Court Commendation

Iron-gray shadows dominated the sky.

In the morning, sunlight could still peek through the gaps in the dark clouds, but in less than half a day, the mottled clouds thickened into a single layer, and a light drizzle began to fall.

On the Fang Zhou, the boatman stood in the rain, his hair soaked with sweat and sticking to his face. He straightened his back and pointed to the low hills in the hazy distance ahead.

"Sir, the Sand River Mountain is just ahead. It's too high for a boat to pass through; you'll have to ride a horse."

Wei Shao gazed at the Sand River Mountain under the dim light of the sky. "Let's find a place to moor the boat."

"Yes."

The two boatmen found a good spot and boarded the gangplank.

Wei Shao led the blue horse off the boat and rode it to the foot of the mountain without stopping. He then tied the reins and started climbing the mountain.

Someone came to report, Wei Shao ignored them and went straight into the "River Transport Teahouse".

Rain Water dripped along the edges of the broken beams, seeping into the cracks between the bricks and stones.

Young and strong Martial Artist carried beams and used shovels to shovel broken tiles and bricks into baskets, carrying them down the mountain basket by basket—a scene of bustling activity.

Passing through the front hall, teacups were scattered on several square tables, with two plaques in red and white, reading "Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, Teacher" and "Upright and Bright," piled up in the middle, and several Wooden Token on top of them.

Wei Shao frowned, a sense of foreboding growing wildly in his heart.

What happened? The Sand River Gang was taken over by Liang Qu?

Even if the Sand River Gang is not good enough, they still have Wolf Smoke Expert. How could they let Liang Qu, a mere Galloping Horse Martial Master, cause such a mess?

"Found it! Found it! It wasn't crushed!"

A Martial Artist, his face beaming with excitement, pulled a yellow plaque from the ruins. The plaque bore the four large characters "Righteousness Forever!" The surrounding gang members cheered.

The entire Gathering Righteousness Building collapsed, but none of the three plaques enshrined there were damaged, which can be considered a joyous occasion.

"Thank you all for your hard work."

A large, brown-spotted hand grabbed the plaque and casually placed it on the tea table, much to the surprise of the gang member who had found it.

Hu Yan Shijing put down the plaque, said "Thank you for your hard work," and, leaning on his cane, went to the front hall with Lian Jingye Wei Shao.

"I was unaware of your arrival, sir. Please come inside for tea."

"No need for pleasantries. You all know the purpose of my trip. Tell me, how many ships does the Sand River Gang have left?"

Wei Shao's straightforwardness made Hu Yan Shijing and Lian Jingye realize that the River Conservancy Office was truly of the same lineage.

Hu Yan Shijing a regretful expression, "My lord, you are a step too late."

Lian Jingye then handed over the ledger.

Wei Shao's expression tightened, and he took the ledger and began to read it.

The ledger contains information on most of the ships Sand River Gang, including their size and scale.

More than half of it was circled with Cinnabar Pen, indicating that it had been borrowed by Liang Qu.

There were indeed remaining ships, but all of them had their intended uses clearly stated, making it impossible to allocate them, or they were too large to navigate, so they were left behind.

Wei Shao frowned more and more deeply as he rolled his eyes.

Liang Qu actually managed to borrow it, and with such great force.

Just by looking at the information revealed between the lines of the ledger, it can be seen that the Sand River Gang put in a lot of effort and gave almost everything they could.

Some of the ships even carried rice and grain to help with emergencies.

Realizing that he had wasted several hours and encountered the worst possible outcome, he was going to meet Wei Lin tomorrow...

An indescribable pressure made Wei Shao's heart race, and he couldn't help but confirm again. "Not a single empty ship left?"

"That's how it is within the Sand River Gang."

Wei Shao seized the key point. "Is that how it is within the Sand River Gang?"

"Before Lord Liang left, he instructed us to try our best to collect spare boats from nearby towns and villages, so that the officials of the River Conservancy Office would not return empty-handed. In just a few hours, we have made some progress."

Wei Shao was taken aback, and some inexplicable emotions arose in his heart.

How many do you levy?

Lian Jingye pulled out a second ledger.

Wei Shao flipped through the pages one after another.

No surprises.

A few hours is too short. The Sand River Gang did their best to make this happen, but the number of ships they managed to get was less than one-third of the fleet under Liang Qu's command.

"It's better than nothing..."

Wei Shao's brows relaxed slightly.

The mud-covered floodwaters surged into the village in waves, and the cracks in the walls were filled with fine white foam.

Sitting in bath tubs, the villagers, like monkeys clinging to trees, were pulled out of the floodwaters one by one by the boatmen.

A long gangplank was erected between the rooftop and the large ship. The children cried and shouted, afraid to go forward, which angered the villagers behind them who cursed them.

The woman had to pick up her child and, exhausted, climb over the plank while still holding the child.

Liang Qu stood atop the tall mast, seemingly rooted to the spot no matter how the boats below rocked.

With his Golden Eye gleaming, he surveyed the entire situation and directed the fleet in an orderly manner.

"Old Song, split the fleet into three parts, and send two of them to Cangji Town in the east..."

"Separate all the able-bodied men from the women and children! Don't put them in the same cabin!"

"Old Song! Send a few men to the cabin to carry ten bags of rice to cook porridge. Don't take more than that. Remember not to cook it too thick. One bowl per person, just enough to keep them from starving. Give an extra bowl to the able-bodied men so they can drink it and help with the work!"

Countless followers obeyed Liang Qu's orders, moving between the boats and carrying out their missions.

Even Lu Xinqing was no exception; he pulled out a large iron pot and prepared to boil water and start cooking.

"Lord Liang, has something happened over there?"

Old Song looked up and shouted at Liang Qu on the mast.

Liang Qu turned his head and saw two young men fighting in the middle of the deck, embracing each other and rolling around in a heap. Soon others joined in, and a group of people watched helplessly.

The boat captain jumped out and asked, "What's going on? What's going on? Why are they fighting over there?"

"Oh my goodness, it's those two bastards from the Li Family and Chen Clan!" The Village Elder who had been rescued from the boat recognized them immediately. "These two families used to be neighbors, and they often quarreled over small pieces of land..."

Liang Qu's voice came from afar, clear and powerful. "I don't care what grudges they have, get them all out of here now!"

The Village Elder hesitated. "Sir, this..."

"Are you going to wait for me to do it myself?"

Before the Village Elder could react, a member of the Sand River Gang had already rushed onto the deck on the gangplank, slapped the young men down with two slaps, grabbed one in each hand and threw him into the water, cursing loudly.

"You two sons of bitches, what did you eat in your past lives, Toad droppings and toad piss, that you wanted to be human? Well, your wish has come true! You're so strong, why don't you go play in the river!"

After resolving one farce, Liang Qu heard screams coming from the east.

"Captain, there's Giant Crocodile over there!"

"The Giant Crocodile is coming! The Giant Crocodile is coming! Help! Help!"

Two Giant Crocodile, each over ten feet long, swam toward a small wooden barrel, about to grab it with their claws, when suddenly they felt a heavy pressure crash into their minds.

A giant ape with gleaming Golden Eye appeared in the minds of the two beasts, and immediately their muscles stiffened completely, causing them to flip straight out of the water.

The woman in the wooden tub poked the Giant Crocodile with a stick, but it didn't move; it was dead!

"Send a few men to pull the people out! Catch the Giant Crocodile too, kill it and stew it with the porridge!"

"Sir, there is some rice and grain in the village ancestral hall. It should not have been flooded. It was collected by the Village Elder last year for disaster relief."

"Okay! Send a few people to help move the rice out!"

"Wow!"

"I'm going too!"

On the Black Water River, a dozen longboats were moored in the harbor.

Numerous emergency tents have been erected on the open ground outside the dock.

The soldiers lined up to unload rice and grain from the boats, leaving some on the spot and transferring the rest to smaller boats for transport to various parts of Hua Zhu County.

Xiang Fangsu and others stood on the deck to supervise.

They were the second wave of the rescue operation, bringing initial emergency supplies.

Ke Wenbin allocated a batch of rice and grain, and instructed the soldiers to cook porridge on the spot to provide relief.

Xiang Fangsu stared at the Ping Yang County emblem on the rice bag and exclaimed, "County Magistrate Jian opened the Ping Yang County granary to help with disaster relief and even took the lead in donating eight thousand taels of silver to purchase rice. He is truly generous and wealthy."

Ke Wenbin laughed and said, "Eight thousand taels isn't much. Didn't you also spend five thousand taels to buy a hot pot recipe?"

"Don't be ridiculous, how can that be the same? I can earn back what I buy sooner or later, but donations are a one-way street."

"Not necessarily. The imperial court will definitely reward us afterwards, so it's not a loss."

Tax exemptions and official relief required the emperor's approval before ministers had the authority to implement them. However, officials who opened granaries to distribute grain in the event of a sudden disaster were invariably rewarded as positive role models.

"What's the use of just verbal praise?"

"You don't understand. The benefits that Magistrate Jian can get are invisible and intangible right now, but they will be evident when he becomes the Prefect. At least he will not lose a Profound Yellow Energy."

With the Profound Yellow Energy in hand, he's already halfway to becoming Grandmaster. Given his age, he might even become Martial Saint someday.

"That thing comes too slowly. Turning Ping Yang County into Pingyang Prefecture is exhausting just thinking about it. You won't get much benefit, and you'll just end up with a pot on your head."

Look at the magistrate of Hua Zhu County, he caused a dam to collapse out of nowhere. No matter how well he had prepared beforehand, it was all for naught!

"I disagree. The transformation of Ping Yang County into a new prefecture will definitely be completed within three years!"

Xiang Fangsu shook her head, unwilling to argue, and changed the subject, saying, "I wonder where A Shui is, and how things are going? It's the first time that kid Dushui Official, I hope he doesn't make any mistakes?"

Ke Wenbin shook his head.

"Don't worry, A Shui is young, but she's actually quite thoughtful."