Kaifeng, Henan, is also a famous city with a long history and a prominent reputation in the Central Plains.

Since the Warring States period Wei State set the capital here, Kaifeng has become the Central Plains important place, through the Han and Tang dynasties, this city has been greatly developed, and to come to the Song Dynasty, it is more designated as the capital of a country, for a time the world is eye-catching, the flowers are splendid, the fire cooks oil, and creates a good picture of the prosperous era.

It's a pity that the good times didn't last long, but after a hundred years of work, the dignified Song Dynasty was destroyed by the Jin State, and Kaifeng, which was still called Bianliang City at that time, also fell into the hands of the barbaric Jin people and was devastated. Later, the Yuan Dynasty unified the world, and it was not until the Ming Dynasty that this important city in the Central Plains finally returned to the hands of the Han people.

It's just that after hundreds of years of wind and rain, the original Bianliang Kaifeng City, which is rich in nature and has a great deal of literary style, has already changed greatly, leaving only mottled traces after the war. Even if it is now in the prosperous Ming Dynasty, this ancient city looks far inferior to the two capitals in the north and south and the famous commercial cities in the south of the Yangtze River, both in terms of population and transportation, it has been subject to a lot of restrictions.

Especially when the Yellow River, which is close to Kaifeng City, was diverted again last year, the impact on this ancient city became more and more obvious. Even at this time, the officials and people living in the city were still a little trembling, for fear that there would be a terrible situation where the river would pour into the city.

And the burden of all this easily fell on the current Kaifeng prefect Bao Zhenggang, making him sleep at night, almost out of breath.

Speaking of which, after this Bao Governor is still a celebrity, his ancestor is Bao Zheng, who was appointed by the Emperor of the Great Song Dynasty as the Yin of Kaifeng Mansion and shocked the world. It is precisely because of this that when he came to Kaifeng as a descendant to serve as the prefect of a place, he was full of ambition, and felt that he should do something great here like his ancestors, for the benefit of the people, and for the court to defend the land.

It's just that the plump ideal is in stark contrast to the skinny reality. As an ancestor, Bao Zheng can be shocked by the kings of the Great Song Dynasty, even those high-ranking officials of the imperial court, and the relatives of the emperor can only retreat from him. But as a descendant, Bao Zhenggang does not have such ability, he is just one of the mediocre members of the Ming officialdom, and he has no connections and no ability to re-follow the path of his ancestors.

Although Kaifeng today is very different from hundreds of years ago, and there are no complicated interpersonal relationships at that time, the problems here are still myriad. The people's housing, the Yellow River's river defense, all kinds of taxes...... It is like a mountain pressing on the body of the Bao Governor's Mansion, and the heaviest one of them is the Zhou Palace, which was sealed here by Emperor Taizu!

It is said that Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang is indeed a rare and powerful fierce man in history, he can take time out of the complicated government affairs to give birth to many children for the old Zhu family, which is not something that ordinary men can do. As a father, he is indeed very good, and after he became emperor, he divided his sons into important cities in the world to serve as the arch guard of the imperial court.

For example, King Yan who was sealed to Beiping, King Ning who was sealed to Liaodong, and King Zhou who was sealed to Kaifeng City in front of him. And now on the throne is the fifth-generation Zhou King Zhu Ziyu, if you count according to the family tree, this Zhou King is still the uncle of today's son Zhu Qiyu.

It is precisely because of its prominent status and the status of a vassal king that the Zhou Wangfu has naturally become a unique existence in Kaifeng City. Not to mention ordinary people, even the official yamen has to obey his dispatch many times, and Bao Zhenggang, the prefect, is even more constrained by him but has suffering.

It was close to noon on this day, just as the prefect of Bao had approved a letter of intention to repair the river embankment, and was about to let people implement it accordingly and complete the repair of the previously damaged river embankment as soon as possible to cope with the flood season that would appear again in a few months, a subordinate official ran in with a nervous expression: "My lord, the Zhou Wangfu has sent someone to ...... again."

"Huh? Why again? Didn't you just arrest a few businessmen who wanted to buy grain and put them in prison a few days ago? Has someone else done the same thing? Bao Zheng just had a headache, and couldn't help but mutter. But even so, he didn't dare to slack off, and quickly strode out to greet him after he had finished his clothes. Even if King Zhou sent a housekeeper over, would he, the five-grade prefect, dare not be contemptuous.

It wasn't until he saw that the person who came was just alone, and no one had been escorted over as before, that Governor Bao breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward with a smile and asked, "I don't know why Steward Zhu came to my mansion today?" ”

This is Zhu Yan, the third steward in the palace of the king of Zhou, although his status in the palace is not high, but at this time he is coaxed, and when he saw the greetings of the prefect, he actually did not give his hand, still raised his head, and said slowly: "I came to the palace to naturally follow the orders of my prince." ”

"I don't know what the prince commands?" Bao Zhenggang suppressed his unhappiness, but still asked with a smile.

"It's not the previous few businessmen from Xingze County who made trouble, the prince has a lot of opinions about this, if it weren't for the hard persuasion of a few of us, he would think that it was the prefect of Bao who was making you a hindrance." Zhu Yan replied with a smile.

"Xiaguan...... I would like to thank the stewards for their kind words. Although Bao Zhenggang knew that this was just the other party's lies, he could only pinch his nose and admit it and thank him.

"Thank you, you don't need to thank you, as long as you can do things well in the next Bao Governor's Mansion, it can be regarded as the prince, and you have an explanation for us." The other party waved his hand and said. Later, under the gaze of the prefect, he told his true intentions: "Actually, the problem with the last incident was that there were still a lot of grain shops selling grain in our Kaifeng City. Isn't this making people think of sending food to Xingze? So let's sum it up, why don't we cut off the source and seal those grain shops, won't all the problems be solved? So, Governor Bao, this matter has to be left to you. ”

"Ah...... This...... This is not possible, and now the 100,000 people in the city are still counting on buying grain from the grain stores to live, how can they be locked up at will? Once it is closed, what will happen to the people? Bao Zhenggang only hesitated slightly, and then hurriedly objected, and his tone was still a little fierce.

When Zhu Yan heard this, his face sank: "What, Governor Bao, do you want to disobey the order of my prince?" ”

"Zhu is in charge, and it is difficult for the lower officials." Bao Zhenggang was embarrassed, so he could only beg for mercy with a bitter face: "This is related to the livelihood of the people in Kaifeng City, but I can't joke at all." If the food is cut off, I can't say what these people can do. ”

"What are you afraid of? We have thousands of officers and soldiers in Kaifeng City, plus the guards of our palace, isn't it enough to deter these people? ”

"But......" Bao Zhenggang was just about to say anything, but was interrupted by the other party waving his hand: "Okay, don't worry about it, so let's do it, I'll open the net for our prince, and give the people in the city a few more days to buy food, and after three days, these grain shops will all be closed, and they will not be reopened until at least two months later!" ”

"Huh? One level is two months? Governor Bao's body shook again, and he wanted to say something more. But the other party didn't give him room to bargain at all, and said with a straight face: "Governor Bao, don't you don't know what's wrong, this is already my lord's face for you." You also know what this event means, and you should know how you have to do with it. If you really mess things up, the noble status of my prince is naturally nothing, but the black yarn on your head will be difficult to protect! No, not only your black yarn, but also your life may not be able to be saved! "The threat between the words is quite serious.

Bao Zhenggang's expression changed suddenly, he really wanted to resist the other party as a court official, but when the words came to his mouth, he still didn't dare to speak after all. This is not only because the other party is a vassal king of the imperial court and his status is much higher than his own, but also because he really does not have much ability to compete with him. Even in this prefect's yamen, most of the people have to obey the orders of the Zhou Palace.

Therefore, no matter how many opinions there are, no matter how much reluctance, Governor Bao can only make a bitter face and answer: "Xiaguan...... The subordinate is obedient. However, the three-day buffer is indispensable, at least the people must be prepared. ”

"Of course, my prince still loves the people like a son." Seeing him compromise, Zhu Yan's face finally showed some smiles, and he glanced at him again, and then turned to leave.

"Love the people like children...... Hey, what a man who loves the people like a son! Seeing the other party walking away, Bao Zheng muttered mockingly just now, then turned to the back of the bookcase, picked up a pen and paper, hesitated for a moment, and finally wrote out this decree.

Of course, he knew that as soon as this decree came out, the people in the city would inevitably be dissatisfied, and maybe some people would make a fuss. And in this way, the infamy on his back is naturally his own prefect who ordered it. Once the matter spreads, the court will blame itself at that time.

However, who called himself such an official position and met such a vassal king? I can only compromise and seek perfection, and one day is a day. Thinking about the deeds of the ancestor Bao Gong in this Kaifeng Mansion, he only felt ashamed, and he didn't dare to declare his surname Bao to the outside world.

No matter how reluctant you are, these things have to be done. After some hesitation, Bao Zhenggang called a few officials and asked them to paste this document with a large seal to all parts of the city, and then advised: "This matter is related to the livelihood of the people, you must let the people of the city know about it, don't be afraid of trouble, don't be afraid of tiredness, and preach more!" ”

The servants glanced at their adults with complicated expressions, and then bowed their heads and took their orders.

In the afternoon of the same day, this controversial list was posted, and at this time, Lu Zhen and his entourage just rode into this thousand-year-old city by horse......