Binjiang Police Affairs-Chapter 934 - 625: The Jinggang Mountain Rendezvous

On the levee, there were only County Magistrate Huang and Director Hu from the government office; the others had all gone to organize the evacuation of the people. County Magistrate Huang was too busy handling phone calls to attend to the support troops.

Director Hu hurried out to greet them and introduced himself.

The second company commander stood at attention and saluted, panting as he said, "Comrade Director, the Second and Third Companies of the Second Battalion of the 132nd Regiment have come to support you as ordered. Please assign us a task!"

They had all run there, each one drenched in sweat.

Director Hu was so moved that he could scarcely speak, taking several deep breaths to control his emotions, and choked up as he said, "Thank you, thank you, comrades of the liberation army."

"Comrade Director, now is not the time for pleasantries. Please assign us a task."

"The emergency response is under the responsibility of the Linghai Reserve Camp. Captain Zhang, Battalion Commander Wu, how about I first take you to Camp Commander Han, and let Camp Commander Han assign you a task."

"Alright."

"This way, please."

The two of them led their subordinates along the river dike for dozens of meters and finally saw the legendary "Hong Kong Garrison."

Below the dike, two large excavators, three large bulldozers, and a pushdozer were busy, with only a few people wearing red armbands and holding small red flags directing them. It didn't feel like an emergency site, as the atmosphere of racing against the clock was absent.

In the paddy fields about fifteen meters from the construction site, more than a dozen people were busy around six large ponds made of sandbags, faintly visible to be using two pumps to draw water there.

On top of the dike and on its mid-section and toe, more than a dozen people wearing camo helmets and life vests moved back and forth between the red flags as if searching for something.

On the river, a police patrol boat and a tugboat shuttled back and forth, clearly packed with people on deck.

Further along, there was a military tent.

On the tent were seven striking characters: "Emergency Engineering Command Center," surrounded by red flags with inscriptions like "Linghai Reserve Camp," "Heroic Assault Battalion," and "Red Saber Battalion," as well as banners reading "United in confronting the flood" and "Promote the Linghai Iron Army Spirit."

Captain Zhang let his subordinates rest while he followed Battalion Commander Wu and Director Hu into the "Emergency Engineering Command Center" tent, where they saw a young reserve major discussing something with two people wearing camo clothes and life vests, and a local officer with disheveled hair and dirty clothes, around a "table" propped up by steel pipes and plates.

"At first we didn't know that the dike toe was hollowed out. When we discovered the piping issue, our first thought was to find the leak point, and it happened that there was a villager with good swimming skills among the crowd patrolling the dike. He volunteered to dive down and explore, but couldn't find the leak point and instead found a hole underneath."

"And then?"

"After he surfaced and caught his breath, I asked him to go down and explore again. That exploration uncovered a major issue." Master Yan pointed to the diagram that Master Yao had drawn on 001 and gravely said, "From here to here, it's not just a single hole but a trench."

Han Yu asked in a low voice, "Master Yan, did you make any marks on the shore at that time?"

"Yes, I took measurements; it's 11.6 meters long from east to west."

"What about the depth?"

"Both of these dimensions are underwater, so it can only be estimated by the villager who dived in."

Han Yu laid out the underwater surveying diagrams that Yao had brought ashore in chronological order and carefully compared them.

Master Xu watched with folded arms, thoroughly focused as well.

Director Hu knew they were analyzing the danger and stood by, not daring to interrupt.

The two company commanders also realized it wasn't the time to speak, standing in the corner with Director Hu waiting.

"We disregard the previous data, analyzing from the first survey at 5:25. From the results, the length of the underwater trench hasn't changed much, and until ten minutes ago, it was less than twelve meters, but the height change is peculiar, as it hasn't increased but decreased."

Han Yu looked at the diagrams, puzzled.

Each profession has its specialty.

Master Xu didn't find it odd and reached out to take another diagram, saying, "We can't just look at the dike toe and body, but must consider the hydrological and riverbed terrain analysis."

Han Yu paused and asked, "Overall subsidence?"

Before Master Xu could answer, Yao Lirong frowned and said, "The riverbed terrain around here is quite peculiar, with several slanted deep grooves; water from below is scouring the dry dike along these grooves."

Han Yu took over the surveying diagram that Master Xu had found and examined it while asking, "Master Yan, has anyone been excavating sand in this area?"

"Yes, previously there were many sand excavating vessels. After the National Council urged enhanced management of river sand excavation last month, our county intensified the oversight."

"It's highly probable that sand excavation is the cause."

Han Yu analyzed after putting down the diagram, "Reckless sand excavation operations by the vessels, sucking out silt and reaching the sand layer, destroying the riverbed and riverbank, and inadvertently forming several trenches aligned obliquely to the dry dike, directly leading to the waterflow scouring the dike toe!"

Master Yan shared the same suspicion, but sand excavation involves various interests, and as a Water Resources Bureau engineer, he dared not speak up or offend anyone, so he asked in a low voice, "What should we do then?"

"Master Yao, contact Director Gu later and ask him to find a way to organize crew members to assist you in positioning and marking the underwater trench locations and directions."

"How do we mark it on the river?"

"With buoys, he and Master Lu from the Waterway Section have solutions."

Han Yu paused, then continued, "Once the stone materials allocated by the City Flood Control Command arrive, organize forces to repair the damaged riverbed, which means dumping stone materials on the river to fill those trenches and redirect the water flow to its original course."

Master Yao solemnly asked, "How much cubic stone material does that require?"

"Regardless of the quantity needed, it must be repaired; otherwise, not only will the current levee not hold, but the new levee we're building won't last long either."

Han Yu took a deep breath and continued, "Master Xu, quickly call and report to the City Flood Control Command, informing the leaders there that we need a large amount of stone materials. Also, ask the City Flood Control Command if they can urgently deploy two rollers here. We have two large excavators supplying earth fully, and three loaders and a pushdozer, so leveling isn't an issue. The immediate concern is how to compact it."

Master Xu was about to say okay when Director Hu urgently said, "Camp Commander Han, our county's Transportation Bureau has a road roller, but its compacting drum is made of cement with a steel plate on the outside."

"Excellent, we need a road roller right now."

Han Yu turned around and said, "Director Hu, the masses are evacuating. I heard from the comrades in charge of logistics support that the roads leading here are very congested. Can you see if we can arrange to transport the road rollers to a place upstream or downstream that is easier to load onto a ship? I'll have the comrades responsible for waterway navigation and operations arrange boats to transport them."

"Alright, I'll make the call right away." Director Hu took out his phone and then introduced, "Camp Commander Han, I almost forgot. These two comrades are from the 132nd Regiment. They are here under orders to provide support."

Someone from the regiment has arrived!

Han Yu was quite surprised and quickly raised his hand to salute, "Welcome, welcome. I am the Camp Commander of the Linghai Reserve Camp. My surname is Han, given name Yu. May I ask your surnames?"

The visitors were very professional and looked like experts.

The two company commanders didn't dare to dismiss the main officials of the "Hong Kong Garrison," and quickly stood at attention to salute, introducing themselves.

"Is Captain Peng and Political Commissar Yang also coming?"

"The Captain and the Political Commissar are far from here. They are on the way but the roads are full of evacuating people, making it hard to travel. I can't really say when they will arrive."

"It's alright if they're a bit late. Actually... we don't really need support here."

"You don't need it?"

Han Yu didn't know how to explain, and then Director Ge and Master Dai arrived upon hearing the news.

To Old Ge, the 132nd Regiment were both guests and insiders. Seeing Han Yu at a loss for how to arrange things, he quickly said, "Camp Commander Han, Secretary Han, you carry on with your work. I'll handle the reception and the arrangements."

"Alright, you two, sorry, I'm a bit busy here."

Han Yu really couldn't manage the reception, so he put some things on top of a pile of blueprints, donned his hard hat, and went out with Master Xu and the others.

Old Ge looked at the two confused company commanders and warmly said, "Captain Zhang, Commander Wu, Xiao Dai and I were just about to come find you, didn't expect you to arrive first. Good for you to come, we feel like we've found our organization!"

"Captain Zhang, Commander Wu, this is Director Ge of the Senior Expert Group of the Linghai Reserve Camp."

Having experienced a rescue operation before, Master Dai had full confidence in the combat power of the Linghai Reserve Camp and felt there was no imminent danger they couldn't handle. He looked at the two company commanders and added, "Director Ge is the old director of the Linghai City Transportation Bureau and a professor-level senior engineer!"

"Hello, Director Ge!"

"Director Ge, Master Dai, our company commander ordered us to come to support. They came by car and are probably stuck on the road. Since we arrived first, we shouldn't just wait around. Please give us orders."

What orders to give you?

With such an urgent situation, what can you do?

Master Dai felt that the comrades were here not to support, but to add to the chaos. Unsure about how to explain, Old Ge laughed and said, "You two, I asked the warriors when I came over. They said they ran here, ran five or six kilometers, too tired. You should rest first."

"Rest?"

"Yes, rest first. How can you fight without restoring your energy?"

Old Ge smiled slightly and then raised the walkie-talkie: "President Zhang, President Zhang, this is Ge Weidong, do you read?"

The camp had a relay station, and the walkie-talkie communication range could reach nearly twenty kilometers.

Finding the road blocked and unable to procure supplies at Angong, Zhang Erxiao immediately returned to the camp and asked Director Gu for a tugboat, taking two logistics personnel to the other side to procure supplies.

Just as he was about to land, he heard Old Ge calling and replied quickly, "Received, received, please go ahead, Director Ge."

"The regiment came to support us, the advance party includes two companies. The comrades haven't eaten breakfast, please arrange quickly, and be prepared for lunch too!"

"How many people are there in total?"

Old Ge was unsure and hurriedly asked, "Are all the personnel coming to support?"

Captain Zhang thought for a moment and said, "They should all be coming, that's what our camp commander said."

Old Ge asked further, "How many people are there in total?"

Before Captain Zhang could speak, Master Dai laughed and said, "Director Ge, considering the vehicles and logistics support, plus the regiment cannot be left unattended, only a small portion of our officers and soldiers are in Jingzhou for flood relief. The regiment headquarters and three battalions add up to a total of 722 people."

Turns out it was an understrength regiment.

Old Ge raised the walkie-talkie again: "President Zhang, President Zhang, there are 722 people from the regiment here. For us, this is like the meeting at Jinggang Mountain, we should celebrate and prepare something abundant."

No matter how much it costs, Boss Huang can reimburse it. Zhang Erxiao readily agreed: "Understood, I'll start by preparing breakfast."

Master Dai was taken aback and quickly reminded, "Director Ge, the Captain and Political Commissar may not be able to arrive in the morning, why not prepare breakfast for 200 people first?"

"That's fine, prepare hot food for 200 people for now, and prepare more dry rations."

"Preparing more dry rations is good, that way there's no waste."

In the middle of an urgent situation, with so many people evacuating the levee like a mass escape, they were thinking of celebrating...

Captain Zhang was bewildered, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Commander Wu, exhausted from running, was now tired and hungry. Thinking that without the camp commander, Master Dai was the highest in command, and since Master Dai suggested resting, the troops would take a break.

...

PS: Previously, some people joked about Old Zhuo, saying "a fallen god is not as good as a dog." Old Zhuo took it to heart, worked hard, and fought for a month. Brothers and sisters showed great support. Last month's ranking for monthly votes was over sixty, a solid performance that answered those who joked about Old Zhuo.

A new month, a new beginning.

Old Zhuo will continue to strive and sincerely ask for the support of those with votes. Let's see if we can reach the top fifty this month!