Chapter 991: Sailing in Headwind

The shorter the opening is, the faster the water flowing through the breach will be, and the more difficult it will be to block it. In water conservancy projects, "XX successful closure" is often reported as a major project node. Firstly, this is because this link has a clear significance for dividing the project stages, and secondly, it is because it is difficult and deserves special mention.

"Prepare to drive the boat over and sink it to block the final breach." said a comrade from the breach blocking command center as he looked at the increasingly rapid water flow.

At the water's edge ahead, a wire gabion was rolled down. As soon as it entered the water, it was swept forward by the rushing current and quickly disappeared.

This is a hanging river. The water flow is already fast when it breaks, and when it is blocked to a certain width, the water flow becomes even faster.

At this point, the water flow had reached the point where the material could be thrown in and the water would run away. Comrades at both ends of the breach could even see beads of sweat on each other's faces, but it was difficult to move forward.

The gabion can no longer be made bigger, otherwise it will be completely impossible to move it. Moreover, the breach must be sealed quickly at this time, otherwise if such turbulent water continues to wash it for a while, it is likely that more than just the efforts of the past few days will be wasted.

"Okay, I'll deploy it right away."

Not long after, an iron-hulled ship loaded with stones slowly came over from a temporary anchorage not far away. This type of diesel-powered ship, commonly known as a "motor sailboat", was a common means of water transportation at that time.

A rope pulled from the opposite dam was quickly hung on the bow of the boat, and the driver on the boat fixed the operating handle to the highest forward gear. Don't get me wrong, it's not "forward four".

Then he got off the boat. The rest of the journey was extremely dangerous, as he had to rely on the rope on the bow to control the direction.

Everything was ready. The commander on the south side of the breach waved the red flag in his hand, and the comrades on the north side of the breach immediately started the winch.

With the help of the winch and the ship's own power, the iron-hulled ship sailed towards the breach.

Comrades looked at the ship with hope, as it was the last and largest blocking material.

"Attention, be careful!" The boat was moving forward in the current. As it got closer and closer to the breach, its speed was getting faster and faster. This was no longer the result of its own power and winch, but the increasingly rapid current that was carrying the boat forward.

At this time, the direction of the ship was completely out of control. The rope between the winch and the hull was too parallel to the dam, and the rope could not hold back the bow that was being carried by the current and plunged into the breach prematurely.

According to the plan, the bow of the ship should pass through the breach first, and then move towards the breach under the impact of the water flow, with the bow stuck on the north side and the stern stuck on the south side, just enough to block the breach. The rest is just a matter of reinforcement.

But the extremely turbulent water flow at the breach destroyed everything.

The bow of the motor sailer had been pushed out of the breach and was charging forward stubbornly.

Amid the exclamations of the comrades, “Bang…Bang…Bang…”

After a few crisp breaking sounds, the mooring piles at the bow were completely torn apart, and the iron-hulled ship rushed out of the breach and rushed into the distance.

Even some of the winch's fixing bolts were broken and it tilted to one side.

"No, the impact is too great!" said a comrade.

"Should we change the plan? We need to act quickly. There is not much time left for the downstream reservoirs to recover. The flood is now approaching the top of the dam! Moreover, the river bank at the breach cannot withstand such a long period of erosion." said another comrade.

Even the winch was pulled away. It seems that the force was too great.

"Reset the winch! Try again!" The commander made a quick decision.

They prepared two boats in case of accidents.

"But now it seems that the force is too great, and the winch we prepared is ineffective."

"Thicken the steel cables, weld more cable piles, and reinforce the winch fixing facilities. Let's try again! At the same time, organize a commando team. If it doesn't work, I will take the lead and go down to fill it myself. We must crawl forward little by little until we have crawled through these ten meters!"

The best way at this time is to use a boat. After all, once it succeeds, the rest will be very simple. Any other method will be extremely difficult and dangerous, and may not work.

So no matter what, the boats that are ready should be given a try.

"Okay! If you want to go in the water, I'll accompany you!"

The comrades acted quickly. Those on the north side tried their best to return the winch to its position, while some comrades were trying to throw the rope over again.

A comrade picked up the mobile phone and said, "Ship No. 2, come over here to the original mooring position and reinforce the mooring piles first."

The motorboat not far away started up slowly amid black smoke and rattling sounds, and drove over, getting faster and faster.

Several welders who were originally welding iron cages were holding their tools and waiting for the ship to dock.

As the boat got closer, the comrades were eager to try.

Then the boat went straight ahead at its highest speed.

This driver's skills are not good enough. The comrades were anxious and the commander grabbed the mobile phone and cursed.

"Ship No. 2! Ship No. 2! What the hell are you doing? Back up now!"

The calm voice of the driver of Ship No. 2 came from the walkie-talkie: "Commander, it's too late, and it's useless even if you reinforce it. The current is too fast! I'm an old hand, I know! I can still keep the direction in this kind of current. It's my ship, and I have experience. Believe me, I will definitely block the breach."

"No, come back! There's still time, there's still time!" "Commander, if we delay for one more minute, the reservoir downstream and the breach here will be more dangerous. My son studied engineering in college and told me about these things. I understand that temporary reinforced dams and dikes are not strong. If it happens again, everything may be over! If anything happens to me, tell my son that there is a hidden hole in the wall next to my bed, and inside is the money I saved for him to marry a wife."

Then, another chuckle came from the walkie-talkie: "Haha, Commander, don't worry, I have been driving this boat for many years, it will be fine."

There was a slight "hissing" sound, and the walkie-talkie fell silent.

At this time, the comrades on both sides of the breach had realized what had happened. They stopped what they were doing and looked at the motorboat charging towards the breach with tears in their eyes.

Under the impact of the water flow, the course of the motor sailboat kept twisting towards the breach, but the next moment, it would always return to its own course in a clever way and angle, keeping a distance from the river bank.

The motorboat battled wits and courage with the cunning and violent current, and struggled to push its bow through the breach.

"You must succeed! You must succeed!" His comrades encouraged him in their hearts.

Under the expectant gaze of the comrades, the motorboat, under the impact of the water flow, cleverly stuck its bow and stern at the north and south ends of the dam.

The overflowing water flow was visibly smaller.

The comrades on the shore cheered.

"Closer! Closer!"

"Great! Commandos, get ready!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry, rope, throw it onto the boat."

"..."

In the midst of this busy scene, the subdued water flow seemed unwilling to accept its defeat. It rose up on the side of the boat facing the river and began to exert its force.

"Ah! Not good!"

Amid the exclamations of the comrades, the side of the boat facing the river was quickly lifted up. There was a creaking sound of metal twisting, which was clearly audible amid the sound of the splashing water.

With a loud bang, the ship capsized completely, and most of the hull, including the cab, sank into the water, but the bow and stern were still firmly stuck on the two ends of the dam that were about to close.

"Comrade pilot! Comrade pilot is still in the boat!"

Although the water flowing through the hull still seemed a little fast, most of the flow was blocked by the hull of the motor sailboat. At this time, the gabions lowered into the water could be stabilized.

The only problem is that with this much water flowing, there is little chance of survival for those in the submerged cab.

The bow of the ship was facing north and the hull was capsized to the east. The remaining water flowed just over the submerged cabin.

"Assault team! Lower the gabions!" The commander had tears in his eyes. He did not forget the reason why the driver sacrificed himself - to block the breach!
The commandos quickly carried out the order. Their mission was to seize the opportunity to plug the breach. The headquarters would not abandon their comrades.

"Other comrades, follow me, let's find a way to rescue the driver!"

The cab was close to the south, which was right on their side.

Comrades acted quickly.

Putting aside the assault team that fought bravely and quickly closed the breach, on the rescue side, the comrades tried every possible way but were unable to get close to the cab that was blocked by the water flow from the embankment. One comrade tried to go into the water with a rope, but he was washed out by the current after taking just two steps. Fortunately, he grabbed a gabion that had just been lowered, so nothing happened.

Looking at the cab sinking in the rushing water five or six meters away, the comrades hoped for a miracle, but no one showed up. They knew that the hero might never come back.

More than ten minutes have passed since the boat capsized, and no matter how good the maneuvers are, there is little hope.

They didn't even know the name of the boat's pilot.

Tears flowed from their eyes, and then they wiped them away vigorously!

"Let's go! Put down the gabions! Block the breach! The sooner we block the breach, the sooner we can get the hero out!"

"Yes, block the mouth! Get the hero out as soon as possible!"

Gabions were pushed into the water one by one, and other people carried extra stones and sandbags and threw them into the water. The originally rampant water flow now seemed a little weak and could no longer carry the hope of rescue to a distant place.

The dam extended forward from the north and south ends bit by bit with determination. The comrades turned their grief into strength, forgetting everything else and focusing on only two goals.

Seal the breach as soon as possible!
Get the hero out as soon as possible!

At this moment, a comrade who stayed in the command tent rushed over, waving a walkie-talkie and with a happy face.

"Good news! Good news! The comrades on the helicopter have sent me good news!"

What good news? The commander stood up and took the walkie-talkie.

(End of this chapter)