"What nonsense are you talking about?" Before Jia Quan finished speaking, an angry voice suddenly came from behind him.
When everyone looked back, it was Han Gang, the minister of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, who came in surrounded by his entourage. He also came in the rain and was in a miserable state, but Han Gang only had a few mud stains on his clothes.
When the Ergu River project was being built, Mr. Han was the assistant manager. When he heard that the river was in danger of bursting its embankments, he was immediately frightened. He hurried to the Prince of Anling County to ask for advice. Zhao Zongshi ordered him to immediately go to the river embankment and keep an eye on it. Then Mr. Han, who had been promoted to the rank of minister, rushed over quickly. As soon as he arrived at the end of the field, he heard Jia Quan's astonishing words.
After Han Gang came in, he first glared at Jia Dan, then fisted Zhao Conggu as a salute.
"Why is there such a big reaction?" Zhao Conggu immediately became displeased. It depends on the owner to beat the dog. After all, Jia Quan is also his subordinate.
"My lord, please calm down. It's all because of this man's nonsense and confusing people's minds first!" Han Gang pointed at Jia Dan and said, "The embankment of the Ergu River can hold up! There will be no problem!"
"Can you shoulder the responsibility?" Zhao Conggu said coldly.
"Uh..." Han Gang choked for a moment. He had his own ideas. As the person who actually presided over the construction, Han Gang knew that the root cause of the rapid rise in water levels was that the entire river channel was built too narrow. He insisted on breaking the embankments and releasing water. It may not be able to reduce much pressure on the Ergu River. If it backfires and both places overflow their embankments, the consequences will be even more disastrous.
When he calmed down and expressed his opinion, Zhao Conggu felt that it made sense, so he looked at Jia Quan with inquiring eyes.
I don't know whether it was because of the cold or because he was anxious. Jia Quan's face was very ugly, and he explained with difficulty: "The river channel is narrow, which has the effect of bundling the embankment and washing away the sand. The river embankment is reinforced and raised, clamping the river channel, and the water potential will definitely increase. The faster the flow speed, not only the new sand will not sink, but the old sand can also be carried into the sea. In this way, the river bed will become deeper and deeper, and there will be no danger of the embankment bursting. Therefore, the pass is still a flood discharge diversion, as long as the water is not that big. The Ergu River is There won’t be any problem.”
As he spoke, he clasped his fists towards Zhao Conggu and said: "Your Majesty, if we release the flood at this time, if we cannot save the Ergu River, please ask the Second Lord to lower the official's official punishment to express gratitude to the people!"
"Can you afford it?" Han Gang imitated Zhao Conggu and said this.
The scene reached a deadlock. Just as Zhao Conggu was about to speak, he saw Han Gang giving him a signal and whispered: "Your Majesty, please take a step to speak."
Zhao Conggu waved his hand and ordered the others to exit.
Without others, it was a different story. Han Gang took a step forward and lowered his voice: "In the previous memorial, the prince also signed it. It was said that this new construction project can resist floods for hundreds of years, and it is only half a year old now." Suddenly you have to separate yourself? How can I explain it to the officials and the people of the world?"
"But I also said in the memorial that once something happens to the Ergu River, we should immediately open the north stream to divert the flood!" Zhao Conggu frowned.
"Come here, sir." Han Gang answered the question with a deep clasped fist and said, "My Highness will give the prince a message. In times of crisis, if we work together in the same boat, we will surely be richly rewarded in the future!"
"Don't I know the meaning of helping each other in the same boat?!" Zhao Conggu snorted in displeasure: "Do you know why I haven't informed the people downstream to migrate yet? Aren't I just afraid of causing trouble for your prince?"
"If you open the door and let it flow north, won't it also cause material controversy for my Highness?"
"Who told you to brag to the sky at that time!" Zhao Conggu sneered: "I'm just wiping your butts, you know. But you still insist on saving face! If you insist on saving face, it depends on the timing!"
"It's not just a matter of saving face..." Han Gang saw sweat on his forehead and lowered his voice: "My lord, do you know that the Beiliu River has turned into thousands of hectares of fertile land? How can it still be used for flood discharge?"
"Ah!" Zhao Conggu was surprised. He had heard that after the Beiliu was abandoned, tens of thousands of hectares of fertile farmland were silted out, which really caused a fight: "It has only been less than a year, so the river will not be in ruins, right?
"
"It's just one aspect that the river is unusable. The key is that the landowners can't afford to offend them." Han Gang said with a wry smile.
"A joke." Zhao Conggu said with a smile: "How can a lonely prince be afraid of a few rich people?"
"They are not rich people. There are uncle Cao Guo's family, Marshal Li's family, Prime Minister Han's family, and..." Han Gang shook his head and said.
"I'm afraid you, Mr. Han, are also here." Zhao Conggu sneered.
"The Han family doesn't have much land..." Han Gang said with an embarrassed smile: "In any case, we can't afford to offend those landowners, and we can't let the land they just bought with a lot of money be destroyed like this.
!”
"Things have priorities." Zhao Conggu said expressionlessly: "If something can be done, I will naturally try my best to protect it. But when it comes to crisis, I can only offend the powerful for the sake of the people!"
"Try not to do it, try not to do it." Han Gang waved his hands repeatedly.
Under Han Gang's insistence, or in other words, under Zhao Zongshi's pressure, Zhao Conggu did not open the embankment, but ordered the people to raise and strengthen the Ergu River embankment day and night, hoping to withstand the flood peak.
"It's useless, Your Majesty." Jia Quan hadn't slept for several days. He looked haggard and his eyes were red. He hissed: "The water is so powerful that it's beyond imagination. If the river hadn't used cement, it would have burst its banks long ago.
.However, even if this is the case, there are still more than a dozen places where water has surged and sand has been turned over. If the floodwaters are not diverted, the embankments will burst again!"
Zhao Conggu never doubted Jia Quan's professional ability, and immediately ordered: "Immediately order the Imperial Army to go downstream to inform that all the people in the prefecture and county must leave the village!"
Jia Gan waited for a while, but did not wait for the next sentence. His heart suddenly became cold and he said: "My lord, have you made up your mind not to divert the flood?"
"Look!" Zhao Conggu said with a gloomy face, pointing to the opposite side: "Han Gang led so many people to guard there day and night. He said he was inspecting and evacuating danger, but in fact he was just protecting the embankment! How to open this breach!"
"I know his plan!" At this point, Jia Gan couldn't care less and said, "He just wants the flood to overflow the Ergu River embankment. This way, the flood can be discharged without flooding the vast hectares of farmland owned by the powerful. What's more,
The important thing is that if we investigate the responsibility in the future, we can say that the water flow is too great and not the problem of the dam itself!"
"Shut up!" Zhao Conggu suddenly turned pale and shouted angrily: "Stop slandering Shangguan!"
"Could it be that His Highness also thinks so?" Jia Dan said without hesitation: "Stop having wild thoughts, it will never succeed. The embankment will break before it overflows!"
When Zhao Conggu was told what was on his mind, murderous intent flashed in his eyes, and he waved his hand heavily and said: "Blow him out!"
The guards kicked Jia Dan out. He was so thin that he was thrown out of the door and fell to the muddy ground.
Colleagues were worried and those who were bold rushed forward to help.
However, Jia Quan violently broke away from them, suddenly burst into tears and threw himself on the embankment. He knelt down facing the Yellow River, waved his hands and shouted: "God! God! You are blind, why are the people guilty? Why did you punish them! But
Spare the real sinners!"
"Drag him down!" Seeing that he was getting more and more outrageous, Zhao Conggu ordered him viciously.
The guards quickly climbed up the embankment and pulled Jia Dan down. Jia Dan naturally struggled back, but as soon as he exerted force, the other party let go of his hand imperceptibly.
Jia Dan was caught off guard, his body leaned back suddenly, his feet slipped, and with disbelief on his face, he fell into the rolling torrent...
There was a sudden silence on the embankment, as if the sound of wind, rain, and river water had all disappeared.
After a while, the officials of the Capital Water Supervision came to their senses and rushed up the river embankment with shouts. They saw only angry waves, but there was no sign of anyone anywhere.
Zhao Conggu also came up with a livid face and said: "Catch these beasts for me!"
The guards who had just been entangled with Jia Gan were taken away with expressionless faces.
Looking at the grief-stricken officials, Zhao Conggu was about to say something when he felt a slight tremor under his feet. He looked up following the sound and seemed to hear the sound of the sky and earth cracking coming from a distance.
"It's over, it's over..." An experienced old river minister from the Du Water Supervisory Bureau immediately burst into tears: "The embankment has burst..."
Zhao Conggu's vision went dark and he sat down on the ground.
Three days later, Bianjing City finally figured out the damage... After the Ergu River burst its embankment, seven out of ten dams built last year were damaged. The flood broke out from the south bank and flooded fifteen prefectures and counties downstream. Hundreds of thousands of people were affected.
, the losses are countless...
Zhao Zhen was extremely angry and furious at the court meeting: "We spent a million taels of silver and it was called a century-old project, but it didn't last even one year! You still have the nerve to come back!"
He was scolding Zhao Conggu and Han Gang who were kneeling in the court hall.
The bursting of the embankment was so unexpected that neither of them expected it. Fortunately, the section of the embankment that burst was several miles downstream of them, so they were not swept away.
The two of them were dejected at the moment. No matter how the officials scolded them, they pretended not to hear them.
"And you!" Zhao Zhen turned to the officials at the Yushitai and fired: "How could the project be inspected and accepted last year? How could the embankment be breached?"
The censor involved hurriedly came out of the queue, took off his black gauze, and took off his belt to plead guilty.
Seeing this situation, Zhao Zongshi could no longer stay out of the matter. He went out to plead guilty and said: "The Ergu River was built by my ministers. There are thousands of crimes committed by my ministers alone. Please punish me severely!"
Seeing that he could take the initiative to plead guilty, Zhao Zhen was slightly surprised. When did this Thirteen change his gender? He said with a slightly brighter face: "Don't worry, I will send an imperial envoy to investigate the case thoroughly. If you are guilty, you will be punished severely.
"
"My son, I obey." Zhao Zongshi withdrew with a calm expression.
"Ms. Fu, you will review this case with Tang Zhongcheng," Zhao Zhen said in a deep voice: "We must get to the bottom of it!"
"I... obey the order..." Fu Bi suddenly aged ten years. This was not the first time he had experienced this kind of pain. Back then, the Liuta River burst, leaving a mark of shame on him. Unexpectedly, during his term of office, he would
It broke out again.
How can this make Mr. Fu lose his face and meet Jiangdong’s elders again...