Chapter 42 The New River Ceremony Point out Zheng Zhilong

Emperor Chongzhen invited these people from Yaogang to a banquet tonight, in fact, in his name, all the things were prepared by the Yaogang people, but they were made by the imperial kitchen brought by Emperor Chongzhen.

Zhang Zhimu, Chen Yufeng, Ouyang He, Shi Xiu, and Duan Jingzhong came here in Yaogang. Emperor Chongzhen was accompanied by Liu Jiantai, a scholar, and two accompanying adults. Emperor Chongzhen also changed his habits this time, sat around a table with everyone, and pulled Zhang Zhimu to sit beside him.

After the various exquisite dishes made by the imperial chef were put on the table, Emperor Chongzhen held the wine cup and said, "I am happy today!" ”

Before the emperor's words were finished, Liu Jiantai and other court officials hurriedly got up and stood up. Zhang Zhimu and the others also got up when they saw it, and just about to get up, Emperor Chongzhen waved his hand and said, "Sit down!" Don't talk about those false courtesies today! I think the people in the kiln gang talk about practical methods, which is good. After I got used to it, I felt much more relaxed without so much red tape. ”

After everyone sat down, Emperor Chongzhen picked up the wine cup again and said, "I want to pay tribute to the heroes of our kiln gang with this wine!" It is you who hold back the million-strong army of thieves, otherwise it is likely that we would all have been human for two lifetimes. ”

Zhang Zhimu took the lead, and everyone in the kiln got up and drank the wine. Emperor Chongzhen also took a sip of wine, and said: "I also want to respect our Zhang Dongjia, the mainstay of the Ming Dynasty, for this wine, it is your Zhang Dongjia who tries his best to help me support this shaky jade pendant of the Ming Dynasty." ”

Zhang Zhimu hurriedly stood up and drank with a wine cup. Zhang Zhimu thought to himself, if the emperor keeps paying homage like this, I will be carried back.

Fortunately, Emperor Chongzhen saluted Shi Xiu and Duan Jingzhong, who participated in the Yellow River New River Project in Yaogang, for the third time, and did not pay any respects. Then, the emperor personally turned the turntable on the table to make wine and food for everyone. At first, everyone was very restrained, but seeing that the emperor was very happy today, these people began to drink. The officials of the imperial court can get mixed with this, and the basic work is to be familiar with poetry and books, and the amount of alcohol mixed in the officialdom is not ambiguous. The scholar is about to show his talent through the strength of wine, and this is also a master who never leaves his hand and never leaves his mouth. But Ouyang He is not in vain, and he is not ambiguous in fighting literature and wine. Seeing them fighting lively, Emperor Chongzhen happily also raised his glass frequently. In fact, to say that the amount of alcohol Zhang Zhimu is about the same as that of Emperor Chongzhen. Emperor Chongzhen is very self-controlled, and he rarely drinks alcohol, but today he is happy. But Emperor Chongzhen's drinking is drinking, and his mind is very clear. As he spoke, he suddenly turned his head and asked, "Zhang Dongjia, I heard that the Eight Kings of Anti-Thieves have arrived at Yaogang?" ”

Emperor Chongzhen knew that the two princes must have told Zhang Zhimu about the last time they asked them about the Eight Kings.

"Huh! The emperor is well-informed! Zhang Zhimu smiled slightly and said, "Don't hide it from the emperor, Zhang Xianzhong not only arrived at Yaogang, but now he is not far from here on my ship." However, Your Majesty, do you say that there is any difference between him in Sichuan and here? It's all under our control. ”

Emperor Chongzhen was shocked when he heard that Zhang Xianzhong was on the ship not far from here, but he quickly calmed down, and when he saw Zhang Zhimu's confidence when he said that he was under control, Emperor Chongzhen admired it from the bottom of his heart, "Zhang Dongjia is really atmospheric!" ”

"Emperor Xie!" Zhang Zhimu said, "There are several ways to deal with them. Smart people who can see the situation in front of them, we can explain the truth to them clearly, and they will know what to do themselves! Those who are obsessed will be solved by force as a last resort. ”

"yes!" Emperor Chongzhen fiddled with the wine cup in his hand and said, "There have been too many dead and injured people in the past few decades, and I agree with Zhang Dongjia's approach, so that there can be fewer deaths and as few deaths as possible." ”

"To be honest, we haven't talked to him about anything serious except for drinking with the Eight Kings so far. We are not in a hurry, just like Li Zicheng, let him take a good look at the kiln and slowly think about what to do in the future? That Li Zicheng stayed in the kiln for a while, and then he took the initiative to submit to us. Therefore, it is best to surrender without a fight. It was a happy ending for all of them to take people to Annam. We don't have to die, many people spend a lot of silver taels to fight Li Zicheng, and they can go to Annan again to help us solve that tricky matter. ”

"You did a great job of Li Chuang's thief!" Emperor Chongzhen said, "That Annan is really the heart disease of the imperial court, if Li Chuang can destroy them this time, it will be great!" ”

Li Zicheng's trip to Annan has always been known only to Emperor Chongzhen on the imperial court, and it is the first time that Liu Jiantai, a scholar, has heard about it. They were a little stunned, it seems that the emperor is going to be useless to govern the world! They don't even know about such a big thing. However, they also felt that Zhang Zhimu actually surrendered Li Zicheng without a fight, and asked him to go to Annan, which was simply incredible.

couldn't hold back, Liu Jiantai asked, "Zhang Dongjia, I'll dare to ask." Why did that Li Chuang thief stay in the kiln for a while, and then he returned to the kiln! ”

Without waiting for Zhang Zhimu to answer, Ouyang He said: "I'll say it for our President Zhang!" First, we defeated Li Zicheng by force several times, and we fought a war against thieves at the behest of the imperial court. Without this premise, Li Zicheng would not be able to talk about the matter of returning to obedience. After he arrived at the kiln, after learning about the situation of our kiln, he completely admired us, so he made up his mind to work with me. That Li Zicheng turned out to be a post soldier, and later the imperial court abolished the post station, and he rebelled when he had no way to eat. But he saw that the people of Yaogang could be fed and clothed warmly, which was also the dream of most of their rebel officers and soldiers. In addition, after his own dream of being quite an emperor was shattered, he also chose to submit to them. ”

Another court official asked, "Why are your people in the same place well-fed?" I heard that you have also resettled a large number of refugees there! ”

"Huh!" Zhang Zhimu smiled and said, "This is not something that can be said clearly in one sentence or two. So today, in front of everyone. On behalf of all the people of Yaogang, I ask the emperor to go to Yaogang at his convenience! ”

Without waiting for Emperor Chongzhen to answer, the scholar took advantage of the emperor's joy and said, "Your Majesty, we are willing to follow the emperor to the kiln!" ”

"To tell you the truth, I always dreamed of going to Yaogang to see how the Zhang Dong family governed Yaogang like heaven," Emperor Chongzhen said, "I won't hide it from you, that daughter of mine was bewitched by Princess Anping of King Zhou, and she kept persuading me to go to Yaogang." Ha ha! ”

As soon as Zhang Zhimu heard that there was a door, he really hoped that Emperor Chongzhen could go to the kiln to have a look, and let him see how big the difference was. Ouyang He didn't miss the opportunity and said, "Your Majesty! In fact, after my ceremony, you will return to the ship to rest for a few days, and the ship will send you to the kiln! Along the way, you can also enjoy the scenery on both sides of the Yellow River and the Fen River. ”

"Mr. Ouyang, what a good idea!" Liu Jiantai, a university scholar, and they followed suit.

"Alas! I'm not as free as you are! Emperor Chongzhen sighed and said, but he did not resolutely refuse.

Emperor Chongzhen and Zhang Zhimu were both very satisfied with the banquet tonight, because the relationship between everyone seemed to be exceptionally harmonious.

The original channel of the Yellow River passed Kaifeng to the east, and then turned to the southeast to Benhuai'an, and now the direction of the new channel is to the northeast. The old embankment separating the old river from the new river is the arch of the original river at the bend of the river. In fact, there was originally a small river in the new river, but in order to dig a new river, the original estuary was blocked. The Yellow River itself is an overhanging river, and the bottom of the old river is much higher than the bottom of the new river, and the water level of the Yellow River is now very high. The difference between the river level and the new channel is very large. In order to make the embankment of the Yellow River after the blasting, the soil and rock of the embankment do not block the river water. Duan Jingzhong and the others dug a deep ditch under the embankment, and the soil and rocks that were blown out and not washed away could be piled up into the ditch. Therefore, the old embankment that holds back the river can be said to be in a very dangerous state. Fortunately, the borehole for blasting had already been drilled, and the wires for blasting had been arranged, but the charge was not made.

On the new embankment where you can see the blasting site, a viewing platform has been erected.

Early the next morning, two passenger ships sent Emperor Chongzhen and Zhang Zhimu, who participated in the ceremony, to the north bank of the Yellow River, and the boats returned to Kaifeng Wharf to be tied. Because after blasting, the speed of the Yellow River in this section will suddenly increase, and the passenger ship will not dock well, and it will be unsafe.

The sky is also exceptionally beautiful, with clear skies. The car sent Emperor Chongzhen and them to the viewing platform.

On the viewing platform, the positions of Emperor Chongzhen, Empress Zhou, and Princess Changping are at the highest. But Emperor Chongzhen didn't want to sit on a high place by himself, so he asked Zhang Zhimu to come up and sit with them. This time, Princess Changping was happy in her heart, the last time she saw Zhang Zhimu, she was too nervous, but she didn't see Zhang Zhimu clearly. This time we have a chance to sit together.

In addition to a lot of fruits, soft drinks and beverages on the table of the viewing platform, there are also the latest telescopes in the kiln.

Emperor Chongzhen picked up the telescope and looked at it, and even said, "Okay!" That's great! This telescope is much better than any other in my palace! ”

Princess Changping pretended not to know how to use a telescope and asked Zhang Zhimu to teach her how to use it. Zhang Zhimu's patient Sect Changping used the telescope in the past, and when he smelled the faint fragrance of the princess, Zhang Zhimu also felt a little strange in his heart. Queen Zhou, who was watching, pursed her lips and smiled.

Since the emperor personally attended the opening ceremony of this new river, both sides of the Yellow River were full of people watching the excitement. Emperor Chongzhen looked at the people in the distance, and he was also extremely happy, and he couldn't stop looking at it with a telescope. Behind the viewing platform, there was already the sound of killing pigs and sheep, but Emperor Chongzhen didn't feel disturbed at all, he knew that after today's ceremony, there would be a big banquet for officials, soldiers, and migrant workers who participated in the construction. Today is definitely a festive day. On the embankment to be blasted, martial law has long been imposed, and soldiers are guarding both sides. Boats on the Yellow River were also stopped and not allowed to approach. Some people were busy on the embankment, and Zhang Zhimu said to the emperor that he was pretending to be **.

Beautiful music was playing on the loudspeaker, and suddenly stopped, and the master of ceremonies announced: "The opening ceremony of the new channel project of the Yellow River begins now!" Today, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty personally came to the ceremony, let us shout long live! ”

The guests and the crowd in the distance cheered: "Long live my emperor!" Banzai! Hooray! ”

Emperor Chongzhen also stood up happily and waved around. It's also very new.

After introducing the officials who attended the ceremony, the guests from all walks of life who participated in the ceremony were introduced.

When the master of ceremonies said that he asked our emperor to give us a lecture, although he was a little prepared, Emperor Chongzhen was still a little nervous, because this was the first time to use a microphone to speak to so many people, but Emperor Chongzhen had seen the world after all. Actually, it's not about what the emperor says, it's enough for the emperor to speak here. What the emperor said, no one took it to heart.

After the emperor finished speaking, there was naturally another burst of cheers. When Zhang Zhimu spoke, he didn't speak much more than the emperor, and it was simple.

Finally, the master of ceremonies said: "Next, please press the detonation button of the embankment blasting for us!" ”

The crowd cheered again.

At this time, "Woo! The sound of the siren was transmitted to all directions through loudspeakers, and on the embankment of the new river channel, the soldiers also used the sound of horns to continuously convey the news that the water was about to be opened to the distance.

When *** was sent to Emperor Chongzhen's eyes, the alarm suddenly stopped, but the camera "click" kept sounding. Zhang Zhimu whispered to Emperor Chongzhen: "Your Majesty, just press this red button!" ”

Zhang Zhimu saw it, and Emperor Chongzhen stretched out a little trembling, but quickly and decisively pressed the red button!

Then the whole earth trembled, and a column of smoke rose from the embankment in the distance, and a shocking explosion was heard. Everyone put their hands on their chests. Zhang Zhimu saw that Queen Zhou and Princess Changping were even more exaggerated, and his frightened hands were covered in front of his chest, but his eyes were still reluctant to look at the embankment in the distance.

At this time, someone had already picked up the binoculars, because the embankment that had been loosened by the explosion was washed away by the Yellow River water at once, and the high head soon made the gap in the center of the embankment bigger and bigger, and just when everyone was about to breathe a sigh of relief, the second explosion sounded. It turned out that the first explosion was to blow up the embankment in the middle of the embankment, and the second explosion actually blew up two gaps on both sides of the middle gap, and the two explosions were to reduce the vibration of the entire embankment with too much charge in one blast. The second two explosions had a much smaller charge than the first, and the shock was much smaller. But it worked very well. The three gaps, it didn't take long for them to be washed into a hole by the boiling Yellow River. The deafening sound of the rushing river is spectacular. On the new river channel ahead, reports continue to come from various positions, "The head of the water has arrived, the embankment is safe!" This kind of report was broadcast through the loudspeaker. The atmosphere was very warm. The emperor didn't care about the royal majesty, kept clapping his hands and applauding, and kept picking up the telescope to look around.

At the beginning, the water level of the new river channel was very low, not only the water from the upstream rushed into the new river channel, but even the water in the river that turned from Kaifeng to the southeast also flowed back into the new river channel. It took a long time for the water level of the old and new rivers to slowly approach.

Zhang Zhimu said to Emperor Chongzhen: "At this moment, the sediment at the bottom of the Yellow River near Kaifeng can be washed down a lot at once. ”

"Yes! At the moment when I rushed just now, the current speed was so rapid that the sediment was taken away. Emperor Chongzhen also said approvingly.

At this time, on the other side of the river, in the direction of the estuary to the southeast, there was a faint sound of "boom", Emperor Chongzhen picked up the binoculars, looked at it and asked: "Zhang Dongjia!" There's blue smoke over there, what's going on in the 'boom'? ”

"Huh! Your Majesty, there is a tractor working over there. Zhang Zhimu said, "We will soon seal the original old river channel and build a canal to Huai'an." The one that smoked was the bulldozer. That guy is better than dozens of people! ”

"I've heard about tractors, but I haven't seen them yet, so I'll definitely go over and see them this time!" Emperor Chongzhen said.

"For a while! Feast the world, Your Majesty, let's cross the river to see after drinking this celebration wine! Zhang Zhimu said.

"Yes, yes! I want to drink the celebration wine with the people of the world! Emperor Chongzhen said, "How many generations of emperors have wanted to rectify the disaster of the Yellow River and seizing the Huai into the sea, but I didn't expect to let me see it with my own eyes today." This celebration wine must be drunk! ”

Because the celebration shed on the river embankment is too long, Emperor Chongzhen and Zhang Zhimu sat in an open-top car, slowly driving to toast to everyone, everywhere they went, there were three shouts of long live. Emperor Chongzhen was happy with tears in his eyes. After a big turn, there are still distant construction sites that can't be visited. Reluctantly, Emperor Chongzhen and Zhang Zhimu rushed back. The two passenger boats crossed the river again after the current had calmed down. The banquet of high-ranking officials and meritorious officials, as well as the guests of the ceremony, was held on the two ships.

Empress Zhou and Princess Changping and Princess Anping invited Xiao Hongyu and the children over in a special restaurant. Although Xiao Hongyu's body is no longer convenient, her spirit is still there. As soon as she saw Xiao Hongyu, Queen Zhou liked it very much, and took Xiao Hongyu's hand: "Oops! Zhang Dongjia is really blessed! Xiao Hongyu, your performance of "Tang Guifei" is simply great! A few years ago, the emperor got a record of "Tang Guifei" that you sang, and let me listen to it, but I didn't listen to my soul! Hehe! It's a heavenly sound! A few days ago, we watched the movie "Tang Guifei" played by you, and it is really different to listen to the singing voice with a shadow. I looked at those big men, and I couldn't hold back my tears after reading them. I'm afraid that others will see it. I don't dare to be happy in my eyes, don't you say it's interesting? Ha ha! ”

Xiao Hongyu laughed with everyone for a while, and said, "Thank you for looking up to me." If it weren't for the inconvenience of my body today, I would have sung a paragraph to everyone! ”

"Ouch! Don't sing it today! Queen Zhou hurriedly said, "Listen to you sing, we will have a chance in the future!" ”

"Since the queen likes movies, I will tell her a good news, we can make at least two movies this year. I'm in charge of that. Little Hongyu said.

"Ahh You were responsible for making this movie? Empress Zhou thought she had misheard. In her opinion, there could not be a woman in charge of such a thing. Even Princess Changping told her that Princess Anping is now in charge of the distribution of the film in various places, and she was a little skeptical.

At this time, Princess Anping said: "Our little Hongyu can do it, not only in charge of making movies, but also in charge of the affairs of the Drama Academy!" ”

"Oh my God! Is this true? "Queen Zhou can't accept this.

Xiao Hongyu asked with a smile: "Queen Mother, you said that we women are not less than men, and our brains are even smarter than them." Why can't we do this? It's just that we have too few opportunities. The advantage of kiln gang is that as long as you have the ability, you can play it. ”

What Xiao Hongyu said was too far from the education received by Queen Zhou, although she couldn't object to what Xiao Hongyu said, but she didn't comment on it.

However, Princess Changping seems to be very satisfied today, and she has regained a little sense of superiority as a princess, because she accompanied the emperor to sit at the highest place of the viewing platform today, while Princess Anping could only sit below. What's more, I had the opportunity to have close contact with Zhang Dongjia today. Zhang Dongjia also patiently taught himself to use a telescope. When I think about it, I feel a little sweet.

At the celebration banquet, Emperor Chongzhen still couldn't suppress his excitement and wanted to toast each table, Zhang Zhimu said to him: "Your Majesty, you have done enough today." I look at you, just toast these meritorious personnel who participated in the river project. You don't have to go there for those guests. ”

"It's good! Just listen to you. Emperor Chongzhen said, "Hey! I heard that there are 10,000 and 1,000 households in Ordos among the guests, how do you manage them in Yaogang? ”

"We will give them some money on time and take care of them. I usually don't take care of them. Zhang Zhimu said, "But I think they are not idle, some open restaurants, and some do trade." It's okay to drink for fun. ”

"They don't run either?" Emperor Chongzhen asked, "Is it useful for you to keep them?" ”

"I don't look at them, and I tell them that they can't run around. They know that it is useless to run, and they are used to living in the kiln, and they don't want to run anymore. Zhang Zhimu said, "Keeping them to stabilize the Mongols on the Ordos steppe played a great role in the beginning." After several years, the Mongols on the steppe have long stopped taking them seriously. They can also play a role in speeding up our communication with the Mongols. Most of them already regard themselves as kiln workers, and their children are educated in kiln gangs. I wanted to get their children back on the prairie, but they didn't do it! ”

"The Eight Kings are also among the guests?" Emperor Chongzhen asked.

"Huh! Of course, but the ceremony introduced Shaanxi businessmen! Zhang Zhimu said.

"Haha!" Emperor Chongzhen also laughed when he heard this, and asked, "He is also Emperor Daxi, can he be willing?" ”

"If you don't want to, you can't help it," Zhang Zhimu said, "no matter what time it is, there can only be one emperor in front of me." ”

Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's heart moved, and he asked, "Zhang Dongjia, how do you plan to arrange me in the future?" ”

"Oops! Your Majesty, how dare I arrange for you! Zhang Zhimu said, "I said, no matter how the world changes in the future, I, Zhang Zhimu, only have you as the emperor in my heart!" ”

"Haha!" After hearing Zhang Zhimu say this, although Emperor Chongzhen didn't dare to believe it completely, he knew in his heart that Zhang Zhimu was not talking nonsense when he said this, "Zhang Dongjia, I'm joking with you!" One thing, I heard that you have gathered a lot of troops in Zhenjiang, what do you want to do? ”

"Oh! Your Majesty, you saw it today, as soon as the new river channel was opened. The old river from Kaifeng to Huai'an is not passable. It means that the waterway between us and the Yangtze River will not be connected. When the new channel of the Yellow River will be opened to boats, we have to wait and see. There are Li Zicheng, Zuo Liangyu, and Zheng Zhilong in the distance, can we not arrange the army in advance? Zhang Zhimu said.

"Zhang Dongjia, Zheng Zhilong and Zuo Liangyu are also officials?" Emperor Chongzhen said deliberately.

"Zuo Liangyu never listened to the dispatch of the imperial court, and his military discipline was extremely poor, and his evil deeds even exceeded those of the anti-thieves. That Zheng Zhilong has an income of tens of millions of silver every year, how many points can the court get? Besides, we have already interrogated the captives of the Qiankun Sect and learned that it was Zheng Zhilong and their Heaven and Earth Society who hired people to kill me several times. The year before last, Qiankun Sect even sent someone to Yaogang to assassinate me! I would have liked to do this again and then tell you. Today you asked, and I will say it first. You say, can we be a little bit more guarded? Zhang Zhimu took the opportunity to point out Zheng Zhilong's matter.

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Mt. Fuji erupted, Japan was earthquaked. --Progress of "Memories of the Southern Song Dynasty".