During the court discussion, His Royal Highness Li Zhi was worried, and he was a little suspicious about whether to report the matter to His Majesty the Emperor of Cuiwei Palace.

He first asked the people of the Taibu Department to go to the palace, and asked the Taibu Department to start a hexagram according to the time and reason for receiving the report from Quanzhou, and make a fortune about the general situation.

There was a Bu Zheng from the Taibu Department, who was about sixty years old, and he was a Jiupin lower rank, and he came up to the hall at this time.

In front of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and a group of princes and ministers in the court, this person divined: "Quanzhou is near the sea and lives in the country of Zewa. The overflow of the sea is the water into Ze Township, and it is called the 'Water Ze Festival' hexagram. ”

"How?" The prince asked.

Bu Zheng replied after thinking carefully, "Your Highness, the general recipe of the festival hexagram says: A world flies alone, and the flowers have dark fragrance and the moon is oblique. The peach blossoms were full of orchards and did not bear fruit, and a branch fell into the royal family. ”

Gao Jun, the secretary of the military department, listened below, not knowing what he was talking about.

I also heard him say, "There is a cloud in the hexagram: the name is not fragrant in the court, and there is no injury in the palace for a long time." If you wait for the four sides to shine again, pick up the festival to the northwest. ”

When the prince heard him say this, his suspicions grew in his heart, and the words "dark incense", "falling", "not out of the court" and "not injured" in the recipe actually seemed to him to implicitly.

He said to Bu Zheng in a deep voice, "You don't need to say these ambiguous words, just say what signs Quanzhou Haiyi has!" ”

Bu Zheng replied, "Your Highness, the hexagram is Kan, which refers to the middle man." The hexagram is a loan, which refers to a young woman. Seeing each other is the image of the palace gate. According to the ministers, there must be some men and girls in the palace who corrupt customs, which is detrimental to heaven and humanity. There is a loss of knots before there are knots. Quanzhou Haiyi, 300 households are desperate, 3,000 people are killed, it is really a warning from heaven......"

"Nonsense!" The prince was furious and rushed down and shouted, "Someone! Dragged this nonsense and confusing guy out to the widow and beat him to death! ”

Immediately, four gold-armored guards rushed up, grabbed Bu Zheng like a chicken, and walked out. Bu Zheng was dragged away, shaking a book of divination in his hand, and said hoarsely:

"Your Highness is angry, how dare the villain talk nonsense! The emperor asked Bu that it should be used as the ninth five, and the prince asked the second for use. As he said, 'If you don't go out of the court, you will lose time.' "Speaking is indeed the time of loss, Huaibao maze, clean **** ......"

Li Zhi's reaction today was greatly unexpected by many.

Because in all dynasties, regardless of whether the administration is lenient or not, it is flaunted by a wide range of opinions.

Among the various types of government offices, there are three departments that have the right to "talk nonsense" and are rarely reprimanded in court, let alone beaten to death by a stick because of one or two sentences.

They are the Taishi Bureau, the Taibu Bureau, and the Yushitai.

Otherwise, are those who want to write history ignore historical facts and blindly whitewash? Let the diviner observe the words and colors, and only report the good news and not the bad news? Or do you want to make those imperial historians who specialize in impeaching ministers for their mistakes silent when they encounter trouble?

It happened suddenly, and most people were at a loss. But the rabbit died and the fox was sad, and Chu Suiliang, the regular attendant of the straight and scattered horses, hurriedly appeared and stopped, "Your Highness, don't!" ”

At this time, the prince had already returned to his normal color, and shouted, "Push this old man back to the widow!" ”

Lord Chu looked at Bu Zheng, who was trembling with fright, and said in his heart, If it weren't for my inner chamberlain, who was responsible for truthfully recording the words and deeds of the emperor and the prince of the prison country, according to the prince's anger today, I would never intercede for you.

It's just that His Royal Highness the Crown Prince really killed you because of a few words, am I a record? Or don't remember?

Master Chu said, "Your Highness, people are a little stupid when they get old, and there are occasional gibberish. According to Weichen, Fang Cai's divination is too hasty! When Haiyi happened in the days of Renxu, he didn't think about it at all and opened his mouth, so it was inevitable that he would be wrong. ”

Bu Zheng trembled, knowing that Master Chu was excusing himself, and replied in a trembling voice, "Yes, exactly, the criminal is not good at divination, and he has thrown away the most critical reference, thanks to Lord Chu's reminder!" ”

"Break it again!" The prince shouted.

Bu Zhengzhong carefully looked at the hexagram again, and replied: "The criminal is really wrong...... Master Chu said that 'Zishi' is very knowledgeable, and it should be carefully examined. This time, the criminal minister looked at it again, and the 'Yi' hexagram appeared in the mutual hexagram, which was indeed the image of the palace gate, but the time was in the north, and the minister deduced that there was a young woman who exceeded the system in the north palace gate. ”

Bu Zheng didn't dare to be extremely alarmist this time.

But when he was frightened by the prince, he made a big turn, and it seemed that he was really talking nonsense for the first time. Therefore, his second assertion still did not leave the palace, but only said that there were palace maids who exceeded the system. As for what kind of system to overcome, the scope is much wider.

However, even if this is the case, Li Zhi was shocked when he heard it.

But this time he was not so impulsive, and said coldly, "There are many palace maids in the palace, and there will always be some things that exceed the system, and the internal service province will strictly inspect and deal with it." ”

He didn't want to dwell on anything more in this matter, but he felt that this Bu Zheng at the bottom of the stairs couldn't really get a glimpse of any secrets, and this person couldn't stay anymore. The prince said, "You are old, go to the office!" ”

Just because of a few words, Bu Zheng lost his official position and went home.

Next, we will discuss which minister will go to Quanzhou for disaster relief.

In the heart of the crown prince Li Zhi, he really didn't want to report the matter of Quanzhou Haiyi to the emperor at this time. If you want to report it, it's best to report it when you have a good view of the disaster relief, otherwise it will seem that he can't preside over the emergency.

However, the disaster relief must not be delayed for a long time without any progress, otherwise His Majesty will ask again at that time, and the impact on the prince's ability will not be small.

Quanzhou has 23,806 households and a population of 160,295. There are four counties. In this spill, 300 households were lost and 3,000 people were killed, and countless people were injured.

The number of collapsed and damaged houses and silted up fertile land has not yet been counted, and it is not clear how many people have been displaced and their livelihoods have been lost.

Li Zhi knew that no one wanted to go to such a laborious errand.

However, he won the emperor's way of asking questions, and after asking, "I don't know which adult is willing to go to Quanzhou for disaster relief", he raised his eyes to see Gao Jun, the secretary of the military department, and he firmly believed in Gao Jun's ability.

Gao Jun complained in his heart, but he didn't hesitate for a moment, and stepped forward and said, "Your Highness, Weichen is willing to go!" ”

Li Zhi looked at the military department with some gratitude, and secretly said that what his father said was indeed right, "But there is a war in front of the Goryeo army, can you get out of the way, Lord Gao?" ”

Gao Jun said secretly, I can't get out of the race, tomorrow the horse race, the ladies also strictly ordered me to watch the battle and cheer, but what are you always glancing at me for? How dare I not go?! It's a problem to stand up late!

"Your Royal Highness, the war in Goryeo has its own British Duke Li Shiqian in charge, the Duke of Guogong has been in battle for a long time, and Xue Li and Simo help him, so Weichen has nothing to worry about."

Li Zhi asked, "What is the direction of the next war...... I don't know what to think? ”

Gao Jun said, "Your Highness, the queen of Silla gathered craftsmen to make gold, silver, bronze, and bamboo four-color horse racing plates, and participated in the horse racing event in Chang'an, which shows that the pressure on her Silla border is negligible. Weichen thought that as long as there was another victory, and the weather would enter September, the British Legion would ask for the withdrawal of troops. ”

Li Zhi said, "Okay, then when is Master Gao going to leave for Quanzhou?" ”

Gao Junxin said, I want to go after the horse race, do you agree? "Back to His Royal Highness, the disaster relief is urgent, and Wei Chen will leave as soon as he disperses the court."

Li Zhi felt that he couldn't go, and thought for a while, "Master Gao rushed thousands of miles to Quanzhou, and there was no one around to take care of him after he went, so the widow asked my virtuous sister-in-law, the director of the outer palace, Su Yin, to walk with you, she is a meticulous person, you have discussed things in trouble, and you have taken care of public and private!" ”

From beginning to end, from Xizhou to Chang'an, Gao Junguan has become bigger and bigger, but he has never dared to think crookedly about the eighth lady Su Yin, at best, he secretly swallowed two mouthfuls of saliva.

If she follows her to Quanzhou, Gao Jun estimates that Liu Yuru will not even have the mind of horse racing. And he always comes back from Quanzhou one day, and he doesn't want to be bitten.

He thought for a moment and solemnly replied, "Your Highness, the construction of the Meridian Valley Garden is at a critical juncture to be completed, and Wei Chen doesn't want this project to be affected in any way, he just wants His Majesty to have a suitable garden as soon as possible." ”

Li Zhi nodded and no longer insisted, "All matters involving disaster relief, the tall man has the right to act cheaply, the prefecture, government, county, and county will listen to the dispatch, and the attachés of the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Households, and the Criminal Department will listen to the dispatch. The widow only hopes that the soldiers and civilians of Quanzhou will live and work in peace and contentment as soon as possible, so as to comfort His Majesty's love for the people. ”

The matter was agreed. When the war in Goryeo was unscheduled, there was a military secretary who went to Quanzhou in person, which is enough to reflect the prince's urgent attitude towards disaster relief.

Moreover, Gao Jun also gave a rough prediction of the war in the north, and Li Zhi had a bottom in his heart. After the boycott, he did not return to the East Palace, but rushed to the prince's palace non-stop.

He drove lightly and entered Jinhua Gate directly, and did not go to Cuiwei Palace. Because it was inconvenient to talk to the emperor about Quanzhou when he went, the prince decided to wait for the matter of Quanzhou to have an eyebrow.

In the Anxi Palace, Wu Meiniang and Yang Lizhen were discussing one thing:

Not long ago, when Yang Lizhen went out to practice horses outside the palace, he picked up a silver "thirty-three" plate for horse racing in the grass on the open field.

She knew that this brand belonged to the Lu family in Qianzhou, because Yang Lizhen had seen it in the saddle of the Lu family.

However, Yang Lizhen didn't give it to the Lu family after picking up the silver medal, and she didn't squeak when she saw that the Lu family and her maids were looking for it more than once.

It's just that today, this No. 33 brand was inadvertently seen by Wucairen, and Yang Lizhen couldn't help but say it.

The two compared the brand they found with the silver plate in Wu Meiniang's hand and found that they were not exactly the same.

Wu Meiniang's brand was given to her by Li Zhi when he came, and the number was "three hundred and twenty-one".

Although the two brands are silver, the one in Wu Meiniang's hand is slightly larger, and the number is painted with eye-catching vermilion lacquer and hung with red ribbons. There is no lacquer on this piece of Lu's letter, only a velvet rope, but it is not eye-catching compared to the ribbon.

Before the prince arrived, the two sisters had just reached an agreement: they would not send the No. 33 silver medal back to the Lu family, but they didn't want her to compete.

Yang Lizhen only used one sentence to let her wish succeed.

She said to Wu Meiniang, "When the Lu family was training horses, she showed off her starting position, saying that there were few people in front of her who were qualified to use silver medals in Chang'an—only thirty-two people. ”

As soon as the prince arrived, Yang Lizhen avoided it with interest, and then went outside to practice horses. In the open field, she saw Lu Shi with two maids and riding horses back and forth in the grass to and fro.

She ran over and pretended not to know, just to see their restless appearance, and said in her heart that I let you not know the height of the sky, and I ran from Qianzhou to anger me, so I let you go back to Qianzhou for nothing!

In the morning, Yang Lizhen watched the other party come and find her, and she held the Lu brand in her sleeve and laughed secretly.

At lunchtime, Yang Lizhen returned to the Anxi Hall and found that the prince had left.

But Wu Meiniang told Yang Lizhen that after the prince learned about the incident, he clearly ordered that the brand should be returned to the owner.

However, Wu Meiniang said, "It's just that my original rank is too low, and I am ranked after more than three hundred, I want to change the two brands, you can help, and throw my piece back into the open field immediately." ”

Yang Lizhen had no choice but to comply, and immediately went out of Jinhua Gate to see if there was anyone, and threw the silver plate of "321" tied with red silk to a conspicuous place, and the bright red silk could be seen at a glance on the green ground.

She guessed that the competition would start tomorrow, and these people would not be reconciled, and they would definitely come to find it again in the afternoon.

After coming back, Yang Lizhen climbed to the top floor of the Anxi Palace, and saw that the master and servant of the Lu family really did not give up and came to look for him again. Yang Lizhen saw them from a distance and left quickly after picking up the sign, so she ran back to return to Wu Meiniang.

……

On August 30, the first women's horse competition in Chang'an City officially started.

Early in the morning, thousands of people in the city were empty, and the residents helped the old and the young, and went to the nearest city gate to wait for the start of the competition on both sides of the wide track outside the city.

At three o'clock, the prince, ministers, and foreign envoys in Beijing arrived at the starting point of the stadium outside the Tonghua Gate on time.

There they ascended to the largest grandstand on the course, which was more than a foot high, divided into three levels, connected by wooden ladders, surrounded by colorful silk, with a tent on it, and a drum band under the stands began to play.

Lord Chu of the Inner Servant Province, Tang Jian, the secretary of the Ministry of Rites, and the secretary of the household department sat in front of the stands, and the seat of Gao Jun of the Ministry of War was vacant, and it seemed that he had already set off for Quanzhou.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was not here in person, he was going to watch the game from the palace walls of the Daming Palace, where there was a tall observatory of Si Tianjian, where the Prince went.

Daming Palace is Emperor Zhenguan for the Emperor Taishang to raise the heavens, and in the eighth year of Zhenguan to the Sui Yong'an Palace was expanded.

It is built on the Longshou Plain, on the shore of Weishui, to the south can overlook the entire Chang'an City, to the east, to the north, to the west can be the pole, the east and west of the forbidden garden outside the city in full view.

Therefore, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince only needs to move on the palace wall of Daming Palace to watch nearly one-third of the grand scene.

The time is very close to Chenshi, the first group - the competition of the ladies above the three products is about to begin, and the contestants have begun to check the gold number plate and enter the track under the arrangement of the organizers.

There are four major highlights of this group of competitions: