Chapter 54: A Dam Across the River?
Crown Prince Jiao seemed far too eager, but it happened to be exactly what they wanted.
Qi Zheng glanced at Chen Bai, but in the end, he said nothing.
That made the matter rather hard to understand. What exactly was going on? Prince Zheng actually did not object.
In truth, Prince Zheng himself was also extremely surprised. Why had the plan they had originally settled on suddenly changed again?
At this moment, Crown Prince Jiao suddenly said, “Since this suggestion was proposed by Grand Scholar Zhaoxue, then I am afraid Grand Scholar Zhaoxue must also personally accompany him on this trip.”
In ancient times, there was such a thing as a supervising military official. Crown Prince Jiao’s meaning was very clear: since you have such confidence in Prince Zheng, then you should go with him.
This was killing two birds with one stone. He would solve Prince Zheng and Chen Zixiu at the same time. Since ancient times, whether flood control succeeded or failed had always been judged by others.
For a moment, the court did not know what to say. Someone had to take on such an assignment. Since they themselves could not do it, they could only wait for someone capable of handling the matter.
And now, Prince Zheng did not object, so those who had originally been preparing to say something found it difficult to speak.
By the time court was dismissed, the matter had been settled just like that.
Prince Zheng and Chen Bai had received the same assignment together, so naturally, they needed to discuss it. Thus, when Chen Bai went to find Prince Zheng, it was perfectly natural.
When Qi Zheng saw Chen Bai, he said only one sentence. “Why?”
Chen Bai could not help but smile. “Don’t you think this is a tremendous opportunity?”
Qi Zheng’s brows furrowed. Was this not a tremendous problem?
How had it become an opportunity once it came out of Chen Zixiu’s mouth?
Chen Bai looked at Qi Zheng and said, word by word, “If we can control the flood disaster, with such a great merit, could the hundred officials possibly pretend not to see it? Add to that the fact that once Crown Prince Jiao loses power and Prince Zhuo proves incapable of shouldering great responsibility, when the king has no choice but to decide on an heir, everyone’s eyes will fall on you.”
“There is a saying: one becomes the person all hopes return to. When that time comes, the king cannot possibly disregard everyone’s opinion and stubbornly insist on his own way, can he?”
Qi Zheng’s heart trembled. What they needed to do had always been exactly this. But controlling the flood disaster—how could that possibly be done?
Chen Bai said, “The three cities often suffer floods, yet they are still Great Qian’s important grain-producing cities. That means the floods follow a pattern. They are not destructive beyond recovery. We only need to find the root cause and control it. Perhaps we can resolve the problem from its source. That would be a world-shaking merit.”
Qi Zheng still frowned. No matter how much was said, the fundamental question remained: could the flood disaster be controlled?
Chen Bai also understood the situation. At this point, words were useless. They could only go to the site and inspect the specific circumstances first.
Chen Bai returned to the academy. Since controlling the floods might require the students’ help, he definitely had to bring some students along. Of course, some students also had to stay behind to watch over the academy.
Gu Bao’er and several other students were left behind because he had to continue researching his insecticide.
“You must take good care of the academy, and take good care of the cats. While I am away, the internet will not be cut off, but you must not play too late at night. You must live with self-discipline.”
“During the time I am away, Gu Bao’er will temporarily be the person in charge of the academy and the person in charge of our research project.”
Per… person in charge?
Gu Bao’er looked at his own small frame. Good heavens, he was still so little, yet he had become the academy’s person in charge. He lifted his little head. “Don’t worry. I will keep watch over them properly. Whoever disobeys, I will write them down in my little notebook.”
The others’ eyes all curved into smiles. With Gu Bao’er’s tiny size, it would be strange if he could control them. Of course, right now, they had to behave obediently.
Chen Bai was not worried about them. They basically knew how to use the electrical appliances in the academy, so there should not be any major problems. Besides, this place was close to Shangjing, and there were servants downstairs at all times. They only had to shout, and their voices could be heard below.
What worried Chen Bai was the group of students he had to take with him. How could he get their families to allow them to go?
In the end, Chen Bai had worried for nothing. The next day, not a single one was missing.
Chen Bai was somewhat surprised. “How did you persuade your parents?”
“That was easy. We said we were going to achieve merit and establish a career.”
“Anyway, if the flood disaster is not controlled, Qi Zheng will be the one taking the blame, and it has nothing to do with us. But if it is controlled, haha, at such a young age, we will become great meritorious contributors whom no one can ignore.”
Could their parents not agree? Such a good opportunity was something others could only dream of.
Chen Bai: “…”
These little fellows really had beautiful thoughts. But it was indeed true.
The group began setting out. Chen Bai and the others rode in carriages, while Qi Zheng rode on horseback.
Chen Bai said, “This time, we must fight a quick battle and reach a quick decision.”
Because under the current circumstances, they were not suited to leave Shangjing for too long. Although the place was not far from Shangjing and was only about three or four days’ journey away, the king’s current condition was unstable. Some accident could happen at any moment. If something happened while they were not in Shangjing, there could be unexpected trouble.
Qi Zheng nodded. “I will have Meng Huanchao send news from Shangjing at the first opportunity.”
The distance to their destination was indeed only three or four days. Along the way, only the students were carefree, as if they had come out for an outing. Chen Bai and Qi Zheng, however, looked deeply worried.
A storm was coming. A major upheaval was bound to happen in Shangjing.
As they got closer and closer, they began to see farmland destroyed by floodwaters.
The fields were full of accumulated water. This was an unimaginable natural disaster.
Some commoners’ houses had also been destroyed, leaving behind only broken walls and ruins.
This year, it would probably be impossible to sow crops.
The commoners along the road were also sighing in distress.
“There were floods every year before too, but they only destroyed some farmland. How could it be like this year, when so many people have even lost their homes? How are they supposed to live?”
“It rained heavily for several days in a row. Now the rain has stopped, but what use is that?”
Chen Bai did not remain idle along the way either. He walked around and observed everywhere.
If he had not misread the situation, it was because continuous heavy rain had caused the river embankment upstream to burst. The river water poured down, destroying these fields and houses.
Chen Bai asked some of the commoners along the road a few questions. “Old uncle, I see that the trees on those river embankments seem to have been cut down. Do you know who cut them?”
“I heard it was for expanding the Eastern Palace. But I don’t know why they cut so many.”
Qi Zheng quietly added, “Crown Prince Jiao’s private army needs quite a few camps. He likely used the expansion of the Eastern Palace as an excuse to cut down the timber here.”
Chen Bai froze. Why cut down trees there of all places?
Without this layer of protection on the river embankment, after the heavy rain continued without stopping, the river rose and directly broke through the embankment. That was what had caused the disaster to become so severe.
These river embankments had not been built by human hands. They had formed naturally over thousands of years. With these trees there, they had been extremely stable. But now they had been destroyed by human action, causing the foundation to weaken. Once the floodwaters rushed against them, they collapsed.
Chen Bai sighed. What a sin.
By the time Chen Bai and the others reached their destination, the cause had basically been analyzed, saving them a lot of trouble.
The ones who came to welcome them were the local officials. They actually did not hold any hope for those who had come to aid them, but on the surface, they naturally still had to ask.
“How does Prince Zheng intend to help us control the flood?”
Qi Zheng did not answer, but looked at Chen Bai.
Chen Bai had formed some ideas based on what he had seen along the way, but he still had to continue investigating.
So he did not give any opinion either and instead temporarily settled down.
Once they settled down, the people could not help but sigh. In the eyes of the commoners, the people who had come to control the flood spent every day running around everywhere. They looked aimless, holding strange notebooks and strange pens, recording something, but they simply did not do any proper work.
They could not help lamenting. Yet another group had come merely to go through the motions. Once they left, nothing would change.
But Chen Bai really was seriously doing things. “Have you recorded all the data I asked you to record?”
The group of students patted their notebooks. “It is all written here. Not a single bit is off.”
What Chen Bai and the others had been doing these past few days was identifying the locations most likely to trigger floods, then measuring the depth of the water.
From this, Chen Bai reached one conclusion. The local floods were cyclical, and every time, they were caused by the river water rising and breaking through the river embankment.
He also asked the local elders about the depth of the river throughout the four seasons.
All the data was recorded.
“In other words, as long as the water level is controlled and floodwater is released appropriately, the flood disaster can be avoided,” Chen Bai murmured.
The best method was actually to build a dam. By releasing floodwater at the appropriate time to control the water level, they could even store water for irrigation. That way, during the storm season, they could effectively prevent floods from occurring.
But now there was a problem. Building a dam would certainly require a great deal of money and time. As for money, probably no one could afford it. If the court were made responsible, then they would also face many other problems.
As for time, there was even less need to mention it. Chen Bai and the others definitely could not stay in this place for too long. Once they started building a dam, it might not be something that could be completed in one or two months.
But Chen Bai still had to submit the treatment method.
Using the data he had collected, Chen Bai wrote a very, very long proposal and design draft.
“Proposal on Thoroughly Controlling the Flood Disaster by Building a Dam Across the River.”
Qi Zheng looked at the design proposal in his hands, somewhat stunned. The data on it was written out clearly, and it even explained the working principle of the dam.
In theory, it did indeed seem useful. Moreover, it was a proposal that could thoroughly solve the flood disaster.
This would be a merit lasting through the ages. If it could truly solve the three cities’ flood problems over the years, then it would certainly ensure that grain production became much more stable.
But the problem was also obvious. Such a massive project would require enormous manpower, money, and time.
For the current Great Qian, it was somewhat unrealistic.
Even so, reading this design proposal truly made one’s blood surge. If it were a ruler who loved grand achievements, he would probably insist on trying it no matter what.
Qi Zheng said only one sentence. “This method is probably unworkable.”
Chen Bai smiled. “I know. But don’t you think it is very tempting?”
“What we need to do is let everyone know that we proposed this plan. The ones refusing it will not be us.”
Qi Zheng: “…”
He understood what Chen Bai meant. They would play the good people and let others play the villains.
Chen Bai continued, “I have two memorials here to submit. What do you think?”
Qi Zheng asked, “What is the other memorial?”
Chen Bai took out another already prepared memorial from his sleeve.
Qi Zheng could not help but freeze when he saw it.
This memorial was also filled entirely with data. It analyzed the cause of this flood disaster.
Attached to it was a clear and understandable chart: how many trees had been cut down in total, where they had been cut, and even the size of the trees had all been recorded.
It also explained the original function of those trees.
As for the remaining contents, they directly pointed to Crown Prince Jiao’s reckless logging under the excuse of “expanding the Eastern Palace” as the cause of this flood disaster.
Chen Bai said, “You will have to copy this memorial and submit it yourself.”
Qi Zheng’s expression became strange.
The words on the two slips of paper they had placed inside the turtles’ bellies—
“The flood dragon becomes a snake; virtue is lacking.”
“When governance is smooth and people are harmonious, all under heaven will be auspicious.”
Were they about to come true?
This trip had not been wasted.
The two memorials were sent to the court.
Chen Bai and the others did not idle around either. They were publicizing the proposal of building a dam to thoroughly solve the flood disaster.
Even if they knew perfectly well that it was impossible to carry out, the common people would still surely hold hope in their hearts.
A group of commoners and local officials suddenly discovered that these imperial commissioners, who had been running around everywhere all day, had not been doing nothing. They truly were helping solve the flood disaster, and they had genuinely come up with an effective method—one that made people’s blood boil just from hearing about it.
The image of Chen Bai and that group of students who carried strange notebooks and strange pens, writing and drawing everywhere, instantly became different.
“Those are young masters from Shangjing, right? At such a young age, they have already started carrying out official duties.”
“Exactly. I always thought they had come here to play. Then look at the children in our own families, all like little mud monkeys.”
While Chen Bai publicized this impossible project, he was also thinking about how to resolve the flood problem. After all, the purpose of their coming here was to solve the flood. No matter what they said or how they publicized it, if in the end the flood disaster could not be resolved, it would be useless. Any reputation they gained would eventually scatter away.
While Chen Bai was thinking of a way to solve the flood problem, his two memorials were also placed before the court.
The memorials were somewhat strange because they were truly too thick.
Before the memorials were presented, something else had happened: Crown Prince Jiao was vigorously attacking Qi Zheng and Chen Bai.
“According to reports from local officials, after Prince Zheng and Chen Zixiu arrived in the region, they spent every day sightseeing and playing around, doing nothing proper at all. They did not take the assignment the court entrusted to them seriously. For such people, who still seek pleasure while the common people are trapped in deep suffering, this son requests that Father King punish them severely.”
As soon as he finished speaking, two thick memorials were placed before the court.
To be honest, this was the first time they had ever seen memorials this thick. No one knew what was written inside, so they could not help stretching their necks to look.
When the king picked up the first memorial and began reading, his face could not help but fill with surprise. What was this “dam” mentioned inside?
He could not help reading from beginning to end, and once he started, he could not stop. His face was full of astonishment.
At the back of the memorial, there was also a full set of data, arranged in a chart drawn with strange lines. Although he had never seen anything like it before, the moment he looked at it, he could actually understand what was recorded on it. Everything was clear at a glance.
In such a short time, they had actually proposed a solution—and not just any solution, but one that could thoroughly resolve the flood disaster. Although there were still many problems in carrying it out, the significance of the method alone was already extraordinary.
The king’s feelings at this moment were also extremely complicated. Speaking of which, Qi Zheng was indeed more capable than any of the other princes…
In the court, all the officials stared eagerly at the king.
The king had the memorial distributed, then asked, “Everyone, take a look. If you have any thoughts, speak directly.”
The entire court became lively the moment the memorial was distributed.
What they did not expect was that there was still an even more explosive memorial waiting behind it.
