Chapter 179: Natural disasters are human-made disasters

The rolling thunder, like the low and terrifying roar of a wild beast, echoed, intimidating all things in the world.

Zhang Xianzong’s eyes revealed a deep sense of concern.

The people in the cabin also heard the commotion and came out one after another.

Song Li, a secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, Pan Xing, a director of the Ministry of War, Gao Wei, a judge of the Five Army Commandery, and Xue Xia, a commanding officer of the Security Bureau, had not yet inquired about what had happened when they witnessed such a gloomy and terrifying scene.

Gao Wei took a deep breath and said, “I have never seen such a scene in my life. The black clouds covering the sky indicate an impending storm. Vice minister, we should immediately approach the shore and find a place to take shelter from the rain.”

“We can’t go ashore!”

Both Zhang Xianzong and Song Li shouted at the same time.

Zhang Xianzong looked at Song Li in surprise and asked, “What do you think?”

Pointing in the direction of the black clouds, Song Li’s face turned serious as he said, “My Lord, the black clouds spreading across the sky suggest a large-scale event. Once a torrential rain falls, the water of the Yellow River will inevitably surge. At that time, the stability of the Yellow River embankments will be crucial to the overall situation. I suggest we don’t go to Suzhou but head to Xuzhou or Kaifeng instead.”

Zhang Xianzong praised Song Li with a glance and said, “You’re right. Order the boatmen to proceed at full speed. Our destination is Xuzhou!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a lightning bolt split the sky, illuminating it brightly and followed by a loud thunder, accompanied by even darker ominous clouds.

“The rain is coming.”

Xue Xia said solemnly.

Zhang Xianzong, Song Li, and others raised their heads and did not see the rain coming. They reached out to feel it but found no rain. At the moment of everyone’s confusion, a sound came from the water surface, a rushing sound.

The rain curtain covered the sky and quickly approached, sweeping from the north to the south like a line.

Zhang Xianzong could even clearly see the dividing line between the rain and the non-rain areas. However, in just a moment, the rain began to fall.

The heavy raindrops fell on everyone, and the strong wind began to blow. The boat suddenly tilted on the Yellow River.

Zhang Xianzong, who was unsteady, was about to fall into the river. In a critical moment, Xue Xia reached out, grabbed Zhang Xianzong’s clothes, and pulled him back. The others staggered but managed to stand firm.

“Quick, into the cabin!”

Xue Xia shouted loudly.

Everyone hurried into the cabin, and the whistling wind sound entered the cabin.

“My Lord, the boatmen say the wind is too strong, and it’s impossible to navigate. We need to approach the shore.”

A follower quickly reported.

Zhang Xianzong looked anxious. If he gave up the waterway now and changed to a land route to Kaifeng, it was unknown when they would arrive. If the rain was severe and caused flooding, affecting the people on both sides of the river, he would be responsible, even if he lost his life.

Seeing Zhang Xianzong hesitating, Song Li said to the follower, “Go find an old boatman and bring him here, quickly!”

Zhang Xianzong looked at Song Li with confusion. Song Li quickly explained, “My Lord, if we change to a land route, it will take a long time to reach Kaifeng, especially in rainy weather. Traveling on horseback in the rain is extremely unsafe.”

“Is it safer than staying on this boat?” Gao Wei’s face looked somewhat unpleasant as he held onto the boat’s side and said, “Even if we fall on land, we can get up and continue. But if the boat capsizes in the river, with our swimming skills, how can we survive?”

Pan Xing nodded secretly and said, “It’s better to approach the shore first, ride north on horseback, and when the rain stops, we can change to boats and continue to Kaifeng. It’s a more cautious approach.”

Zhang Xianzong’s expression became serious, and he did not answer the two. Instead, he looked at Xue Xia and said, “Thanks for saving my life, Commander.”

Xue Xia shook his head, speaking seriously, “His Majesty ordered me to accompany and protect Lord Zhang. If anything happens to Lord Zhang, I won’t be able to go back. It’s not a matter of saving a life; I’m just fulfilling my duty.”

“In your opinion, what should we do?”

Zhang Xianzong asked.

Xue Xia’s identity was unusual; he was the commanding officer of the Security Bureau, and the Security Bureau served as the Emperor’s eyes and ears.

Facing Zhang Xianzong’s question, Xue Xia just grinned and said, “This journey is led by Lord Zhang. As long as Lord Zhang decides, I will follow without a second word.”

Zhang Xianzong looked at Xue Xia, seemingly simple but actually quite experienced. Before he could speak, an old boatman entered the cabin.

“Ask away.”

Zhang Xianzong said to Song Li.

Song Li nodded slightly and asked the old boatman in front, “May I ask, have you ever seen this kind of weather in previous years?”

The old boatman, almost fifty, with gray hair but still strong and in good spirits, spoke with a Henan accent, saying, ” I’ve seen it once. At that time, my family was still in Yuanwu, but a major flood occurred. Later, there was no choice but to drift to Huai’an. I remember the last time there was such a commotion was in the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, yes, that year.”

“Hongwu twenty-fourth year?!”

Zhang Xianzong, Song Li, Gao Wei, and others all changed their expressions.

In the early Ming Dynasty, the main course of the Yellow River mostly followed the old route of the late Yuan Dynasty, also known as the old Yellow River route. It passed through places like Xingze, Yuanwu, Kaifeng, Shangqiu, Yucheng, and Xuzhou, converging with the Si River and flowing into the sea at Qingliu County.

In the fifteenth year of Hongwu, the Yellow River broke through in Xingze and Yangwu, diverting into the Huai River through Huaiyuan County.

In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, the Yellow River water overflowed. It was the first large-scale Yellow River diverting into the Huai River in Ming Dynasty’s history. The Yellow River water entered the Huai River through Fengyang Prefecture, carrying the Ying and Wo Rivers, forming the Great Yellow River.

At that time, Fengyang Prefecture was the central capital, overseeing eighteen counties including Bozhou and Yingzhou, spanning a vast area on both sides of the Huai River.

In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, the Yellow River diverting into the Huai River not only caused great suffering and countless casualties, but also completely silted up the Huitong River, making the northbound waterway impassable for large ships.

This event happened seven or eight years ago, and in recent years, there hasn’t been any major water disaster. Now, hearing the old boatman talk about it, Zhang Xianzong and others were shocked.

Song Li’s face turned somewhat pale, and he weakly asked, “How long will this wind last? Do you know?”

The old boatman looked at Song Li and the others, then bravely asked, “Are you officials sent by the court to inspect the waterways?”

“Bold! How dare you, a boatman, inquire about the affairs of the court! I think you don’t want to live anymore!”

Gao Wei reprimanded sternly.

The old boatman trembled in fear and quickly knelt down, begging for mercy.

Zhang Xianzong frowned and looked at Gao Wei, saying, “Let the boatman speak clearly. Please be patient, lord Judge.”

Song Li, being friendly, went forward to help the old boatman up and said kindly, “That’s correct, we are officials appointed by the court to inspect the waterways.”

Seeing this, the old boatman quickly knelt down and pleaded, “Please, my lords, think of a way for the people on both sides of the river to survive.”

“What do you mean by this?”

Song Li was puzzled.

Zhang Xianzong and the others were also somewhat surprised.

The old boatman choked up and said, “My wife, son, daughter-in-law, all died in the flood. Now, only my grandson and I are left. If another flood occurs, the people on both sides, many of my fellow villagers, will all be buried in the mouth of this water dragon. Please, gentlemen, punish the corrupt officials and save them.”

Watching the kneeling old boatman, Zhang Xianzong’s brows furrowed, and he said in a deep voice, “Corrupt officials? Judging from your words, it seems there’s more to the story.”

The old boatman stubbornly raised his head, looked at Zhang Xianzong, and gritted his teeth, “In the twenty-fourth year of Hongwu, the Yellow River broke through at Heiyang Mountain in Yuanwu, Henan. My Lord, do you really believe that it was just a natural disaster!”

One sentence shocked everyone.

Xue Xia was also shaken, staring at the old boatman.

Zhang Xianzong’s face became extremely serious, took a step forward, and said sharply, “What do you mean?”

The old boatman, with tears in his eyes, smiled bitterly and said, “What do I mean? My Lord, don’t you understand? When the Yuanwu dyke was built back then, thirty thousand people were requisitioned. They couldn’t eat enough every day, let alone drink a sip of water! When thirsty, they could only drink this water from the Yellow River! One bowl of water, two ounces of sand! Do you think such a large dyke can be stable? Can it not burst?”

Zhang Xianzong stepped back two steps, his face sorrowful.

This overwhelming natural disaster turned out to be a man-made disaster?!

“How do you know? If you’re wrong, you’ll be executed!”

Xue Xia knew the seriousness and the broad implications of this matter and couldn’t help but ask.

The old boatman looked at Xue Xia, tore open his chest with both hands, and on his chest, a “craftsman” character appeared, like a worm crawling out.

Xue Xia’s eyes turned cold; the wound was caused by a branding iron!

The old boatman gritted his teeth and said, “This is the brand I left when I participated in building the Yuanwu dyke! Just because my son was starving, I begged for a meal from the official. What was given to me and my son was this brand! Plus, I was also given thirty lashes!”

“Who did this?”

Zhang Xianzong gnashed his teeth.

During the Hongwu period, building river dykes was a national affair, and requisitioning civilian labor was common, but there had never been such an outrageous act of oppressing the people!

Now that the incident has passed for several years, no one has mentioned it.

The old boatman, who is now talking about it, claims that the flood back then was caused by man-made disasters!

“Cai Zhi, the magistrate of Yuanwu, and…”

The old boatman gritted his teeth and said, “And, King of Zhou, Zhu Su!”

A thunderous roar passed through the sky.

“You, who are you talking about?”

Zhang Xianzong couldn’t believe it.

“King of Zhou, Zhu Su!”

The old boatman gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Nonsense!”

Gao Wei quickly walked towards the old boatman, lifted his leg, and kicked him directly in the face!

Bang!

Ah ah—

Gao Wei fell to the side in pain, holding his shin, glaring at Xue Xia, and shouted, “He’s just a commoner, daring to falsely accuse a vassal king. This person must have ulterior motives. You’re stopping me?!”

Xue Xia withdrew his foot, stood in front of the old boatman, and said sternly, “Gao Wei, I know you have a close relationship with King of Yan, and King of Zhou is also the younger brother of King of Yan. It’s okay for you to defend King of Zhou, but remember, he is a subject of the Great Ming. If what he says is untrue, it’s not your place to take action! There are judicial officials to handle it!”

“If you dare to act again, I will think that you don’t understand right from wrong, and I will arrest you and throw you into prison according to the regulations of the Security Bureau!”

Gao Wei gritted his teeth but dared not act out. He stood up, unable to put force on his right foot, and said coldly, “Falsely accusing a royal prince is a grave crime in the court. As the judge of commandery office, I acted impulsively a bit. Please forgive me.”

Xue Xia remained silent, standing aside.

Zhang Xianzong was even more shocked, steadying his mind. He spoke to the old boatman, “King of Zhou is usually gentle and compassionate, especially devoted to medicine. How could he do such a thing? Just based on your words, it’s impossible to prove anything.”

This matter was a huge trap, involving vassal kings. He was just a Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and if he got entangled in this, he would face the triple pressure from the Emperor, King of Zhou, and King of Yan.

It was a squeeze to death!

The old boatman’s face was full of tears as he knelt, saying, “Others have already perished, leaving only me drifting downstream with my child. If you don’t believe me, you can investigate King of Zhou’s residence!”

Investigate the King’s residence.

Zhang Xianzong didn’t have that authority, nor the courage.

The wind intensified, and the boat rocked more violently.

“Let’s put the matter of King of Zhou aside for now. Boatman, according to your observation, how long will this wind last? We need to get to Kaifeng as soon as possible. If it’s just a sudden storm, there’s no problem, but if it’s truly days of continuous heavy rain, it will inevitably lead to a flood. We cannot afford to delay, and I’m sure you don’t want the people on both sides to suffer a disaster, right?”

Song Li, feeling a bit unsteady, hurriedly shouted.

In Song Li’s view, the most urgent matter now was not to inquire about past disasters or investigate King of Zhou; instead, it was to prevent possible disasters.

Dead people can wait, but living people cannot.