The sky was unusually gloomy, dark clouds rolling overhead.
Lightning flashed amid the clouds.
Rain poured down in torrents.
The river roared again and again, launching its charge against both banks.
The swollen waters battered the people along the banks, the ground beneath their feet nothing but mud.
Guanqiu Jian stood at the very front, his brow furrowed, surrounded by officials.
Just as the Preparedness Office had predicted, the rains grew increasingly frequent and the river's current increasingly fierce. The mother river grew restless, inching over its banks.
The Commandery Governor stood beside Guanqiu Jian, already soaked through. Shivering, he said, "Grand Marshal... we cannot stay here any longer. Before tomorrow, the three nearby villages will be completely submerged."
"We must abandon the works here too... and evacuate the people as quickly as possible."
Guanqiu Jian gazed at the surging, muddy waters before him, his expression grave.
Lu Kang stood beside Guanqiu Jian. Looking at the situation before them, he pulled the Governor aside again and asked about conditions in several areas along the banks.
By now, news of the flooding probably could no longer be concealed.
The common people were not entirely ignorant. They might not understand how to analyze the movements of the imperial star through celestial phenomena, but they knew how to predict conditions for agriculture and sericulture, and disasters, through changes in the weather.
These months of heavy rain had left many people living along the riverbanks deeply frightened.
Ever since the Former Han, the river had flown into rages from time to time, with increasing frequency, and the people along its banks had grown accustomed to it.
When such abnormal weather appeared, people everywhere grew fearful. Even among those performing corvée labor, fear could be seen on their faces, and people often gathered to whisper