Jiazhu of the Red Chamber

It is said that the two of them arrived at the Songjiang Embankment in the evening. Looking up, a neat river embankment stretched along the river bank, and evenly sized stones were piled up one by one, thick and steady, protecting the river bank, as solid as gold. Guard this side of water and soil.

Zhong Congyu got off his horse and walked forward along the embankment, and said to Jia Zhu as he walked, "This embankment is worth the money, and Songjiang can be kept safe for ten years."

Jia Zhu agreed, "It's really spectacular."

Zhong Congyu sighed: "After arriving here, I finally understand the painstaking efforts of my father. Zhu'er, do you know who supervised the repair of the Songjiang embankment?"

Jia Zhu knew very little about the affairs of the government, but he thought that Jia Zheng was a member of the Ministry of Industry, Wailang, and he was the one who supervised the repair. Thinking of this, he couldn't help showing a look of complacency, and said, "Of course it is the Ministry of Industry."

Zhong Congyu's answer was beyond Jia Zhu's expectation, and he only heard him say: "It's water-soluble, I didn't expect it!"

Jia Zhu really didn't expect that Shui Rong was only one year older than him. Although he was awarded the title, he was still young. How could he participate in such a large national project?Zhong Congyu didn't seem to notice Jia Zhu's shock, and said to himself: "Shui Rong lost his father since he was a child, and his father was sympathetic, so he took him into the palace and lived with the prince. Brother and I are about the same age as Shui Rong, so we have a close relationship. For some reason, Shui Rong only gets close to eldest brother, but he doesn't like me very much. I reckon that my father intends to appoint eldest brother as the heir, and I am happy to see Shui Rong befriend him. Given the power of King Beijing in the court, if he insists on assisting eldest brother, the relationship between monarch and minister It will definitely be harmonious. I don’t want my elder brother to obey Shui Rong’s words as I get older. Only then did my father become worried. A strong minister and a weak ruler are naturally not something he likes. It’s just that there is nothing wrong with Shui Rong. Sensitive, with the style of a virtuous king. On the other hand, my elder brother has no opinion, and only cares about playing with the water. The emperor secretly instructed the new nobles to support me. The intention was to arouse the crisis of the elder brother. I hope he can win some anger. Who knows that the elder brother listened to Yizhong The idea of ​​the prince, doing stupid things like hurting siblings, angered the emperor and locked him up. However, the emperor cherishes the talent of water melting, and is afraid that I will be disadvantageous to water melting in the future. He arranged for me to come and see his ability. If I If I can cherish the talents of Shui Rong, my father will definitely think that I am kind, and I will be a wise king in the future, or he will pass on the throne to me; if I blame Shui Rong for this matter, I am afraid that my father will use Shui Rong's hand to support a new prince. He Now that the Spring and Autumn Period is in its prime, there is plenty of time, although the younger brothers are young, but after a few years, they will all become climates, and I have no name as the eldest son, so I'm afraid I will be a living target by then."

After hearing these words, Jia Zhu was shocked and didn't know what to say. Being treated as a pawn by his father and assassinated by his brother, what kind of life did Zhong Congyu live? In his life, is there any sincerity and affection?For the first time, he really felt the flattery and blackmail of the royal family, and the undercurrent behind the superficial scenery. One moment, the scenery was magnificent, but the next moment, he might become a prisoner, and his life and death were hanging by a thread.

Zhong Congyu embraced his shoulders, and said softly: "But did it scare you? The first time I saw you, I was surprised how Shui Rong would involve such a pure person like you. You should be like your father, be a law-abiding child An insignificant little official. But you just barged in, what should I do?"

Jia Zhu remained silent, and didn't know how to comfort Zhong Congyu, and let him hold him, and the two walked forward together.Jia Zhu originally wanted to ask Zhong Congyu about his plans. One of Shui Rong and Zhong Congyu was his best friend, and the other was his beloved. He didn't want to see the two of them fighting to the death, but seeing the firmness in Zhong Congyu's eyes, he got the words out of his mouth. He swallowed it back again, it was related to Zhong Congyu's future, he didn't want to influence Zhong Congyu's decision because of himself, just like he was also unsure of persuading Shui Rong to support Zhong Congyu.For him, not helping each other may be the best choice, but he can't help worrying about the two of them.

After dark, the two built a bonfire on the embankment. When Jia Zhu saw that Zhong Congyu didn't want to go back, he had to sit on the ground with him, speechless all night, and rode back to Lin's house in Suzhou until early in the morning.

After playing with the Lin family carefree for a few days, Zhong Congyu and Jia Zhu bid farewell to Jia Min. Jia Min tried his best to persuade them to stay. Zhong Congyu and Jia Zhu still had official duties, seeing Lin Daiyu's teary eyes, Jia Zhu couldn't bear it, and really wanted to spend a few more days with her sister, Zhong Congyu repeatedly promised to come see her again when he had the chance, and the two left Lin's mansion .

After staying in the Lin Mansion for a few days, they didn't dare to delay on the way, so the two rushed to Xin'an River in two days and one night.

The Xin'an River embankment was also renovated last winter, but the Ministry of Industry was directly responsible for it. The mileage was not as good as that of the Songjiang embankment, but the cost was a full 100 million taels more than that of the Songjiang embankment.Jia Zhu didn't understand the internal structure of the embankment. From the outside, it was not as neat as the Songjiang embankment. Zhong Congyu frowned and walked back and forth on the embankment twice. He took off his boots, rolled up his trousers and went down to the river to study carefully. Looking at something, he said with displeasure, "You actually do such foolish things!"

Jia Zhu pulled him up from the river and asked, "What happened?"

Zhong Congyu said angrily: "The extra 100 million taels of silver was fed to the dogs. This embankment has been strengthened on the basis of previous years. It cannot be compared with the Songjiang embankment at all. I am afraid that it will take less than two years. There will be a book in Hangzhou to rebuild it." The imperial court has to give money to build the embankment, and if the embankment bursts during the flood season, the paddy fields downstream will be flooded, and hundreds of thousands of people will suffer famine, and the loss will be even greater!"

Listening to what he said, Jia Zhu said seriously: "I remember you said that this year is a once-in-50-year flood, so can the embankment hold up?"

Zhong Congyu said: "If you can't support it, you have to support it. Last year, all the money in the treasury was used up. Where can I get the money to rebuild it now? Besides, the embankment can only be built in autumn and winter when the river is dry and the water level is shallow. Now the time is too short. It’s too late. We can only resign ourselves to fate!”

Jia Zhu was shocked and said: "There is no remedy?"

Zhong Congyu smiled and said: "This matter is out of my control. I will tell my father the result later, and he will decide. Speaking of which, the Xin'an River embankment is in charge of the Zhen family in Jiangnan. If the dikes are all repaired, I am afraid there will still be some surplus.”

The Jia family and the Zhen family are family friends, seeing Zhong Congyu mentioning the Zhen family in a bad tone, he couldn't help interceding for him: "If we can survive this year's flood season, let his family spend money to rebuild the Xin'an River Embankment, why bother to say Words of plagiarism."

Zhong Congyu looked at Jia Zhu with a half-smile and said: "You worry too much. There is a woman in the Zhen family who is a concubine in the harem, and she is very favored. Even if I tell the truth to the father, the father will reprimand him at most, and it will not hurt him at all." What. Only you, a kind-hearted person, still worry about others."

Jia Zhu pulled him to sit on the grass, and said: "The Zhen family has been in business for many years, and the forces are complicated. I am afraid that you will make too many enemies, which may be bad for you."

Zhong Congyu put his arms around his waist and said, "I'm very happy that you can think about me. It's up to me. If the river embankment bursts this summer and floods several counties in Zhejiang, Father will behead some people. To block the mouths of the world."

Jia Zhu heard him talk about state affairs twice, and the relationship among them was really complicated, and he didn't have any good suggestions, so he had to keep silent.

Zhong Congyu knew that he wasn't very interested, so he didn't say much, and said, "A few days ago, I received a letter from Zhu Ting that they will disembark tomorrow. When they arrive, we can go to the Weaving Bureau together and then return to Beijing."