Chapter 262: The Yellow River goes to heaven, heads fall to the ground

The 11th of the tenth month, Xuzhou, Mount Yunlong.

The mountain is divided into nine sections, winding and undulating, with its head raised to the northeast and its tail dragging to the southwest, shaped like a divine dragon, hence the name Yunlong.

The so-called resonance of immortals and spirits is perhaps the reason why Mount Yunlong attracted a true dragon to stay, which is entrenched in the Xinghua Temple on Mount Yunlong.

Of course, this is what the local commoners say.

After all, the temporary imperial residence (the place where the Son of Heaven travels) claims to the outside world that it is the Emperor's benevolence, neither willing to enter the city to disturb the people, nor wanting to linger in the prefectural *yamen* to affect the official work; the reason is too high-sounding, and it is really not as catchy as the saying that dragons attract each other.

But in any case, the Xinghua Temple, which covers an area of nearly 100 *mu* and has more than 100 temples, has been occupied by the Emperor's family for several days.

Those who sincerely worship Buddha worship Buddha, those who like to travel in the mountains travel in the mountains, and those who have nothing to do just find a small stream to fish.

At the northern foot of Mount Yunlong, the stream flows and flows downstream.

A large rock protruding from the shore is square and upright, like a stone bed.

A human figure is lying on the stone bed.

Just past the *si* hour, the sunlight sprinkled through the dense forest, revealing the true body of the human figure, which is the Wanli idler in casual clothes.

Zhu Yijun supported the back of his head with one hand and held a book in the other, occasionally pulling up the fishing rod hanging on the side to untie the dead branches and rotten leaves entangled in the bait.

Although he gained nothing, he felt leisurely and self-satisfied.

It's a pity that the Wanli idler is not really idle after all; listening to the footsteps behind him, Zhu Yijun knew that the time for being alone and emptying his mind had ended.

"I heard early in the morning that Your Majesty had finished inspecting the Xuzhou water storage granaries; I asked Eunuch Wei, but he insisted that Your Majesty hadn't returned; it turns out you were hiding here fishing."

A female voice broke the tranquility of the mountain stream.

Zhu Yijun held the book and turned from lying on his back to lying on his side, without looking back: "Just arrived, just arrived."

Saying you just arrived when fishing is the same as a corrupt official saying he just reached out; it doesn't count.

Imperial Concubine Li walked up and took the opportunity to knead the Emperor's shoulders: "Why is Your Majesty in a bad mood? Did you discover any loopholes when inspecting the Yongfu and Guangyun granaries?"

The Emperor had long ago let out the wind that he was going to inspect the water storage granaries.

As a result, when he really went to inspect, he ended it hastily, which was really strange.

Zhu Yijun turned his back to Imperial Concubine Li, his tone carrying an ironic sarcasm: "What loopholes can an inspection notified in advance have? Naturally, the granaries are full of rice, and the government is harmonious."

The so-called water storage granary is a granary built by the water or the wharf, which can be used for storage and as a transit station for transporting grain.

It is precisely because of this characteristic that it is very difficult to verify the grain in storage; the grain seen today might be the canal grain that should be transported away tomorrow—if it weren't for this convenience, it should have caught fire.

To confirm whether the grain storage situation in Xuzhou water storage granaries is really as Zhang Zhan said, we still have to catch a suitable opportunity.

Imperial Concubine Li saw that the Emperor didn't want to say more, knowing that she couldn't ask in detail, so she changed the topic: "Since that's the case, then it's probably the book in Your Majesty's hand that made Your Majesty feel bad."

Zhu Yijun smiled, knowing that this was the imperial concubine pulling a reason to relieve boredom with him.

However, he didn't spoil the fun, and said deeply: "Lu Shen, this fellow, is really not a son of man."

Saying this, he turned his head and handed the "Daily Record of the Imperial Southern Inspection," which recorded Emperor Shizong's southern inspection experience, to Imperial Concubine Li.

Imperial Concubine Li took the opportunity to sit beside the Emperor and took the book curiously: "Emperor Shizong praised Lu Wenyu back then, saying his knowledge was excellent and his nature was sensitive; how could a daily record annoy our current Emperor?"

A daily record is a diary, one entry a day, and it doesn't require deep foundation; even a child can pick up a pen and write it.

Lu Shen is known as the literary pearl of Shanghai County, Songjiang Prefecture; his foundation and learning are close to the principles of the time, and there is no reason for it to be so unbearable.

Zhu Yijun arched his head into Imperial Concubine Li's body, changed his posture, and explained: "It's not that the text is improper, it's just that the lines between the lines are too noble, which is annoying."

After all, he is a person who has been dead for decades, and he is too lazy to leave any virtue when evaluating.

Imperial Concubine Li flipped through a few pages roughly, looking quite puzzled: "Noble?"

How did she not read it?

Zhu Yijun sneered: "As a vanguard official for the southern inspection, inspecting the customs and visiting the people, the whole text is full of things like 'leisurely thoughts of hometown,' 'the peaks are very beautiful,' 'climbing the high pavilion to watch the portrait of Emperor Taizu of Song,' which is simply inexplicable."

What is the difference between this and public-funded tourism?

This is not as simple as Emperor Shizong's single-handed travel of three hundred *li* a day.

Imperial Concubine Li sat beside the Emperor and read with relish, not forgetting to comfort him: "Lu Wenyu is already considered a simple elder."

"Look, Your Majesty, February 15th, only one meal; 17th, exhausted, borrowed a commoner's house to rest; 20th, burned firewood to keep warm, only drank hot soup; 27th, residents in the city provided soup cakes; March 3rd, ate bean rice, hard to swallow."

Zhu Yijun curled his lip.

If little Li knew which Lu the Lu in Lujiazui was, she would definitely not be able to say such things.

Of course, as far as Lu Shen himself is concerned, it can't be said to be extravagant; even someone like Xu Xiake who has no official status can rely on his reputation to let the local government take the initiative to equip him with mountain porters, not to mention Lu Hanlin.

This treatment, if placed among the scholar-officials, can be said to be sleeping in the wind and sleeping in the dew.

He paused, but still said where Lu Shen was annoying: "I am annoyed that he treats the commoners as nothing; the so-called visiting the people, the whole text of thousands of words, actually only recorded nine words!"

Imperial Concubine Li heard this and looked carefully, finally finding the record about the people's situation in the cracks.

March *xinsi*, dawn departure, noon passing Yao shop, seeing starving people kneeling, wailing continuously.

It is indeed only a short line, without any sense of picture.

But this cannot be counted as Lu Shen's crime; literary collections are all written like this, and even if the Emperor's comments spread, it would be the Emperor who is harsh.

However, as a person on the pillow, Li Baiyang actually knows the Emperor better than the outer court.

She closed the daily record and said intimate words: "Your Majesty is not annoyed by Lu Wenyu, but is clearly thinking of the things seen and heard on the southern inspection tour, feeling upset in your heart."

The Emperor's face was not right when he returned to the temporary residence the night before, and Lu Shen was clearly hated by the house and the crow.

Zhu Yijun paused, then sighed.

He took the opportunity to pillow on Imperial Concubine Li's lap and changed his posture: "Half and half, the noble appearance of the scholar-officials is quite annoying."

Collective consciousness is powerful, and only by seeing the high-and-mighty style of these scholar-officials can one know how difficult it is for serving the people to become "correct"—at least scolding the scholar-officials for being divorced from the people will not be retorted by saying the Emperor is harsh.

As for the other half, there are many annoying things.

Zhu Yijun sighed repeatedly: "Just hiding in the Forbidden City and reading memorials, I only feel that it is thriving, everything is good; when I go out, this is not good, that is not right."

"Don't look at 'starving people kneeling, wailing continuously' as just a few words; when it accidentally entered my eyes, I couldn't eat for a day."

"The petty officials along the way don't do human things, setting up checkpoints to intercept taxes, rampant to the extreme; even when Li Rusong, the vanguard official for inspecting the defense, was present, some people had the courage to come forward and extort."

"Also, when passing through Linqu County before, I learned that there is a Linqu Feng family who has been farming and reading for generations; sister, have you heard of it?"

The Emperor hid in the concubine's arms and chattered about the things he saw along the way.

Imperial Concubine Li recalled for a moment and replied: "The Feng family of the former Yuan Wan Hu Marquis Feng Caixing? I heard that they once drifted to the south, and it wasn't until Feng Yu became a Jinshi that they returned to Linqu and set up a gate."

"And then Feng Yu, Feng Weizhong, Feng Weinai, Feng Zilü, four Jinshi in one family, generation after generation without end."

"Continuing for two dynasties without falling, once sung as a famous family in the world."

After all, she is a woman from a famous family, and she knows these things like the back of her hand.

Zhu Yijun couldn't help laughing when he heard this, two dynasties? You underestimated them.

More than a dozen Jinshi in one family, with orderly inheritance, the Ming Dynasty will not fall even if they don't fall.

In the later Qing Dynasty, Feng Pu was still the Grand Secretary of the Wenhua Hall, and in the Vice Prefect period, he made a sharp transformation, letting Feng Guizeng be a Zhenwei General with military power; if it weren't for the warning of heaven, he could even count further back.

Zhu Yijun was blocked from his line of sight and couldn't see Imperial Concubine Li's face, so he asked back: "Does sister know how the commoners sing the folk songs of the Feng family?"

He didn't wait for Imperial Concubine Li to respond.

Zhu Yijun answered this question himself and chanted softly: "Only know that Linqu has a Doutang, don't know that Beijing has an Emperor."

"Tsk, if it weren't for Zhang Fuzhi pointing out the Feng family, letting me go to Linqu to see it for myself, I really wouldn't know that they were so majestic, simply training the government as dogs and horses."

The power comparison of various social strata is very difficult to feel through memorials.

Talking about famous families, but seeing it with your own eyes is not as real as it is.

Zhu Yijun arched his head out of the lap to meet Imperial Concubine Li's gaze: "Speaking of this, monks and Daoists always maintain awe and never forget to weigh my face."

"Does sister still remember that six years ago, I made a three-chapter agreement with the monks and Daoists to curb usury?"

Six years ago, during his inspection of Beizhili, he took the opportunity to bring usury under the supervision of the Ministry of Revenue.

He didn't even limit too much, just required filing with the Ministry of Revenue, framing an upper limit of interest, and not allowing interest on interest.

Imperial Concubine Li naturally remembered this and nodded: "I remember that the Ministry of Revenue and Daoist Yuan Shen and Master Hongfa pulled the skin for a long time, and finally agreed that the upper limit of interest was 40% per annum."

According to the Great Ming Law, for private lending, the monthly interest cannot exceed 3%, which is 36% per annum.

At first glance, after a series of operations, the usury interest is higher, but in fact, it is the result of both sides making concessions to each other.

You know, the Great Ming Law is largely a decoration in execution; the folk lending method of nine out and thirteen in can rush to over 300% per annum.

Now that the Emperor neither allows pulling down houses and pulling down cattle, nor allows interest on interest, the income of monks and Daoists from lending has gone down, and bad debts have gone up; asking for a few more points of interest is to make up for this part of the loss—otherwise, human hearts are not satisfied, and universal illegality, the imperial court cannot kill them all.

Zhu Yijun clicked his tongue: "That's just Beizhili!"

Meeting Imperial Concubine Li's puzzled gaze, Zhu Yijun patted his belly and explained: "I asked in a temple in Jinan, and the host said that the 40% upper limit is the rule of Beizhili."

"When it reaches Shandong, it can only give the Emperor 80% face, and the upper limit of interest will be 48%."

"Yesterday I asked about the market in Xuzhou, and it rose to 51%; that big monk said that if it were lower, it would be better to take the risk of being cut by knives and axes and continue to lend with interest on interest."

After saying this, Zhu Yijun couldn't help laughing himself.

Can the local government not know about this? This is already the result of giving the Emperor face, but unfortunately, the Emperor's face is less valuable the further away from the capital.

Words are followed by deeds, just talk.

Imperial Concubine Li didn't have much emotional fluctuation after hearing this and comforted warmly: "Your Majesty's heavenly power is boundless; how can you belittle yourself."

"Perhaps the further south you go, the more prosperous the trade, the more prosperous the population, and the demand comes up, so the local government has to adapt to local conditions and take the initiative to share worries for Your Majesty."

Little Li is still very good at comforting people.

Zhu Yijun was helpless.

He supported his body and sat up halfway: "The wife who beautifies me is selfish. If it weren't for knowing the day before yesterday that the local government colluded to withhold memorials and isolate the top and bottom, I would probably have believed sister's words and really thought that the imperial power was boundless."

Imperial Concubine Li finally showed a surprised expression.

She reached out and helped the Emperor sit up, frowning and asking: "Who is so bold as to withhold memorials!?"

No wonder the more the Emperor goes south, the more depressed he is.

There is a pit every three steps, and it is tiring for anyone to walk.

Zhu Yijun sighed again: "And more than that."

The hidden dangers of the Yellow River embankments, the canal grain and canal soldiers being recorded in the books, and the official collusion to harm colleagues, all vaguely showed their outlines.

But Zhu Yijun didn't want to tell the harem too much about the specific things.

Li Baiyang looked at the Emperor and saw that the more he talked, the more upset he was, and there was no sign of improvement at all.

She suddenly puffed up her cheeks, held the Emperor's waist, and scratched randomly.

Zhu Yijun was caught off guard and was given an itching punishment; he hurriedly clamped his arms and dodged outward: "In broad daylight, in the bright universe, how dare you be frivolous to a good family; what kind of style is this!"

Li Baiyang narrowed her eyes into a line and took the opportunity to change the topic: "Speaking of which, I bought a civet cat by the road this morning, and haven't named it yet; I wonder if Your Majesty has any leisure?"

While talking, she beckoned to the female official beside her.

Zhu Yijun followed Li Baiyang's line of sight and turned his head.

Only then did he notice that there was a palm-sized little black cat lying in the female official's hood.

Zhu Yijun walked behind the female official and poked into the hood, complaining a little: "Didn't I say I would look for it when I reached the temporary residence in Nanjing? It's dragging a family here."

Li Baiyang also stood up and held the sleeping civet cat in her hands.

The female official took out an old painting scroll from her arms and explained for the concubine: "Your Majesty, the Empress has eyes like torches, and at a glance, she saw that the wrapping cloth of this civet cat was a famous painting, so she took advantage of the merchant's ignorance and bought it for seven *qian* of silver."

Zhu Yijun looked at Imperial Concubine Li with surprise.

Li Baiyang was expressionless, and only her slightly raised chin revealed a bit of pride.

Zhu Yijun felt strange in his heart and reached out to take the painting scroll, unfolding it against the sun.

I saw a black cat sketched with rough strokes in the painting, with four limbs squatting on the ground, shrinking its neck and looking up, staring at a butterfly dyed in ink, with colorful patterns, dancing gracefully.

A poem was also inscribed on the upper right, saying: "The butterfly dream of the remnant spring cannot be completed, the warm civet cat is full and walks. The rats are rampant and the department doesn't care, but come to idle and fight with the butterfly."

On the left, the inscription was signed: Xueju Hong.

Li Baiyang leaned his head over, his tone unable to hide his cheerfulness: "Your Majesty, this is 'Peonies and Cats' painted in his early years by Sun Kehong of the Wu School of painting."

"With Sun Kehong's current painting qualifications, it is worth at least 50 *liang*."

Actually, it is not a matter of value; the 'Peonies and Cats' painting itself carries the beautiful meaning of wishing someone a long life of 'eighty or ninety years'.

The southern inspection is going to Yangzhou next, and she just happened to send it to her grandfather Li Chunfang when she returned to her hometown to visit her relatives.

It can be said to be a lucky omen that happened to meet the opportunity.

Zhu Yijun silently closed the painting scroll, his face showing an unbearable look of hitting: "Good to let sister know, this 'Mao Die Picture' is a forgery, sister has been deceived."

"Ah?"

Li Baiyang was stunned, snatched back the painting scroll, and looked up and down.

After a while, she looked at the Emperor suspiciously: "Does Your Majesty understand painting?"

Zhu Yijun shook his head frankly: "Don't understand."

Li Baiyang was about to say something.

Zhu Yijun took the lead and cut off the topic: "Last year, Xu Jie turned eighty, and Sun Kehong specially sent someone to send the 'Mao Die Picture' to the Xu mansion to celebrate Xu Jie's birthday; I saw it at Xu Jie's mansion."

He spread his hands and finally defined it: "So, the one at Xu Jie's is the source Mao Die, sister's must be a forgery."

It's an old Jianghu technique; they just rely on the fake to pit the half-baked scholars who think their eyes are poisonous; the cat is just an addition.

Li Baiyang gradually understood, blushing like a quail.

The raised chin hung down silently, stammering: "I will let Eunuch Wei find him to return the money."

"Can others stay in place and wait for you to come to the door?" Zhu Yijun smiled and held her back. But anyone who has seen how the lower nine streams make a game through art knows that whether the painting is a forgery or not, the author himself doesn't count.

You can't use national public instruments for such a small matter.

Zhu Yijun patted Li Baiyang's head and comforted her slightly: "Just treat this cat as worth a lot of money."

Just then, the fishing rod moved.

Zhu Yijun hurriedly grabbed the fishing rod with both hands, for fear of being dragged into the stream by a giant object.

A beautiful parabola.

There was a small fish the size of two fingers on the stone bed, turning over and over.

Zhu Yijun rolled his eyes, reached out and picked up the kitten from Li Baiyang's arms, bent down and placed it in front of the small fish.

Li Baiyang squatted down, puffing her cheeks: "Has Your Majesty thought of a name?"

Zhu Yijun saw that the kitten didn't seem to eat raw food, so he threw the small fish back into the stream: "Just call it Mipa."

Li Baiyang was stunned.

When the Emperor names a cat, it is not Qing Shuang or Bai Xue, how elegant.

How could it fall so much when it reached the literary master?

She was a little embarrassed: "Your Majesty, why don't you... think about it again?"

Zhu Yijun laughed and wiped the water stains on his hands on Li Baiyang's face: "Names are for people to call."

"If you use this name, sister will call Mipa Mipa all day long, I listen..."

Zhu Yijun paused and took the opportunity to pinch Li Baiyang's cheek: "Cute."

Baby fat, the feel is always good.

Li Baiyang's face turned red.

She opened the Emperor's hand a beat late and scolded: "In broad daylight, in the bright universe, how dare you be frivolous to a good family."

The two squatted by the stream and whispered, moving their hands and feet for a while, coming and going.

"Cough, cough."

An untimely light cough came from behind.

The two stood up suddenly.

Imperial Concubine Li kicked the cat back into her arms, and Zhu Yijun turned his head as if nothing had happened.

I saw a row of court officials waiting in the shade not far away, facing away from this side, watching their noses and hearts.

Wei Chao bit the bullet and stepped forward, reporting in a low voice: "Your Majesty, River Channel Superintendent Pan Jixun, Canal Transport Governor Hu Zhili, Deputy Censor-in-Chief Chen Wude, Vice Minister of Works Wan Gong, Henan Touring Governor Deng Yizan, temporary residence Hanlin Academy Compiler Sun Jigao, temporary residence Hanlin Academy Compiler Gu Xiancheng, request to see Your Majesty."

Zhu Yijun glanced at the forest, and didn't expect so many people to wait for a while.

He waved his hand: "It can't hold so many people here, let's talk in the main hall."

This really can't hold.

Pan Jixun and Hu Zhili took the canal from Huai'an and arrived last night; Deng Yizan was called from Henan, a little further away, and only arrived this morning.

None of the three knew what was going on and felt quite uneasy.

Gu Xiancheng received the errand of Vice Minister of Rites He Luo Wen and rushed from Nanjing to report.

He Luo Wen arrived in Nanjing in advance to record the Rouke elements, which was not a secret in the central government.

Therefore, on the way back to the Buddha Hall, the Emperor signaled the group of hall officials to listen in and pointed to Gu Xiancheng first.

"Gu Qing, you have been in Sichuan for only six years; looking at your face, you seem to be ten years older; is the water and soil so unaccommodating?"

The Emperor walked in front on the bluestone slope and allowed Gu Xiancheng to walk side by side.

Gu Xiancheng had spent six years honing his skills at the grassroots level, rising all the way from County Magistrate and Assistant Prefect under Hai Rui to become a Reviewer in the Provincial Administration Commission, and he had become much more grounded as a person.

When I first met in the capital, it was still a fairy-like posture, elegant and open-minded, with unique style.

Now in his thirties, he is already frowning, with wind and frost on his lips, looking like he has been beaten by the world and fallen back into the mortal world.

Gu Xiancheng smiled bitterly: "Your Majesty's concern, I am terrified. It is not that the water and soil are unaccommodating, it is just that it is difficult to govern, and I am powerless."

Zhu Yijun patted Gu Xiancheng's shoulder with relief.

The green robe is stained with frost, and the leather belt is tied with wind and dust, which is better than empty talk about benevolence and righteousness.

Speaking of which, the Shujishi of the second year of Wanli were the first batch of unlucky people sent to the local areas.

Sun Jigao, who tested talent, and Gu Xiancheng, who polished his mind, both turned out quite well; Yu Menglin's articles were good, but his talent was a bit worse, and he is now promoted to magistrate of Huizhou, still being polished in the local area.

Only Li Sancai, who beat the position, and Li Kun, who tested the rural governance model, have not yet handed in their papers, and I don't know what the effect is.

Zhu Yijun shook his head and threw the short reverie out of his mind, saying back to the business at hand: "How is the situation in the Nanjing Ministry?"

Things are complicated and cannot be neglected anywhere.

He didn't forget that the highlight of this southern inspection tour was still left in Jiangnan.

Gu Xiancheng was no longer as fond of showing off as before, and reported concisely: "After He Vice Minister took over the Nanjing Tongzheng Office, the confrontation of literary public opinion moved underwater."

"It is still concentrated on problems such as the unfairness of taxes between the north and the south, the unfairness of the imperial examination quota, and the measurement of land and clearing of households being like blood transfusion from south to north..."

"The hall officials of the Ministry watched coldly, the subordinates and petty officials fanned the flames, merchants and landlords were often incited, and workers and students frequently gathered to demonstrate."

"It is said that Wang Jiaping, the touring governor, has been greatly affected, and the new policy is advancing extremely difficultly."

"Now, the situation is controlled on the surface, but the undercurrents below are surging more and more."

Zhu Yijun listened quietly, without much expression on his face.

Only the action of constantly rubbing the tiger's mouth showed that his heart was not calm.

Gu Xiancheng took out two case files from his sleeve and continued: "This is the official document that He Vice Minister ordered me to present to Your Majesty."

"One volume is the list of officials in the Nanjing Ministry who have a tendency to be soft."

"The other volume is the list of anti-measurement elements provided by Zhang Fuzhi, which separately lists the overlapping officials."

"Please instruct Your Majesty how to deal with it?"

Zhu Yijun reached out and took the two case files, scanning them roughly.

Officials who have a certain tendency to be soft and officials who have already made soft mistakes must be treated differently.

He thought for a moment, but didn't make any radical instructions immediately, just ordered: "The official position remains the same, first isolate it from the new policy work, and wait until after the Wugongshan meeting to talk about it."

Gu Xiancheng heard this and breathed a sigh of relief, hurriedly responding.

After saying this, he hesitated for a moment and opened his mouth again: "Your Majesty, He Vice Minister is quite concerned about the rumors inciting the commoners; we have discussed it with the minister, and we all think that just sealing the newspaper office and clearing out the main officials with a tendency to be soft is probably just boiling the soup to stop the boiling."

You clearly have very limited control over the industry that has formed a scale, not to mention this high-end industry rooted in the scholar-officials.

Zhu Yijun didn't bend around and asked directly: "Gu Qing, you are from Wuxi, do you have any advice?"

Although the Donglin Party generally likes empty talk about morality and took the wrong path, it cannot be denied that some scholars truly have patriotic feelings.

Therefore, Gu Xiancheng's perspective after transformation is very valuable for reference.

Gu Xiancheng saw the Emperor being so polite and was flattered, hurriedly replying: "My meager talent, I dare not accept it."

"My shallow thought is that scholar-officials always have wind and discussion; if we don't speak out, we will inevitably be wrapped up by rumors of the external path."

"Instead of letting them set fires everywhere, it is better for us to call out from a high place and correct the hearing!"

Zhu Yijun heard this and couldn't help laughing.

As expected of the leader of the Donglin Party, the sensitivity in public opinion is indeed unquestionable.

He nodded: "Continue."

Gu Xiancheng caught his breath and said: "I think we should trace the source of the north-south dispute."

"You know, it was only after the Yongjia southern crossing that the north-south dispute gradually became a prominent study."

"But since the three generations, the mainstream of the world has been the dispute between east and west."

"After Zhou destroyed Shang, it was divided by Shaanxi, east and west; when it was in the time of King Cheng, Zhao Wang was the three dukes; from Shaanxi to the west, Zhao Gong governed it; from Shaanxi to the east, Zhou Gong governed it."

"Whether it is the confrontation between the pre-Qin and the Shandong countries, or the subsequent Chu-Han struggle, it has continued the pattern of east-west opposition, Chu River and Han boundary, fully showing the essence..."

Hearing this, Zhu Yijun suddenly raised his hand to interrupt.

"Stop, stop, stop."

Gu Xiancheng looked up blankly, at a loss.

Zhu Yijun rubbed his temples: "Qing's meaning is to trace the source from the three generations to the Yongjia southern crossing in the newspaper."

"Explain the origin and evolution of how regional opposition changed from the geographical level to the political and cultural level, aiming to dissolve the emotional foundation of north-south opposition and turn to rational discussion on national governance?"

Gu Xiancheng nodded like a soulmate.

Zhu Yijun was speechless and turned to Wei Chao on the side: "Eunuch Wei, Gu Qing has a lot of chatter, can you understand?"

Wei Chao looked at the Emperor and then at Gu Xiancheng, scratching his head embarrassedly: "I am dull."

Zhu Yijun then sighed to Gu Xiancheng, earnestly: "Good to let Gu Qing know, market public opinion is not like when we discussed the Dao, everyone is a great Confucian."

"In the folk, humorous and easy-to-understand jokes have always been more inflammatory than the rigorous arguments of long-winded arguments."

"Do you know that... when my vanguard official returned to Xuzhou the day before yesterday, he happened to help the elderly, what did the people say?"

"The onlookers said, don't think that northerners have tall bodies, so they have the qualification to pity southerners; you have to believe in the power of southerners."

"After my vanguard official stood by, the onlookers said again, northerners are like this, heartless, standing by and watching, not as kind and delicate as southerners."

Zhu Yijun spread his hands: "Gu Qing, can your long-winded arguments be easier to understand than others? Can boring citations be more conducive to sharing by commoners than humorous rhetoric?"

Gu Xiancheng was stunned.

Although he didn't understand what understanding cost and what fun was, he immediately understood the truth the Emperor said.

"Discussing and studying a Confucian viewpoint with like-minded people" and "propagating a concept to the commoners on a large scale" are completely different concepts.

Being well-versed in that set of scholar-officials, but not necessarily adapting to folk public opinion.

Thinking of this, Gu Xiancheng bowed and accepted the instruction quite embarrassedly: "Your Majesty's teachings, I am enlightened!"

Zhu Yijun waved his hand: "The path is not wrong, go back and think about the specific methods, and report again when I reach Nanjing."

The high ground of public opinion does need to be occupied, and it is even complementary to the anti-soft work in the court.

Things are complicated, so I threw them all to He Luo Wen and Gu Xiancheng to study first.

Gu Xiancheng didn't know that the Emperor had high hopes.

Seeing that the Emperor ended the guidance, he bowed and retired.

After the Emperor finished dealing with Gu Xiancheng, the group returned to Xinghua Zen Temple.

Xinghua Temple has six courtyards and over a hundred halls and pavilions; Zhu Yijun found a main hall at random and called River Channel Superintendent Pan Jixun, Canal Transport Governor Hu Zhili, Deputy Censor-in-Chief Chen Wude, Vice Minister of Works Wan Gong, Henan Touring Governor Deng Yizan, and temporary residence Hanlin Academy Compiler Sun Jigao into the hall.

As soon as everyone stood still, the Emperor waved his sleeves directly and spoke sharp words: "I don't have the energy to talk nonsense; I have inspected all the way, and I found that the problems in Xuzhou are not small; officialdom, canal transport, grain storage, and engineering are all leaking wind."

"Especially since Xuzhou is located at the confluence of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal, it concerns the lifeline of the country's destiny; I really dare not act rashly before it is clear."

"I had to call you all to share my worries."

Everyone looked at each other, and the look of anxiety quickly climbed onto their faces.

Deputy Censor-in-Chief Chen Wude had the hardest temper and took the lead to pick up the Emperor's words: "Please indicate, Your Majesty, how is the problem not small, and how is it leaking wind everywhere?"

As soon as the voice fell, without the Emperor's signal, Wei Chao had already held the copied memorials of Zhang Zhan and stepped forward to distribute them one by one.

Zhu Yijun took advantage of the group of ministers flipping through the memorials and said with a cold face: "These are all memorials of a River Management Physician."

"He said, the two capitals are built together, Huai, Xu, Lin, De, are the throats of the north and south. Since the canal transport has been running for a long time, Lin and De still have annual accumulation, but the Xuzhou water storage granary has no grain; please from now on, when Shandong and Henan are fully ripe, all collect the original color and store it in the granary."

The Lin and De granaries have accumulated 500,000 *shi* of rice, and the Xuzhou water storage granary has already bottomed out; such news was easily said by Zhang Zhan, and I don't know if it is a public secret within the Xuzhou river and canal system.

As for why Zhu Yijun believed it immediately...

In the two hundred years of the dynasty, Xuzhou canal transport entered the capital with 3 million *shi*, and by the 30th year of Wanli, there was only 1.3 million *shi*; is there no reason for this?

"Another memorial said that since Jiajing, Xuzhou has repeatedly suffered floods; in order to prepare for disasters, the imperial court stores 54,214 *shi* of wheat and rice and 32,316 *shi* of beans in the Guangyun granary every three years, but every time there is a disaster, there is only rotten grain and rotten rice."

"He also said that in the 26th year of Hongwu, the quota for Xuzhou military colonies and garrison troops was 2,167 *shi* per year, but in our dynasty, it soared to 10,217 *shi*, while the number of canal soldiers did not increase but decreased, and they had to go to local towns to search for commoners to escort canal grain; I don't know how many canal soldiers and canal workers are eating my empty salary!"

"He also said that the water storage granary is empty, the laborers are mobilized without food or grain, they are scattered and fleeing, the river officials turn a blind eye, perfunctorily repair the embankments, causing nineteen embankments such as Feiyun Bridge, Jingshan, Chacheng, and Lijian to be full of ant holes, with the danger of bursting!"

"Oh, and where did the cement that I have allocated more than ten times to the Ministry of Works go? Why haven't the Pei County river sections received it?"

"..."

"What makes me even more puzzled is that these memorials that should have been presented to the Emperor were never received by the Tongzheng Office, and Physician Zhang also unfortunately died a few days ago."

"Everyone says that the two rivers burst once in three days and once in five days; I see it's not without reason!"

"Middle River Water Department, Xuzhou water storage granary, Xuzhou magistrate, eunuch guarding Xuzhou river and canal, Yellow River Xuzhou Inspectorate, River and Canal Inspection Censor, Imperial Envoy for Grain Storage and Guarding the Local Regional Commander, Coordinating Canal Transport Assistant Regional Commander, Henan River Affairs Vice Prefect, Xuzhou River Affairs, and hundreds of river engineering *zhushi*—are they all blind, or are they all rotten!?"

"I only read the Xuzhou Gazetteer yesterday; do you know how the Xuzhou commoners are recorded in the gazetteer?"

"The commoners on the Xuzhou bank suffered the most from water disasters; originally, they were known for their prosperous population, full food and grain, and singing and drinking in peace, but... when the people encountered a major disaster, they died and fled without count; on both sides of the river, there was one household every ten *li*, ten villages every hundred *li*, and no dog barking."

"Died and fled without count, no dog barking!"

"If it rots like this, the canal will be fine, at most it will go by sea, but are you really not afraid of the Yellow River flooding again!"

"A hundred years of river management will be wasted; at that time, it will be the commoners bleeding and the common people upside down!"

The Emperor's face became more and more ugly, almost gritting his teeth: "Don't blame me for saying the ugly words in front."

"The Yellow River goes to heaven, heads fall to the ground!" ===== CHAPTER 263 =====