Super Cultivation System of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 519: Lin County Abnormality
Lin County is more than 30 miles west of Shicheng. Liu He drove a horse-drawn carriage with Qian Li on board, braving the heavy rain, and soon arrived a few miles outside Lin County.

Qian Li noticed that the carriage suddenly stopped, and thinking that they had arrived, he stuck his head out, but found that there was no one else around, and all he could see was the vast waves of water.

Liu He said in a somewhat anxious and worried tone: "It seems that the river bank here has indeed burst. The villages on both sides have all been submerged. You and I can only walk along the hillside nearby to find a place to stay."

Qian Liben was also anxious, so naturally he had no objection to Liu He's suggestion.

Just like that, a great general of the imperial court and a prefect, regardless of the heavy rain from the sky and the mud on the ground, abandoned the carriage and quickly ran up the hillside.

Fortunately, both of them grew up in mountain villages, so they were no strangers to walking on mountain roads, and their speed was not slow.

But after walking a short distance, Qian Li suddenly stopped and pointed his finger at a place. It was hard to tell whether his tone was anger or fear.

"My lord, look, it's a person, no, it's a corpse!"

Upon hearing this, Liu He instinctively stopped and looked in the direction he pointed.

Originally he thought that one or two bodies were washed to the foot of the mountain by the flood. After all, it was normal to have bodies appear in such a sudden disaster that killed so many people.

But when he looked through the gaps in the forest and saw what was happening in the distance, he suddenly became furious!

What appeared before his eyes were not just a few corpses, but at least hundreds of corpses floating on the water.

The floods here have submerged the houses in the village, and most of the houses have only one roof exposed.
Due to the angle of their vision, the corpses were blocked by the densely packed roofs, so they had not noticed them until they walked over here.

Liu He was furious: "What's going on! Is the county magistrate here just for fun? Even if there is a flood and people died tragically, they shouldn't let so many corpses float around and gather in one place. If there is a plague, his whole family won't be enough to pay for it!"

"My Lord, calm down. Once we find a place to put him, we can ask him in person and then we can understand."

No matter how angry Liu He was, he could only hurry up with Qian Li. However, he was anxious at the moment, so he walked faster and faster. Qian Li could keep up at first, but later he fell behind.

Qian Li was just about to call out to Liu He when he suddenly noticed something unusual.

He stopped again and looked around, but found nothing unusual.

Liu He also noticed Qian Li's situation and quickly walked back.

"Daojun, what's wrong?"

Qian Li shook his head: "I just heard some noise, but I didn't see anything. Maybe I was overthinking."

Liu He nodded and said, "Then let's hurry up and go. I want to see how the magistrate of Lin County will explain to me. The court has entrusted him with such an important task, and Lin County was the second batch of counties to burst the dike, and the disaster seems to be more serious than the first batch of counties affected. If such an incompetent person can't give a reasonable explanation, I will chop him into pieces!"

After saying that, he turned around and continued on his way.

Unexpectedly, just after the two took a few steps, several dark shadows suddenly jumped out from the bushes in the nearby forest and blocked their way.

Liu He instinctively drew his sword as if facing a formidable enemy, but he did not expect that these dark shadows would kneel directly in front of them.

The two men looked carefully and saw that there were a dozen people in tattered clothes and with dishevelled hair and faces, who were kowtowing to them continuously.

"Please, sir, please help me and the common people..."

Liu He and Qian Li looked at each other, confused.

Qian Li stepped forward and helped them up: "Are you all from this place?"

More than a dozen people looked up, and one of them, an elder who looked to be in his 50s, cried bitterly and said, "We are the villagers of this county."

Qian Li asked, "You just said that you wanted us two to make the decision for you. What do you mean by that?"

The old man said, "We just heard what you said, and we know that you are good officials who work for the people. That's why we came out to ask you to redress our grievances. We kowtow to you."

After saying that, he and a dozen villagers behind him knocked heavily on the muddy ground.

Liu He and Qian Li realized that there must be something wrong with Lin County. Liu He frowned and came up with a plan.

"Please stand up quickly, fellow villagers. This is Qian Li, the governor of Wuyuan Prefecture. He is also appointed by the court and the general to be in charge of disaster relief and river management in Bingzhou. Governor Qian, if you have any grievances, please feel free to speak up."

He pretended to be a subordinate, stood up and introduced Qian Li to several people, which surprised Qian Li.

"My lord..." He was about to ask something when he saw Liu He secretly winking at him.

When the dozen people heard this, they immediately showed surprise on their faces.

"So you are Governor Qian? Great, we are saved, we are saved. Quick, call everyone in the village out, and let Governor Qian take charge!"

On a hillside in the north of Lin County, like the hillside outside Lishi City, there are various temporary buildings and tents, and people are coming and going.

However, the difference is that the disaster relief facilities here are obviously smaller in scale and appear cleaner and tidier.

One of the buildings was filled with all kinds of delicacies, including roasted suckling pig, roasted lamb legs, large pieces of beef, and fine wine in silver jugs.

There are more than a dozen people here, toasting each other and having a great time.

"Ming County Magistrate, you must have a way to trick thousands of villagers into moving to Daliushu Village, which is located at a lower level, and then dig up the riverbank at night. This way, our county will become the worst hit in Xihe County, and the imperial court will surely allocate more money and grain for disaster relief."

A young official spoke of this incident with a beaming face. In his eyes, thousands of lives seemed like a few ants and were not worth mentioning at all.

Another shorter official seemed to be a little full from eating, and he stretched out his hand and kept rubbing his stomach.

"As soon as the relief money and grain arrive, we will... hiccup...take advantage of the chaos to flee to Jizhou. We have also raised a batch of money and grain in the name of disaster relief in several other counties, and it will be... hiccup...delivered soon. We will send... hiccup...to Lord Yuan with so much money and grain, and promotion and wealth will be just around the corner... hiccup..."

"Don't be too happy. Qian Li is not a good person. In the past two years, he has actually been the head of Bingzhou. He looks weak, but he is a man who can't tolerate any injustice. Now that the news of the dam breach has spread, I think he is likely to come to check the disaster in person. He will be difficult to deal with."

When this person said this, everyone agreed with him.

However, County Magistrate Meng still looked confident.

"What are you afraid of? Haven't you seen the arrangement on the hillside outside? After we have had enough food and drink, I will go out in person, get covered in mud and get a little rain. Can I still not be cheated out of this much money?"

Seeing how confident he was, everyone felt relieved.

"Mr. Meng is indeed a man of foresight. We admire him. Let us all toast to you!"

"Haha, you are too polite. Sure, sure!"

A few people had just picked up the wine bottles and were about to drink them all when a figure suddenly rushed in.

County Magistrate Meng immediately frowned.

"What's going on? Can't you see I'm discussing important matters with you gentlemen? How can you be so reckless? How disrespectful!"

The man who came in looked aggrieved and anxious and said, "I really, really have something important to report..."

An official said, "There is no need for County Magistrate Meng to be angry with a small yamen runner. It is not worth it. Just listen to what he has to say and then deal with him."

Only then did Magistrate Meng calm down a little.

"Humph, if it weren't for Brother Yang, I would have beaten you to pieces today. What's the matter that's so urgent? Tell me now."

Although the servant felt aggrieved and angry, he could do nothing about it.

"Reply to the county magistrate, Qian Li, the governor Qian is here."

"what!"

These dozen people all stood up instantly.

Magistrate Meng's wine jar fell to the ground.

"How could it be so fast? It's only been more than three hours since the county sent someone to notify us of the dam breach, right?"

At this moment, a voice suddenly sounded at the door.

"Why? Does Magistrate Meng not welcome me?"

Immediately afterwards, two people walked in. They were Liu He and Qian Li. However, Liu He had mud smeared all over his body and face. He lowered his head and stood respectfully behind Qian Li, just like a follower.

(End of this chapter)