Worries
Mr. Zhuang snapped back to reality. Admiring the carefree trio of children, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh.
Man Bao asked with concern, "Teacher, what's the matter with you?"
Mr. Zhuang looked at her for a while. After a moment of silence, he said, "The Min River has burst its banks."
"Where is the Min River?"
After a moment of thought, Mr. Zhuang spread out a large piece of paper, summoned the three disciples in front of him, and drew a map with a pen. He said, "The Min River is above Yizhou..."
Although the children were still young, Mr. Zhuang occasionally talked to them about geography, starting with the local area.
For example, above Qili Village is the town of White Horse Pass. Further up is Luojiang County, which falls under the jurisdiction of Jiannan Dao Mianzhou Baxi County, with the capital of Jiannan Dao located in Yizhou.
Apart from the distant imperial city where the emperor resided, the northern boundary of Qili Village was Yizhou.
As for the distance between Yizhou and Qili Village, according to Mr. Zhuang, it would take a day's ride on horseback, starting before dawn, and perhaps arriving before the city gates closed.
On foot, it would probably take three to four days, based on an adult's pace. However, if Man Bao were to walk with her little arms and legs, it would probably take seven to eight days.
It is said to be a very prosperous place with numerous inhabitants and a wide variety of delicious foods.
Of course, this hearsay came from Mr. Zhuang and Mr. Bai, as they were the only ones from the entire village who had been to Yizhou. Lao Zhou had only been as far as Luojiang County, so he couldn't tell Man Bao any stories about Yizhou.
The Min River was known as Yizhou, and it was the largest river in the entire Jiannan Dao region. Mr. Zhuang drew a stream map on paper and sighed, "The Min River flows swiftly, especially in the area of Yulei Mountain." The slope is steep, and the water flows very rapidly. In the pre-Qin era, the Min River frequently flooded, leading to significant destruction downstream of Yizhou, earning the nickname "the swamp country of Shu."
Not only were Man Bao and Bai Shanbao listening intently, but Bai Erlang was also interested, listening with rapt attention.
After a moment of contemplation, Mr. Zhuang, considering their young age, could only treat it as a story and tell them, "It was not until the Qin era that the Prefect of Shu, Li Bing, built the Jianwei Weir on the Min River, which improved the situation."
Then Mr. Zhuang went on to talk about the Jianwei Weir. He had gone there intending to take up an official position. As a Shu person, he had not only read relevant books but had also specifically visited the Jianwei Weir during his travels.
Even now, he still admired the people who had built this project more than nine hundred years ago.
Man Bao and Bai Shanbao had witnessed the construction of water conservancy projects, but that was the most basic task—digging a canal. The most complex structure was the embankment built last year, but it was not worth mentioning compared to the Jianwei Weir.
In the past, Li Bing constructed the Jinze and Baoping Kous to divert the Min River, along with the Pingwa Canal and Feisha Weir for flood control and irrigation purposes. Since then, there have been few floods downstream and less frequent drought disasters.
The Jianwei Weir not only prevented floods but also ensured irrigation for thousands of acres of farmland downstream.
As a teacher who once held ideals and ambitions and always paid attention to court policies, Mr. Zhuang was now as agitated as fire because, "The last major flood in Yizhou was in the 17th year of Dade, only eight years ago, and in the 5th year of Dazhen, Feisha Weir was just repaired, only two years ago…"
Mr. Zhuang had a lot to say, but he didn't know who to say it to, so he could only say a few words to the three children who didn't understand.
Bai Erlang wasn't sure if he could comprehend what Bai Shanbao didn't know, but he understood the teacher's implied meaning. His eyes sparkled as he gazed at Man Bao.
Man Bao's eyes also sparkled as she turned to look at Bai Shanbao.
After Mr. Zhuang finished talking about the Jianwei Weir, over an hour had passed. The Bai family's servants came to invite the teacher to dinner, while the master of the house waited in the front hall for him to join for a drink.
Man Bao and the others had their lunch in the study. They had a half-hour break in the middle. If the master and Mr. Zhuang were to chat and drink for a longer period, they might even have an extra hour or two.
During those few days, the small kitchen was operated in this manner, and the afternoon study time was irregular.
As soon as Mr. Zhuang left, the servants brought the children's food to the table. Just like in a classroom setting, to prevent picky eating habits, the food was pre-prepared. Each person was allocated one bowl, along with an additional bowl of soup for each individual.
Man Bao didn't think there was anything wrong with eating at the Bai family's house. She dragged her bowl over to Bai Shanbao and whispered, "Doesn't it feel like something from a storybook?"
Man Bao had already figured out how to use the system. Besides wandering around the mall, her favorite activity was exchanging storybooks with Keke and reading them.
Some books require a lot of points, while others require very few. Man Bao's favorite games are those with engaging storytelling and low point requirements.
She not only read them herself but also lent them to Bai Shanbao to read. When Man Bao spoke, Bai Shanbao understood.
Bai Shanbao nodded vigorously and whispered, "It must be a corrupt official."
"Truly despicable!"
Bai Erlang sat across from them, straining to listen, but he couldn't hear anything. However, he was convinced that they were speaking ill of him. He slammed his chopsticks on the table and asked angrily, "Are you talking about me behind my back?"
The two individuals, engaged in a lively discussion, looked up at him, clicked their tongues simultaneously, and one of them asked, "Are you an official?"
"Do you have what it takes to be a corrupt official?"
In their view, being an official required great ability, and being a corrupt official required even greater skill. The villains in books, especially corrupt officials, were usually portrayed as very clever, often surpassing the intelligence of good officials.
In the end, corrupt officials would inevitably fail. But Man Bao and Bai Shanbao had done their calculations. It would take many honest officials to defeat one corrupt official. Typically, it would require seven good people to defeat one bad person.
In the small minds of the two children, corrupt officials were generally considered more intelligent than good officials.
So, the two of them looked critically at Bai Erlang and commented, "You probably couldn't even become a good official."
Bai Shanbao said, "To become an official, you have to take exams. I doubt you can even become an official unless you start studying hard from now on."
Bai Erlang widened his eyes and asked, "What are you guys talking about becoming officials?" "Did I ever say I wanted to be an official?"
"We're talking about the Min River bursting its banks." "It could be a natural disaster or a man-made disaster," Man Bao pointed out, gesturing towards the dark sky outside. "The natural disaster is this, and the man-made disaster is corrupt officials."
Bai Shanbao wondered who the corrupt officials were.
Based on her extensive reading experience, Man Bao analyzed, "Generally speaking, corrupt officials are high-ranking officials." Such a major project, such as repairing water conservancy works, must be led by high-ranking officials. "So, the provincial governor of Yizhou?"
Bai Shanbao added, "And the Jiedushi of Jiannan Dao."
Man Bao said, "Yizhou also has the Prince of Yizhou."
Bai Erlang was completely confused, "What are you guys talking about?"
Why couldn't he understand a single word?