The Ming Dynasty: The opening scene features Zhu Di angrily accusing him of illegitimate succession.

A burly man clutched a cloth bag full of rice, tears mingling with the rain as they streamed down his face.

If the imperial envoy had arrived a few days earlier, his family might not have died.

Lin Yue stood on a high place, raindrops dripping from the ends of her hair.

"Fellow villagers!" His voice pierced through the rain, "The Huangpu River dike is about to collapse! When the flood comes, our houses will be gone, our food will be gone, and our homes will be gone!"

He pointed south of the city.

"This grain is not only life-saving grain, but also grain to protect the dikes! Now, I will take you to block the river dikes and dredge the river channels."

"Hold the riverbank, protect Huating, protect our hometown!"

The crowd fell silent for a moment, then someone suddenly shouted.

"I'm from Huating, of course I have to defend my hometown!"

"Yes! Guard the riverbank and protect our homeland!"

The typhoon subsided, but the rain intensified, turning fine raindrops into torrential downpours in the blink of an eye.

Lin Yue looked up at the sky, his brows furrowed, a look of worry creeping across his face.

Songjiang Prefecture has always been a disaster area for floods in the Huangpu River. With such continuous torrential rain, it is inevitable that the river will overflow. With only the manpower available, can we really stop the breach?

He chose to distribute grain instead of cooking porridge for disaster relief in order to save time. Cooking porridge takes time, but distributing grain can immediately win the hearts of the people.

Rain poured down, the water trickling down his neck and into his chest, and Lin Yue felt deeply worried.

If he doesn't go to defend it, the tens of thousands of acres of polders in Huating County will be flooded, and Songjiang Prefecture will be in complete chaos. But if he goes to defend it, he has no chance of success whatsoever.

"Scholar Lin, hurry up! The rain is getting heavier!" Liu Zhong's shout pulled him back to reality.

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Lin Yue nodded, turned around, and followed the vast crowd out.

Upon reaching the riverbank, Lin Yue looked up and his expression changed drastically.

The water level of the Huangpu River is close to the top of the embankment, and the turbid river water is frantically pounding against the so-called "riverbank".

That's hardly a river embankment. It's just a dilapidated rammed earth wall, the rammed earth loose, cracked and crisscrossed, with many sections softened by the river water, almost on the verge of collapse.

"How...how can we defend this?" Liu Zhong exclaimed in shock.

This dilapidated earthen wall, facing the raging river, is no different from a piece of paper.

Lin Yue's heart sank, and he immediately had the idea of ​​turning around and leaving.

He had previously been determined to die, so he was naturally fearless, but now the floods in Jiangnan were so severe.

If he dies, given the efficiency of the Ming Dynasty, how will the people of Suzhou and Songjiang prefectures survive?

He still had the more serious flooding in Shanghai County to deal with, and countless people in Jiangnan to save; he couldn't die here.

The thought of backing down had barely crossed my mind when it was suppressed by the questioning voice beside me.

"Sir, we'll listen to you. How should we defend?"

The burly man carried a wooden-handled shovel, the rain stinging his eyes, but he stared intently at Lin Yue.

Iron smelting was highly developed in the Ming Dynasty, and there were blacksmith shops in Jiangnan that specialized in making agricultural tools such as hoes and shovels.

"This is our home, we can't let the water wash it away!"

"Yes, sir, the water level looks very high. How are we going to defend it?"

The people gathered around, their eyes full of trust and expectation. They carried sandbags and straw bags, and even though they were soaked to the bone and starving, no one backed down.

Lin Yue gazed at the faces washed by the rain, remained silent for a moment, and the confusion in his eyes gradually faded, replaced by a sudden firmness in his expression.

A moment's decision by a powerful figure can affect the entire lives of millions of ordinary people.

He can withdraw, but the people of Huating cannot.

Lin shouted, his voice louder than ever before.

"The river embankments are dilapidated; forcibly blocking them will only lead to collapse. In my opinion, it's better to dredge them! The southwestern Dianmao Lake group is a low-lying area and can be used as a flood storage and detention area!"

The young and middle-aged men on the scene silently looked at Lin Yue, awaiting further instructions.

Lin Yue pointed southwest and gave the order: "Li Da! Take two hundred able-bodied men and immediately go to a point twenty miles to the west to open the dike and release the floodwaters!"

"Yes, sir!" Li Da's voice was sharp and his tone firm.

He immediately mustered his men, grabbed their tools, and ran westward.

"Everyone else, listen up!" Lin Yuezhen shouted. "Young and strong men, move sandbags and drive in wooden stakes to reinforce the riverbank!"

The elderly, women, and children continued to weave straw bags and collect pebbles—the more the better!

The rain intensified, and the strong winds returned, howling across the river and creating even higher waves.

The river crashed against the embankment with a deafening roar, causing another section of the already fragile earthen wall to collapse, and the cracks widened by half a foot in an instant.

The people frantically reinforced the riverbank, piling up sandbags layer upon layer and driving in wooden stakes one after another, but the riverbank was still teetering on the brink of collapse, with signs of breaches appearing in many places, and mud mixed with river water gushing out.

Lin Yue's eyes widened in horror; if they waited any longer, all their efforts would be in vain.

"Let's go for it!" Lin Yue shouted, bending down to lift a heavy sandbag.

He leaped into the most dangerous breach.

The river water instantly rose above his chest, and the raging waves made it difficult for him to stand. Lin Yue clung tightly to the sandbag, pressing it against the center of the breach.

Lin Yue roared, "Hurry up! Fill the sandbags!"

The power of role models is great. Seeing that even the imperial envoy was so fearless in protecting the river embankment, the people were also moved and rushed towards the breach with sandbags.

The surging waves overturned several young men, causing them to drop their sandbags. They tumbled in the turbid waves and were instantly swallowed by the river.

But more figures rushed out from the rain, carrying sandbags and hugging wooden stakes. In the raging wind and rain, countless flesh and blood clung tightly to the dilapidated earthen wall, forming a human embankment.

Liu Zhong stood on the embankment, watching this scene, his whole body burning with emotion, deeply moved.

The common people braved death and went against the current, while the emperor's personal guards, who were paid by the court, were still hesitating!

He roared, "What are you all standing there for? The common people are willing to fight to the death, are we cowards?"

Lord Lin is leading the charge; if you've got the guts, follow me!

Fifty Imperial Guards responded in unison, removed their weapons and armor, and jumped into the breach in the river embankment.

Liu Zhong squeezed next to Lin Yue, using his body to hold up the sandbags and his shoulders to support the wooden stakes that were driven diagonally into the mud.

The group managed to block the breach from the front with their bodies and sandbags, but the river was still surging and the flow was getting faster and faster.

Lin Yue stood on the riverbank, feeling the rushing water, and his anxiety grew.

The river water has created a backflow below the riverbank, and this hidden force is constantly eroding the foundation of the dike. At present, the surface seems stable, but if this continues, the riverbank will collapse completely sooner or later.

"The riverbank has broken down!"

The one speaking was the burly man who had been clutching the rice bag and weeping earlier. He was now soaking wet, his hair plastered to his face, and he was pointing down the embankment and shouting urgently.

Looking down, everyone saw the river water bubbling from the muddy ground at the foot of the embankment, the turbid mud churning and a gap the size of a finger slowly widening.

"Oh no! The embankment has been breached!" Liu Zhong shouted in alarm.

Lin Yue looked desperate; was the riverbank still going to collapse?

Huating County is located in a low-lying area. The backflow of the tributaries alone has flooded the water up to half a person's height. If the dikes were to breach, would Huating County still be able to harvest any crops?

The man suddenly bowed deeply to the surroundings.

"Sir, if you had come half a month earlier, how could I, a member of a family of five, be the only one left!"

He looked up and sighed deeply, tears mingling with the rain streaming down his face: "Ancestors above, your unfilial son..."

Before he finished speaking, he grabbed a sandbag beside him, leaped into the river, and plunged straight into the water.

The turbid waves surged for a moment, then returned to normal. Only the mud at the breach stopped churning and was gradually blocked by something.