Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 911 - 611: Faster!

The local party and government leaders were all on the main dike. The County Armed Forces Minister arrived, leading over three hundred Basic Civilian Soldiers and Reserve Soldiers, waving the flags of the "Civilian Assault Team" and the Reserve Camp.

The Armed Police arrived as well, more than sixty of them.

The army stationed here also came; it's not clear which unit they belong to, but over a hundred people arrived.

In an instant, red flags fluttered on the dike, and everywhere you looked was crowded with people.

However, facing the imminent collapse of the sluice, they only had shovels and other primitive tools, and there wasn't much they could do.

It wasn't until Master Xu called to report to Master Xi, and then Master Xi reported to the leaders of the Jingzhou Flood Control Command. Once the City Flood Control Command leaders confirmed that the rescue team from Binjiang had the capability to handle the situation, did the orders reach the command center on the dike, alleviating some of the chaos on-site.

The convoy transporting emergency engineering machinery was speeding up, and the just-arrived Deputy Mayor took over command. He instructed county leaders to arrange for several township heads to organize village cadres to mobilize nearby residents to assist the Boat Bridge troops in building bridges and roads. If materials were scarce, they were to dismantle houses. The flood prevention road had to be completed by 11:50!

Whether the sluice would collapse, no one knew. It was too dangerous here, so specific personnel were assigned to organize the evacuation of elderly, women, and children who had come to watch.

The stationed army, Armed Police, and Basic Civilian Soldiers all stayed back, racing against time to build a construction road for the mechanized emergency team.

It was crucial to solve the supply problem for the necessary emergency materials as quickly as possible!

If there's no plan, make one. However, how to do it is your affair. Even if it means dismantling the county committee and county government office buildings, make sure the supplies reach the sluice by 11:50...

Hao Qiusheng, Sun Youyi, Lu Wei, and other engineering technicians finished surveying the site and proceeded to the nearby 001 to develop a construction plan.

With communication and coordination from Master Xu of the Yangtze River Committee System, it was entirely unnecessary for Vice Minister Li of the Linghai Armed Forces Department, who accompanied Hao Qiusheng, to go salute and report to the local party and government leaders.

It was equally inappropriate to greet his counterparts from the local Armed Forces Department since they were all working under the dike, and you couldn't just stand by and watch them toil.

In summary, there was food, drink, and air conditioning on 001, so there was no need to squeeze into that shed on the dike.

As a result, as soon as they boarded the ship, the county leaders became flustered, hesitating as they asked, "Mayor Xu, they... they won't just leave, will they?"

Deputy Mayor Xu, unable to pay further attention to the Liberation Army soldiers, Civilian Soldiers, and Armed Police busy collecting earth to repair the road, turned back to ask, "Which 'they'?"

"Those few people from Binjiang."

"They came to support our rescue efforts, how could they possibly leave."

"I didn't mean to measure others by the yardstick of a petty mind, I just... I just..."

Deputy Mayor Xu understood his mindset, because the water engineers estimated earlier that if the sluice collapsed, within two hours, four surrounding towns would be flooded, displacing hundreds of thousands.

When the flood peak arrives, the flooded area would expand, with unimaginable losses!

But in the face of such a critical situation, simply worrying is useless, and having people without a plan is equally futile.

If a danger arose on the river dike, there would at least be a place to stand if one clung on and jumped down, with a chance to block some of the floodwater with one's body.

However, this wasn't a river dike or embankment; it's a sluice and the water is deep. If someone really jumped in, they would be gone!

Deputy Mayor Xu, unsure what to say, suddenly found himself in darkness as the electric lights went out.

The electricity came from the drainage house on the right of the sluice, and seeing the dike below becoming pitch dark, he could clearly hear the exclamations of the soldiers still engaged in earth-moving for the construction road. Both Deputy Mayor Xu and Secretary Zheng from the county realized there was a power outage.

How could there be a power outage at such a critical time?

Secretary Zheng rushed out, urgently shouting for the electrician.

Hao Qiusheng also noticed the situation on shore and, after learning the details via walkie-talkie, immediately asked Captain Fan to steer the 001 closer, allowing the onshore electrician to tow the power cable over and connect it to 001.

Where could the electrician find a power cable at such short notice?

City and county level leaders could only once again mobilize the masses, instructing nearby resident party cadres to quickly find some wiring, any kind would do. After half an hour of bustling work, they managed to pull over a cable connected by numerous lengths.

Electric lighting was restored on shore.

The 001 played a vital role.

Zhu Baogen stood by the engine room door, mumbling as he observed the rumbling auxiliary engine, "Turns out we can not only supply water off-shore, but also electricity."

The leaders were all in the command cabin, and Xiao Chen didn't dare squeeze in, squatting next to Zhu Baogen and saying with a smile, "Uncle Zhu, maybe you could help me talk to Secretary Han and let me work on the 001."

"Aren't you already on the 001?"

"I mean in the future, driving the shuttle boat and cable boat is unexciting, but piloting the 001 is thrilling."

"Driving the shuttle and cable boats is an official job at Linghai Port, while piloting the 001 is a temporary post at the Development Zone Branch. You want to give up a permanent job to take a temporary one, are you crazy?"

"True, the port wages are higher than those at the Development Zone Branch."

...

The wait was excruciating, and Master Xu had never felt time drag so slowly.

Hao Qiusheng, more composed than Master Xu, returned satisfied and full to shore with the others after eating and drinking.

He felt no need to engage with Deputy Mayor Xu, Secretary Zheng, and the other leaders, as they would leave once the job was done. From afar, he raised a hand in greeting, then shone his flashlight to check the leaking situation at the sluice.

To be precise, it wasn't leaking, it was gushing!

The water spouts were more numerous and thicker than when he first arrived in the evening, and they were shooting higher and farther.

The sandbags blocked between the stakes and gate had long been swept away by the flood. The visible sandbags were ones filled by the soldiers under the dike that evening.

Since these were filled later, the angles at which the "fountains" emerged had significantly changed.

He was just considering calling to check how far the main force had reached when Secretary Zheng came over, pretending to be calm as he said, "President Hao, I called a few people from the group helping the Liberation Army build and repair roads, and they said they wouldn't need to wait until 11:50."

"What time can it be set up?"

"By eleven-thirty!"

"What about the emergency supplies?"

"They're on their way here. The utility poles have actually been transported over, but they're blocked at the bridgeheads because two bridges haven't been set up yet."

"How many?"

"A hundred and eighty-four, all brand new."

"What about the wooden piles?"

"We can't find that much timber for now, but the city has allocated two hundred pieces to us, and they're being transported here by boat." 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

Secretary Zheng took a deep breath and continued, "As for the sand and gravel, not only do we not have any in the county, but even the city can't solve it immediately. President Hao, a comrade reported just now we have two thousand tons of coal. If needed, I can transfer the coal over."

The second flood peak is about to arrive; it's normal to have difficulty finding stones everywhere for reinforcing embankments.

Hao Qiusheng understood Secretary Zheng's difficulties and said, "We don't need coal. We need to prepare more woven bags. Master Xu just went down and asked, and the comrades below the embankment said they're almost running out."

"We are trying to gather them, but it's really hard to rush in the middle of the night."

"If you really can't find them, it's okay. We happened to bring some along."

"How many did you bring?"

"Over ten thousand, it should be enough."

They came to support the emergency response and even brought over ten thousand woven bags with them.

Secretary Zheng felt a pang in his heart and didn't know how to continue the conversation.

Because almost all the woven bags used to build the sub-dam on the embankment against the first flood peak were taken from the local people's homes. Now there is a need for woven bags everywhere, and the county neither has money to purchase them nor can they find any even if they had the money.

To resist the second flood peak, they had to mobilize local people from each township to donate straw and organize them to weave straw bags. Among the emergency supplies being transported here, there are over eight thousand straw bags.

Hao Qiusheng didn't know what Secretary Zheng was thinking. He picked up the phone tied to his chest and dialed Han Yu's number again.

"Secretary Han, where are you now?"

"We're about to exit the highway. The comrades waiting for us at the highway exit just called, saying we should be able to reach the emergency site in another hour and a half, assuming the bridge is set up."

Hao Qiusheng glanced at the time displayed on his phone and picked it up again, "The county leadership said the bridge will be set up before eleven-thirty. You should speed up."

Han Yu looked at the rear-view mirror and said, "Alright, we'll speed up."

Reporter Wang was also in car number 2. He listened clearly and thought that the emergency must be really serious; otherwise, Beihu wouldn't demand that the police and traffic police ensure the convoy's unobstructed passage along the way.

Han Yu was actually more anxious than Hao Qiusheng. Although he said they'd speed up, the convoy couldn't really go faster. All eight flatbed trucks were heavily loaded or even overloaded, and going any faster would be unsafe.

"Car 2 calling Car 4, do you copy?"

"Car 4 copies; please go ahead, Secretary Han."

"Pass the walkie-talkie to Mayor Shen; I need to speak with Mayor Shen."

"Understood!"

Following a burst of static, Deputy Mayor Shen's voice came through the walkie-talkie, "Salted Fish, what's up?"

"Mayor Shen, it's urgent on President Hao's end. It seems the situation is more severe than we imagined. I plan to have a few buses speed up and take the construction personnel there first to familiarize themselves with the site and prepare for construction assignments. The eight big trucks transferring equipment and supplies will continue at the current speed. Once the equipment and supplies arrive, we can start the operation."

"You're the Camp Commander; you don't need to ask me about these things."

"Alright, I'll arrange it this way."

Han Yu adjusted the frequency and communicated with Beihu Police at the front, then issued orders to each vehicle.

The main force split into two as the personnel convoy immediately accelerated, leaving the equipment and supplies convoy behind shortly after.

At 10:16, the convoy slowly exited the highway under the guidance of the highway police.

The police cars from the Changhang Jingzhou Branch and Jingzhou City Police Bureau Traffic Police Detachment turned on their lights, replacing the traffic police from Hanwu to lead the convoy.

Just like when passing through Hanwu, the way was smooth without any obstruction.

When the convoy drove onto the muddy country roads, they could clearly see in the headlights the liberation army soldiers standing at both ends of the temporary iron bridges, saluting the convoy.

They could even clearly see several local cadres waving and tearfully greeting the convoy.

These bridges were set up specifically for the Linghai Reserve Camp!

One could imagine how difficult it was to build seven or eight bridges within less than ten hours. And they didn't just set up bridges; they also repaired roads, at least ensuring the big trucks could pass through.

Han Yu was both excited and moved, quickly raising the walkie-talkie, "All vehicles, attention, all vehicles, attention, all personnel listen to my command, salute the boat bridge troops and the Jingzhou people who built the roads and bridges!"

The boat bridge troops Major who interacted with Hao Qiusheng in the evening mumbled while raising his hand, "Iveco, Mercedes-Benz, Kassbohrer... My goodness, all good vehicles!"

"Camp Commander, why are there only big buses and no big trucks? Where's their equipment?"

"It should be behind us."

"Riding in luxury buses, this isn't a reserve unit; compared to them, we're the reserves, they're the regular army."

"They're the Jiangnan Reserve Forces; Jiangnan is wealthy!"