Chapter 618: Rescue Arrives
"Bang!"
"Bang!"
Musket shots echoed in quick succession from a distance.
Bai Yuan's marksmanship was divine; each bullet brought down an enemy, and he dared to engage from afar to aid Jiang Cheng.
Bai Yuan's subordinates, however, were less skilled. Their aim wasn't good enough, and fearing friendly fire, they didn't dare shoot from too far away, needing to get closer to engage. Fortunately, the electric boat was incredibly fast.
A hundred meters was just a matter of seconds.
Soon, the boats entered their firing range, and the subordinates joined in, unleashing their own shots.
Gunshots rang out intermittently, and water bandits fell one after another.
The bandit leader was thoroughly shaken. He turned to glance at the large ship charging from the distance, his first thought being, "The imperial soldiers are here."
No matter, escape first!
The bandit chief roared, "Clear out, now!"
The remaining forty-odd water bandits quickly slid down the slope.
The high slope was troublesome to assault, but easy to retreat from. A quick slide brought them to the water's edge, where they swiftly leaped onto their boats, flipped their oars, and rowed frantically in the opposite direction.
Bai Yuan let out another "Bang!" bringing down another water bandit, then lifted his head and roared, "Pursue them!"
At that moment, the Heavenly Lord, through the golden thread connection in his chest, spoke, "First, rescue the common people on the high slope."
Bai Yuan instantly came to his senses. Of course, the common people on the high slope had been trapped for many days, cold and starving, on the verge of collapse. Rescuing them immediately was the right thing to do; he couldn't bother with a few insignificant water bandits at this moment.
He abandoned the pursuit, pulling the large cargo ship up to the base of the high slope.
Hundreds of common people on the slope all looked at the large ship with joyful eyes.
Bai Yuan waved his hand. "Form a line to board the ship. Don't panic, everyone. We have more than one ship; several more will arrive soon. As long as you maintain order and don't make trouble, everyone will be rescued."
As soon as these words left his mouth, the common people on the high slope could no longer hold back their emotions and burst into loud sobs.
Gao Family Village's flat-bottomed boats entered the flood-stricken area one after another.
At this time, the floodwaters had not yet receded. Isolated patches of land were everywhere, and the common people on these islands were so starved their bellies clung to their backs. Many had also been robbed of all their possessions by water bandits.
Their homes were submerged, their farmlands utterly destroyed, and the small fortune of valuables they carried had been stolen by the water bandits. Their lifetime savings were wiped out in an instant, leaving them with absolutely nothing.
Many had lost all hope for life, their eyes holding a vacant stare, wondering why they should even continue living.
Seeing this scene, Bai Yuan and the militia soldiers couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
"If we hadn't come, these people would surely not survive," Bai Yuan sighed deeply. "Oh, the misery! No sooner had the drought passed than floods arrived. Are people even meant to live through this?"
The Heavenly Lord, through the golden thread, also sighed deeply. "The real issue exposed by these natural disasters is government inaction, a failure to care about the lives of the common people."
Bai Yuan perked up. "Indeed! This place is on the northern outskirts of Luoyang. Logically, the government's rescue fleet should have arrived from Luoyang long ago. But days have passed, and the authorities have remained indifferent to these isolated villagers, not even sending a single rescue boat. That's the real problem."
At this point, Bai Yuan's expression darkened. "This useless government deserves to be overthrown; it's time for someone else to be emperor."
Hearing him say, "it's time for someone else to be emperor," Li Daoxuan mused inwardly: *Bai Yuan still has an old-world way of thinking. If it were your son, Young Master Bai, he might not say that. He's had many lessons on modern governance and should have more enlightened ideas.*
*For instance...*
*Let the people govern themselves?*
Never mind, it was better not to mention it. It was too soon, far too soon.
Gao Family Village's cargo ships were exceptionally busy, constantly patrolling the "sea of floodwaters" in the Mengjin area, bringing the common people off the isolated islands one by one and transporting them to the dry ground outside Hengshui Town, upstream.
The common people had lost everything. Many were disoriented and dazed, thinking to themselves: *Even if we escape, we won't survive anyway.*
But when they disembarked, they discovered that the Gao Family Village Militia had erected a vast expanse of rain shelters outside Hengshui Town. Underneath, large cauldrons were set up, brimming with cooked food.
The common people brought ashore by the cargo ships could immediately have a hot meal.
Moreover, this food wasn't perfunctory wild vegetable gruel; it was hot, nourishing gruel. A single sip instantly warmed their stomachs, revitalizing their spirits.
Fearing that drinking only gruel wouldn't be enough to satisfy their hunger, steamed buns were also distributed alongside it.
The disaster victims took a bite of a bun, a sip of gruel, and after a few mouthfuls, the fear and panic in their hearts finally subsided considerably.
"Old Master Bai, you are like our second parents!"
"Old Master Bai, thank you for saving our lives!"
A group of people surrounded Bai Yuan, kneeling and bowing repeatedly, which prompted Bai Yuan to keep explaining, "Don't thank me. The Heavenly Lord sent me. You should thank the Heavenly Lord."
"Who is the Heavenly Lord?"
The militia then had to educate them all over again...
The militia worked tirelessly, from dawn till dusk, and then from dusk till dawn.
The provisions brought along with the ships soon ran out. Fortunately, Gao Family Village's second batch of cargo ships arrived, taking advantage of a lull in the wind and rain, bringing with them a fresh supply of food.
The refugee camp at Hengshui Town quickly grew to a scale of over ten thousand people.
Evening came...
Another cargo ship returned from outside, carrying thirty-odd disaster victims, so weak from hunger they were on the verge of collapse. They had just disembarked and immediately collapsed onto the ground.
It was all thanks to a group of "refugee volunteers" organized by Jiang Cheng, who helped them to the shelters, scooped up the gruel, and fed it to them spoonful by spoonful. Only then did these people finally revive.
Bai Yuan ducked into the shelter from outside and patted Jiang Cheng's shoulder. "Brother Jiang, how are these people doing?"
Jiang Cheng looked up, a hint of relief on his face. "They'll live."
Bai Yuan nodded.
Just then, a household guard from Bai Family Fortress ran over from a distance. "Master, imperial officials have arrived."
Bai Yuan frowned slightly. "The imperial officials, have they finally reacted?"
Jiang Cheng spat. "They definitely didn't come because they wanted to help with the disaster. Rather, they saw tens of thousands of refugees gathered here in Hengshui Town and felt it was 'unsafe,' only then did they send people to investigate."
Bai Yuan snorted, not wanting to speak.
But even if he didn't want to speak, he had to deal with them, so he could only take Jiang Cheng and go out to meet them.
Just as they reached the edge of the refugee camp, they saw a small contingent of soldiers approaching. Dressed in Ming Dynasty military uniforms, they swaggered with an air of immense authority, stopping at the entrance of the refugee camp. One shouted loudly, "What's going on here? Why are so many people gathered?"
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