Night falls inside the county government office.
Xiong Wanli, beaming with eagerness, stepped forward carrying a wine jar. "My lords, you have come from afar. I have nothing of value to offer you, but this is a grain wine brewed in our county; it has a rich and mellow flavor."
Meng Anci smiled gently, " Lord Xiong, we still have to oversee river management and construction work this evening, so it's inconvenient for the two of us to drink."
Xiong Wanli quickly signaled the yamen runners to remove the wine and replace it with hot tea, and sighed repeatedly, "Both of you are truly incorruptible and dedicated to the river works! With such responsible officials, the people of Jianghe County finally have hope!"
Yuan Shanjian shoveled mouthfuls of rice into his mouth, mumbling, "After you finish eating, bring the river map and the river works ledgers so that Lord Meng can carefully check them."
"Yes, Your Excellency will prepare immediately."
"Eat first, what's the rush?" Yuan Shanjian shoveled another mouthful of food into his mouth.
Xiong Wanli smiled and looked at everyone before picking up his chopsticks to eat.
After dinner, in the study.
Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan huddled together studying the river map, while Jin Shanyao leaned against Xiaoli listlessly, staring blankly at the rooftop.
A light rain began to fall outside the window. Zhao Zhiyuan got up to close the window and bumped into Xiong Wanli, who was wearing a raincoat and hurrying outside.
" Lord Xiong, are you going out so late at night?"
"This humble official will go and inspect the riverbank. Lord Zhao, please do not worry." Xiong Wanli's face was still full of smiles, but his steps did not falter at all. He took the reins, mounted his horse, and quickly disappeared into the rain.
Zhao Zhiyuan at the rain for a moment, then closed the window and went back inside. " Xiong Wanli has gone to the riverbank."
Meng Anci a soft "hmm," and said, "I've already reviewed the accounts, and there's nothing wrong with them. The funds allocated by the court for disaster relief and river repair have all been used effectively, as stated. I'll visit some people when I have time to see if their accounts match the people's descriptions."
Zhao Zhiyuan packed up the drawings and suggested, "Let's rest first, we can look at them again tomorrow. Auntie, it's time to rest."
Jin Shanyao responded with a snort, sat up straight, and said, "Do you know why Yuan Shanjian diligent efforts in managing the river, has caused the dikes to breach year after year and subjected him to so much criticism?"
Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan both looked over. "Why?"
Jin Shanyao fan and said, " Yuan Shanjian seem loud and boisterous, but he is a good official who gets things done honestly. Just think about it, Pingcheng Prefecture is located in the middle and upper reaches of the river. What would happen if Yuan Shanjian opened the main sluice gate and let the river carry the silt and sand downstream?"
Meng Anci suddenly realized, "No wonder the officials Harmful River were never reprimanded by the court; the crux of the problem lies here..."
Jin Shanyao snapped her fingers. "This is a classic case of the more you do, the more mistakes you make; the more responsible you are, the more you suffer. If Yuan Shanjian even a shred of selfishness and had simply released the river water downstream, he wouldn't have ended up pleasing neither side. Now the people are accusing him of embezzling river repair funds, and His Majesty is reprimanding him for ineffective river management..."
Jin Shanyao and said, "He didn't get anything out of it."
After hearing this, both Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan fell silent.
Meng Anci's gaze returned to the blueprints, thinking: The more you do, the more complaints you'll receive... If no one does anything and no one takes responsibility, then it's the poor who suffer.
He couldn't help but think of Su Wenqian and Zhu Huaizhang... If they were here, how would they handle this problem? Would they also stubbornly resist like Yuan Shanjian?
Jin Shanyao stood up and walked out, muttering to herself, "No wonder the books say that you have to start from the source... It turns out the problem with this river isn't actually with the river itself."
Meng Anci and Zhao Zhiyuan exchanged a glance. Now that His Majesty had sent them to Pingcheng Prefecture, it was impossible for them to go upstream. They could only grit their teeth and hold out here to the very end.
The next day, the light rain continued incessantly, showing no signs of stopping.
Yuan Shanjian rubbed his face and looked at Xiong Wanli, "You went to check the river last night, what was the situation?"
With noticeable dark circles under his eyes, Xiong Wanli smiled respectfully and said, "Reporting to Your Excellency, everything is fine; the water level has not risen."
Yuan Shanjian nodded and didn't ask any more questions.
Seven or eight days passed, and the light rain not only did not stop, but its intensity gradually increased, which was definitely not a good omen.
Zhao Zhiyuan accompanied Yuan Shanjian to inspect the river embankment again, while Meng Anci and Jin Shanyao stayed in the study to check the accounts.
When Meng Anci opened the account book, it was still broad daylight. By the time he looked up, it was already evening. The study was empty, with only Xiaoli lying at his feet. His aunt was nowhere to be seen.
Before long, Zhao Zhiyuan, Yuan Shanjian, and Xiong Wanli walked in, looking exhausted.
Zhao Zhiyuan brushed the water droplets off his clothes and said in a deep voice, "Yesterday the river was three zhang (approximately 10 meters) above the top of the embankment, but today it's only two and a half zhang (approximately 1.6 meters) away."
Xiong Wanli picked up the teapot and poured tea for everyone. "My estimate is that, at this rate of rise, the main dike can only hold for another half a month at most."
As he spoke, he glanced furtively at Yuan Shanjian and continued, "This year's flood season came suddenly. If the main dam breaches, towns, villages, farmland, and even the entire downstream area will be submerged. Going to the prefect upstream now is probably too late. If we could release the floodwaters..."
Xiong Wanli stopped there. Yuan Shanjian got up and walked to the blueprints, staring at the entire river for a long time before finally pointing to a spot.
" Yuhe County borders our county, and its territory is mostly saline-alkali land with meager grain yields. Furthermore, it is far from towns, so choosing this location for flood discharge minimizes the damage."
Xiong Wanli's eyes darted around, his face showing difficulty. "My lord... this is probably not appropriate. Yuhe County is not under your jurisdiction, and the other party will most likely not agree to the flood discharge. Besides, Lord Cui will not give you face."
No sooner had he finished speaking than a gaze shot over. Xiong Wanli turned to meet Meng Anci's eyes, gave an awkward smile, and said nothing more.
Zhao Zhiyuan stared at the blueprints for a long time; Yuhe County was indeed an excellent location for flood discharge.
"If we release the floodwaters here, the people in the middle and lower reaches will be spared from disaster. At that time, we can use disaster relief funds to compensate the people of Yuhe County, which will also reduce their losses."
Xiong Wanli sighed heavily, " Lord Zhao, you may not know this, but we've considered this method before. However, the magistrate of Yuhe County is a notoriously stubborn old man. Lord Yuan has approached him twice before, but he refused to show him the slightest leniency. In my opinion, we should just forget about it."
"What do you mean 'let it go'? This year's rainfall is significantly more than usual. If we don't do something now, what will happen to the people downstream when the torrential rains come? Let's go, I'm going right now. I refuse to believe I can't persuade that old man."
Zhao Zhiyuan's gaze swept over Xiong Wanli, then Yuan Shanjian, "I will go with you, and while we're at it, we'll arrange for the people of each county to be evacuated first."
"Alright, I'll go prepare right away." Yuan Shanjian his thigh, stood up, grabbed his official hat, and walked out.
Upon seeing this, Xiong Wanli bid farewell to Zhao Zhiyuan and Meng Anci and left.
After everyone left, Meng Anci finally spoke, "I'm afraid this matter will be difficult to accomplish. Think about it, each prefecture city has its own section to manage the waterways. Although Jianghe County borders Yuhe County, it is ultimately within the Dingchuan Prefecture."
If the floodwaters are released there, and even the slightest mistake occurs, the prefect of Dingchuan Prefecture responsible. Why should he take the blame? Go over there and explain the pros and cons clearly. If the other party insists on refusing, return immediately and do not delay.
I've studied that river map repeatedly. Zhao Household Gully is our last resort; we must evacuate the people beforehand. Remember that.
Zhao Zhiyuan nodded, "Don't worry, if we can't reach an agreement, we'll turn back immediately without delay."