In the early morning, it was drizzling. On the streets of Luoyang, the newspaper boy running was holding an umbrella in one hand and waving the newspaper in his hand with the other hand. At the same time, he shouted loudly: "Extra, Extra! The water conditions of the Yellow River are in critical condition!"

The shouts of people stopped, and some people took out copper coins and bought a newspaper from the newspaper boy, and immediately looked.

As he looked, his brows frowned.

Others feel uneasy when they see it, but when faced with inquiries, most newspaper buyers don’t say anything: Why should they read the newspapers they spend money to strangers for free?

Of course, there are also generous people who briefly said the "outside the name" headline news: "The government said that it has been raining everywhere during this period. If this continues, there will be heavy floods in the lower reaches of the Yellow River."

"Flooding!"

The person who heard this news was shocked and wanted to ask questions, but saw that the newspaper buyer was unwilling to say more. He was anxious and simply called the newspaper boy to approach him and pay for a newspaper to read it.

Since the beginning of summer, not to mention other places, in Luozhou, it rains a lot. Regardless of the rise in the water level of the Yellow River, even the Luo River outside Luoyang City, the water level rises sharply is also seen by everyone.

Now, I heard the newspaper officially publishing news that the court believed that the possibility of flooding in the Yellow River was very high, and I couldn't help but fight to the public and the people didn't pay attention.

As newspaper boys ran around the streets and alleys in the rain, more and more people learned about this big news, and the news that "the possible flood in the Yellow River" was soon spread to all directions by passers-by.

In private, Zheng Tong, who was having breakfast, looked at the newspaper he had just delivered. The title "The risk of flooding in the Yellow River" in the newspaper was particularly conspicuous.

As the Minister of Shangshu Youpushe, Zheng Tong was ranked as the prime minister and was one of the decision-makers of the dynasty's national policy. Therefore, he was not interested in this "news" that looked like "old news", but the news could be published in newspapers and was one of the resolutions of the Zhengshitang.

After several days of discussion, the court had formulated a series of flood prevention, flood control and disaster relief response plans, and immediately arranged them. It also held a heated discussion on how to let the people in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River know about the possible flood.

One view is that if the news that "the Yellow River is likely to have floods" is widely publicized, it will cause panic in various places. It is unknown what impact the court will have on flood prevention and flood control work.

For the sake of safety, some people think that it is not appropriate to promote it at present, and only need to let the local governments know what they think.

If the water level of the Yellow River does rise to the dangerous limit next, it will not be too late for local governments to announce the announcement, and it will not delay the transfer of the people, nor will it give the rumors to ferment.

As the saying goes, three people become tigers. If the court announced the news now, the news might be spreading, from the beginning "the possible flood in the Yellow River" to the later "The Yellow River has flooded, flooding countless fertile fields in the middle and lower reaches, and countless people have died."

This will cause unnecessary panic and seriously affect the government's flood prevention and control work.

Another view is that with the convenience of transportation (shipping) and the improvement of various news channels, the court is fully capable of quickly publishing the correct news and allowing a large number of people to know the correct news.

The "official news channels" that the imperial edicts and residences reported, and the "official news channels" of local governments, plus newspapers, chambers of commerce, guilds, caravans and escorts, as well as restaurants and storytellers in various cities, spread the water of the Yellow River.

"Union between officials and the people", such a channel of information dissemination is very reliable.

The sooner the news is released, many unnecessary losses can be recovered as much as possible. The court dominated public opinion and passed the news to the people in a short period of time, so that those rumors would not have the chance to spread.

It is also to show the confidence of the court to the people from one aspect: the water level of the Yellow River is under the control of the court. Whether it is flood prevention or flood control, the court is confident, so there is no need for everyone to panic.

The court should show confidence so that the people will have confidence in the court. If the court acts concealed and is secretive, then don’t blame the people for being suspicious and spreading rumors everywhere.

This is what the emperor said, so the officials of the three high-ranking officials quickly reached a consensus and decided to announce the news strategically, so that officials and people from all over the country should pay attention to flood prevention and disaster relief.

The so-called strategy refers to "preheating". At the beginning, let everyone know that the water level of the Yellow River has risen rapidly due to rain, so it is "possible" to cause floods in the Yellow River.

In the second phase, news can be released that because there has been a lot of rainfall in various places recently, the water level of the Yellow River is close to the warning line, so the possibility of flooding increases.

In the third phase, a message was released saying that because the water level of the Yellow River reached the warning line, the flood prevention situation was serious, so everyone should pay attention.

In the fourth stage, it is said that because the water level of the Yellow River exceeds the cordon and approaches the red line, the flood control situation is severe. Everyone should always pay attention to the notices of the local government and transfer the property to a higher terrain in advance, just in case.

Finally, it is the most critical moment: there is a danger of breaking the Yellow River embankment in a certain section of the river. Please follow the local government’s command and evacuate and transfer immediately!

Such "warming up" can allow the people to gradually accept it, so that they will not hear "The Yellow River is about to flood, and if everyone doesn't run away, they will die." This is so scared that they are at a loss and everything will come out.

This is the power of public opinion. How to use it well is a matter that must be paid attention to for the court.

The court should publicize the progress of the Yellow River water situation, guide public opinion, and never fabricate rumors and spread them to survive.

But you have to grasp the degree of what kind of news you can say and what kind of news you can’t say.

For example, at a critical moment, we have to open the gate to discharge flood areas. This plan is now strictly confidential.

Therefore, after several meetings, the Political Affairs Hall formulated a major plan and was approved by the government. It decided to establish the "Shandong Water Control Ambassador" envoy to address the situation of the Yellow River this time, and was fully responsible for the Yellow River flood control, flood control and rescue, disaster relief and other matters.

Shandong refers to the east of Taihang Mountain, which actually includes the lower reaches of the Yellow River basin, as well as the middle reaches of the Yellow River from Dizhu Mountain to Luoyang. The water control ambassador sent the department to the shelter on the edge of the Yellow River, so that the department directly coordinates flood control, flood control and disaster relief matters in all prefectures and counties in the Yellow River Basin.

It also includes announcements of various news, as well as the allocation, transportation and water control ambassadors of various disaster relief materials in various places, and directly report various matters about water control to the emperor, and go out with peace of mind. They can mobilize local garrisons to fight against the flood in an emergency.

If there is a general who refuses to obey the order, the general below the founding general, including the county magistrate with the general's name, the water control ambassador can take action first and then report.

Zheng Tong put down the newspaper and finished breakfast. The housekeeper appeared at the right time and reported to him that the car was ready.

Zheng Tong nodded, got up and changed his clothes. He wanted to change into his official uniform and go to the preparatory office to handle official duties as the Shandong water control ambassador.

In a blink of an eye, thirty years have passed. The down-and-out Liang State official who set up a fortune-telling stall on the streets of Jiangling was now the priest of the dynasty. Zheng Tong, who was full of confidence, was appointed as the right servant of the Shangshu, and led the dispatch of Shandong's water control ambassador to circulate the restless Yellow River.
Chapter completed!