Volume One: The Young Dragon Opens Its Eyes Chapter 127: City Patrol (III)

Chapter 127: Inspecting the City (Part 3)

This was still near the palace gates.

Zhu Qizhen had heard what Yu Qian had said regarding the high ground between the Chaobai and Lugou Rivers. Whether it was true or false, Zhu Qizhen did not fully understand, but one thing he did know: the area around the Forbidden City in Beijing was the highest point in the capital. This had long been established by tradition.

However, if such conditions persisted just outside the imperial palace, one could only imagine the state of the lower-lying areas of Beijing.

As the Emperor’s procession appeared on the main streets of the capital, people immediately knelt in the floodwaters. Seeing this, Zhu Qizhen immediately ordered his attendants to pass on a message: "Tell the people they are exempt from kneeling. Tell them that I am concerned for their well-being, and anyone in difficulty may voice their troubles to me."

Wang Zhen immediately relayed the order. Dozens of eunuchs with booming voices shouted the command in unison, and from both sides of the street, the chants of "Long live the Emperor, long live, long live our Emperor" rang out. Wang Zhen also left a few young eunuchs behind so that if the people had any needs, they could report them.

Yu Qian advised, "Your Majesty, this area is occupied by high-ranking officials and nobles; it is impossible for water to enter their homes."

Reminded by Yu Qian, Zhu Qizhen immediately grasped the situation. How could those who were neighbors to the Emperor be without power? These people were not his primary concern.

"I understand," Zhu Qizhen said. "Where is the flooding most severe?"

"The South City," Yu Qian replied.

"Then we shall head to the South City first," Zhu Qizhen commanded.

By now, the heavy rain had begun in earnest. Those around him urged the Emperor to enter his carriage, and Zhu Qizhen, not wanting to be reckless, complied, pulling Yu Qian inside with him.

Watching the situation outside, it seemed that the further south they traveled, the more turbulent and deeper the water on the streets became. Zhu Qizhen estimated that the water beneath the carriage was already rising above the height of a person's ankles. If it was like this here, what must the South City—which Yu Qian deemed critical—look like?

Zhu Qizhen felt a deep sense of anxiety. "After a great disaster, a great plague is sure to follow," he remarked. "If the rain does not cease, will the people be able to have hot water and hot food?"

Yu Qian replied, "Thanks to Your Majesty's wisdom, half of the households in the city now use coal. There are tens of thousands of catties of coal in the capital’s coal yards, which can sustain them for a time."

Zhu Qizhen had never expected that a policy he had once initiated—and left half-finished—would bring such significant benefits now. He surmised that after this flood, most of the capital's residents would use both firewood and coal. They would use firewood when available, and coal when it was not. It wasn't that coal was difficult to use, but that firewood was free. To the common people, no matter how good a product might be, it could not compare to something that cost nothing. After all, the Beijing of this era could not be compared to the Beijing of the future; most houses had courtyards, and plants grown within them provided ample firewood.

Even so, for Zhu Qizhen, this was a massive advantage. As long as the people had hot water and food, and avoided drinking cold, contaminated water, the spread of plague could be effectively curtailed, and lives could be saved.

Zhu Qizhen thought to himself: "As long as you take action, there will always be feedback; some things yield results early, others late. Some actions taken today may not show their effects for years to come. Only now do I truly understand: simply do good deeds and do not ask about the outcome."

"Wang Zhen," Zhu Qizhen called out.

"This servant is here," Wang Zhen replied, standing outside the carriage in a straw rain cape.

"How much coal is stored in the Inner Court?"

"This servant does not know the exact figure, but there are certainly tens of thousands of catties."

While not all residents in the capital used coal, the palace was different. Under Zhu Qizhen’s insistence, who dared not use it? Except for certain tasks—such as cooking specific dishes that required the flavor of firewood—most cooking was done with coal. Thus, the palace’s coal reserves were no less than those of the coal yards in the city. Since it was currently summer, it was not the peak season for coal consumption. By winter, the reserves would be even larger, likely reaching hundreds of thousands of catties.

"Pass the order," Zhu Qizhen commanded. "During the period of flooding, the court is to distribute coal to every household according to the capital's census records, enough for each family to boil water and cook. Let them decide how much they need for their households. If it is not enough, order the Mentougou mines to produce at full capacity."

"This servant understands," Wang Zhen replied. This was the benefit of having eunuchs; whatever Zhu Qizhen ordered, Wang Zhen never uttered a single word of dissent.

Before long, they arrived near the South City, but the procession came to a halt. Li Dachuan reported, "Your Majesty, we cannot go further. The water is too deep."

Zhu Qizhen stepped out of the carriage and into the water. Surrounded by his guards, he realized the water had already risen to his calves, though it had not yet breached the carriage floor. Even though he had brought his imperial procession, he had kept it relatively simple. He could see clearly that the water level ahead dropped off sharply. A guard walking in front suddenly plunged into the water—whether it was a trench or a deep pit, it was unclear. Fortunately, the guards sent to scout the path were skilled swimmers and were not in danger of drowning.

However, the scene before him was dire. He saw that above the water, only the rooftops remained visible, with many people clinging to them.

Seeing this, Yu Qian shouted, "Your Majesty, when I came here last night, it was not like this!"

The rain intensified, the sound like the beating of war drums. Unless Yu Qian shouted, his voice could not reach the Emperor over the downpour, even though they were only a few feet apart. Zhu Qizhen tilted his conical straw hat.

Countless raindrops hammered through the oiled-paper umbrella above him, landing on his hat. Beads of water hung from the brim like crystals.

"Where can we get a clear view of the entire area?" Zhu Qizhen shouted.

Yu Qian did not speak but simply pointed. Zhu Qizhen understood immediately: the city wall.

"Change course, head to the city walls," Zhu Qizhen ordered. The large group detoured, finding a shallower path to ascend the ramparts. Standing atop the wall, Zhu Qizhen saw the situation with stark clarity: houses submerged in water looked like small straw hats floating in the deluge. In the heavy rain, countless streams of water from across the city were pouring into this area. This was the southeastern corner of the capital. He did not know if it was the lowest point in Beijing, but it was certainly the lowest in this vicinity.

He examined the drainage ditches and city gates in the south; they were flowing like rivers, already operating at full capacity, yet the massive city wall was trapping the majority of the water here.

"Ruan An!" Zhu Qizhen shouted.

Ruan An hurried over. "This servant is here."

"In this situation, what do you think should be done?"

Ruan An, an expert in engineering, replied, "Your Majesty, at this rate, drainage is too slow. The fastest solution is to cut a drainage breach through the city wall."

"Then do it," Zhu Qizhen ordered.

Ruan An hesitated. "But..."

"But what? Speak!" Zhu Qizhen commanded sternly.

"Your Majesty, I have two concerns. First, the integrity of the wall. I supervised the construction of this section, and even with gunpowder, it may not be easy to open a breach quickly. My second concern is the Lugou River."

Zhu Qizhen paused. "The Lugou River?"

"Your Majesty, the Lugou River is also unstable. Today, Beijing is only suffering from internal flooding, but if the rain continues, I fear the Lugou River will burst its banks. Its floodwaters would rush directly into the South City."

Zhu Qizhen turned to look south. Through the vast, gray curtain of rain, visibility was so poor that the river was invisible. A sense of impending doom, as if the landscape itself were collapsing under the weight of the storm, washed over him. He knew that in ancient times, city walls often served a flood-control function—the walls of Kaifeng, for instance, had far more experience resisting floods than invading armies. If he cut a breach here and the Lugou River flooded, the consequences would be catastrophic.

Zhu Qizhen remained silent for a moment, then said, "No matter. Let the water out first. I cannot stand by and watch them die."

Only then did Ruan An feel reassured. "As you command."