Wanli Ming Emperor

Chapter 255 Turbid waters tend to stagnate, and turbulent waters tend to flow back.

Some things want to go to heaven, some things want to stay on earth, but no matter what, it's not time to let them go yet.

In other words, it's unresolved.

Just like the emperor's sudden inspection of the Shuicicang in Xuzhou, with no clear beginning or end, all we could do was look up at Yunlong Mountain, hoping the emperor would quickly set off to continue his southern tour.

But this state of uncertainty often causes great anxiety.

The emperor's lingering presence has even affected the local officials' ability to carry out their duties normally.

The atmosphere at the Central River Branch Office of the Water Conservancy Bureau has been completely different from usual these past few days.

The Grand Canal of this dynasty is divided into four sections under its jurisdiction: the Huitong, Bei, Zhong, and Nan waterways. Each section has a Director of the Waterways Department. The waterways in the Xuzhou area are under the jurisdiction of Li Minqing, the Director of the Zhonghe Waterways Department.

Because the Zhonghe Branch Office is located in Lüliang Hong—the so-called Hong is probably a knot in the river channel, with huge rocks and mountains that reduce the flow; the terrain is dangerous and blocks the water flow—the Water Office is well-ventilated and well-lit, but some parts are not well-lit.

The midday sun shone through the latticed window frames and fell on the rosewood desk under the east window in the main hall.

The stack of documents on the desk was so high that it blocked the view of the doctor from basking in the warm sun as he rested at his desk.

The aide who came to collect the documents was clearly a trusted confidant of Physician Li for many years. Upon seeing this, he silently shook his head.

The aide quickly stepped forward and carried the mountain of documents aside: "Master, you may as well leave your afternoon nap for after lunch. You still need to see the light of day in the morning."

"Don't end up like Prefect Wu, who has developed floaters before he's even fifty."

The documents were moved aside, which at least revealed Li Minqing, the Water Conservancy Department official who had been catching up on sleep during the day.

He was in his early forties, short and wiry, with graying temples and three deep vertical lines on his forehead. A luxurious cashmere blanket was casually draped over his shoulders, revealing glimpses of his patched official robes underneath.

Li Minqing was asleep when he was suddenly exposed to light. He was a little uncomfortable and instinctively reached over to shield his eyes with his hand, causing the cashmere blanket to slip off his shoulder and fall to the ground.

Upon recognizing his trusted advisor, he snapped out of his reverie and eagerly asked, "You're back? Did anything go wrong during the Emperor's inspection of the water warehouse today?"

The staff member bent down, picked up the cashmere blanket, carefully folded it, and put it back in the drawer.

After confirming that no one was around, he walked up to Li Minqing and lowered his voice to reply, "The emperor returned to Yunlong Mountain early this morning, leaving only a few censors as a formality, and they left just now as well."

"It's perfect!"

Li Minqing felt relieved and breathed a sigh of relief.

The Emperor's announcement the day before yesterday that he would inspect the Shuicang warehouse was truly a bolt from the blue, especially with news coming from Pei County, with reports of sympathy from the Literary Alliance, investigations by newspapers, and even inquiries from a high-ranking Tantric monk.

Li Minqing was so frightened that he really thought someone had reported the matter in Xuzhou to the emperor, and he was terrified and lived in constant fear.

Fortunately... it was all bark and no bite.

After the aide finished speaking about what the master was most concerned about, he didn't forget to report on the details: "However, Prefect Wu said that the grain and fodder that were transferred cannot be returned easily at this time."

"The emperor is probably leaving in the next few days. To prevent the censors who arrive in Xuzhou from flattering the emperor and coming back to investigate, Prefect Wu asked us to be considerate and negotiate for another two or three days."

As the aide spoke, he secretly observed his master's expression.

Everyone in the local officialdom knew about the behavior of Wu Zhipeng, the prefect of Xuzhou. He was insatiably greedy and never gave back the benefits he had taken.

In addition, the state government is also in dire financial straits, so this loaned grain is likely to be a case of throwing good money after bad, with no chance of recovery.

Li Minqing was fully aware of this and shook his head vigorously.

Just two days ago, Wu Zhipeng was begging for help, but now he's taking advantage of the Water Resources Bureau.

This is utterly morally corrupt!
However, perhaps because he escaped a disaster, Li Minqing is now much more relaxed.

He was too lazy to argue with Wu Zhipeng, and only joked, "Next time you go to Prefect Wu's residence, take a few more Qinan Pearls and a few more paintings and calligraphy."

He got up and stretched his neck, not forgetting to straighten his patched official robe.

That being said, the staff member in charge of doing the dirty work seemed somewhat worried.

He pondered for a moment and then reminded him, "If the owner wants to do this favor, he should probably think carefully."

“The grain from the Water Department is not as plentiful as the grain from the Grand Canal. The grain we lent out freed up almost half of the rations for the laborers working on the Xuzhou River.”

"It's not a lot of money, but you can't just conjure up food out of thin air..."

As a retainer, it is my duty to find out what is lacking and make up for what is lacking.

Money is a small matter; it might not even be worth a meal for the entire staff of the Water Company.

Since the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, the River Works Office has held a grand banquet for three consecutive months after the first frost each year to celebrate the successful passage through the autumn flood season.

The feast began at dawn and lasted until nightfall, with willow wood toothpicks alone costing "hundreds and thousands of coins"; ingredients such as sea cucumber and shark fin cost "more than ten thousand coins".

Not only did she spend tens of thousands of gold coins to invite famous actors to perform in Suzhou, but she also had to provide elegant calligraphy and paintings. "Vendors from all walks of life gathered there, and all kinds of calligraphy, paintings and other fine things were available." If it weren't for the event, how could Consort Li have encountered people selling calligraphy and paintings on the roadside?

But money is money, and grain is grain. The officials had plenty of money, but the laborers on the riverbank were in a terrible situation.

Of course, the staff wasn't afraid the laborers would starve to death, but rather that these peasants would be ungrateful and cause trouble by gathering together to demand unpaid wages, thus disturbing their superiors.

Upon hearing this, Li Minqing shrugged and gave a disdainful smile.

Having served as an official for many years, he already possesses mature experience in dealing with such matters.

"This is easy!"

Li Minqing waved his hand confidently and said, "Here's what we'll do. Go and pass on a slogan to the workers on the riverbank and construction site, making sure they know it by heart."

"Tell me, the entire Water Conservancy Bureau, in support of Wanli's new policies..."

"Save one pound of grain every day!"

"With the overall situation of the nation above all else, anyone who dares to gather a crowd and cause trouble for the sake of a mere meal is opposing the new policies and is rebelling!"

The staff member's mouth practically stretched to his ears when he heard this.

He gave a thumbs up and exclaimed in amazement, "Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!"

What does it mean to communicate?

Even our Dr. Li only grasped the essence of it before making this request.

As for who has such a high position, that's up to the common people to figure out. If they can understand it, they might even stand tall when they're starving!
Li Minqing raised his chin, extremely satisfied with his ingenious idea.

He smacked his lips, still savoring the moment, and said, "Let them go hungry for a while. After we settle the accounts next time, I'll give them a few more meals of meat, and they'll be eternally grateful!"

The idea of ​​starving laborers was merely a minor matter of settling accounts, and Physician Li truly disdained it.

If we really want to clear our name, we'll have to have a Yellow River flood.

Since the reign of Emperor Taizu, this dynasty has stopped holding minor officials accountable for natural disasters; at most, governors and viceroys are demoted, which can be considered a clean sweep of the case.

For example, in the fourth year of the Longqing reign, the Yellow River roared and encroached on the Grand Canal. Eight hundred grain ships rushed to the scene one after another, and "30 shi of grain" were lost in one day. Along with the flawed accounts, everything was left completely blank.

Even later, in the fifth year of the Longqing reign, the Yellow River flowed downstream to Suiningkou; in the second year of the Wanli reign, the river breached its banks at Dangshan; and in the fifth year of the Wanli reign, the Yellow River breached its banks again at Cuizhen in Taoyuan… countless grain shipments were lost.

If he were to encounter such good fortune again, would Doctor Li really be so reluctant to let the laborers have a bite of meat?
Upon hearing this, the aide recalled those happy days and licked his lips in remembrance: "It's a pity that these three years have been peaceful. The river embankment that Governor Weng built back then is still the most considerate."

Weng Dali is such a good person.

He shared the profits from flood control with his subordinates, and was willing to stand up to the emperor even when he made a wrong judgment. He had a set of excellent qualities of protecting each other among officials, so why was he beheaded by the emperor?
In comparison, Pan Jixun is far inferior. Not only is he insensitive to human relationships, but he also spends his days engaging in bizarre and illogical practices like cement manufacturing to corrupt ancestral traditions. It's just that I don't know whose connections he's had, but he's managed to rise through the ranks over the years.

Good people don't live long, but evil people live for a thousand years!
Li Minqing's thoughts also wandered, and he swayed back into the armchair: "It's alright, how long can the dikes built by river workers who can't even get enough to eat last?"

"Let's just wait for the accounts to be settled."

After saying this, Li Minqing had nothing more to say.

He casually picked up an official document, covered it with his face, and went back to dozing off.

Before long, soft snoring gradually filled the drafty but dark signing hall.

……

Who will awaken first from this great dream?

After dealing with the emperor's inspection, Li Minqing and his men finally relaxed their tense nerves. With nothing to do all day, they caught up on the sleep they had missed during the previous days of tossing and turning.

After sleeping at the government office, he went home to sleep and slept soundly until the full moon.

As we all know, good days often bring good luck.

As soon as Li Minqing woke up, he heard some good news and instantly became fully alert.

"What? The emperor is setting off for Yangzhou?"

Li Minqing stopped the concubine who was helping him change his clothes and spat a mouthful of mouthwash into the washbasin.

Chang Sansheng, the deputy military commissioner of Xuzhou, sat arrogantly in Li Minqing's bedroom, acting as if he were no outsider.

He watched Li Minqing's concubine's departing figure and clicked his tongue, "Not bad."

Li Minqing ignored Chang Sansheng's hints and kept asking, "When is the emperor leaving?"

Chang Sansheng turned around and looked at Li Minqing with some dissatisfaction: "It's not that it's about to, it's already happened. Just now, I personally saw it off."

"The advance guard of the southern tour, the Hanlin Academy members, and the Grand Marshal's personal guards of the Five Armies Commandery all boarded the ship!"

Li Minqing listened with wide eyes.

After listening to the whole story, he finally couldn't help but open his mouth wide and laugh a few times.

Li Minqing snapped out of his daze, immediately ripped off his tattered official robes, and threw them on the ground!
"Cui'er! Bring me my finest silks!"

People are in high spirits when they have good news. Even his breathing was a grin and an eyebrow raising: "Why did the emperor leave in such a hurry? He didn't even have the big and small government offices see him off."

He would certainly be unwilling to welcome her, but if he were to see her off, he would definitely kowtow and kneel in a sincere manner.

Chang Sansheng lay on his side in the armchair, waiting for Li Minqing to change his clothes, and explained, "It is said that the Vice Censor-in-Chief Chen Wude advised the Emperor yesterday not to stay in local prefectures for too long, and the Emperor listened to him."

"However, it's mostly the emperor trying to glorify himself."

"According to the monks on the mountain, Imperial Noble Consort Li wanted to use the auspicious site of the Crane-Releasing Pavilion on Yunlong Mountain to give herself a title. However, the Emperor, for some reason, firmly refused, and the two began to argue fiercely."

"The emperor was so annoyed that he decided to ask Li Chunfang to mediate, but in reality he just wanted to file a complaint against her. That's why he set off south and headed straight for Yangzhou."

Li Minqing chuckled as he listened.

It seems that the rumors circulating in the public about unrest in the imperial harem may not be unfounded.

After a moment, Li Minqing also snapped out of his gossip and sighed with lingering fear, "These past few days have been like walking on thin ice, afraid of making any mistakes. Fortunately, it's all over now."

Chang Sansheng sighed with empathy, then said with some regret, "If the emperor had left a couple of days earlier, Zhang Chi wouldn't have gotten away."

Upon hearing this name, Li Minqing immediately frowned.

When they first targeted Zhang Zhan, they hesitated and didn't do things thoroughly, leaving behind this scourge who spread the impeachment documents that Zhang Zhan had been stopped from being executed.

Fortunately, he was buzzing around like a headless fly, and fortunately, Xiao Jiucheng hadn't lost his mind and still knew to communicate with him. Especially fortunately, from the prefect, the water management bureau, the military commissioner, the household affairs department, and the censors in Xuzhou, down to the county government, the gentry, and the scholars, everyone was in the same network.

Otherwise, Zhang Chi would really cause a huge mess.

Thinking of this, Li Minqing's face hardened: "Why don't we send someone to his hometown in Henan!"

You can run away from the monk, but you can't run away from the temple.

As he spoke, Li Minqing made a gesture of raising his palm and pulling diagonally.

Chang Sansheng shook his head and pressed down on Li Minqing's hand: "Our reach doesn't extend to Henan yet."

"Furthermore, although the emperor has left, there is still a group of advance officers behind him. The military commissioner will have to deal with Li Rusong, the advance officer in charge of the defense, in the next few days. He can't spare any time while the emperor is under his nose."

"It's better to act than to remain still. Let's send people to search first, and then settle accounts later!"

Li Minqing was unwilling, but had no choice: "That's the only way."

After saying this, the two fell silent for a moment.

Today was indeed a good day, and Li Minqing quickly shook off the unnecessary thoughts and regained his relaxed and comfortable state: "Let's not talk about these things anymore."

"Don't go back to work today, Brother Chang. Let's invite Prefect Wu and go to the opera house to listen to music."

Chang Sansheng, the deputy commissioner of the military affairs circuit, Wu Zhipeng, the prefect of Xuzhou, and Li Minqing, the director of the water conservancy department, were all frequent patrons of the opera—in fact, the backstage of this opera house was funded by the three of them.

Besides shared interests, they also have compatible hobbies.

Chang Sansheng readily agreed to the suggestion of listening to music and immediately ordered his subordinates to send a message to Prefect Wu Zhipeng, so that they could meet at the opera troupe.

Li Minqing hurriedly dressed and eagerly grabbed Chang Sansheng, wanting to head straight to the opera house he hadn't visited in several days: "Speaking of which, I just found a treasure a month ago, and we've been rehearsing for over a month. I'd like to invite you two brothers to give your evaluation later."

Following behind his cronies, Chang Sansheng generously guessed, "Baby? Could it be Governor Wang's new play, 'Distant Mountain Opera'? I heard the troupe just put it on."

Li Minqing, a stark contrast to his previous shabby appearance, dressed in fine clothes, carrying a parrot, and swaggered out of the mansion.

As the group walked down the street, the commoners wisely made way for Master Li.

"No, it's not that. Before autumn, I found a courtesan, and..."

Li Minqing, savoring the familiar sense of ease, lowered his voice and boasted mysteriously to Chang Sanxing, "He bears a striking resemblance to the portrait of Emperor Jianwen! Those eyebrows, those expressions... and his surname is Ju!"

Chang Sansheng looked at Li Minqing with a speechless expression.

He had thought she was a beauty, but it turned out to be nothing special. He didn't understand what was so special about her and casually replied, "So what if she's surnamed Ju?" Li Minqing, immersed in his own amusement, laughed and said, "Brother Chang has never been to the Southeast, so you may not know that people from Guangdong and Guangxi don't distinguish between Ju and Zhu."

"The opera troupe has already arranged the role for him, and he has been promoted to the supporting role. Today, he will be performing the play about Cao Mao."

Chang Sansheng, fanning himself with a paper fan in the winter, exuded the air of an elegant scholar: "Very well, I recently had the good fortune to purchase Wang Yeyun's 'Dragon Boat Painting,' and I would like to ask you, my worthy brother, to take a look."

"A painting of dragon boats!? It must be incredibly valuable!"

“Talking about money is vulgar. It’s only two thousand three hundred taels. The main thing is that there are thousands of people in the painting, and not a single one looks alike. In terms of technique alone, it is even better than Qian Gu’s ‘Wanli Discussion on Taoism’!”

"..."

The two chatted back and forth, discussing everything from opera and calligraphy to jewelry and gold, vividly portraying the tedious official life of a "clean magistrate for three years."

Just as they were talking, a sedan chair carried by four men arrived from across the street.

The two men recognized the man by the sedan chair, and stepped forward with smiles, bowing and greeting him: "Prefect Wu, you have quite the grand entourage. You ride in a sedan chair while on duty. Aren't you afraid of being gossiped about by the censors?"

Unlike the mythical version of the thirty-two-bearer sedan chair.

For ordinary people and soldiers, traveling in a four-person procession was already considered a grand affair; when they rode to work, it attracted even more attention.

As the two men entered, they saw a man emerge from the sedan chair; it was indeed Wu Zhipeng, the prefect of Xuzhou.

However, Wu Zhipeng's expression was not good. He hastily waved his hand, signaling the two to get into the sedan chair and talk.

Chang Sansheng and Li Minqing exchanged a glance, not understanding what was going on, but still got into Wu Zhipeng's sedan chair.

As soon as they entered the carriage, Wu Zhipeng couldn't wait to say, "Gentlemen, we can't go to the opera house. Premier Pan wants us to go to Yunlong Mountain for a meeting."

The two were stunned for a moment, not quite able to react.

To hold a meeting?
Chang Sanxing, puzzled, asked a series of questions: "Premier Pan? He summoned us? What's the matter?"

Pan Jixun could certainly convene meetings across various government departments, including the Waterways Bureau, the Military Commissioner's Office, the Prefectural Government, and the Grand Canal Transport Office.

After all, the Grand Canal Commissioner concurrently served as the Military Commander, effectively holding both military and political power. Anyone stationed along the two rivers was nominally subordinate to the Grand Canal Commissioner—even local officials like county magistrates and prefects were subject to his control due to their concurrent duties as lake and river chiefs.

But what's strange is that this doesn't quite match Pan Jixun's habits over the years.

In the second year of the Wanli reign, Pan Jixun submitted a memorial entitled "Memorial on the Management of the Two Rivers," which included six matters concerning river management as well as eight matters concerning the governance of officials.

Chang Sansheng, who was in charge of the sluice gate at the time, was quick to seize the opportunity. He immediately colluded with local officials from Xu, Huai, and Si prefectures and submitted a joint memorial impeaching Pan Jixun for eliminating dissidents and appointing relatives and friends.

During the Ministry of Works' deliberations, perhaps due to the discord between Zhu Heng and Pan Jixun, only six matters concerning river management were adopted for the court's discussion.

In the third year of the Wanli reign, Pan Jixun submitted another memorial impeaching Lin Shao, the deputy commissioner of Xuzhou Circuit, for his incompetence in river management.

Lin Shao reacted even faster, immediately spreading rumors that Pan Jixun was corrupt, incompetent, and arrogant, and that if Zhang Juzheng hadn't taken sides, Pan Jixun would have been dismissed from his post.

Therefore, Zhu Heng even wrote a letter in person, saying that the management of river works should be entrusted to the Grand Censor of the Waterways, so that Pan Jixun could focus on the project and avoid making mistakes in the important matter of water management.

From then on, Pan Jixun devoted himself to the project and no longer paid attention to the administration of the river works.

Why is he acting so unusually today, summoning a meeting as if he were in charge?

Wu Zhipeng glanced at the two men and knew that they had never returned to the yamen.

He lifted the carriage curtain and looked outside. Seeing that they had entered a quiet alley, he slowly spoke: "The official story is that the Emperor left behind some teachings, and Premier Pan is going to give us his instructions on behalf of His Majesty."

Upon hearing this, Li Minqing immediately sneered: "I heard that Pan Jixun, Hu Zhili and their gang were summoned by the emperor a few days ago and given a severe dressing-down. Now they're probably trying to regain face by taking it out on us."

That's not surprising, Chang Sansheng nodded in agreement.

He looked Wu Zhipeng up and down, increasingly puzzled: "This is nothing serious, why do you look so worried, brother?"

Is it not even permissible for Premier Pan to occasionally display his official power?

The Grand Canal is not the Salt Administration, and Pan Jixun is not Hai Rui, so what is there to be afraid of?

Wu Zhipeng hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

He hesitated for a long time before sighing and expressing his concerns: "I feel like something is not right. It's strange that the emperor's inspection started strong but ended weakly, and it's also strange that Premier Pan convened this meeting."

"What's even stranger is that this very morning, Governor Deng took a detour back to Henan and made a special trip to the prefectural government office."

"They took the official documents and took Zhang Guoxi away."

Upon hearing the name, Li and Chang looked enlightened, realizing why Prefect Wu had lost his composure.

Zhang Guoxi, courtesy name Junlu, was the 97th in the third class of the imperial examination in the second year of the Wanli reign. He was in the same cohort as Wu Zhipeng, but ranked about 100 places higher.

The grudges and affections between Wu Zhipeng and Zhang Junlu run very deep.

Back then, the two were both sent down to Henan. Zhang Junlu served as the magistrate of Yifeng County, and Wu Zhipeng served as the magistrate of Kaocheng County, governing neighboring areas.

Unfortunately, his luck was not good. As soon as he took office, he encountered the Yellow River overflowing its banks and the Kao River overflowing its banks.

Wu Zhipeng, with his wicked intentions, disregarded the principle of prioritizing the interests of his neighbors and secretly opened the floodgates to release water for Zhang Junlu in the middle of the night. This ensured the safety of Kaocheng but caused Yifeng to be flooded. From then on, an irreconcilable feud was formed between the two colleagues from the same department.

Over the course of five years, the two sides fought their way from Yifeng to Xuzhou, their hatred for each other running deep.

Now that Wu Zhipeng has finally managed to completely defeat Zhang Junlu and imprison him, Deng Yizan has interfered again. No wonder he can't feel at ease.

Li Minqing looked at Wu Zhipeng with a strange expression and said with schadenfreude, "Brother Wu, I advised you back then that he was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), how could he be so easily exiled by having his name tattooed on his back?"

"How is it now?"

"Forget it, let's just give Governor Deng face and spare that bastard's life."

Despite being called corrupt officials by the public, they are more measured in their actions than the upright officials.

Once a clean official without any powerful connections enters Xuzhou, they can be manipulated however they want.

But if someone with powerful connections comes along, then naturally you have to give them some face. If they can get in, they can share the spoils; if they can't, then it's best to part ways amicably.

As long as it's not like Zhang Zhan who shouts "we are irreconcilable enemies" all day long, and everyone just says a few meaningless words of impeachment in their memorials, that's enough to maintain their public image.

So, strictly speaking, Zhang Junlu only had a personal grudge against Wu Zhipeng, and was not a madman like Zhang Zhan who would bite anyone he saw.

Li Minqing didn't take it to heart at all.

Wu Zhipeng glanced at Li Minqing, barely able to contain his irritation: "I'm afraid Deng Yizan has ulterior motives!"

Although Prefect Wu's words were startling, Li and Chang exchanged a glance, their eyes revealing a hint of pity.

These sworn enemies have reached this point; aren't they just a pair of star-crossed lovers?

Chang Sansheng coughed lightly, but still asked with concern, "What reason did Deng Yizan, the governor of Henan, use to come to Xuzhou to request someone?"

Wu Zhipeng's expression was not good, but he remained calm: "Deng Yizan said that the people of Yifeng County have repeatedly petitioned the governor's office, hoping that he would step in and give Zhang Junlu a good ending."

"He was so annoyed that he asked the Ministry of Justice for a note."

Li Minqing interjected, "Brother Wu, do you think this is just an excuse? That fellow certainly doesn't have such a reputation?"

Upon hearing this, Wu Zhipeng hesitated for a moment.

After a moment, he shook his head: "This must be true."

After Zhang Junlu was imprisoned, officials, commoners, merchants, and cooks from Yifeng County pooled their own money to come to Xuzhou to visit him. There were even bizarre incidents where entire villages pooled their money to elect gentry to visit him on their behalf.

Every day, farmers would kneel outside the prison, holding fried dough sticks and sesame cakes, shouting and crying, insisting on seeing Zhang Junlu.

Given Deng Yizan's personality, it would be difficult for him not to soften his heart in this situation—Wu Zhipeng used this same tactic to gain Deng Yizan's trust back in Henan.

Li Minqing glanced at Wu Zhipeng's expression and became even more certain that Wu Zhipeng was overreacting.

He patted Wu Zhipeng on the shoulder and comforted him, "Brother Wu, we don't compete with the Qingliu faction in terms of reputation, nor is it something we should be jealous of."

I thought Lord Deng was going to exonerate Zhang Junlu, but it turns out it was just something he did on the side.

Wu Zhipeng was extremely agitated. He abruptly shook off Li Minqing's hand and gritted his teeth, saying, "Zhang Junlu was, after all, one of the upright officials we defeated. In addition, the emperor inspected the Shuicang warehouse, and Pan Jixun unusually summoned you and me for a meeting. Don't you find that suspicious?!"

Chang Sansheng glanced at the bewildered Wu Zhipeng, then at Li Minqing who seemed completely unconcerned.

After a moment's hesitation, he still spoke up: "Brother Wu, the case of you opening the sluice gates in Henan was judged by Governor Deng. Wouldn't he be asking for trouble if he tried to overturn the case?"

"Let's ask ourselves honestly, would you or I do such a thing?"

"In my opinion, it was nothing more than Deng Yizan seeking fame and prestige, pandering to the people of Yifeng, and doing it as a side effect."

"Furthermore, if the higher-ups had really found something about Mizutsuko and Premier Pan, wouldn't the Emperor have known about it long ago?"

"Even if the Embroidered Uniform Guard is not immediately dispatched to arrest us and imprison us, at least the Emperor will not leave us unattended and head straight south to Yangzhou."

"The fact that the emperor is heading south proves that we can rest easy."

Wu Zhipeng paused.

This statement left him speechless for a moment.

But a warning sign in his heart still reminded him that something was amiss and he should be on guard.

After hesitating for a long time, Wu Zhipeng could only vaguely retort, "Perhaps the emperor is wary of our powerful and deeply rooted position, and fears that we might shake the foundation of the river transport system, so he deliberately created this illusion..."

In the end, he himself became less confident and couldn't continue.

Chang Sansheng reassured him, "If Brother Wu is still worried, I'll let everyone know later and remind them to be more vigilant."

Li Minqing snorted: "Alright, Brother Wu, stop worrying unnecessarily. Let me go back to the Water Conservancy Bureau first, and after I change into some tattered clothes, I will go to pay my respects to Premier Pan."

Wu Zhipeng remained reluctant: "Do you really want to go?"

Li Minqing waved his hand decisively and replied, "We're going to a meeting. What would Pan Jixun dare to do to us?!"

……

At the same time, a group of uninvited guests arrived in Lijiajing.

After driving away the onlookers, the group stood on a dam, pointing at the surging river.

"...I have long wanted to come to the Yellow River to see it and learn something. The history of controlling the Yellow River for thousands of years is the history of the struggle of hundreds of millions of Chinese sons and daughters."

After saying this, Zhu Yijun turned his gaze away from the Yellow River and looked at Sun Jigao: "Have you finished memorizing?"

Sun Jigao was writing furiously in his daily records when he was urged to finish writing the last stroke, "May the people work together diligently and the common people suffer greatly," and then he hurriedly stopped writing.

Seeing this, Zhu Yijun nodded, indicating that Pan Jixun could now get down to business.

Pan Jixun didn't waste any words and immediately said, "Throughout history, the Yellow River has breached its banks more than a thousand times, and changed its course more than twenty times. There have been two breaches almost every three years."

"Overall, the changes in the course of the lower Yellow River can be roughly divided into three periods: northward flow, eastward flow, and southward flow."

"Three years before Wang Mang established his kingdom, the Yellow River flowed northward, and the lower reaches of the Yellow River flowed into the Shaohai Lake via the present-day Dagu River."

Zhu Yijun waved his hand to interrupt Pan Jixun: "Let's talk about Bohai."

Pan Jixun was stunned for a moment before he realized that Shaohai had been bestowed the name Bohai by the emperor.

He readily accepted the good advice: "In the third year of Wang Mang's reign, the Yellow River breached its banks in Weijun and flowed for many years. After Wang Jing tamed the river, the Yellow River changed its course eastward, passing through present-day Shandong and flowing into the Bohai Sea."

"Until the eighth year of the Qingli reign of the Former Song Dynasty, there was a period of eastward flow."

"After the second year of Jianyan, the Yellow River gradually encroached on the Si River and seized the Huai River. It flowed south through the Si River and joined the Huai River at Qingkou. It then entered the Daming Sea at Yuntiguan in Huai'an... uh, the Yellow Sea."

"Even today, it was once a southern flow."

Zhu Yijun grasped the concept slightly and summarized: "In other words, over the past thousand years, the Yellow River has gradually shifted from north to south."

Pan Jixun carefully considered his words and patiently explained to the emperor: "The changes in the course of the upper and middle reaches of the river are not so orderly. For example, the Ningxia section shifts westward and eastward, the Hetao section swings north and south, and the Yongji and Tongguan sections are frequently chaotic."

"However, speaking specifically of the downstream area, it does indeed move gradually from north to south."

Zhu Yijun pondered for a moment, then asked an uninformed question: "If confining the water to attack the sand fails, would it be better to divert the Yellow River south of the Huai River, or to redirect it back to the Bohai Sea?"

Pan Jixun frowned and subconsciously retorted, "Your Majesty, the strategy of constricting water to attack sand has been effective. Since the fifth year of the Wanli reign, the Yellow River has not been disturbed again. How can you speak lightly of this?"

What was life like before the fifth year of the Wanli reign?
In the fourth year of the Wanli reign (1584), the river breached at Fengpei; in the third year (1585), it breached at Dangshan; in the second year (1586), the Huai River overflowed; in the first year (1587), the river breached at Fangcun; in the fifth year of the Longqing reign (1588), it breached at Wangjiakou; in the fourth year (1588), it breached at Pizhou; and in the third year (1588),

Even if we don't say the dikes breach every year, it's already close to that number.

However, since the water was diverted to attack the sand, the task was completed in the fifth year of the Wanli reign, and the Yellow River immediately ceased its attack, remaining calm for several years!
How can this be called "using water to attack sand"?

Seeing Pan Jixun's defiant expression, Zhu Yijun hesitated to speak.

He really wanted to say that the effect only lasted ten years, and by the fifteenth year of the Wanli reign, things had returned to normal, but this statement was vague and didn't make sense.

Zhu Yijun could only change his excuse: "The hidden dangers in the river transport are deep-rooted, so how can we not take precautions?"

Pan Jixun was speechless.

"Your Majesty, Zhang Junlu has arrived."

Everyone turned around at the same time.

Deng Yizan, travel-worn, walked onto the embankment and bowed to the emperor.

Zhu Yijun nodded slightly: "Let's go, let him show us how badly the Xuzhou canals have been ruined."

(End of this chapter)