Tanhualang

The source of the floods in Zhufu counties in the south of the Yangtze River lies in the lower reaches of the Wusong River and other sea-connecting rivers, which are silted up due to tidal fluctuations, and the water flow in Huangpu is also blocked due to the accumulation of sandbars over time.

These rivers are silted up, and in the rainy season in summer and autumn, when there is heavy rain, the water will have nowhere to go and cannot flow into the sea, causing disasters.

Shen Jing put forward a water control plan in "The Strategy of Water Control in the South of the Yangtze River": "Dredging the north and north banks of the Wusong River, Anting and other puddles, diverting the water from Taihu Lake into the Liujia and Baimao ports, dividing the water of the Wusong River, and making it flow directly into the sea."

The Great Huangpu is the main road leading to the Wusong River, and its downstream is silted up, so immediate dredging may not be effective.But there is Fanjiabang next to the Great Huangpu, and you can reach the sea directly from the Nancang Pukou.It should be dredged immediately to make it unimpeded and connected to the Great Huangpu, which can solve the urgent need.

According to the calculations of the Ministry of Industry and the Ministry of Households, it will take [-] civilians to complete this project, and the shortest time it takes is one year, and the longest time is two years.

Such a huge project is time-consuming and labor-intensive, which will inevitably cause resentment from the local people.

So on the way to the south, Zhuo Dajiang warned Shen Jing: "I am old and I can't do many things. This trip to the south of the Yangtze River to control the floods requires you to do many things. It is difficult to talk about everything. The first thing is to recruit civilian husbands, which is even more difficult. Difficult. At that time, you can go to discuss with the prefectures and counties boldly. If there is anything, I will bear it for you. But you must also be careful, and don't cause so much resentment among the people that it will be difficult to take over."

At the end of March, Shen Jing and Zhuo Dajiang arrived in Nanjing. After contacting the Nanjing Ministry of Industry, they rushed to Suzhou.

The magistrate of Suzhou is now replaced by Ren Jinsong, who is from Shaanxi. He and Zhuo Dajiang are Jinshi in the same discipline and are familiar with each other. Therefore, everything has been carefully arranged. A lilac garden near the government office was enlisted as a "water control office", and documents were sent There are several government servants.

Everything was properly arranged, and it was not too late to recruit civilian husbands, so at the beginning of April, Zhuo Dajiang and Shen Jing got busy.

But no matter how busy the day is, it is still difficult to sleep at night.

In April in the south of the Yangtze River, the weather is already warm and harmonious.

In the middle of the night, Shen Jing was wearing a thin shirt, standing in the courtyard, looking at the thin crescent moon in the sky.

Xiao Meng probably heard the commotion, brought hot tea and put it on the stone table in the middle of the courtyard: "Sir, can't sleep again? Let's have a sip of hot tea. This is the fried rice tea brought by the eldest sister, it can soothe the nerves and nourish the body." .”

Shen Jing took it over: "Thank you for cleaning the house and yard these two days."

Xiaomeng yawned, and replied with a smile: "I only heard my elder sister mention it before, but now I see that Mr.'s old house is so spacious and luxurious. It is indeed much bigger than our small courtyard in the capital."

Shen Jing smiled and said: "The place is bigger, it's just that it's too old. I'm afraid we'll have to live here for two or three years, and when we have time, we'll have to repair it."

"I'll think about it, and it won't be too late to talk about it later." Xiao Meng yawned again, "Sir, you've been tired at the government office all day, so go to bed early."

"You go first." Shen Jing smiled, "I'll sit for a while and think about some business."

Xiao Meng nodded and went.

Shen Jing took the rice tea and drank half of it slowly, but still didn't feel sleepy.

Today is the third day of April.

Five or six days later, it will be the day of Zhao Heng's wedding.

What is Zhao Heng busy with now?Are you...preparing your wedding dress, hat and boots?

... I don't know what Zhao Heng should look like in his wedding dress?

Shen Jing put down the tea bowl, clutched her chest tightly, looked up at the deserted Bai Yue, and let out a long breath.

I don't know how long it will take to survive such sleepless days and nights?

Working hard during the day, but tossing and turning at night could not sleep, so after arriving in the south of the Yangtze River, within ten days, Shen Jing quickly lost weight.

So much so that Cao Xiaoyu, who brought Pan Xiaozhou back to Suzhou, looked at the quiet look and turned pale with distress: "It's only been a few days, why have you lost so much weight again? I'll tell Xiaomeng to take good care of you , I'm afraid it's because you don't take yourself seriously!"

Shen Jing was even more surprised than her.

That day he was busy in the yamen until it was dark before returning to the mansion. Who would have thought that as soon as he entered, he would see Xiaomeng tidying up the yard; Cao Xiaoyu was going in and out busy packing dinner, and Wei Zheng and a few guards were standing in the yard. Playing with the boat, seeing Shen Jing coming in, he smiled and said hello: "Master Shen."

Wei Zheng has always been inseparable from Zhao Heng. When Shen Jing saw Wei Zheng, her heart started to beat violently. She glanced at the hall, calmed down for a moment, and then suppressed her nervousness: "Why is Captain Wei here?!"

Wei Zheng put down Pan Xiaozhou in his arms, and then replied: "I was ordered to send my elder sister to Suzhou."

It is self-evident to whom it is ordered.

After hearing this sentence, Shen Jing felt even more uneasy, and before she had time to speak to Cao Xiaoyu, she hurried to the study: "Lieutenant Wei, please follow me to the study to talk."

As soon as the two entered the study, Shen Jing closed the door.

Wei Zheng did not wait for him to speak, so he comforted him first: "You don't need to worry. Your Highness is in Beijing, everything is fine."

Shen Jing felt a little relieved, but still wondered: "Your Highness, why..."

Wei Zheng lowered his voice and explained: "The Holy Majesty's illness got worse. It was March [-]th when we left the capital, and the Holy Majesty couldn't get out of bed for several days."

Shen Jing frowned.

Wei Zheng continued to speak in a low voice: "Duke Mingde connected many clansmen and ministers. These days, he has been sent to the court one after another, forcing the emperor to set up a reserve. The situation in the capital is very tense. Fortunately, His Royal Highness has already prepared, and has already set up an army near the capital. troops."

Shen Jing nodded: "Your Highness stayed in Jizhou to gather troops before, presumably for the purpose of arranging these things?"

"Exactly."

Shen Jing said worriedly: "Since this is the case, Captain Wei shouldn't have left the capital. In this troubled time, His Highness should have a capable person by his side."

Wei Zheng shook his head: "Your Highness has already given orders. Tell me these days, I must be at your side."

Wei Zheng is Zhao Heng's person, Shen Jing can't say much, he can only let it go.

So from the next day, no matter whether Shen Jing went in or out of the yamen, or went to the nearby counties, there was an extra guard by his side, Wei Zheng, who was called a entourage, but was actually a bodyguard.Although there were people around asking questions, Shen Jing didn't know how to explain it, so she just smiled and didn't answer, just let it go.

In this way, another half month passed, until mid-April, shocking news spread in the capital: the emperor passed away.

Shen Jing learned the news earlier than Suzhou Fuya and Zhuo Dajiang.

That day when he and Wei Zheng returned home, a guard handed him a letter, and at the same time whispered a few words to Wei Zheng.Wei Zheng nodded after listening, took the letter and opened it. After reading all ten lines at a glance, he looked up at Shen Jing: "The Holy One is dead."

Shen Jing was surprised at first, and after a moment of silence, he asked in a low voice, "Where is Your Highness?"

"Everything is fine, Your Highness." Wei Zheng said, and handed the letter to Shen Jing.

Shen Jing forced himself to be calm and took the letter, and before he could read it carefully, he heard Wei Zheng say again: "The Holy Majesty ordered that the First Prince inherit the Great Reign, and His Highness will supervise the country and regent."

Shen Jing raised his head sharply.

Judging from what Zhao Du said in the past, he clearly wanted Zhao Heng, why did he leave a will to make the eldest prince Zhao Ming succeed him?

"The news of His Majesty's death was not mentioned in the letter. It was a message from the sender. These days you are in the yamen, just pretend not to know." Wei Zheng said in a low voice, "This letter is from His Highness. Handwritten, order me to stay in Suzhou and take good care of you."

Shen Jing looked down at the letter paper and recognized Zhao Heng's handwriting. He held the letter paper tightly in his hand and wanted to take a closer look, but felt embarrassed in front of Wei Zheng, so he lowered his eyes and said, "If it's convenient for Captain Wei , this letter... I will keep it."

Wei Zheng nodded: "Just put it away after reading it."

After Wei Zheng closed the door and left, he quietly walked under the lamp, unfolded the letter paper, and read it word by word.

However, on a thin piece of paper, in just a few sentences, he told Wei Zheng to take good care of himself; the handwriting was in a hurry, and it must have been written in a hurry.

In the former dynasty there was Duke Ming De, and in the harem there were clansmen, empress and second prince Zhao Ming. Zhao Heng's current situation in Beijing must be very difficult.

Shen Jing read it several times, and finally could only silently fold up the thin letter paper in his hand and store it closely.

Even though he is worried, there is only one thing for him to do right now, and that is to do his best to make the Jiangnan flood control project go smoothly.