Chapter 4481 Flooding water breaks the embankment
Fang Jun dismounted from his horse and stepped forward to greet him. Before he got close, he clasped his fists and saluted: "Brother Bin Wang is not in Chang'an to direct the construction of the city. Why are you here?"
The purple-robed official who will accompany him in the future is none other than Ma Zhou, the imperial minister and Jingzhao Yin.
Ma Zhou stepped forward to greet him with a solemn expression: "It has rained for many days in a row, and flash floods broke out in many places in the mountains. The floods carried sand and gravel down the river and washed away the river embankments. Last night, the river embankments here were finally overwhelmed and broke for several miles, causing The intersection of Qingming Canal and Jishui River There were blockages in several places, the river overflowed, and it was impossible to follow the clear channel northward. The surrounding villages were hit by disasters, and the population and livestock were severely damaged. The lower officials had to rush here to take charge of disaster relief, and called on the people to dredge the river and repair the river embankments. "
Fang Jun's expression became solemn, he patted Ma Zhou on the shoulder and said, "Let's go and take a look together."
The two of them walked side by side, and all the soldiers dismounted, following behind them with alert eyes.
Ahead, officials from Jingzhao Prefecture, local village elders, recruited civilians, and even officials from the Water Resources Department of the Ministry of Industry gathered together. When they saw Fang Jun and Ma Zhou coming side by side, they quickly got out of the way and surrounded them. People came to the river embankment...
Tens of feet ahead, I saw a bend in the river. The raging river hit the embankment and then turned north. Then the water slowed down and split into two parts after passing a stone "Tian Tsui" in the middle of the river. Half of it continues to flow northeast along the river, and the other half rushes into the artificially dug Qingming Canal and flows to Chang'an, becoming one of the components of Chang'an City's water conservancy system. However, now it continues The endless water force forced a gap in the embankment, and the river water rushed into Qingming Canal before it reached "Tsim Tsui". The small river channel of Qingming Canal could not accommodate such a large amount of water, and it instantly overflowed the embankment and submerged both sides. The farmland and villages are located in the Jishui River channel, with Shaolingyuan and Shenheyuan on both sides. The terrain is sunken and narrow, resulting in nowhere for floods to be discharged, and the flooding gradually expands.
Ma Zhou pointed to the north where he could see. A long section of the Qingming Canal had been submerged by floods. He said solemnly: "There are many villages on both sides of the Qingming Canal. Now most of them have been submerged. There have been countless losses. Thousands of people have died." The people are homeless. The most serious thing is that if the flood cannot be controlled as soon as possible, once the flood reaches Chang'an along the Qingming Canal, the skyrocketing water level will engulf the inner squares on both sides of the canal in the city, and even rush into the Taiji Palace."
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In the third year of Emperor Kaihuang's reign in the Sui Dynasty, Daxing City was built. Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty dug three canals to divert water to the city. One was the Longshou Canal, which led from the southeast of the city to Changle Slope. It was divided into two canals, one of which flowed into the garden from the north, and the other to Zhenghuamen. , Xingqing Palace enters Taiji Palace from the Imperial City. The second is Yong'an Canal, which leads water from Da'anfang West Street into the city, and flows north into Yuan Zhuwei. The third is Qingming Canal, which guides water from Da'anfang East Street into the city, and from the Imperial City to Taiji Palace. ”
Once the water level of Qingming Canal rises sharply, half of Chang'an City will suffer from floods, especially the Taiji Palace, which is currently heavily damaged, and is very likely to become a swamp.
Fang Jun looked at several officials from the Ministry of Works and asked, "Has the Ministry of Works drafted regulations on water control?"
The Ministry of Industry is his old unit, but it has been under the jurisdiction of Zhang Liang in the past few years. He has paid little attention to it. In the past, his old subordinates either retired or were transferred to other places to take charge of shipyard construction. Zhang Liang promoted all the vacancies. Fang Jun even called The names of these Ministry of Industry officials cannot be named...
The first official, a stocky man in his fifties, hurriedly stepped forward and replied: "If you want to return to the Duke of Yue, I received a notification from the Jingzhao Mansion in Yinshi today, so Zhang Shilang summoned us back to the government office to brainstorm and formulate a plan. According to the strategy of blocking first and then clearing up, Jingzhao Mansion is responsible for summoning civilians to rescue the disaster. ”
Fang Jun nodded. The current left minister of the Ministry of Works, Zhang Wenguan, was promoted by Zhang Liang from the Ministry of Water Resources. Water control is considered his own job, and his level is not bad. Moreover, this person is diligent and upright, so he can be entrusted with it. heavy responsibility.
In fact, he does not listen to ministry affairs. Now Zhang Wenguan is equivalent to the Minister of the Ministry of Industry...
As for the official from the Ministry of Industry in front of him, he couldn't name him.
Then he turned to Ma Zhou and said, "How many people have been recruited, and how much materials are still lacking?"
Ma Zhou looked troubled: "It's okay to say that the earthwork is close to Shaolingyuan, so local materials can be used. However, the entire city of Chang'an is now being repaired, and there is a serious shortage of stone materials. Moreover, it has rained for many days in a row, and there are floods everywhere in Guanzhong. Although there are no It did not cause a major disaster, but manpower was organized to build cities, strengthen city walls, and build buildings in various places, and it was difficult to allocate enough manpower at the same time. ”
After the war, Guanzhong was full of ruins and was in need of reconstruction. It required massive supplies of materials to build and repair various cities, houses, water conservancy, and roads. In contrast, it also needed countless civilians.
Now there are gaps everywhere, every material is in short supply, and it is difficult to procure it at the moment.
Fang Jun looked at the overflowing river and frowned: "Once the flood reaches Chang'an, not only will the losses be serious, but it will also destabilize the situation. There is no room for error."
Ma Zhou looked solemn. He naturally understood what Fang Jun meant. Material losses were secondary. What was particularly important was that His Majesty had just put down the rebellion. Many people were watching behind the scenes. Someone must have stirred up public opinion and questioned His Majesty's legitimacy.
From the construction of Daxing City in the Sui Dynasty to the renaming of Chang'an in the Tang Dynasty, no expense was spared in the construction of the city. The drainage facilities in the city are extremely complete. There have been no floods in so many years. How come you, Li Chengqian, flooded when you came to power?
Is God warning you to persecute King Jin?
Once this kind of public opinion arises, it will be extremely difficult to extinguish it, and it will even cause doubts about the emperor from both the government and the public for a long time.
"Without further delay, we need to quell the flood as soon as possible." Fang Jun turned back to Wei Ying and said, "Hurry to the Xuanwu Gate with my commander's token and order Wang Fangyi to lead five regiments of soldiers to come and participate in disaster relief and flood control."
In the military system of the Tang Dynasty, every five men were in a corps, two corps were in a group, five groups were in a team, two teams were in a brigade, and two brigades were in a regiment... plus flag bearers, cooks, craftsmen and other miscellaneous personnel, a regiment The strength of the troops is about 220, and the fifth regiment has more than 1,000 men.
Although there are not many in number, they are all young and strong soldiers. They have received formal military training all year round, and their physical fitness far exceeds that of ordinary civilian soldiers.
"Here!"
Wei Ying took two companions with him, got on his horse and galloped away. Since the bridge on the Jianshui River has been washed away, and the water in the Qingming Canal has surged and overflowed the river embankment, the only way to go to Chang'an is to retreat to the vicinity of Duqu and follow the road across the entire Shaolingyuan, along the official road on the Bashui side. Arrive at Longshouyuan in the north, then return to Xuanwu Gate in the west.
An official from the Ministry of Industry said: "Even if there is sufficient manpower, repairing dams and blocking rivers requires a large amount of stone. Excavation and stone cutting will take a long time, and it is difficult to solve the urgent need."
Fang Jun touched his chin and asked: "Although I am the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, I have not been to the Yamen for a long time. Zhang Wenguan is also responsible for all ministry affairs. It is difficult for the officials in the Ministry to recognize him. But I don't know what you call him?" br>
The official of the Ministry of Industry hurriedly said: "I will be the right servant of the Ministry of Industry."
Fang Jun glanced at him and saw that it was the Pei family of Hedong. However, the Pei family of Hedong was a large family with many branches. It might not be the same family as the Pei family of Hedong where Pei Xingjian was, otherwise this person would definitely mention it in front of him. After all, Who doesn't know that Pei Xingjian is his confidant? If he comes from the same family as Pei Xingjian, he will definitely be taken care of by many people.
"Tell me, what are your ideas?"
Pei Yi hesitated: "This..."
Fang Jun was a little impatient: "If you have something to say, just say it. Don't make such a gesture. Isn't it just that you don't want to take responsibility? Do you want me to be blamed for this? You are irresponsible!"
"Yes yes yes..."
Pei Yi was startled, and then he remembered that the man in front of him had the nickname "Bangchui". If he was angered, his little servant might be beaten...
He said hurriedly: "Less than five miles to the south from here, there is a temple called Xingjiao Temple. It is unknown when it was built. It is dilapidated and ruined. Master Xuanzang wanted to rebuild this temple before, so he accumulated a large amount of stone and wood. However, due to the rebellion of the rebels, it had to be temporarily suspended. Up to this time, the construction has not started. Look, Duke of Yue..."
Fang Jun clicked his tongue and looked at the right minister of the Ministry of Industry: "You are not a good old boy. I have no enmity with you. Do you want to trick me?"
If the flood is serious, you should do everything you can to control it. This is the responsibility of the Minister of Industry, and there is no shirk. Since there are ready-made stones, how can we not use them? Not taking it means allowing flooding to rage, which is dereliction of duty.
And since Xuanzang returned to Tianzhu to obtain Buddhist scriptures, his reputation has skyrocketed, and he can almost be hailed as "the first Buddhist". How can he allow others to take away the stones of the Buddhist temple he wants to rebuild, causing the project to be delayed indefinitely?
Taking away the stone would offend Xuanzang, the "first man of Buddhism". Not only would he have to face the dissatisfaction of the entire Buddhist sect, but he would also have to face the denunciation of countless believers. Not to mention Fang Jun, even the emperor would have a headache. ……
Pei Yi carefully took off the beam crown on his head, with a smile on his face: "I have no choice but to do this, and I have overstepped my bounds. I hope the Duke of Yue will not be blamed. After all, it is for the safety of these thousands of people and Chang'an that I have taken this policy." , I am ashamed and ashamed. In order to express my apology, I am willing to resign in the name of the Duke of Quan Yue.”
When the surrounding officials, soldiers, and people saw this scene, they started to make noises. Only then did they understand that Pei Yi was using this "conspiracy" to force Fang Jun to go to Xingjiao Temple to requisition stones. For this reason, he even resigned from his official position. After all, Fang Jun was famous and had a high status. If you dare to force yourself against him even though you are a subordinate, what will happen to you?
Many people even began to applaud and advised Fang Jun not to be angry. After all, although Pei Yi was unscrupulous, he was a good official who asked for orders for the people...
Fang Jun ignored the noise around him and asked Ma Zhou with a smile: "What do you think, Brother Bin Wang?"
Ma Zhou's face was cold and expressionless: "I just stood aside and watched."
Fang Jun was speechless: "...you are so funny!"
Then he turned around and looked at Pei Yi, who looked upright and awe-inspiring, and said loudly: "Come here, get this beast for me!"
Everyone was in an uproar. (End of chapter)