Chapter 143: Monstrous Waves

To say the lake was flooded is not quite accurate; perhaps it would be more fitting to say the lake was obliterated.

Led by County Magistrate Liu Rui, a group of officials and men from Dangyang County stood upon the newly built concrete and stone embankment, gazing at the churning, muddy waters of the Willow River, where the Bowl Mountain Viewing Pavilion bobbed up and down. For a moment, they were entirely at a loss for words.

Before the might of nature, mankind appeared utterly insignificant, and a crushing sense of defeat known as despair welled up uncontrollably from the depths of everyone's hearts.

If the leading officials and gentry felt this way, the common laborers scattered along the sixty-odd-li stretch of the river could only feel worse.

Could this raging, churning torrent before their eyes truly be the Willow River they remembered as being tame to the extreme?

At the beginning of the year, this very river had nearly dried up and ceased to flow!

How had it now transformed into such a violent monster?

The muddy river rushed endlessly, bringing countless pieces of debris down from the upstream. The appearance of this debris meant that embankments had already breached upstream, floods were already raging, and places were already being swept away and swallowed by the rushing waters...

"Organize the men to transport stones and sandbags to the embankment!"

Zhao Hengyi, who had been following the group in silence, suddenly shouted at the top of his lungs. "We have our newly built concrete and stone embankment! No matter how high the river rises, it cannot break our stone wall!"

"That's right, we have the stone embankment!"

"Buddha preserve us, our Dangyang County built the stone embankment!"

"Thank goodness we followed Magistrate Liu's arrangements. If not for that..."

Whether they were subordinate officials, wealthy elites of the county town, or merely the humblest commoners, everyone felt a profound sense of relief in their hearts at this moment!

Judging by the current situation, the waters of the Willow River would continue to rise; the true peak of the flood had not yet arrived!

This terrifying flood had already surpassed the scale of the largest floods recorded in the Dangyang County annals!

If they had relied solely on the previous earthen dikes, it would have been utterly impossible to withstand a flood of this magnitude. When the true flood peak arrived, it would by no means be just that stretch of riverbank near the sharp bend by the dilapidated temple that got washed away!

If Magistrate Liu had not insisted on building the river embankment, and if Zhao Hengyi had not selflessly contributed the formula for cement, Dangyang County would have suffered catastrophic losses in this year's flood!

Once reduced to the mercy of the rampaging floods, let alone the fields and properties of the wealthy families, would they truly be safe even if they hid inside the county town?

Awakened by Zhao Hengyi's shout, countless people snapped out of their stupor and rushed back to their respective sections of the river. Braving the lashing rain, they organized tens of thousands of commoners to hold the line at the embankments!

Currently, the obstacle directly holding back the muddy, surging river was the old earthen dike. Although it had undergone some reinforcement, it was far from enough to give anyone a sense of security.

Behind the earthen dike were secondary dikes, with rows of concrete and stone walls blocking the way, and at the very back stood the concrete and stone embankment that the people of Dangyang County had built in less than fifty days!

Originally, according to the plan, after the rear concrete embankment was completely finished, the original earthen dike was to be reinforced with concrete as well. But under the present circumstances, that earthen dike would most likely not hold out until the floodwaters receded.

Zhao Hengyi, accompanying Liu Rui, stared fixedly at the churning river surface. Just a moment ago, he had spotted a long, massive piece of timber—the kind of primary house beam only a wealthy family could afford!

The wind by the river grew fiercer, and the raindrops whipped by the gale felt like lashes, relentlessly beating against everyone.

Zhao Hengyi wore a bamboo hat and a coir raincoat, but even so, he was already soaked to the bone.

This sharp bend had been constructed at Elm Tree Bay; he was the person in charge, and he had to stand guard here!

For the past forty-six days, Zhao Hengyi had lived and eaten in the dilapidated temple, waking up every day only to patrol the embankments and oversee the construction site.

The workshops and properties of Elm Tree Bay seemed distant now. Aside from frequently thinking of Miao Xiaoyu and his younger sisters who had already taken refuge in the Marquis of Dangyang's estate, Zhao Hengyi was almost free of distracting thoughts... Perhaps in the dead of night when dreams returned, another graceful shadow might break into his slumber, but none of that mattered; the owner of that shadow was also safe and sound within the estate.

This flood was the ultimate test of the efforts Zhao Hengyi had put in over the past forty-six days.

If they survived it, everything would remain as it was; he would continue to focus on development and turn Elm Tree Bay into the most unique and prosperous place in the Great Yan Kingdom.

If they failed to survive it... well, if he managed to stay alive, he would gather his men and start anew. He, Zhao Hengyi, would never admit defeat this time!

A dull, rumbling sound, akin to distant thunder, drifted from afar.

This muffled roar, mingled with shouts, curses, and the sound of crashing waves, was indistinct; one had to listen closely to detect it.

Zhao Hengyi pulled a crude, single-barrel telescope from his bosom. This item had just been produced by the glassware workshop, and its clarity was passable, though the grinding craft still needed improvement, making it barely usable.

At the moment, everyone was busy with their own tasks, and no one noticed the bizarre-looking telescope in Zhao Hengyi's hand, nor did they notice that the proprietor Zhao, who had voluntarily contributed the cement formula and indirectly saved countless lives in Dangyang County, had suddenly frozen in place!

Through the low-clarity telescope, Zhao Hengyi saw a white line appear on the upstream river surface!

The roar, sounding like the charge of thousands of armies, was emitted by that very white line!

That white line stretching across the river seemed to move slowly, but in reality, it was surging downstream at a breakneck speed... The flood peak had arrived!

"The flood peak has arrived!"

"Everyone on the earthen dike, fall back immediately!"

"Leave no one on the earthen dike! Abandon all equipment, get back first!"

In the rain, hoarse shouts rang out continuously. The roaring sound grew louder and louder until it finally drowned out all other noises, as if between heaven and earth, there remained only the crashing thunder of the passing flood peak!

The true test was about to begin!

Zhao Hengyi slowly lowered the telescope, his gaze toward the river gradually turning calm. He believed in the concrete and stone embankment he had concocted, and he believed in the concrete brought by industrialization; he and Elm Tree Bay behind him would undoubtedly remain safe and sound!

"Master, let's fall back from the riverbank first!"

Wang Erhu, who had been following Zhao Hengyi and looked like a mud monkey, tugged at his master's sleeve, attempting to persuade Zhao Hengyi to retreat from the embankment with him.

"Fall back? Fall back to where?"

Zhao Hengyi smiled. "If the embankment breaches, the floodwaters will arrive in an instant like a collapsing mountain. Can we possibly outrun the flood?"

Indeed, fleeing at this moment was completely useless.

"Keep a good look at this flood peak, and keep a good look at the concrete and stone embankment we built. After today, the great name of cement will inevitably spread throughout the realm!

From now on, cement will undoubtedly save countless lives, be utilized by the common folk, and become... the stabilizing sea-pillar of the Great Yan Kingdom!"

Amidst Zhao Hengyi's rallying cry, the flood peak finally reached the sharp bend that everyone had been dreading.

The surging, muddy river water, like an overturned heavenly river, slammed fiercely against the outermost earthen dike!

In a deafening roar, huge splashes of water shot several meters into the air!

Even Zhao Hengyi, standing on the stone embankment further back, was drenched from head to toe by the muddy river water!

Well come!