Volume 8: The Sword Points to the Far East Chapter 261 Flood (I)
Grassland, the northern part of the southwest region, the upper reaches of the River of the Earth, the site of the construction of a giant dam (well, actually it is a reservoir-level...).
It took a full five months to pour the dam, and then a construction team of 3,000 people dug the Grand Canal downwards along the terrain, leaving only a "J" spellcaster and a goblin at the dam to monitor the drying process of the dam and keep an eye on the water level upstream of the River of the Earth.
The natural low ridge between the upper reaches of the Earth River and the dam has not yet been blasted. Before the canal is open, this ridge still bears the heavy task of blocking the river water.
Von Aldoni, whose skin had become much darker but whose beard was shaved clean for hygiene reasons, and the goblin Luke walked along the ridge, recording the rising water level according to the water level diagram carved on the river side of the mountain wall during the winter .
"Mr. Aldoni, the water level has risen another five centimeters. The heavy rain last night really had an impact." The goblin Luke climbed up the moss-covered mountain wall barefoot, rubbing the moss on his toes on the grass while frowning.
"Is the water level rising again...it's only 2.7 meters away from the safe water level red line." Aldoni looked at the dangerous water level marked in red in the record book and frowned.
Among the natural disasters in this world, floods rank first.
Storms, earthquakes, and even forest fires are a carnival feast for spellcasters to collect natural elemental energy. Every year during the windy season, spellcasters will head to coastal areas where storms are frequent, staring at the sea with eager eyes.
Even the descendants of "J" would not miss this kind of carnival if they had the chance - the crystal ball in Aldoni's waist bag stored the fire elements he collected during a forest fire, and there was still some left after using it for several years.
When the caster appears at the disaster site, the disaster will naturally not cause much trouble...
But floods are the only problem that spellcasters cannot solve. The floods that can destroy everything are not caused by the excessive abundance of a certain element, but simply because there is too much water...
Of the two large rivers on the grassland, the River of the Earth is the one that floods the most. The reason is that the water of the River of the Earth comes from the Samal Snow Mountain. If there is particularly heavy snow on the Samal Snow Mountain in the winter of a certain year, and the summer of the following year is particularly hot and rainy, then the falling rain and the snow water flowing down from the Samal Snow Mountain combined will cause the River of the Earth to flood.
Well... of course... to solve the problem of the River of Earth frantically testing the brink of flooding for a long time, there is also a very simple and crude way, which is easier than building a Grand Canal. However, when Xiao Yun proposed this trick at the tribal high-level meeting at the beginning of the year, everyone, including the spellcasters who were qualified to attend, voted against it with dark faces.
This evil method is to use the underground space on the grassland. When the water level of the River of the Earth reaches the dangerous standard, water will be diverted to flood in...
Well, in short, everyone's collective opposition did not give this guy the opportunity to carry out this crazy and suicidal plan.
Aldoni knew the importance of monitoring the water level upstream, and he took the initiative to ask to stay and observe the situation. After enduring the initial boring time, he gradually got used to it. But now, seeing the water level rising and the flow rate gradually accelerating, while the abundant summer rains are still falling, Aldoni can't help feeling anxious.
After walking along the ridge and returning to the caretaker's hut built on the concrete dam, Aldoni had just taken off his muddy shoes when the goblin Luke ran into the house nervously, "Mr. Aldoni, it's going to rain again!"
Aldoni ran out of the cabin barefoot, looked up at the sky, and saw... thick clouds everywhere he looked. The clouds in the north were so thick that even the sky was dimmed.
"...Is summer on the grassland always like this year, with no three consecutive sunny days?" Aldoni couldn't help but ask.
"No." Goblin Luke shook his head with a serious look, "I have lived on the grassland for more than ten years, and there has never been such heavy rain as this year."
Before coming to the Fire Tribe, the goblin Luke also lived with the Snow Wolf Tribe. Although life was not easy, it was safe. In order to repay the Snow Wolf people for their protection, Luke led his tribesmen to diligently collect edible things every year except in winter, and paid close attention to the climate... In the jungle after the rain, you can always pick a lot of edible mushrooms.
Aldoni exhaled lightly and looked towards the north again.
The mist in the air blocks the view, making it impossible to see the Samal Snow Mountain in the distance. However, judging from the rising water level of the River of the Earth, the snow water flowing down from the Samal Snow Mountain this year must be more spectacular than in previous years.
The heavy rain lasted until dark. Aldoni and Luke walked down the dam, stepped on the mud and slippery grass and vegetation, and climbed up the ridge to check the water level that they had seen during the day.
"The water level has risen by fifty centimeters!" The goblin Luke's voice was shaking when he reported this number.
Aldoni's expression suddenly changed, and he subconsciously turned his head to look towards the end of the mountains in the east.
If the water level rises another two meters, this ridge may still be able to withstand it, but the tributary at the eastern end of the mountain range that flows to the southwest will overflow!
After bringing Luke back to the dam and warning the goblin not to go down the dam (the surrounding beasts are lethal to goblins), Aldoni rode on the two-legged earth dragon (his own) and rushed to the Fire Tribe overnight to report the news.
After running for more than ten hours and covering hundreds of kilometers, they arrived at the Fire Tribe in the morning. The toughest two-legged ground dragon fell to the ground with foam at the mouth. Aldoni ignored the heartache, and supported himself with sore and numb legs, and endured the pain from the bruises on his buttocks and inner thighs, and limped to dormitory No. 1-1 where the Fire Tribe leader lived.
Ayun went to Valentine, the Grassroots Chief was in the MSG factory by the sea, Red Leaf was in the hilly new district, Blue Fruit was in the beet (sweet red fruit) planting base, and Aldoni could only find the Fire Chief.
Among the tribe's senior leaders, the Fire Chief's status is similar to that of a mascot, but this is only limited to his intelligence and ability, and does not mean that he has no sense of responsibility; the Fire Chief, who was squatting at the door brushing his teeth, heard the news brought back by Aldoni, knew that this was a big deal, and immediately convened the managers of the tribe for a meeting.
"Doesn't this mean that if it rains for another ten days or half a month, our area will be flooded?!"
In the conference room, Aldoni reported the upstream situation, and the managers who had just woken up were stunned.
"Can't our small canal drain all this water?" Dashui, who was in charge of the agricultural production team, said worriedly.
"Of course not. Our small canal is only ten meters wide and two meters deep. A few years ago, Ayun and I went to see the upper reaches of the River of the Earth. Even the tributary that flows to our side is several dozen meters wide. At that time, the water was not as high as it is now, and there were large areas of reeds growing on both sides of the riverbed." The warrior who stayed behind in the tribe frowned.
"What should we do?!"
All the managers were at a loss as the spring-sown soybeans and wheat would take at least forty to fifty days to harvest, and the summer-sown crops such as sweet potatoes, potatoes, and beets had just sprouted. If the fields that they had worked so hard to plant were flooded, at least half of the people present would be furious, and the other half would be heartbroken.
Seeing that no one was able to do anything, the Fire Clan leader gradually lost his dignified (er) serious expression.
"Let's prepare for the worst." Dahe spoke up for the first time. This guy who always slacked off in management meetings knew that this was not the time to play dead and dawdle. He said solemnly, "Pack up the important property first, and be prepared to move to high ground at any time. Abandon the fields with lower terrain first. Once the water comes, the triangle land (the land between the canal and the tributary) will definitely be flooded. The production teams that contracted those lands should stop working and help other production teams to clean up first. Those who can harvest should harvest first, and those who can't should see if they can build a temporary earth dam and deepen the drainage ditch. Protect as much land as possible..."
At first, only more than 10,000 mu of Triangle Land was cultivated. In the following years, the cultivated land area gradually expanded to more than 40,000 mu. A total of five production teams were responsible for this land. When Dahe said this, the captains of the five production teams became anxious. One of them had red eyes and shouted in grief and anger: "Dahe?!"
Dahe didn't look at him and continued, "In addition to the triangular land, we must also be prepared to abandon the sandy land near the water and the low-lying land south of the swamp..."
Among the more than 30 production team leaders, nearly 40% showed painful expressions.
Dahe felt bad seeing her people in pain, but she knew the difference between the important and the unimportant, and continued to speak "coldly", "The hilly new area is high, so we are not afraid. However, Lan Guo's beet plantation is close to the snake vine and the Grand Canyon. If the water rushes down, it will definitely endanger Lan Guo and his people. We have to quickly inform Lan Guo. Even if we don't want this crop of beets, we have to ensure the safety of the people."
"The terrain of the cat tribe's farm No. 2 and farm No. 3 is also high, but the terrain of farm No. 1 is even lower than ours. We must also notify Chief Arthur to prepare in advance."
After a pause, Dahe tried his best to keep a straight face and looked at all the managers present seriously: "I know that everyone is worried about the fields and crops, and I am worried too. But please don't forget that these fields and the crops on them were reclaimed and planted by us with our own hands. Even if they are gone for a while, as long as we are still here, we can still reclaim the fields and plant the crops again."
"Don't forget what Ah Yun always said, people are the most important! As long as people are there, everything is there. If people are gone, even if the fields and crops are saved, everything is gone!"
"Don't waste time being sad, hurry up and do your work!!"
After the impromptu meeting, the managers rushed out of the meeting room with red eyes to gather their own people. Some of them were emotionally broken, and they almost wiped their tears while working...
Everyone was sad, heartbroken, and upset, but they had no doubts about Aldoni's monitoring results and Daha's decision - Xiao Yun talked about the dangers of floods every year, and the tribe invested a large amount of money in flood prevention every year. The Grand Canal that the engineering team was now building and the reservoir drainage ditches that had been built for several years were all designed to deal with this natural disaster that was beyond human control.
At the beginning of the year, Xiao Yun allocated the tribe's three-year savings all at once and sent a construction team to build the Grand Canal. It's not that no one had grumbled in their hearts. But now, those who thought Xiao Yun was a little too nervous at the time only hated that the money was saved too slowly in the past few years and the Grand Canal project was started too late...
Daha was ordered to complete the task assignment, temporarily close the Welfare Department, and lend all the staff to the production team. She carried a bag of dry food and a water bottle, turned into a wolf, and ran upstream to the River of the Earth. She had to go and see it for herself.
The rain in the southwest corner where the tribe is located is only slightly more dense than in previous years, but not enough to make people panic. After walking north for more than 200 kilometers, I deeply understood why Aldoni was so nervous - the further north you go, the more humid the air is, and the thicker the clouds in the sky are!
When the river reached the dam construction site, the wolf was soaked to the skin...
Climbing up the wide and heavy concrete dam along the stairs in the heavy rain, Daha looked up to the north beyond the ridge. The wolf's mouth, panting heavily, slowly exerted force and clenched its teeth - the dark and heavy clouds in the sky in the direction of the Samal Snow Mountain seemed to be about to fall and hit the ground!
"The flood that Ayun has been worried about...is finally coming!"
