Chapter 56: Four-Panel Comics
Crown Prince Jiao’s confinement, along with the stripping of his authority to handle state affairs, spread through all of Shangjing at once.
Everyone suddenly felt as if a storm were about to break.
Not long ago, there had been rumors that Prince Zhuo had gained the king’s favor and was kept by his side every day. At the time, some people had thought there was nothing improper about it. Now, looking back, the signs had clearly appeared long ago.
For a time, all the networks of connections that had originally been formed—especially those related to the crown prince—instantly became delicate and subtle.
The whole of Shangjing was shaken. If there was no room for reversal, then Great Qian’s power structure would have to undergo some changes. After all, Crown Prince Jiao had been heir apparent for so long, and his connections at court were deeply rooted and intricately tangled.
More importantly, if the crown prince was effectively deposed, then the other princes would begin to stir—especially the forces behind those princes. In the past, Crown Prince Jiao had dominated alone, and they had not dared entertain any thoughts. But now things were different. On the surface, the king favored Prince Zhuo, but the king had not made any formal declaration. Before an official edict was issued and announced to the world, none of it could be taken as certain.
Besides, with Prince Zhuo’s wastrel temperament, to be honest, he was not even as good as Crown Prince Jiao. At least on the surface, although Crown Prince Jiao had achieved nothing much in government affairs, his virtue had always been quite good.
Only after people asked around about why the crown prince had received such severe punishment did the commoners of Shangjing fall silent.
“I heard it was because Crown Prince Jiao ordered people to cut down a great number of trees, which caused the floods in Ye City and the other two cities, leaving the people displaced and costing Great Qian heavy losses in grain.”
“That flood was not a natural disaster, but man-made.”
Hiss. Who knew how many people sucked in a cold breath.
This could no longer be described merely as a matter of virtue. This was harming the whole world.
“No wonder. No wonder the king punished Crown Prince Jiao so severely. He is only one step away from deposing him.”
That was indeed the reason on the surface. Only the officials at court knew the true reason why Crown Prince Jiao had fallen into such a state.
Suddenly, someone said, “Do you still remember the two strips of paper found in the turtle’s belly not long ago? Didn’t one of them say, ‘The flood dragon turns into a snake; virtue is lacking’?”
Hiss!
“This, this, this… Could that flood dragon be referring to Crown Prince Jiao?”
No matter how they thought about it, it seemed so. “As expected, it was Heaven’s warning to Great Qian.”
For a time, the news that had originally been forgotten was once again spread in a great uproar.
There was no helping it. Crown Prince Jiao cutting down trees and causing a flood fit that sentence far too well. Was that not a great loss of virtue?
“The content of the first strip of paper has come true. Then what does the second strip mean?”
After the shock, people could not help thinking of the contents of the remaining strip of paper: “When governance is smooth and people are harmonious, all under Heaven shall have great fortune.”
“Judging from the literal meaning, it should be a good thing, right?”
They were somewhat uncertain. After all, vague warnings from Heaven were basically impossible for people to understand clearly before they were fulfilled.
In Shangjing, the common people discussed these ghostly and divine matters, while the meritorious families were thrown into chaos as they guessed whom the king would appoint as the next crown prince.
Because only they knew clearly that it was almost impossible for Crown Prince Jiao to make a comeback. If something like privately building military camps could be brushed aside, then would the other princes not all imitate him in the future? So while the common people were still watching to see whether there was any room for reversal, the powerful and noble families were already making other preparations.
Therefore, the situation in Shangjing could not be described more fittingly than with the words: winds rising, clouds surging.
As for Prince Zhuo’s residence, it was said that the threshold was nearly trampled flat. Prince Zhuo suddenly became the most talked-about among all the princes, flourishing with great momentum, truly remarkable.
Not only that, in the palace, the Three Dukes also went to see the king.
“Now rumors are spreading everywhere in Shangjing, all because the crown prince’s position is unstable. We ask Your Majesty to make plans early.”
Since ancient times, deposing a crown prince had been something that could shake the foundation of the state. Just like now, right under their eyes, private movements among the officials had become more frequent. They were only one step away from openly forming factions.
The Three Dukes did not say whom they wanted appointed as crown prince. They were merely asking the king to make an early decision, lest the chaos continue to spread, leaving the officials uneasy and the common people full of speculation.
The king gave a nasal “Mm.” He did not even lift his head. No one knew whether he had listened or not.
When the news reached Chen Bai and Qi Zheng, the two exchanged a glance. Everything was understood without words. It was all within their expectations.
“Now that the first warning has come true, it is time for the second warning to come true as well.”
“And it has to be quick. Otherwise, once the king issues an edict to establish a new crown prince, things will become troublesome again.”
This had been part of Chen Bai and Qi Zheng’s original plan. Even without this flood, they would still have found a way to bring Crown Prince Jiao down.
Chen Bai had not been idle these past few days either. They were pushing forward the second flood-control plan.
“The diversion method means diverting the flow at weak points in the embankment, then merging the flow again at places where the embankment is solid…”
“Since ancient times, flood control has mainly relied on guiding water away. Blocking it usually consumes time and may not necessarily work.”
“To put it plainly, we dig several diversion channels at these places I marked. By using the special terrain of these spots, the water flow can be diverted away, reducing the pressure on the river.”
“Look at these lines I drew. They were originally gullies. As long as they are slightly treated, during heavy rain, they can divert a large amount of river water away from the main river channel and reduce the pressure on it. Moreover, once these gullies store water, they can also be used to irrigate nearby crops. It kills two birds with one stone.”
“This way, by creating diversions at intervals, the river channel’s ability to withstand floodwater will greatly increase.”
It was indeed much less time-consuming and labor-intensive than building a dam. It was also thanks to Chen Bai having spent these days inspecting everywhere, and thanks to the wonders of nature, that he could borrow the geographical advantage to control the flood.
After Chen Bai and Qi Zheng discussed it, they began dividing the work.
Qi Zheng was responsible for coordinating with the local officials, organizing manpower, and digging diversion channels at the marked points on the map, guiding the river water into natural gullies.
Chen Bai was responsible for publicity: afforestation, flood prevention, storm prevention, and explaining the benefits and functions of these diversion channels.
Chen Bai’s students were also very useful. How deep the diversion channels should be dug and how they should be dug depended on them guiding the workers with the data they had recorded. After all, if the diversion channels were too shallow, they would be useless; if they were too deep, they might cause small-scale flooding.
Chen Bai also had people erect stone markers at these locations as tools for measuring water levels. Once the water exceeded the waterline, that meant they needed to be alert. The students also had to measure and determine the waterlines.
“You must clearly explain the meanings of the different waterlines to the local officials,” Chen Bai said to the group of students holding notebooks.
The students nodded. “Brother Bai, don’t worry. We are waiting to establish merit and achieve great things. Nothing will go wrong.”
As they spoke, their little faces were flushed with excitement. They were so young, yet they were already helping control floods. And no matter how one looked at it, the role they played was not small. They were not like other children of meritorious families who merely came to muddle along and claim credit.
Chen Bai hummed in acknowledgment. There was no choice. Only these students could roughly understand what he was explaining, so these tasks could only be assigned to them.
Aside from publicity, Chen Bai also had one more task.
After all, when it came to publicizing flood prevention and storm prevention knowledge locally, only the local officials and commoners would see it.
He and Qi Zheng were working so hard; he had to let the officials in Shangjing and the king see it too.
So, whenever he had free time, he drew four-panel comics.
Yes, comics. The somewhat nonsensical kind.
The comic was titled Flood and Storm Prevention, and the content was exactly that: after trees were cut down, floods erupted and the people suffered terribly.
Then two people led a group to begin controlling the floods: planting trees and grass, digging channels, and diverting water.
Finally, the common people had a bountiful harvest.
The main purpose was to explain some basic flood prevention knowledge.
What seemed like common sense to Chen Bai might not be known by people of this era. He treated it as a science education campaign for the people of Shangjing.
To make it clear who the two people leading the flood-control effort were, Chen Bai’s drawings were direct and crude. In front of one person, he wrote the character “Zheng”; in front of the other, he wrote the character “Xiu.”
If anyone still could not tell who they were, they could only be called pig-brained.
Four-panel comics were fairly simple, but the content they conveyed was especially interesting. If some humor was added, it would absolutely become a “picture book” people had to read every day.
Now everyone had their own work.
Chen Bai’s four-panel comics were almost finished as the diversion channels were being dug. All that was left was the right moment to release them in Shangjing.
Every day, Chen Bai also had to patrol each construction site. Although they were only using the terrain to do some simple digging, students were supervising after all, so he still had to check on them.
At times like this, Chen Bai’s four-panel comics became the students’ favorite thing.
“Brother, I’ve found my life goal now. I want to become a comic artist.” Chen Xiaobu tossed his little girl-style fringe, his eyes shining as he held the comic.
These little figures were too cute. He wanted to draw them too.
Chen Bai: “…”
Hadn’t he said before that becoming a pet groomer was his life goal? It changed again?
He shook his head and said, “The Tingwei Residence is still waiting for you to bring glory to the family.”
Chen Xiaobu seriously furrowed his little brows. “Brother can bring glory to the family. Brother is so amazing. I only need to be a little brother. I want to pursue my dream.”
Chen Bai: “…”
Fine. Let’s see how many days you can keep it up.
Chen Xiaobu looked at Chen Bai’s four-panel comics and truly found inspiration. He started scribbling and drawing on his own, letting out silly laughs from time to time. Who knew what he was laughing at?
Chen Bai looked at the nearly finished diversion channels, then looked at the fiery sunset clouds on the horizon. It seemed the moment he had been waiting for was almost here.
That day, Chen Bai found the ants busily moving house on the ground rather interesting.
A group of students who had just finished supervising the work looked at Chen Bai in confusion. “Brother Bai, you’re already this old and you still like playing with ants? My father said even someone my age lying on the ground playing with ants is already inappropriate.”
Chen Bai: “…”
Fine. He might as well explain the signs that came before a rainstorm. It counted as field teaching.
Chen Bai began talking about fiery sunset clouds, ants moving house…
Even Qi Zheng was stunned for a long while. “Rain comes without fixed timing. Can people actually predict when it will rain?”
The students said, “This is fun. Write it down, write it down.”
Chen Bai smiled. “Within three days, there will definitely be a heavy rain. Just wait.”
And the heavy rain Chen Bai spoke of came even earlier than he had expected.
The very next afternoon, thunder rumbled so loudly it shook the sky, and rain poured down like a waterfall.
The students were all stunned. “It… it really rained. My goodness, can we also observe the stars and predict rain now? Tsk tsk, why build an observatory or look for the Imperial Astronomical Bureau? Just find us.”
Compared with Chen Bai and the others’ carefree attitude, the local commoners were frowning with worry, even terrified. The last time, it had been just like this, and what followed was a flood sweeping through.
This rain was even heavier than last time, which meant a flood was surely coming.
Chen Bai and the others were sheltering from the rain indoors. Then, outside the window, they saw commoners running toward the mountain one after another through the rain.
“What are they doing?”
Before they could figure it out, a local came to notify them.
“My lords, hurry up the mountain. If you’re late, it’ll be too late. The flood is coming soon.”
The local officials also came. Prince Zheng was here, and they absolutely could not let anything happen to him.
Chen Bai said a few things. “The diversion channels have already been dug. Once the river rises and exceeds the water level I predicted, the water will be diverted. It should not trigger a flood.”
The local officials did not dare agree. They had been frightened by floods before.
Chen Bai said a few more words, then stopped. He did not want to make things difficult for them either, so he led the others and followed them up the mountain.
To be honest, running up the mountain in the rain like this was miserable. Although they wore straw raincoats, in such heavy rain, the raincoats were basically useless. Whatever should get soaked would definitely get soaked.
The students, on the other hand, were having great fun, chattering away. They had never played in rain this heavy before and were drenched like little monkeys.
Chen Bai and the others had straw raincoats, but many commoners did not even have those. They looked rather pitiful.
But there was no choice. Last time, some families’ houses had been washed away by the flood. If they did not climb to higher ground on the mountain, it would be extremely dangerous.
There were many people, and all manner of human life could be seen there.
Only… when darkness fell, the flood still had not come.
“That’s impossible. According to last time’s situation, there should have been an even bigger flood.”
As the sky grew late, discussions began to rise.
“How long has it been? Yet nothing has happened?”
They had originally been lamenting that the disasters this year were far too frequent. How were they supposed to live?
But the flood that should have come did not come.
No one knew who started it, but people began looking toward Chen Bai, Qi Zheng, and the group of students.
They could not help remembering the publicity Chen Bai had been doing locally these past few days. Because the content was something they had never heard before, it had been somewhat difficult to digest.
But now they were experiencing such a thing themselves, so that content became easier to understand.
They murmured to themselves, “The flood is gone?”
They still could not quite believe it.
Then their eyes all turned toward Chen Bai and the others.
Chen Bai sighed, wiped the rainwater from his face, and took a step forward. “From today onward, as long as trees are not cut down again and the vegetation is not destroyed, Ye City and the surrounding cities will rarely suffer floods again.”
He could not guarantee one hundred percent that there would be no floods. After all, diversion channels were not dams, and their ability to divert water was limited. If the water exceeded what the diversion channels could bear, there would still be floods.
Chen Bai looked at the sky and added, “At the very least, rain as heavy as this will no longer cause floods. Everyone can return home without worry.”
Rainwater fell on Chen Bai, streaming down his body in scattered lines.
The commoners opened their mouths. “…”
At first, they had thought that these officials who came to control the floods would be the same as those before, only knowing how to enjoy themselves and merely going through the motions.
But now, even those young noble boys were soaked in the rain just like them, letting the wind and rain batter them, feeling everything they themselves endured.
These days, they had also seen those young nobles supervising the construction sites. They were strict and methodical, pointing out even the slightest flaw and demanding that it be fixed properly.
At that moment, they finally realized these people were different. Although they were nobles, they did not carry that spoiled arrogance of nobles. They were people who truly did practical work.
And that was indeed the case. Chen Bai’s students had studied alongside commoner students for a year. In these students’ eyes, those commoner students were their classmates. In this era of strict social classes, that was extremely strange.
But because of this, these young boys from meritorious families under Chen Bai did seem somehow different. No one could quite say where the difference lay, but after spending time with them, one could discover it.
Seeing that everyone had no reaction, Chen Bai said, “Go home. There is no flood anymore.”
In this world, what warmed people’s hearts most might only be a single sentence, just like now.
Only then did the crowd begin returning home one after another.
But they would probably never forget these students of Cloudtop Academy, who were somewhat different from ordinary nobles.
Yes, they might not know all the students’ identities, but they knew these students were all students of Cloudtop Academy.
The next day, the local officials had even planned to hold a celebration ceremony. In the end, Chen Bai, Qi Zheng, and the others immediately boarded their carriages and returned to Shangjing.
As mentioned before, the situation in Shangjing was currently unstable. They could not stay away for too long.
Now that the flooding problem had been resolved, it was time to go back. As for how to arrange matters for the commoners who had suffered losses, that was the local officials’ responsibility.
In truth, it had gone much faster than expected, thanks to the good terrain here, which had been of great help in digging the diversion channels.
As soon as they returned to Shangjing, Chen Bai handed his four-panel comics to Qi Zheng. “Post these in the most visible place in Shangjing.”
Qi Zheng glanced at them. He knew what Chen Bai meant.
Sure enough, the next day, the area around the notice board in Shangjing was packed with people.
Four-panel comics with such a unique and funny style naturally attracted many viewers.
“Basic knowledge on flood prevention and storm prevention?”
“This, this, this… why does it look a little like Prince Zheng and Grand Scholar Zhaoxue going to control the floods in Ye City and the other two cities?”
“It is Prince Zheng and Grand Scholar Zhaoxue. Look, their names are written on their chests.”
“Why are they drawn so amusingly? Like little dolls.”
The three-heads-tall comic style was indeed a little funny, but the characters were cute.
“It’s a little hard to look at directly. What should I do? Now, whenever I think of Prince Zheng and Grand Scholar Zhaoxue, these big-headed, short-legged dolls pop into my mind.”
Then someone noticed something. “Why does it seem like the flood has already been controlled in this drawing? It uses something called the diversion method.”
“That can’t be. So fast? In the past, they controlled it this year, then it flooded again next year. Everything depended on Heaven.”
At that moment, someone suddenly said, “This time might really be different.”
“Yesterday, some merchants from Ye City and the other two cities entered the capital. I heard them say that this time, Prince Zheng and the others truly controlled the floods. They said even with torrential rain, nothing happened at all. This only happened recently, so it can’t be fake.”
“Now, the people of Ye City and the other two cities are deeply grateful to Prince Zheng, Grand Scholar Zhaoxue, and those students of Cloudtop Academy. If you don’t believe it, just ask any local from Ye City or those areas. They can tell you for three days and three nights how Prince Zheng and the others controlled the flood.”
An uproar broke out.
Could this time really be different?
Suddenly, someone said, “Do you still remember the other slip of paper found in the turtle’s belly?”
“When governance is smooth and people are harmonious, all under Heaven shall have great fortune. Could that ‘Zheng’ character refer to…”
At that moment, in a teahouse, Chen Bai and Qi Zheng sat by a window against the wall, watching the notice board.
“The first step has succeeded. It is time to move to the next step.”
Qi Zheng nodded, then glanced at Chen Bai. “Be extra careful. Once you gain a reputation, the road will become even more thorny. Because the king… will not allow it.”
Chen Bai smiled. “A tiny bit of reputation is indeed a burden for you right now. But when that reputation accumulates to a level that no one can believe or underestimate, even the king will no longer be able to ignore it the way he did before.”
Others might not understand what Chen Bai was talking about, but Qi Zheng knew.
“The express delivery, emergency carriages, public carriage system… those things you mentioned…”
Their voices were very faint amid the noisy bustle of Shangjing.
But soon, no one would be able to ignore their voices.
