Reborn as a Noble’s Son
Chapter 1129 - Chapter 1129 Chapter 1085 The Flood Passes

Chapter 1129: Chapter 1085: The Flood Passes Chapter 1129: Chapter 1085: The Flood Passes In this moment, every person was shaken. The accompanying journalists, Red River TV, and the anchor of the news center, Wei Lan, looked at this scene with a glint of tears forming in her eyes.

She commanded the cameraman beside her, “Old Xu, quickly, get the wide-angle lens on, sweep across the crowd.”

As a journalist and a representative of excellence, Wei Lan had a remarkable ability to capture news. At this time, such imagery, if broadcast on the upcoming Hongjiang News Broadcast, was sure to touch people’s hearts and uplift their spirits.

Speaking of which, Wei Lan also quickly got ready, holding the microphone and standing to the side of the camera, she said to the camera, “Today, the standing committee member and provincial party secretary of Chunan Province, Comrade Nie Zhenbang, arrived at Lushan City to inspect and guide the flood relief efforts in Lushan. Secretary Nie did not stay in Lushan’s urban area but drove directly to the front line of the dike. Standing on the dike, on our left is the raging floodwater. After listening to the detailed report from the relevant comrades in Lushan City, Secretary Nie pointed out right away that the safety of the Lushan Dike is related to the life and property safety of fifty million people in Hongjiang Province. Everyone in Lushan City must work together and go all out to ensure the safety of the Lushan Dike and the people throughout the province.”

…

Around 7:30 p.m., nearly 7,000 soldiers from the first garrison brigade of the Yuezhou Military Region arrived at the Lushan Dike.

Brigade commander Zeng Xinhua and political commissar Huang Xinguo also entered the tent where Nie Zhenbang was.

At this moment, inside the tent, everyone’s expression was very solemn. Nie Zhenbang’s gaze swept over Xia Hong, then shifted to Zeng Xinhua and Huang Xinguo. Liu Junwei was not present at the moment. Indeed, while Nie Zhenbang personally came to command the flood-fighting and emergency rescue work at the front line of the Lushan Dike, with the dike being so long, not all the standing committee members could possibly be accompanying him here.

Surveying everyone, Nie Zhenbang said in a deep voice, “Comrades, according to the meteorological bureaus of the nation and province, there will be heavy downpour tonight over Lushan City and surrounding areas like JingShan City. The situation is not looking optimistic.”

At these words, Xia Hong and others like Zeng Xinhua all furrowed their brows. A downpour? That could present a huge difficulty for emergency operations.

The continual rise in water levels is a minor issue, just a heavy rain; the increase in the water level won’t show immediate impact. What’s most important is the issue of operation.

In the middle of a downpour, visibility and communication are huge challenges. That’s what most affects the rescue work.

After pondering for a moment, Nie Zhenbang looked at Zeng Xinhua and said, “Brigade commander Zeng, political commissar Huang, this time, we might need to trouble you. The garrison brigade will undertake a very heavy task.”

At this, Zeng Xinhua and Huang Xinguo exchanged glances. Zeng Xinhua saluted and said, “Secretary Nie, please issue the order. The garrison brigade will commit wholeheartedly and go all out to fulfill the mission.”

Nie Zhenbang nodded and said, “Good. Brigade commander Zeng, this time, 7,000 officers and soldiers from the garrison brigade will take on the most dangerous section of the emergency rescue mission on Lushan Dike. The section of the dike at Black Stone Town is the most precarious part of the entire Lushan Dike. Your men will be evenly distributed across a five-kilometer section of the dike, approximately one hundred meters apart, around one hundred and thirty people each.”

After Nie Zhenbang finished speaking, Zeng Xinhua brought his feet together in a standard military salute and said, “Secretary Nie, we guarantee to complete the mission.”

As soon as he stepped out of the tent, Zeng Xinhua shouted, “Signalman! Signalman!”

Once the signalman came up, Zeng Xinhua ordered, “Pass my command, by company, using my current position as the base. Spread out along the dike and participate in the flood-fighting and emergency rescue work.”

With time passing, the sky gradually darkened. The entire dike was now lit up, with flood lights installed at intervals of roughly fifty meters, shining like a long dragon in the night, endless in sight.

In the sky, the raindrops continued to grow heavier. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang also walked out of the tent, looking out at the roiling floodwaters beyond the dike. Nie Zhenbang’s brow furrowed tightly as he said in a deep voice, “How much has the water level risen since this afternoon?”

Next to him, Xia Hong, who accompanied him, immediately answered, “It has risen about fifty centimeters, and since nine o’clock in the evening, the rise in water level has accelerated. It looks like the crest of the flood is beginning to move down from upstream. Chunan Province has already started flood discharge.”

Nie Zhenbang did not speak. It was inevitable. The flood crest would roll down from above, and when it passed through Chunan, there would be a buffer, but not a significant one. The main pressure would still be here on the side of Hongjiang, and after the floodwaters passed the Lushan Dike, with the increase in the water surface area and then the discharge from Hongyang Lake in Lushan, the pressure would not be so great going downstream.

Hongjiang’s flood prevention was not only about Hongjiang Province itself; by this time, it already concerned the overall national flood prevention situation.

It was like the major flood of the ’90s, when Chunan and Hongjiang Provinces, in order to protect more economically developed areas, made no small sacrifices.

Now, that situation was faced once again. The stability of the Lushan Dike was directly related to the disaster situation in Hongjiang Province. After thinking for a moment, Nie Zhenbang nodded and said, “Comrade Xia Hong, pass down the order to intensify patrols inside the dike. There mustn’t be a single blind spot. If we can make it through tonight, our situation will be much better.”

As Nie Zhenbang’s words ended, suddenly, about two hundred meters away from where Nie Zhenbang and others were, someone started to shout loudly, “Someone come quick! We need people here, there’s a flash spring! A large area of flash springs!”

Following that, the jarring sound of gongs pierced the air, clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! The sound was extremely urgent. In the silent night, aside from the sound of the waves lapping against the dike, this sound tore through the night sky.

Quickly, the people around began to move. On this side, Nie Zhenbang’s complexion changed. He said in a grave voice, “Go, let’s hurry over.”

The heavy rain poured down, and beside Nie Zhenbang, Hong Feng held an umbrella. Following Nie Zhenbang, they ran. At this moment, Nie Zhenbang could no longer care about getting drenched as he sped up towards that direction.

Hong Feng, after all, was not very strong, so he said to Dai Fei beside him, “Xiao Dai, quick, keep up with him, you must ensure Secretary Nie’s safety.”

When Nie Zhenbang reached the area, many people had already gathered inside the dike, and quite a few citizens had spontaneously sprung into action, using sandbags to encircle the area that experienced a large-scale blowout. At the same time, they began to sprinkle sand and stones over the blowout area. This was an emergency rescue measure.

At this moment, on top of the dike, someone shouted in panic, “It’s bad, the dike is showing signs of subsidence. Look, the water has already started to overflow.”

Nie Zhenbang turned his head to look, and it was clear that the water level had not yet reached the top of the dike, but on this side, one could clearly see an arc at the lowest point, where the water level was now level with the dike.

His face darkened, Nie Zhenbang commanded, “Quick, pile the sandbags.”

The sinking of the dike was definitely related to the massive blowout, which had carried a substantial amount of silt out, causing the geological softness of the dike. Under such immense water pressure, it certainly could not hold, and at this time, it was necessary to pile sandbags on top of this section of the dike to provide a kind of heavy pressure. Moreover, it served to block the floodwaters from overtopping the dike.

On this side, the soldiers of the defense brigade took action. Soldiers from the Red River Province Local Garrison Forces moved, as did the armed police and the citizens.

On the dike, along the section where the danger occurred, large amounts of sandbags began piling up on both sides.

Looking at the scene before him, Nie Zhenbang turned and asked, “Comrade Xia Hong, do you think we need to hammer wooden stakes into the ground?”

Driving in wooden stakes meant using large trees each about the thickness of a bowl, hammered into the dike with mallets, and then piling sandbags on top of them to increase the dike’s load-bearing capacity.

Although Nie Zhenbang had experienced such situations before, he was not constantly involved with emergency response, so he needed to consult with more experienced individuals at this time.

And Xia Hong was clearly a good choice. Xia Hong had been working in Lushan City for a long time and was quite familiar with flood control and emergency response.

Xia Hong looked around and then said, “We should drive in the stakes. At this time, the first flood peak has not entirely passed. Later on, the pressure on the dike will be even greater.”

The entire rescue operation continued deep into the night. By eleven o’clock, everyone on the dike was tensely watching the furious floodwaters outside, which carried a mishmash of debris, and even a considerable amount of wood could be seen.

This was the most critical time. The first flood peak was often the most dangerous. Once this hurdle was passed, the pressure of flood defense for Lushan Dike and the entire Hongjiang River would be greatly reduced.

Beside him, Secretary Hong Feng approached and whispered in Nie Zhenbang’s ear, “Secretary, the National Flood Control has sent a message. Now, the flow rate of Changjiang River has reached a peak value. Next, it’s estimated that there will be backflow floodwaters entering Hongyang Lake. Our pressure is coming. Also, JingShan City has sent news through the secretary-general. Currently, the situation in JingShan City is all normal.”

Hearing this, Nie Zhenbang nodded. No issues at JingShan City was certainly good news.

At that time, the water level of Lushan Dike had risen noticeably. The first flood peak was no joke. At this moment, the water level along the entire length of the dike had risen by nearly one and a half meters.

Previously, the water level was fifty centimeters below the dike’s surface, but now, over a meter of sandbags had been added on top of the dike.

At two in the morning, employees from the Lushan City Water Conservancy Bureau finally brought in good news. Based on the current water level observation compared to ten minutes before, the water level had risen less than three centimeters in those ten minutes. This indicated that the first flood peak had been resisted.

Hearing this news, everyone, including Nie Zhenbang, breathed a sigh of relief, and Xia Hong also appeared very excited.

He said enthusiastically, “Secretary, Secretary Nie, we’ve held on, we’ve held on.” (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets at Qidian (NovelFire.net). Your support is my biggest motivation.)

Search the lightnovelworld.cc website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.