Tianshui Alley, he had even gone to buy a new set of clothes, shaved his face, took a hot bath, and fussed until nightfall before he was ready.
But what he didn’t expect was that he had only had a drink in the Fanlou, ordered two side dishes, spent thirty strings of cash, and after chatting with a young woman of seventeen or eighteen, he was driven out.
“Alright, alright, where is the son-in-law’s carrier pigeon message?”
Seeing his face darken like the bottom of a pot, Yuan Xingchi no longer said anything more and, suppressing a smile, asked.
“I almost forgot the important matter…”
As the carriage driver spoke, he handed over the pigeon message in his hand.
Yuan Xingchi took it and did not dare to delay. He immediately returned to his room, closed the door, and then took out Jiang Yan’s great work.
After a careful comparison, his expression immediately turned solemn.
“What did the son-in-law say?”
The carriage driver quickly asked.
“It’s too late tonight. You should go back and get some rest. We’ll go out together tomorrow morning!”
“Yes!”
——————————————
Listening to the pattering rain, Han Mo tossed and turned all night.
It had been raining for five days, but there was still no sign of it stopping.
Finally, as dawn broke, after a simple wash, Han Mo wolfed down some food and, with Jiang Yan and the others, headed straight for the river embankment.
“How is the situation? Can this river embankment still hold?”
Looking at Gao Zhiyao’s bloodshot eyes, Han Mo asked softly.
“Replying to Your Excellency, it can still hold for now, but if this rain doesn’t stop tonight, I’m afraid we’ll have to take the final step…”
These past few days had perhaps been the longest days of Gao Zhiyao’s life.
Over 2,000 laborers were now concentrated on the entire river embankment.
These people were divided into three groups, working day and night to repair two cofferdams near that area on the west bank.
Although they had done their best, the time was too short. Up to now, these two embankments, parallel to the river embankment, were only three li long and half a person high.
Fortunately, the area nearby was originally a natural depression, with the deepest part in the middle being more than threezhang lower than the surrounding ground level.
Otherwise, these two cofferdams they had built would have been useless.
“While there is still some time, let the nearby villagers take refuge in the city first!”
Looking at the slowly rising water level, even Han Mo felt a sense of despair at this moment.
At this point, he could no longer care about other things. No one could guarantee that the flood diversion plan would be successful.
Moreover, even if they successfully completed the flood diversion task, it would only be a temporary measure.
If the rain really didn’t stop, these more than 1,000 mu of land wouldn’t be able to hold out for long.
If it really came to the worst, and the entire Neihuang County became a waterlogged land, then even he, the county magistrate, would not be able to escape accountability.
“My lord! My lord! Look quickly, the river water doesn’t seem to be rising anymore!”
However, at this moment, Lü Ying suddenly shouted in surprise.
Hearing this, Gao Zhiyao immediately scrambled to the riverbank and carefully observed the markers inserted by the river.
“It doesn’t seem to be rising anymore!”
After observing for a moment, even Han Mo was surprised.
“No, the flow rate of the river water seems to have slowed down a lot, which seems a bit unusual!”
After pulling a few wild grasses and throwing them into the water, Gao Zhiyao suddenly spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“My lord, if there isn’t a breach somewhere upstream by now, then something must be blocking the river channel…”
After a brief observation, Gao Zhiyao finally voiced his conjecture.
If there was a breach upstream, it would actually be good news for them.
After all, if the upstream breached, the water volume would decrease sharply, and the impact of the river water on the river embankment would be greatly reduced.
But if something was blocking the river channel, the situation would be completely different.
That would only further raise the water level, and once the blockage was removed, what awaited them might be a fatal blow!
“Could it be that Tangyin or Jun County has breached?”
Lü Ying quickly asked.
“Tangyin’s terrain is higher than ours, and the Tang River has much less water than the Wei River. A breach is unlikely…”
Gao Zhiyao gave a wry smile, then said with a distressed expression.
The entire river embankment fell silent, except for the pattering rain and the sound of the flowing river.
The problem returned to the starting point. If Gao Zhiyao’s guess was correct, and measures were taken decisively now, they might still have a chance to salvage the situation. If Gao Zhiyao was wrong, then Han Mo would truly be unjustly blamed.
“I’m not waiting any longer. Open the river embankment now and prepare for flood diversion!”
Han Mo took a deep breath and said directly.
“My lord, why not wait and see? I will immediately send someone to Tangyin County to investigate!”
As soon as Han Mo finished speaking, Lü Ying quickly stopped him and said.
Looking at the furtive Taoist priests hiding in the distance, everyone understood that at this moment, those Taoist priests must be waiting for the news of Han Mo opening the embankment and diverting the flood.
As long as the land remained, there was still room for maneuver.
But if they directly opened the embankment for flood diversion, the situation would be completely different…
“Even if your horse is fast, can it outrun the flood? While the water level is stable, open the embankment and divert the flood now!”
Han Mo took a deep breath and said again.
In this era without satellites or telephones, rather than trusting in illusory luck, Han Mo would rather make the worst-case scenario plan at this moment.
Diverting the flood now would at most give those people a pretext. But if he gambled on luck and lost, the entire Neihuang County would become a waterlogged land. In any case, he had already made contingency plans, and there was no need to take such a risk at this moment!