"Now there is a stone turtle on the bank of the stone canal under the advection gate. The predecessors carved it to show the water." [Illustration of Jingqu Canal·Hongyan System]
The emperor held his knees with one hand and stood up from the couch. He didn't feel it when he was sitting. Once he stood up, he realized that there was already a layer of hot sweat on the crooks of his legs. This layer of sweat stained his skin and clothes.
Being together makes people unbearably hot and humid.
Mu Shun of the Xiaohuang Gate led the emperor out of the Xuanshi Hall consciously, passed through the verandahs on both sides, walked up a short and not long step, and arrived at the highest dressing room in the front hall of Weiyang Palace.
Mu Shun first helped the emperor to the table, and then served him sour plums, cold drinks and other items. It seemed that he was not in a hurry to help the emperor bathe and change clothes, but wanted to ask the emperor to take a rest first.
"Why, today's hot soup is not ready?" The emperor sat on the table and took a sip of sour plum soup. After asking casually, he stretched out his hand to greet the attendant Huangmen. The servants sat down one by one and drank tea together.
drink.
"The man who holds the soup today has not informed me yet. I am afraid that I will leave empty-handed, so I have no choice but to ask Your Majesty to wait a moment while I go to visit you." Mu Shun stood aside politely and bowed.
The emperor didn't take such trivial matters to heart. He just took this free time to chat with the Huangmen minister Liu Yao, Sheyuan, the minister Ma Yu, Huangfu Li and others. He didn't even look at Mu Shun at the moment.
He said softly: "Then you go."
"Your welcome." Mu Shun bowed his head and then walked out step by step backwards.
Among the servants, the Huangmen servants have always been the closest servants to the emperor. Except for private rooms such as the Yeting harem, which are not allowed to enter or leave, other places can be said to be where the emperor is. Therefore, they have to follow the emperor.
They are always the first scholars to know the details of daily life, living habits, words and deeds.
It goes without saying that for an emperor who holds great power, every move he makes will have an impact on policy and the situation of the court. As a close servant, you must have the keen ability to observe words and emotions and know the subtleties.
For example, Mu Shun's behavior today, which was very different from the past, naturally attracted the attention of others. However, no useful information could be deduced from this behavior. Even the servant Ma Yu only glanced at Mu Shun.
, just paying attention secretly.
"Ma Jun, Ma Jun!"
Ma Yu came back to his senses and realized that everyone was looking at him. He couldn't help but smile and bowed apologetically to the emperor and Liu Yao, the Huangmen servant who called him.
Liu Yao waved his hand politely and asked calmly: "In recent days, His Majesty has asked you to check the Kunming Pond Stone Whale every day. I wonder if there are any changes?"
There are countless large and small ponds in Chang'an and Shanglin Garden, such as Kunming, Dongpi, Danglu, Hao Pond, Sacrificial Pond, etc., but the largest and most famous among them are Kunming Pond, Taiye Pond, Orchid Pond, and the one in Weiyang Palace.
Cangchi.
Since there had been no rain these days, the emperor was worried about the lack of water for irrigation and domestic use in Guanzhong, so he specially ordered his servants, Huangmen Shilang, to check the water level of one of the swamps every day, and then report it on time. As long as the water swamps in Shanglin Garden did not shrink significantly.
, then at least the basic production and life of the people near Chang'an can be guaranteed.
Just now, Liu Yao, Zhong Ji and others had reported the water levels of the ponds they were responsible for. Ma Yu paused and said, "Seven days ago, the water in the Kunming pond was still overflowing to the whale's belly. I looked at it this morning and found that the pond water had receded.
There is more than one scale left."
Among the many ponds in Shanglin Garden, there are often huge stone whales, stone fish and stone turtles on the banks of many large ponds. Some of these things are three feet long and five feet high, and some are six feet long. They are huge and carved.
It is so lifelike that even after hundreds of years of wind and rain, almost every scale on its body is clearly visible.
This kind of stone whales and stone fish are not only used for decoration and beauty, but also for measuring water levels. In ancient times, this was called "Water Rules". For example, the three stone figures placed by Li Bing in Dujiangyan, and
In modern times, they are water gauges inserted at certain intervals along the river.
Just like the modern water gauge, these stone whales also have different scales on their heads, abdomen, feet and other parts. The water reaches different places, which represents different water levels. The court will also open and close the water gate appropriately according to the water level.
Adjust the amount of water. So whether it is flood news or drought, this is extremely precious information.
"If you move further back, the water will reach the tail of the whale." After listening to everyone's reports on the water levels of various ponds, especially after learning about the water levels of Kunming Pool and Taiye Pool, which have the largest water area, the emperor said with some worry:
"When the whale's tail emerges from the water, the court will begin to deal with the drought and prepare to provide relief to the victims."
Cui Lie, the Attendant, echoed: "I have heard that the stone whales in Kunming Pool have spirits. Whenever there is a thunderstorm, they will often wag their tails and roar. Whenever there is a drought, I often sacrifice it to pray for rain, and it is often effective. Now that the drought has begun, Your Majesty is worried.
It's a drought, why not give it a try?"
If offering sacrifices to pray for rain was effective, there would be no drought in the world. The emperor thought that if he prayed for rain during a severe drought, then the rain would come. If the rain didn't come, wouldn't it become a joke? Not only that.
It is in vain to disappoint people, and it will also damage the emperor's prestige.
So even if you ask for rain, you have to find a perfect opportunity. At the moment, let's rely more on manpower and reality.
The emperor shook his head without thinking and rejected Cui Lie's suggestion: "Sacrificing sacrifices to gods and praying for rain is a big deal. There is no rush now. We will see in a few days."
Cui Lie was also a wise man. Seeing that the emperor disapproved, he stopped insisting.
The emperor added: "You all know the situation outside. Now it is just the beginning of drought, and it is already so hot. When the midsummer rain has not fallen, the common people will suffer, and the imperial court will also suffer. You are all close servants and important ministers.
When you are concerned about the people's concerns, you must be diligent in your work. Just like observing the water, don't bother to do it even if it is a small thing. If you want to know the water conditions over the years, you must know it from this. If you are an official, you don't know this.
How can we govern the people by doing things that are subtle but necessary?"
This was a sincere instruction, and it was also a declaration to the ministers and workers inside and outside the imperial court. Everyone praised it. Only Ma Yu felt a little uncomfortable on his face, thinking that this was a slap on his mind for being distracted just now, and accused him openly and secretly of not observing the water level.
Keep things in mind.
Ma Yu's face turned red, and he said with some annoyance: "I will eat the emperor's salary, so I should worry about the emperor's worries. "Shangshu" records that "it will be accepted by hundreds of people, and it will be reported in hundreds of times." It can be said that people of hundreds of officials have their own affairs.
If you perform your duties, the world will be able to achieve great stability. The ministers and ministers who follow you must not only understand trivial matters, but also understand the principle that each official has his own duty."
What he means is that each official has different functions and areas of expertise. What these close ministers need is just how to serve the emperor, observe and study government affairs, and provide reference to the emperor in big aspects, and they should not rob those petty officials.
Things to do.
These words were not too wrong in terms of emotion and reason, and the emperor did not want to argue with him: "Okay, what you said makes sense."
He knocked the lacquer bowl he was holding on the table and made a soft sound: "You are now in the position of servant, and you have done your job well. It's not bad. If one day, I will transfer you to him
If you can't handle things well, and you still have so much to say like today, that's not okay!"
Ma Yu knew that the emperor was a little unhappy, his face changed, and the depression in his chest immediately dissipated, and he bowed his head in response with a grimace.
The emperor didn't look at him, and glanced around the people present. Among the current servants, Xun You, the middle servant, was far away in Hanzhong, and Yang Qi was still in Chengming Palace. There were only a few people who really dared to speak out to the emperor.
, even though Zhongji, the servant of Huangmen, has an upright temperament, he is not willing to support Ma Yu at this time.
So everyone did not dare to look at him and lowered their heads together.