Chapter 918 Disaster Relief Mobilization
Jingzhou was hit by floods, and Wu Changqing's preparations suddenly became extremely wise.
However, the person who tried to flatter him in this regard was glared at by Wu Changqing.
At this time, disaster relief is the top priority.
If you want to flatter, you have to wait until after the disaster. Choosing to flatter at this time is tantamount to hitting a horse's hoof.
Seeing this, the others quickly put away their thoughts and threw themselves into the disaster relief work wholeheartedly.
The telegram was sent to Nanjing quickly, and the prepared disaster relief materials were immediately loaded and transported to Jingzhou.
At this time, the sooner it comes, the smaller the loss caused by the disaster.
In addition to Nanjing, materials from other places such as Wuhan and Jiujiang are also being sent to Jingzhou.
At the same time, the garrison in Wuhan is also rushing to Jingzhou.
Wu Changqing wondered if this was the first time in history that the army was involved in disaster relief.
However, he should be the largest and fastest one.
When the military received the order, they immediately rushed over without stopping.
These troops stationed in Dahua have been far away from the war, and it is difficult to get them to go to the battlefield.
On weekdays, with a high salary, there is nothing to do. It was not easy for the imperial court to use them, and the whole army was very active.
On the one hand, they want to express themselves to the court and make some contributions by the way. On the other hand, they are also eager to provide disaster relief.
Most of these soldiers came from poor families and felt the same for the suffering of the people at the bottom.
The whole army arrived at Yueyang first, and was personally received by Wu Changqing.
After the disaster occurred, Wu Changqing came to Yueyang from Changsha. He was also on the front line, and Yueyang might be affected by the disaster at any time.
Wu Changqing personally mobilized the entire army and asked them to perform their duties as soldiers.
The duty of a soldier is to defend the country, which includes destroying the enemy and protecting the people.
The flood is also a kind of enemy.
Afterwards, members of the 13th Division rushed to Jingzhou to help the people evacuate, rescue those trapped by the flood, and temporarily build dikes to protect some places that are vulnerable to flood threats.
There were a lot of things to do, and the 13th Division alone was not enough. Wu Changqing also mobilized the surrounding local defenders.
The army participating in the flood fighting and rescue this time is expected to reach 60,000, which is quite large.
On June 21, the 13th Division rushed to the disaster area.
What caught my eye was the disaster victims gathered on a hillside, there were thousands of people.
These people have been trapped on the hillside, and their lives are not in danger for the time being, but it is difficult to say as the water level rises.
Also, there was certainly no food on those hillsides, and nothing to keep warm overnight.
The Thirteenth Division immediately divided its troops into several groups, one of which was to search for the victims who had been alone, and the other was to help transfer these victims by boat.
There is another way to prepare sandbags and prepare to build temporary dams in some necessary places to avoid greater losses.
Seeing the soldiers rowing over, some people on the hillside wept with joy.
Although they evacuated to the hillside in time, it would be difficult for them to survive if no one came to rescue them.
After all, the flood is not something that can pass in a day or two, and basically lasts for a long time.
Staying on this hillside, cold and hungry, and worrying about being submerged, these people have suffered great psychological pressure.
There are also those who failed to rescue their relatives due to various reasons during the retreat, and even cried bitterly on this hillside.
"It's better for Dahua, who came to rescue us so soon. How could it be so fast before."
"Old man Liu, I'm afraid you are thinking too much. How could the previous imperial court come to save people? They all relied on themselves to wait for the flood to recede. Those who couldn't make it through died."
"I heard from those soldiers that a canteen has been prepared in the city, and we will have food and a place to live as soon as we pass by."
The people on board were discussing, and when they heard that there was still food to eat, they became excited again.
This flood destroyed almost all their property, and only had time to take away some soft things.
Originally, they thought that they would exchange these soft foods for food, but they never expected that there would be free food.
In previous dynasties, food prices would immediately rise in the event of a disaster.
Those unscrupulous businessmen are just waiting for this opportunity to plunder.
"Master, is this really the case?"
A commoner asked.
In his world view, the imperial court cannot be so reliable, nor can the soldiers and bandits be so good.
"What's so strange about this is that several large granaries in Nanjing have been filled up long ago. Our Dahua has no shortage of food at all. Moreover, His Majesty has already calculated that there will be a flood here, so people have long been Bring in the food."
said the soldier.
"Your Majesty is indeed the Son of Heaven, and he will count on it."
"But, isn't the Dragon King of the East China Sea responsible for the rain? It's also a dragon. Why doesn't His Majesty the Dragon King care about the rain?"
"The Dragon King must have made a mistake. Your Majesty should have asked the Dragon King to send the rain to those places that lack water."
…
All kinds of shocking remarks on the boat emerged one after another, but it didn't matter, anyway, they were all grateful to the emperor for this, and then threw their resentment on the Dragon King of the East China Sea.
A boatload of people were sent to the city, and the magistrates here have already made preparations for proper resettlement.
The county magistrate, who is usually aloof, went to the front line to busy himself at this time, and he didn't care that his official uniform was covered with mud and water.
The emperor is not far away in Yueyang, they dare not be careless.
Moreover, this is also a very good performance opportunity.
Local officials like them usually have no chance of being seen by the emperor. Even if they made political achievements, what fell into Wu Changqing's eyes was just a dry sentence.
And now, their work can finally be seen by the emperor.
It would be great if he could take this opportunity to impress the emperor with his ability to handle affairs.
Therefore, these local officials were very active in fighting the flood and disaster relief this time.
Not to mention these local officials, even the local rich people want to take this opportunity to show off.
Although it is impossible for them to be promoted if they perform well, as long as they are praised by the emperor, their status will be different in the future.
No matter how others want to deal with them, they can all say that the emperor once boasted about himself, which is full of deterrence.
When the officials, the army, and the rich began to actively provide disaster relief, their social mobilization ability was fully tapped. They discovered that the original flood disaster was not so terrible, and disaster relief was actually quite simple.
It is only necessary to arrange food and accommodation for the victims, and then recruit some young and strong people to fight the flood and build embankments.
The main reason why the previous disasters seemed terrible was that no one was willing to pay the price to rescue them. Of course, Dahua's current abundance of materials is also one of the reasons.