Chaos of Ming 1628

Sun Qing's heart skipped a beat, just as he had expected. He wasn't afraid of Sun's rivals, but he feared encountering members of the Sun family the most.

In an instant, my mind went into a whirlwind of activity as I searched for information.

"Young Master Sun, Xiao Junru." Old Yu burst through the door, leaned against it, and let out a drunken hiccup.

He took a swig from the gourd and chuckled, "Mr. Meng and Mr. Sun have been waiting for a long time, and you two are still being affectionate."

"No," Shen Junru said frankly, "I'm here to apologize."

Sun Qing dared not relax, and his face flushed again upon hearing this. How enchanting the scene had just been! Why did he now feel like he was the one who had become the submissive wife?

With a wry smile, Sun Qing said helplessly, "I'll go now."

"Wait, tell me, was that really a warning from heaven?" Shen Junru asked, her face contorted in a pout.

Sun Qing paused slightly. "If you really want to know, then come with me."

Since Shen Junru is a member of the Sun family, why should he hide it? Only when a person has enough value will people want to win him over, and even pay a certain price for it.

Inside the Hall of Residency.

Meng Zhaoxiang and Su Jiu were here.

Unlike their cautious meeting last time, the two were all smiles and beaming with joy this time.

"Young Master Sun."

The two greeted each other with clasped hands.

Sun Qing changed into clean clothes, cupped his hands, and said, "Mr. Meng, Mr. Su, I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly?"

"Such a joyous occasion naturally warrants our congratulations to the young master," Su said, waving the wine and meat in his hand. "Young master is truly talented; we admire him immensely."

"Yes!" Meng Zhaoxiang's weathered eyes now shone brightly: "The Eastern Depot agents were so aggressive, but I never expected them to end up like this."

"The people of Jiahe County are now united in their efforts, all thanks to you, young master!"

Shen Junru, standing behind, was completely confused and asked in bewilderment, "What are you talking about? How did you get involved with him?"

Shen Junru was puzzled. His willingness to stand up and save the people was indeed unexpected, and it changed her opinion of Sun Qing as a coward. But why were the two gentlemen praising him so highly?

When questioned, the two exchanged a smile. Seeing that Sun Qing did not object, they laughed and said, "Miss Shen, you are unaware that the so-called miracles were all orchestrated by you, young master."

"What?" Shen Junru looked at him, her brows furrowed in disbelief. "You actually possess such power to command the wind and rain?"

"Whether it's birds, schools of fish, or floods, these are all beyond human control. How could they be related to humans?"

Why did the ancients so readily believe in divine warnings? As early as the Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu established the concepts of the interaction between Heaven and humanity, and the unity of Heaven and humanity, incorporating them into the Four Books and Five Classics. Children were deeply influenced by this education from a young age. This wasn't mere superstition; it was simply the legally mandated political logic.

When justice is hard to find in the human world, and one sees unusual phenomena, one is certain that it is a warning from heaven and a sign of divine protection.

Although Shen Junru knew nothing about the Four Books and Five Classics, she was inevitably influenced by them from a young age.

Sun Qing calmly explained, "I don't have any special abilities; this is all knowledge."

Shen Junru frowned.

"All the anomalies you see are man-made." Sun Qing didn't keep you in suspense and slowly explained, "The reason the floodwaters overflowed is because of Mr. Su, who has an exceptionally high level of hydraulic engineering knowledge."

"Mr. Su has always been a self-organized individual who builds small-scale water conservancy projects. He knows the waterways of Jiahe County like the back of his hand. He thought that creating a flood under a clear sky would not be difficult, but accurately controlling the water volume required precise calculations. It must be said that Mr. Su's calculations were very accurate, which is truly admirable."

At this point, Sun Qing bowed deeply to Su Jiuda.

In modern times, with professional teams and computers, floodgates can be opened only after careful calculation.

In an era when everything relied on human effort, Su Jiuda was able to calculate everything within seven days all by himself.

Su hurriedly returned the greeting: "Young master, you flatter me. I have been dealing with rivers since I was a child, and I am more familiar with this river than with my own wife."

"I am determined to fight the eunuch faction to the end. If it weren't for you, young master, I would probably be dead without even knowing it. My desperate attempts to use my skills have actually caused the eunuch faction to suffer a great setback."

Shen Junru felt that everything had overturned her understanding, and for the first time, she directly witnessed the power of knowledge: "What about the birds and schools of fish?"

"We'll have to rely on Mr. Meng for all of this," Su said with a modest smile.

Meng Zhaoxiang waved his hands repeatedly: "I'm ashamed, I'm ashamed. I was just doing my errands. As for the plan, it was all taken care of by you, young master."

"Under your arrangement, young master, I immediately found a beast tamer and trained the birds day and night. When the flood came, we used the chaos to cover up the whistles, sent out sentries in unison, and threw food in layers, so the birds did not scatter."

Shen Junru suddenly realized: "So this is what you've been preparing for all these days?"

"But what about the fish?" Shen Junru's understanding was completely refreshed; she was now only focused on asking questions: "Even birds have intelligence and can be domesticated. But how can fish be tamed when they enter rivers?"

"Miss Shen," Sun Qing smiled gently, "why bother taming them? With constant famines, even the common people are struggling to feed themselves. How much more so should fish?"

"Yes," Meng Zhaoxiang said excitedly, "so we filled the raft with grains according to the wage arrangement to lure the fish together."

"The water flow naturally led back to the dock, and the raft headed towards it. The young master had already concealed grains in his sleeve, which created the illusion of fish nibbling at the ropes. The messenger had a small knife hidden in his sleeve beforehand."

Now I understand everything.

It can only be said that Sun Qing's plan was far too meticulous. If it were merely a gathering of birds, traces of grain would surely be visible. But the flood occurred, and all traces were thought to be washed away.

As for why a single wave could break the Longevity Stele, Shen Junru wisely remarked, "Then perhaps you had already hollowed out the Longevity Stele beforehand?"

"Yes!" Sun Qing replied.

After saying that, he turned to Lao Yu and bowed, saying, "Thank you, Lao Yu. The strategy is secondary; the real master is the one who controls the game. It's you who can make those people obediently enter the game."

"Come on," Old Yu retorted, "If you hadn't already arranged which day of the week, how could I have commanded those barbarians?"

After saying that, he laughed loudly again, shaking the wine gourd in his hand: "Hehe, why are you saying thank you? Why don't you go and get me some wine instead?"

"If you really feel bad about it, wouldn't it be better to invite me to the Wan Hua Lou (a brothel)?" he said, rubbing his hand on his chest.

Sun Qing was alright, but Meng Zhaoxiang and Su Jiuda were both upright people. Upon hearing this, they shook their heads and sighed, both avoiding any mention of Wan Hua Lou.

Shen Junru, however, muttered in dissatisfaction, "You're the ones who praised him so highly, so why are you making me back down so many times over just one request?"

"Hmph!" Shen Junru snorted coldly, then solemnly called out to Old Yu, "Sir, you don't need to speak to them. I'll take you there!"

Even Lao Yu found this hard to accept, so he quickly took a step back, turned his head to the side, and started drinking by himself.

Shen Junru was puzzled and muttered, "That shouldn't be the case. How can even the teacher look down on women?"

There was still no response.

"That's going too far!" Shen Junru said, staring at Sun Qing. "Now I understand. So you're a coward who's afraid of death."

"You know the people of Jiahe County suffer mostly because you've been avoiding them. They can do their own thing; why didn't you just come out sooner?"

They had been having a pleasant conversation, but this question made Sun Qing's smile falter. After a moment's hesitation, he didn't answer, but instead said to Meng and Su, "Gentlemen, the wine is ready, please."

The two of them, in perfect unison, said, "Please."

Seeing that the three of them had abandoned her and left, Shen Junru stomped her foot in anger and shouted after them, "What are you doing leaving? Why aren't you explaining?"

Old Yu leaned against the doorframe, his eyes half-closed: "Without accumulating public resentment, one cannot display benevolence. Only when all beings suffer can the merits of the savior be highlighted."

Shen Junru still frowned; she couldn't understand the situation.

"Little Junru," Old Yu called out.

"Hmm?" Shen Junru's attention shifted.

Old Yu asked, "Did you practice your skills today?"

"Oh dear!" Shen Junru slapped her forehead and exclaimed, "It's all that damned Sun Qing's fault! I've been arguing with him these past few days and have neglected my training."

"I have to go practice my skills, otherwise Grandpa will scold me."

Shen Junru ran away in a hurry. Old Yu stared at her retreating figure for a long time, then lay down on the ground and went to sleep.

The three of them then sat at the table, toasting and exchanging drinks.

At that moment, Su suddenly slapped his forehead and shouted, "Oh no!"

"They were so busy having fun that the Embroidered Uniform Guard suffered repeated setbacks in Jiaohe County. Wei Zhongxian is probably going to be furious now."