Liu Xuan spent the entire morning reading the dossier, but he still had to see the specific situation in person before he knew what to do.
After leaving the yamen, Liu Xuan and the others took a carriage out of the city. Then, they followed the official road and directly arrived at the river bank.
Standing beside the river bank, Liu Xuan frowned slightly.
Only when he personally came to see it did he know that the real flood disaster was much more serious than what was written in the dossier!
As far as the eye could see, the two banks of the river bank were barren. It was impossible to tell that this place was originally ten thousand mu of fertile farmland. The Fen River was turbulent and turbid. Clearly, the silt inside was heavily deposited.
When Shangguan Wan 'er, Niu Debao, and the others saw the situation here, they could not help but say,"How long has it been since someone came here?"
"That's right. Look at the west side. It's almost turned into a swamp.”
Liu Xuan followed Li Si's finger and looked over. As expected, the terrain there was relatively low, and it happened to be facing an opening in the Fen River embankment. The river water flooded most of the land and became muddy.
Liu Xuan glanced at the raised dams again and found that they were already riddled with holes. He could make a hole with just a little pressure from his fingers.
Not only that, Liu Xuan also saw more than a dozen places that had been washed away on both sides of the river bank.
"This is the dam of the Fen River? Don't you ever fix your ex?" Liu Xuan's expression was a little ugly.
Niu Debao and the others carefully replied,""Milord, almost every county magistrate would place stones on both sides of the river bank and scatter soil. This is a very serious matter. When it is necessary to do something, they usually don't care.”
Liu Xuan looked at the two sides of the river bank. The places that should have been fertile fields and dry fields had now become paddy fields.
The muddy water was like a swamp. What was more, large areas of the fields had been abandoned. Weeds grew on them, reaching one's waist.
"Such good farmland is wasted. If the river embankment is successfully repaired and the good farmland here is replanted with grain, the grain production of the Dragon Gate will probably double!”
There were more than a thousand acres of abandoned farmland on both sides of the Fen River. If they could be re-watered, the yield would definitely double or even increase.
As they checked the riverbank, it was already noon.
"Alright, let's go back first!"
After walking for an entire morning, Shangguan Wan 'er's pretty face was red from the scorching sun. Liu Xuan also felt hungry and thirsty.
He had only come here today to take a look. When he returned, he would send someone to record the situation of the Fen River flood in detail.
At that time, he would think of a way to completely control the flood of the Fen River.
......
After returning to the city, Liu Xuan and the rest found a restaurant and walked in.
Li Si was smarter. He pulled the waiter and asked,"Are there any seats by the window?"
The waiter glanced at Liu Xuan and the others and realized that they were dressed rather elegantly. Their temperament was not ordinary either, so he quickly smiled and said,""Dear guests, there is still a seat by the window on the second floor.”
After sitting down on the second floor, Liu Xuan ordered a few home-cooked dishes and asked the waiter to rush him.
There were many people eating in the restaurant at noon. Li Si and the others did not sit at a table. Instead, they sat at the same table as Liu Xuan and Shangguan Wan 'er.
However, they were obviously a little reserved. Their expressions were a little nervous, and their backs were straight.
After waiting for about half an incense stick to burn, the dishes were served by the waiter.
"Hurry up and eat!"
Liu Xuan picked up a piece with his chopsticks first before the others dared to move their chopsticks.
Just as they were eating, a blind old man suddenly came up the stairs with a pretty girl.
They were still carrying the Hu Qin in their hands.
Liu Xuan raised his eyebrows. Could this be a singer from the Tang Empire?
As expected, the blind old man, supported by the pretty girl, came to the window and sat down not far from Liu Xuan and the others.
After the two of them sat down on a bench, they picked up their instruments and began to play and sing.
Her voice was far inferior to the various songs of the later generations, but the girl's voice was lighter and cleaner.
The simple and honest voice gave off a different feeling.
Liu Xuan and the others were eating while listening to music.
However, at this moment, a plump middle-aged man dressed in green brocade walked up with a few attendants.
"Aiyo, this voice is not bad!"
As soon as the middle-aged man came up, he went straight for the singing couple!
The plump middle-aged man walked straight to the front of the pretty girl and grinned." Miss, you're really beautiful. You can earn a little money by selling songs here. Why don't you follow me? I guarantee you'll have a good life in the future!"”
Not only did the plump middle-aged man raise his conditions, but he also began to touch the girl's pretty face.
The girl was so frightened that she did not dare to sing. Her body suddenly shrank back into the blind old man's arms.
"Don't... Don't touch me!"
"Cough cough…"
The blind old man seemed to be in poor health. He coughed a few times and protected his granddaughter." Master, my granddaughter…" We're still young. We just perform for a living. We don't intend to climb up the social ladder. Please let us go.”
The smile on the plump middle-aged man's face grew wider. His eyes narrowed into slits as he chuckled."She's not young anymore. She's already budding. Old man, as long as you marry your granddaughter to me, I, Fang Lin, will give you ten strings of money!”
Ten strings of coins?
That was ten taels of silver!
In the Great Tang, this was quite a lot. An ordinary family could live for seven or eight months!
But seven or eight months of rice and flour money could buy a girl?
Moreover, if this blind old man wanted to sell his granddaughter, he would have done so long ago. Would he still be performing here?
As expected, the old man shook his head." Old Master, I only have one granddaughter who lives with me! I can't sell it!"
The smile on Fang Lin's face vanished immediately when he heard the old man reject him again. He sneered,""Old fart, are you shameless?”
"Master Fang, please give me a way out! Let our grandsons and grandsons go…"
The old man knelt on the ground and begged.
The pretty girl hid behind the old man and trembled. Her pretty face was pale with fear.
However, no one around him made a sound to stop him.
On the contrary, Liu Xuan heard someone whispering at the table beside him.
"Ugh, it is likely that this lady will not be able to escape…"
" Isn't that so? Fang Lin is a famous big shot in Dragon Sect and is used to being a tyrant. It was only a few days ago when our county magistrate robbed Wang Youcai that he restrained himself a little. Now, he's starting to be arrogant again!”
"That's right. How good would it be if the county magistrate dealt with them all!”
"I don't think that's possible!"
This book comes from：m.funovel.com。