Tongzhi County was in chaos.
The levee had burst in the east, and shortly after, the western section gave way as well.
The floodwaters quickly surged into the county, submerging countless fields and low-lying houses. By the middle of the night, the streets were filled with the cries of the people. The local soldiers, originally tasked with suppressing disorder, were nowhere to be seen.
A man in his twenties, his pant legs rolled up, walked into the street. "Fellow villagers, the county magistrate has fled! The imperial court has abandoned us!"
"What? The magistrate ran away? What are we supposed to do? The flood has swallowed all our fields!"
"Our houses are submerged too! The grain in our cellars is soaked and ruined!"
"I barely had a harvest last year, and the court took most of it—what right do they have to abandon us now?"
"Let's go! To the county office!"
Chapter 154