AWB Chapter 1033 The Longkou Dam is about to collapse!
Chapter 1033 The Longkou Dam is about to collapse!
Around noon, the dam was completely repaired.
By this time, everyone working was completely soaked, but no one cared.
If they could hold the dike shut, it meant their homes were saved.
Before they could even cheer, everyone hurriedly moved on to the next location.
Lu Qingqing also rode her horse to follow Shi Yingguang and Zhuangzhai to the next dam.
When they arrived, the crack in the dam had been mostly repaired.
Zhuangzhai had inspected this crack before and told Shitou how to repair it.
At this moment, the repair of the dike was nearing completion.
He went forward to check and, after confirming that there was no problem, led his men to the next location in the rain.
By mid-afternoon, all three sections of the dike had been repaired.
Seeing that the dam was no longer leaking water, the people cheered.
Shi Yingguang stood on the high place and thanked everyone.
With the matter settled, the people returned to the city with their farm tools.
Shi Yingguang, however, did not return to the city. He remembered what Lu Qingqing had mentioned before about the problem of the water level exceeding the limit at the Longkou Dam.
They called on Shanghe Guanzhuangzhai to head towards Longkou Dam together.
At the same time, taking into account the opinions of the villagers, two people were assigned to guard each important dike near Yingjiang.
Seeing that the matter had been resolved smoothly, Lu Qingqing also planned to go back and find Old Man Zhuang, Bai Song, and the others.
We happened to be passing by the Longkou Dam, and since we were going the same way as Shi Yingguang and others, we set off together.
On the way, Zhuang Zhai couldn't ride a horse, so he relied on a guard to carry him on horseback.
The rest of the people rode there on horseback.
Following the river channel along the Yingjiang River westward, we soon arrived at the Longkou Dam.
As soon as he dismounted, Zhuangzhai vomited violently.
The horses moved aside in disgust, not wanting to get vomited on them.
After finally finishing vomiting, he shakily picked up the wine jug and wanted to take a few more sips.
Seeing this, Zhang Tongpan, who was standing nearby, was so angry that he snatched the wine pot away.
"Alright, stop drinking!"
"Go check the dam first. If everything's alright, I'll treat you to the best wine at Zuixianlou when we get back to the city!"
Zhuangzhai wasn't angry that his wine jug was taken away; instead, he grabbed Zhang Tongpan's arm.
"Does what you say count? I'm definitely going to drink all the wine at Zuixianlou."
As he spoke, he swayed and walked forward.
Judge Zhang rushed forward and grabbed his clothes, fearing that he might lose his balance and fall into the Yingjiang River to drown.
Zhuangzhai staggered to the dam, shook his head, and when he saw the water level was much higher than the dam, he wasn't too alarmed.
The Longkou Dam can regulate water storage, but the water release has been controlled in the past to protect the downstream dams.
"Don't worry, the dam below has been repaired."
Adding more water now won't be a big problem.
"Let me adjust the gate, and it'll be fine!"
As he spoke, he turned and swayed as he headed toward the gate tower.
He had only taken a couple of steps when he suddenly seemed to realize something and abruptly turned around.
He ran a few steps to the dam, stared at a spot downstream of the dam, and trembled all over.
Upon seeing the enormous scouring pool, he was sobered up instantly.
When Shi Yingguang and Zhang Tongpan saw him like this, their hearts skipped a beat.
"What's wrong? What happened?"
Zhuangzhai pointed to the side of that huge scour pool.
"Do you see that scour pool?"
That was caused by the flood washing away the foundation soil on the downstream (back slope) of the dam.
Today, the dam in the middle of the Longkou Dam is almost suspended in mid-air!
"Who knows when this dam will collapse!"
Everyone at the scene was stunned when they heard that the dam was about to collapse.
Shi Yingguang was the first to react.
"Tell me what materials you need to repair the fortified village."
Even if I have to give up the entire city of Xiazhou, I will still get the materials for you.
This Longkou Dam is a matter of life and death for hundreds of thousands of people downstream; it absolutely cannot collapse!
Zhuangzhai seemed to have lost its soul, muttering to itself:
"It can't be repaired. The dam is hanging in mid-air. Even if a great immortal came, he couldn't repair it!"
"It's over, the Longkou Dam is going to collapse!"
Hearing him say that, Shi Yingguang lost his balance and almost fell to the ground.
Lu Qingqing stepped forward to help the person up and asked the village:
"Official Zhuanghe, is there really no way to deal with this dike and sluice gate?"
Even if there's only the slightest possibility of repair, we should still give it a try!
Zhuangzhai looked up at her, his gaze filled with despair.
"There's no other way, let's go quickly, this dam might collapse at any time."
Once the flood breaches the dam, it will inevitably sweep away everything in its vicinity.
"Run! Run to higher ground, maybe we'll have a chance to survive!"
As he spoke, he staggered and ran towards the horses.
Upon hearing this, Lu Qingqing immediately grabbed Shi Yingguang.
"Lord Shi, there is no time to lose. We must hurry up and notify the people downstream to evacuate."
"Leave as soon as possible so you can find a way to make a living!"
Shi Yingguang forced himself to stand up and ran quickly toward the horses.
"Let's go, hurry back to the city and get the people evacuated!"
With that, he mounted his horse and galloped towards Xiazhou City.
Lu Qingqing watched the group ride away on horseback, thought for a moment, and then followed them.
She remembered that east of Xiazhou City, after passing two more cities, there was a dock somewhere about east of Anliang City.
There should be ships there.
If a flood really comes, saving those boats means saving the hope of rescuing people.
It would be better if Shi Yingguang sent someone to inform them of this matter; it would be more effective.
Thinking of this, she mounted her horse and gave chase.
Before long, they caught up with Shi Yingguang and his group who were ahead.
She told him about saving the ships at the dock, and Shi Yingguang nodded in agreement.
The group sped back to Xiazhou City.
Upon returning to the city, Shi Yingguang immediately dispatched men to the locations of several bell towers in Xiazhou City.
As the rapid drumbeats resounded from all directions of the city, the people of Xiazhou City hurriedly fled to the streets.
At this time, the government officials dispersed along the main streets of the city, loudly announcing the news.
"The Longkou Dam is about to collapse! Everyone, immediately head to Changyang Mountain in the west to avoid the flood!"
As shouts rang out, the people were initially bewildered.
Some people even went up to ask the constables whether the matter was true or false.
The constables were already frantic and had no time to explain.
"Hurry up and escape! If you don't leave now, you'll be waiting to die in the city!"
His rude attitude, coupled with his anxious expression, actually made the people believe him immediately.
Immediately, everyone went home and packed their bags.
At this moment, Shi Yingguang was inside the Guard Commander's residence.
He panicked when he heard that the man refused to send soldiers to notify the people in the nearby villages and towns.
“Zhen Xiaoren, you are, after all, the Commander of the Guard appointed by the imperial court, a local official who is responsible for the well-being of the people.”
There must be thousands of people living around Xiazhou City. Can you bear to watch them perish in the flood?
Upon hearing this, Zhen Xiaoren snorted coldly.
"What time is it? Instead of hurrying to take the money and your men and running away, are you waiting to be swept away by the flood!"
You're such an idiot, why would you care about those peasants?
You've always called me a villain, so I am one!
"Zhen Wu, throw this prefect out of here!"
Zhen Wu agreed, led his men into the house, and then tried to chase them away.
Upon seeing this, Lu Qingqing turned her hand inside her sleeve and grasped the dagger.