Chapter 1711 – Floods in Ningzhou
South Sheng is the most unfortunate nation among the five in the world. First, South Sheng was wiped out, then the Southern Barbarians ruthlessly slaughtered, followed by various lords rising up, forming alliances to fight against the barbarians. For over a decade, the nation has been engulfed in war. Every state and county is in disarray, waiting for revival, but now and then, bandits and mobs cause chaos.
Jiang Pengji intended to govern, but this was a long-term project that couldn’t be resolved in just a few days.
Everything requires steady progress, one step at a time.
After resolving the matter with Hua Yuan, Jiang Pengji didn’t rush to leave Ningzhou, as something was holding her back.
“Ningzhou’s floods are actually this severe?”
Jiang Pengji and her group temporarily stayed in the Ningzhou governor’s office, which had not been repaired for many years, looking even worse than the homes of ordinary merchants.
Fortunately, the governor’s office wasn’t a shoddy construction; with a bit of cleaning, it was still livable.
After two days of living there, Jiang Pengji thought of checking the archived case files from previous years in the office, which was the best way to understand the situation in Ningzhou.
She had someone sort out the accumulated case files. As soon as they opened the storeroom, everyone jumped back in shock—piles of mixed-up case files were stacked haphazardly, covered in a thick layer of dust, and the stench made it hard to breathe. They spent two days moving the files out of the storeroom; many of them were ruined by pests, and after sorting through them, they collected a lot of useful information for Jiang Pengji to review.
Not knowing was one thing, but seeing it was shocking.
Inside were not only years’ worth of wrongful and fabricated cases but also a large amount of records regarding the floods.
After reading these, Jiang Pengji realized that Ningzhou faced floods every few years. When floods didn’t come, it was fine, but when they did, the waters would inundate the fields, resulting in countless casualties among the common people, with little hope for the farmlands. Jiang Pengji asked Wei Ci and the others to locate bamboo slips related to flood prevention, only to find that similar records were scant, and many were written in a perfunctory manner, requiring considerable effort to extract useful information.
“Zixiao, send someone to find residents who have lived in Ningzhou for a long time and ask about the flood conditions over the years.”
Lü Zheng inquired, “Flood control is not a short-term project and requires vast human, material, and financial resources. How long do you plan to stay here?”
One must distinguish between priorities; floods don’t occur every year, and managing them isn’t effective in just a couple of years.
Jiang Pengji staying here and wasting time might be better spent elsewhere, sooner taking full control of South Sheng.
If she delayed too long, by the time Zhong Zhao regained its strength, she would miss the best opportunity to reclaim it.
Lü Zheng was unaware of what Qi Guanrang and Sun Wen had done in Zhong Zhao; due to the information imbalance, he was thinking somewhat incorrectly.
If he knew that these two were stirring up trouble in Zhong Zhao, making life difficult for the people, he likely wouldn’t have said that.
Jiang Pengji responded, “It’s precisely because flood control involves so many connections that I’m even more uneasy about leaving it to those who aren’t familiar. I fear they won’t do it well. At the very least… I need to understand the details and ensure I have a clear idea before handing it over to someone else without worry of deception.”
In the short term, there wouldn’t be any more wars, so Jiang Pengji aimed to gain as much time as possible to restore local livelihoods, allowing the people to settle down.
Those who win the hearts of the people gain the world.
As long as the common people are on her side, she wouldn’t fear rebellions while fighting on the front lines.
Seeing that Jiang Pengji had her plan, Lü Zheng, trusting her judgment, stopped urging her.
After two days of investigation and sorting, Jiang Pengji basically traced the roots of the floods in Ningzhou, and she felt both angry and amused.
“South Sheng’s downfall is truly self-inflicted; they can’t blame it solely on the four Southern Barbarian tribes; their own roots have rotted.”
It doesn’t matter if it’s a slow death or a fast one; the Southern Barbarian tribes just helped South Sheng ascend to their demise early.
The flooding in Ningzhou didn’t stem from anything else, but mainly because of blocked river channels and the government allowing the gentry to take over flood discharge channels, with some even using soil to create farmland. Coupled with sediment buildup in the downstream channels, the waterways within Ningzhou increasingly clogged. When the rainy season hits, if the rain exceeds normal levels, floods are easily triggered, submerging crops…
Before South Sheng was destroyed, Ningzhou would allocate a sum of silver annually for flood control, regularly sending people to clear the waterways. Even with some corruption, the heavens were merciful; occasional floods would occur, but on a smaller scale. Since South Sheng’s fall, every state and county has faced not only the Southern Barbarians’ invasions but also local strongmen occupying the land; naturally, no one would allocate funds to maintain the channels.
In the eyes of many short-sighted folks, managing the waterways was as futile as throwing money into the river—just a sound with no profit.
The disastrous consequences quickly followed. During the decade of turmoil, Ningzhou experienced two major floods and five minor ones, resulting in around ten thousand civilian deaths and nearly a million in agricultural losses over the years. According to villagers, the floods each year were worse than the last.
This year was lucky; the rainy season’s rainfall was light, and the waterways remained calm, but who knows what next year will bring?
Jiang Pengji had someone take her around to inspect the blocked riverways and returned to sketch a rough map.
“Directly managing the main river channel is unrealistic; there isn’t enough time, manpower, or funds,” Jiang Pengji said. “Instead, we should first clear these smaller tributaries, widen their capacity, and relieve the pressure on the main channel. Once we buy some time, we can then dredge the main river.”
Jiang Pengji marked out a few spots, saying, “These bends should be reformed to be straighter, allowing floodwaters to discharge more smoothly.”
Lü Zheng had no major objections, “Who does the lord intend to assign this task to?”
The original governance of Ningzhou had already collapsed. Before Jiang Pengji attacked, the local gentry had essentially taken control of the internal affairs, nearly forming a local regime. She had eliminated a wave of pests, but there were no viable people left…
Jiang Pengji thought for a moment, “Didn’t we just issue a recruitment order? The first batch of selections has been announced, so let’s pick a few reliable ones from there… Oh, that Mi Hua seems quite good. I remember one of her answers involved simulating how to manage the waterways; her proposed solutions are quite feasible, not just empty talk. Clearly, she’s a practical type, worth utilizing.”
Jiang Pengji had always disregarded one’s background or qualifications, focusing only on their responsibility and abilities.
Even though this employment system didn’t align with the era, Jiang Pengji was the one setting the rules. Others had to comply with her; she had no reason to compromise. With a few words, Jiang Pengji decided to entrust the affairs of Ningzhou to this fresh newcomer, Mi Hua.
“I’ll write a letter to bring her here for the position; once she arrives, we can leave.”
Even if Mi Hua had confidence in herself, when that appointment letter was placed before her, she felt a surreal sense of disbelief.
Did Lord Lan Ting really make this decision on a whim?
