In the past few days, Yang Chen has been imprisoned in the prison of the Criminal Department and has not been allowed to be free. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 info But he still has some understanding of the situation outside, after all, he is a court official, and it is not too difficult to ask the jailers in the prison about the situation outside.

Thinking that the capital would inevitably be flooded by the Yongding River in the end, hundreds of innocent people would die as a result, and thousands of people would lose their homes, and his heart was quite uncomfortable. Although he knew very well that as long as this disaster came true, he would definitely benefit from it as his brother Yang Zhen said, and now that he was directly summoned from the heavenly prison to the palace, he still didn't see the slightest joy.

After hearing the palace guard in front of him call him in, Yang Chen only took a slight deep breath, and then followed the guard into the Forbidden City, which symbolized the supreme power of the entire empire, with firm steps.

In fact, like his brother, Yang Chen in the previous life also spent dozens of yuan on the entrance fee to enter the Forbidden City, which had been renamed the Forbidden City at that time. It's just that at that time, he was just a spectator, and after hundreds of years of changes, the Forbidden City has long lost its original majesty, and it looks no different from ordinary tourist attractions.

But now, when Yang Chen walked into the palace behind several guards, looking at the towering palace complex, as well as those attendants who lowered their heads and walked briskly, a powerful oppressive force slowly forced over, making his head unconsciously lower, not daring to look left and right.

After following the footsteps of the people in front of him for a long time, Yang Chen stopped in front of a row of courtyards that were not very tall and wide. Although this was only his first time in the palace, he quickly made his own judgment after a little study of the history of the Ming Dynasty: "This should be the legendary cabinet that oversees the administrative power of the whole country, and at the same time it is the most humble cabinet in the world's affairs yamen, right?" ”

As if in response to his speculation, one of the guards whispered to him: "You have to pay attention when you go in and see Zhang Ge Lao later, otherwise you will have to suffer." ”

"Thank you for the reminder." Yang Chen gratefully threw his hand at the other party. The man just smiled at him, because these people already knew a little about Yang Chen's origin, so they still had some good feelings for this petty official who wanted to save the capital but ended up in prison.

After waiting for a while, a young man in his thirties walked out, his eyes only swept on Yang Chen's face, and said, "You are Yang Chen, right?" Come in with me. ”

Yang Chen gave up his hand very obediently, and followed him into the courtyard again, and after the man entered the house to report, he was taken into a public house that was a little small and cramped, but properly cleaned up, and faintly exuded a majesty. As soon as he entered the door, he felt an invisible pressure pressing from the front, and a tall official sitting in front of the door was looking him up and down with a pair of Danfeng eyes.

Although this person did not show any momentum, just sitting so casually and looking at it casually gave people a strong feeling like Mount Tai was overwhelming, and people did not dare to look at him. This alone can be sure that the lord in front of him is a high-ranking official who has lived in the world for a long time and has great power in his hands. And based on the position, Yang Chen naturally guessed the identity of this person: "Yang Chen, the head of the Ministry of Lower Officials, saw Zhang Ge Lao and met Lord Shangshu. After taking a breath, Yang Chen bowed respectfully, and then did not forget to bow to his own boss Guo Chaobin on the other side.

Zhang Juzheng stared at him with interest, and a smile appeared on his face. In the past, there were also many small officials who were brought to themselves, some of them were very timid, they kowtowed when they met, and some looked rude in order to show their backbone, but there were few people like Yang Chen who were not arrogant or humble.

"This person is really extraordinary." Zhang Juzheng's eyes flashed, and then he said slowly: "You are Yang Chen, who made a big rude trouble in front of the palace gate before?" ”

"It was the lower official, the situation was urgent at that time, and the lower official could not immediately explain the situation to the imperial court, so in desperation, he had to come up with this decision, which is really guilty. And what makes the lower officials even more sad is that even if I do this, it is still difficult to recover the situation, resulting in serious damage to the capital......" Speaking of this, Yang Chen sighed heavily.

"This pavilion is very curious, how did you know in advance that once the gate is opened, the Yongding River will be flooded?" When Zhang Juzheng said this, his eyes inadvertently turned on Guo Chaobin's body, making the latter's body tremble again, and he couldn't retract into the ground.

Yang Chen didn't hide it, so he talked about his opposition to the construction of the gate from the beginning, and said that he had no choice but to take risks and make trouble at the palace gate. Although he tried to be concise and to the point when he said this, and did not mix any personal feelings in it, Zhang Juzheng still heard some clues, which made him look at Guo Zhaohui even more unkindly. Well, his subordinate officials reminded him several times that he was still so stubborn and inflexible, and this Ministry of Industry Shangshu could no longer be summed up simply by being stubborn.

As for Yang Chen's indifferent attitude, Zhang Juzheng was very appreciative: "It seems that you do have a good understanding of water conservancy?" As far as this official knows, you are also from the imperial examination, and you have also served as a county magistrate, how can you study this Tao so much? ”

Yang Chen naturally couldn't explain that he had studied water conservancy because of his professional in his previous life, and could only boil it down to his hobby: "When Xia Guan was young, he was particularly interested in dams, rivers and other things, and then read some works in this area in his spare time when he read the books of sages. ”

"Ge Lao, Yang Chen, when he was the county commander in Zhuji County, Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang, also led the people under his rule to resist the flood. Later, an extremely strong and durable embankment was built in the area, which kept Zhuji from flooding for several years. It was precisely because of this merit that he was evaluated as superior year after year, and was finally transferred to the Ministry of Industry in Beijing. Qin Gang added a few more words at this time. As an existence like Zhang Juzheng's secretary, he naturally has to grasp more information.

Zhang Juzheng nodded at Yang Chen with appreciation: "I see, you really did what you have learned and put it into practice, okay!" ”

Hearing Zhang Juzheng's praise, Yang Chen himself was nothing, but Qin Gang and Guo Chaobin's faces changed slightly. You must know that Zhang Juzheng has always been strict with people, and rarely directly affirms what someone does, let alone use the word "good". He praised Yang Chen so much now, which was already a great compliment.

"Guo Shangshu, there are obviously good officials under your command who know how to water conservancy and can make my capital peaceful. But you didn't know how to use it, but instead threw him into the prison, causing such a disaster in the capital today, how do you say this pavilion should punish you? Zhang Juzheng's expression froze, and he looked at Guo Chaobin again.

Guo Chaobin was both remorseful and afraid in his heart at this time, and he didn't dare to continue to argue in front of Zhang Juzheng, so he could only bow his head and admit: "It is the subordinate who believes people's words that has today's loss." This time the capital suffered was the fault of the lower officials, and he also asked the cabinet elder to punish him heavily to calm the hearts of the people. ”

"Hmph, can punishing you alone appease the hearts of tens of thousands of people in my capital? If this is the case, this cabinet will not hesitate to kill you even if it is a decree. Zhang Juzheng stared at Guo Chaobin hatefully, and this time, Guo Chaobin's body trembled, and he knelt on the ground again, not daring to refute in the slightest.

After reprimanding Guo Shangshu for a few words, Zhang Juzheng turned his gaze to Yang Chen again: "Yang Chen, although your hard work has not been accepted by the imperial court this time, this pavilion hopes that you will not have resentment, and show what you have learned in the future, and do your best for the imperial court, so that the capital and other rivers will no longer rage." ”

"Xia Guan understands that Xia Guan does not dare to have any complaints, and he must continue to do his best." Yang Chen hurriedly bowed down again and agreed. At the same time, I also have a little more respect for Zhang Juzheng in my heart.

In his mind, Zhang Juzheng is not only the head and assistant of the dynasty, but also has the power of the world, so he is naturally a commanding man who does not look down on any officials. And now it seems that this Zhang Ge Lao Hun is not like that. The fact that he was able to comfort himself with such a small seven-grade master in such a tone was enough to show that he was thinking more about state affairs than about the difference between superior and inferior.

This made Yang Chen unconsciously disagree with his brother's decision for the first time, such a pillar of the country dedicated to the country, does his brother really want to be an enemy of him? But soon, he put aside this idea again, at least for now, the distance between his two brothers and Zhang Juzheng is still too far, it is really impossible to become his enemy, and it is serious to contribute to the country now.

Thinking of this, he arched his hand again and said, "Please forgive the elder of the pavilion, the lower official still has a few words to say." ”

Originally, after using Yang Chen to suppress and punish Guo Chaobin and appease him, Zhang Juzheng would send him away. After all, as the first assistant of the cabinet, Zhang Ge always has too many things to do, and at most he will promote this director of the Ministry of Works in a few days. But now seeing him suddenly say this, Zhang Juzheng casually asked, "But what?" ”

"Although Xia Guan is in the prison, I don't know what the specific disaster relief situation in the city is. But presumably the people must have a hard time, and although most of the water in the city is less, there is still a lot of it. In this regard, the lower officials also asked the cabinet elders to prevent possible epidemics so that the people and the people in the government should not drink the river water raw, and it is even better not to drink the water in the river and the city, but to dig wells to get water for drinking. Please don't bother, or they may be infected by the virus in the river. As he spoke, Yang Chen solemnly saluted.

Although Zhang Juzheng didn't understand what Yang Chen meant by saying this, he could see that he was sincere. Then he nodded and said, "Okay, this pavilion is allowed to invite you." It seems that you also have some ideas about saving the people after the disaster, and this cabinet plans to use you to save the people, are you willing to accept the order? ”

This is clearly giving Yang Chen a chance to make meritorious contributions, and he naturally will not shirk: "Xia Guan will do his best to help the people of the capital survive this flood!" ”

After sending Yang Chen out, Zhang Juzheng still had a satisfied smile on his face: "This Yang Chen is indeed one of the few capable and willing officials in the DPRK and China. ”

When Qin Gang heard him praise him like this, he couldn't help but joke: "This may be the influence of your elder Ge." ”

"Heh, you kid, how can you learn to shoot horses every time."

"Elder Ge must not know yet, this Yang is still your fellow countryman, and he is also a Jiangling clan."

"Oh?" Zhang Juzheng was obviously stunned, and then shook his head slightly, and his smile became even bigger.