Vertical arch hall, monarchs and ministers deliberate.

Zhao Gou sat alone in the hall, accompanied by the inner attendant, sat down with Prime Minister Qin Hui, and participated in the governor's affairs and signed the Privy Council Yu Yaobi.

I only heard Zhao Gou say: "Qin Aiqing, I heard that there have been a lot of rumors in Lin'an City recently, but is there such a thing?" ”

Qin Hui thought for a while, and slowly replied: "The minister has also heard a little, saying that the imperial court is sending troops and preparing to go north to fight, this kind of saying is very loud, and I don't know where it came from. ”

Zhao said: "Aiqing thinks, what should I do? ”

Qin Hui replied slowly: "The minister thinks that such rumors should be extinguished immediately, if the rumors spread out of Lin'an City, whether it is spread to the northern Jin Kingdom or to the Jianghuai area, it will be detrimental to the peace and stability of the Great Song Dynasty and the peace of the people." As for how to extinguish it, the minister has some ideas, and he might as well take the opportunity of this ban on the army to do business to strictly investigate corruption in the army, and as long as a few people are arrested, everyone's attention will naturally turn to the anti-corruption and anti-corruption in the army, so it is reasonable to dispatch troops and generals, and this move can not only stop the rumors and stabilize the people's minds, but also sweep away the corruption in the army, which is a good thing for the people and the court. ”

Zhao Gou nodded slightly and responded: "What Aiqing said is reasonable, corruption in the army should indeed be rectified." It's just that the timing is right now? What does Yu Aiqing think? ”

Yu Yaobi replied: "Back to the emperor, the minister thinks that what Qin Xiangye said is reasonable, all kinds of rumors and rumors in Lin'an City, it is difficult to distinguish between truth and falsehood, many people believe it is true, and talk about it in private, if it is not stopped in time, it may cause disaster." Taking advantage of the ban on business to promote anti-corruption in the military is indeed a good way to dispel rumors. In addition, as far as the minister knows, the commanders of the various armies of the Great Song Dynasty have not changed for many years, and they have been in charge of the army for a long time, which is not beneficial to the society of the Great Song Dynasty, so they can take this opportunity to adjust and rectify. At present, the new owner of the Jin Kingdom has just changed, it is a good time, their attention is within the government, and there will be no more thoughts about the Great Song Dynasty for the time being, we are promoting anti-corruption in the army at this time, even if it causes a shock in the army in the short term, we also have time to turn around, and quickly stabilize the general's heart. The minister thought that this was the right time. ”

Zhao Gou nodded and said: "Since this is the case, then the Privy Council will take the lead, together with the Ministry of Households, the Ministry of Officials, the Ministry of Industry, the Criminal Department, the Ministry of War and the Dali Temple to supervise this matter, and within half a year, the garrison and the forbidden army outside Lin'an will be cleaned up. ”

Yu Yaobi immediately responded: "Yes, Your Majesty, the minister will definitely handle this matter within half a year." ”

Zhao Gou said again: "Qin Aiqing, anti-corruption in the army has always been a major matter, in order to prevent deviations and uncontrollable things happen, Aiqing can help one or two from the side, grasp the degree, the government is stable, no accidents occur, and it is a top priority at any time." ”

Qin Hui replied: "Yes, the emperor, the minister understands." ”

"Two Aiqing, but is there anything else?" Zhao Gou shook his body slightly, obviously a little tired from sitting.

Yu Yaobi said: "Your Majesty, the day before yesterday I received a piece of music from the Jinghu area, where the floods were serious, the fertile fields were washed away countless times, and large tracts of fertile fields were to be harvested, and this autumn's harvest may not be as good as last year's twenty-three tenths. ”

Zhao said: "I read the chapter. How credible do you think it is? ”

Yu Yaobi hesitated for a while, and then replied: "The minister thinks that there may be some exaggeration in the chapter, but the floods in the Jinghu area occur from time to time, but the severity is different every year, this year's rain is concentrated, the floods are more serious than last year, although the autumn harvest is not only two or three percent of last year, it is estimated that it is not much better, at most five or six percent." For the sake of the people, the imperial court should reduce or reduce some taxes and mobilize some grain into Jinghu Lake to prevent the disaster victims from turning into displaced people and the displaced people from becoming mobs. ”

Zhao Gou was noncommittal, and asked Qin Hui instead: "Qin Aiqing thinks how to deal with the matter of Jinghu?" ”

Qin Hui replied: "The minister thinks that the floods in Jinghu Lake have occurred year after year, one is a natural disaster, the other is a man-made disaster, not to mention the natural disaster, the rolling Yangtze River crosses the Jinghu Lake, there is a lot of rain every year, and it is normal to have floods, but there are serious floods every year, this is a man-made disaster, has the river been dredged, has the river embankment been repaired?" The minister thought that he could send a disaster relief envoy to the Jinghu area to investigate, the disaster relief should be relieved, the officials who should be held accountable should be held accountable, and the river embankment should be repaired with money to be repaired. ”

Zhao Gou nodded and said, "What Qin Aiqing said is reasonable, then send a disaster relief envoy to Jinghu to have a look." ”

After a slight pause, he asked, "Who is the disaster relief envoy, and can the two Aiqing be recommended?" ”

Qin Hui said: "The minister thought that the secretary of the province Zhengzi Tang Sihui could take on this position, this person is a fifteen-year jinshi in Shaoxing, has served as a county magistrate in several counties in Fujian for many years, smart and studious, good at government affairs, he entered the dynasty not long ago, and there is no complicated connection with the Jinghu area, it is the right person." ”

Zhao Gou asked: "He is a fifteen-year jinshi, he has only been an official for six years, and his qualifications are still young, can he go to Jinghu to take on the role of disaster relief?" ”

I only heard Yu Yaobi immediately say: "Your Majesty, Tang Sihui is indeed not qualified, and it may be difficult to achieve a big deal by sending him alone, so I think that Tang Sihui can serve as the deputy envoy for disaster relief, and at the same time send another person with deep qualifications as the chief envoy." is making a candidate, and the minister recommends the king of Enping. Jinghu flood, the victims are all over the wilderness, and the king of Enping County went to the disaster relief on behalf of the emperor, when it has the effect of appeasing the people's hearts, at the same time, with the support of the king of Enping County, Tang Sihui can let go of the investigation of how many man-made disasters behind the flood. ”

Qin Hui didn't say a word, and Zhao Gou asked, "How does Qin Aiqing think about sending one and two disaster relief envoys?" ”

Qin Hui replied: "The minister thinks that this is appropriate, and the king of Enping County can go." ”

Seeing that Qin Hui also agreed, Zhao Gou said: "Well, then take the king of Enping County as the main envoy for disaster relief, and the secretary of the province Tang Sihui as the deputy envoy for disaster relief, and let them go to Jinghu Lake for disaster relief immediately." ”

"Yes, Your Majesty." Qin Hui and Yu Yaobi immediately agreed.

"The two Aiqing have other things, if not, let's discuss it here today." The weather was hot and sultry, and Zhao Gou couldn't bear it anymore.

As soon as Qin Hui and Yu Yaobi heard the emperor's meaning, even if they still had something in their hearts, it was not good to continue, and the two immediately got up and saluted: "Minister, retire!" ”

After saying that, the two withdrew from the vertical arch hall.

Outside the hall, after walking for a distance, Yu Yaobi said: "Xiangye, how long can I sit in the position of Xiangye?" ”

Qin Hui replied: "Now you can still be in the position of deputy minister, just sit down and think about what to do." ”

Yu Yaobi said in a low voice: "Xiangye, I just want to ask, I have a good bottom in my heart." ”

Qin Hui looked around, and saw that the surrounding guards were far away, and no one would hear them, so he said in a low voice: "Before Wu Ling comes back from the Jin Kingdom, your position as vice minister will not move. When he comes back, maybe he can sit for a few months, so he can sit for a few months. ”

Yu Yaobi hurriedly raised his hand and said, "Thank you, Xiangye!" ”

Qin Hui said: "But there is one thing you have to remember, don't meddle in the affairs of Jinghu again, you are an official and noble, even if there are only a few months left in the position of deputy prime minister, you don't mess around, if the evening is not guaranteed, the gains outweigh the losses." ”

Hearing this, Yu Yaobi hurriedly thanked again: "Thank you for telling me." ”

After chatting a few words, the two had nothing else to say, and slowly walked towards the outside of the palace.

The west of Lin'an City, the north of the West Lake.

The winding stone path is hidden in the shade of the trees between the green grass, and stretches towards the hill, where the end is.

A gazebo stands on the side of the road, sheltered by tree branches and vines, which is rare to cool off on a hot summer day.

In the direction of the pavilion near the mountain, there is a person sitting alone, getting up from time to time and looking out of the pavilion to look down the mountain, with a very anxious look on his face, as if he is waiting for someone.

Just after he got up for an unknown number of times, a figure finally appeared on the path that appeared and disappeared at the bottom of the mountain, but the distance was a little far away, and he couldn't see the person clearly, he wanted to shout, opened his mouth, but finally held back.

He watched from the gazebo as the man walked up unhurriedly, but he could never see the man's face clearly, because the man looked down at the road and never looked up. Although he was anxious, he couldn't make a sound, what if it was an ordinary tourist who came up?

After about a quarter of an hour, the man finally appeared on the path three feet away, and this quarter of an hour was as long as an hour had passed for the people under the pavilion.

Three zhang away, unobstructed, the blazing sun hit the face of the visitor, it was a cold face, thin and pale, I saw his left hand relaxed, empty, right hand holding a fan and shaking gently, the steps under his feet were frivolous, on the stone steps, step by step towards the pavilion.

The people waiting under the gazebo finally saw each other's faces clearly, and when the two looked at each other, he realized that the person who came was not the person he was waiting for, and his face welled up with disappointment, and he turned around and walked towards the gazebo.

The visitors only glanced at each other, then continued to look down at the road, shaking their fans and walking up the steps.

In less than a moment, the three-foot grassy stone steps and paths were completed, and people approached the pavilion.

When he got to the bottom of the gazebo, he didn't stop and continued to walk.

The people under the pavilion looked sideways, paying attention to the every move of the visitors, and seeing that the visitors did not mean to rest in the pavilion, their hearts suddenly relaxed, and they exhaled lightly.

But just as he exhaled that breath, he saw the passer-by suddenly stop, looked back at him, turned around and walked towards the pavilion, seeing this, he could only sigh lightly, and secretly said that he was unlucky.

As soon as he entered the pavilion, the person who came took the paper fan and said to the person under the pavilion: "This brother seems to be unhappy to enter the pavilion to enjoy the shade, could it be that this pavilion was built at the expense of the brother?" ”

Although his face was cold, his tone of voice was extremely gentle, and if he didn't look at his face, he would think he was smiling.

The person under the pavilion got up and replied: "Where did my brother say, the pavilion is so wide, anyone can sit down." Brother please do. ”

The man raised his hand to hold the fan, gave a slight salute, and sat down next to him, and the man also sat down.

The two did not know each other, and the gazebo was a little awkward and dull for a while.

After a while, the man holding the paper fan suddenly said, "The person you are waiting for will not come." ”

The man's face changed greatly, his head turned and he was about to speak, he felt a sudden pain in his waist and eyes, and when he looked down, he saw a dagger inserted into his waist, and he wanted to escape for his life in a panic, his eyes flickered, and he felt that there was a cold thing passing under his throat, and he suddenly felt that it was difficult to breathe, even if he opened his mouth wide, he couldn't breathe.

As soon as he took a few steps back and stood still against the pillar, he heard the man say: "Cheng Wen has already taken a step ahead, you can catch up with him if you run faster." ”

Hearing this, he grabbed his throat with one hand and stretched out his hand to the man, his throat was whistling, but he couldn't say a word, and in a few breaths, he fell to the ground and died very unwillingly.

The man wiped the blood-stained dagger off the deceased's shirt, then grabbed the deceased, dragged him out of the pavilion, waved him down the hillside, rolled into the grass and branches, and disappeared.

Then, with a wave of his hand, he opened the paper fan, shook it a few times, and turned to walk down the mountain.