The right deputy imperial envoy, Prime Minister Cao Yun, and the military governor Fengyang and other places, and Yang Zhongcheng, who is also in charge of the river, recently sat in Huai'an Mansion and was anxious, and often frightened three times a night for the flood. The intersection of Huang, Huai and Yun here, is the most complex and fragile area in the world.

The Yellow River loves to burst into the mouth, the Huaihu Lake water is going to be discharged into the sea, and the canal is the lifeline of the country that must be protected. In addition, the salt production in the Lianghuai region accounts for half of the world, and once the downstream salt farms are washed away by the flood, the entire salt industry will suffer a heavy blow.

Therefore, when it comes to the year of the great flood, the tension in Huai'an Mansion can be imagined. In particular, this year's flood of the Yellow River is the largest in the past two or three decades, and the lack of a breach has been called a miracle by the old river workers, but there is still a possibility of a breach. Moreover, from the perspective of historical experience, the possible surname of the Yellow River breach is quite random regardless of time, place or probability, and this kind of torture is really shocking.

In this regard, Governor Yang can only lament that his luck is too bad, but he encountered a major flood during his tenure, and he is destined to not sleep well throughout the flood season.

Under these circumstances, on the ninth day of the ninth month of September, Governor Yang received a letter from Li You from Sizhou -- Wang Mou, the governor of Sizhou, instructed Diao Min to pick up the embankment of the ancestral tomb, and now the flood is approaching the inner embankment, and the ancestral tomb is already surrounded by water and is in danger. At the same time, there was also a eunuch guarding the tomb to testify about this matter.

At first, Governor Yang thought that he was wrong for lack of sleep and dizziness, he lived to be more than fifty years old, and he had been in the officialdom for more than 20 years, and he had never heard of anyone who dared to deliberately pick up the flood control levee of the royal mausoleum... After seeing it, Governor Yang almost fainted, why did all the demons and monsters come out in his office? Even the matter of the magistrate taking the initiative to pick up the embankment of the ancestral tomb can happen, and the passing year is so unfavorable!

He originally thought that there would be no big problem in the south this year, and he would just focus on the Yellow River, but who knew that such a strange thing would happen again. Once the ancestral tomb is lost, he will be the governor of the end!

On the night of 10 September, Governor Yang, who was so anxious that he had lost sleep, received another 600-li urgent message -- In order to protect the ancestral tomb, after obtaining the opinion of the eunuchs guarding the tomb, Li You, who was in charge of the southern part of Hongze Lake, had ordered the Sizhou embankment to be discharged from the flood, and the city of Sizhou had been completely submerged in the flood. However, the water level around the ancestral tomb has decreased, and the situation has improved.

Seeing this, Governor Yang breathed a sigh of relief, as long as the ancestral tomb was safe, there would be no problem. At the same time, I felt that this Li You was young, but he was very courageous, and he dared to break the embankment and flood Sizhou.

Regarding the matter of the ancestral tomb, Lord Yang can't be the master as the governor, so he can only report to the capital for 600 miles and ask the court to deal with it.

However, he said that Master Li was sticking to the front line of flood fighting, and politely refused the invitation of Gonggong Hai to live in the ancestral tomb, and led his own soldiers to find a family house outside the ancestral tomb to live temporarily. It is very close to the inner embankment, so you can check the water situation at any time. Besides, he is not at ease to live in the territory of his father-in-law, safety first.

On September 11, the day after the Sizhou embankment burst, Li You and Hai Gonggong continued to look at the water.

Hai Gonggong pointed to the place where the outer embankment of the ancestral tomb burst and said: "Now that the east bank of Sizhou is discharging, and because of the low terrain, the current water potential is inclined to the east, and the water flow of the outer embankment on the west bank has slowed down, so we can consider seizing the opportunity to re-block it." So as not to let the inner embankment directly face the flood, and there is no way to retreat in case of danger. ”

In fact, Gonggong Hai, as a eunuch guarding the tomb, is responsible for the inner wall of the ancestral tomb, and things such as flood control outside belong to the locality. However, it is reasonable to make suggestions, but it is up to local officials like Li You to implement them.

Plugging the breach is a reasonable suggestion at this point, and the slow flow here is indeed a good opportunity. But Li You stared at the breach and hesitated. Gonggong Hai asked again, "What is the problem of Master Li?" There is a spare stone to spare, so there is no need to worry. ”

Li You glanced at Gonggong Hai, and said meaningfully: "Now the ancestral tomb is in danger, all because of the disaster caused by the excavation of the ancestral tomb outside the embankment surnamed Wang, and it has nothing to do with us. If the official blocked the embankment and made up for the sins of the surnamed Wang, it would be safe and sound, but if the ancestral tomb was in danger because of the outer embankment, wouldn't the responsibility be transferred to the official? When Gonggong Hai said this, it is very likely that the official will be roasted on the fire. ”

When Gonggong Hai heard this strange theory, it seemed to be a fallacy at first, but when he thought about it, it was very reasonable, and the twists and turns in Lord Li's heart were really... Before he could react, he heard Li You say again: "But if someone says that the official is negligent in his duties and indulges in the failure to block the embankment, it will be very bad." Weigh the two phases, or block it! ”

Grandpa Hai blurted out for some reason: "This prison will not be a villain behind it." ”

Li You laughed, "Hai Shouling is too worried, and the official didn't say that yours is not." ”

After a few rounds, Hai Gonggong was defeated in the invisible confrontation and was completely convinced. I had to say sincerely: "This year, the Yellow River is flooded, and it is almost inevitable that it will be flooded, raise the water level, and block the outer embankment." ”

Before Hai Gonggong's voice fell, the soldiers from the east who had an urgent delivery shop rushed over and shouted: "The governor of the yamen is urgent! The Yellow River is powerful, and it has been diverted at the mouth of the Qingjiang River to pour into Hongze Lake, and the Gaojiayan on the east bank and the ancestral tomb of Sizhou on the south bank should be careful! The governor Yamen also ordered Lord Li to guard the ancestral mausoleum, and the southern section of Gaojiayan sent another official to guard it. ”

It's really said that Cao Ying Cao is here, even if he is mentally prepared, Li You is still surprised, this is not a joke. Hongze Lake can not drain the river, but is backfilled, so by the upstream Huai River and the downstream Hongze Lake on both sides of the attack, Sizhou area is very sad.

Hai Gonggong analyzed very calmly: "Okay, even if the Yellow River backfills, it is only a diversion, and the water surface of Hongze is large enough not to immediately cause the water level in Sizhou to rise sharply, unless the water of the Yellow River multiplies..."

Before Hai Gonggong's voice fell, another soldier rushed from the northwest, "There is an urgent report from Suzhou!" The Yellow River breaks in Kaifeng Mansion, the tributaries take the water to the south, and the Bianshui River in Suzhou, and the shores of Hongze Lake should be careful! ”

Like the Huai River, this water is to be poured into Hongze Lake. The meaning of the urgent report is that after the Yellow River breaks in Henan, there is a tributary that first goes along Suishui and then along Bianshui to the south, and the ultimate goal will be Hongze Lake... As Hai Gonggong said, "the water of the Yellow River has multiplied".

It's said that Cao Ye Cao is here again! Li You couldn't help but glared at Father-in-law Hai a few times.

Father-in-law Nahai was also dumbfounded, speechless for a long time, and then continued to force his composure and said: "Okay, we are here at the junction of Huaihu Lake, and the elevation of the water level of Hongze Lake is only one side, as long as there is no big water in the upper reaches of the Huai River on the other side..."

Before the words fell, a soldier from the south rushed over, shouting: "Zhongdu is urgent!" Fengyang said heavy rain, the water level in the upper reaches of the Huai River skyrocketed! ”

Zuling Sizhou is located in the lowest reaches of the Huai River, and there has been a flood in the upstream, will the downstream be far away?

According to the analysis of the old river workers, the irrigation of the Yellow River, the flood of the Bianhe River, and the flood of the Huai River, are the three most worrying situations, and one of them is a very bad situation. But under the powerful crow beak of Gonggong Hai, it actually appeared at the same time, and the immortal with a straight iron mouth was nothing more than that!

Li You has never been afraid in the face of [***], but in the face of natural disasters, he is also very incompetent. At this moment, Master Li was shocked and frightened, and pointed at Gonggong Hai very out of shape and scolded: "Shut the fuck!" This official is going to die on your mouth! ”

Father-in-law Hai also completely collapsed, and slapped himself several times. If the ancestral tomb is really going to be submerged, Li You may be able to use Wang Zhizhou as a shield, but he must be martyred as a eunuch guarding the tomb.

At this time, the two of them couldn't care about fighting, and gathered all the mausoleum households and tomb guards to block the outer embankment of the ancestral mausoleum. It only took half a day of effort, and I barely used stone to plug the breach.

But since this night, the water level outside the ancestral embankment has risen at a rate visible to the naked eye, almost more than a foot a day. If it weren't for the Nasi State flood discharge and the widening of the eastern waterway, the water level would have risen even faster.

Everything is out of control, and Lord Li, who has always liked to play tricks on the mysterious, is really anxious. He said that he didn't go down the embankment every night, so that he was embarrassed and lost the brilliance of a beautiful man, but unfortunately the providence could not help him, and the water level continued to rise. From the clairvoyant mirror, it can be seen that the water level has almost submerged the opposite Sizhou city wall, and only the top of the city gate tower is exposed.

On September 15, the Zuling embankment finally could not hold back the water level, although the embankment had not burst again, but the flood overflowed the outer embankment and slowly overflowed to the inner embankment.

Although he has not yet been sentenced to death, this is almost equivalent to a suspended death. The main outer embankment is unable to stop the water potential, how long can the inner embankment last? If the inner embankment can't withstand it, and the flood water overflows again, it will be poured directly into the ancestral mausoleum gate.

This is only in the case of overflowing embankments, in case of another embankment failure, the flood water will pour in rapidly, I am afraid that the ancestral tomb will be destroyed within a moment and a half. However, the difference is between the immediate death penalty and the suspended death sentence.

Li You, the river supervisor on the south bank of Hongze Lake, stood on the embankment with a dead heart, and Gonggong Hai was also standing stupidly next to him. The flood has already reached the calf, it is cold and biting, and on the Shinto Road in the ancestral tomb behind, the water potential has not reached the ankle, which is desperate!

Since the crossing, Li You has never been so helpless as now, the will of heaven is unpredictable, but the manpower is sometimes poor. Looking back on the past half a month, since he arrived in Sizhou, he has been constantly making decisions around the ancestral tomb, only thinking that the opportunity to save the ancestral tomb has arrived. How can people not be as good as heaven, and the calculation of organs is too smart.

If the ancestral tomb is submerged like Sizhou, even if the responsibility is passed on to Wang Zhizhou, even if his punishment is correct, what credit can he have? No matter how you say it, it was the ancestral tomb that sank to the bottom of the lake in Li You's hands.

Alas! Li You looked up to the sky and sighed, since the will of heaven is irretrievable, then try to add some impression and sympathy points to yourself.

In front of the hundreds of soldiers and civilians on the embankment, Lord Li knelt in the water, kowtowed to the north three times, and then stood up and shouted: "Fail to live up to the trust of the imperial court, the minister Li You is powerless!" ”

He also wrote a poem aloud and said: "The flood waves float and the moon rises, and the sunflower breaks the world." Incompetent Jin Tanggu, dare not stay alone. Martyrdom is the end of the minister's day, repay the country's kindness with death! ”

After that, Li You jumped into the surging flood at his feet, and the cyan official robe floated on the water very eye-catchingly.

"Don't be like that, adults!" Li You's own soldiers shouted, and five or six of them also jumped into the water to save people.

Father-in-law Hai didn't feel anything about Li You's diving, he was now like a walking corpse, numb to everything. Just thinking that the ancestral tomb is not guaranteed, is it okay to jump down and commit suicide?

He took two steps forward, and suddenly felt that his movement was much lighter than before. It didn't seem to be an illusion, he looked down and saw that the water level that had just submerged his calf had dropped to his ankle... Could it be that the flood is finally receding?

The ecstasy of escaping death instantly filled Hai Gonggong's heart and lungs, and he looked at Master Li who was still struggling in the water, as if he had seen a miracle.

(To be continued)