Tai Nei, Fú Níng Diàn

  Inside the Panlong inlaid gold gate, there are layers of bright yellow curtains hanging down. Each layer of curtain is a door, all the way to the innermost bedroom.

  On the couch with a soft cushion of bright yellow, sat Zhao Zhen, an official of the Song Dynasty. He wore a light blue robe, with his hair tied back with a strip of blue silk embroidered with jade, and smiled at the two fake sons in front of him.

  Sitting on the left side of the embroidered cushion was a young man with a face as white as jade, gentle and elegant. He wore a purple official robe, his face full of concern.

  On the right side of the embroidered cushion sat a young man with a square face, thick eyebrows and a serious expression, also wearing a purple official robe, with a faint look of worry on his face.

  These were the two children he had watched grow up, the elder being Zhao Zongshi, who was the thirteenth son of his cousin Prince of Runan, Zhao Yanzhen, and the younger being Zhao Zongyi, who was the second son of his cousin Prince of Beihai, Zhao Yanbi. They were two years apart in age and had both been raised in the palace.

  Although they were later sent away, Zhao Zhen never stopped caring for them. Even their marriage was arranged by him and the empress. The two of them treated him with filial piety, regularly visiting the palace to pay their respects, and it can be said that they remained as close as father and son.

  "After listening to the two people's inquiries, the official smiled and said: "My body has recovered a lot, you don't have to worry about it anymore.""

  "Uncle should rest more, state affairs and all that, let the gentlemen in charge worry about it." Zhao Zongshi's voice was as gentle as his appearance: "This time you must take good care of yourself, can't leave any roots behind."

  "Hmm." Zhao Huan nodded and asked in a warm tone: "Is your husband's rash better?"

  "The other day he was already fine and now he's jumping around again." Mentioning his son, Zhao Zongshi's smile finally became more enthusiastic. His eight-year-old eldest son, Zhao Zhongzhen, was born with a clever and smart appearance, deeply loved by the officials.

  "It's been a while since I've seen him." Zhao Zhen blamed: "Why didn't you bring him for me to see?"

  "It's probably that he didn't recover well and brought the illness with him." Zhao Zongshi said in a warm voice, "In two days, he will have fully recovered and will definitely come to pay his respects to Uncle."

  "Alright." Zhao Zhen nodded and turned to Zhao Zongji: "Where is that little kid of yours?"

  "All day, except for eating and sleeping." Zhao Zongji was not as wild as Zhao Zongshi. He got married at 15 and had a child at 16, his son is only one month old... Being a father made him not want to pretend to be crazy anymore, that would make his son look down on him: "Nothing's wrong with me."

  "Don't be careless, kids need to be extra careful"... Zhao Zhen sighed and seemed to have touched on a heart matter, remaining silent for half a day before recovering his energy and looking at the two of them: "Have you finished your homework?"

  "It's done." The two nodded simultaneously and pulled out a book from their sleeves, standing up at the same time.

  An eunuch came forward, took it over and presented it to Zhao Zhen.

  Zhao Zhen nodded and gestured for him to put it on the table, looking at the two of them and saying, "Tell me roughly."

  "We young people are shallow and ignorant, what do we know about national affairs? Most of it is just hearsay, occasionally having our own thoughts, but it's just enough to make Uncle Bo laugh." Zhao Zongshi was the first to speak up, he humbly said a few words, then spoke eloquently: "I think that in order to achieve the goal of reversing the Yellow River's flow, the most appropriate method would be to open the Liu Ta River, allowing the Yellow River water to return to its old course into the sea... Among all the old courses of the Yellow River, this river is relatively straight and has a shorter distance to the sea. Moreover, it passes through the Shun Jun Dam, cutting off bends and taking shortcuts, as well as repairing dikes and other measures..."

  Blah blah blah talked for half a day, actually the central idea is just one sentence: Liuta River plan is good!

  The official maintained a listening posture all along, patiently listening to him finish speaking, before smiling and saying: "Very good, you've put in quite some thought."

  "My uncle is overpraising me," Zhao Zongyi said modestly.

  "Zi'er, how about you?" The official looked at Zhao Zongji and asked.

  "Reporting back to Uncle." Zhao Zongji took a deep breath and said loudly, "I think the Liuta River plan is a huge mistake!"

  "Oh..." The official slightly surprised said: "What's going on?"

  Zhao Zongshi's face also changed slightly, and he smiled without saying a word.

  "The principle is simple, if the horizontal embankment can be used, why would the Yellow River change its course?" Zhao Zongji said in a low voice: "The Yellow River is originally three parts water and seven parts mud, there is no reason for it not to silt. And the siltation of the sediment starts from the slow water flow in the lower reaches. The higher the siltation in the lower reaches, the slower the water flow. If the flow rate in the upper reaches is too fast and the flow rate in the lower reaches is too slow, then it will burst from the middle and lower reaches. This is its usual trend."

  "The child specially looked up the hydrological data and found that since the end of the Tang Dynasty, the downstream of this waterway has been overflowing more and more. Entering our dynasty, the old course in the east of the capital has repeatedly overflowed and changed, and it has already reached the point where it cannot be fundamentally managed. What is the reason for this? The child again sent someone to investigate on the spot and interviewed hundreds of experienced old people, and learned that the Yellow River from Puyang to the east has all been silted up, and it's not like what Li Zhongchang and others said, only above Tongcheng is considered high land."

  "In fact, the Tongcheng River is considered 'extra high' and its riverbed gets higher as it flows eastward, with a drop of nearly 100 zhang at its highest point compared to Shanghu Port... Water naturally flows from high to low, so once a river abandons its high ground, it's difficult for it to return to its original course. Even if great force is used to temporarily restore the original course, it will soon break through again in a lower area upstream and create a new path, while the old path remains abandoned. This is why the Liuta River cannot be opened up - this is the fundamental reason!"

  "At the beginning of the construction, Li Zhongchang and others said that Liu Ta River can play a role in diversion, reducing the pressure of flood on the Yellow River. But later it was found that after the diversion, the water disasters in Henan and Hebei provinces still existed, and the situation was still critical. And the diverted water"

  Due to the overflow, it has already caused trouble in several states including Bin, Cang, De, Bo and Qi. If we wait for its complete return, the trouble will be several times more than before. The above five states have always been known as rich and prosperous, and the financial resources of Hebei Province rely on them. Now, introducing water to them will not only destroy the property of the people in the five states but also make Hebei Province see poverty and emptiness. The loss is even more incalculable. It can be seen that the suggestion to open the six towers is really absurd and extremely harmful, completely unacceptable!

  When Zhao Zongji spoke freely, and when Zhao Zongshi had just spoken, the official's expression and movements seemed to be no different, both listening very patiently. Only those who were most familiar with him would notice some differences from a small action.

  Just now when the first one was speaking halfway, Zhao Zhen's ears moved slightly, while listening to the second one finish, the official's ears were always straight.

  After a while, the official smiled and said: "Ji'er, you know that if this conversation gets out, it will offend people."

  "But the child is more afraid of his uncle's people suffering from an unjust disaster."

  "Unexpectedly", these two words pained Zhao Zhen. The official's narrow eyes narrowed slightly, and he asked Zhao Zongshi again: "How do you think, Shi?"

  "The young master seems to have made a lot of sense in what he said." Zhao Zongshi smiled and said, "But I think that the three generations of water officials from the Li family, with Li Zhongchang's family background, would not make such a low-level mistake. So, I still believe in the half-words of the two chancellors."

  "Hmm..." Zhao Zhen listened and nodded, seemingly he also had this idea.

  "Uncle!" Zhao Zongji sighed inwardly and stood up, clasping his fists: "The lives and property of tens of millions of Great Song citizens should not be risked in any way!"

  "Hmm..." Zhao Zhen nodded again, seemingly in agreement with this point.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  The two brothers walked out of Foning Hall shoulder to shoulder.

  "Brother Xian, has your illness improved?" Zhao Zongshi asked in a warm voice.

  "My brother, I'm not sick, it's just boring and fun." Zhao Zongji smiled.

  "We're all fathers now, we should have a grown-up appearance." Zhao Zongshi stretched out his hand and smiled as he picked off a dry leaf from his shoulder, smiling: "Your performance today was very good."

  "Thanks for the compliment." Zhao Zongji smiled wryly and said, "I'm just a straightforward person. If this conversation reaches my father's ears, I'll definitely get a beating."

  "How could that be? Uncle Wang is overjoyed and hasn't even had time to calm down yet." Zhao Zongshi shook his head with a smile: "Right, I got a set of 'The Great Wilderness Scripture', it's really interesting, when are you coming over to appreciate it together?"

  "I'm not short of time, another day when brother is free, send someone to call me and I'll be there at once."

  "Haha, okay." As he spoke, he walked to the palace gate. Once out of the palace gate, it was a bustling main street. The eunuch led over his horse. Taking the reins, Zhao Zongshi smiled and said: "See you another day then."

  "Send brother." Zhao Zongji sang a courtesy.

  Watching Zhao Zongshi disappear into the distance, he finally looked down and smiled bitterly: "Half of my body is about to freeze stiff."

  "Why didn't you say so." The one leading the horse was surprisingly Chen Ke, who chuckled and said: "Half of his body is almost burnt to a crisp?" Anyway, the relationship between the two people can no longer be hidden from others, why bother covering it up?

  "Haha..." Zhao Zongji laughed and said: "Still don't know how to get angry."

  "It's just a gasp." Chen Ke smiled and said, "Are you still afraid of him?"

  "Don't say that," Zhao Zongji said with some concern: "He has twenty-seven brothers."

  "Damn it, his father is so capable?" Chen Ke exclaimed with wide eyes.

  "Being able to give birth is also a skill." Zhao Zongji nodded and said: "With many brothers, there are always a few extremely evil ones... It's said that his family's Old Eight and Old Sixteen have a very deep connection with 'Worry-Free Cave' and 'Ghostly Fane Pavilion'."

  "Worry-free Cave, Ghostly Fane Tower?" Chen Xiao slightly furrowed his brow and said: "What is that?"

  "This Bianliang City has been built for over a hundred years, and the underground ditches are extremely deep and wide." Zhao Zongji pointed to his feet and said: "There are many fugitives hiding in them, calling themselves 'Worry-Free Caves'. It is said that the largest one was built by the Beggar Gang, called 'Ghostly Pavilion', specifically for kidnapping women from above ground to sell into prostitution and persecution."

  "It can't be." Chen Ke looked at the prosperous city of Bianjing and said in disbelief, "Bianjing City has a shop every five miles and a camp every other side, how many soldiers and police are there? Why didn't they eliminate them?"

  "How come they've never been eradicated? The governors of Kaifeng Prefecture throughout the ages haven't sent people to clean them up." Zhao Zongji shook his head and said, "But this Bianjing City has a population of over a million, how many are city rascals? How many new ones emerge every day? They've been eradicated batch after batch, like cutting scallions, it's impossible to eradicate them all..." He paused, then lowered his voice and said, "Besides, the gangs that can survive one round of eradication after another must have a background, didn't I just say so?"

  "So there was an umbrella of protection after all", Chen Xiao suddenly realized.

  "In short, you must be careful." Zhao Zongji said: "Among the beggars on this street, 80% of them are that kind of people. They don't dare to do anything to me, but they might target you. Let Old Qian and his men follow you." Old Qian was Zhao Zongji's chief bodyguard.

  "Whatever." Chen Ke nodded, no need to pretend to be enthusiastic.

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