Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

As they were talking, Little Comb actually came over to Shen Zheng with tea in hand.

Shen Zheng was stunned and looked up at the emperor. The emperor raised his hand to signal her to have some tea, while all the officials stared at her with dim eyes.

Rather than offending the emperor, she thought it was more worthwhile to offend all the officials.

Under the sour looks of the officials, she thanked the emperor for the reward, drank her tea, and continued, "A diversion weir divides the river into two. The main channel is the 'flood discharge channel,' widened and deepened to drain excess floodwater during heavy rains. The branch channel is the 'irrigation channel,' winding its way to the villages along the river. Smaller channels are then set up to connect to the fields, allowing water to be diverted for irrigation during droughts... The principle is similar to that of upstream irrigation, but the details are more sophisticated."

The officials of the Ministry of Works were fascinated by what they heard.

The emperor's gaze towards Shen Zheng was tinged with regret.

Unfortunately, the king never joked. He had already promised to let Shen Zheng return to Tongan County. Now it was too late to change his mind.

After some thought, he said, "The benefits of canal construction are immediate and will last for generations to come. However, it cannot be accomplished overnight. It requires careful planning and careful, step-by-step implementation. It will definitely not be accomplished in a day or two..."

At first glance, this sounds like "let's discuss this later."

As we all know, the emperor's words "let's discuss it later" are equivalent to "I don't want to discuss it".

Upon hearing this, Prime Minister Cui and his party were secretly delighted, thinking that perhaps the emperor had changed his temper today and didn't even listen to Shen Zheng's words?

But before he could even enjoy himself for a moment, he heard the emperor say, "Lord Shen, when you arrive in Tong'an County, you can use the express mail of 800 miles instead of the regular post. I will ensure that you can communicate with the Ministry of Works without any hindrance so that the canal and dam can be completed as soon as possible."

Cui Xiang's party: "......"

It’s too early to be happy.

After Shen Zheng and the Minister of Works agreed, the Ministers of War and Rites came out one after another to report.

Before I knew it, the drums started beating and it was already noon.

The morning light flooded over the Danbi, and Shen Zheng yawned quietly, thinking that after leaving the court, she would first go around the six ministries. If there was still time to spare, she would go to the training ground and bring the county soldiers back to the mansion.

"Does my dear have anything else to say?"

The emperor was the first to give the signal to leave the court.

The hall was silent for two breaths. The emperor looked around the hall and said, "Since there is nothing else, let's dismiss the court. Minister Shen, please stay."

Shen Zheng nodded and bowed on the surface, but felt a little helpless in her heart.

The first time I officially attended a work meeting, my boss asked me to stay...

Ugh--

Just as all the officials were paying their respects and Eunuch Hong was about to start speaking, a burst of hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the hall.

Eunuch Hong subconsciously felt that something was wrong and swallowed back the words "withdraw from court" that were squeezed into his throat. All the officials also turned around and looked outside the hall.

Outside the hall, the Minister of Public Administration came striding over, and even his fluttering official robes could not catch up with his footsteps.

All the officials felt a little depressed when they saw this.

As everyone knows, the Tongzhengshi is a sinecure. His duty is to guard the Suzaku Gate during court meetings. If there is an emergency, he can go directly into the palace to report.

But in the hundreds of days of court attendance in a year, they had never seen the Minister of Public Administration a few times.

And today...

Many people subconsciously looked at Shen Zheng.

Something that happens only once in hundreds of days just happens today... Is it just a coincidence?

Shen Zheng kept looking at the Minister of Public Administration.

Perhaps because he was too eager, he slipped as soon as he entered the hall. After stabilizing his body, he knelt down directly.

"Your Majesty! Urgent news from Datong Prefecture!" He pressed his forehead firmly against the gold brick, his voice trembling. "An unusual situation has occurred in Hunyuan County, Datong Prefecture. In Luoxia Village within its jurisdiction... the ground suddenly became as hot as a scorch. Wheat grains scattered on the ground at noon are scorched in half a minute. The well water is so hot that it burns your hands and burns your throat. All the grass and trees have withered in three days, their roots reduced to ash..."

The emperor's face suddenly darkened, all the officials gasped, and discussions broke out.

"This isn't an anomaly! It's clearly the wrath of the earth!" someone said firmly, "Last year there were floods in the east, and this year the wrath of the earth in the north... Your Majesty, this must be a warning from heaven. We must offer sacrifices to the heavens and ancestors to appease the wrath of heaven and earth!"

As soon as this statement was made, many officials echoed it.

Shen Zheng frowned secretly when she heard this.

Yu Shizhang stepped back and asked her in a low voice, "What do you think?"

After pondering, she lowered her head and said, "There's too little useful information to know for now. But these people...why do they insist on linking natural disasters to the wrath of heaven and earth?"

She really couldn't understand it.

When a disaster strikes the country, instead of thinking about how to respond and provide disaster relief, they are thinking about quickly setting up an altar and using sacrifices to appease the wrath of heaven and earth?

It's absolutely incomprehensible.

Is this kind of person qualified to be an official?

"Can't figure it out?"

Looking at the officials who were shouting "sacrifice", Yu Shizhang laughed sarcastically: "You will understand later..."

Just when Shen Zheng was confused, Bian Yuanli, the Minister of Zongzheng Temple, stood up.

His gaze flickered towards Shen Zheng, and although his voice was not loud, it was loud enough for everyone in the hall to hear clearly.

"Your Majesty, natural disasters have indeed been frequent over the past two years. First, there were the dangerous situations in Changnan and Xingning Prefectures, and now there's the Hunyuan earthquake... Ancient texts say, 'When yin and yang are out of balance, disasters will arise.' I, this old minister, believe there's some truth to this statement... I request that Your Majesty issue an order directing the Ministry of Rites to prepare a grand sacrificial ceremony to appease heaven and earth and stabilize the people's hearts!"

After the words fell, the hall fell silent instantly.

Many officials subconsciously looked at Shen Zheng.

Bian Yuanli's words seemed to be a request for the emperor to order a sacrifice, but in fact they were implying that Shen Zheng, as a woman, had entered the government and broken the "rules set by heaven," causing the Great Zhou to "be out of balance between yin and yang, and frequent disasters."

In his words, no matter how capable a woman is, she is still not worthy of being an official.

And Shen Zheng, who has made many great contributions, is definitely a "disaster star".

"Master Bian is wrong!"

Yue Zhenchuan's face darkened as he retorted, "Natural disasters are caused by the right time and place. How can you force such a claim? Your Majesty, in my opinion, the court should immediately send people to Hunyuan to appease the people and investigate the cause of the disaster!"

"Far-fetched?" Bian Yuanli sneered, his gaze turning even more pointedly to Shen Zheng. "If it weren't for the imbalance of yin and yang, why would the news of the Hunyuan Earth Burning be reported to the temple today? Sacrifices are meant to appease the heavens and stabilize the people's hearts. Is there anything wrong with that?"

He did not mention Shen Zheng in any of his sentences, but blamed Shen Zheng in every word.

Seeing Ji Benchang about to rush over and start a quarrel with him, Shen Zheng smiled and said, "Sir, I believe that stabilizing the people's hearts depends on disaster relief, not playing tricks."

Ji Benchang stopped walking, swung his sleeves, and agreed, "That's right! The people of Hunyuan are being displaced, and instead of thinking about how to save them, you're throwing mud at Lord Shen. What a piece of shit!"

Bian Yuanli's cheeks puffed up. Knowing that he couldn't win the scolding, he turned around and knelt down.

"Your Majesty, ancient texts clearly state that 'Heaven and man are in harmony'! This old minister implores Your Majesty to issue an order, offer sacrifices to our ancestors, and appease the wrath of Heaven and Earth!"

As soon as he finished speaking, several more people knelt down.

"Your Majesty, I beg you to issue an order!"