Nothing Needs Doing

The boatman steered his boat into the fleet, running alongside the two large ships, cutting through the waves.

Upon Cha Qing, Fan Zixuan, Yan Qingshan, Yan Chongwen... A group of officials from the River Conservancy Office looked around blankly.

Large ships, each over five zhang in length, were lined up side by side, gangplanks connected to gangplanks, with fishing boats filling the gaps underneath. Thousands of sails competed, and the oars crisscrossed, the entire fleet stretching for more than two li! They were like a group of lost ants, helplessly surrounding a huge, dangerous water snake.

On the mast, the Dou Shou who was looking out for the wind saw the approaching ship, raised the red flag and the green flag, and flashed them three times in alternation.

The strong boatman used a long pole to prop up the boat and slowly pushed it to the side of the ship.

Yan Qingshan and others then discovered that many boats had a long "tail" towed behind them, which was a floating bridge made of planks and ropes. As the large boats rose and fell, countless bubbles were squeezed out between the planks.

The plank puller grabbed the rope and slid down from the cabin, dashed to the side of the boat, threw down the rope ladder, and shouted to the people on the small boat.

"My lords, Lord Liang has been waiting for a long time. Please board the ship!"

Cha Qing took the lead, grabbed the rope ladder and climbed onto the deck, and the others followed one after another.

The ship Liang Qu was on was the largest in the fleet.

Standing at the bow of the ship, everyone could better appreciate the magnificent and imposing presence of the fleet.

The Yan brothers leaned against the railing, thinking of the huge ginkgo tree in their old martial Martial Arts School.

The Martial Arts Field, tamped down by heavy hammers, was covered with withered yellow leaves. When the wind blew, hundreds and thousands of ginkgo leaves swirled together.

The smaller ones spin fast, the larger ones spin slowly, creating a sense of order within a tight arrangement.

This is roughly the scene we see right now.

No wonder Liang Qu wasn't in a hurry to find someone...

Putting everything else aside, there are at least several hundred boatmen coming and going on the boat, and the boat captain alone has plenty of manpower.

The group exchanged glances, clearly having the same thought.

"Gentlemen, please come in."

The plank worker bowed deeply and then led the way, with everyone rushing into the cabin.

The cabin was well-ventilated from north to south, with windows on both sides fully open, letting in the grayish-white sunlight.

The first thing that catches the eye is a long spear, hanging horizontally on the blue hilt, its Black Gold gleaming shifting and changing on the blade.

The long spear, hanging on the right side of the cabin, was so conspicuous that it drew more attention than the object in the center.

"What a fine spear!" The men looked away from the spear.

In the middle of the cabin was an extremely wide square table, on which was a huge sand table, ten feet long.

Liang Qu was standing in front of the square table, inserting small flags of different colors one by one onto the sand table.

In a corner of the cabin, two carpenters were chiseling and hammering away, replicating a smaller sand table.

"They're here, come and see!"

When Liang Qu saw Cha Qing and the others, he did not exchange pleasantries but waved for them to come forward.

The crowd gathered around and discovered that the sand table was made of wood, uneven, with small hills rising in many places and covered with small green, yellow, red, and blue flags.

"Yellow Mountain... Sand River Mountain..."

Upon Cha Qing, several names marked on the hills were noticed.

Judging from the place names of several key locations, the sand table is clearly a replica of the terrain of Hua Zhu County.

After searching again, you can still see the small mound where they were before, rising slightly from the flat ground.

Yan Chongwen asked, "The terrain of Hua Zhu County?"

"Not just." Cha Qing shook his head and pointed to the sand table. "This side, and that side, are the areas of Jiangling County and Peach Valley County."

Liang Qu nodded and looked at Li LiBo: "Li Bo, go outside and fetch me a pot of floodwater!"

Upon hearing the sound, Li LiBo went outside and returned, carrying a ceramic jar filled with a pale yellow liquid that emitted a faint earthy smell.

Liang Qu took the pottery jar and poured water onto the collapsed "Lord Qiu's Dyke" in the southwest corner of the sand table.

The pale yellow water surged out, washing over the entire "Hua Zhu County".

When the floodwaters had spread far and wide and were faintly overlapping with the black line around the sand table, Liang Qu raised the mouth of the can, and the water flow stopped abruptly.

"What you see is basically the current extent of the flooding. The boat is rocking a lot, so make do with it."

"Do red and yellow flags represent the severity of the disaster?"

Chen Jiechang was observant; he noticed that the water was deeper where the red flags were planted, while it was shallower where the yellow flags were planted.

After Cha Qing that they had found a small green flag near the small hill where they had been, they guessed, "Is the green flag a nearby disaster relief settlement?"

"Blue indicates the fleet's location?"

Fan Zixuan pointed to their current location, where a Blue Banner was planted.

"That's right! On the sand table, green flags represent Relief Point, red flags represent the most severely affected areas, yellow flags represent areas affected but less severely, and blue flags represent areas where large fleets gather."

"Why are there two red flags planted here even though the water is shallow? And here, even though the terrain is much higher, there are still red flags?"

Fan Zixuan pointed to two small areas on the sand table.

Liang Qu pointed to a location further ahead. "Because there is a mountain in front of it, the floodwaters spread here and were split into seven or three parts, with seventy percent of it being submerged."

As for the higher-lying areas, because the surrounding terrain is even higher, the high water levels there are not only caused by the floods, but also by the torrential rains of the past few days.

I built the sand table to help you understand, observe, and act, but the sand table is not completely consistent with reality. Pouring water cannot accurately reproduce the actual situation; otherwise, the River Conservancy Office wouldn't need us to explore everywhere. Besides, the boat is rocking quite a bit.

Liang Qu lifted a corner of the sand table, and the water level at the location of the two red flags rose slightly.

After discerning the meaning behind Liang Qu's words, Cha Qing, "Does Your Excellency mean that you have already sent people to investigate in person?"

If we don't actually send people to investigate, how will we know which places need to be marked with red flags?

"Almost."

Liang Qu had naturally investigated, but he hadn't sent the right people.

Using Feng Shui Map and information relayed by animals such as Fat Catfish, he meticulously marked the extent of the disaster in Hua Zhu County and several nearby counties on a sand table that was roughly replicated to scale.

Everyone immediately fell into self-doubt.

Assembling a fleet and surveying the affected area—it seems they conducted on-site investigations throughout—are two extremely time-consuming and laborious tasks. Can they really be completed in a single day?

In that time, it would probably only be enough for a person to travel from east to west and back once.

The cause of the rapid heartbeat Cha Qing.

I really made the right choice in following the right person!

What does it mean to have a boss with connections, power, and formidable abilities? Following such a boss, how could you not achieve success? When one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs rise to prominence.

Being able to stay in the same circle is truly lucky!

Fan Zixuan's face flushed, and he bowed, saying, "Now that you have basically gathered all the available rescue forces in the county and roughly Cha Qing the extent of the disaster, would you like us to investigate the breach in the dike?"

Not only Fan Zixuan, but all the other River Earl River Chief thought the same way.

Two of the three major tasks have been completed, leaving only the final task of investigating the breached dike. That task must be left to us, and we must handle it well.

Upon Cha Qing the situation was agitated, he immediately declared, "My lord, please rest assured, I will do my utmost to investigate the cause of the dike breach thoroughly!"

Fan Zixuan followed closely behind. "That's right, sir, please give your orders!"

The cabin was filled with responses.

Unexpectedly, Liang Qu rejected the idea outright.

"No! What you need to do now is each lead a fleet of ships and, according to the markings on the sand table I gave you, go to other places to carry out rescue operations! Transfer disaster victims, maintain order, and distribute food."

If necessary, send people to distribute soup kitchens to large households; for fields that are flooded, dig holes to release the floodwaters wherever possible!

After a moment of hesitation, Cha Qing couldn't help but say, "Why not investigate the cause of the dam breach? My lord, forgive my bluntness, but in matters of saving lives, whether there are more or fewer people, it makes no difference."

"The investigation is complete, and the person has been apprehended." Liang Qu's expression was calm as he lightly tapped his toes on the floor. "The culprit is being held in the cabin right under your feet. I will personally hand him over once the commander arrives."

"???"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked.

A moment of deathly silence.

"Sir, could you please lift your foot?"

"Oh, sorry."

Kou Zhuang hurriedly lifted his foot.

The old man carving the sand table picked up the chisel from the ground, blew away the wood shavings on the board, and continued carving.

The stagnant air began to circulate again.

"Is what you say true, sir?"

Fan Zixuan craned his neck in an attempt to confirm.

"Why would I lie to you?" Liang Qu shouted without offering any explanation. "Cha Qing Fan Zixuan and Yan Qingshan!"

"Your humble servant is here! *3"

"The three of you will lead a team and take a sand table to the deck to find an old man with a mouthful of rotten teeth."

"I have already had the fleet and provisions distributed. You will each lead your fleets to provide relief to the disaster victims. Remember! If any of them commit rape, plunder, or other acts of abusion, I authorize you to act as you see fit! Kou Zhuang, Chen Jiechang, Li LiBo, the three of you will stay by my side and handle matters. Do you understand?"

"Clear!"

Liang Qu took out three sand tables that had been made beforehand and were covered with small flags, and handed them to the three River Earl in turn.

The three dared not delay. Faced with the order, despite their many doubts, they left the cabin with their respective river chiefs and officials.

Liang Qu stood on the deck, watching the massive, bulky fleet break apart into three parts and head towards other places.

Compared to the members of the Sand River Gang, it was clear that their own people were more trustworthy, which allowed them to spread out their fleet.

When facing Flood Calamity, small groups of troops are much more effective than large groups.

Old Song's fleet later arrived in front of Liang Qu.

"Sir, we're almost at the Relief Point ahead."

"Arrange for people to settle the disaster victims. We'll head east later; I remember there are large Rice Paddy over there?"