"A filial woman should not die, and the former eunuch forcibly cut her off. Shouldn't she be in counsel?" [Hanshu·Yu Dingguo Biography]
As the situation gradually improved, the emperor quietly breathed a sigh of relief. Just when he was about to make a big effort to let Mi Zhu completely stabilize the price of goods, he suddenly received a memorial from Henan, submitted by former general Zhu Jun and Runan governor Liu Ai. Report.
"Five days ago, there was an earthquake in the southeast of Yuzhou. Liu Ai sent people to find out, but he didn't know which county it was. In short, it was just Lujiang or Jiujiang." In addition to Xun You, the minister, and Jia Xu, the emperor also specially summoned When the Lingtai Commander Liu Wan came, his tone was cold. Even Liu Wan could tell that the emperor must be in a bad mood at this moment.
During the previous earthquake, Sikong Zhao Wen should have been deposed, but in the end it was the emperor who took the initiative to take the blame for God's fault and personally issued the edict to blame himself. Although this confirmed how favored Zhao Wen was by the emperor, it also changed the situation. The system of exempting three public officials due to disasters has existed for two to three hundred years. Although many scholars at that time did not accept this fact from the perspective of Confucian classics and other aspects, the real big shots kept silent and acquiesced, and other noises naturally did not interfere with this. Less than eight years later, there was another earthquake. If the emperor abides by his preamble, then the emperor will still bear the responsibility for this earthquake.
only……
Liu Wan glanced at the emperor and saw that there were two earthquakes in a row within half a year, and he issued two edicts of sin, which would probably be a big blow to the emperor's authority.
Thinking of this, Liu Wan suddenly became afraid. He was just a Lingtai order. When the emperor encountered this kind of thing, he would immediately order Jia Xu, Xun You, etc. What should he do? Then he thought of what he had ordered him to do a few days ago. Ma Jun, Zhang Gu and others who foresaw this incident, but he still said it was a coincidence at that time. Could it be that this time he was provoking a provocation to offend? He bowed his head in silence, and his mind suddenly turned, regretting why he didn't tell the boss about this earlier. Nong Liu and Duo discussed it, but then the emperor changed the topic and immediately focused on him: "The drought in Guanzhong has not stopped for a long time, and the common people are all looking forward to the clouds and sweet rain. You have been waiting for the wind for several months, do you know when it will rain?" "
This was another thing that made Liu Wan so anxious that he never dared to face the emperor. He said with some guilt: "The severe drought is related to the livelihood of hundreds of thousands of people. Since I received the edict, I have watched the clouds every day and watched the clouds every night. I have never neglected to look at the stars. It’s just that in recent months, there have been few clouds..." His voice became smaller and smaller, and in the end he did not dare to say any more. Taking a peek at the emperor's cold expression, Liu Wan hurriedly added : "But according to the usual solar terms, there will be rain as early as the end of the month and not until next month."
He kept the date vague to cover up the fact that he could not predict the weather. The emperor did not blame him after hearing this. Firstly, it was because he knew that it would not rain and no amount of climate monitoring would be of any use. Secondly, he was just taking it easy. Liu Wan thought of the knowledge he learned in his previous life. The rainy season in northern China is from June to September, so even if there is a severe drought, rainwater can be transported from the sea by the southeast monsoon in July or August at the latest.
This means that the drought in Guanzhong will only last for a month at most.
Thinking of this, the emperor's face brightened a little, and he waved his hand to Liu Wan, who was still confused: "Go down. Nothing about today's events or words may fall into the ears of others."
Liu Wan was shocked, knowing that the emperor was going to continue to hide the earthquake. Anyway, it happened on the horizon. As long as it was not spread by people, it would be impossible for the people in Guanzhong to know about it. He quickly bowed to the emperor. He hurriedly left as if fleeing for safety, but for a moment he didn't notice that Jia Xu and Xun You from behind were looking at him at the same time.
"Nowadays, people are in panic. Even if I am guilty, I can practice my virtue and pray for blessings afterwards. But in this situation, it is better to pretend that nothing happened to him." After the emperor finished speaking, he looked at the two people present calmly.
This was already the emperor's request to lower his profile, and Jia Xu and Xun You were too humble to accept it.
"The earthquake is a warning from heaven. It's because the officials are not their own, the evildoers are in power, or the political and religious affairs are late, but they are meager."
Your Majesty, the government and religion are clear and clear. Why is this so important? Therefore, I think that the blame for this is on my subordinates."
Jia Xu raised his eyebrows and looked at Xun You with interest, his eyes vaguely looking forward to what he was going to say next. The emperor knew that Xun You would never finish his words, so he sat on the couch and waited patiently for what he was going to say next.
Rhetoric.
Sure enough, Xun You also said: "All the ministers in the court are good and honest, and all the officials in charge and prefecture are good officials. Therefore, I believe that the so-called treacherous and evil ones, as well as those shown by the emperor, are in Guandong."
Jia Xu nodded slightly and immediately said: "Mr.
According to the report of the former general, the earth is shaking in the southeast, and Yuan Shu is using his swords and soldiers to kill the people, which shows that God is resentful of him."
The emperor intended to suppress the news of the earthquake, but he knew that such a thing could never be hidden from the eyes and ears of interested people, so he summoned Jia Xu and Xun You to discuss, hoping to ensure that the internal forces would participate in preventing the spread of the news in order to stabilize the situation. As for
The emperor had actually thought about the method proposed by Xun You to divert the blame from heaven, but as the person in charge, he could not say it himself, otherwise he would be suspected of passing the blame. Now Xun You understood what he meant and took the initiative to speak out, which hit the emperor's target.
Desire.
"Yuan Shu went against the grain in Huainan and took advantage of Tao Qianxin's death to move into Xuzhou. This earthquake must be blamed on him." The emperor casually put the blame on Yuan Shu. Although it was easy to say it, it was difficult to do it.
It's not very simple either: "Even so, it is still inevitable that some ignorant people will implicate their imaginations and insinuate the imperial court at this juncture. Therefore, we will suppress this matter for now and let it go for the time being, leaving it to be mentioned later. If there are any
The news has spread from Guandong Feng, and the people are in turmoil. When the time comes, this rhetoric will be delivered to the world, what do you think?"
Judging from the meaning of the emperor's words, it seems that he is well prepared and intends to use this rhetoric to deflect conflicts when someone spreads rumors behind his back and takes the opportunity to slander the imperial court. For now, he is just unifying his words with Jia Xu and others.
Both of them were very smart people, and they both vaguely heard that the emperor was secretly preparing for a certain next struggle. This was to prepare for a rainy day. Since they were involved in it, they naturally had to contribute.
"I sincerely promise you." Unlike Xun You, who was involved in many interests and was tied up in doing things for the emperor, Jia Xu just dared to think and speak. He held his hands and said: "I just saw your majesty asking about the rainy season. I thought of the East China Sea Kingdom in vain.
After killing the filial wife, there was a drought in the county for three years, and the governor paid homage to her tomb, and then the rain suddenly fell. Now that the drought has continued for a long time, your majesty has exhausted all the human resources, so it is better to follow the example of the past and promote the love of loyalty and forgiveness, so as to avoid the prison of injustice.
"
His words were similar to the last time Ma Rixi persuaded the emperor to practice virtue and introspection, but the emperor agreed. He nodded and said: "As a rule, it should be like this. From now on, I will let Zhao Zi go to various places in the capital."