Chapter 65 (Seeking Follow-up Reads) The Arrival of the Flood Season

In the eighth year of Tianqi, early summer.

Half a year had passed, and everything remained as calm as ever without any ripples.

Day after day, Chen Ping studied diligently at the academy, leading a simple and monotonous life.

As the old saying goes, read a book a hundred times and its meaning will naturally reveal itself, which proved to be entirely true.

Initially, passages that felt difficult and obscure had, after half a year, gradually become smoother and more approachable; he no longer found them tangled and jarring, and could quickly grasp their underlying meanings.

Perhaps this was due to the added benefit of his reading experiences from his past life.

Nowadays, the essays from Chen Ping's brush could not yet be called masterpieces, but they definitely surpassed the level of an ordinary elementary scholar, marking rapid progress indeed.

Old Ye, however, found no leisure; instead, he grew even busier than before.

With multiple roads starting construction simultaneously after the beginning of spring, Magistrate Wang had numerous matters that required his consultation.

This also included the problem of excessive rainfall during the summer.

Yongshun County had been enduring five consecutive days of torrential downpours.

The rain pounding against the river surface was like a stampede of ten thousand horses, and the water level of the river visibly rose by more than three feet.

Summer in the southern regions was naturally prone to rain, and the continuous surging of the water level was truly alarming.

To mention nothing else, the outer river dyke of the county seat had last been comprehensively repaired a full decade ago.

In ten years, even a solid chunk of iron soaked in water would be worn smooth.

The embankments of Yongshun County were long past bearing the burden and were unlikely to withstand the impact of a few more flood peaks.

Yet the flood season of this summer had only just begun.

Magistrate Wang had originally planned to allocate the remaining funds and provisions from the road repairs toward reinforcing the river dykes.

However, these premature downpours caught him completely off guard.

After inspecting the river dykes several times, the smile at the corners of his mouth completely vanished.

Turning to Zhao Jin, he said in a deep voice, "The river dykes have fallen into disrepair and are as precarious as a pile of eggs. In recent years, the imperial court has never allocated any funds for river engineering, leaving this official no choice but to have the commoners slightly tamp the earth during their corvée labor every year, but this accomplishes very little."

"The rain this year has come too fiercely, and this official is afraid... that several sections of the dyke may not hold!"

At night, within the inner government office of Yongshun County.

The room was brightly lit, while outside the rain poured like a waterfall.

A thunderclap, sounding like a writhing python, boomed with such force that everyone wore a heavy expression.

Magistrate Wang was deeply worried, anxious not only about the collapse of the river dykes but also about this year's grain harvest.

Most of the county's farmlands and arable fields were scattered alongside the water; if the dykes were to breach, the roaring torrents would directly rush onto the crops on both banks, and the resulting losses would be incalculable!

The commoners, whose lives had only just begun to improve thanks to the clear roads, would likely be plunged into even greater hardship.

Old Ye stroked his sleeves in deep thought for a moment, then lifted his brush and made a few light strokes.

Before long, the entire Yongshun County along with the surrounding mountains and rivers was sketched onto the paper.

Pointing at this simple map, he offered words of reassurance, "Your Honor need not worry; things have not yet reached the worst-case scenario."

"The waterways of Yongshun County are indeed in disrepair, but this is not the sole responsibility of Your Honor alone. Presently, we should promptly find a remedial strategy, and leave other matters for future consideration."

Magistrate Wang hurriedly asked, "I wonder what brilliant plan Old Ye has?"

Water conservancy belonged to the category of civil engineering and construction, which in every dynasty was overseen by the imperial court.

Magistrate Wang knew that Old Ye was well-versed in mathematics and had previously participated in the construction of several large-scale water conservancy projects for the court, possessing considerable experience in this regard.

Old Ye gave everyone a look that urged calm, extended his index finger to trace slowly across the map, and finally stopped at the western side of the county seat.

"Does Your Honor know that before this Cang River enters the plain, its channel is not wide, measuring barely over a hundred paces?"

"Moreover, at the convergence of the valley and the plain, the riverbed drops sharply by more than eight feet over a distance of less than three li!"

Magistrate Wang looked closely at the map, his brows twitching almost immediately.

He then looked up at Old Ye, his eyes shining brightly, "You mean we can dig a temporary canal there to vent the floodwaters that threaten to breach the dyke!"

Old Ye smiled without speaking, waiting for him to finish.

Magistrate Wang, grasping the logic fully, murmured, "As long as the dyke does not collapse, the floodwaters diverted by that canal will at most flood less than ten percent of the county's fields."

"Furthermore, once the rain stops, the water can be quickly channeled back into the river course, reducing the losses from the disaster to the absolute minimum!"

Staring at the map, Magistrate Wang spoke with growing excitement, clapping his hands together as if he had caught sight of a life-saving straw.

As long as this method proved viable, this year's flood season could certainly be safely weathered.

As for those commoners whose farmlands would be damaged by the excavation of the flood-relief canal, the county office could fully compensate them.

There was still a considerable surplus remaining from the donations for road construction; even without funds from the imperial court, handling this matter would be more than sufficient.

In this way, would everyone not be happy?

With his mind thoroughly cleared and unwilling to wait a single moment longer, Magistrate Wang leaped to his feet and said, "Zhao Jin, quickly prepare the carriage. We are going to inspect the proposed flood-relief site right now."

"If it is feasible, tomorrow we will summon the laborers, move the remaining materials and tools from the road construction over first, and dig the flood-relief canal!"

In his rush, he wished the canal could be built instantaneously.

Old Ye, however, calmly waved his hand and said to the wildly excited Magistrate Wang, "Your Honor, please wait. Water conservancy matters are extraordinary, and the slightest omission could lead to catastrophic breaches."

"We must first conduct on-site measurements, and then meticulously calculate the gradients and depths of the canal. The exact location of the flood-relief outlet must also be calculated to within a few paces; we must not begin digging rashly."

"Time is pressing, and the volume of calculations is substantial. Therefore, this old man must request Your Honor's permission to summon my disciple to come and assist."

Hearing Old Ye's request, Magistrate Wang hesitated for a moment and asked, "The disciple Old Ye speaks of... could it be that Chen Ping boy?"

Chen Ping had indeed left a deep impression on Magistrate Wang, and he also acknowledged that the child possessed considerable wisdom, with a maturity no less than that of an adult.

Yet a county's dykes and embankments were the foundation of agriculture, concerning the livelihood of the common people.

Water conservancy was different from building roads; floods were fiercer than tigers, and even the slightest deviation could lead to unimaginable consequences.

If Chen Ping were allowed to participate in such meticulous and complex calculations, and should colleagues or superiors discover that such a crucial matter was entrusted to a mere child, they would inevitably impeach him for dereliction of duty.

The risk was simply too great.

Noticing Magistrate Wang's hesitation, Old Ye chuckled and reminded him, "Does Your Honor not remember Chen Ping's performance before the Instructor?"

"When it comes to mathematical talent, there is absolutely no one in the entirety of Yongshun County who can compare to my disciple."

"A person's age does not affect the outcome of calculations, let alone when he is merely coming to help out."

After pondering for a moment, Magistrate Wang finally said, "How about this: to the outside world, we will simply claim that the disciple has been summoned to attend to us personally, and let no word be said of him participating in water conservancy matters!"

"Old Ye must still exercise caution regarding the scholars of the county school and the accountants of the commercial houses."

"Should they learn the details of this matter, there will inevitably be gossiping tongues."

Deeply gratified by Magistrate Wang's prudence and caution, Old Ye nodded with a smile.

In less than a year since receiving the imperial commendation, Magistrate Wang had visibly grown much steadier.

Perhaps he knew that upon the completion of his term of office, he would most likely be promoted, at which point he would shoulder greater responsibilities and face greater risks.

Therefore, he needed to force himself to mature rapidly.

Especially given the bizarre bandit incident that occurred last December while he was riding high on his success.

That event had served as a rude awakening, causing him to sheath his sharpness and act with increasing caution.

Once the two had agreed, Old Ye immediately wrote a letter to Chen Ping and entrusted Zhao Jin to deliver it to the academy as quickly as possible.

The letter concisely and succinctly stated the situation they were currently facing.

Summarized, the central idea boiled down to a single sentence:

"This old man is overwhelmed; good disciple, come quickly to my aid!"