Between the vast sea of ​​clouds

Shan Le realized, and said: "So it was the adults who said this just now... I have to ask the adults, I don't know where the dialect is, why have I never heard of it."

Qingping turned his head to look at the painting, and said lightly: "It's normal if you don't understand, send someone to look after them, and report immediately if there is any change."

Shan Le was full of doubts, and wanted to ask again, Yuan Sui suddenly said: "Master Li is leaving tomorrow?"

When the Shangguan was talking, Shan Le couldn't interrupt anymore, so he bowed and retreated.Qing Ping looked at her figure and said with a smile: "Your Majesty Yuan is really vigilant, and he doesn't leave any mistakes in everything."

Yuan Sui closed the picture scroll and said: "Master Li is going to Qiannan, please take care of yourself and be careful in case of trouble."

Qing Ping said: "There are really people in this world who practice the theory of ghosts and gods, and they are addicted to it. If they don't wait for this life, they look forward to the next life. You must know that the next life has long since abandoned the old dreams of the past, and it will be a new life. If this is the case, what's the point? Reincarnation, what about the afterlife?"

Yuan Suidao: "I thought that there are no ghosts and gods in this world. The so-called ghosts and ghosts are people who use their names to secretly do deceitful things and do unrighteous things in the name of gods and spirits. However, there are so many strange things in the world, and some people use the mouth of ghosts and gods to The unspeakable bitterness, the unspeakable suffering.”

The two looked at each other, and said calmly: "What you see is black is not necessarily black, and white is not necessarily white. The world is changeable and cannot be generalized. Although the temple has believers, money and land, as long as the government speaks, There is no longer a place to stand. With the mere head of the district and a few elders, I am afraid that it will not be able to achieve the current climate. The case here is not as simple as pretending to be a ghost. Master Yuan must have noticed something when he checked from Hezhou to Chenzhou. "

"The Hezhou ink corruption case is nothing more than who got the money and where did the money go. The words Mr. Yuan said to Mr. Jin seem to be leading Mr. Jin to investigate somewhere. There is nothing wrong with that. Mr. Jin knows too much and it is easy to make mistakes. You said Deng Jie later. I know this person. He committed a crime and committed suicide in prison. He was removed from the family tree and cannot be buried in the tomb. Standing with his arms folded, he glanced at her and said, "Although this Deng Jie is inextricably related to the Hezhou case, she is dead after all."

Yuan Sui took off his gloves, wiped his hands with a damp cloth, and said, "Yes, Deng Jie is indeed dead. But I found out that there was another person who was in charge of this task with her at that time. When Deng Jie was the household officer, that person He was appointed as Cangwu Taichang, and later moved to Hezhou Fantai, and now he has been transferred to Chenzhou River Channel Chief Inspector."

"Just as Master Li thought, there is indeed a big problem with the river course, but the evidence is insufficient. It is still inconclusive. We still need to wait for the news from Master Jin. The only thing that is certain is that the matter of the Hechen and Chenzhou states, and this People can't get away from it."

Yuan Sui took a few steps in the hall, turned around and said, "Chenzhou River Channel Chief Inspector and Transit Envoy, this person seems to be in the same department as Mr. Li, and is Mr. Li's classmate and friend?"

Qingping's fingers tightened slightly, he took a deep breath, and said slowly: "Master Yuan is talking about Yan Jinghan? I am familiar with her personality, and it is absolutely impossible for her to do such a thing."

Yuan Sui pondered for a moment and said: "Until the matter is clarified, nothing can be concluded."

Under the clear sky of thousands of miles, the river meanders like a jade belt to the distance, with blue waves and white waves, the river rushes away, irrigating the land on both sides of the bank and nourishing the living beings on one side.

A group of people walked along the embankment, the embankment was tens of feet high, and under the embankment was the torrential river.The accompanying guards rushed forward and said, "My lord, do you want to rest and use some dry food?"

The entourage hurriedly grabbed the reins and helped Jin Huan get off the horse. Jin Huan said, "How far is it to the White Dam?"

The entourage said: "It seems that there are still seven or eight miles to go. You might as well drink some water. It's been half a day's journey. The weather is hot, so be careful of the heat entering your body."

Jin Huan sighed, and said: "If the river is not restored, the headquarters will not be able to relax for a day."

Everyone pleaded guilty in panic, Jin Huan shook her head slightly and said: "It's not your fault, get up, let's eat together, we can continue on our way later."

The entourage distributed the dry food among the people, and they sat on a piece of clean grass and ate bread. The atmosphere was a little tense, and one of the guards said: "I would like to ask, why don't you go to a noble place to work in a noble place? Instead, he joined the Ministry of Industry?"

Jin Huan took a sip of water from the water bag, followed by unfolding the drawing, she outlined the place where she went with charcoal, and then said: "Although this department comes from a family, the sisters are all officials in the court. This is a chance to enter the Imperial Academy. It is both leisurely and elegant. However, the department has always disliked those who talk about the classics and ancient times, and recite poems to make right. Everyone can talk about wars on paper, and it is easy to draw a big cake. But everything must be experienced and practiced, and words alone will not work. From the national economy and the people's livelihood to rural farming, everything needs to be done by people to know the results. The Ministry of Industry is just about practicality. Distinguish every inch of it. The slightest difference is a thousand miles away. No matter how you conceal it, the river bank dams built by these people will never deceive people. What kind of materials are spent and whether they are carefully built? , can be found to be true or false.”

The guards all praised the master for his insight, and the attendants put away the blueprints, saying: "Thank you for your trouble in pointing out the younger ones, but there is still one thing that the younger ones are not clear about, so I don't know if I should explain it or not?"

Jin Huan said: "Just say what you have. This is not the imperial court. There is no need to talk about those empty etiquette. It is a waste of time."

The entourage responded and said, "Young Master Guan walked all the way along the river embankment. Why is that?"

Jin Huan finished chewing half of the cake in her hand, and said slowly: "Just as the Ministry of Criminal Investigation pays attention to evidence, the Ministry of Rites pays attention to classics in textual research. Walking along the river can check whether the embankment was built according to the plan and whether there are any jerry-built materials; it can also observe the disaster situation on both sides of the river. , as well as changes in water patterns, whether floods will occur again, and whether the river needs to be reinforced in the coming year, all must be checked one by one before reporting.”

As she spoke, she couldn't help thinking of what Yuan Sui said the night before yesterday. Although Yuan Sui was an official, he was always careful in investigating cases and never made a mistake.So that night when she said that the remnants of the Xirong Party were in trouble in Chenzhou, Yuan Sui didn't say anything to refute it, but I don't know why...

Jin Huan thinks that this matter is not so simple. Although she is an official in the Ministry of Industry, she comes from a family. The Taimiao came, why did he also get involved in this case?

It turned out that Sui was single-handedly promoted by the emperor, and Li Qingping also belonged to the imperial party. The two of them jointly investigated the case, and anyone with a discerning eye could see that the emperor must have ordered it.

So what exactly are they looking for?

After saying that, seeing that everyone had eaten and drank enough, Jin Huan said: "Let's go, we've finished talking, the road still has to be rushed, thank you for your hard work."

The crowd didn't dare to talk, and the group got on their horses and went forward. When they got near the Baishui Dam, Jin Huan suddenly said: "Stop."

She got off her horse, and there were many gravels on the ground. Her attendants went to help her, but Jin Huan signaled not to use it, and said, "Why are there so many rocks in the ground? Go to a farther place to see if there are still such gravels. "

The guard gave an order, but after a while he rode back and said: "My lord, there are also in the distance."

Jin Huan's heart skipped a beat, and she hurried to the crevasse to see that the Baishui Dam is an ancient dam built with stones. It has gone through three dynasties.After that, it was repaired many times by the government and reinforced with clay. The body of the dam was made of local rough stones in Chenzhou.Even if it was washed away by the flood, the stones should be intact, not broken all over the place like this... What's more, there are hundreds of feet from the mouth of the dam to the other side, and the vegetation on the ground is intact. The image of overflowing, how did this white dam be destroyed?

A terrible thought floated up in Jin Huan's mind. Holding the gravel in her hand, she couldn't help but froze in place. Seeing this, her entourage said, "My lord, my lord?"

No, how is this possible?

She looked at the river from a distance. The dam crosses the Rao River. It slows the flow below the dam and stores the water potential on the dam. Now a long opening has opened on the right side of the dam, and the torrent gushes out, causing the downstream water volume to increase sharply.

The guard said: "My lord, there seem to be some people over there, who seem to be from the barracks!"

Jin Huan came back to her senses and said, "Go and have a look!"

A group of people dressed as soldiers were blocking the gap with sandbags by the river embankment. The leader saw them and said, "The river embankment is damaged here. I'm afraid there will be more troubles. I hope you all leave quickly."

Jin Huan got off the horse and said: "We are from the Ministry of Industry and were ordered to survey the river. I didn't know that your army was here. Please forgive me."

The entourage took out the clerk's official card, the man looked at it and saluted with fists together: "The last general pays homage to my lord."

Jin Huan looked around and asked, "Didn't the floods disturb your army's garrison?"

The man said: "Returning to my lord, although the flood came fiercely, it never rushed into the camp."

Jin Huan said, "Then why are you here?"

"Although it didn't flood our resident, it flooded hundreds of acres of fertile land downstream. My lord knows that this month is the time for planting young crops, and the fields are flooded, and the young crops that have just been planted will also be destroyed. This year's Most of the harvest will be lost." The man pressed down the brim of his hat and said, "Isn't it because the flood has not subsided, so the army commander dispatched some people to prevent the water from breaking the river bank again."

Jin Huan was taken aback, and said, "You said the water didn't wash over the garrison, but the fields?"

Chenzhou, He Mansion.

"Ancestor, oh my old ancestor! Just listen to my advice! Is there a better time than this now? Don't you want to sit and watch those masters and westerners earn enough money before you plan to take a bite? What's left?"

The four sides of the waterside pavilion are covered with light gauze to cover the sun, and the wind blows from the lake with water vapor, instantly dispelling the summer heat. Green vines and green vines are depicted on the columns of the waterside pavilion, and they are outlined with gold pens, vividly shining in the sunlight.

Sitting in the hall was a white-haired old lady with a golden hairpin and snow-haired hair, which was even more luxurious. She didn't even lift her eyelids when she heard the words, and said: "You can calm down, it's better not to get involved in such things. .”

The middle-aged woman in the red robe said anxiously: "Here, grandma, what do you mean? You want me to keep money and not make money, how is that possible?"

"Then let me ask you, are you unwilling, or are you unable?"

The woman said: "Why should such a great opportunity be ignored?"

"Hehe." The old lady opened her eyes, looked at her sharply and said, "Why don't you care? He Mei, don't you think I'm old, just an old fool, I don't know anything, I'm all with you You look like an aunt, trying to fool me all day long!"

He Mei was ashamed, and said forcefully, "Why did I fool you?"

The old lady shook her head slightly, and said: "I know that there has been a flood in Chenzhou recently, which has flooded two counties and thirteen counties. Tens of thousands of acres of fertile land have been submerged, and spring planting has been delayed all of a sudden. If this is the case, the harvest in these counties will not be settled this year, and farmers will starve to death without food, and if they don’t want to starve to death, they have to sell their fields, isn’t that the truth?”

He Mei reluctantly said: "Yes."

The old lady had a panoramic view of her expression and said mockingly: "At this time, there are some smart people who think about getting rich and thinking about what to do, and take advantage of the natural disaster to suppress the price of the land and force the farmers to sell the land at a low price. I really don’t know! If the court finds out about this matter, if the government finds out, do you still want to die?”

He Mei argued: "Grandmother, it's not as serious as you said, it will kill you at any time. Not only people from Chenzhou are buying it, but people from Hezhou and Minzhou are buying it. Why make it cheaper for outsiders?"

The old lady sighed: "Who is cheaper? Isn't it cheaper than those powerful families! Yes, Minzhou's maritime trade is prosperous. In recent years, millions of bolts of silk have been shipped out, and they have been handed over to the treasury and made a lot of money. You just think If you want to grow more mulberry trees, why do you need to grow food? The harvest of food is low, so it can’t compare to making money with silk, but Chenzhou is a land with four mountains, four rivers and two fields, so there is no extra land for planting mulberry trees!"

As she talked, she became angry, shaking her bun, and hammered the table hard: "The idea is really good, so what should the common people do? Without farming, what will they eat next year?"

He Mei's brows tightened, and she said, "Fifth Aunt said that when there are mulberry fields, silk farmers will be hired, and weaving will also require a lot of hands. Let those who have no land be weavers, and the wages are not as high as farming?"

The old lady looked up to the sky and sighed, and smiled angrily: "Okay, okay, what you said is really good! Then let me ask you, the local food in Chenzhou is getting less and less, and everyone is going to grow mulberry and silkworms. Where does the food come from?" ?”

He Mei said: "Of course I bought it from other places."

The old lady let out a sigh of relief, and said: "Transporting grain from other states depends on whether they are willing to sell it! Buying and selling grain privately is a serious crime. If you let the people of Chenzhou grow mulberry, Chenzhou will have no grain. In the future, we will have to buy from outside. The price of grain also depends on the quality of the harvest. If there is a surplus in a good year, you can buy more and the price is much cheaper. The people of Chenzhou? If they sell it, it will be sold at a very high price. Who would make a loss-making business? At that time, you will let those people who have no land buy food. ?"

He Mei bowed her head and said nothing, the old lady saw this and said: "Our He family has been handed down for fifteen generations in Chenzhou. Your aunts and aunts are officials, and businessmen are businessmen. Our He family wants money and money. If you have connections and connections, you can do it if you want to do it. Your fifth aunt must have recognized this, otherwise how dare you act recklessly behind my back? But people are always lacking, and you want more! If you Grandma won't say a word about you when she's doing business, but for things like this that disregard human life and harm nature, no matter how much money you have, you can't touch it! Cough cough..."

He Mei hurriedly stepped forward to comfort her, saying: "Grandmother, I know, it's all my fault, and we don't want those lands anymore, don't be angry?"

"Not only that," the old lady pressed her hand and said, "You also need to set up tents in disaster-stricken counties outside the city to donate porridge and rice."

He Mei wanted to withdraw her hand, but she pressed her tightly, and said with a smile: "That's unnecessary, we didn't even buy the fields, and we still have to donate porridge and rice, isn't it a loss..."

She swallowed her next words under the gaze of the old lady. The old lady said lightly: "Loss? What is loss? Land can be bought and sold, but people's hearts cannot be bought and sold. You come from a wealthy family, so naturally you don't know the life of ordinary people. Natural disasters and man-made disasters, those who are worse have to sell their sons and daughters in order to have a living. He Mei, in life, besides money, there is also fame."

The old lady pushed her away and said: "You don't have to lose face, but you can't fall into the lintel of our He family!"

He Mei was terrified, and said: "Grandma, I—"

The old lady shouted: "Go down and reflect on yourself!"

He Mei had no choice but to leave in despair. After she left, the old lady drank some tea, closed her eyes and calmed down, and then ordered: "Go and write a letter to the boss, telling her to bring the third child back soon."

The servants agreed, and the old lady's eyes were like lightning, and said: "Tell them, if you don't come back, the sky in Chenzhou will change."

The setting sun is pulsed, and the afterglow falls on the river water, dyeing it with a golden red light.The mountain wind blows slowly, the water surface is shimmering, and the river gently slaps the two banks.The mist cleared a little, revealing the pale blue mountain shadow in the distance.At this time, the twilight is all around, and there are birds passing by, chasing the clouds with the evening bell of the mountain temple, and flying to a farther and higher place.

She stood under the corridor and looked far away. After the light faded away, the color of the water converged into silence, and the thousand mountains melted into the twilight of the night, only the sound of the bell echoed in her ears.

The door opened, and a person came out and said, "Lord Yan, Lord Zhou Mu please go in."

Yan Jinghan put on his clothes and went inside, bowed himself down, and said: "I will see you, my lord."

Liang Pu didn't wear an official uniform, only a brocade robe, and said, "Get up."

Yan Jinghan got up slowly, Liang Pu held a letter in his hand, and said: "I think you have received news about the Hezhou matter. The imperial court sent a servant of the Ministry of Punishment, Zhong Yuan, to investigate the case. He is the one who was the governor of Hezhou in the early years , Fortunately, you have already transferred before she came, otherwise I really don't know what will happen."

Yan Jinghan remained silent, Liang Pu raised his eyes and said, "Why don't you speak?"

Yan Jinghan said: "The lower official doesn't know what to say."

Liang Pu suddenly laughed and said, "You, you, you think things too clearly. You should be a bit confused about things in this world. There is nothing wrong with people making money and killing birds for food."

Yan Jinghan rolled up his sleeves, lowered his head and said: "My lord's lesson is just that the lower officials are always uneasy. That Yuan Sui is so good at investigating cases. When the lower officials and Deng Jie were both state officials, they really -"

Liang Pu raised his hand and said, "Don't worry too much, Yuan Sui couldn't find anything."

Yan Jinghan possessed himself and said: "Yes."

Liang Pu thought for a moment, then walked down from the table and chair, and said: "You told me before that when people go to high places and water flows to low places, they follow the trend. Only those who judge the situation can be the top, right? ?”

Yan Jinghan clenched his five fingers in his sleeves and said respectfully: "Yes, my lord, the lower official said that."

She slowly walked to Yan Jinghan's side, and said: "This time is different from that time, Jinghan, if you stand in my position one day, you will understand one thing, no matter how high the official is It’s useless. With a document from the court, you have to take off your hat and gown, and hand it over to others, and you can’t even complain, haha.”

"I have been an official in Chenzhou for 30 years, and now I have come to this position. At first, I was a state shepherd in Chenzhou. I was trembling. In order to survey the river conditions, I walked all the rivers, big and small, in Chenzhou. Drawing by myself, I was almost destroyed in the waves several times, just like that... In the fifth year, the imperial court wanted to change me, just because I was not from a noble family, if I hadn’t taken the risk of drawing the hydrological map of Chenzhou in front of the imperial court, what would happen today? You won't be able to see me anymore."

Liang Pu sighed slowly and said: "Seeing that the situation is just right, the war is over, and the matter is over, those aristocratic families are thinking of replacing me. Yes, I will retire in two years. It’s really meaningless, and it’s unreasonable to occupy this position and refuse to move the newcomer.”

"But I am not reconciled, I really am not reconciled..."

Yan Jinghan let go of her hand, letting the cool wind brush past her fingertips, and the tingling sensation spread from the small scars, she said: "There must be a way for the car to reach the mountain, adults don't have to worry too much."

Liang Pu turned around and smiled kindly: "You're right, there is always a way. I heard that Li Qingping, the servant of the Ministry of Rites who is coming to Qiannan County soon, is your classmate and friend?"

Yan Jinghan raised his head, met her meaningful gaze, and said: "Yes, Li Shizhong and Xiaguan have the same subject, and they used to study together in Chang'an Official School."

Liang Pu smiled and said, "We are both Jinshi in the same list, and we have the friendship of classmates, so let's go and meet her, how about that?"

Yan Jinghan's eyes flickered, and he hesitated: "Xiaguan hasn't seen her for many years, and the relationship is still unknown, let alone the matter of the river—"

"You are the perfect candidate. Yu Li, you are the chief supervisor of the river course, and you are also in charge of inspecting the situation in southern Guizhou; Yu Qing, you are good friends. Although we haven't seen each other for many years, we still have a bond of friendship." Liang Pu interrupted After her words, Wen Yan said.

Yan Jinghan understood that she could no longer refuse, otherwise she would be suspected, so she said: "Yes, my lord, the lower officials know."

Liang Pu returned to his position, although he was smiling, but his eyes were extremely indifferent, and said: "It's all right, you can step back."

The thunder rolled, and the silver dragon walked in the sky, but after a while, it rained cats and dogs.Rainwater gathered from the tile eaves, forming a water curtain, blocking her sight.

So those distant mountains, flying birds, sunset, and river water all disappeared with the dark sky.

The rain was getting heavier and heavier, as if a big hole had leaked in the sky, and the water from all over the world poured into the earth, reminding people of the scene when the sun and the moon were not visible when the primordial world was not opened.

Yan Jinghan only felt that this land was going to be flooded by heavy rain, and people were like grass, tossing and floating in the torrent of fate.That peaceful and leisurely scene was just a flash in the pan, and it was just like this for her in this life.

She slowly closed the window, allowing the darkness to surge in like a tide, and be swallowed up in an instant.

There was a light rain in Chang'an that night, it was already late at night when Chu Jun came back from Qinzheng Hall, the rain had stopped at that time, water droplets dripped from the eaves, and were wrapped in night fog and fell into the bushes.

"According to what Elder Yan Ge saw, what happened in Chenzhou?"

Yan Minghua followed her, and said, "Your Majesty, according to my humble opinion, Chenzhou has never seen such a serious flood since the Yuanzhen Year. If it is all caused by natural disasters, it is not enough As a matter of fact, Chenzhou builds dikes every year, but now it has flooded two counties and dozens of counties, which is really unreasonable."

Mr. Yan Ge seemed to be loyal when he sold it well. Now that Shen Mingshan led several cabinet ministers to fight against her, Mr. Yan Ge was a little bit powerless, but after all, she had been the chief assistant for so many years, and the emperor did not change her. Shen Mingshan didn't dare to act recklessly.Chu Jun turned a blind eye to the struggle in the cabinet, and let them fight for it, nodded and said: "The elder Ge is right, if he is really old-fashioned and seeks the country."

Yan Minghua could no longer guess what the emperor was thinking, so he could only say: "I am extremely frightened, but I feel that if I want to know the inside story of Chenzhou, I need to send some more people from the court."

Chu Jun turned sideways and said, "That's right, I have sent Yuan Sui to Chenzhou to investigate the case."

Yan Minghua was surprised and said: "Your Majesty, didn't the former servant investigate the ink corruption case in Hezhou, why did he go to Chenzhou again?"

Chu Jun smiled and said, "Of course the investigation has already been done."

Yan Minghua was staring at the emperor's gloomy gaze, he couldn't help being startled, and said cautiously: "Then what did your majesty investigate?"

The original entourage, Hezhou, had finished investigating the case, and now he is already in Chenzhou, why there is no news at all.

The more Yan Ge thought about it, the more strange he became. Could it be that the emperor was testing it?No, she immediately dismissed the idea.

Chu Jun lowered his eyes and said: "The account book is on my case, and I will save it for tomorrow's cabinet discussion. I will discuss it with all the nobles."

The author has something to say: Dang Dang Dang, a fat chapter~