Jiang Qing

It has been raining heavily in Cangzhou for several days, and the torrential rain has made people in the government offices panic.

They all stared at the new master of flood control, waiting for Mei Shao to come up with some ideas to solve the crisis in Cangzhou, but he has only inspected the terrain and built dams for the past two months, and he has never looked into the root cause of the flood in Cangzhou. The person who was watching gradually moved his eyes away.

After all, Mei Shao was the first military officer sent by His Majesty, and the Cangzhou officials were always eager to see if there was any difference between him and the previous civil servants.

In previous years, Cangzhou also had officials sent by the imperial court to control the water, but all had little effect.When the flood season comes, the places that should be flooded will not fall. The casualties of the people and the survival of the grain all depend on the level of the heavy rain that year. Save some points.

It's not that the officials sent by Pingdu are not dedicated enough, it's that Cangzhou's situation is special.

Cangzhou is mostly an outflow lake, and the lake water is connected with the Shunjiang River, rising and falling together, and leading each other.If you want to dredge the waterways, the best way is to use the large and small lakes in Cangzhou to share the water and introduce it into the Shunjiang River.

But the lakes with a small area are all occupied by cottages. They reclaimed fields around the lakes, and they are self-sufficient enough. Fishermen are not allowed to fish in the lakes. A good piece of lake has been ruined until it is muddy and stagnant. Not to mention the drainage effect, even the area of ​​the lake is getting smaller year by year.

Without the lake diversion, every flood season, the water volume along the river rises, directly flooding Cangzhou.The people complained, and the officials found it difficult to deal with it, but those cottages were based on the highlands on the top of the hills, and the water flowed through them, so there was not much loss.

If things go on like this for a long time, some people who really can't make a living have moved to become bandits. Many people abandon their families and sons and go to the mountains to seek refuge. Lin Hu's Weihu Mountain has grown step by step.

It is said that a strong dragon does not suppress a local snake, and it is rare for a hard-headed official to come to suppress the arrogance of this cottage, but they all return in defeat.Lin Hu is a master of softness and toughness. If you greet him with kind words and persuasion, it will be a gentle exhortation in his ears. The battle is bigger than the officers and soldiers.

Mei Shao originally thought that the wind of this cottage would be hard to stop, probably because the leader, Weihu Mountain, was easy to defend but difficult to attack.Even if a serious official wanted to do something, it would not be able to resist Lin Hu, who was patient. Once the gate of the village was closed, he would be happy in his own world. He would stay until the official's term expired in March and April, and then come out to do the business of robbing houses.Even if someone really came to attack the village, he had a lot of money, bought high-quality weapons and armor, and had a lot of good horses. In addition, most of the people in the village were young and middle-aged, so he dared to challenge the officers and soldiers.

But today, Zhizhou Fang Min led him to a banquet hosted by the local businessman Mr. Huang, and he figured out that there was another way behind Lin Hu.

After drinking for three rounds, surrounded by beauties, the aroma was filled with the smell of wine, and everyone present blushed from drinking. Master Huang swayed his drunken steps, and swayed in front of Mei Shao, using the smell of wine to hint half-truthfully. , if Mei Shao can not move Lin Hu, the goods at the water transport terminal can be divided into some profits to contribute to the filial piety.

Mei Shao covered it perfunctorily, but Master Huang was not annoyed, he still took drunken steps and sat back in his seat steadily.

Seeing the situation, Mei Shao also guessed how the previous officials couldn't handle it.It turned out that the gold of filial piety was hot to the hand, ironing it made people feel comfortable, so naturally this hand couldn't be lifted to clear one's own wealth.

Back at the residence, Mei Shao ordered Chu Yan to investigate the relationship between Master Huang and Lin Hu in private, and asked Fang Min to investigate in detail.

Cangzhou was originally in the middle of the Shunjiang River, and the fresh goods shipped by sea from the east were distributed from Cangzhou and shipped to various places.Therefore, along the direction of the river, the imperial court funded and ordered the Ministry of Industry to set up wharves along the road for water transportation in the early years, and Cangzhou is one of them.

Mr. Huang was the one who took over the business of the Water Transport Wharf back then. He was greedy for profit, and the price he set was high. Many businessmen would rather take the long-term land route than the light water route.

Because of this, Mr. Huang and Lin Hu hooked up a line, and the two shared profits. Mr. Huang was in charge of the water business, and Lin Hu was in charge of intercepting the land.But no matter which side you choose, the filial money will go to the pockets of these two families.

Swallowing up the toll, the Huang family has become a big family in the area, and Lin Hu has a lot of money, otherwise he would not have had the guts to go to the Pingdu martial arts competition to recruit relatives, and he would try to get a royal relative.

Under the combination of interests, whenever the imperial court sends officials here, it is obvious that the Huang family entertains guests in the name of local wealthy families, beats the Beijing officials at the table, and tries to settle the matter with money.If Mr. Huang couldn't talk, Lin Hu would secretly trip up the official and threaten him to force him to submit.

Seeing the poor mountains and bad waters here, the road is far away and it is difficult to return, the dispatched official was worried about his own life, so most of them were relieved.

Comparing the news of Chu Yan and Fang Min, the two are very similar.This made Mei Shao suspicious. Fang Min saw that he was not a vegetarian. Officials sent abroad would be tempted by the small profits. It was also because they didn't stay here for a long time, and they could return home after making a fortune. , and no one participates in it, so everyone is happy.

But Fang Min lived in Zhizhou, so he must not be a person with low official position, so why didn't he take advantage of this great achievement and seek a good future?Was he also involved in this business?If this is the case, this already unbreakable camp will be even more solid. Officials, merchants, and bandits are all on the same line, and the whole body is involved in a single move. It is really a headache.

Looking at the collected information on the table, Mei Shao was confused and didn't know where to start.

The rain outside was getting heavier, lightning and thunder rumbled, and strips of white light flashed on the windows.

Thinking that the flood season in Cangzhou was approaching, but she could only temporarily order people to build dams at places where the floods could easily be released, Mei Shao became even more upset, and the feet of her hands were rubbed into curls.

Chu Yan is the person left by Concubine Mei Gui to Mei Shao, and he is very good at making incense. He is the only Wu tribe who is willing to enter the world. Earlier, he only focused on developing "Lonely Pillow" and sold it in Mei Shao's ghost market.After the ghost marriage in Pingdu, the ghost market disappeared, and Mei Shao also lifted him out of the dark and brought him with him.

Seeing Mei Shao's tired face, Chu Yan tactfully placed sandalwood on his face, and said silently: "You are tired, you should rest."

These days, he has been tossing around in various flood-discharge places to personally supervise the work, and he has to deal with some irresistible banquets. Mei Shao is really exhausted.

He hadn't eaten much during the banquet just now, but at this moment, the smell of alcohol came up, making his stomach ache, and his words trembled: "Is there any news from Pingdu? Your Majesty hasn't sent an imperial envoy to investigate the cause of Bai Bingchen's death?"

"No." Seeing Mei Shao's distressed expression, he said one more sentence to comfort him, "Perhaps it's raining hard, and the news is hard to spread."

Mei Shao gritted her teeth and covered her abdomen, feeling dazed in pain, a small official rushed in with rain, shouting, "My lord! The dam on the other side of Changfeng is about to collapse!"

Hearing that Mei Shao didn't care about herself, she immediately flipped through the topography of Cangzhou, "How long can I last?"

"The rain doesn't stop, at most half an hour."

Half an hour later, it rained heavily again.Mei Shao thought for a while, pointed to the two villages downstream of Changfeng, and said, "It's too late to repair the dam, so order the officers and soldiers to go to these two villages, evacuate the villagers first, and go to the highlands, hurry up!"

He got up and put on his rain hat, and said loudly to the little official who had already run out: "Where is Fang Zhizhou?"

"Master Fang has already gone!" The little official's voice disappeared in the violent rain.

Mei Shao went out and got on his horse, without stopping for a moment, he headed towards Changfeng.

Dense rain pits hit the road ahead, and Mei Shao felt no pain when hit by the cold rain. She just focused on looking at the road ahead, and arrived in Changfeng not long after.

Many officers and soldiers surrounded the embankment, and they transported some stones to the embankment on the spot, trying to resist the temporary attack of the rapids.

Fang Min was already dispersing the officers and soldiers to guard the dam, and when he saw Mei Shao coming, he shouted through the sound of the rain, "My lord!"

His voice was drowned out by the sound of slapping the embankment, so he could only reach out his hand to signal Mei Shao to come over, and whispered in his ear, "Did your lord make any arrangements?"

"I have sent people to evacuate the people. We only need to hold on here for half an hour. When the time comes, let the officers and soldiers also evacuate to the high ground!"

The two simply understood the situation, and each led people to guard the dam.

The wind was violent and the rain was violent, mixed with the sound of the waves beating, and the officers and soldiers couldn't stand still, so they had to drag their steps and walk with difficulty in the knee-high water.

Suddenly, officers and soldiers cried for help in panic from the other end. Fang Min crossed the water towards the other end, and finally heard their shouts clearly: "Lord Mei has fallen into the water!"

All of a sudden, the embankment was in chaos, and the current was so fast that it swept down the waves, and everyone disappeared in an instant.

"Send someone downstream to look for it!" Fang Min was a little confused, and hurriedly pushed a few officers and soldiers beside him to let them lead someone to look for it.

-----

The showers were unstoppable, and there was still no rest at night.

In the magistrate's mansion, the prominent officials in Cangzhou sat around Fang Min, looking at each other.

The dam in Changping was still broken. Fortunately, the two downstream villages moved away quickly and did not cause much damage.

However, within two months, two officials sent by the imperial court had accidents in Cangzhou one after another.The officials in the hall are sitting on pins and needles, everyone is in danger, and they feel that the black gauze hat on their heads is not safe.

Several people discussed in a mess for a long time, but they couldn't come up with an argument that could be heard by Datian. They all bowed their heads silently, panicked.

Fang Min only had time to change out of his drenched official clothes, and the water droplets from his hair dripped onto the collar of the dry clothes, and he got wet again after a while.

He waved his hand to the officials below extremely wearily, and said: "My lords, you should go back and wait for the news. I have sent someone to look for it, and it will take only two days to find the whereabouts. When we find Mrs. Mei, we will discuss how to do it." Report to His Majesty."

The officials below were eager for someone to come forward to make a decision. After hearing this, they all got up and left one after another, relieved.

Fang Min didn't go to the backyard until everyone in the hall had left.

From a distance, Fang Min saw someone standing on the porch listening to the rain.

Literati prefer to listen to rain and elegant things, but Bai Bingchen prefers to listen to showers.

The raindrops turned sharply and hit the eaves on the ground. Moisture evaporated in an instant, and the wet ground wrapped around the whole body.

Bai Bingchen stood there for a long time. Hearing the sound of rain, he was isolated from the outside world. Even his wild thoughts were interrupted by the rain. He suddenly felt empty and refreshed. He put away all distracting thoughts and only heard the rain fall.

"When I was in Pingdu, the teacher liked to hear the rainstorm. I asked the teacher why." Fang Min walked up to Bai Bingchen and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

"Because I can escape for a short time." Bai Bingchen answered his question, but his thoughts wandered somewhere.

This is a rare time for him to rest his thoughts.Even in his sleep, he couldn't hide Bai Bingchen's heavy thoughts.On the contrary, the torrential rain with the strong wind allowed him to find a moment of peace and escape from the rain for a short time.

As if he didn't want to disturb Bai Bingchen, Fang Min didn't talk to him, but Bai Bingchen took the initiative to speak after a while.

"It's over?" His voice was obscured by the sound of rain.

"Downstream has long called for someone to guard it. After waiting for someone, follow the teacher's instructions and immediately leave Cangzhou and go north."

Fang Min glanced at the calm expressions of the people around him, and couldn't help asking: "Why did the teacher go to such great lengths to send him out? In fact, the bottom line is that he and the teacher will reach the same goal by different routes, and will not hinder the teacher's progress." plan."

"I never felt that he was in the way, but..." Bai Bingchen pursed his lips and said softly, "Your Majesty wants him to die for me. I can't let him go back to Pingdu."

"Your Majesty wants to do what the late emperor did?" Fang Min blurted out in surprise, and belatedly realized that it was disrespectful to talk about the monarch, so he lowered his voice, "Even if the teacher sends him to Jingzhou, he can be locked up." One or two years, but he can't be imprisoned forever, according to his temperament, he will try his best to escape in the end."

Hearing this, Bai Bingchen showed a very shallow smile, "Two years is enough, and two years is enough for me to calm down the situation. As long as I die and everything is settled, the sky is high and the sea is wide, everywhere in the world, let him go, It's all good. I can't interfere, I can't interfere."

Thinking of this, Bai Bingchen frowned, feeling at ease, as if he had glimpsed the light of the sky on the long dark journey.

At that time, Mei Shao will be avenged if he dies. When he let go of his worries, no matter where he goes, it will be a good time.

It's just that I can't see it.

The author says:

Something went wrong just now, when I pasted it from Orange Melon, there was a section missing, only about 3300 characters, and then I found something wrong, and I pasted it again, and the result became more than 3600 characters, because the long wearing V badge must be revised every time. Last time, I had to do it again, and now it is more than 3700 words.But please rest assured, the chapter price is based on the first time, more than 3300 words.This tells me a truth, don't use orange melons, woo woo woo.