The grassland at dusk is particularly beautiful. Layers of faint golden light cover the endless grassland. Amidst the shouts of the East Turks, the cattle and sheep consciously and slowly walk towards the sheepfold and cattle pen.
Groups of horses in the distance raised a cloud of smoke and dust, intertwined with the golden dusk, like the back of the Buddha's light, full of mystery.
At this moment, the sky and the earth seemed to be a little pale. In the dusty poplars, the horses galloped on the grassland, echoing with the faint black clouds on the horizon, forming a harmonious and perfect picture.
But just after the East Turks had settled their cattle, sheep and horses, the originally faint layer of black clouds under the setting sun suddenly seemed to have changed its character, accumulating more and more densely on the horizon. It rolled and circled and began to press towards the grassland.
The hills lying on the grassland in the distance were instantly submerged by rolling black clouds. You could vaguely hear the rolling black clouds, carrying lightning and thunder, making a deafening roar, and rushing over unstoppably.
The wind on the grassland was blowing faster and faster with the low black clouds, as if being chased. The East Turks took one step and two steps back against the wind, and it took them a long time to get into their own. In the tent.
The roar of lightning and thunder seemed to be mixed with the howling of wolves, causing the horses, cattle, and sheep to squeeze together involuntarily.
The entire grassland suddenly became smaller between heaven and earth at this moment. The grassland that was originally bright turned into a black sky. The strong wind whined and pressed all the originally upright grass to the ground in an instant.
The tents of the East Turks seemed to be crumbling under the menacing black clouds. They were being beaten by the wind and making crackling whine sounds. It made people feel that if the wind was stronger, they would be pulled up from the ground.
The billowing black clouds swirled and raging, beginning to ravage the entire grassland. The grassland, which was originally shrouded in a layer of golden light, now seemed like a lonely boat in the sea, teetering on the edge of nature's fury.
There were neighing sounds from the horses, bleating sounds from the sheep, and mooing from the cattle. Thick black clouds were wrapped with lightning and thunder.
And on the ground, along with the black clouds pressing down on the grassland, there are more than a dozen packs of wolves galloping on the grassland, their green eyes staring closely at the cattle and sheep of the Eastern Turks.
A thunder exploded that resounded throughout the world, like a command from God, and slowly rolled towards the sky with the sound of thunder, shaking the entire grassland.
As if the wolves had received an order, the alpha wolf roared into the wind, ordering the wolves to start charging.
The smell of blood immediately spread from the grassland, and the East Turks in the tent were unable to run out of the crumbling tent to stop the pack of wolves that rushed into the sheep, cattle, and horses.
The entire grassland began to fall into a hell-like scene, with sounds of biting, whining, and a strong and pungent smell of blood spreading wantonly throughout the grassland.
A group of about a hundred Turks riding on horseback seemed to be following the wolves. After the wolves had already obtained rich loot, they gradually found the right direction in the darkness.
"Urgent report to the General Protector, the horses have been driven away by the prairie wolves." The voice in the darkness just finished speaking, and the color of his entire face changed. With just one sentence, his stomach was filled with strong wind and the smell of blood.
In the Chongwen Hall of the East Palace of Chang'an City, Liang Xiaoren and Yu Wenrong stood in front of Li Hong and said solemnly: "The water in Qujiang Pool has exceeded the warning line you originally drew."
"The water from Yong'an Canal and Longshou Canal has also begun to overflow from the South Canal. The most serious thing is that the rainwater must be discharged from the South Canal and the Longshou Canal to the east. But if this is the case, it will be difficult to harvest during the autumn harvest. Before, the crops in more than a dozen counties in Guanzhong were submerged," Liang Xiaoren said without worry.
"Where is Taiye Pond? Qujiang Pond is full of water. Taiye Pond must not also flood the newly built Daming Palace?" Li Hong asked, looking at the topographic map on the sand table.
"Taiye Pond is fine for the time being. A small gate has been opened in the east direction of Longshou Canal, and water is flowing out at the moment." Liang Xiaoren replied.
Li Hong held a slender wooden stick in his hand and tapped the topographic map of Chang'an on the sand table from time to time. He said lightly, "The terrain of Sanyuan and Gaoling is higher than that of the Yong'an Canal. It is impossible to drain water into the Weishui River, and Lantian County cannot." Go in, what do you mean?"
After finishing speaking, Li Hong put down the slender wooden stick in his hand and looked at the two people who were now working in the Ministry of Industry with a smile.
Liang Xiaoren and Yu Wenrong looked at each other. The meaning of His Royal Highness is self-evident. This is to drain the flood from Wannian County in Chang'an. After Zhiyang County was merged into Wannian County, it was under the jurisdiction of Jingzhao Prefecture. The discharge of Nian County will inevitably wash away several squares of Chang'an City close to the city wall.
"Your Highness, if this happens, Wannian County may suffer losses..."
"What about your early warning mechanism back then? Isn't this just in use? It's better to destroy a few acres of land than to flood crops in Lantian, Gaoling and other counties. Jingzhao Mansion governs the twenty-two surrounding counties. If If you don’t pass through Wannian County, at least a dozen surrounding counties will suffer.”
"I'm afraid you have to call your disciples and Zhongshu to investigate this matter, otherwise it will be very difficult..."
"Go ahead and do it. Isn't this the flood discharge route you studied back then? What's more, the gate is no longer as good as it used to be. It can't be opened in time to discharge floods. Hua Meng, call Zhongshu, his disciples, the Minister of Household Affairs, and the Minister of War to come over. Hmm... Just at Chongwen Hall." Li Hong thought for a moment and said.
"But..." Liang Xiaoren and Yu Wenrong were still a little at a loss.
Li Hong was about to leave for the meeting hall of Chongwen Pavilion. Seeing that the two of them were still hesitating, he smiled and said, "Before my father and mother left for Dongdu, they appointed me as the governor of Jingzhao Prefecture. I appointed the chief official of the prefecture. Do you two have any questions?"
The two looked at each other and saw the joy in each other's eyes. If this was the case, it would be easy to handle. I was afraid that His Highness would strike first and then show off again. Moreover, this kind of thing had happened more than once in the court. I was so angry. His Majesty slapped the table on him every time he went to court, but to no avail.
They all said in unison: "Yes, Your Highness, I will do it right now."
"Remember, do not use force when relocating the people from Daning, Xingning, and Yongjia. The city's military guards will cooperate with you to relocate the people."
After Li Hong finished speaking, he was just about to leave when Xiaoxue ran over and said crisply: "Your Highness, guest Zong Chu is at the door asking for an audience."
"He also knew what he, the chief official of Jingzhao Mansion, did for a living. It took him so long to show up and told him that I was not free and asked him to move together with Liang Xiaoren and Yu Wenrong to evacuate the people of Sanfang."
Liang Xiaoren and Yu Wenrong, who had not yet gone out, were even more determined when they heard this. With this de facto parent and official of Jingzhao Mansion, relocating the people and draining the floods would be much faster.
Immediately, the two of them bowed deeply to Li Hong and saluted: "Student, thank you, Your Highness." After saying that, they hurriedly followed Xiaoxue to find Zong Chuke, who had been promoted from the magistrate of Lantian County to the chief official of Jingzhao.
Jingzhao Mansion was previously called Yongzhou Mansion, and its function was to oversee the surrounding counties, including Chang'an and Wannian counties. Although it was a remote control, this position was also held by Li Shimin before he ascended the throne, and he still had real power. Serve.
At that time, the King of Qin, Li Shimin, once held many positions: General of the Left and Right, Shangshu Ling, Liangzhou Envoy Chijie, Yongzhou Mu, and Liangzhou General Manager. It can be said that the power has reached the point of overshadowing the emperor.
And now, although Li Hong is nominally in charge of the Jingzhao Mansion, the officials in the court are all aware that he is another late emperor. Who has seen him lead the Jingzhao Mansion from afar and appoint the chief officials of the mansion by himself?
To put it bluntly, this is the emperor's plan to train the next emperor.
But even with the position of Jingzhao Prefecture Yin and his position as Minister of Household Affairs, Li Hong was still much poorer than his grandfather.
In his own words, that is: "A grandson is a grandson, and a grandson will always be a grandson."
After watching a few people leave, Li Hong, led by Xia Zhi, looked at the pouring rain outside and saw Zong Chuke wearing a simple raincoat, standing under the eaves like a drowned rat, waiting for a reply.
"Send someone to bring him a bowl of hot soup. Don't let him die suddenly because of this heavy rain." Li Hong sighed and said.
Xia Zhi gently motioned to the other maids to hurry up and then led Li Hong to the meeting hall.
At this time, because Li Zhi and Wu Mei had completed the construction of several palaces such as the Dongdu Hebi Palace, they happily abandoned the government affairs and went to Luoyang to play, leaving the prince to supervise the country in Chang'an.
In a short time, Pei Yan, the Secretary of the Zhongshu Province, Cen Changqian, the Minister of the Ministry of Education, Jinghui, the Minister of the Ministry of Hubu, and Ren Yaxiang, the Minister of the Ministry of War, hurried over.
Li Hong sat on the chair in the center, looked at the few people and their subordinates on the left and right, and waved his hand to signal them to sit down.
"Is it my father's will?" Li Hong asked, looking at the senior official Zhongshu Ling Pei Yan.
"Back to Your Majesty, Your Majesty has no intention."
"They are quite open-minded. It has been raining so heavily for several days. It is impossible for them not to know, right? They are really big-hearted." Li Hong curled his lips in dissatisfaction.
Then he motioned to eunuch Mang Zhong and handed the documents he had just ordered to Liang Xiaoren and Yu Wenrong to several people present.
"Let's take a look, what do you think? If you have no objections, you can sign it." Li Hong picked up a glass of boiled water and took a sip.
He had already started drinking tea, but one time when he was playing chess with Sun Simiao, the old Taoist looked at the tea handed to him by the palace maid, lowered his eyes and said angrily: "What kind of tea can you drink when you have nothing to do? Wait until you have an heir. , or drink tea when you really grow up.”
Li Hong asked why with a strange look on his face, and the old man hummed again and said: "I'm afraid you won't be interested in sex in the future. You will be the three palaces and six courtyards in the future, and everyone will be favored. It's not good for you to drink tea now."
So, from that day on, before he could figure out whether Lao Dao's words were true or false, Xia Zhi and Xiao Xue took it upon themselves to help him change the tea into boiled water.
(End of chapter)