The flood had arrived, so Li You went to the state government office to discuss relevant matters.
Although Wang Zhizhou still had a cold attitude, he was very cooperative in recruiting civilians to guard the embankment without any hindrance. However, he still said a few words sarcastically, "Master Li lives in Sizhou and does not miss Shu. He is so relieved about Gaojiayan on the east bank of Hongze.
What? How about you sit in Sizhou, and after I report to the governor, I will patrol Gaojiayan for you? This will prevent Mr. Li from working too hard and getting tired."
Li You had not heard this kind of face-to-face sarcasm for a long time, and almost got angry. Then he realized that Wang Zhizhou was trying to provoke him to leave Sizhou, and even took advantage of him to stay in Sizhou seemingly for the sake of comfort.
There was a vague threat of reporting to the governor for impeachment.
If that was the only way, it would not cause suspicion. There were many people in the world who could not be dealt with, and Li You never expected to live in harmony with everyone. If it were him, he would not want to see someone who is causing trouble for him every day.
Wandering around on the floor.
But Mr. Li has always had a thorn in his heart and has never cleared up his doubts. Wang Zhizhou actually submitted a request to move the state government before he arrived in Sizhou, which was exactly the same as him. He requested to choose another location to move the state government.
To deal with the public opinion after the embankment may burst and flood the city, what is Wang Zhizhou's purpose at this juncture? Could it be that he has the same thoughts as him?
Combined with today's extremely impolite driving away people, Li You felt that Wang Zhizhou was very suspicious and had a shady secret that needed to be carried out behind his back.
Wang Zhizhou will definitely not tell what is going on, so what should we do? Thinking of this, Li You suppressed his anger and said calmly: "I will set off to inspect the east coast today, and will return to Sizhou in about two days.
"
Of course Master Li either casually said two days, or let Wang Zhizhou know that he only had two days, which greatly squeezed Wang Zhizhou's activity time. If you have any tricks, you must seize the opportunity to release them, and he, Li You, has expired.
Two days were enough. Wang Zhizhou said nothing more and served tea to see the guests off.
Mr. Li did not break his promise and left Sizhou City with his guards that day. Perhaps he saw that the situation in Sizhou on the south bank of Hongze Lake was stable, so he did not need to keep a close eye on it for the time being.
It is said that there are two embankments on the waterfront outside Sizhou City to protect the ancestral mausoleum. One is built on the waterside, called the outer embankment, and the other is built on the outside of the city wall of the ancestral mausoleum, called the inner embankment.
Its purpose is nothing more than double insurance. Once the outer embankment fails, there is still an inner embankment to block the water. But it can only be delayed for a while. After all, the inner embankment is worse than the outer embankment. The outer embankment cannot stop it, but the inner embankment can be stronger.
Where to go? Five years ago, the flood overflowed the outer embankment and overflowed into the inner embankment, but the inner embankment only withstood it for more than a day. The flood then crossed over the inner embankment and spread to the Shinto in the ancestral mausoleum. Fortunately, it has reached this
The floods receded.
On the sixth day of September, Li You left Sizhou and headed to the east bank of Hongze. Wang Zhizhou sent people to inquire about the neighbors and confirmed that Li You had gone north, so he felt relieved.
Another day passed, on the eighth day of September, Wang Zhizhou went out of the city to inspect the Huaihu Lake Embankment. He stood on the shore, not looking down at the torrential water, but he couldn't help but look at the direction of the ancestral mausoleum on the other side.
On the opposite side, several people also crossed over to Wang Zhizhou's side. The leader was about forty years old, with a white face and no beard, a gauze hat on his head, and gorgeous clothes. He stood next to Wang Zhizhou, screened everyone on the left and right, and then retreated to a distance before having a secret conversation.
"How is the situation?" The visitor asked Wang Zhizhou Dao.
Wang Zhizhou replied: "Everything goes well, just wait for the weather. However, Li You, the river official, was not patrolling a few days ago and almost missed the boat."
"I also heard that Mr. Li has arrived. If he is here, it will be really difficult."
Wang Zhizhou said proudly: "Benzhou used a little trick to scare him away. Although he said he would be back soon, at least the two days were enough without him getting in the way."
The two people, who were unwilling to commit themselves to Pianzhou and our county, smiled at each other with contentment, looking forward to something happening together.
In the harmonious atmosphere, someone suddenly shouted "Master Wang is in such a good mood!" The atmosphere of the conversation was broken.
Hearing this voice, Wang Zhizhou's smile stopped abruptly. He turned around suddenly and saw that the man walking towards us from a distance was not Li You.
This is bad! Wang Zhizhou exclaimed in his heart.
Li You walked up to Wang Zhizhou unhurriedly and said with a half-smile: "Master Wang is really diligent in river affairs. He has been standing on the embankment for half a day. The current flood level is about the same as five years ago. The embankment
It's been raised too high, so it's not worth Mr. Wang's worries. A few days ago, the state government swore that it would be safe. It seems that I had a sudden idea and decided to return."
Li You was still in the dark about what Wang Zhizhou wanted to do. But he knew very well that what his opponent did not want to happen was what he should do, and this was what he had always done.
Mr. Wang definitely did not want him to stay in Sizhou these two days, so he showed up on purpose again. Who knows that he is Li You and Li Fushi, who is suspicious and likes to get to the bottom of things when things happen, rather than someone who is broad-minded and indifferent.
Facing Li You who suddenly appeared at the critical moment, Wang Zhizhou looked ugly.
It was not easy to sail in Hongze during this period, so Li You took the land route to Gaojiayan and passed through Xuyi in the east. The day before yesterday and yesterday, he was not at ease with Mr. Li, and even sent several people to Xuyi Station to inquire about all the news.
It is said that Li You has left Xuyi and continued on his way...
Now Wang Zhizhou finally realized that he must have been tricked by Shangzhi County of Xuyi!
After Li You finished mocking Wang Zhizhou, he turned to another stranger next to him and asked, "Who is this?"
Wang Zhizhou, who was supposed to make the introduction, was still immersed in the grief and anger of Li You's deceit. He suddenly encountered this accident and didn't know what to do.
The man had no choice but to introduce himself to Li You: "I am Hai, the eunuch of the shrine."
It turned out to be the eunuch guarding the ancestral mausoleum. Li You suddenly realized that there were palace eunuchs and eunuchs stationed in various royal tombs.
Although eunuchs stationed in local areas are not as majestic as they used to be, to a certain extent they can be regarded as detached, similar to imperial envoys without security. He Li You hung around Sizhou for a while, and the eunuch named Hai did not show up to express his feelings.
What, why did he come out to chat and laugh with Wang Zhiliu on the embankment when Li You was gone?
If it is said that after the flood came, Eunuch Hai was also worried, so it would make sense to go out to see the water condition of the dam. But Mr. Li just felt suspicious for no reason. Wang Zhizhou was acting weird. He couldn't be in cahoots with the eunuch.
?
He then asked, "Are Eunuch Hai and Mr. Wang talking about the water conditions?"
"I heard that there was another flood. I happened to meet Mr. Wang, so we discussed it together."
Just as Li You was about to say something more, he heard the civilian workers on the nearby embankment shouting in shock: "The embankment has broken! The embankment has broken!"
In an instant, countless river workers and civilian workers gathered at the embankment, pointing to the distance and shouting, and everyone looked horrified.
At this moment, the word "broken embankment" is the most sensitive word. After hearing these two words, who is still in the mood to talk. Li You rushed to the shore in three steps and two steps at a time. Following the direction of others' fingers, he hurriedly raised his eyes and looked into the distance. Sure enough, he saw
A section of the waterside embankment on the other side toward Zuling has collapsed, and floods are pouring in from there!
The outer embankment of the ancestral mausoleum collapsed! The embankment that was protected against all odds collapsed! It collapsed in front of his eyes!
Mr. Li's expression suddenly changed, and his mind was racing at full speed. He had just walked with his front foot, and theoretically he should not be in Sizhou now, and the embankment broke with his back foot. Is this a coincidence?
No! This is definitely not a coincidence! What can I do?
Li You's accompanying river worker quickly pointed out: "There is an inner embankment inside, which can block the flood. However, after the water surged into the bank, it spread from the original line to a large area, and the protection of the inner embankment was worrying."
"Can you withstand it?" Li You asked anxiously.
"Five years ago, the inner embankment blocked it for two days. Fortunately, the flood only reached the Shinto. The current water level is about the same as five years ago, and it is probably the same situation. But the flood season has just begun. I am afraid that the water level will continue to rise, and it will not be like the water level in five days.
I was lucky like that a few years ago, and the floodwater receded only after the ancestral mausoleum shrine was soaked."
How could the embankment break if everything was fine? These days, manpower, material resources and technical level are limited. Under the impact of floods, embankment breaches are common and not surprising. But Li You felt that this time it must be man-made!
Wang Zhizhou had the foresight to request a move to the state and urged himself to leave Sizhou. These strange things were enough to make him think a lot.
The current plan is to keep the ancestral mausoleum safe and sound, and secondly to find the guilty person and take responsibility. Therefore, even if the accident is not man-made, we must create a man-made accident! The court cannot let the court think that the accident happened because of his negligence.
In extraordinary times, extraordinary things should be done!
Li You, who has been tempered for a long time, reacted faster than Wang Zhizhou. He shouted to Wang Zhizhou first: "What's going on? I have only been away for a day, and the embankment broke when Mr. Wang was in charge of river affairs.
Just wait for me to impeach you for failing in his duties!"
Wang Zhizhou was racking his brains to ponder the words. Originally, everything was under control. After the embankment broke, he would be unafraid in the face of danger and command with determination. It was a great achievement to save the Zuling Mausoleum from danger. But now with Li You's sudden appearance, things have changed.
It's beyond his control.
If Li You is not present at this time, and wait until he becomes a great hero, then he will be left alone. He will jointly report to the court with the eunuch who has colluded with the mausoleum guarding in advance, saying that Mr. Li is not supervising the river affairs in Sizhou well and underestimates the safety of the ancestral mausoleum.
He left his post without authorization, causing the outer embankment to collapse and the ancestral mausoleum to be in danger.
This was what Wang Zhizhou had planned before. By then, the court would definitely need a scapegoat, so let Li You, who had no merits and demerits, take the responsibility. We couldn't let him be a hero in front of the world, otherwise no one would be willing to take the scapegoat.
Royal sacrifice.
But now Li You is standing here, not far away on the east coast. Those rhetorics will no longer work. More importantly, the next command power will fall into the hands of Li You, who has been ordered to do so. Why should he still
To make meritorious deeds? What else happened to him, Wang Zhizhou? After months of hard planning, could it be just for this to come to nothing?
Therefore, Mr. Wang always hated Li You who stayed in Sizhou for a long time and grabbed the limelight. He finally took advantage of Li You's departure to implement the first step of the plan. But now at the critical moment of the second step of the plan, Li You just showed up again!
Is this intentional or unintentional? Does this person really have a dog-like sense of smell? When Wang Zhizhou was still thinking about how to get out of trouble, a loud shout suddenly came into his ears: "Sizhou Zhizhou has committed a serious crime of dereliction of duty and is under investigation. He will be taken into custody by this officer."
Ask carefully!"
Who else but Li You would dare to say this? Wang Zhizhou immediately had veins popping out and pointed at Li You and said: "I am also an official of the imperial court. I have the same rank as you. Li You, do you dare to go beyond the rules?"
What Wang Zhizhou said is not wrong. The ministers of the Ming Dynasty from the first to the ninth rank are all imperial officials. Without the authorization of the imperial court, an official cannot arrest another official without permission, even if he is a high-ranking official.
It is impossible for a bachelor of the Fu University to issue such an order - go and arrest such and such county magistrate!
Under normal circumstances, only appointed imperial envoys can act so cheaply. Of course, the governors of the Ming Dynasty also borrowed the imperial envoy system and have some privileges in this regard. In addition, the Imperial Envoys' Department can also temporarily place low-level officials under house arrest under certain special circumstances.
But Li You, a sixth-grade non-imperial envoy, went to arrest another sixth-grade official sealer. Under normal circumstances, it would be shocking to tell anyone.
Master Li's personal soldiers surrounded him tightly, and twenty archers borrowed from Xuyi also came forward. Wang Zhizhou was also escorted by attendants and other officials, and the two sides were at war with each other.
The civilian river workers on the embankment started fighting among themselves when they saw the officials, and they all gathered around to watch the excitement.
Hai Gonggong, the eunuch guarding the ancestral mausoleum, calmed himself down. Seeing that Li You's side was more powerful, he was really worried that the young man would lose his mind when the embankment collapsed, so he frantically arrested Wang Zhizhou. He stepped forward and persuaded: "Master Li
Although you are anxious, don’t go overboard..."
Li You waved his hand and said, "Eunuch Hai, please stay away from local matters!"
Immediately, several soldiers came forward and stopped Eunuch Hai from outside the circle.
This Li You is so crazy, it's hard to explain why a eunuch encounters a soldier... Eunuch Hai secretly regretted it, if he had known it, he would have brought a hundred and eighty tomb guards over to see who would dare to choke here!
The situation was deadlocked, so Li You took out another roll of material affairs, held it high and shouted: "Here is the imperial edict! I am ordered to assist the governor's Yamen River Affairs, who dares to make mistakes!"
This is indeed an edict... The Queen Mother asked Li You to help manage river affairs during the flood season and suffer hardships. Of course, the Holy Mother, who exercised imperial power on behalf of the emperor, made the announcement and the edict was delivered after the edict was issued. But it was just an edict and did not grant a gift.
Li You's status as imperial envoy.
Wang Zhizhou and Eunuch Hai knew very well that this kind of edict was nothing, it was no different from an ordinary official document.
But the people around him were ignorant about official matters and commented: "Master Li is so powerful. It turns out that he was sent to Sizhou by the emperor."
Not to mention the common people, the local government officials are also a little confused. Looking at Mr. Li's confident look, does he have some secrets? If he really followed the secret order, wouldn't he be rebelling against it?
Immediately, Li You's momentum gained the upper hand. There was no time to waste here. Lord Li took advantage of the situation and ordered again: "Capture Sizhou Zhizhou from left to right! Anyone who dares to disobey will be killed!"
The soldiers brought by the Yangzhou garrison department all drew out their steel swords and pressed forward. Most of the state Yaxu servants had sticks and iron rulers in their hands, and few had weapons. In the end, they did not dare to fight against the elite soldiers, so they retreated in fear.
"Li You, you are good at arresting officials, aren't you afraid of being punished!" Wang Zhizhou shouted sadly after being held up.
Li You said harshly: "When the ancestral mausoleum is in danger, you must obey the authority. Later, I will apologize to the court! Don't worry!"
He had already determined in his heart that the collapse of the embankment was man-made. As long as he eliminated interference and found out the truth, he saved the ancestor's mausoleum and achieved great success. Would the imperial court have the nerve to pursue him for such an urgent act of taking power? Even if he pursued it, it would not be possible.
It's better to take credit, or at most to take no credit, than to just watch the embankment collapse and do nothing.
