Blossom In Adversity - Vol. 2

C268. Identity Exposed.

Chapter 268: Identity Exposed

"Mr. Xu should recognize this place. Please take a look at the places I've drawn and see if I've made any mistakes." Hua Zhi held the map she had drawn the night before and used a pointer to trace on the sand table. She was very careful and did not damage any of the existing features.

Xu Yangjun didn't understand at first, but when Hua Zhi drew three places, he had a hunch and realized something. Ignoring his composure, he quickly took the nearby map and compared it carefully. For a moment, he felt a tightness in his throat. These places were usually insignificant, but if they could be used now...

"Are there any mistakes?"

"No." Xu Yangjun pushed aside Bo Fan and Yu Tao who were blocking him and walked closer to Hua Zhi. Pointing to a place on the map, he said, "And here, when this place was nearly dry years ago, people from two villages fought over the last source of water and four people died. I remember this very clearly because of that."

Since she had found the right person, Hua Zhi simply abandoned the map she had spent countless hours drawing the night before. She compared the locations on the map and traced them on the sand table.

"Yes, it's here. Did the young lady find this through the county annals? That's not specific. In fact, this river is forty-three zhang longer than what is recorded in the county annals."

Hua Zhi glanced at him. Regardless of this person's character, the fact that he could casually mention the specific numbers meant that he was a competent official in his job.

The two worked together, one speaking and the other doing, and after a busy session, seven more rivers appeared on the sand table.

"Mr. Xu, do you know the current situation of these rivers?"

"The dried-up rivers have been abandoned. With limited manpower, no one has ever bothered with them."

"Do you know if there has been any water flowing through them later?"

Xu Yangjun nodded bitterly. He hadn't thought about it before, but now that he was asked this way, he felt full of shame. This was his dereliction of duty.

Hua Zhi sighed softly, meaning that all her hard work for half a night might have been in vain. She continued to ask unwillingly, "Not even one?"

"It's not that I don't know about any of them." Xu Yangjun took the pointer that Hua Zhi handed over and pointed to places he didn't dare to point out directly, fearing that he would damage them. "I went to these two places later, and the river channels can no longer be called rivers. The river mud is fertile, and the people have cultivated it into vegetable plots, and some have been turned into good fields. They have dug ditches and reservoirs, and normal rainwater drainage has no problem. They haven't been flooded in the past few years. As for other places, I really don't know."

Seeing Hua Zhi silent, Xu Yangjun couldn't help but ask, "Does the young lady want to reopen these rivers?"

"It's not that I want to or don't want to." Hua Zhi beckoned to Xiao Liu and patted him on the shoulder when he came over. "My child asked me if there was any way, and I naturally have to try my best to think of one."

The Sixth Prince's nose turned sour and he almost burst into tears. He was so happy, especially happy.

Hua Zhi handed the pointer to him and said, "Xiao Liu, you say it."

The Sixth Prince looked at the newly added rivers and said what he had already thought of, "Sister Hua, do you want to open up these dried-up rivers to relieve the pressure on the Wei Shui River?"

"That's right, any questions?"

"Yes." The Sixth Prince pursed his lips. "Are these seven rivers wide enough? How deep are they? Can they play the role we expect? Also, if this really relieves the pressure on Xiangyang, what if it also rains downstream? Then..."

"That's the role of the water report. We should inform the downstream areas of Xiangyang's situation as soon as possible, even if we haven't received water reports from upstream yet. Moreover, the problem downstream is not entirely about floods."

Hua Zhi opened the map and pointed to it for him. "This is not entirely a plain area anymore. There are more mountains, and if it rains continuously for many days, the possibility of landslides and mudslides will greatly increase. As you said, if Xiangyang can safely avoid this danger, the pressure on the downstream will increase."

"Is there no solution?" After asking, the Sixth Prince regretted it and quickly said, "Sister Hua, I didn't mean anything else, I just said it casually..."

Hua Zhi smiled, "I actually have a way for the downstream. There is a small county called Lingzhou here, have you heard of it?"

The Sixth Prince shook his head at the place Hua Zhi had indicated.

"No wonder. It’s truly a small place, with a population of only a little over four hundred. Some villages have more people than that. Lingzhou is actually quite large, but it’s a land of poor mountains and bad waters. There are vast swamps, not to mention the stony mountains. It’s a very difficult place to survive. I recall that in the early years of the Great Daqing Dynasty, they tried to relocate a portion of the population there, but almost all of them left. After that, the court gave up on it."

She tapped the map gently with her command stick. "If we divert the water from here, not only could Lingzhou itself support a larger population, but we could also direct it straight to the Sha River. From there, it would flow into the larger Jing Shui River, and the lower reaches might be saved."

"The question now is what to do with the four hundred or so people in Lingzhou. If the court could provide them with a place to settle, they might be willing to leave. Even the best homeland becomes unbearable if one cannot survive there."

As Hua Zhi's voice trailed off, a pin could have been heard dropping in the room. It sounded... it didn't seem so difficult. But why, with the annual floods of the Wei Shui River, had no one ever considered this solution?

Four hundred people?

They could relocate four thousand if they tried!

Hua Zhi went back to her tea for a pick-me-up. Her head ached. This was the best solution she could think of to alleviate the pressure on the lower reaches. The precondition was that they had to solve the problem here in Xiangyang first. As for what to do in the lower reaches, with a prince and several officials of the Seven Stars Bureau here, she didn't think she needed to worry about it.

The first thing to determine was the situation of the other five river channels. Frowning, Hua Zhi turned to Bo Fan. "Bo Fan, can you find a way to figure out the situation of those five river channels? And quickly."

Bo Fan let out a breath of relief. "Yes. I'll go right away."

Xu Yangjun dared not even look directly at Hua Zhi anymore. But in his heart, he was turning over and over. From the capital, with the surname Hua. There was only one Hua family in the capital. Could it be, could it be that...

The rumor that the eldest daughter of the Hua family was now in charge and was extremely capable had long been circulating among the literati.

He had a few friends in the capital, and in their correspondence, they had mentioned the death of the Hua family matriarch and how the eldest daughter had taken over all the family affairs, handling everything in an orderly manner.

She had even brought back her second aunt who had been bullied outside, and his friends had praised her endlessly, saying that she was indeed worthy of being a member of the Hua family.

Xu Yangjun's heart raced at the possibility. This had to be the daughter of the Hua family. Only the Hua family could have raised such a capable and knowledgeable young woman. Old Master Hua was a very open-minded person.

Yes, it had to be!

There was no mistake!

This young man called Xiao Liu must also be a young master of the Hua family. Judging by his age, he should have been around ten years old when the family was exiled. The rumor was that the eldest daughter had a ten-year-old brother, which fit perfectly!