Top Scholar

Chapter 630 Glory Returns to His Majesty
"I knew you would succeed!" Zhu Houzhao exclaimed sincerely as he looked at the man-made lake in front of him.

Su Lu slowly shook his head, his voice hoarse and dry: "It's not that I succeeded, it's that we succeeded. Without the Emperor's complete trust, the Yongding Water Tank could not have been completed on schedule, nor could it have contained this life-saving peach blossom water."

"Hahaha, I, the emperor, have limited abilities. All I can give you is my unreserved trust and unconditional support!" Zhu Houzhao laughed and patted him on the shoulder. Su Lu had lost weight from the hard work of the past few days, and his eyes were bloodshot.

For Su, the top scholar in the imperial examinations, the sheer exhaustion was nothing compared to the pressure from both open and covert attacks...

Although Eunuch Liu absorbed most of the damage during the previous raids on temples, the nobles were not fools. After so much time, how could they not guess who was behind it all?
The Court of Imperial Sacrifices' status rose rapidly, earning it the nickname "Little Cabinet," which in turn threatened the interests of many civil officials... Although Su Lu and Yang Tinghe reached a tacit understanding to form a united front, the civil official group was inherently loose. Yang Tinghe could only restrain most people from becoming hostile to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, but there would always be a small minority who would disagree.

Even Yang Tinghe intentionally indulged them to prevent the 'small cabinet' from becoming a real cabinet.

Normally, Su Lu keeps a low profile, and others can't do anything about him. But since he's going to undertake a large-scale project on the outskirts of the capital, those people will try every means to stir up trouble and sabotage him. Even if it's harmful to others and doesn't benefit themselves, they'll still try to annoy him, and hopefully ruin everything, so that perhaps the emperor will no longer blindly trust him...

Therefore, countless people were waiting to see him make a fool of himself, and some even impeached him, saying that his water management would not only be a waste of manpower and resources, but would also damage the feng shui of the capital! Others said that he was ignorant of his own limitations and dared to try to borrow water from the Wuding River, which was like asking a tiger for its skin, and would definitely end in failure, leaving endless troubles.

The criticisms were numerous and varied. Moreover, although Liu Jin and he had a tacit understanding of non-aggression, Liu Jin, who dreamed of regaining the emperor's favor, would never willingly take the blame for him. All the impeachments were sent to the Leopard Chamber untouched by Liu Jin…

Fortunately, Zhu Houzhao didn't even glance at them and directly issued an edict that any memorials criticizing Su Zhuangyuan should be taken away and used to light the stove, and not a single word should be sent to Tengxi Hall. This prevented Su Lu's work from being disturbed.

Su Lu didn't care about the criticism, but he feared failure—this was the first time he had mobilized such a massive amount of manpower and resources to implement a project. Failure would not only betray His Majesty's trust but also let down the hardworking laborers and soldiers. In the future, if he wanted to accomplish anything significant, probably no one would believe him anymore…

Therefore, we must win this first time! And we must keep winning to establish our prestige!
Fortunately, he finally succeeded. This not only saved the capital from drought, but also proved that his method was feasible—as long as one follows the "three unifications" of the Song school, being pragmatic, planning carefully before acting, scientifically planning, and meticulously managing, there is nothing that cannot be accomplished!

If you persevere, you will eventually be able to defy fate!

"You've had a tough time, my good brother..." Zhu Houzhao patted Su Lu's shoulder hard, but as soon as his hand touched Su Lu's neck, he exclaimed, "Hey, why is your neck so hot? Do you have a fever?"

Su Lu forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. I probably caught a chill from the sudden change in temperature last night. Fortunately, the mission is complete. I'll be fine after a good night's sleep."

"Nonsense! Fever can kill people!" Zhu Houzhao said nervously, his eyes wide. "You mustn't be careless!"

"Alright, alright, I'll rest now." Su Lu quickly obeyed the order, "Then I'll rest, and I'll leave the rest to you."

Zhu Houzhao was taken aback: "Give it to me? For what purpose?"

"Naturally, I'm going to deliver a victory speech to my subjects." Su Lu looked down at the dike; the laborers who had gone to help with the flood control efforts had all returned. They were also eager to see the fruits of their labor...

"What should I say?" Zhu Houzhao now habitually loses his mind when he sees Su Lu.

“Tell them that drought cannot crush us, floods cannot defeat us, as long as the ruler and his subjects are of one mind and the people are of one heart, there is no obstacle that cannot be overcome… Isn’t this kind of platitude your forte?” Su Lu said with a smile.

Zhu Houzhao hesitated for a moment, "You're the one who does all the work, is it appropriate for me to go and say it?"

“Of course it is appropriate.” Su Lu said sincerely, “I would say it again: without His Majesty’s trust and support, I could not have accomplished anything. This victory and this glory belong to His Majesty and to every citizen who participated in it.”

"Alright then." Zhu Houzhao saw that he was forcing himself to be energetic but was really not in the right state of mind, so he nodded, got up and strode up to the top of the embankment.

"His Majesty has arrived..." Zhang Lin, the accompanying eunuch, announced loudly, his high-pitched voice echoing throughout the entire embankment.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Long live the Emperor!"

The soldiers and civilians below the embankment knelt down in a dark mass, shouting in unison, their voices echoing across both banks of the Wuding River.

Everything Su Lu did was carried out in Zhu Houzhao's name, which truly made these soldiers and civilians feel the emperor's boundless grace. Seeing the emperor's personal presence now, their hearts were naturally filled with reverence and gratitude.

"Everyone, please rise!" Zhu Houzhao gestured for everyone to stand and express their gratitude. Then, in a loud and earnest voice, he said, "In the few years since I ascended the throne, I have been plagued by consecutive years of drought, causing you all immense suffering. I feel deeply ashamed..." In truth, his pressure was far greater. According to the Confucian doctrine of the interaction between Heaven and humanity, the consecutive droughts were a consequence of his own dereliction of duty and lack of virtue as emperor. The malice and attacks he endured were a hundred times, even a thousand times, greater than those suffered by Su Lu. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked in the palace examination what "Heaven's will" meant and how to "follow Heaven's example."
Although Su Lu's essay, "The Will of Heaven is the Will of the People," perfectly alleviated the emperor's anxiety, as long as the drought persisted, Zhu Houzhao could not truly escape the negative public opinion. This was also a major reason why he was unwilling to attend court or even read memorials; because you never knew when someone would jump out and criticize you for being "a tyrannical ruler, punished by Heaven"...

“Your Majesty is too kind! If it doesn’t rain, there’s nothing anyone can do, so it’s not your fault…” the disaster victims hurriedly tried to persuade them. Although they were not very educated, they had all received a few days of “Su-style education” in the literacy class at Huang’en Temple, and learned that celestial phenomena were simply natural phenomena, not warnings to the world.

"Thank you, thank you..." Zhu Houzhao was deeply moved, even choking up a little. He pointed to the Yongding Water Tank in front of him, then looked down at the people below the embankment, his tone becoming firm:
"Scholar Su also said that 'the Way of Heaven' is 'the will of the people,' and that a ruler who takes the people's livelihood as his foundation is in accordance with the will of Heaven!"

"Therefore, as you have all seen, I and Scholar Su are doing our utmost to help everyone overcome this difficult time. The successful filling of the Yongding Water Tank today is the best proof—as long as we are of one mind and united in purpose, there is no obstacle we cannot overcome!" Zhu Houzhao paused, then continued:
"Therefore, the more difficult the times, the more we must unite as one, think in the same direction, and work together! I assure you, the drought will eventually pass, and things will get better! We will definitely hold on until that day!"

"Yes! As you command! Long live the Emperor!" Tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians responded in unison, their voices shaking the heavens.

~~
After the imperial instruction was completed, the laborers expressed their gratitude and followed their commune leaders back to their respective imperial estates in an orderly fashion. At this time, they no longer lived in the Imperial Grace Courtyard, but were instead assigned to various imperial estates throughout the capital in units of their work communes.

While the men worked on the construction site, the elderly, women, and children tidied up their homes and repaired farm tools in their respective villages, waiting for them to return home...

Su Lu then gathered Lu Ying and others, sneezing incessantly as he forced himself to arrange various follow-up matters.

"Make sure to keep a close eye on the water level and operate the sluice gate strictly in accordance with regulations. Do not be negligent!" He spoke with a heavy nasal tone, but his words were still clear and logical.

"We must also strengthen the patrol of the dikes, firstly to detect potential dangers in a timely manner, and secondly to strictly prevent anyone from secretly sabotaging the dikes. We must never let such villains succeed!"

"Furthermore, the distribution of water in the water tanks must be centrally managed by the water resources department. There must be no disorderly procedures, and unauthorized release of water is strictly prohibited..."

"Alright, alright, stop talking!" Zhu Houzhao couldn't wait any longer, so he came over himself, grabbed his arm without saying a word, and forcibly 'forced' him onto the imperial carriage.

Zhu Houzhao also arrogantly told the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices: "From now on, until Scholar Su recovers, you are not allowed to disturb him while he is recuperating. You can handle things yourselves!"

"We must follow the rules and regulations. If we are unsure about anything, we must ask for instructions..." Su Lu poked his head out from the imperial carriage.

"From now on, you are not allowed to work!" The emperor pressed his head back in, then turned around and announced domineeringly, "Go back and rest well. We'll talk about other things after you've recovered!"

"Yes," the official from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices replied respectfully.

"Let's go! Let's go!" Zhu Houzhao urged repeatedly, "Return to the capital immediately!"

"Let's depart..." Zhang Lin called out in a drawn-out tone.

The imperial entourage then led the imperial carriage back to the capital in a grand procession, surrounded by imperial guards.

~~
On the palanquin, carried by hundreds of people and barely swaying, Zhu Houzhao criticized with a helpless expression:
"You're just destined to be a workaholic. You handle everything, big or small, and you do it all yourself. You're almost as busy as Prime Minister Zhuge Liang!"

Su Lu covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief to avoid infecting the emperor. Actually, he didn't want to ride in the same carriage as Zhu Houzhao, but Zhu Houzhao had his strange insistence, saying, "Good brothers should share joys and sorrows," and resolutely refused to let him get off the carriage…

"Your Majesty, details determine success or failure. In truth, the difference in intelligence between people isn't that great; the key to success or failure lies in whether one can pay attention to details and grasp them..." He could only sit as far away as possible and mutter in a low voice:
"Right now, none of my classmates can completely put my mind at ease. Things will get better once they've grown up..."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Houzhao remarked with feeling: "Details, the hardest thing for an emperor to understand is the details, which is why he is always fooled by his subordinates."

She glared at him fiercely and said, "But don't worry about anything else right now, just focus on getting better! I'm so worried about you, and you're just sitting here not taking it seriously."

"Your Majesty, I only have a minor cold. I think you are even more frail than I am." Su Lu smiled wryly, but his thick nasal voice carried a hint of warmth.

"Stop being so glib, and don't take this lightly!" Zhu Houzhao's face darkened, and for the first time, he was angry with Su Lu. "That's how my father died!"

P.S. The next chapter will be a little later. I finished writing it at night and felt it wasn't quite right, so I got up to revise the Emperor.

(End of this chapter)