Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 1045 - 685: Saving Lives! (Part 2)

In the blink of an eye, they were above the village they had visited before.

Hundreds of villagers awaiting rescue, Xiao Yu didn't have time to be curious and hurriedly "picked up" people.

The assault boats were prone to capsizing, and the fiberglass boats weren't very stable either.

Xiao Gu carefully picked up several villagers onto the boat and urgently inquired, "Comrade, we have a unit conducting rescue operations here, have you seen them?"

"Yes, I've seen them. Their epaulettes are the same blue as yours. Are you the Air Force?"

"Yes, we are all Air Force. Comrade, do you know where they went?"

A villager, subconsciously touching the life jacket worn on them, said with tears in their eyes, "I only know they went to rescue people. The last time I saw them was last night when the breach happened. This life jacket was taken off and given to me by them."

"Do you know which direction they went?"

"It seems they went to Zhongbao."

The breached area is the Zhongbao village embankment!

Thinking of the High Artillery Group soldiers going to the most dangerous place at the most dangerous time and giving their life jackets to the villagers, Xiao Gu was moved to tears.

The Superior wanted to know about the Air Force High Artillery Group's situation, and Political Commissar Yang had also given instructions to Xiao Yu.

Although Xiao Yu was worried, there was really no time for much else now; the only thing they could do was rescue people trip after trip.

At 10:45, after sending twelve villagers just rescued from the flood onto the embankment, Xiao Yu and Xiao Gu finally received some slightly relieving news.

Five minutes ago, a few leaders responsible for organizing and commanding the rescue had taken a ferry to check the water conditions at the breach. Seeing that the water level difference was diminishing and the flow velocity had decelerated, they decided to organize tug boats under 100 tons to rush into the breach to carry out rescue and relief!

As eight tug boats, including "Han Nan Gua No. 1," rushed into the breach in the civil dike, the rescue efficiency increased rapidly, as each large boat could rival dozens of assault boats and fiberglass boats.

By 11 a.m., a total of more than thirty tug boats weighing between 80 and 100 tons entered the inside of the civil dike, including the first batch of 21 tug boats from the Hanwu City Transportation Committee and 9 others that came as reinforcements from Hanwu, heading to each village for solo missions.

Due to the water depth, there were still many places the tug boats could not reach.

The Water Rescue Team was broken down according to Superior's orders, cooperating with the tug boats separately, conducting a net-like search on rooftops, platforms, and tree branches in Hezhen Village, Pai Zhou Town, Zhongbao Village, and other places.

These more than thirty tug boats were undoubtedly the main force of the rescue. While rescuing boat after boat of disaster victims, they also picked up those rescued by Boat Bridge troops driving assault boats and local fishermen using fishing boats from all directions, transporting them boat by boat out of the breach and onto ferries and deck tug boats anchored in the river.

Around 8 p.m. last night, the breach happened. The villagers inside the dike didn't have time to escape for their lives, let alone worry about eating, and were very hungry once on board.

The crew gave all their dry food and water to the disaster victims.

The "Supervision 47" boat, where the chief commander was located, gave its only three boxes of instant noodles to the hungry elderly and children, while the crew of "Yangtze 2516" continuously cooked porridge to supply them.

The fleet led by Liu Wei arrived at noon, just like Chen Zikun, Xiao Gong, and others who had arrived earlier, under the command of the Hanwu Port Supervision Bureau leadership, assisting the transfer of disaster victims and distributing the relief supplies brought by Han Yu.

...

As Xu Mingyuan, Ma Jintao, Liu Wei, and others were busy as bees, the critical defensive work at the dangerous section of the Jingjiang Embankment was also nearing conclusion.

Han Yu, who had been operating an excavator all morning, had just returned to the Dunship Second Floor Command and Control Room when Vice Director Yu, holding a phone record, solemnly said, "Secretary Han, the Yangtze Flood Control Headquarters called Master Xu to report that the breach in the Zhongbao Village embankment section at Hezhen Village was caused by piping."

Before Han Yu could speak, the Commander came in and said, "The breach at Anzao Dam was caused by piping, and so was the breach at Pai Zhou Bay. Why is it all piping?"

"According to the report, the water piping was discovered on the morning of July 31, about 40 meters from the foot of the embankment. After its discovery, the town organized forces to conduct emergency defenses, working continuously until 3 a.m. on August 1. The situation was basically under control, but some sand was still seeping out."

"And then?" Han Yu asked softly.

Vice Director Yu took a deep breath, looked at the phone record, and said, "Then the emergency defenses continued for more than ten hours, until about 8:30 last night, when a gap more than one meter wide appeared in the embankment body, collapsing rapidly to both sides before they could block it, and in an instant it expanded to over a hundred meters."

There's a saying about a thousand-mile embankment collapsing due to an ant hole, and it holds some truth.

Who would have thought that a single pipe could lead to an embankment breach?

The Commander couldn't help but think of Du Yuan, a soldier from the 404th Division of the 105th Army, thinking that if Du Yuan had been there, maybe the defense could have been secured.

Han Yu, unaware of what the Commander was thinking, asked further, "Is there any other news besides the flood situation report?"

"Yes."

Vice Director Yu looked at the phone record and quickly said, "The Yangtze Flood Control Headquarters and Jingzhou Flood Control Command forwarded an urgent notification from the National Flood Control Headquarters about promptly transferring people from dangerous areas and strengthening embankment defenses. It requires us to prioritize ensuring the safety of the people's lives and timely transferring people from dangerous areas, while also emphasizing and focusing on strengthening the defense of the Yangtze River main embankments, key weiyuan dikes, and important urban embankments."

"Whether or not to transfer is not for us to decide."

"But it has something to do with us."

"What does it have to do?"

"It's still raining in Xichuan and Mountain City. The fourth flood peak will soon form upstream, and due to the downstream flood pushing up, the Jingjiang water level can't drop. The upcoming fourth flood peak will be harder to handle than the previous three. Master Xi said that the authorities have decided to transfer the people of River Mouth Town in Shishou City to breach and store floodwater."

"Does that mean the 127th Regiment will withdraw?"

"Not just the 127th Regiment, but also the Wujing City First and Second Detachments, as well as a regiment that arrived the day before yesterday."

"Another regiment went to River Mouth?"

"Instructor Yang inquired this morning. That's an army regiment, and their situation is quite special."

"Special forces?"

"Just special, not special forces."

"How are they special?" Han Yu asked in confusion.

"Instructor Yang said that regiment is about to disband. They just had a farewell ceremony with the military flag, most of the officers are about to transition to civilian jobs, and the soldiers are soon to retire, busy packing up, preparing to go home when they suddenly received orders to come over for flood fighting and rescue."

Vice Director Yu paused and continued, "That regiment is quite famous, and their origins are somewhat related to your hometown."

Han Yu instinctively asked, "What relation do they have with our hometown?"

"They are the 'Shajia Bang Group'; they descended from the New Fourth Army that fought guerrillas in your hometown. In the Beijing opera Shajia Bang, Auntie Ah Qing protected over thirty wounded soldiers, and some of those soldiers were from their regiment."

"I know Shajia Bang, I didn't expect there to be a Shajia Bang Group. Is 'Shajia Bang Group' an honorary title?"

"I'm not sure about that."

"It's not much. Even if it is the Shajia Bang Group, it doesn't have much to do with us. Shajia Bang belongs to Shuzhou, we are Linghai, separated by a river."

"Aren't you fellow countrymen?"

"Sort of, but not exactly."

The Linghai people's countrymen can only be Linghai and East Sea people; Shuzhou couldn't possibly be fellow countrymen. Considering this common sense, it is difficult for Beihu people to understand, so Han Yu simply changed the topic: "How about Pai Zhou Bay? Have Political Commissar Yang and Xu Mingyuan made any calls?"

Vice Director Yu was indeed confused, unable to figure out how it was possible that Shuzhou, separated from Linghai by a river, and last time even sent over emergency relief supplies with Secretary Wang, couldn't be Linghai's fellow countrymen. So he simply didn't think about it anymore and hurriedly said, "Political Commissar Yang called, but Instructor Xu was busy with the rescue and didn't."

"What did Political Commissar Yang say?"

"Good news and bad news."

"Bad news!"

"An Air Force High Artillery unit that was conducting emergency defenses at Pai Zhou Bay was also flooded, and as of an hour ago, the remains of six soldiers have been found, with more soldiers missing. The authorities are organizing rescue efforts."

As many as six soldiers have already been confirmed dead!

Han Yu was stunned, as the Commander took off his hat, tears welling up in his eyes.

Vice Director Yu was silent for a moment, then continued, "The good news is that the breach's water flow is slowing, the water level difference inside and outside the embankment is not as significant as before, and tug boats under 100 tons can rush into the embankment for rescue."

"What kind of good news is that."

Han Yu took a few deep breaths, raised the walkie-talkie tied to his chest, and said, "Camp Commander Li, this is Han Yu, please respond if you copy!"

"Copy, please go ahead, Secretary Han."

"Starting now, addressing piping emergencies must be prioritized. Let Du Yuan select individuals from each squad, we need to expand the grouting rescue squads, ensuring the capability to handle three to four piping emergencies simultaneously!"

...

PS: Although I have already declined many social activities, some of them are unavoidable.

I am going to the Capital for a meeting tomorrow, departing today, and returning the night after tomorrow. Today, only two chapters are available, and I'm uncertain if I will be able to continue updating over the next couple of days. This is official notice; I sincerely request the understanding of fellow readers.