dognovel Chapter 1605 Chenzhou Prefecture is in trouble
Chapter 1605 Chenzhou Prefecture is in trouble
Six days after the Lantern Festival, Magistrate Wang rushed in anxiously.
He shouted in a loud voice, "Sir, something terrible has happened...something terrible has happened..."
Sun Shan, who was writing the spring plowing plan, paused, the whole sheet of paper was covered in grease, and he had to rewrite it.
Sun Shan stared blankly at Magistrate Wang and asked coldly, "Magistrate Wang, what is it?"
He's already in his forties, yet he's still so unreliable. Luckily, he's just an unknown county magistrate; if he were to rise to a higher position...
Haha, I could be dragged down to be a scapegoat in a heartbeat.
County Magistrate Wang rushed over anxiously and handed a document to Sun Shan.
He said anxiously, "My lord, something terrible has happened! A letter has arrived from Chenzhou Prefecture; a major flood has occurred. Alas, thirty-eight people have died, and countless others are injured..."
His tone was anxious, but his expression carried a hint of schadenfreude.
County Magistrate Wang was not a compassionate person.
Sun Shan was taken aback. He hurriedly opened the letter, glanced at it briefly, and roughly understood what had happened.
He silently cursed in his heart: "Magistrate Zou is a bastard! Prefect Liu is caught in the crossfire!"
The letter described how a lively lantern festival was held in Chenzhou Prefecture during the Lantern Festival, but a lantern in a large shop spontaneously combusted.
Human negligence led to a momentary lapse in awareness, and the heavens seemed to be on our side that night, on the Lantern Festival.
So, it started with a single lantern spontaneously combusting, then a shop caught fire, and finally the entire street was ablaze. What was supposed to be a lantern festival turned into a "bonfire party."
The worst part is that it causes panic, which can lead to stampedes.
In other words, few people died from being burned or suffocated by the thick smoke; most of the victims were trampled to death.
Sun Shan felt a chill run down his spine when he saw this.
Indeed, it's best to avoid holding large-scale events like this, as more people often lead to more accidents.
The letter revealed that Magistrate Zou had arranged manpower well in advance to prevent fires, and even water tanks were placed every three to five steps.
And what was the result? Such a large-scale disaster still occurred.
County Magistrate Zou and Prefect Liu are likely to have a tough year.
Upon receiving the report, Wu, the registrar, Liang, the inspector, and Xia, the clerk, rushed over, eager to know what major event had occurred in the prefectural city.
Upon learning of the large number of deaths, he couldn't help but sigh, "Oh dear, Magistrate Zou is in deep trouble; this matter is going to be very difficult to resolve."
A major accident that killed dozens of people had to be reported to the imperial court. Reporting it so quickly would not cost Magistrate Zou his job, but it would make it very difficult for him to get promoted.
As the immediate superior, Prefect Liu naturally received a scolding.
Moreover, since Prefect Liu's government office was located in Yuanling County, he bore even greater responsibility for such a tragedy that occurred right at his doorstep.
Master Zhang said thankfully, "Fortunately, you made preparations early to prevent fires. Alas, the flood in Yuanling County killed so many people; it was a true tragedy."
With that said, Magistrate Wang and the others no longer blamed Sun Shan for his twelve-level early warning and defense skills.
If such a tragedy were to occur in Yuanlu County, everyone present would be implicated. It would probably take a fortune to quell the matter.
The letter from Chenzhou Prefecture not only reported the flooding incident in Yuanling County, but also emphasized the need to prevent flooding accidents. Fires will not cease even after the New Year.
Large shops, entertainment venues, schools, and other places where people gather are the most vulnerable to fires and suffer the most casualties.
The official document from the prefectural government was issued almost in a roaring manner, indicating that Prefect Liu was truly enraged.
Indeed, with such a large-scale fire, whether or not they can land safely depends on the support behind them.
Prefect Liu has powerful backers, which makes Magistrate Zou a difficult opponent.
Perhaps he was pushed out to be a scapegoat. No, he can't be considered a scapegoat; the greatest responsibility lies with him.
Letting him take full responsibility is the perfect decision.
Sun Shan became increasingly anxious as he thought about it, and instructed, "Inspector Liang and Clerk Xia, go to all the shops and schools these next few days to check and prevent any fires from happening."
Inspector Liang and Clerk Xia shouted, "Yes, sir!"
Sun Shan then instructed, "Wu, the chief clerk, write a notice and send it to all shops, schools, village chiefs, headmen, and village leaders to raise their vigilance and prevent another fire."
Wu, the registrar, quickly replied, "Yes, sir."
After giving his instructions, Sun Shan closed the door and wrote a reply to Prefect Liu.
It mainly covers two aspects.
On the one hand, they expressed their intention to conduct a thorough investigation and prevent fires. On the other hand, they expressed their condolences for the deceased, their sympathy for the injured, and offered encouragement and comfort to Prefect Liu.
As for anything else, Sun Shan District is just a lowly seventh-rank official; how could he possibly do anything more?
After finishing my shift, I returned to the backyard.
Uncle Sun rushed over and asked, "Shanzi, has there been a fire in the prefectural city? I heard that more than a hundred people died. Tsk tsk, that's terrible."
Sun Bomin asked anxiously, "Shanzi, how many people died? Granny Wang said more than two hundred people died and more than three hundred were injured, most of whom were little mosquitoes. Oh dear, it's so tragic, how could such a thing happen?"
Su hugged the little fat girl tightly and said fearfully, "Honey, Big Head Dog said there were more than three hundred people, and more than a thousand were injured. Oh dear, on the night of the Lantern Festival, many people here went out to stroll around and see the lanterns."
There are even more people in the prefectural city now. I bet a lot of people have died this time. There are even more mosquitoes now. When the flood starts, how can those mosquitoes outrun adults?
At this point, he turned his head and glared at the chubby girl.
Pointing his finger at the chubby girl's head, he said, "Look at you, always causing trouble, huh? I told you not to go out. Luckily, this time you only ran into the hairdressing gang. Humph, if there had been a fire, you would have been the one trampled to death."
Then he said to Sun Shan, "Shanzi, we can't take Fei Mei out for the Lantern Festival next year. It'll be freezing cold, and there will be so many people; a fire is more likely to break out. What if something happens? We can't go, we can't go..."
The chubby girl nestled timidly in Su's arms, her chubby hands weakly clutching the large gold bracelet. She looked at Sun Shan with a pitiful expression, not daring to utter a single word.
Dege'er added fuel to the fire, saying, "Auntie, I think three hundred people died is too few, five or six hundred is definitely the number. Oh dear, you haven't seen the excitement in the prefectural city."
There were so many people, it was impossible to move. I heard the whole street burned down, wow! And the wind was so strong that night, the fire spread with the wind, people couldn't escape even if they wanted to.
After saying that, he shivered.
She said with lingering fear, "Ah Jun even invited me to see the lanterns in the prefectural city, saying they were more beautiful than those in the county town. Luckily, I didn't go."
He then turned to Sun Shan and said, "Fortunately, our Yuanlu County has Shanzi, who took precautions in advance, and the bustling commercial streets are heavily guarded. Alas, I don't know how the officials of Chenzhou Prefecture were able to do their jobs, causing so many deaths."
Gui Ge'er said proudly, "De Ge and Shan Ge are a hundred times better than those good-for-nothings. Shan Ge is just afraid of such a fatal accident, so he simply doesn't hold any events to cut off the source and prevent future troubles."