Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 614 Dawn Sees Golden Light Break Through the Clouds
It's already the beginning of autumn, but this year it's been particularly hot and humid with lots of rain. Many roads from Jiangnan Road to Lingnan Road have been destroyed by floods. With these roads damaged, business naturally comes to a standstill. But even Xia Lin doesn't have a better solution. After all, this isn't how you fight against nature.

He could hardly hear any information about the outside world here, since there was no way to get in. And with the constant rain these days, it was impossible to carry out other work as long as the rain didn't stop. Right now, their focus was on disaster prevention and relief.

The three southwestern prefectures, along with the soldiers who later arrived, numbered around 120,000. At this critical juncture, Xia Lin didn't waste any more words. He directly took over military power from Wei Changsheng, then reorganized these people and deployed them to the front lines of disaster relief.

He himself went to the dam, which was on the verge of collapse, to take command.

"The first step is to ensure the safety of the local people. Their property is secondary. We need to move them to relatively safe places for temporary resettlement. The second step is to stabilize grain prices in these areas. Let's deal with the rice price speculation first. If this trend is not stopped, there will be trouble. The third step is to do a good job in preventing and controlling epidemics. Now we are taking 10,000 people to burn lime. We need to work day and night to burn a large amount of lime."

Xia Lin was assigning tasks to his men inside the tent, while the rain outside was pouring down, sounding like someone had poked a hole in the sky.

He had thought the rainfall would be concentrated in one period, but he didn't expect it to be so concentrated. According to the records in the Guangnan County Annals, this year's rainfall is probably the most abundant in the last five hundred years. Moreover, Xia Lin had just calculated that the rainfall here had reached 118 millimeters since yesterday, and it showed no signs of stopping.

"Lord Xia".

Just then, the tent flap was lifted, and Wei Changsheng walked in wearing a straw raincoat. He took off his straw hat and let out a long sigh of relief: "The entire Zhangping County is submerged in water, and nearly fifty people are missing. They must have been swept away by the surging river."

After listening, Xia Lin put his hands on his hips, took a deep breath, and said, "Yes, that's too fast. It started raining yesterday evening, and by midnight the water was blocking the door. Have the rest of the people in the county been evacuated?"

"Most of them have been taken to higher ground and settled down temporarily. However, many people are sick, and there is a shortage of medical care and medicine in this area. The roads in various places have also been flooded. We don't know what to do."

Xia Lin pursed his lips and paced back and forth in the tent. Suddenly, he thought of a plan. He raised an eyebrow and said to Wei Changsheng, "Brother Wei, I'll trouble you to make another trip and communicate with those barbarians. Ask them to go into the mountains in the rain to collect some herbs to treat the people."

"Will they agree?"

"Calculate their compensation." Xia Lin waved his hand. "If they still refuse, after this busy period, I'll dig a pit and bury all tens of thousands of them. They won't listen to reason, so I have my own methods."

Wei Changsheng hesitated, but didn't move. Xia Lin saw his expression, and after a moment of silence, said, "Yes, you're out of money. Here's what we'll do: take 150,000 taels from my camp and put it in the public account. We'll handle this as a special case; we need to make sure everyone survives first."

"Ah."

Wei Changsheng went with the adjutant to collect the silver, and then braved the rain again to come to the settlement of those barbarians. They were filled with awe at the rain, and everyone hid in their houses and refused to come out. However, when Wei Changsheng found their chieftain and communicated with them, their attitude became somewhat subtle.

They explicitly stated that they could help, even without payment, but the problem was that according to their mountain custom, one should not go out during this season, otherwise they would be punished by the mountain god.

Wei Changsheng knew about this custom. The people of the mountains had a far greater reverence for heaven and earth than others could imagine. However, due to large gatherings, dampness, and poor sanitation, diseases such as malaria, plague, and mosquito bites had already appeared among the population. If they did not receive treatment, the situation would spiral out of control.

Wei Changsheng was, after all, a high-ranking official in charge of a region, and he was certainly not an incompetent fool. He did not follow the example of Xia Lin, who was in a fit of anger, and immediately suggested digging a pit to bury them. Instead, he wanted to have a private talk with the elders of each tribe.

This request was certainly achievable, given his status and position. After speaking with the elders or high priests of various tribes, and no one knew exactly how Wei Changsheng negotiated with them, they all agreed to this arrangement.

According to some unreliable sources, Wei Changsheng told them that if they couldn't help under the current circumstances, then they were useless. As for whether there were gods or not, they knew best. Xia Gong had already made it very clear that if their mountain gods couldn't withstand an army of 100,000, then mobilizing them to play a role was their only option.

Of course, these elders and priests were the most outstanding sages in their tribes, some of whom had even been trained among the Han people. Therefore, they understood Wei Changsheng's meaning, and they had indeed learned about the young man from their previous interactions with Xia Lin.

That's no ordinary person. If we were to trip him up at this critical juncture, forget about them not having broken any laws of the Great Wei. In this small territory, Xia Daosheng is the law. He could even have a legitimate reason to exterminate their entire clan. A legitimate reason, huh? That's truly terrifying.

So when the elders and priests of various tribes took the initiative to select the chosen ones to complete the mountain god's trial, Wei Changsheng knew that the matter should be fine.

Sure enough, that afternoon, hundreds of herbalists from the barbarian tribes followed Wei Changsheng out. Although most of these people couldn't even speak Mandarin, they had developed their own set of survival wisdom through years of living in the mountains.

In this respect, Wei Changsheng really admired Xia Lin. He couldn't understand why someone from the Central Plains could know so clearly how a group of local people from the borderlands could use such mysterious folk methods to treat stubborn diseases that even doctors had difficulty curing.

By the time the treatments began and showed some results, it was already past midnight. The rain hadn't lessened at all; instead, it was accompanied by strong winds. The tallest building in the county town was reduced to just a pointed top, and most of the unstable houses had long been washed away. Flash floods were erupting everywhere, a truly devastating scene.

If Xia Lin hadn't started evacuating the people immediately, who knows what kind of tragedy would have occurred.

When Wei Changsheng lifted the tent flap again, Xia Lin was taking a nap in a chair, but the sound of the flap being lifted woke him up.

"Brother Wei, how did things go?"

"We did as Master Xia said, and they have already started treating patients. However, there is one thing I don't understand: how did Master Xia know that those unassuming local people could cure these stubborn diseases?"

Xia Lin picked up his water glass and took a sip: "Brother Wei, people are actually quite interesting. They've lived in the mountains for hundreds of years and have long since become one with them. The natural order of mutual generation and restraint, yin and yang, and the five elements is an innate principle. They get sick too, so who would want to sit and wait to die? In the generations of these natives, they remember the things that once took the lives of their ancestors. If someone happens to solve a problem, they will definitely tell everyone. They are very good at dealing with plagues caused by snakes, insects, rats, and ants. Just look at how they are so filthy yet they don't get sick, and you'll know that."

Wei Changsheng nodded: "What Xia Gong said makes sense. I had indeed not thought of it this way before."

“It’s not that Brother Wei didn’t consider this, but rather that Brother Wei doesn’t think highly of these people.” Xia Lin rubbed his face and said with a smile, “No wonder, they are useless most of the time. So it’s perfectly normal to be arrogant and prejudiced against them.”

"I've learned a lot." Wei Changsheng clasped his hands and bowed. After standing up, he saw Xia Lin's tired face and said, "Master Xia, why don't you rest for a while?" "It's alright, I just dozed off for a bit. Later, I need to check the extent of the landslide over there. If the rain is still this heavy, we'll have to abandon this dam and the whole city will have to be evacuated to a safe place. By the way, how many natives came with you this time?"

"More than 700 people in total."

"Yes, give them face, and then give them substance. Each person will receive ten taels of silver and ten taels of silver worth of supplies, so that their whole clan will know that we Han people know how to repay kindness." After Xia Lin finished speaking, he got up and put on his raincoat and cloak: "Brother Wei, you haven't slept for a day and a night. Rest here for a while. I'll go out and take a look."

At that very moment, the roads connecting Jiangnan Road and Guangnan District of Lingnan Road were packed with caravans, and the surrounding towns were already overflowing with them. Some large shipments were even stuck on the road, unable to move forward.

"I heard that the heavy rains there washed away the roads, and rocks blocked the way. There were landslides and floods everywhere."

After hearing the report from the returning scouts, Emperor Jingtai frowned involuntarily. He glanced at Li Shimin beside him and asked, "How could it be so serious?"

Li Shimin shrugged: "It's been like this for the past few years. There's been a lot of rain, and even grasslands have grown on the Gobi Desert. But the south already has abundant rainfall, and now there's even more water. Hey? Don't you usually read the memorials? I think these things should be reflected in the memorials. Can you handle this? If you can't, just pass the throne to me."

“These matters are usually handled by the wise minister Ma Zhou, and I don’t need to look into them at all.”

"So what do you usually do? Tell me about it."

Emperor Jingtai pursed his lips: "Look at how miserable the people of the Li Tang dynasty are, then find out how the Li family is at odds with their fathers and sons, and how the brothers are at odds. Then plan when the brothers in the north will turn against each other and the fathers and sons will fight each other."

Li Shimin glanced at Emperor Jingtai and nodded slightly: "Good, good, you emperor really have a lot of free time."

Emperor Jingtai smiled, went to the window, and opened it. The sudden rain outside was like a curtain. He reached out and touched the raindrops. "The relief convoy must be on its way. Ma Zhou handled these matters extremely swiftly. Ah, Second Princess, you know, how come I have so many capable ministers and generals under my command? Ouch, sometimes it really gives me a headache. I try my best not to favor one over another, but there are just too many. When something happens, I can't possibly use them all..."

“Your mother…” Li Shimin cursed under his breath, then stood up and said with a forced smile, “Don’t worry, one day they will all be my subjects.”

"I don't believe it." Emperor Jingtai said with his hands behind his back and a disdainful look on his face: "Look at me, I dare to run around like this. Does your father Li Yuan dare to do the same? He doesn't even dare to appoint any of your brothers to oversee the country. Look at me, I can appoint any one of you to oversee the country and you'll be fine. As for your minister, Erfeng, Erfeng, think carefully about whether this matter can be accomplished."

"Alright, now that there's flooding in Lingnan and you're not in the capital, let's see what the officials you've chosen should do. You need to know that if this disaster isn't handled properly, it could lead to a peasant uprising."

"Heh heh, I have Daosheng." Emperor Jingtai pointed to the southwest: "With him guarding the border, I can rest easy. I don't believe he can't even handle this matter, a mere flood."

"Innocent."

Although Li Shimin was disdainful of Emperor Jingtai's words, he was genuinely worried that Xia Lin could actually handle a natural disaster of this scale; that would be truly bizarre.

Just then, although it was past Chenshi (7-9 AM) outside, it was still pitch black due to the weather, but suddenly it became noisy.

Emperor Jingtai immediately looked in the direction of the sound and saw a group of soldiers rushing over to clear the traffic jam.

"Make way, make way, everyone make way, hurry up!"

On the road, the convoy quickly moved to both sides to make way, and then they saw a large number of soldiers running from the official road into Lingnan Road.

They carried a large amount of supplies and walked in a hurry, but instead of weapons, they carried various tools.

These people were so numerous that they seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see, numbering over 100,000, almost an entire force had come out.

However, after Emperor Jingtai saw clearly, he realized that among these people were not only soldiers, but also many civilians. They should be the construction team of Jiangnan Circuit, with a total number of more than 30,000.

Soldiers leading the way blew whistles all the way, and the people and goods behind them rushed towards the disaster area in Lingnan Road.

"Without weapons? What are they doing here?" Li Shimin looked at the long line of soldiers outside with a blank expression: "Taking advantage of the chaos to conquer Lingnan?"

This is where Emperor Jingtai gets to show off. You see, he once oversaw the disaster relief work of the Green Forest Army in Henan Province. After hearing Li Shimin's ignorant remarks, Tuoba Jing finally raised his head arrogantly.

"You still dare to call yourself a hero of the world? These people are all here to help with disaster relief. Daosheng said that soldiers come from the people and should belong to the people. Raising soldiers for a thousand days is not just for conquering cities and seizing territories. Daosheng also said that disasters are like battlefields. If you are brave and fearless at this moment, you can also charge into battle and kill the enemy on the battlefield."

"Alright, oh dear, you keep talking nonsense all day long, how can you be so shameless as to just parrot other people's ideas?"

"I'm sorry, but Daosheng was personally discovered and nurtured by me. Daosheng said, 'A thousand-mile horse is common, but a discerning eye is rare.'"

Li Shimin remained silent, watching the soldiers and civilians marching hastily toward the most dangerous place. He repeatedly pondered the phrase, "Disaster is like a battlefield; if you are brave and fearless at this moment, you can also charge into battle and kill the enemy on the battlefield." He wondered if his soldiers would have such morale and such rapid reaction ability during wartime.

(End of this chapter)