Yang Ruqing stepped in to smooth things over: "He's a general who leads soldiers into battle. The most he draws and the most people see are maps."

"Mu Zichuan, don't compare your weaknesses to his strengths. Everyone has their own areas of expertise and weakness!" Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Well, yes, Qing'er is right!" Luofengtang quickly said.

Mu Zi Chuan also smiled and nodded.

His gaze returned to the drawing before him, and he said to Yang Ruqing, "To relieve the disaster, we must first control the flood."

"Qing'er, you're quick-witted. How to deal with this flooding, I need your advice!"

"I wonder, have you formulated a complete strategy in your mind?"

Upon hearing Mu Zichuan's question, Yang Ruohua smiled faintly.

"I do have strategies for water management. However..."

She deliberately played coy and asked, "Would you like to hear the worst-case scenario, the middle-of-the-road option, or the best-case scenario?"

"Ah?"

Mù Zǐchuān widened his eyes, Luò Fēngtáng was also astonished.

Mù Zǐchuān hurriedly said: "Listen to the best plan first!"

Yang Ruqing said, "I personally suggest you try the backup plan first. Why not? Because if you can't even accomplish the backup plan, there's no chance of succeeding with the primary one!"

Mu Zichuan said, "Alright, Qinger, go ahead and tell me. I'm all ears!"

Yang Ruqing nodded and began to speak about her strategy.

“My worst-case scenario is this:

Her slender fingers tapped lightly on the drawing before her.

Here is your translated text:

"To manage water, it's better to dredge than to dam."

“We'll divert all the standing water in our area, from these waterways and ditches.”

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Drive them to the river on the east, that river's water is connected to the Anjiang River."

"The Jianghuai River flows eastward into the sea." she said.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Mù Zǐchuān earnestly looked at the river course marked on the drawings and said, "The idea is not bad, but if we want to divert the stagnant water here to the big river over there, our current canals are not enough, are they?"

Yang Ruqing said, "If we want to improve water flow, relying solely on the existing waterways won't be enough."

“So we have to dig a canal, all the way to the big river.” she said.

Mú Zǐchuān pondered for a moment: “Digging a canal requires manpower, this will be a major project.”

Yang Ruqing said: "In my three strategies of upper, middle, and lower, all of them require digging canals. All of them need to mobilize a large amount of manpower, material resources, and financial resources. This is inevitable."

That soil, that water, if they could just walk on their own, wouldn't we have to worry about this so much?

Mu Zi Chuan must have thought she went with him, he nodded in agreement.

>

“Qing’er, your strategy is quite good. Why set it as the worst-case scenario?” he asked again.

"I'd like to hear where you think the strategy falls short."

Yang Ruqing smiled.

Lift up two fingers: "There are two main aspects."

"First, we dug a canal to drain the accumulated water here."

"When the sun comes out again, summer will continue, and then the ground will be dry. Who knows, maybe when it's time to plant late rice, we'll face another drought."

Let me know if you have other text you'd like me to translate! ?

Secondly, we can divert all our water into that large river. As a result, the water level of the large river will rise rapidly.

"The farmland and villages on both sides of the riverbank suffered further damage."

“If the houses in that area only get flooded halfway right now, they might be flooded all the way to the roof. That wouldn’t be a solution to the problem, so I’m going with a band-aid fix.” she said.

Mu Zichuan pondered the meaning deeply, nodding secretly. It was indeed so!

“Well then, Qing’er, I want to hear your plan.” he said.

Yang Ruqing said, "The middle strategy is very simple. It's just making some modifications to the lower strategy."

Here is the translated content: Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

"Oh?" Mu Zichuan raised an eyebrow.

If I were to say that I was attracted to her over the past two years, it would be because of her unique personality and the touch of charm in her transforming beauty.

And now, her intelligence amazes him as well!

"What kind of changes?" he pressed.

Yang Ruqing said, "Long vines bear gourds."

"What does it mean?" he became even more curious.

At the edge, Luofeng Tang also pricked up his ears and listened with relish.

Yang Ruqing said, "The ditches we're going to dig are made of vines. We'll build them along the edges of the ditches, and then dig some fish ponds similar in size to Lao Da's pond behind the village. Those will be our melons."

"We can channel the water into the ponds along the riverbanks. This way, it allows us to drain the water more quickly and alleviate the pressure on the main river."

Furthermore, Maotang can serve as a reservoir for storing water. When droughts occur, and there's no rain for ten or half a month, we won't have to worry about our crops and livestock dying of thirst!

"What do you think of this idea?" she asked.

Both Mu Zichuan and Luo Fengtang wore thoughtful expressions.

Then, Luofengtang clapped his hands and said excitedly, "The vines are connected to the melons. This method is good, ensuring a harvest even during drought or floods!" Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate!

Mu Zi Chuan also nodded repeatedly: "Yes, it is indeed a perfect solution. However, this means the workload will be significantly larger."

Yang Ruqing smiled: "One sheep is let out, and a flock of sheep is also let out."

"Since we're organizing people to dig canals, it might as well be a good time to dig a few ponds for storing water. It wouldn't hurt."

Let me know if you have other text you'd like me to translate!

Luo Fengtang said: "The predecessors planted the trees, and the later generations enjoyed the shade. Everyone put in a little effort now, and in the future, it will be a good deed for the whole village, and all the descendants will benefit!"

>

Mu Zi Chuan pondered for a moment, his eyes flashing with a determined light.

“Alright, then I shall set off for the county tomorrow to present this flood control strategy to the two imperial envoys!” he said.

At hearing this, Luofengtang was surprised.

“What? Aren't you here from the imperial court to help us manage the water? What are your plans? You can't just say and do whatever you want, right?” Let me know if you have any other text you'd like me to translate! ?

Mu Zichuan was embarrassed.

He rubbed his hands together and said, "I am ashamed, I am ashamed."

“The Emperor has sent Xu and Zhang, two high officials, as imperial envoys to Anning County to oversee flood relief and water management.”

“As a disciple of Zhang DaRen and also a native of Wang Hai, Zhang DaRen took me with him.”

“As he was busy managing the overall situation, he entrusted me with the task of water management in the Qing Shui Town area.”

This content is already in English. Did you perhaps mean to translate something else? Please provide the text you'd like me to translate.

“So, this flood control strategy, I still need to go back and report it to him.” Mu Zichuan patiently explained.

Luo Fengtang suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. I'll take you to town by boat tomorrow, and when you get to town, you should be able to take a carriage to the county."

Muzi Chuan nodded: "Then I'll trouble Tang Ya Zi with this."

Luo Fengtang laughed heartily and waved his hand. "Hey, what's the point of talking about this? You're here doing things for your fellow villagers, working for their well-being, of course I'm going to help you."

At the edge, Yang Ruohua spoke again.

"By the way, Mukizukawa, I've heard from the villagers for a long time that a high-ranking official in the capital has taken a liking to you and even accepted you as his student."

“That official is this trip's envoy, right?” she asked for confirmation again.

Muzi Chuan nodded. "Yes, that's right."

A spark of gossip ignited in Yang Ruoheng's eyes.

"I'm afraid I can't say. What high official position did that Imperial Commissioner Zhang hold in the capital?" she asked again.

Mu Zi Chuan was taken aback, he didn't expect her to ask about this.

"My master was a Grand Scholar of the Imperial Academy and one of the Three Elders of the Cabinet," Mu Zichuan said.

He also has another identity, which he doesn't plan to tell Yang Ruqing about for the time being.

Master Zhang, is still the Grand Prince's tutor.