Come on, Your Highness

After traveling for nearly two months, I thought I could sleep comfortably today.

Unexpectedly, just after dawn, the sound of the rooster crowing fell, and the guards running hurriedly from the yamen broke the silence, waking people up from their sleep with a loud voice.

The servants in each house were sent to find out the news, and when they came back, they saw that the county magistrate Lu had led his people to the main house.

Two guards stopped him at the door.

After a while, Xiao Dunzi came out to summon him, and the magistrate of Lu adjusted his clothes and walked in with the guard.

Many people gathered in front of the magistrate's office in Kuiliang County. There were several floors inside and outside, and the street at the entrance was crowded.

"It's almost time, why isn't the yamen open yet?"

"Yes, we want to see the King of England!"

"When will the dam be built?"

"If you don't repair it, the embankment will burst again!"

"We are here to ask the King of England, isn't he here to repair the dam?"

"Hurry up and open the door!"

……

Looking at this situation, how dare the guards open? If so many people go in and attack the King of England, will they still lose their heads?

"Strange, didn't it mean that Kuiliang County is almost deserted? How can so many people gather?"

The four dudes and scholars went out from the side door of the magistrate's mansion and went around to the front door, seeing clearly the crowd of people.

There was no one on the street yesterday, and even the shops were closed, but now it is like ants seeing honey, gathering from all over the place.

Luo Li looked at the shops on both sides of the street, and said, "It's, this is open, most of the shops...are not open."

"Yeah, don't you want to go to the market?"

"I want to buy sesame seed cakes, but there's no breakfast ones this morning." Mr. Wei looked around and rubbed his stomach.

Mr. Zheng had sharp eyes, patted him, pointed to the place down the street and said, "There is a noodle shop over there, let's go there and have a drink."

As soon as he finished speaking, there was a sudden exclamation from behind.

But the county government opened.

The magistrate of Lu came out with his guards in official robes, and shouted at the top of his voice, "What are you arguing about, what are you arguing about! We all gather here early in the morning to disturb the cleanliness of the nobles, so we are not afraid of the county magistrate's punishment?"

"Oh, the county magistrate is full of authority at this time." Fang Jun sneered.

Shu Yu patted him, "Let's go, let's take advantage of this time to visit Kuiliang County. His Highness and Mr. are in front of us. We can't help you much."

When Magistrate Lu said this, the crowd was quiet for a while, and then an old man came out with the support of a young man and said, "My lord, I am the head of Dong'ao Village. You know that he is still here in Kuiliang County?" Only a few of our villages are left. Last year’s floods, our village was also submerged, but when the water receded, we could survive. But my lord, we didn’t repair the embankment last year! We didn’t reinforce it this year. There is more rain than last year, and if there is a flood, it will be worse than last year, and our village will go into exile with other villages!"

The old village chief was much older than the county magistrate Lu, his face was wrinkled and his eyes were full of worry.

As soon as he said that, another middle-aged man came out and bowed to the county magistrate Lu, "My lord, the villain is from Xi'ao Village, and we reckon that we are the only ones left here." , the crops in the field can barely survive, but if the dam is washed away all of a sudden, we really can't survive."

"It's hard to leave the homeland. My ancestors have been here for generations, so I can't just abandon it casually."

"Isn't the King of England coming? Can you repair the dam for us as soon as possible?"

"It's been a year, isn't it?"

……

Someone in the crowd followed by pleading and yelling, this is really hard for Magistrate Lu to deal with.

His face suddenly wrinkled together, and he couldn't help but look back.

This action immediately attracted everyone's attention, and two young men were seen standing behind the threshold.

Those two people are really young, one is tall and handsome, just standing there is full of momentum; while the other is short, but handsome and elegant, very handsome, just looking at it makes people feel very good.

These two are His Highness the King of England and the No. [-] Scholar!

Seeing the Lord, the crowd was excited!

Seeing them, the village head of Dong'ao Village immediately knelt down and begged: "His Royal Highness, please take pity on those of us who are dying, and repair this dam!"

His action was followed by a large group of people kneeling down in black, shouting in their mouths: "His Royal Highness, please repair the dam!"

Xiao Hong clicked his lips, feeling a little troublesome, but he still took a long leg and reached the head of the old village head of Dong'ao Village.

"Everyone, get up first, and speak well if you have something to say. At such an age, if you can't get up from your knees, wouldn't it be my king's fault?"

Xiao Hong said what he said, but he didn't bend down to help.

Because knowing is useless.

"If His Highness doesn't agree, the little one won't get up."

When the village head of Dong'ao Village said this, no one really moved.

really!

Xiao Hong frowned: "You are persecuting this king!"

The old village chief kowtowed and said humbly, "Your Highness, the villains don't dare. The villains are just anxious. This is related to the survival of the whole village. There is really no way! Your Highness, the villains can't afford to wait!"

The village head of Xi'ao Village also said: "Your Highness, there are many old and weak women and children in the village. If they flee with them, they will really have no way out!"

Xiao Hong felt uncomfortable when he heard this, and said patiently: "Fathers and elders, even if this embankment needs to be repaired, the masters must have a look at it, so you can do it after you have figured out how to repair it? What use can it be?"

"Your Highness, don't be so troublesome. Everyone in several villages knows how to repair it. It has been repaired for many years." The young man who was supporting the old village head of Dong'ao said suddenly.

The old village head of Dong'ao nodded and said: "Yes, all the boys and children in the village are brought here, and they can go today."

When Xiao Hong heard this, he immediately looked back at He Xichao.

The latter was also slightly surprised.

Xiao Hong almost laughed, "Since you all know what to do, and you have someone on hand, then you can just go and fix it, why are you here looking for me?"

"This……"

The village chiefs of the two villages glanced at each other.

"Why, isn't it the way it used to be? By the way, if you're worried about running out of food, don't worry, County Magistrate Lu is in charge here, and I'll pay for the food expenses."

The village head of Xi'ao Village laughed and said, "Your Highness... there are only two villages, how can there be enough people?"

Xiao Hong was surprised: "Not enough?" His eyes swept around the heads of the kneeling people on the third floor and the third floor outside, "Is this not enough? Good guy, they are all black and white! Don't talk about building a dam, Three are enough!"

The two village chiefs lowered their heads and shook, "This... this is not from our village."

Xiao Hong was even more surprised, "Look at the people who are so impatient, they are not from your village. Which village is that that will be submerged soon?"

After finishing speaking, Xiao Hong's face turned cold, and his sharp eyes swept over. The neck of the man standing in front of him was about to shrink back, and he really wanted to back away, but now he was kneeling, if he got up and walked, it would be too eye-catching .

Xiao Hong stepped forward, reached the man, and raised his toes: "May I ask you, which village are you from?"

"The villain... The villain is..." The man's voice was very low.

"Where is it?" Xiao Hong picked out his ears, "Speak up, is it a man?"

"The villain is from Hejian Village..."

Which village is Hejian Village? Xiao Hong looked back at County Magistrate Lu.

County Magistrate Lu replied, "The village was flooded three years ago."

"Flooded?"

"Yes Yes."

"Then repairing the embankment won't save you now! You're still kneeling at the head of the team. What does that mean?"

The person Xiao Hong asked didn't even dare to lift his head, his eyes looked left and right, as if he wanted to speak, "Small, small..."

"Gathering a crowd to make trouble, the village is flooded because you want to live in a dungeon for a while, huh?"

Xiao Hong's tone was not harsh, even a bit of a joke in it, but it still made the man tremble all over.

When his head was about to hit the ground, someone next to him suddenly said: "Your Highness, our village was flooded, but there are still some survivors in Dongao and Xi'ao. We don't want to see them like us, no matter what. It's time to go home!"

This seemed to point a direction, and the man finally dared to raise his head: "Your Highness, my old uncle is in Xi'ao. He is getting old, and he can't bear to come here to help."

"That's right, the villain's younger sister lives in Dong'ao, the younger one can't watch her nephews lose their homes, right?"

"Yeah, let's forget about this kind of suffering, but don't let other people suffer too." Another person echoed.

Every time you say something to me, there is an instant turmoil, like a flood that has opened a gate, and it can't be closed.

"Your Highness, I beg you, please save us!"

"Your Highness, let's repair the embankment, we are willing to repair the dam."

"If you don't fix it, it will be too late!"

……

Xiao Hong turned his head and spread his hands at He Xichao, expressing that he had nothing to do.

What annoys him the most is to meet this kind of vulnerable people who believe in death, but can't beat or scold them, and persecute them in reality.

This is the gate of the county magistrate's office, and it is noisy. Even if He Xichao shouted at the top of his voice, the people below might not be able to hear him. Down.

Then there was an instant silence, and all eyes fell on him.

He Xichao said: "Repair! It should be repaired!"

Xiao Hong frowned, but said nothing.

He Xichao put down the drumsticks, raised his voice slightly and said, "Your Highness came all the way from the capital, and braved the scorching heat, isn't it just for the disaster-stricken people in Kuiliang County? Since it is the people's wish, the dam will naturally be built." .”

As soon as He Xichao said this, the people below immediately shouted hello!

"It's Wenquxing, it really is Wenquxing!"

"Thank you, Your Highness, thank you, Mr. Wenquxing!"

"We are saved!"

……

Whether it is the villagers of Dong'ao or Xi'ao, or others, they kowtowed one after another, with gratitude and admiration in their eyes, as if they were like the savior.

This feeling is really touching, and it is also very successful. He Xichao has to admit that if his will is not strong enough, he may be forced to agree to it.

He Xi glanced lightly at the magistrate of Lu County, but saw that the magistrate had a satisfied smile on his face, but there was always a bit of sadness in the smile.

He Xichao couldn't listen to the grateful words in his ears, so he had to beat the drumstick again to make them quiet.

"But before repairing, I still have a few doubts and ask the two village chiefs to explain."

"Sir, please speak."

He Xichao said: "The two of you have been talking about getting through this year, so don't you care about next year? They say that our ancestors have lived in this land for generations. If next year there is more rain than this year, what will you do?"

"This... my lord, I can't even take care of the present, how can I care about next year, and next year will naturally be repaired next year."

"Then who else will repair it? Can the dam continue to be repaired? Anyway, His Highness is not here anymore."

"But what else can we do? Isn't His Highness here to repair the embankment?" The two village chiefs looked at each other.

At this point, He Xichao was sure, and he retorted: "Who said that His Highness came all the way to build a dam? Who can't be sent, who needs to be as noble as him to come in person? His Highness is here to control the water once and for all. Don't be afraid of floods. Control the water in Kuiliang County without building dams!"

"The flood control has to be done after this summer, otherwise the village will be gone, so what's the point of it?" someone in the crowd shouted.

He Xichao said: "The current water level, His Royal Highness took the water conservancy masters to the dam to see it in person yesterday, and it is almost level with the dam. The soft mud can't stop it for a long time. Even if it can be repaired, it's just me who doesn't know how to do it. I also know that it is very difficult. It is difficult to settle where the embankment is located, not to mention how dangerous it is to repair it at a stall that can be destroyed anytime and anywhere today. You will know when you think about it. The strong men who can be drawn out today are all family members. If there is a heavy rain or the embankment breaks directly, the people will disappear. Whether a village exists or not depends on the people. If the people are there, the village can be rebuilt, and if the people are not there, it will be an empty village. A village head, is this the truth?"

"Is it just to let it break the embankment? Then what should we do?" A village name asked below.

"With His Highness here, what are you afraid of? The house has been washed away, so it needs to be rebuilt. The fields have no harvest, so they need to open warehouses for disaster relief. Besides, only your two villages are here today, and even if there are others, there are not many. If you are afraid, then move out of the village first, and His Highness will find another place to accommodate you first, and when the rainy season is over, it will be too late to move back and rebuild."

As soon as He Xichao's words came out, there were different voices among the villagers. The only son in the family, who had a strong man, was a little hesitant. Naturally, it would be best not to repair the embankment at this time.

"Don't be afraid of disasters. As long as there are people, there is hope. This flood will be allowed to come. Only when it comes fiercely once, can we know how to control the water. Otherwise, how can we find the real cause of the dams? "

He Xichao walked down the steps, reached the old village chief, bent down, helped him up, and looked at the people who got up and said: "Everyone here, most of them are either villagers from Dong'ao and Xi'ao, or those who were flooded in the past. Those who came out of the villages I passed by must have understood that the more the dams are built, the more they will not be able to stop them, and the floods will only become more and more fierce. Sooner or later, the entire Kuiliang County will be covered with ocean. But real water control is not about blocking, It’s about guiding. Turning the beast of flood into a gentle stream that irrigates the fields can only be cured if it is completely tamed so that it cannot wreak havoc. This is not only for Dong’ao Village and Xi’ao Village, but also for Hejian Village and other villages affected by water. The submerged villages can also return to their original places and build better homes. Kuiliang County is a land of fish and rice. It should have contributed a lot of tax money to Daqi like other rich and prosperous counties in the south of the Yangtze River, instead of receiving the emperor's poor Tax free, you say, don't you?"

He Xichao's words seemed to carry magic power, in his mouth, the flood seemed to turn into hope for a new start.

He started to draw an extremely sweet cake, which was so tempting that even those who had left Kuiliang County to Luozi County for some reason and gathered in front of this yamen to create momentum for the two villages were also attracted. past.

No matter how things are going in Luozi County, who would not want to have the opportunity to return to their homeland and rebuild their hometown?

He Xichao's atmosphere was almost exaggerated, so Xiao Hong continued to send a reassurance.

"Folks, don't be afraid. As long as I, Xiao Hong, am here, how can I leave you homeless and have nowhere to go? At worst, I'll ask my father for more money!" Xiao Hong's down-to-earth words made everyone involuntarily smiled.

However, he changed the subject and said: "However, when I left the capital, I promised my father that I would have to cure the flood here before I could go back, so folks, I have to ask you to help me if I can do business. After the rainy season, once the floods are over, we have to start the real water control, when the time comes, I will give the money, and you all have to contribute to me!"

"it is good!"

Many people called out.

He Xichao watched, and saw a few people in the crowd quietly squeezing their bodies away.

At this time, the gathering of the government government has come to an end.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.