Chapter 97: Sheep Report on Marco Polo Bridge
After making sure that Wang Yan would report the matter secretly to the court, Sun Shaozong followed his instructions and announced in the back hall the truth that Xu Mingtang had actually "committed suicide".
The atmosphere in the back hall was indeed relaxed at that time. As for how many people were pretending and how many people really believed that Xu Mingtang committed suicide because of trivial matters at home, that was not something Sun Shaozong could guess.
Wang Yan took this opportunity to arrange the "defense" on both sides of the river in one go, and urged everyone to mobilize their troops and take up their posts immediately .
Perhaps in return for a favor, Sun Shaozong's "section" was arranged near Lugou Bridge, right next to the official road. Not only was it extremely convenient for transporting supplies on a daily basis, but if anything unexpected happened, it would be much easier for him to escape than for others.
Therefore, Zhou Da, Zhao Wuwei, and several officials from the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Rivers who were under his command were quite happy.
Sun Shaozong was the only one on the north bank, but his heart was on the south bank. He thought that in the near future, tens of thousands of people might be affected by the flood, but he could only sigh and do nothing, and he was depressed every day.
Although he never considered himself a good person, he really could not treat human life as worthless as Jia Yucun did , and he was even willing to sacrifice thousands of lives to keep his official position.
--Dividing line--
July 17th.
The rainy weather that lasted for more than half a month finally came to an end this morning.
The rising sun broke through the clouds, and in less than an hour, the power of the autumn heat was revealed. People on the embankment were "taking off their armor and weapons" under the direct sunlight, and countless "flags" were flying at the Lugou Bridge.
Standing on the bridge and looking up, all you can see are clothes, hats, shoes and socks hanging out to dry. Not to mention the stone lions, even the stone railings are nowhere to be seen.
With the sun shining brightly, everyone was naked and had no worries. There was constant laughter and joy on the embankment. Even the supervisor who was holding a whip all day seemed to be much more friendly.
Driven by the cheerful atmosphere, Sun Shaozong couldn't help but feel a little lucky. He thought to himself that the river water had only risen slowly in the past few days and was still a long distance away from the warning line on the stone carvings. Could it be that Xu Mingtang had made a mistake in his deduction and misjudged the severity of the disaster this year?
If this were true, his suicide would have become a laughing stock in official circles.
"grown ups!"
Sun Shaozong was standing on the river bank, lost in thought, when he suddenly heard someone calling him from behind. Turning around, he saw Zhao Wuwei running towards him with a goose-feather knife in his hand.
Sun Shaozong's heart tightened, and he asked hurriedly: "What's wrong? Is there any danger?!"
"Your Excellency is joking."
But Zhao Wuwei grinned and said, "How could there be any danger for no reason? The government office has sent a lot of rewards. Look - they are right down the slope now!"
Sun Shaozong looked in the direction he pointed and found that there were eight horse-drawn carriages parked under the river bank, filled with wine, food, dried fruits, smoked meat and other things. Among them were many pig, sheep and dog heads - these were not rewards for people, but for offering sacrifices to the river god.
Since they settled on the riverbank, Ruan Rong and his cheap brother sent gifts here almost every day. Therefore, Sun Shaozong had no interest in these so-called rewards. He just rolled up his sleeves and said impatiently, "Put the three sacrificial animals in good order. You can discuss with Zhou Da how to divide the rest. Don't ask me for my opinion."
Although Sun Shaozong didn't care about it, to Zhao Wuwei, these things were good things that could win people's hearts, so he hurriedly agreed and prepared to call people to unload the goods.
At this moment, someone shouted in the distance: "Look, there is a person in the river!"
"It looks like it's floating here on something!"
Is there someone floating over in the river riding something?
Sun Shaozong hurriedly looked towards the river and saw a white object in the distance, floating downstream at an extremely fast speed. However, in the blink of an eye, its outline became much clearer. It was a naked man tied to a sheepskin bag!
The militiamen who were summoned temporarily were still talking about something, but Sun Shaozong's face turned pale. Without saying a word, he snatched Zhao Wuwei's sword, stepped forward and cut the reins on the horse post with one sword, then jumped on his horse and galloped towards the Lugou Bridge.
The black horse raised its four hooves, knocking people and horses all over the road . At least four or five strong men were unable to dodge and were knocked to the ground by it. Sun Shaozong ignored them and shouted desperately when he reached the bridge: "Quick, stop the 'Yang Bao Yong Zu'!"
It turns out that the man floating downstream with a sheepskin bag tied to his body is called "Sheep Reporting Brave Soldier". He is an important means of transmitting water conditions in ancient times. Because it is extremely dangerous, the soldiers who are responsible for the communication mission can be said to be in danger of death, so it will only be used in emergencies.
However, Sun Shaozong's shout made the naked river patrolmen on the bridge panic. They were unable to put the lasso into the water until Sun Shaozong arrived on horseback.
Seeing that the sheep-riding soldier had already followed the turbulent water into the bridge hole, Sun Shaozong quickly jumped off his horse, grabbed a thick and long lasso pole, and ran to the other side in three steps and five steps. He lowered the lasso ring to the water surface, and when the man riding the sheep rushed out of the bridge hole, he suddenly grabbed him by the waist and shouted, "Hold on tight!"
Before he finished his roar, he exerted force with both hands and lifted the man and the sheepskin bag out of the water!
After carefully placing it on the bridge, Sun Shaozong immediately dropped the pole and rushed over, nervously helping the man up and asked, "How are you? Can you still hold on?!"
"I can't... I can't die yet."
The man's face was swollen and his whole body was cold. When he opened his mouth, his yellow teeth chattered. But he still tried hard to speak: "Quick...quickly find the master of Jian...Jianhe. I have an urgent need..."
Sun Shaozong untied the rope around his waist and said, "I am the river supervisor here. If you have any urgent reports, just tell me!"
The man then realized that the person who rescued him was actually an official in a blue robe.
So he struggled to take out the wax-covered bamboo stick from the sheepskin bag, and tremblingly handed it to Sun Shaozong: "Sir, the upstream...upstream mountain collapsed, and I don't know...I don't know when a barrier lake was formed. It was only discovered by patrolmen the day before yesterday. Now the lake embankment may collapse again at any time. Please notify the governor as soon as possible so that he can...make preparations early!"
damn it!
No wonder the water level rose so slowly, there suddenly appeared a "natural reservoir" upstream of our relationship!
It would be fine if this barrier lake could hold out until the flood recedes, but if it collapses midway...
Sun Shaozong shuddered, hurriedly took the wax bamboo stick, and entrusted the man to the care of the patrolman on duty on the bridge. Then he got on his horse again and galloped towards the "flood prevention center" where Wang Yan was.
