The Yellow River carries a large amount of silt from the Loess Plateau and flows eastward from Sanmenxia, with a gentle current. After entering the North China Plain near Kaifeng, due to the flatter terrain, the silt settles, causing the riverbed to become increasingly elevated. Under natural conditions, the water would overflow the riverbanks and spread out in all directions towards lower areas.

  However, people have been building dikes and dams on both banks to defend their homes, binding the river water within its original course, but making the sedimentation of silt more severe, causing the river surface to be constantly raised, and the dikes can only be built higher accordingly. From a distance, it looks like a dragon that is not managed by heaven or earth, hence the name "Hanging River".

  In this case, starting from Shanghu 200 miles northeast of Kaifeng, the situation became more severe as one went further east. After passing Tongcheng, the height of the riverbed almost eliminated the difference in elevation between the east and west, causing the water flow to nearly stagnate. Further east, the siltation of the riverbed grew higher and higher, and the water no longer flowed eastward but instead split into several branches at Taizhou, each seeking a lower place to flow, bringing harm to the people of five states.

  Zhao Zongji and Chen Ke led two thousand imperial guards, taking a month to measure the drop in elevation of the 200-li river course from Shanghu to Liutazhen to Tongcheng, Yongzhou. Indeed, the downstream was one zhang higher than the upstream! At the same time, Chen Ke also used the vertical pole method to measure the height of each section of the riverbed and used the Pythagorean theorem to calculate the relative height of each section of the riverbank. On April 1st, they returned to Bianjing.

  ===============================================================

  For several days, Bianjing City has been shrouded in continuous rain and gloom. The rows of willows along the banks of the Longxing River swayed gently in the rain. The dozens of flying bridges over the Bian, Cai, Wuzhang, and Jinshui rivers appeared and disappeared in the rain. The tall halls and pavilions within the imperial palace seemed even more majestic in the rain.

  The official summoned Zhao Zongji at the first time, and Chen Ke waited outside the imperial gate. He sat under the eaves to avoid the rain, and before long, he was so tired that he started snoring.

  Until he was pushed, Chen Ke suddenly opened his eyes and saw Zhao Zongji's excited face standing in the rain without an umbrella.

  "Really?"

  "It's done!" Zhao Zongji nodded vigorously and said: "The imperial court has issued an edict to the Zhengtang Temple, and the merger of Shanghu has been stopped!" As he spoke, he stretched out his hand.

  "Ah..." Chen Ke grasped his hand and stood up from the ground, letting out a long sigh: "The merit is complete, go home and sleep!"

  "Alright then, I invite you to Fanlou."

  "Let's call it a day, I'm dead tired." Chen Ke waved his hand and walked home with an oil-paper umbrella.

  He was really exhausted and fell asleep as soon as he got home. He wasn't woken up until the next day at noon by the noise.

  "What's all the commotion about!" he shouted impatiently.

  "Sanlang, get up!" Song Duanping pushed open the door, his face furious: "Last night, Shang Hu Kou burst its dike!"

  "What?" Chen Ke suddenly became wide awake: "Nonsense! The imperial decree has arrived!"

  "Alas, still one step too late..." Zhao Zongji appeared at the door with red-rimmed eyes.

  "Fart!" Chen Ke suddenly sat up and said: "Such a grand event, can't wait for the imperial decree, and dare to complete it privately?"

  "The official was enraged and has already sent my father and Mr. Wen to Puyang to handle it!"

  "Let Wen Yanbo go too!" Chen Ke's anger soared: "I think this time the forced convergence, 80% of it is him making trouble behind the scenes!"

  "It won't come to that, Mr. Wen can't possibly know the consequences and still insist on doing it." Zhao Zongji shook his head and said.

  "That's not necessarily true!" Chen Ke angrily spat out a few words, then fell headfirst onto the bed, pulling the quilt over his head and saying: "Never mind, never mind, you can't manage the affairs of the Zhao family, go to sleep, go to sleep!"

  "Alas..." Zhao Zongji was also filled with despair, thinking of discussing a countermeasure with Chen Ke, but looking at the situation, he was completely helpless.

  Song Duanping pulled his sleeve and said, "You should also go back and rest. Things have come to this point, it's not something you can intervene in anymore, just wait and see what happens."

  "Yes. [More Wu Dong Qian Kun please enter]"

  Zhao Zongji nodded, this statement is absolutely right, from now on, they'd better shut their mouths and stand aside...

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  Niuzhoushan in Shanghu Town, 15 kilometers west of Wenzhou City, has become a peninsula. The entire eastern part is now a vast expanse of water, completely submerging the Shanghu River...

  Yesterday afternoon, under the command of the river officials, the Shanghu Dui mouth was forcibly closed. At first everything was normal, and the excess water was taken away by the Liuta River, with the Yellow River flowing eastward as people had expected.

  However, just a few hours later, the sky had just darkened, and suddenly the river water surged uncontrollably, rolling back in a mighty torrent. The embankment, which had only just been completed, collapsed again before the workers and soldiers could even evacuate, taking thousands of lives and countless amounts of property with it, all swallowed up by the floodwaters in an instant.

  When Zhao Yunrui and Wen Yanbo arrived, they could only gaze from afar on Niu Tou Mountain.

  Zhao Yunxi looked at Wen Yanbo's pale face, then at Shuichen who was generally silent and still as a cicada in winter. He stretched his waist and said: "I'm getting old, can't take the night travel anymore. Little Wang go take a nap first, I'll leave this to you, sir."

  Wen Yanbo's fist and courtesy, this is someone from Beihai County King, in the opportunity to give himself a good later.

  As soon as Zhao Yun'er left, he didn't even look at the group of water officials and went straight back to his own tent.

  Several water officials all looked at the Temple Chamberlain, Grand Promoter of the River Works Li Zhongchang, with very obvious intention. You are the initiator and commander-in-chief, so naturally you should go in first to give the Premier an explanation.

  Li Zhongchang knew he was in the wrong and didn't say anything, hanging his head in shame as he ducked into the tent.

  Only saw Wen Yanbo sitting on a stool, his eyes slightly closed.

  Li Zhongchang bowed deeply, but Wen Yanbo acted as if he hadn't seen it and didn't pay any attention.

  "I was wrong to you, husband." Li Zhongchang said in a hoarse voice.

  Feng Yibai still had his eyes slightly closed, and on that thin, angular face, no expression could be seen.

  "I am not a scholar by birth, but I relied on the imperial grace to become an official. If it weren't for your excellency's recognition and promotion, I wouldn't be where I am today. In the past year or so, your excellency has borne immense pressure to support me, and I am deeply grateful. I want to repay your kindness with all my heart." Li Zhongchang said, tears streaming down his face: "We rushed through the project and deliberately avoided receiving the imperial edict, simply because we wanted to use facts to speak for themselves and shut the mouths of those who doubted us."

  Wen Yanbo slowly opened his eyes, with a mixture of coldness and unfamiliarity in his gaze, but still didn't speak.

  Li Zhongchang took off the black silk from his head, held it in both hands and presented it to him with a sob: "This career was given to me by my lord, now I return it to you. Whatever crime there is, I will take it all upon myself, even if it means beheading, I will not implicate my lord in the slightest!"

  This sentence caused Wen Yanbo's eyebrows to slightly wrinkle, and he stretched out his hand.

  Li Zhongchang hastily handed over the black silk, but he didn't expect that Wen Yanbo would slap him hard on the face with a loud "slap"!

  Li Zhongchang was stunned, covering his burning cheek, and gazed at Wen Yanbo in terror.

  "How dare you!" Wen Yanbo's voice was low and heavy with indignation and pain: "Such a big thing, actually dared to deceive me, actually dared not to receive the imperial edict, actually wanted to cook rice while it's still raw! Do you know how deep the water of the imperial court is? It won't drag me in! Who under heaven doesn't know that you are my man!"

  "I don't want to deceive you, sir... nor do I want to wrong you..." Li Zhongchang said with a sob: "We've been working on the river project since last year, through all seasons, eating and living on the embankment. We've worked hard for over a year, without even returning home for Chinese New Year. We've poured our hearts into it, day and night, and finally, just one last step remains... and now you're telling us to stop? It's really unacceptable!"

  "This is it!" Wen Yanbo sighed and said: "After all, I thought about it, I couldn't be wrong to myself!" He let out a long sigh and said: "How could I, the old man, not have been wishful thinking? If I had stopped you from working earlier, how would we have ended up like this today..."

  "Master......" Li Zhongchang raised his head.

  "... Wen Yanbo raised his hand and said calmly: "Now, it's too late to say anything. You all have a hard time too, go back and rest well."

  "Brother-in-law..." Li Zhongchang looked at him with a worried expression: "Will we... will we be exiled?" The officials of the Great Song Dynasty were not afraid of death, but there were punishments in this world that were more unbearable than death... being exiled to a desolate and barbarous land was one of them.

  "Didn't you receive the imperial edict?" Wen Yanbo said expressionlessly, "Hold on tight, don't let go of your mouth. Other matters will be handled by me."

  =============================================================

  Back to the city of Kaifeng, several water clocks were handed over to the judicial authorities for safekeeping. Wen Yanbo entered the palace to pay his respects, but unexpectedly, only Zhao Yunxi was allowed to enter, saying that the prime minister was busy with official duties and should hurry back to work.

  Wen Yanbo's face turned slightly pale, and Zhao Yunxi comfortingly looked at him and said: "Sir, you can go back now, I will help you speak."

  "Thank you, Your Highness." Wen Yanbo bowed deeply and waited for Zhao Yunxiao to enter the palace gate before he dragged his heavy footsteps back to the East Hall of Government Affairs.

  In the government hall, another prime minister, Fu Xie, saw him return and had someone bring up a bowl of hot ginger soup to warm Wen Yanbo's body. Then he gestured for those around him to withdraw.

  Wen Yanbo drank a bowl of hot ginger soup, but still felt chilled to the bone. If such a blunder had occurred, without Jia Changchao firing a shot, those officials from the Imperial Censorate and the Remonstrance Bureau would not have let them off. It was likely that by dawn tomorrow, memorials demanding severe punishment for those responsible would be pouring in like snowflakes.

  Fu Bi was also extremely depressed, having spent all his energy to overcome the opposition of the majority, and even offended the Empress, the Queen, and his old friend Ouyang Xiu, earning himself a reputation for being stubborn and seeking fame, only to achieve this result.

  But who can be blamed?

  Just as Fu Xie was filled with regret, Wen Yanbo raised his head and said: "Brother Yanguo, we must go through thick and thin together!"

  "That's for sure." Fu Bi nodded, his face complex: "Regret not listening to Ouyang Yongshu's words."

  "Go find Ouyang Yong Shu now." Wen Yanbo said seriously: "Whatever you do, don't let him fire the cannon. As long as he can remain silent, there's nothing to be afraid of."

  "This can be done, he's a gentleman and won't hit someone when they're down."

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