Tu Hai, the general of Fuyuan in Shaanxi, came to Kaifeng and asked to see Emperor Kangxi, but unexpectedly, he saw the emperor's cold eyes. Kangxi took care of other things by himself, and after a long time, he asked Tuhai sternly: "You want to see me, what's the matter?" ”

Tu Hai listened to it for a long time, Kangxi didn't even look at himself, his heart was furious, he suddenly heard the question, and replied loudly: "Slave...... He came to ask his master for sin. ”

"Hmph, you're actually 'guilty'? Yu Guozhu participated in your ten sins. Three unforgivable excerpts, I have approved and submitted them to the ministry, and I think you have read them. Since you are guilty, you should have thought about it behind closed doors, are you still a little dissatisfied, and hit the wooden bell in front of me? ”

Tu Hai hurriedly knelt down, and said without raising his head: "Yes! Slaves deserve death. But the master knew about the situation when the slave led his troops out on that day. Long live Shengming, there is indeed no 'beheading of those who rob people's property' in the six military orders. The slaves deliberately indulged the plundering of the sergeants in order to make up for the lack of money. Long live Tianxin, there were only 50,000 military salaries at that time, and the rebellion was suppressed for several years, and the household department did not allocate a tael of silver......"

"I know these things." Kangxi intercepted, "I want to know how Wang Fuchen died!" ”

This is the most taboo thing in Tuhai. I think that at the beginning, Tuhai and Wang Fuchen were very good. That year, he took Wang Fuchen into the palace to see him, and Emperor Kangxi comforted Wang Fuchen with kind words, and gave him a gun and a robe, which doubled his grace and was not glorious. Unexpectedly, when Wu Sangui had an incident, Wang Fuchen killed the official and rebelled, and he went out of Pingliang. Later, although the army was defeated and surrendered, Emperor Kangxi couldn't swallow this breath, so he issued a secret decree, asking Tuhai to send Wang Fuchen to Beijing and Ling Chi to death. Tuhai knew this in his heart, Wang Fuchen didn't know, and happily packed up and prepared to go to Beijing to receive the reward. Tuhai saw that he was pitiful and secretly gave him a message.

Wang Fuchen couldn't bear to let Tuhai be involved, and after getting drunk, he ordered the troops to paste wet cotton paper on his face one by one and suffocate to death. Hearing Kangxi's question, Tu Haiqing knew that he couldn't hide it anymore, swallowed a mouthful of saliva and said: "When the master asked about this, the slave really had nothing to say......

Jie Shu said on the side: "Why do you want to dodge, the husband must dare to do things!" ”

Xiong Cixu also said: "The master asked, how can you say 'speechless'?" It's a wonder in the world! ”

Tu Hai glanced at the two of them and said in a trembling voice: "The two adults have taught them a lot. At that time, the slave was ordered to be the general of Fuyuan, and the edict originally had the purpose of 'acting cheaply'. Zhou Peigong entered the dangerous city alone, persuaded Wang Fuchen to surrender, and once said that he was willing to use his life with his ministers to protect Wang Fuchen's innocence. Later, he received the secret decree of the Holy Father. At that time, if the ministers did not kill the king, the auxiliary ministers could not maintain the national discipline, that is, they were disloyal; Sending Wang Fuchen to Beijing to suffer from Ling Chi, not only did he not believe in Wang Fuchen's words, but also trapped Zhou Peigong in mourning and unrighteousness - between the two dilemmas, the ministers took it, and made Wang Fuchen commit suicide and apologize......"

Kangxi stood up after hearing this, and paced a few steps with the sound of his boots: "Okay, in this way, you are faithful, benevolent, and righteous, but why don't you think about it for me?" How did I treat him in the first place? Undress, push and eat - but what about him? He killed my minister. I issued an edict ordering him to make up for his mistakes, and he was not to blame for the past, but he still rebelled, trampled on the land of the three provinces, ravaged millions of living beings, and as a result, he committed suicide lightly, and everything was over! I think back then, if he hadn't rebelled, Wu Sangui would have been wiped out two years earlier, why would the treasury be so empty! Why is it too much to build a Yamato hall? Kangxi said as if he was sad, and tears suddenly burst out of his eyes. Wang Fuchen was appointed to go out of Beijing, Kangxi gave a gun and a favor, and the past was soothed by gentle words, and Xiong gave him a shoes. Jieshu and the guards all saw it with their own eyes, and they were all moved when they thought of the past, but they heard Kangxi say again: "I ordered him to enter Beijing, and I really want to see him again, think about how I misjudged this person in the first place." I've always wondered how a person who has been so gracious can be so quick to be ungrateful......"

Seeing that Kangxi was sentimental, Jie Shu hurriedly persuaded: "Long live is the co-master of the world, and it has the amount to contain the universe." Wang Fuchen committed suicide in fear of crime, and he was also punished by heaven. The minions thought it was ...... Excuse me. ”

"Passing the decree, Yu Guozhu is promoted to the post of deputy capital imperial history." Kangxi wiped away his tears and sat down, and said to Tu Hai: "You are a meritorious man, you led 30,000 people to pacify Chahar in half a month, and annihilated more than 100,000 Liang rebels, making great contributions to the imperial court." But the merits and demerits must be clearly divided - promote you to the first-class uncle, and get rid of your eyes and punish you! ”

Being promoted to a first-class uncle is a very heavy reward, but pulling out Hua Ling is an extremely undignified punishment, but Kangxi is added to one person at the same time. Jie Shu and the others didn't feel anything, but Xiong Cilu felt a little unbelievable. Thinking about it, there was no better way to deal with it, and while he was thinking, Tu Hai had already kowtowed deeply and said, "Slave thank God!" ”

"Get up." Kangxi had regained his composure, took a sip of tea, and said with a smile: "About the silver, you go down and discuss with Tu Hai and take some out of his military salary." He has money, don't be afraid of being poor! My heart is clear, even if you are fighting a battle, soldiers and bandits are inseparable. ”

Kangxi stayed in Kaifeng for six days, and every day he had to go to the bank of the Yellow River to see the water situation, and most of the embankments of more than a dozen executions had been seen. On the seventh day, I made a special trip to see the largest subway town.

Tieniu Town is located more than 20 miles northeast of the provincial capital Kaifeng, and has always been a place where repeated repairs and frequent floods. I don't know what year and what generation, people collect money and cast an iron ox weighing more than 10,000 catties to town the water, so this place is called "Iron Cow Town". However, the iron bull was not able to stop the flood. In the autumn of the sixteenth year of Kangxi, the embankment broke again, and thousands of hectares of fertile land outside the embankment have become a desolate beach.

At mid-day, the dusk sun hangs lazily in the middle of the sky, and the occasional roof of a house buried in the sand dunes can be seen.

Kangxi rode a horse, his lips tightened, squinted his eyes and looked at the surging Yellow River in the distance, and said to Xiong Cixu: "Xiong Dongyuan, you have read all the history of the Twenty-first Period, do you know how many times this river has been decided and how many times it has been diverted?" ”

Xiong Cixu hurriedly followed Kangxi with a little horse, leaned over and said, "Shuchen didn't pay attention, but he couldn't calculate it. In about ten years, thirty or fifty years, I always have to change the route, and there are breaches almost every year - this is the source of the blessing and misfortune that God has given me to China! ”

"Yes, the Yellow River should be called the River of Merit. The merit is too great to be rewarded, and the great is too great to be punished. Kangxi sighed with emotion, "During my reign, even if everything else is mediocre, it is a great achievement to cure this river!" ”

Kangxi's tone was very heavy, Xiong Cixu and Jieshu knew that the matter of governing the river was difficult and heavy, and all dynasties regarded it as a major headache, so they didn't dare to talk about it easily. Kangxi walked slowly, and sighed again: "Now it seems that the most rare thing is not the talent of the general. Wenzhi has a few of you by my side, manage the officials and govern the civil affairs, and the people don't have trouble; In war, those who understand land warfare include Tuhai, Zhou Peigong, Zhao Liangdong, and Cai Yurong, and those who understand water warfare include Shi Lang and Yao Qisheng. But what about those who know how to govern the river? Since I ascended the throne, there have been four river governors, but none of them have succeeded! Alas......"

Xiong Cilu smiled bitterly and said: "The Sacred Heart is so merciful, God will definitely bless it, please don't be too anxious about it." Yesterday, Di reported that Jin Fu was already on the road, and let him try it. ”

Jie Shu clapped his hands and sighed: "Are you still afraid of talents?" But those who know how to govern rivers may not be able to write eight strands. From Tong Shengxiucai to slowly taking the exam, from the state and county officials to the promotion step by step, when the court knows that he can control the water, he may not be able to find a mile in a thousand miles. ”

Kangxi listened, smiled and said, "Okay! That's a good point, so I don't specialize in the imperial examination, and I keep the road of donation, which can be regarded as another way. Ming'er issued another edict to send officials from various provinces to visit talents. It is not limited to river governance, and those who know astronomy, geography, mathematics, calendars, music and rhythms, calligraphy and painting, poetry, and machinery, and those who have a skill must be recommended to have a division to raise up, do learning, and do a good job can also come out to be an official. Jin Fu is not just recommended by Mingzhu, Li Guangdi. Chen Menglei and the others have also recommended it, maybe they can really do things. Let's talk about it when we get back to Beijing. ”

When it came to Li Guangdi and Chen Menglei, no one dared to speak. These two are both Jinshi of Kangxi's ninth year, and they are friends from the same village, but now they have turned their faces. Back then, Chen Menglei was ordered by the emperor to enter Geng Jingzhong, the king of Pingnan, as an inside line, and agreed to send the information to Li Guangdi, who was mourning at home. However, since Geng Jingzhong erected the flag to rebel, all Li Guangdi's twists and turns have never mentioned a word about Chen Menglei. Is Chen Menglei willing to be a thief, or is Li Guangdi making trouble for Chen Menglei's credit? As far as the two of them know, no one else can tell clearly. Later, Geng Jingzhong was finally eliminated, and Chen Menglei was also escorted to Beijing as a "thief" and imprisoned in the prison of the Criminal Department. The Criminal Department also passed the hall and asked Chen Menglei why he rebelled, and Chen Menglei replied very simply: he said that he was following the emperor's secret order. When the official of the criminal department heard this, he was stupid, and he couldn't pass on the emperor to confront him, the case couldn't be asked, and it kept dragging on there. Chen Menglei was angry in prison, and wrote the "Letter to the City God" and the "Letter of Breaking Friendship with Li Guangdi" and passed them out. It was popular all over the world for a while, causing a sensation in the government and the opposition. The lawsuit between the two became more and more inextricable. Even Kangxi seemed to believe and doubted, and he didn't know how to decide. Today, when Kangxi mentioned the two of them, he didn't feel a pang of trouble in his heart, so he jumped on a sand dune and looked at the Yellow River from afar.

Suddenly, a shout came from afar: "What are you doing, don't you hurry to the town over there!" ”

Everyone looked back, and there was a person on the shore in the distance, stretching out his arms flat, as if he was testing the wind and direction, and as if he was visually measuring the embankment on the opposite bank, and shouted at Kangxi: "Hey, say you guys!" You dozen broad sons don't want to live anymore? To see the view, go to the city tower! ”

Wu Dan, the imperial guard behind Kangxi, saw that this person was so rude, jumped forward with his legs between the horse's belly, pointed at the man with a horsewhip, and roared: "Who are you, you can control the masters?" ”

Wu Dan is a donkey we are very familiar with, he used to be a guard with Wei Dongting, and later changed his name to Wu Dan. He was originally born as a horse thief in the Kanto region, and he was the most brutal by nature, and he hurt people when he opened his mouth. Mu Zixu hurriedly stepped forward to stop it. He glanced at the man who was testing the wind power, and asked with a smile: "Big brother, since you can't stay here, then why are you here?" ”

"I'm Hebo Chen Tianyi!" Chen Huang said coldly: "This person has a kind of hurtful exit, just let him stay here, you guys go quickly!" The peach blossom flood will arrive in an hour, and here is an ocean in an instant! ”

When Kangxi heard this, he got off the horse instead, came over and asked: "Your life is not your life, since you are not afraid, then I will also sacrifice my life to accompany the gentleman!" ”

Xiong Cilu suddenly became anxious, no matter whether this person is crazy or stupid, there must be peach blossoms in this season. He regretted that he was careless and didn't take these into account today, so he hurriedly stepped forward and grabbed Kangxi, and said, "Master Long, there's nothing to see, let's go to the town to fight - this brother, thank you for reminding me!" Kangxi followed and said loudly: "Since it's so dangerous, you should also leave!" ”

Chen Huangtou didn't look back and said very confidently: "I want to measure the water level of the water volume, and it is difficult to buy it at the moment." Drown my water, the next life will come! So saying, he walked briskly upstream.

Kangxi Junchen rode back to Tieniu Town at a gallop for more than ten years, and sat under the greenhouse of a hotel on the side of the road. Kangxi asked for a plate of Yellow River carp, a table of side dishes, and while eating, he looked at the river uncertainly, and after sandwiching the dishes several times, they all slipped off the chopsticks. It is seven or eight miles away from the Yellow River. Everyone was relieved to see that the people in the town were coming and going, bustling, and everything was calm. Mu Zixu saw that Kangxi was uncertain, so he smiled and said: "This forest is big, and there are all kinds of birds-I don't know if that person is a madman or a fool, don't pay attention to him!" Kangxi nodded slightly after hearing this, and sat down to eat silently. Xiong Cilu and Jieshu sat on one side, not daring to move the chopsticks, only picking up water chestnuts and fresh lotus roots and carefully tasting each other.

After a long while, Chen Huang also came over from the river beach, bought two baked cakes and a plate of beef jerky from the shopkeeper, and sat opposite Kangxi unceremoniously, chewing and chewing with his hands. Kangxi quietly took the watch and looked at it, it had been nearly an hour, and said with a mocking smile: "I said Brother Hebo, why did you put a squib?" Didn't you say that the flood would arrive in an hour? ”

Chen Huang didn't answer immediately, looked at the shadow of the sun, looked upstream again, stuffed a large piece of beef into his mouth, and said vaguely: "No matter how good the watch is, the sun is not accurate - I'll see it later!" Seeing that he was still bragging, Jie Shu and Xiong Ci couldn't help laughing. Wu Danwei smiled and said to Mu Zixu: "You and my brother have seen a little bit of the world, but have you never seen such a living treasure that brags to death?" ”

Before the words fell, their faces immediately changed. Because the sound of the rolling waves like thunder had been faintly heard, the earth was shaken. The quiet Iron Bull Town was in an uproar, and the ground guard was sweating profusely, shouting loudly as he ran: "The tide god is here!" Residents and others all went to Donggang to avoid - "For a while, people barked, dogs barked, and the boss chanted Buddha. The cry of a child, the jingle of pots and pans...... Stir it like boiling gruel. Groups of people rushed eastward in groups and rolled into groups.

The shopkeeper's face turned pale, and he ran over in a panic: "Guys, what kind of fool is it!" Seeing Kangxi standing still under the shed, several people next to him also froze, and said anxiously: "This year is not as good as in previous years, the embankment has collapsed!" Hurry, go! ”

"This is really a snake bite, ten years afraid of the well rope." Chen Huang smiled, only got up to look, but sat down again, and said with a smile: "This is Tieniu Town, there is a sacred cow town, why be afraid?" Let's go, such a good table of wine and food, only cheaper for me Chen. I'm going back to Handan tomorrow, just for me to go north! ”

Kangxi knew Chen Huang's ability, so he grabbed Chen Huang and said: "Let's go, don't eat, I'll set the wine for you tomorrow, it's a big danger here!" ”

Chen Huang looked at Kangxi, shook his head and said, "Thank you a lot, I still want to stay here to watch the tide." Don't worry, Peach Blossom Flood can't come to Tieniu Town! ”

"Why? Are you a god? ”

Chen Huang was stunned, and then laughed and said, "Where are there any immortals!" Let me tell you, at this time, there is 60% sediment in the water of the Yellow River. The river around Tieniu Town is 500 zhang wide, with an average depth of seven feet, and with the flood, it rises by two zhang. The riverbank is 1,100 zhang away from Tieniu Town, and this beach is a natural barrier. When the beach is on the water, the speed of the water flow will inevitably be buffered, and the sediment will inevitably accumulate higher and higher, and maybe a long causeway will be silted. If this is the case, this can save the emperor hundreds of thousands of silver......" he said endlessly, making Kangxi stunned.

Chen Huang pointed his fingers, picked up the beef and sent it to his mouth, and said at length, but Wu Dan suddenly came over and said, "Don't stop your dog's mouth yet!" You're a madman, you're tired of it! Just wait here to feed the king! Xiong Cixu shouted: "Delentai, Su Lun, set up the master and leave quickly!" ”

Delentai and Su Lun "pierced" and agreed, and couldn't help but help Kangxi to the horse. Wu Dan was a whip according to the horse's buttocks, and the horse neighed and drove away. Wu Dan got off the horse with a gloomy face, and pointed the whip at Chen Huang's nose and said viciously: "You guy, if you come out alive, don't bump into Lao Tzu's hands!" Then he whipped his horse and whipped away. Borrowing the big iron bull to stand in the middle of the day, only one Chen Huang sat firmly under the shed. At this time, the whistling sound of the river waves has come like thousands of troops......

But after all, the water of the Yellow River did not enter Tieniu Town, and after the first flood, a natural sand bank more than one zhang high miraculously gushed out. In the early morning of the second day, Kangxi sent Mu Zixu Pegasus to the town to see that the people who fled the water had not yet returned to the town, only Kangxi's rich table of wine and food was eaten by Chen Huang, but the people were gone.