Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 872 - 592: "Imperial Commissioner

July 6th, sunny.

All the cadres and people on Jiangxin Island have sent off the first flood peak and are nervously preparing to confront the second flood peak that has already appeared in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

In fact, as anticipated earlier, the flood peak entering the Binjiang section doesn’t count as a flood, nor can a peak be seen.

It’s just that the flow rate is higher than usual as it passes through, and the speed is faster than usual, but its impact on the tide level of the Binjiang section is not as significant as the daily two-time tidal fluctuations. It can be said that the tide level of the Yangtze River Binjiang section, and even further west the Yangzhou section, is far more affected by sea tides than by upstream inflow.

Although the surging eastward torrent was not pushed by sea tides like last year due to astronomical tides, the Yangtze River’s tide levels along the Jiangnan section have exceeded the alert levels due to continuous heavy rains, causing both banks to discharge floodwater into the river, as well as the influence of a far greater inflow than previous years.

Deputy County Magistrate Wang, stationed on Jiangxin Island, doesn’t dare to rest with his eyes closed.

Han Yu, Fang Guoya, Li Jun, and other rescue team members no longer leisurely roast fish; once the flood peak is sent off, they join the cadres and people on Jiangxin Island for a blanket inspection of the seventeen-kilometer riverbank.

Inspecting the embankment is not just checking on the embankment; it also involves examining the embankment body, the foot of the embankment, and the fields and houses within a 500-meter range on the inner side of the embankment, because seepage points might be far from the embankment.

At the same time, extra attention must be paid to the river surface outside the embankment; if bubbles suddenly rise, it likely means there’s a leak!

Xiao Yu bitten once by a snake is afraid of ropes for ten years.

Although Han Yu has never been bitten by a snake, he is just as afraid of snakes.

Wearing high rain boots, he uses a wooden stick with his left hand to clear away weeds at the foot of the embankment for inspection, while holding a cellphone in his right hand to make and receive calls.

"Uncle Liu, has the city flood control command procured any emergency rescue materials these days? How about the Linghai Water Resources Bureau and our development zone? That’s good! Stop repairing roads with them, quickly return to the camp area and count with Chief Ding how many emergency rescue materials are in the two reserve warehouses, I need a list."

"Brother-in-law, what are you busy with? I have no issues here for now, the dam at Jiangxin Island is very robust. I just remembered you and Master Yang from the Marine Engineering Bureau mentioned water-based piling during a casual chat last time. The water-based piling for flood control and emergency rescue is different from foundation piling; the requirements aren’t as high, just need to drive the wooden piles down. Alright, discuss with Road and Bridge Company’s Master Sun. There’s no major danger, but better safe than sorry!"

"Village Chief Cao, this is Han Yu from the rescue team. You’re waiting for the ferry at Bisha Ferry, great, I need your help with something. There are many small shops at the ferry, I remember they sell national highway traffic maps, like the thick ones, please help me buy one. Money... you pay first, it’d be best if they issue an invoice; if not, at least a receipt, and I’ll find a way to reimburse it."

"President Zhang, you’re unloading gravel, thank you for your hard work, no need to bother Captain Xia. I just want to ask how many woven bags for holding rice do you have at the rice mill. Please call Uncle Zhang later to find out which manufacturer they were purchased from and let me know."

"President Hao, this is Han Yu, the upper levels have yet to request our camp’s deployment. If you’re really bored, go help Captain Xia with the road repairs. How can road repair be meaningless? The road under repair is for flood prevention, it’s also anti-flooding! Alright, let’s talk business, how many scaffold couplers does your company have, the type used for setting up scaffolding..."

Embarkment inspection involves several people as a team, aligning in a row from the top of the embankment to the bottom, with a blanket-style inspection for danger.

Fang Guoya is inspecting on the embankment body, not far from Han Yu.

He can’t believe someone as thrifty as Han Yu would use his phone to make calls. In his mind, Han Yu always uses his phone like a pager, never answering calls without a special reason, and certainly not making frequent calls as today.

The more he thinks about it, the stranger he finds it. He can’t help but ask, "Secretary Yu, the embankment on our side should be fine. Even if a major danger occurs, our task is to move people ashore first, not to block the breach from the embankment collapse."

The flood control and emergency rescue plan for Jiangxin Island is different from that on the shore.

The area of Jiangxin Island is too small, if a breach were to occur, it would take three to four hours at the quickest to block it.

By the time you deploy massive manpower and resources to block the breach, the fields and houses on the island would already be mostly submerged. So on this matter, the superior’s attitude is clear; the safety of the people must be ensured first.

Realizing that his old friend overheard his conversation, Han Yu put down the phone and said, "I’m not worried about Jiangxin Island; I’m worried about the embankment on the shore. I heard a section of the Yangtze River embankment collapsed in Yangzhou last night. Who can guarantee something similar won’t happen in Binjiang?"

"I nearly forgot, you are not only the rescue team leader for the city flood control command but also Deputy Chief of Staff of the Reserve Regiment and Camp Commander of the Flood Control and Emergency Rescue Camp. You have many positions, standing high, naturally considering more than us, and seeing further than us."

"Brother Fang, are you mocking me?"

"No, you’re my old leader, how could I laugh at you?" Fang Guoya laughed, then curiously asked again, "By the way, what do you need the national highway traffic map for?"

Our camp might be deployed to Beihu for flood control and rescue, but nothing’s confirmed yet, so I can’t say...

Han Yu turned to look at Li Jun, who was patrolling nearby, and smiled, "Our camp is not only a flood control and emergency rescue camp but also a mobile assault camp. If a similar embankment collapse occurs like in Yangzhou, and the brother city can’t block it, the superiors might deploy us for support. If we’re not familiar with the roads, we won’t even know how to get there when the time comes."

Fang Guoya found the young old leader a bit over-anxious, and couldn’t help but smile and ask, "Secretary Yu, do you think if the Yangtze River embankment of a brother city encounters a major danger, would they need support from your camp?"

The province has made it clear that in case of a danger, rescue forces must be in place within an hour!

Considering the strength of Jiangnan Province’s cities along the river, even in the event of a serious danger, they can handle it independently, and even resolve it at the district or county level without needing support from the city level, let alone needing help from brother cities’ rescue forces.

After all, resorting to that would imply their embankment repairs are inadequate and their flood control preparations are insufficient.

Moreover, flood control and emergency rescue are not like firefighting.

As long as there are enough personnel, machinery, and emergency supplies, although it’s highly specialized, it’s not as professionally demanding as firefighting. Unlike firefighting, where a major fire outbreak necessitates mobilizing not just the entire city’s, but the whole province’s firefighting forces for rescue.

Without knowing how to explain, Han Yu simply glossed over with a laugh.

...

Meanwhile, Director Tang of the Port Supervision Bureau was personally accompanying Huang Yuanchang, who had just arrived in Binjiang, to the Binjiang Municipal Government.

Although Huang Yuanchang is only the Deputy Director of the Policy and Regulations Office of the Changhang Bureau, and his administrative rank is not as high as Director Tang’s, the Yangtze River Port Supervision Bureau, like the Changhang Police Bureau, Yangtze River Navigation Bureau, and Yangtze River Communication Bureau, is all under the same Provincial Hall Level Changhang Bureau.

For a unit like the Yangtze River Binjiang Port and Navigation Supervision Bureau, a Deputy Department Level official from the Changhang Bureau like Huang Yuanchang is akin to an "Imperial Commissioner."

In fact, it wasn’t just Director Tang who went personally to the Bisha Ferry to welcome him. When the plane carrying Huang Yuanchang took off from Hanwu, He Bin, the former Chief of the Changhang Public Security Bureau Binjiang Branch and current Chief of the Changhang Police Bureau East Sea Branch, had to rush to East Sea Hongqiao Airport to wait and greet him. After receiving him, they arranged a police car to escort the "Huang Imperial Commissioner" all the way to Binjiang.

Watching the well-satisfied "Weasel Huang," Director Tang secretly lamented how fortunes change over time. Who would have thought the "Weasel Huang," once unpopular with the Binjiang people, would thrive after being transferred to the Changhang Bureau?

At the same time, he couldn’t help but worry that "Weasel Huang" might hold a grudge and cause trouble for the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau.

After all, back in the day, the evaluation of "Weasel Huang" from the top to the bottom of the office wasn’t high, and he himself even sent "Weasel Huang" to Bailong Port for a year.

However, Huang Yuanchang wasn’t thinking about causing trouble for his old unit’s leaders. Returning to Binjiang, where he once worked and lived for nearly ten years, he also had many feelings, but mostly a sense of "returning home gloriously."

"Director Tang, where is Salted Fish at this moment?"

"In Gaoru’s Jiangxin Island for flood relief."

"Have you notified him?"

"Not yet."

Director Tang was afraid that the "Huang Imperial Commissioner" might misunderstand, so he explained, "Director Huang, I also want to notify him earlier so he can prepare in advance. But this matter is quite sensitive, and we need to consider the impact on all aspects."

Huang Yuanchang nodded and continued, "Before coming here, I called the Port Supervision Bureau. They said you mobilized all the cadres and employees for donations. How much did you collect in total?"

The "Huang Imperial Commissioner" referred to the Yangtze River Port Supervision Bureau, not the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau.

In other words, he’s now speaking directly with your superior!

His former subordinate has suddenly become the boss’s boss, leaving Director Tang both embarrassed and upset. However, the superior on the phone made it clear that they must fully cooperate with "Weasel Huang’s" work.

Director Tang could only brace himself and say, "Cadres above Deputy Department Level donated two hundred, section-level cadres donated one hundred, and each employee donated fifty, totaling twelve thousand six hundred."

"Did the Changhang Bureau and Waterway Section mobilize donations?"

"As far as I know, they were all mobilized, but their cadres and employees aren’t as many as ours in the Port Supervision Bureau, so they have an estimated total of around ten thousand."

"That’s already quite a lot, considering how much everyone earns per month."

Huang Yuanchang opened his briefcase, took out a notebook, and recorded the donation amount of the Binjiang Port Supervision Bureau.

Director Tang clearly saw in the notebook that the donation amounts from units like the Changhang Public Security Bureau East Sea Branch, Yangtze River Navigation Bureau East Sea Navigation Channel Office, and Dacang Port Supervision Office, Shuzhou Port Supervision Office, Zhangjia Port Supervision Office, and Changhang Public Security Bureau Guzhou Branch were also recorded.

While Director Tang was pondering whether he was there to persuade the Binjiang City leaders to agree to dispatch troops or to count and even mobilize donations from various units, Huang Yuanchang closed the notebook and solemnly said, "Director Tang, these donations shouldn’t be transferred to Hanwu right now. Good steel should be used on the blade’s edge, and the same goes for flood relief donations. What Hanwu needs right now is not just money, but urgently needed relief materials. I plan to use these donations to purchase urgently needed materials for flood relief."

"But we’ve already reported to the superiors."

"Don’t worry, before I boarded the plane, I called to seek instructions from our Director Yuan, and our bureau will notify your Port Supervision Bureau. Regarding how these donations will be used, the Port Supervision Bureau will soon notify you in writing."

"That’s good."

As they were talking, the car drove into the City Government compound.

Despite having previously called Mayor Wang’s secretary to schedule the meeting, Mayor Wang was too busy with work, and the two had to wait in a small meeting room arranged by the Municipal Government for nearly an hour before they could meet with Mayor Wang.

At this critical juncture, trying to mobilize troops from Binjiang, and not ordinary troops.

Director Tang really couldn’t bring himself to make the request, so he introduced Huang Yuanchang’s identity and position, then awkwardly sat on the side watching Huang Yuanchang perform.

To Director Tang’s surprise, Mayor Wang was quite enthusiastic.

But on reflection, it made sense. "Weasel Huang" is the Deputy Director of the Policy and Regulations Office of the Changhang Bureau, equivalent to the deputy director of a ministry.

Not so much equivalent, but actual!

Because the Changhang Bureau is an agency of the Ministry of Transport, although not located in the Capital, it is otherwise no different from the ministerial departments and even possesses administrative approval authority surpassing that of most ministerial departments.

What surprised Director Tang even more was that after some pleasantries, "Weasel Huang" straightforwardly stated his purpose.

Mayor Wang thought he misheard and couldn’t believe he would make such a request, but he didn’t feel it necessary to offend this "Imperial Commissioner" sent by the Changhang Bureau. So, he casually picked up a flood situation report from the Provincial Defense Command and an urgent notification document from the Provincial Committee and Provincial Government: "Director Huang, I know the flood control situation in Hanwu is very severe, but our flood control here in Binjiang is also not easy."