The elite did not migrate south

Chapter 822: For the People

The sky was particularly gloomy, with dark clouds rolling.

Lightning flashed in the dark clouds.

It rained heavily.

The river roared and began to rush towards both banks.

The surging river water pounded the people on both sides of the river, and the ground under their feet was completely muddy.

Guanqiu Jian frowned and stood at the front, with many officials standing around him.

Just as Youbeifu predicted, the rain became more frequent, the river water flowed more rapidly, the mother river became restless, and flooded both banks little by little.

The prefect stood beside Guanqiu Jian, his body already soaked to the skin. He shivered and said, "Grand Marshal, you can't stay here any longer. Before tomorrow, the three nearby villages will be completely submerged."

"The projects here must also be abandoned and the people evacuated as soon as possible."

Guanqiu Jian looked at the turbulent and turbid river in front of him with a serious expression.

Lu Kang stood next to Guanqiu Jian and looked at the situation in front of him. He pulled the prefect aside again and asked about the situation in several coastal areas.

By now, the news of the flood can no longer be hidden.

The common people were not ignorant. They might not know how to analyze the movement of the imperial stars through astronomical phenomena, but they did know how to infer agricultural production and disasters through weather changes.

Such heavy rain for months has frightened many people living on both sides of the river.

Since the Western Han Dynasty, the river has been raging from time to time, and the raging has become more and more frequent. The people on both sides of the river have become accustomed to it.

When such abnormal weather appeared, people everywhere were terrified. Even those who were doing forced labor could see fear on their faces. People often gathered together and whispered to each other.

All kinds of rumors began to spread in Qingxu and other places.

The prefect's face looked quite heavy.

"The officials are fine with the incessant rain, but it's the ignorant people. Most of them don't know what's good for them."

"Your Majesty's order this time is to control the flood, so that they themselves will not be affected by the disaster. But how could they know?"

"Originally, it was just a complaint. These days, I've been receiving frequent imperial edicts saying that rumors are spreading everywhere."

"They said a great disaster was about to happen and instigated the people to flee."

"That means Da Sima is still here. Otherwise, he might not just be instigating them to flee."

The governor looked around and whispered, "My officials have reported several times that civilians from various places are often gathering together. They may be trying to escape. Perhaps we could send more soldiers to keep an eye on them."

"Just running away would be fine. I'm afraid they'll cause trouble, or even rebel!"

Lu Kang didn't say anything.

He looked at Guanqiu Jian who was not far away and said, "You continue to watch over here. I will take the Grand Marshal back to rest. If there is any change, send someone to inform me first."

"only!!"

Only then did Lu Kang return to Guanqiu Jian's side.

"Da Sima, what's going on here?"

"I see."

Guanqiu Jian turned and left. Lu Kang hurried to follow him, feeling relieved. He had just been worried about what to do if Guanqiu Jian insisted on not leaving.

The two sat in the carriage, and it slowly left the muddy land.

The carriage was moving very slowly, and the atmosphere was quite awkward for the two people sitting inside.

There was nothing much to talk about between Lu Kang and Guanqiu Jian.

Silence.

When the carriage arrived at a nearby post house, everyone stopped. Guanqiu Jian ignored Lu Kang and walked straight in.

Lu Kang asked someone to take good care of Guanqiu Jian, and he also hurriedly prepared to inform Cao Mao of the news here.

After Guanqiu Jian returned to the house, he asked someone to prepare a straw raincoat for him.

He changed into simple clothes, took a straw raincoat, asked several of his confidants to dress similarly, and decided to go out.

The Chief Secretary hurriedly stopped him and said, "Grand Marshal, I know you are worried about the situation here, but the flood is getting more and more fierce. Even if you go there in person, it is not certain that they will retreat. If you fall ill, then the flood here will be impossible to control!"

"Please don't take risks!!"

Guanqiu Jian shook his head and said, "I'm not going to the water, don't worry."

He looked the chief historian in front of him up and down, and said, "You should also change your clothes. And smear some mud on your face."

Changshi was stunned for a moment, "Huh?"

"Da Sima, where are we going?"

"Go to the nearby camp and see how the laborers are doing."

The Chief Secretary suddenly understood.

"Then do we need to bring Lu Jun with us?"

Guanqiu Jian curled his lips. "Look at Lu Kang. Even if he rolled in the mud, he wouldn't look like a commoner. What's the point of bringing him along? Just tell him!"

The Chief Secretary agreed.

Guanqiu Jian quickly led his men away from here.

Of course, Lu Kang also knew about this. Alas, the Grand Marshal was going to check on the laborers to see if anyone was really planning to cause trouble.
This matter made Lu Kang very conflicted.

How can we educate these people and make them understand the truth?
While Lu Kang was still thinking about these things, Guanqiu Jian had already arrived at the largest camp nearby.

More than 4,000 laborers gathered here.

The entire camp was muddy due to the rain.

There were almost no people outside the camp, only a few soldiers walking back and forth. Under the rain, everything was blurry and unclear.

When a group of people appeared here, several soldiers rushed forward to stop them. The chief secretary flashed in front of Guanqiu Jian, holding the seal. The soldiers were shocked and hurriedly wanted to bow to greet them.

"No need to do that. Don't alarm others. Just stay here and don't let anyone in or out."

The Chief Secretary gave the order.

Guanqiu Jian looked around and said, "Don't follow me in. I'll go in by myself."

"Da Sima, I'm afraid."

"Are you afraid that the people of Wei will harm me?"

The Chief Secretary suddenly didn't dare to speak.

Guanqiu Jian walked quickly to a tent in the rain and then went in.

At this moment, there were more than ten people sitting in the tent, chatting about something. When they heard the sound, they all looked over here.

Guanqiu Jian rubbed his hands and breathed. He was wearing very simple clothes, had dark skin, and looked honest. He looked like an old man who had suffered from the wind and frost in the fields.

The people sitting here were all middle-aged men. When they saw Guanqiu Jian suddenly rush in, their eyes were full of surprise.

The leader among them quickly stood up.

"Why is my father-in-law here?"

A few people also gathered around, and they were quite enthusiastic.

Guanqiu Jian smiled innocently and gestured to the clothes in his arms, "I came to deliver clothes to my son, but I went to the wrong camp. It's raining heavily, so I can't leave easily."

"I wonder if I can hide here for a while? I'll just stand here and not disturb you."

"What are you talking about, old man? Please come in! Please come in!"

The leader enthusiastically pulled Guanqiu Jian in, and took out a cloth for him to wipe his body, and took out hot water for him to drink.

Another person said, "My dear, if you have something to give, just give it to the officials. They don't dare to deduct money like they did before."

"Yeah, why bother coming out in person? It's raining so hard, and I don't know when it will stop."

When several people talked about the heavy rain, they suddenly became worried.

Guanqiu Jian started chatting with them about family matters. Guanqiu Jian was older than these people by half, and it was easy for them to be manipulated by his words. Before a few words were spoken, the topic had already turned to Guanqiu Jian.

"Things are really different now. Back then, corvée labor was all sent directly from here to Bingzhou. Now, it's all done nearby, without leaving the county. Although it's corvée labor, you can still go home from time to time."

Guanqiu Jian reminisced about the past with them, and the young men listened with smiles.

In an era when there were almost no entertainment activities, listening to the elderly tell stories was a very interesting thing.

They are often able to recount their past experiences in an exceptionally vivid and unique way.

This was the case with Guanqiu Jian. When he talked about the past, everyone listened with great interest.

After chatting for a long time, the topic was unknowingly led to the current flood.

"Who doesn't know that?"

"It's been raining heavily for months now, and there's no sign of it stopping. Anyone can see it."

The leader spoke worriedly, "But the Saint only recruited us here. Do you think it's enough?"

Guanqiu Jian was stunned for a moment, "What do you mean?"

"We've been discussing this for days. The sage is kindhearted and doesn't want to delay farming, so he's summoned all of us to control the flood. He hasn't summoned anyone under 20 or over 45, and hasn't even summoned anyone without two children. Can this really cure the flood?"

"We're thinking of writing a petition to the village elders, hoping to gather some people to help. With the heavy rain, the project has been delayed. If it can't be completed on time, wouldn't it ruin the sage's flood control plan?!"

The other people also nodded.

"I have two younger brothers at home. Instead of letting them flee, why not come and help me?"

Guanqiu Jian was silent for a long time.

"Do you all think this way?"

"Yes!"

"After the sage ascended to power, he distributed farmland and punished traitors. Who wouldn't stand up and bow to the west? Even this corvée labor doesn't leave the county. A few days ago, there was a demon who said that the flood was all because of the sage's lack of benevolence!!"

Guanqiu Jian frowned. "Where is he? Has he been arrested?"

"He wasn't caught, but was beaten to death on the spot."

"How could we not know what these evil people are thinking? In the past, who could have a full meal? Even a poor family like me has food in stock now, so we don't need to borrow any more. And yet they dare to say bad things about the saints! These evil people just want to go back to the past and continue to bully us!"

"This time the sage wants to control the flood, and it's also for us. In the past, when there were floods, the officials didn't control the floods, they took the opportunity to extort money and plunder. There was never any post-disaster relief!"

"This time, even if I have to throw my life into the water, I will repay the Saint!"

The leader said in a strong voice.

Guanqiu Jian stood up suddenly.

Everyone was startled, and Guanqiu Jian finally regained his simple smile.

"That's right."

"With everyone united, why should we be afraid?"

"I saw that the rain had stopped, so I went to look for my son first!"

Guanqiu Jian said goodbye to a few people and then strode away.

Everyone looked outside, and the leader had a look of suspicion on his face.

Huh?
Isn't it still raining heavily?
(End of this chapter)