I am Emperor Shizu of Song

Chapter 31: God-given opportunity, take advantage of the opportunity
May 20th, morning.

At the Zhuxian Town wharf, 40 miles south of Bianjing City, a fleet of grain boats rested for the night and then set sail again early in the morning, heading north.

"We're finally reaching Bianjing City. It's been over a month since we arrived here, but we've finally arrived safely."

Zhao Zicheng stood at the bow of the boat, gently waving a folding fan, looking at the scenery on both sides of the river, and his heart was quite excited.

"In fact, we sailed all night last night, so we might have arrived by now."

"If we stay one more night, we won't arrive until at least the afternoon. I hope we don't miss the city gate."

The ones who said these words were Deng Yue and Li Jun who followed Zhao Zicheng. Although they came from very different backgrounds, they were both good at water and boat handling. From a professional point of view, they both felt that the fleet should not have stayed one more night last night.

Zhao Zicheng did not explain much. How could others understand that he was just paying tribute to the deeds of Yue Fei in later generations who defeated the Jin army in Zhuxian Town.

After traveling to the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, if you were to say who Zhao Zicheng most wanted to see and admired the most in this era, it would definitely be Yue Fei. There is no doubt about this question.

Unfortunately, he had been hanging around in Jiangnan before, and it was impossible for him to come into contact with anything related to Yue Fei.

Calculating the years, Yue Fei seems to be about 16 years old, or 17 years old. He may be a little younger than Zhao Zicheng, but they are exactly the same age.

Yue Fei was a northerner. Historically, it seems he first joined the army in the fourth year of the Xuanhe reign, recruited as a "brave warrior" in Zhending Prefecture, Hebei Province, three years prior. Furthermore, Yue Fei was drafted into the army after Tong Guan pacified the Liao Dynasty and was dispatched by Zhao Ji to the north to fight against the Liao Kingdom, where he was defeated. Had Tong Guan not been defeated by the Liao, Yue Fei's career trajectory might have been further delayed.

Perhaps I should find an opportunity to make friends and recruit them in advance. However, everything will have to wait until the matter in Bianjing is settled.

Zhao Zicheng did not say much about why he had to stay in Zhuxian Town for a night to pay tribute. After the fleet set off safely, it headed steadily north and sailed for a whole morning. After traveling about 20 to 30 miles by water, it was getting closer and closer to the city of Bianjing.

Deng Yue and Li Jun each calculated the speed and distance, and felt that they would definitely arrive at 3 p.m., and the city gate would not be closed until at least the last quarter of the afternoon, so there was plenty of time.

However, not long after the fleet sailed, the water conditions changed slightly.

The water level on the Bian River was getting higher and higher, and many ships were pushed back by the current. Some ships collided with each other, were damaged, and even sank.

Even atheists like Zhao Zicheng were made suspicious by this sudden disaster, and at one point they thought that Yang Zhi's disaster-absorbing constitution had broken out.

We were so careful along the way, and we killed and repelled the pirates from the Haisha Gang and Wang Qing's mountain bandits, but in the end, we had to be ruined by a flood?
The Hua Shi Gang ship was loaded with such heavy rockery. If it lost its balance and capsized again, it would be no joke.

Out of caution, Zhao Zicheng did not dare to rush any longer and quickly ordered to find a shallow river bend to anchor. He would rather spend one more night outside the city and enter Kaifeng City early the next morning.

No one questioned his decision. They were already on the brink of victory in Bianjing, and they couldn't afford to let anything go wrong. Furthermore, everyone was filled with fighting spirit, knowing victory was within reach. They were so excited that they didn't mind staying up all night. That night, they took turns on duty, keeping a tight watch and giving no chance to the thieves.

However, in the early morning of the next day, the peak of the flood seemed to have receded and the flooding was relieved.

Although the Bian River is still somewhat flooded and the water level is much higher than usual, overflowing both banks, it at least does not affect navigation, and the water flow in the canal is not very fast.

Early in the morning, boats leaving Bian Jing from upstream also came down the river one after another.

As fleets of ships sailed north and south, the boatmen would chat and inquire about each other's whereabouts. Zhao Zicheng learned about the situation in Bianjing from the boatmen's conversations.

"A few days ago, heavy rain began to fall. The day before yesterday, there was a small breach in the Yellow River. The government sent brave soldiers to plug the leak, but the floodwaters that had already escaped continued to spread southward. The water outside Bianjing is over ten feet deep! The water inside the city is also several feet deep! No wonder the flood peak was so high! We are dozens of miles south of Bianjing, and it is so flooded."

The people with Zhao Zicheng were also worried when they heard that Bianjing had just suffered a sudden flood a few days ago.

"The Song Dynasty is plagued by disasters every year. Do they want to let the people live?" Murong Yan was emotional and could not bear to see people suffering, so she sighed endlessly.

Zhao Zicheng listened without commenting, but silently assessed the possible additional impacts of this unexpected flood. Although Zhao Zicheng was well-versed in history books, it was impossible for him to read every word carefully.

He certainly didn't know details like "In May of the first year of Xuanhe, a flood hit the capital, and there was red gas across the sky in the northwest. Something like a dragon was seen in the homes of people in the capital. On Dingwei, the emperor ordered that virtuous people be allowed to study Taoism and follow the Taoist rules."

However, soon more canal boats came from upstream, bringing relevant first-hand information, allowing Zhao Zicheng to have a better understanding of the flood.

"After the flood inundated the city yesterday, His Majesty ordered Imperial Master Lin Lingsu to ascend the city walls to pray for a halt to the rain. The Imperial Master labored all night, but to no avail. I heard the Taoists even evaded the issue, claiming someone in the imperial family was insincere, rendering the talisman ineffective. His Majesty has already ordered the Crown Prince to ascend the city walls to offer prayers. I wonder what the outcome will be. Alas."

Zhao Zicheng and his entourage received this news from the visitors from upstream, and they all sighed.

Everyone knew Lin Lingsu. Zhao Zicheng had also heard of him in his previous life, reading the history of the Song Dynasty. He seemed to be the most trusted Taoist priest by Emperor Zhao Ji, bestowed with the title of Imperial Master and a host of other honorific titles. At the height of his status, he even dared to challenge the Crown Prince for the right to rule the Dao while traveling in Bianjing.

The Genyue Mountain built by Zhao Ji was originally named Wanshou Mountain, and it is said that Lin Lingsu persuaded Zhao Ji to build it. It also seems that Lin Lingsu instigated Zhao Ji to order Huang Shang to edit and print the "Wanshou Daozang".

But don't underestimate this man, as he was once very powerful and was regarded as a god when he was in favor. In the end, it seems that when there was some disaster, the emperor asked him to pray to the sky, but his prayers were often ineffective, and he eventually fell out of favor.

Could it be that this flood was the cause of Lin Lingsu's fall from favor?

Zhao Zicheng hadn't figured it out yet. Curious, Murong Yan asked him, "Brother Zhao, what do you think the impact of the flood in the capital, with the Emperor's ineffective use of that thief's Taoist magic spell, will be? Will the Emperor become less devoted to Taoists in the future?"

Zhao Zicheng thought for a moment and said, "It's hard to say now. Let's wait and see after we enter the city. However, if His Majesty's trust and commitment to Taoism can be strengthened, even slightly, it will be a good thing for the people of the world. We are now wasting so much money and effort collecting the flower and stone tax, isn't it just for the purpose of repairing Genyue?
Genyue was built at the instigation of that thief Lin Dao as a place for your spiritual practice. If Lin Dao and his gang were to fall from grace even slightly, allowing Your Majesty to invest less money and grain in the construction of Genyue, or even if the standards were simply lowered, it would be a great blessing for the world.

By then, if His Majesty can reduce his trust in Zhu Zhen and his reliance on him, and if the Yingfeng Bureau's power in Jiangnan can be reduced, the people of Jiangnan will also have a better life. If we have the opportunity, we should act decisively and do our best to promote it from the sidelines."

Zhao Zicheng's review was not only to educate Murong Yan, but also to help him think things through more clearly.

Sometimes, the best way to deepen your understanding of something is to act as a teacher and explain it to others.

When you can explain the knowledge points clearly and thoroughly, your understanding will be elevated to a higher level.

Zhao Zicheng already had a vague plan in his mind. After the flower and stone donation was delivered, he would find an opportunity to undermine Zhu Jie's power and gradually dismantle the foundation of his authority.

While Zhao Zicheng was thinking, the fleet finally arrived outside the city of Bianjing.

The flood had receded slightly, and the sluice gates of Bianjing were open. After a simple inspection, the grain ships could enter the city directly.

When Zhao Zicheng and his party entered the city, they witnessed two chaotic scenes with their own eyes.

"Your Highness's prayer was successful! Not long after Your Highness lit incense and prayed, the flood receded!"

"That demon has been practicing magic for days, but it's useless! He drowned so many people! And now he has the nerve to claim credit!"

Just as Zhao Zicheng and his party entered the city, a fight broke out at a place on the city wall that looked like an altar from afar.

Setting up an altar on a city wall was a rare sight, and Zhao Zi said he had noticed it from afar and planned to inquire about it. However, before he could even ask, he witnessed something even more shocking.

Zhao Zicheng immediately sent someone to investigate, and soon there was a result.

"I heard that the Imperial Master was trying to report his achievements in warding off floodwaters, but he was surrounded and beaten by the same hard-working river workers who had risked their lives to stop the Yellow River from bursting a few days ago! The Imperial City Administration has already sent people over!"

(End of this chapter)