Chapter 384 People Are Here on the Levee!

In the end, Chang Haonan himself felt that it was a bit too middle-class, so he proposed to cancel the first two words and name it "Xi soil" modular flood control reinforcement kit.

This seems much more normal.

And it also retains the original Chinese characteristics.

Ding Gaoheng and Huai Guomo are both almost 120 years old together, so naturally they cannot compete with Chang Haonan in such trivial matters.

Therefore, it took three people just one minute to determine the name of this equipment that will leave a huge mark in the field of flood prevention and disaster relief around the world in the future.

Although Chang Haonan felt a little tired from the almost non-stop work for the previous two days, it was ultimately a joy to see his research results successfully implemented and applied in emergency rescue and disaster relief.

"The next step is to put it into production and then transport it to where it is needed."

The latter breathed a long sigh of relief, and the worry and tension in his heart finally eased a little.

"Don't worry, we allocate production tasks based on the principle of proximity. Under the premise of safe location, we try our best to ensure that factories close to several high-risk river sections give priority to production. The only problem is that kind of highly water-absorbent resin. The process is special, and currently the manufacturers that can supply in large quantities are in Zhejiang and Shandong provinces, but the military has dispatched special transportation troops to ensure the smooth supply of raw materials."

In terms of disaster relief organizational capabilities, China claims that it is second, and no one dares to claim first.

"You have done everything you can, and leave the remaining tasks to us."

Ding Gaoheng stretched out his hand, patted Chang Haonan's shoulder, and said with emotion:

"Furthermore, it seems that our Comrade Xiao Chang, in addition to being an expert in researching military equipment, is also good at developing civilian technology."

The latter shook his head gently:

"Whether it is researching weapons and equipment or anything else, our ultimate goal is to protect the security of the country and its people. We achieve the same goal through different paths."

As a researcher with a military background, it’s great to develop new weapons and equipment, but the sense of accomplishment brought by rescuing people is definitely a brand new experience——

Since you have such ability, why not do it?

Ding Gaoheng was stunned when he heard this.

Some fragments from the corners of my memory came back into my mind.

It was an old friend, a senior, who said something similar before his death - "I don't love weapons, I love peace, but for peace, we need weapons."

"Well said, well said..."

His voice was low, almost muttering to himself.

In a daze, Ding Gaoheng seemed to have returned to the Gobi Desert more than ten years ago.

The earth trembled, the sky roared, and the smoke and flash of nuclear weapons explosion appeared before our eyes...

It took a few minutes for him to come back to his senses, and secretly told himself that time was urgent now, not the time to recall the past.

So, after quickly adjusting his mood, Ding Gaoheng raised his head again;

"By the way, judging from your appearance, you probably haven't had a good rest for a few days. I've asked someone to prepare breakfast and a room in the guest house for you. You can just go there and have a rest."

This is indeed the physical sense of handing over a pillow when drowsiness comes.

I had been in a state of nervous tension before and didn't feel it. Now I suddenly relaxed and felt sleepy.

"That's fine."

He knew that Ding Gaoheng was right, there was only so much he could do, and the subsequent tasks belonged to others.

…

In the next few days, it rained continuously.

One evening a week later, the Flood Control and Drought Relief Command Center near the Yangtze River Embankment in Jiangling.

A figure wearing a poncho was pacing back and forth anxiously inside.

It is said to be a command center, but it is actually a place temporarily built with several tents on a slightly higher ground. A set of special antennas are set up next to it to communicate with various monitoring points in front, as well as Jiangcheng and Jingcheng behind.

"Report to the deputy commander!"

The call team leader put down the radio and walked to the figure in three steps at a time:

"The Shashi Monitoring Station reported that the water level has reached 44.68 meters!"

Thanks to the new stratospheric communication relay technology, even if the ground communication station is interfered with or destroyed, the normal upload and delivery of information can still be maintained.

This may be the only good news at hand.

However, this "good news" brought him bad news like a bolt from the blue.

According to the "Severe Flood Prevention Plan" previously issued by the country, when the water level in Shashi exceeds 44.67 meters, flood diversion work should be prepared immediately.

But flood diversion is easy to say, but when it comes time to make a decision, it is extremely difficult.

In the past few days, an expert group has calculated that flood diversion will cause 921.34 square kilometers of land to be flooded, with a conservative estimated direct economic loss of nearly 20 billion yuan.

But if there is no flood diversion, the flood peak in the upper reaches will encounter the floods that have also formed in the middle and lower reaches, transferring all the pressure to the lower parts, especially Xunyang near the Poyang Lake system.

Moreover, once the Jiangling Yangtze River levee breaks, the entire downstream area, including the three towns of Jiangcheng and most of Gan Province, will become a swamp, and the losses will be even more incalculable.

The choice was placed in front of Niu Maosheng, deputy commander-in-chief of the General Defense Department.

"Flood diversion..."

He hesitated for a moment:

"I need to submit a report to request for final instructions on whether to divert the flood. But without further delay, all available forces will be mobilized now. People in the flood diversion area will be notified first, and all people in the flood diversion area must be moved to a safe area before 12 noon tomorrow. No one can be left out!”

Prepare for the best and prepare for the worst.

"yes!"

The call team leader quickly turned back to the equipment and began to deploy specific transfer work.

Soon, the shrill air raid sirens sounded, and TVs, radios, loudspeakers, and staff knocking on doors all began to announce the same content——

"Flood Diversion Preparation and Transfer Resettlement Headquarters Transfer Order"

"Where there is life, there is hope."

"As long as there are people around, a home can be rebuilt if it is destroyed..."

Heavy slogans passed through the streets and alleys, echoing over Gangneung.

Niu Maosheng clenched his fists and looked tense.

With a background in farmland water conservancy, he has been working on the front line of the water conservancy system since graduation. He has participated in and directed flood control and rescue work in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region and along the Yellow River many times, which can be said to be experienced in many battles.

But the current situation is far more serious than ever before.

Perhaps only the catastrophic flood of 1954, which he had not directly experienced, could be compared with it.

When he thought of the description of the flood in the files he had read, Niu Maosheng felt chills all over his body——

The number of people who died directly due to floods alone exceeded 30,000. If various secondary disasters are also included, the final number may be even higher by an order of magnitude.

Although reason tells him that the water conservancy facilities in the entire Yangtze River basin today are by no means comparable to those 40 years ago, and the disaster prevention and secondary disaster control capabilities are far superior to those of the past, but emotionally, it is impossible not to worry.

"Let's go and have a look on the embankment."

Niu Maosheng, who was restless, finally turned around and said to the entourage following him.

"But deputy commander, here..."

"There are other staff responsible here. Besides, the communication is still open. If there is anything important, just contact me directly."

He said, pointing to a portable radio device slung behind the back of a man next to him.

…

A few hours later, Niu Maosheng first took a passenger car, then transferred to a truck, and finally changed to walking, and finally arrived at the Gangneung Embankment.

Several people trotted forward, stood at attention, and saluted Niu Maosheng.

Due to the obstruction of the life jacket, he could not clearly see the military ranks of these people.

Fortunately, the leader quickly spoke:

"The commander of the 361st Regiment of the 121st Infantry Division of the 41st Group Army of the Guangzhou Military Region, Huang Linqun, reports to Comrade Deputy Commander-in-Chief!"

This number made Niu Maosheng somewhat familiar.

Then, with the help of the searchlight that swept across the scene, he saw a fluttering red flag not far away.

There is a row of large golden characters written on it.

"Tashan Defense Hero Group"

Pagoda Mountain has no tower and no mountain. The four vertical directions are both towers and mountains.

And this unit was the former 28th Regiment of the Fourth Column of Dongye.

Seeing the People's Liberation Army soldiers on standby on both sides of the embankment, Niu Maosheng finally felt relieved.

"Tell me briefly about the overall condition of the embankment."

"yes!"

Huang Linqun nodded, then led Niu Maosheng and his party onto the embankment:

"The designed flood diversion area covers about half of Gong'an County, and is mainly composed of the North Gate (flood gate), South Gate (control gate) and 208 kilometers of embankments. We are now on the embankments..."

"The North Gate is located near Taipingkou where the Hudu River and the Yangtze River meet in the northern part of the Public Security Bureau. It consists of a 54-hole steel arc gate about 1 kilometer long. There is also a layer of siltation embankment outside, which is fixed. If you want to discharge floods, you need By blasting open the siltation embankment, the floodwaters from the Yangtze River are released, and then the North Gate is opened to allow the floodwaters to enter the flood diversion area."

"According to the design, the maximum inflow flow of the North Gate is 8,000 cubic meters per second. If the water level in Shashi cannot be reduced by opening the North Gate, we need to blast the Lalinzhou embankment about 4 kilometers east of us and cooperate with the North Gate to divert the flood into the Jingjiang River. Flood diversion area…”

"..."

"Captain Huang!"

Just as the two people were looking towards the flood gate with the help of searchlights, another soldier also wearing camouflage uniform suddenly ran over from behind.

Because of the darkness, I couldn't see my face clearly, but my voice sounded much younger.

"Captain Huang, are we really going to blow up the embankment tomorrow?"

This question was obviously not something Huang Linqun could answer, so he had no choice but to raise his head and look at Niu Maosheng.

"Little comrade, I am Niu Maosheng, deputy commander-in-chief of the General Defense Force. May I ask who you are..."

The latter walked closer to the other party. Although he still couldn't see his rank clearly, he could at least tell that he was a lieutenant.

The other party called Huang Linqun Captain Huang instead of directly the leader, which seemed to indicate that he was not from the 361st Regiment.

"Reporting to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief, I am Liu Zibei, commander of the Explosives Company of the 41st Group Army Engineer Regiment. I am currently under the command of the 361st Regiment!"

Sure enough, it seems that if it is decided to release the flood, the related blasting work will be completed by him.

"How are the preparations for flood relief going at present?"

Niu Maosheng did not answer the other party's question directly, but asked first.

"A total of 50 tons of explosives have been laid on the Beizha Barrage and Lalinzhou River Embankment, and blasting can be carried out at any time as long as orders are received."

Company Commander Liu's first answer was completely professional, so he was very straightforward.

But then his tone changed:

"But deputy commander-in-chief, I... I have learned blasting for more than ten years, and I can't just carry out a real mission for the first time... just to flood people's homes..."

"My hometown is in Hunan Province, and I know what it's like after being flooded..."

Liu Zibei's words hit Niu Maosheng's heart like a heavy hammer.

But he also knows that the most important thing to consider whether to release floods is to comprehensively consider various risks.

It was raining heavily in the dark night, and the tension before the war made people breathless.

Niu Maosheng did not go back, but stayed with Huang Linqun. In the meantime, he and the latter met the commander of the 121st Division and listened to his report, but in the end he returned to the location where the flood was planned to be discharged.

Late that night.

Another group of people came to the embankment of Jiangling.

Niu Maosheng was the first to recognize the identity of the leader.

"Commander-in-Chief!"

The other party nodded, and then said in a unique, slow but rhythmic tone:

"I have received the authorization to issue a flood diversion order, but before making a final decision on whether to divert the flood, I still hope to listen to the opinions of water conservancy experts and front-line PLA commanders and fighters."

Several engineers and meteorological experts from the Hydropower Research Institute nearby looked at each other.

Finally, one person stood up as a representative and reported:

"Reporting to the Commander-in-Chief, the sixth wave of flood peak will reach Jiangling tomorrow, but this wave of flood peak is of a pointed and thin type. Although it is very high, the total water volume is limited. If combined with the ultra-elevation flood storage of Geheyan Reservoir and the Gezhouba Power Plant to reduce the flow, If all the reservoirs in Sichuan and Chongqing are locked, the ultimate water level should be around 45.25 meters, which is still below the theoretical limit of the levee, so if you want to survive the crisis safely, you must use enough manpower to defend it to the death!"

This judgment undoubtedly brings a glimmer of hope to the flood diversion area.

However, the commander-in-chief also had an engineering background and knew that the theoretical limit was actually far beyond the target limit during design. The middle part was just a safety margin due to the inability to guarantee 100% accuracy during the engineering calculation process.

Since it is a margin, it must not be completely reliable.

If we really have to choose to resist, the pressure will be on the cadres, masses and military commanders responsible for guarding the embankment.

His eyes swept across Huang Linqun standing in front of him.

"Captain Huang, now is not the time to show off, how confident do you think you can be?"

Huang Linqun did not answer directly, but took a step forward.

He is just a leader, and no matter what answer he gives, it has no decision-making significance.

"Commander-in-Chief, our 361st Regiment is the best at defense. Since we were able to defend Tashan back then, we can also defend Jiangling today."

"People are here on the levee!"