Chapter 266: To Block or to Divert?

Once the large sand table was almost finished, another problem arose: the inn room was not big enough to accommodate it.

Shao Yao wanted to directly requisition the Seven Stars Bureau's territory, but Hua Zhi stopped her, first asking, "Is that place usually hidden?"

"Of course, no one knows that's where the Seven Stars Bureau works."

"Then let's not go there. Bo Fan and the others are familiar with this place, let them help us rent a house, the price is negotiable."

Shao Yao thought this was too much trouble, "We won't be staying here for long, why do we need to rent a house?"

Hua Zhi shook her head, she wasn't planning for the long term. Money was not a problem for her, so she was very casual with it. If there were conditions outside, she was not very willing to compromise herself, not to mention the fact that there was no place to put the sand table.

Before nightfall, Hua Zhi moved into the house as she wished. The house was located in the south of the city, where wealthy families lived, and it was very quiet.

Shao Yao immediately began to assemble the sand table. She was very skilled, and she worked quickly and efficiently without anyone else's help. Hua Zhi asked Yu Tao to find some sand. In this weather, the only sand that could be found was wet, but she didn't mind, as wet sand was more suitable for modeling.

The large hall was brightly lit, and Hua Zhi, referring to the map, first simulated the Weishui River in the sand table, followed by tributaries, and then roughly created the terrain near all the rivers.

Her every move was slow, and she would even think twice before acting. She was very serious, and everyone else watched intently. Even Bao Xia wanted to urge the miss to rest, but she couldn't open her mouth.

In the end, what appeared before everyone was a vivid map of mountains and rivers. Although it was only made of sand, without the poetry of black and white paintings or the vividness of colored paintings, it perfectly displayed Hua Zhi's many years of painting skills.

Hua Zhi herself was quite satisfied, but her waist and neck were a little sore.

Bao Xia stepped forward to help the miss sit down and gently massaged her shoulders. She had this problem on a daily basis, and it was no wonder that she was sore after working so hard.

The sixth prince, with childlike obedience, poured a cup of water. He poured it too full, and some spilled onto his hands and the hem of his robe.

Hua Zhi drank it all, taking in this small act of kindness as well.

“Huahua, you’re so amazing! If this were a map of an enemy country, I’d dare lead my troops into a three-in, three-out attack without even needing to scout.”

What kind of metaphor was that?

Hua Zhi laughed and cried. “Can’t you think of something else?”

“Hehe.” Shao Yao clung to the edge of the sand table, her eyes full of admiration. Though she was replying, she didn’t look back.

“Xiao Liu, see if you can figure anything out.”

“Yes.”

The sixth prince stood by the sand table for a while, then walked around it. No one urged him; the room was quiet.

Hua Zhi rubbed her temples. It was already past her usual bedtime, and though she was tired, she couldn’t sleep. It was an uncomfortable feeling.

The sixth prince returned and sat below Hua Zhi. After organizing his thoughts, he said, “Jingzhou is a flatland with many rivers. If there’s a flood, it will affect a very large area. The people will have nowhere to go, but the Wei River has a large carrying capacity. As long as we drain it in time, it shouldn’t be too damaging. Just like what the county history we read before recorded, it was a major disaster fourteen years ago.”

Hua Zhi nodded. “Do you think it will be a small disaster or a big one this time?”

The rain outside continued to pour. Another day had passed, and the rain had only eased slightly in the afternoon. But by night, it had grown heavier. Yu Tao had said earlier that the Wei River had risen again.

If it continued to rain like this for another day, I’m afraid...

The sixth prince bit his lip childishly and whispered, “I’m afraid it will become a major disaster.”

"Do you want to stay or leave? If you want to leave, you can go even in the rain." Hua Zhi deliberately omitted the subject. If Xiao Liu really wanted to leave, she would have Chen Zhen and his brothers escort him back to the capital. As for herself... she actually wanted to leave too.

Sighing inwardly, Hua Zhi looked at Xiao Liu, not surprised when he shook his head.

"I want to see," the sixth prince replied quickly, then added, "I'll do whatever you say, Sister Hua. If you say we leave, we leave. If you say we stay, we stay."

Hua Zhi said no more and walked to the sand table, taking the pointer from Shao Yao. She pointed to several places upstream of Xiangyang and said, "If Zhiyang, Xiaoshui, Longhua, and other upstream areas have been raining these past few days, this flood won't be small."

Hua Zhi then pointed to several tributaries downstream. "If it's also been raining in this area, and the water from upstream and midstream can't be drained in time, then there will be a major disaster."

The sixth prince looked at her intently. "Sister Hua, do you have a plan?"

Hua Zhi smiled bitterly. When did she give them the impression that she knew everything?

Yu the Great was truly skilled in controlling floods, but she wasn't an expert in water conservancy in her previous life. How could she possibly know so much?

But she couldn't say these words, even if the others wouldn't believe her. And she couldn't say them to Xiao Liu with his adoring gaze.

Her eyes fell on the sand table as she tried to recall any relevant knowledge from her memory.

Unlike in the modern world, where governments invest heavily in building reservoirs that can both store water for droughts and hold large amounts of water to prevent floods, the reservoirs here are few and small, and cannot play a significant role. Therefore, floods occur every year, varying only in severity.

To minimize losses during floods, one must both block and drain. But how should they block the water?

And how should they drain it?

The little she knew was simply hindsight in this situation. The only practical option was to sacrifice a part to save the whole, to protect the major cities. In other words, they would abandon the smaller cities to save the larger ones. This had been done throughout history, and the suffering of the people in the smaller cities was always borne by them.

Is it wrong to do so?

Not really.

If she were in that position, she might make the same choice. The stakes in a large city are simply too high to risk losing it. A smaller city, on the other hand, can gradually recover from greater losses. The resilience of the people is often demonstrated in these situations.

Her gaze wandered between several spots. Hua Zhi looked up at Yu Tao, "Has there been any movement from the hydrological station?"

Yu Tao stepped out for a moment, then returned to report, "Bo Fan said the hydrological station has been to the county government office four times this afternoon."

"Has the government issued any warnings?"

"No."

Hua Zhi frowned, "Xiao Liu, does the county history mention when the people are usually warned?"

The sixth prince remembered clearly and immediately replied, "Only when the water level reaches the fifth mark on the measuring pole do they issue a warning."

“Ten strokes in total, it’s not too late to raise the alarm at the fifth stroke,” Hua Zhi pondered for a moment, then turned to Yu Tao. “Have you received any water reports from upstream?”

“I’ve just inquired, and there have been none,” Yu Tao replied.

Was it truly that it didn’t rain, or was the water report simply not delivered in time?

Hua Zhi had some doubts in her heart. She hoped it was the former. If it hadn’t rained upstream, that would be truly wonderful.

———TN: You do remember what I told you about the Seven Stars Bureau, right?

Just in case your memory's a little fuzzy, it's the Emperor's secret weapon, wielded by the very blood of the royal family themselves.

Seven groups of elites, ranked from one to seven – constellations, they call 'em. Each more powerful than the last, culminating in the seventh. Gu Yanxi runs the whole show.

But here's the real kicker: there's an eighth constellation. Top of the top. They only emerge when absolute power is required.