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墨書 Inktalez
“Is there Piping?! Or is it on the New Dike?!” Both the Company Commander and I were taken aback. This was serious!
Piping refers to the phenomenon during the Flood Season when water flows from the riverbank through the soil gaps at the base of the dike, infiltrating into the dike (known as seepage). Due to the confinement of the surrounding walls, it creates a localized flow resembling a pipe. This special seepage flows through highly permeable layers and, after entering the dike underground, still exerts significant pressure, which can break through the cohesive soil cover and carry away the underlying silt and fine sand, resulting in a phenomenon known as piping or sand boiling. The development of piping is most rapid with "flowing soil." It can hollow out the nearby sand layers beneath the dike or sluice gate, leading to a sudden drop in the dike or sluice gate structure, causing a Breach disaster. If not addressed promptly, it will erode the sand layers beneath the dam foundation, leading to a sudden collapse of the dam structure and resulting in a Breach failure. The outlet diameter of piping can be as small as an ant hole and can reach several tens of centimeters; there may be one or two outlets at least, or even clusters of outlets known as boiling springs, forming “sand rings.” Sometimes it also manifests as soil bulging (known as cowhide bags), swelling, floating, and cracking. Therefore, piping is one of the most severe hazards, and once discovered, it must be dealt with immediately.
Without hesitation, the Company Commander asked, “Where is it?!”
The Local Leader smiled and said, “It’s just on the outskirts of the city. It’ll take about half an hour to drive back from here. Uh, Comrade, you need to hurry; right behind the Embankment is the suburban Development Zone where many villages are located!”
The Company Commander turned around and said to me, “Pass it down; the Entire Camp must mobilize immediately! I’ll request support from the regiment later!”
“Yes!” I quickly ran over to where the sandbags were piled up. As soon as I raised my head upon reaching our side, I was stunned.
It had rained heavily for a while but was still coming down. However, at that moment when we had just been talking, everyone—officers and soldiers alike—was sprawled on the ground resting. Some leaned against the dike railing while others lay on sloped surfaces; some were gasping for breath, some were sitting and gulping down water, and there were even those who had fallen asleep leaning against trees on sloped ground.
I was about to shout for everyone to gather but found myself unable to speak at that sight.
Everyone was indeed exhausted. After a night of turmoil without rest, they had rushed directly to carry sandbags weighing over a hundred pounds each. Each person had to pick them up and run; some had fallen down with no one having time to help them up. In this crowd engaged in emergency rescue efforts, you could hardly distinguish between officers and soldiers or their ages because everyone was covered in mud. Their faces were somewhat clearer due to rainwater washing them off; however, many people's clothes were so caked with mud that their camouflage patterns were completely unrecognizable. It was nothing like those promotional images circulating online where everyone appeared clean and tidy.
I figured that if it weren’t raining and there wasn’t any water on the ground, everyone would surely fall asleep within five minutes. I truly felt reluctant to wake them up.
At that moment, the Company Commander arrived with someone who looked like a local official. He grabbed me and shouted, “Company Commander Wang! What are you dawdling for?! The situation is urgent! Didn’t I tell you to assemble your troops?!”
I turned to look at him and pointed ahead. “Company Commander, look!”
The Company Commander’s face turned red with anger; he was about to scold someone when his gaze fell upon the scene before him. Suddenly he froze for several seconds. In that moment, I sensed many emotions in his eyes—gratitude, shock, pride, and also helplessness.
The Company Commander hesitated for a full minute before finally blowing the Assembly Whistle. As everyone stood up, swaying slightly at the sound piercing through the rain curtain, I noticed something shimmering in the Commander’s eyes.
After blowing the whistle, the Company Commander casually took a large megaphone from a nearby Squad Leader and hoarsely began to speak, “Comrades! You’ve all worked hard! I know you’re tired, but we are the only Flood Emergency Response Team here, and the safety of hundreds of thousands of Fellow Villagers rests on our shoulders! No matter what, we must ensure the safety of the Embankment! The emergency is our command! Everyone, gather your tools and set off!”
After finishing this statement, the Company Commander hesitated for a moment and added, “On the Vehicle, remember to rest and eat your rations!”
Without any complaints, everyone quickly moved to gather their tools and headed towards the Embankment. Just as I was about to join them, the Company Commander grabbed me and pointed to a nearby official-looking person. “There’s a Guide from the Village Officials; he’ll ride with you in the front vehicle! The Embankment is quite long, and we might not have enough people, so we may need to split up for inspections. Keep in constant contact via radio!”
“Yes!” I replied sharply and turned to run down.
As I entered the truck's cabin, my muddy clothes instantly made a mess of the clean interior. I awkwardly apologized to the driver, an Old Sergeant who had just been driving back and forth transporting sandbags. He smiled at me, “What’s this little mess? The Company Commander Wang is still being polite?! If you were clean, I wouldn’t even let you on my truck!”
I chuckled and turned to help pull up the Village Official who was struggling below. The Dongfeng Iron Horse Truck was simply too tall; it seemed like this guy was riding in such a vehicle for the first time. After fumbling around for a while below, he still couldn’t find a handhold to climb up.
I pulled him inside without bothering to exchange pleasantries and switched on the radio left in On the Vehicle. “Is everyone on board yet?!”
Before long, reports started coming in: “First Row complete!” “Second Squad complete!” “Three Rows complete!”
With one Company Commander leading one Unit, we couldn’t afford any delays! I made a quick decision and turned to the driver. “Drive! Head to that city’s Embankment we passed earlier!”
The roaring Iron Horse Vehicle thundered forward, leading a long convoy into the wind and rain.
With about half an hour left until arrival, I should have taken this time to rest. However, for some reason, I felt completely unable to sleep. What was happening over there? The Local Leader had been so vague earlier; it wasn’t clear whether there were Piping issues or not. I truly felt uncertain. Turning my head towards the silent middle-aged man beside me, I said, “Fellow villager, could you please give me an update on the situation?”
The middle-aged man hurriedly replied, "Oh, leader, please don't be polite!"
"It's like this!" The man hesitated for a moment but eventually revealed the truth.
"I’m from Oxhead Village. Our village is right behind the newly constructed Embankment. Before the New Dike was built, we were almost flooded every year, and the losses were significant. When they built the New Dike, it was supposed to withstand floods that occur once every ten years. Last year, the New Dike seemed fine; during the Flood Peak, everyone went up to watch the excitement, and nothing happened. But this year, after one or two Flood Peaks, there have been some leaks in several places of the Embankment. Right behind the Embankment is our home; we can't afford to be careless. We reported the situation, but no one took it seriously until yesterday!"
As the middle-aged man spoke, he began to stutter again. I felt a surge of anger and grabbed him, saying, "What’s going on? Can't you be clear?! Do you see me and my over a hundred people here? Don’t put us in danger!"
His face turned beet red as he suddenly blurted out a few words: "Breach! A hole has opened up just recently; I came to seek help! Luckily, the leader saw you all coming and asked for your assistance!"
I was taken aback! Piping and Breach are two different matters! I nearly jumped up! "How big is it?! Is it serious?!" If it's a large breach, it could get worse quickly! We wouldn't make it in time!
The middle-aged man hurriedly waved his hands. "It's not very serious! It's just a small section that got washed away, like that Gap you just saw—only about two or three meters wide!"
I frowned and said, "Speed up!" I told the driver; the piling equipment was still at the Technical Company! I wondered if they would catch up.
I tightened my grip on the walkie-talkie. Should I report to the Company Commander? But since I hadn't seen the actual situation yet, I decided to wait until we arrived on-site to report.
The half-hour felt like an eternity; I was anxious but felt that we were moving too slowly. I feared that if we arrived late and found the Embankment had collapsed, it would be a disaster!
"Did you not organize anyone on-site to try and block the leak with sandbags? As far as I know, there should be patrols on duty and villagers participating in blocking leaks, right? There must be an emergency plan!" I asked irritably.
"How could we organize anything? As soon as they heard there was a leak, aside from a few Village Officials and those sent to patrol the Embankment, farmers from nearby villages ran away faster than rabbits! They were scared and rushed back to move their belongings! Some of our Village Officials sat on the dike cursing and crying."
"Oh!? What about you? Why aren't you running?!" I said, a bit irritated, my tone becoming less polite.
"Run?! Where would I run to?! Once the Embankment collapses, what good is running? It's better to ask the Old Guardian for help and get the People's Liberation Army to block the breach," the middle-aged man shook his head self-deprecatingly.
"You..." I was at a loss for words, and there was silence in the car for a moment.
Outside, it seemed the rain had stopped. The windshield wipers ceased their movement, and the view ahead gradually opened up. I could clearly see the convoy moving along a wide concrete road, about four or five meters wide. To the right of the road stood a tall Embankment, rising about ten meters high, with plenty of grass growing on its slope. There seemed to be trees up there as well, and after driving for a while, I even spotted a red banner on the slope—some real estate promotional advertisement.
Seeing my expression, the Village Officials smiled awkwardly. "Well, we're almost there. This is all part of the upper planning. The area up there is flat, with a two or three-meter-wide concrete road, and trees planted beside it that can accommodate vehicles. The Embankment is designed to create a riverside scenic area—a win-win."
I remained silent; the closer we got to our destination, the more nervous I felt.
"We're here! Just ahead!"
As he pointed, my anxiety heightened. I dreaded seeing torrents of floodwaters cascading down onto the road and witnessing scenes of devastation all around.
(To be continued; tomorrow will be even more exciting!)
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