Following the information handed over by Yang Wu and Lian Tie, Li Hong remained calm on the surface, but in his heart he was angry at what people in this ignorant era had done to pray for rain. There were two or three places to pray for rain, but unexpectedly, with Yang Wuliantie’s message, seven or eight appeared!
Some are commissioned by the government, and the scenes are huge and crowded, and everything used costs a lot of money. And some warlocks who wanted to take advantage of the rain and started to take advantage of this moment to make money!
The role of bad people at this time made Li Hong feel a little more balanced. These people who originally did not rely on the sky or the earth, but only relied on the government to live, had no sense of responsibility at all for those natural and man-made disasters. They are real minions of hawks and dogs who only obey the government.
Along with Yang Wu and Lian Tie, they took the order of Shangshu Ling and mobilized bad people to drive away the rain-seekers, and the effect was immediate. In addition, they were among the people, and they were more aware of where the phenomenon of offering sacrifices to pray for rain might occur. So, in just a few hours, all the sacrifices to pray for rain were nipped in the bud.
As orders were issued from Shangshu Province, Li Hong's heart began to relax. As long as the shocking sacrifice for rain was stopped, then whether it would rain next would depend on those bastards and lunatics in Chongwen Hall. It's our luck.
Shangguan Yi was very confused. This homing pigeon was really useful and the news was really fast. Ren Yaxiang was also the initial beneficiary of the homing pigeon. Both of them were a little confused at this time. It was said that after the homing pigeon was released, there should be a reply from a place not far away. How come they haven't received a homing pigeon yet.
The two of them felt uneasy, but His Royal Highness, who was sitting in the first seat, was very present and even hummed a tune without knowing it.
"Your Highness, none of the carrier pigeons have flown back. Do you think there will be any accidents?" Some of these carrier pigeons belong to the Ministry of War and some to the Chongwen Hall. These two guys are treasures.
Since we know that it is not easy to cultivate this homing pigeon, we will not let others borrow it easily. Today, His Royal Highness is borrowing it. If it were anyone else, the two of them could even do it. Their lives may be spared, but the homing pigeon will never be borrowed with a strong attitude.
"It's nothing. This is normal. I can't explain it to you. But..." A strange smile appeared on Li Hong's face and he said, "You two have to be prepared to lose a lot of pigeons."
"Ah? Why?" Shangguan Yi suddenly stood up from the chair.
These carrier pigeons have almost become his lifeblood. Losing one will make him unable to sleep well all night long. Whenever a student from Chongwen Hall loses a carrier pigeon, he would like to smash that person's bones into ashes! He was so angry that he was shaking all over and walking unsteadily.
Ren Yaxiang also felt nervous when he heard Li Hong's words, but compared to Shangguan Yi, at least his demeanor was much calmer, but his expression was inevitably a little anxious.
"Homing pigeons will not fly when it rains, so if it starts to rain in some places, then these homing pigeons will find a place to stay under the eaves and wait for the rain to stop before flying. But there are also many other raptors, so they will wait for the rain. After the weather clears up, I'm afraid there won't be a few people picked up by birds of prey," Li Hong said leisurely, not caring at all about the fate of those pigeons.
Compared to this god damn rain, those homing pigeons really are nothing, not to mention that even if they are gone, they can still be cultivated, right
"You mean, is it possible that it has already rained in other places?" Ren Yaxiang was naturally concerned about the rain, unlike Shangguan Yi, who sat helplessly on a chair and sighed up to the sky as if a relative had died. .
Li Hong couldn't tell him that homing pigeons relied on the earth's magnetic field for navigation. When thunderstorms or low cloud pressure disrupted the magnetic field, the only thing these homing pigeons could do was to stay under the eaves without moving.
Seeing Ren Yaxiang nodding, Li Hong was about to speak when he heard Shangguan Yi say bitterly: "Yes, I haven't seen any birds flying on this rainy day. This homing pigeon is still a bird no matter what, alas... this... this is again It’s a big expense... Huh? I got one back!”
Shangguan Yi didn't care about being rude in front of His Highness the Crown Prince. Hearing the sound of cooing, he ran out in a hurry. He saw a soldier taking off the note from the carrier pigeon's leg, and the carrier pigeon walked uneasily on the mailbox with its eyes wide open. Come and go.
After taking a look at the note, Shangguan Yi waved the soldier to send it in by himself. He had to see if the carrier pigeon was okay. If according to His Highness, since it was raining outside, then the carrier pigeon that could only fly back would definitely be He is an ace pigeon and needs to be taken good care of. He cannot be let loose anymore.
"Unexpectedly, there are still people who can fly back." Li Hong took the note handed by Ren Yaxiang and nodded with satisfaction.
The exploding clouds really caused rain. Although they dispersed the clouds in some places, they failed to cause rain. Instead, they caused bursts of thunder and lightning. But it started to rain in some places, which was a good start anyway.
There were still dark clouds over Luoyang City, but there was no sign of rain. Li Hong did not dare to randomly release the Kongming Lanterns over Luoyang City, so he hoped to release the Kongming Lanterns in the no-man's land outside the city, hoping to It can cause rain, but the weather doesn't work as expected, and Luoyang City seems to be cursed, and it won't rain no matter what.
This also caused Li Hong to stop people from offering sacrifices to pray for rain, which made people angry and resentful. Rumors spread everywhere. People in Luoyang City were now beginning to feel dissatisfied. Even some princes and nobles hurried to the palace to report to the emperor and queen what was going on in the city. everything that happened.
Li Zhi and Wu Mei had livid faces. They had already expected Li Hong's move, so they secretly supported the people praying for rain and did not tell Li Hong. Instead, they bypassed him, knowing his temper and determined not to do so. If you do this, if you really want to forcefully sacrifice in front of him to pray for rain, I am afraid that the unfilial son will be furious.
But now it still doesn't rain in Luoyang City. He, Li Hong, has also stopped offering sacrifices to pray for rain. The emperor and queen have not expressed their anger at him, but the princes, nobles and high-ranking families have stopped. Although they don't know that this is Li Hong's idea, so At first, they went to the Ministry of Household Affairs and other government offices, hoping that the government would support the sacrifice and pray for rain.
But the officials in the court could only smile and shake their heads helplessly, and then silently pointed to the official office of Shangshu Province. Then these people understood that this was the idea of His Highness the Crown Prince.
He lives in the palace and doesn't have to worry about food and clothing, but doesn't he care about the life and death of his people
But just when the princes and nobles, headed by Prince Ji, were sitting in the Qianyuan Hall with a sad face, confiding to the emperor and the queen, a eunuch hurried in and said: "Your Majesty, queen, the rain has begun outside the city. It’s raining. Although we are still dozens of miles away from Luoyang City, the rain has begun.”
"Your Majesty, please immediately allow the people to pray for rain. The people praying for rain outside the city have already seen the rain. Are you going to let the people of Luoyang be unable to plow spring farming due to drought?"
"King Ji, please be patient and listen to what he has to say." Li Zhi frowned. He didn't believe that the unfilial son stopped the sacrifice and prayed for rain and left his tail behind.
And just as they were talking, there was a faint thunderous rumble from the distance. The rumble was rolling in, but by the time it reached Luoyang Palace, it had become extremely small.
"It's raining outside the city. Is this the result of praying for rain or due to other merits?" Li Zhi looked at the eunuch and asked.
"Your Majesty, according to the envoy, I first saw the light of fire lighting up in the clouds, and then there was the sound of thunder. After a while, the clouds started to rain." The eunuch lowered his head and said respectfully.
"Have you seen anyone offering sacrifices to pray for rain over there?" King Ji looked anxiously at the eunuch and asked anxiously.
"This..." The eunuch looked at Li Zhi and then at King Ji, not sure whether to answer.
These eunuchs in the palace, now trained by Wu Mei, only recognize Li Zhi and her, and do not recognize anyone else. No matter you are a relative of the emperor, a prince or a noble, it will not work in the palace. Of course, except for the princess, His Royal Highness Li Lingyue and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince Li Hong.
"But it doesn't matter." Li Zhi snorted dullly.
"Yes, Your Majesty. There were people offering sacrifices to pray for rain over there, but they were stopped and dispersed by Yang Wu and his men as soon as they started. Those praying for rain..." The eunuch was a little embarrassed.
"What's wrong? Tell me." It was Wu Mei who spoke this time, vaguely guessing that she was being detained by the unfilial son.
"Those who prayed for rain and the participants were all imprisoned by the Ministry of Punishment." After the eunuch finished speaking, he quickly shrank his head, as if he was afraid that the emperor would chop off his head in anger.
"Nonsense! Those who offer sacrifices to pray for rain are also concerned about the safety of the people in the world, why are they imprisoned! Proclaim Li Hong to the palace!" Li Zhi's beard trembled with anger, but fortunately he did not suffer from vertigo, otherwise, if someone Make his dragon father faint with anger, and his dragon mother will not kill him!
When Hua Ji appeared in Shangshu Province, Li Hong was not surprised at all. The sky had already darkened. This was not a sign that the clouds were getting thicker and a storm was coming, but that it was now Shenshi and it would be dark even if it were not dark. no.
Li Zhi also knew that if he sent other eunuchs to Shangshu Province, he might not be able to summon Li Hong to Qianyuan Hall, so he immediately asked his personal eunuch Hua Ji to appear in Shangshu Province.
"Is your father very angry?" After explaining to Shangguan Yi and Ren Yaxiang that they must remember not to set off Kongming lanterns in Luoyang City, they followed Hua Ji out of Shangshu Province and patted Hua Ji on the shoulder.
Behind him, Shangguan Yi stood up and wanted to stop Li Hong from talking, but after looking at the weather outside, it was still not raining, she finally refrained from reminding the Crown Prince.
"Seeing that Lord Shangguan was hesitant to speak, did you have something to say when His Highness left just now?" Ren Yaxiang looked at Shangguan Yi's somewhat troubled expression and asked curiously.
"Alas... this... His Majesty asked me for some Kongming Lanterns. I'm afraid that if it doesn't rain again in Luoyang City, Your Majesty will personally release those Kongming Lanterns to pray for rain. After all, the rain outside the city now is the rain caused by the flying Kongming Lanterns. ." Shangguan Yi looked troubled.
One is the emperor and the other is the prince. Which one can he afford to offend? If one is not allowed to be released, if the other is forced to be released, it will be difficult for him to be a minister if he is caught in the middle.
(End of chapter)