In the lobby of the Hangzhou government office, the lobby looked a bit gloomy under the rainy weather. Sitting solemnly in the lobby, seven or eight officials on both sides were reporting on the reinforcement of the dams on both sides of the Qiantang River.
"Sir, the dams in Yulin Township are somewhat damaged. Although they were reinforced after last year's spring tide, the money and materials were limited and the reinforcements could not be completed. I am worried that if it rains for a few more days, the water level will rise to a high level and it may not be able to hold up.
." A young official reported in a deep voice with bloodshot eyes and mud on his trousers.
"There must be a lot of people living under the dam in Yulin Township." Yan Zhengsu asked with a frown.
"There are eight villages in total, with a total of 620 households and nearly 4,000 people."
"There is no room for error. In this case, I will go and take a look for myself. If necessary, we should evacuate as soon as possible. The rainy season has just begun, so we must prepare early, otherwise it will be too late." Yan stood up solemnly.
"Sir, it's raining so heavily, so you'd better not go. It's dozens of miles away, and the road is muddy. You can't ride a horse, so you can only go there on foot. You'd better not work hard. I'll take someone to check it out carefully.
, I’ll just give you a more detailed report, Your Excellency.”
"What are you talking about? How can this kind of thing be too hard? Thousands of people were involved in the accident. Is it a small matter? I asked a few relevant government officials to go with me. Inform the Qiantang magistrate to wait on the embankment and we will discuss it together.
There is a way to solve it. Yan Kuan, bring me your raincoat and rain boots."
Yan Zhengsun waved his hand and walked towards the door of the Yamen lobby. The officials on the side were busy, some got ready immediately, and some looked dissatisfied with going out to patrol the embankment at this time, but there was nothing they could do about it. Yan Kuan, Yan Zhengsun's personal attendant, flew away.
Go back to the back hall to get rain gear.
Yan Zheng solemnly walked to the door of the lobby with his hands folded and frowned at the dense rain outside. There was no one in the Yamen Square, and there was turbid rainwater in the puddles. The rainwater on the blue brick steps gathered into a stream along the ditch on the side of the lobby.
Flow into the distance.
Suddenly, there was a loud noise from the southwest corner of the street, which could be heard clearly even in the heavy rain. Yan Zheng frowned and looked, and soon, he saw a small group of cavalry dashing through the rain. That was all
They are some powerful horses, and the cavalry on the horses are also brightly armored and mighty.
Yan Zhengsheng only hesitated for a moment before he immediately understood whose soldiers and horses these were. Although there was no shortage of horses in the Zhou Dynasty, war horses in the army were still quite precious. Most of the war horses were concentrated in the army on the border of the Liao Kingdom, and within the
There are very few cavalry in the Luzhou Prefecture garrison. In Hangzhou City, there is only one place that can have such a powerful cavalry, and that is Prince Liang's Mansion. Prince Liang's Mansion has more than 2,000 guards and more than 500 cavalry. This
The number was even one hundred more than the cavalry of Ning Haijun stationed in Hangzhou.
Sure enough, after the cavalry, a black carriage rolled through the rain, its black wheels splashing rainwater in the low-lying areas, and the strong horses pulling the carriage neighed and galloped in the rain.
Yan Zheng was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly stepped out of the yamen door and stood on the steps. He knew who was coming. This carriage was the carriage of Liang Wang Guo Bing, and the man riding a black horse following the carriage was also
It is none other than the young prince Guo Chong.
Dozens of horses galloped outside the yamen gate. Amidst the neighing, the horses stopped in the rain and moved out of the way. Guo Bing's carriage stopped at the foot of the steps. Someone stepped forward to hold up a big umbrella and opened the door.
Opening it, Guo Bing, wearing a brocade robe and a black gauze crown, stepped out of the car and stepped on high waterproof clogs.
"Sir Yan, how did you know that I was coming? Are you already waiting for me?" Guo Bing saw Yan Zheng standing on the steps with his hands in salute, and laughed loudly.
Yan Zhengsu smiled and said: "I was preparing to go out, but I didn't expect that the prince would arrive. It's just a coincidence. Please come in, prince."
Guo Bing walked up the steps through the rain with a smile, and then the people around him took away their umbrellas and stepped back. The young prince Guo Kun also got off his horse and came to the steps, taking off his raincoat and bamboo hat. Yan Zhengsu also hurriedly joined in.
He paid tribute.
"Hello, Mr. Yan." A man wearing a bamboo hat with raindrops on his head and body suddenly spoke next to him.
Yan Zheng was stunned for a moment, then turned around and saw that the man had just taken off his bamboo hat and revealed his face.
"Lin Jue? Why are you here too?" Yan Zhengsheng asked in surprise.
"Hahaha, Mr. Yan, he was invited by the king. Can we go in and talk? They are all blocked at the door. Your yamen entrance is too small and too crowded." Guo Bing laughed from the side.
Yan Zheng said hurriedly: "Yes, yes, please come quickly, please come quickly."
Yan Zheng solemnly led Prince Liang and his son, Lin Jue and others into the lobby of the Yamen, and ordered people to take tea. Seven or eight guards also followed in, standing behind Prince Liang and his son. Behind Lin Jue, there was also a man wearing a uniform.
He didn't even take off his robe or hat. Yan Zhengshen thought he was also a follower of the palace, so he didn't pay much attention to it.
"My lord, my little lord, what's going on today? The rain is getting heavier and heavier. It turns out that my lord and your little lord are here. I'm afraid this is the first time that your lord has come to my office in the past three years." Yan Zheng chuckled.
road.
Yan Zhengsu is right. Since Yan Zhengsu took office as the magistrate of Hangzhou, Prince Liang has never been to the magistrate's office once. When the previous magistrate Zhang was in office, Prince Liang often came and went.
Guo Bing chuckled and said: "Master Yan is a good official and is praised by all the people. I can be regarded as Master Yan ruling a people. Since the government is peaceful and clear, why bother you. Besides, Master Yan doesn't like the officialdom where people come and go.
Sociable?"
Yan Zhengsu smiled slightly and said: "Your Majesty, you have given me the reward. As an official, I only want to do more for the people, ensure peace, live up to the great trust of the court, and live up to the grace of the Holy One. If I can get it, I will be satisfied."
Guo Bing nodded and said: "What I'm saying is that if all the officials in our Great Zhou Dynasty could think like Master Yan, the world of our Great Zhou Dynasty would be a paradise on earth. Unfortunately, not everyone is like this. Even under Yan
Under the rule of adults, some things are not satisfactory."
Yan Zhengsheng was stunned for a moment and asked quickly: "Your Majesty came here today. Could it be that he has something to give to the official? But please make it clear that if the official has done something wrong, he should do his best to correct it."
Guo Bing nodded slightly and said: "It's not an order, but a discussion. What Mr. Yan just said is very good. We local officials are responsible for guarding the court and ensuring peace. But this
It is easy to say but difficult to do. For example, in our Hangzhou government, although the government is well-controlled and people-friendly under the rule of Mr. Yan, there are still many things that have become stubborn problems and have become a problem for the people of Hangzhou. Mr. Yan, I have a share of Hangzhou here.
A letter signed by one hundred and eighty-three merchants in the mansion, and they didn’t know what they thought, were sent to my mansion. After reading it, I felt that I must come to discuss this matter with Lord Yan."
Guo Bing waved his hand, and Guo Kun on the side immediately took out a cowhide envelope from his arms. Yan Zhengsheng's follower Yan Kuan hurriedly stepped forward to take it and presented it to Yan Zhengshen with both hands.
Yan Zhengzhen was a little surprised when he heard that one hundred and eighty-three merchants had jointly submitted a letter to the prince. If the merchants under his rule had something to do, they should come to the Yamen to tell them why they had written to the prince of Liang? He had no time to think about it carefully and took it.
Yan Kuan took out the thick letter from the envelope he handed over, frowned and read it carefully.
Guo Bing picked up the teacup and drank the tea, staring at the serious expression. After only one sip of tea, Guo Bing resisted the urge to spit out the tea in his mouth and swallowed it with a frown. The tea was simply too bitter.
There are still a lot of scraps, and there is even a musty smell. They say that Yan Zhengshu lives a poor life and is extremely harsh on himself, and it is true. He is not deliberately treating himself lightly, but he drinks like this in the first place.
Low-quality tea leaves are just used to entertain guests. The teas drunk in the palace are all top-notch famous teas. Drinking this kind of tea is like drinking medicine.
Yan Zhengshen quickly read the letter, and his brows knitted into a big knot. However, the content of the letter did explain one thing, why these merchants wrote to the prince. It turned out that what the merchants reflected in the letter was exactly
The pirates were infested and caused huge losses to them. Everyone knew that Prince Liang's Mansion existed in Hangzhou to suppress the pirates, so it was understandable that he turned to the prince for help in this matter.
Yan Zhengsu specifically looked at the joint names on the last page of paper, and sure enough, they included the most important merchants in Hangzhou. Most of them were large merchants engaged in overseas trade, shipping and related businesses.
"Master Yan, have you finished reading?" Guo Bing also finished spitting out the broken tea leaves in his mouth and asked in a deep voice.
"Your Majesty, pirates have been a problem for a long time, and this is indeed a problem that worries me on the two Zhejiang Roads. I have told the prince many times. It is understandable that merchants have resentment. Please also ask
Your Majesty, don’t blame them.”
"Blame? Where do you start talking about this? How can I blame them? The troubles caused by pirates are my own responsibility. I feel ashamed and blame myself. How can I blame them? I read the list of things they listed.
I am very angry about all the pirate robberies. The pirates are so rampant that it is time to take measures. That’s why I came to you, how can I blame these merchants?" Guo Bing frowned.
Yan Zheng said hurriedly: "It turns out that the official has misunderstood. Is the prince here originally to deal with banditry?"
Guo Bing waved his hand and said: "Sir Yan, please reject the Wugan waiters."
Nodding solemnly, it was really not appropriate to talk about this matter publicly, because it might involve confidentiality. So all the people in the hall were dismissed, and all the guards in the palace also left one after another, but Lin Jue was still present, and standing next to Lin Jue
The mysterious man wearing a bamboo hat didn't leave either. Although Yan Zhengshen found it strange, he didn't feel comfortable asking in detail.
"Master Yan, I stayed in the capital for three months and did not return to Hangzhou until the end of February. During my stay in the capital, I had the honor to listen to the holy teachings. The banditry in our Hangzhou Prefecture has been spread to the capital, and the news is very bizarre.
"There are rumors that the city of Hangzhou is full of bandits. People die every day in the city. Kidnappings and robberies are heard every day. It is said that our city of Hangzhou has become a place where bandits can come and go at will." Guo Bing said.
