Chapter 29: The King of Guang Pushes His Cart

  In the first year of Zhī Píng, floods occurred in the capital and the provinces of Sòng, Bó, Chén, Xǔ, Rǔ, Cǎi, Táng, Yǐng, Cáo, Mù, Jì, Shàn, Huò, Sì, Lú, Shòu, Chǔ, Háng, Xuān, Hóng, è, Shī, Yú, Guāng Huà and Gāo Yóu. Envoys were dispatched to inspect the damage, provide relief and assistance, and exempt the affected areas from taxes and rent.

  The above is a record in the Song Shi, although it is only a few short sentences, but it records a massive flood, and this flood occurred in the political core area of the Great Song, with Kaifeng as the first of dozens of states and prefectures affected by the flood. The most severe ones were even flooded with the entire state and prefecture, with dead bodies everywhere on the water surface, and only a few people who escaped to high places were lucky enough to survive.

  In comparison, the flood in Kaifeng was not particularly severe. The Bian River, Cai River, Jinshui River and Wuzhang River are the four main rivers of Kaifeng City. However, under heavy rainfall, the water from these four rivers poured into the city, causing more than half of Kaifeng to be flooded, with the deepest areas submerging entire houses. The roads were so flooded that boats could sail on them, and in some shallower areas, only half of a house was submerged. Some residents escaped in advance, while others who failed to escape had to climb onto rooftops to survive.

  Although Zhao Yan was a person who had traveled through time from the future, he couldn't possibly remember every single event in history. For example, regarding this massive flood that had a huge impact, he didn't have any impression of it at all and hadn't made any preparations beforehand. As a result, when the rainwater flooded into the Duke's mansion, Zhao Yan was forced to make a decision and led the people from the mansion to temporarily take refuge in a separate villa outside the city.

  The Guangyang Duke Mansion of Zhao Yan was located in the southwest of Kaifeng City, while the other mansion was in the east of the city. As a result, on this road, Zhao Yan and his party had to first cross the Xingguo Temple Bridge over the Bian River, enter the West Corner Tower Street, then head east along the Quelu Street, passing through the East Ten Crossing Street and the Old Caomen Street, and the other mansion of the Duke Mansion was just ten miles east of the old Cao Gate.

  Lao Fu, as the chief steward of the Wang family, handled things very efficiently. By afternoon, ten large carts had been prepared, with Zhao Yan and Cao Ying, along with several personal maids, riding in one cart. The remaining carts were mostly filled with valuables, accompanied by dozens of servants. As for the many items and servants left behind in the mansion, they would be transported to other estates over the next few days.

  When Zhao Yan's convoy passed through the Xingguo Temple Bridge over the Bian River, he saw that both banks of the river had been submerged in water, and the two ends of the Xingguo Temple Bridge had also accumulated very deep water. When Zhao Yan's vehicle was passing by, the wheels almost got stuck in the mud and couldn't get out. In the end, it was Lao Fu who directed more than a dozen servants to push the big car onto the bridge.

  Xiguan Tower Street and Dajie Street were also flooded, but not too deep, only up to the knee. Zhao Yan's carriage was pulled by four horses, but even so, it was not easy to move forward in the water.

  The streets were not only filled with Zhao Yan's ten large vehicles, but also with countless refugees who had lost their homes to the floodwaters. Like the county prince's mansion, their homes had been inundated, making it impossible for them to live there, and even staying inside was fraught with danger. Who knew when the houses would collapse? It was safer to flee.

  Compared to Zhao Yan sitting in the horse-drawn carriage, these refugees around him were the real victims of the flood disaster. Regardless of men, women, old and young, they all carried large bundles on their backs, containing everything they could bring from home, even pots, pans, and bowls. The better-off families had ox carts, with a whole family sitting on top, while those who were less well off had men pushing the carts, with the elderly and children sitting on them, and women carrying huge bundles to help the men push the carts. The poorest of all had men shouldering poles, with baskets at both ends containing children and goods, while women and the elderly followed alongside, trudging through the murky muddy water.

  Zhao Yan looked at the refugees fleeing on both sides of the carriage, and finally couldn't help but sigh. He turned his head to look inside the carriage, where Cao Ying was lying opposite him, sleeping soundly. Although her body had not fully recovered, she would still cough from time to time. Xiaodouya and Muxue, the two little maids, were leaning against each other, also dozing off. Only Xiaoroutian was full of energy, playing happily with Xiaodouya's foot.

  Inside the carriage, there was a sense of calm and tranquility, while outside, chaos reigned. Zhao Yan felt sympathetic towards the refugees fleeing in desperation, but he was powerless to help them. He himself was also among those seeking refuge, although from a young age, he had been taught to put others before himself. However, people are inherently selfish, especially given his extensive experiences in his past life, he was no longer the passionate youth of yesteryear. He knew that his abilities were limited and he wasn't some kind of saint or hero destined to save the nation. He was just an ordinary person with a special identity, capable only of taking care of those around him and living his own life well. As for disaster relief efforts, it was naturally the concern of those officials in the government.

  When Zhao Yan's carriage arrived at Duanlu Street, they found that the situation here was much better than in other places. The road only had a thin layer of water, at most only reaching their ankles. It was no wonder that this was one of the roads closest to the imperial city, which also made Zhao Yan and his group's progress much faster. However, even so, by the time they exited the city gate, the sky had already completely darkened.

  Lao Fu led the way with torches, and when they encountered muddy ditches on the road, they would stop to fill them with straw and branches to facilitate the passage of the horse-drawn carriages behind. However, despite this, Zhao Yan's carriage still got stuck in the ditch several times, after all, during the Song Dynasty, all roads were dirt roads, and when it rained, they became muddy swamps. Previously, in the city, things were a bit better, on the one hand, the road conditions were relatively good, and on the other hand, even if you got stuck in the mud, you could spend some money to find young and strong refugees to help pull the carriage out. But now that they had left the city, not only were the roads worse, but it was also dark, and at this time, it was impossible to find anyone to help, so they could only rely on the Wang Fu's own guards.

  "Bang!" Zhao Yan suddenly felt the carriage tilt sharply to the left, and Cao Ying and Xiaodouya were also startled awake, one by one opening their eyes with confusion and looking at Zhao Yan.

  "It's okay, maybe the carriage just slipped into a rut again. Old Fu will get someone to take care of it!" Zhao Yan said with a faint smile. They had already left the city and walked for half an hour, but if they were on normal roads, they would have gone more than ten miles by now. However, the muddy road was greatly hindering their progress, and they probably only covered about half the distance so far.

  As soon as Zhao Yan's words fell, he heard Old Fu shouting outside the carriage to push the cart. Immediately afterwards, Zhao Yan felt his own carriage being pushed forward. The horseman in front was also desperately whipping the horses. However, this time it seemed to be stuck very deeply. The carriage was shaken several times by the pushing, but it still didn't come out of the mud pit. Old Fu outside was furious and scolded those family servants for not using enough strength.

  "Stay in the carriage and don't move, I'll go out and take a look!" Zhao Yan said, not waiting for Cao Ying and the others to react, he pushed open the door and went out. As a result, he found that the rain in the sky had decreased a lot, and the torches could burn in this light rain, illuminating the surrounding environment, but everything in sight was a muddy mess.

  Zhao Yan jumped down from the horse carriage and came to the back of the carriage, only to find that among the people pushing the cart were not only the household servants of the mansion, but also the guards of the Wang Mansion had joined in. However, these people were all covered with black mud, and they were all exhausted, even Old Fu was jumping up and down beside them scolding, but they really didn't have the strength to push the cart anymore.

  "Lao Fu, don't scold anymore, the guards and house servants have all made a great effort today." Zhao Yan spoke up at this time. Lao Fu and those guards and house servants saw that Zhao Yan had actually gotten out of the carriage, which shocked them all, and they hastily paid their respects to him, saying "Greetings, Duke!"

  Looking at the exhausted guards and servants, Zhao Yan smiled and nodded before speaking: "I know that today's journey has been made possible thanks to everyone's efforts. You are all tired now, but we're only a few miles away from our destination. Once we arrive, not only will there be hot water for washing, but also hot food to eat. Moreover, I hereby declare that every participant in the move will receive 100 wen as a reward. What do you think?"

  "Thank you, Your Highness!" The guards and servants, hearing that there was a reward, all replied with renewed vigor.

  "Alright! For the sake of having a hot meal tonight, I'll join everyone in pushing the cart!" Zhao Yan said, tucking the hem of his clothes into his waistband and throwing away his umbrella to come over and push the cart with everyone.

  "It's not proper for a duke!" Old Fu saw Zhao Yan ignoring his status and wanting to push the cart with them, so he immediately stepped forward to stop him.

  However, Zhao Yan gently waved his hand to stop Old Fu and said: "Old Fu, you're old now, just shout the numbers on the side, let us young people do these hard jobs!"

  Zhao Yan said, and really used his shoulders to prop up the cart. Those guards and servants saw that even the Duke of Jun had come down to push the cart with them, and they were all excited and tearful, shouting loudly as they pushed together with Zhao Yan. Lao Fu could only shout orders from the side, and this time it took only two pushes to get the cart out of the mud.

  "Haha~! Well done! We've come so far, we can't let the last few miles stop us. Everyone, cheer up!" Zhao Yan wiped the mud and water from his face with a big laugh, while the guards and servants who were pushing the cart with him all responded loudly, their earlier fatigue seemingly swept away.

  Next, Zhao Yan also did not return to the car compartment, but instead stood outside with Lao Fu to command the team to move forward. Every time they encountered a horse-drawn carriage stuck in the mud, Zhao Yan would forget his identity and push the cart together with everyone else. As a result, his clothes quickly became muddy, and his face was covered in black mud, making it impossible to tell that he was actually a prince of the Song Dynasty.

  In the carriage, Cao Ying opened the window and looked at Zhao Yan, who was not far away, pushing the cart with the house slaves. The beautiful face that had been puzzled once again showed a bewildered expression. A king who is willing to work with lowly servants, such a person can't be bad even if he wants to. Thinking of this, Cao Ying discovered for the first time that her heart was in a mess, especially when she heard Zhao Yan's bright laughter after pushing out the cart, it made her mood even more chaotic, and her little heart "thumped thumped" very violently.