The flood had arrived, and Li You went to the state government to discuss relevant matters.

Although Wang Zhizhou still had a cold attitude, he was very cooperative in the matter of levying and issuing civilian service to guard the embankment, and there was no obstacle. However, he still sarcastically said, "Master Li lives in Sizhou and is so relieved of Gaojiayan on the east bank of Hongze?" Otherwise, you are sitting in Sizhou, and after the official reports to the governor, he will inspect Gaojiayan for you? In this way, it will not be good for Master Li to work too hard and be tired. ”

This kind of face-to-face sarcasm, Li You hadn't heard it for a long time, and he almost got angry. Immediately, he realized that Wang Zhizhou wanted to provoke him to leave Sizhou, and even seized on his seemingly greedy stay in Sizhou, faintly revealing the threat of impeachment by the governor.

If this is the only case, there will be no suspicion, there are many people in the world who do not deal with it, and Li You has never hoped that he can get along with everyone. If it were him, he was afraid and didn't want to see a person who added to the blockage dangling on his own territory every day.

But Master Li has always had a thorn in his heart, and he has never let go of his doubts. That Wang Zhizhou actually asked for the rule of Xizhou before he arrived in Sizhou, and he was the same as him. He asked for another location to move to the state to deal with the public opinion after the embankment may burst and flood the city, so what is Wang Zhizhou rushing for at this juncture? Could it be that he has the same thoughts as him?

Combined with today's impolite expulsion, Li You felt that Wang Zhizhou was very suspicious, and he needed to act behind his back because of the shady secret.

What the hell is going on, Wang Zhizhou will definitely not say, what should I do? Thinking of this, Li You pressed down his anger and said calmly: "This official will set off for the east coast to inspect today, and will return to Sizhou in about two days." ”

Of course, Lord Li either said it casually, or let Wang Zhizhou know that he only had two days to work, which greatly squeezed Wang Zhizhou's activity time. If there is any trick, he has to seize the opportunity to release it, and he Li You has expired and has not waited for two days, Wang Zhizhou didn't say anything, and served tea to send off guests.

Lord Li did not say anything, and left Sizhou City with his guards. It may also be that the situation in Sizhou on the south bank of Hongze Lake is stable, so there is no need to keep an eye on it for the time being.

It is said that there are two embankments on the shore of the water outside Sizhou to protect the ancestral tomb. One is built at the water's edge and is called the outer embankment, and the other is built on the periphery of the ancestral tomb city wall and is called the inner embankment.

Its intention is nothing more than double insurance, once the outer embankment fails, there is also the inner embankment to keep the water back. But it can only be delayed for a while, after all, the inner embankment is worse than the outer embankment, and the outer embankment can't stop it, so how strong can the inner embankment be? Five years ago, the flood overflowed the outer embankment and overflowed to the inner embankment, but the inner embankment withstood for more than a day, and the water crossed the inner embankment and spread to the inner Shinto Road of the ancestral tomb, but fortunately, the flood water receded to this extent.

On the sixth day of the ninth month, Li You left Sizhou for the east bank of Hongze, and Wang Zhizhou sent people to the neighborhoods to inquire about it and confirmed that Li You had gone north, so he was relieved.

Another day passed, on the eighth day of the ninth month, Wang Zhizhou went out of the city to inspect the Huaihu embankment. He stood on the shore and did not look down to check the surging water, but he couldn't help but look in the direction of the ancestral tomb on the other side.

There were also several people on the opposite side who crossed the shore to Wang Zhizhou's side, and the leader was about forty years old, with a white face and beard, a veil hat on his head, and gorgeous clothes. He stood beside Wang Zhizhou and retreated all the left and right into the distance before having a secret conversation.

"How's it going?" The visitor asked Wang Zhizhou.

Wang Zhizhou replied: "Everything is going well, just wait for the time." However, Li You, who was sent to the river affairs, said that he couldn't go on patrol a while ago, and he almost made a mistake. ”

"I've also heard that Master Li has arrived, and if he is here, it will be really difficult."

Wang Zhizhou said proudly: "Benzhou used a little trick to provoke him away, although he said that he would come back soon, but at least he was enough to succeed when he didn't get in the way." ”

The two people who were not willing to commit to the county of the remote state smiled complacently at each other, looking forward to something happening.

In a harmonious atmosphere, someone suddenly shouted "Lord Wang is so interested"! Break the atmosphere of the conversation.

Hearing this voice, Wang Zhizhou's smile stopped abruptly. Turning back suddenly, the person who came to this side from a distance was not Li You, who was it?

It's broken! Wang Zhizhou exclaimed in his heart.

Li You walked in front of Wang Zhizhou without a hurry, and said with a smile: "Lord Wang is really diligent in river affairs, and he has been standing on the embankment for half a day. At present, the flood is about the same as five years ago, and the embankment has been raised, so it is not worth worrying about Lord Wang. It seems that it makes sense for the official to move and decide to return. ”

What Wang Zhizhou wanted to do, Li You was still in the dark and couldn't guess until this time. But he understands that what his opponent doesn't want is what he should do, and that's what he always does.

Lord Wang definitely didn't want him to be stationed in Sizhou these two days, so he deliberately showed up again, who made him Li You and Li Fushi, who were suspicious and liked to get to the bottom of things, rather than someone who was indifferent.

Facing Li You, who suddenly appeared at a critical moment, Wang Zhizhou's face was ugly.

Hongze was not able to sail during this time, and Li You went to Gaojiayan by land, crossing Xuyi from the east. He said before and yesterday that he was not at ease with Master Li, and even sent a few people to Xuyi Post Station to investigate, and all the news reported said that Li You had left Xuyi and continued to hurry... Now Wang Zhizhou finally realizes that he must be cheated by Xuyi's Shangzhi County!

After Li You sneered at Wang Zhizhou, he turned to another stranger next to him and asked, "Who is this?" ”

Wang Zhizhou, who should have come forward to introduce, was still immersed in the grief and anger of Li You's deception and couldn't extricate himself, and he suddenly suffered this accident, and he didn't know what to do.

The man had no choice but to introduce himself to Li You: "I am Hai, the superintendent of the Divine Palace. ”

It turned out to be the eunuch guarding the ancestral tomb, and Li You suddenly realized that there were shrine supervisors in all the royal tombs, and there were stewards and eunuchs.

The eunuchs stationed in the local area are certainly not as majestic as they were back then, but to a certain extent, they can be regarded as detached, similar to the Qincha who has no guards. He Li You dangled in Sizhou for a while, and the eunuch surnamed Hai didn't show up to say anything, why did he wait for him Li You to be gone, and he came out to talk and laugh with Wang Zhizhou on the embankment?

If it is said that after the flood came, Hai Gonggong was also worried, so it made sense to come out to see the water situation of the embankment. But Master Li just felt suspicious for no reason, Wang Zhizhou behaved strangely, could it be that he had some collusion with this eunuch?

He then asked tentatively: "Are Gonggong Hai and Lord Wang talking about this water situation?" ”

"When I heard that there was another flood, I happened to meet Lord Wang, so we discussed it together."

Li Youzhi was about to continue to say something, but he heard the civil servants on the nearby embankment shouting: "The embankment has burst!" The embankment has burst! ”

In an instant, countless river workers and servants gathered on the embankment, pointing to the distance and shouting, everyone looked horrified.

At this moment, embankment collapse is the most sensitive word, and who is still in the mood to talk when they hear these two words. Li You rushed to the shore in three steps and two steps, followed the direction of other people's fingers, hurriedly raised his eyes and looked into the distance, and sure enough, he saw a section of the waterside embankment in the direction of the ancestral tomb on the opposite bank, and the flood was pouring in from there!

The outer embankment of the ancestral tomb has burst! The embankment that has been guarded against it has collapsed! Collapsed before his eyes!

Master Li's face immediately changed drastically, and his mind was spinning at full speed. He just walked on the front foot, and theoretically should not be in Sizhou now, but the embankment burst on the back foot, is it a coincidence?

No! This is definitely not a coincidence! What can I do?

Li You's accompanying riverman quickly pointed out: "There is also an inner embankment inside, which can block the flood. It's just that after the water pours into the shore, it spreads from the original line into a piece, and the protection of the inner embankment is worrying. ”

"Can you resist it?" Li You asked anxiously.

"Five years ago, the inner embankment was blocked for two days, and luckily the flood only reached Shinto. The water level is about the same as it was five years ago, and this is probably the case. But at the beginning of the flood season, I was afraid that the water level would continue to rise, and after two days, I was not as lucky as five years ago, and the flood receded after only soaking the ancestral tomb Shinto. ”

How can a good one burst the embankment? In these years, manpower, material resources and technical level are limited, and it is not surprising that under the impact of floods, it is not surprising that there are dike bursts. But Li You just thinks that this time it must be artificial!

Wang Zhizhou's prescient request for the rule of Xizhou, and urging him to leave Sizhou, were enough to make him think about it.

Today's plan is to ensure that the ancestral tomb is safe and sound, and the second is to find out the sinner and take responsibility, so even if the accident is not man-made, it must be a man-made accident! You can't let the court think that it was his Li You's negligence that caused the accident.

Do extraordinary things in extraordinary times!

Li You, who had been honed for a long time, surpassed Wang Zhizhou's reaction speed by a cut of time, and preemptively scolded Wang Zhizhou: "What's going on? This official has only been away for a while, and the embankment has burst when Lord Wang is presiding over the river affairs, you are waiting for the official to impeach and derelict his duties! ”

Wang Zhizhou was racking his brains to ponder the words, and he was originally in control of everything. After the embankment bursts, he will not be afraid of danger, and if the command is determined, it is a great achievement to save the ancestral tomb from danger. But now with Li You's sudden appearance, things are out of his control.

If Li You is not at the scene at this time, wait until he becomes a great hero, and then let him say. He jointly reported to the imperial court with the eunuchs who had colluded with him in advance, saying that Master Li was ineffective in supervising river affairs in Sizhou, and he despised the safety of the ancestral tomb and left his post without permission, resulting in the collapse of the outer embankment and the ancestral tomb in danger.

This is also what Wang Zhizhou planned before, and at that time, the court will definitely need a scapegoat, so let Li You, who has no merit, bear it, and he can't chill his heart as a hero in front of the world, otherwise who will be willing to work for the royal family.

But now Li You is standing here, not far away on the east coast, those words will not work, and more importantly, the next command will fall into the hands of Li You, who was given the order, how can he make meritorious contributions? And what happened to him Wang Zhizhou? Months of hard work, is it just for this empty scene?

Therefore, Lord Wang has always hated Li You's long-term stay in Sizhou to steal the limelight, and finally took advantage of Li You's departure to implement the first step of the plan, but now at the critical moment of the second step of the plan, Li You just came out again!

Did this person do it intentionally or unintentionally? Do you really have the keen sense of smell of a dog? When Wang Zhizhou was still thinking about how to get out of trouble, a loud shout suddenly came into his ears: "The major crime of dereliction of duty in Sizhou Zhizhou needs to be investigated, and I will ask this official carefully after he is detained!" ”

Who else dares to say this except Li You? Wang Zhizhou immediately burst into muscles, pointed at Li You and said: "This official is also an official of the imperial court, the same grade as you, Li You, do you dare to exceed the rules!" ”

Wang Zhizhou said that it is not bad, the ministers of the Ming Dynasty are all officials of the imperial court from the first to the ninth grade, and an official cannot arrest another official without the authorization of the imperial court, even if he arrests a small official with a high-ranking official. It is impossible for even a scholar of Zaifu University to give such an order - go and arrest so-and-so!

Under normal circumstances, only the appointed envoy can act so cheaply, and of course, the governor of the Ming Dynasty also borrowed the system of the envoy, and has some privileges in this regard. In addition, under certain special circumstances, the Prosecutor's Office can also temporarily place low-level officials under house arrest.

But Li You, the sixth-rank non-Qincha identity, went to arrest another sixth-rank official who was in the seal, if it was in normal times, it would be appalling to say it.

Lord Li's personal soldiers came up closely, and twenty archers borrowed from Xuyi also came forward. Wang Zhizhou also had an escort such as an entourage of officials, and the two sides were tense.

The civil servants and river workers on the embankment saw that the officials and old men had infighting, and they all gathered around to watch the excitement.

The eunuch Hai Gonggong, who guarded the ancestral tomb, was calm and calm, and seeing that Li You's side was stronger, he was really worried that the young man would lose his mind under the situation of the embankment, so he arrested Wang Zhizhou in a frenzy. Then he stepped forward and persuaded: "Although Lord Li is anxious, don't go overboard..."

Li You waved his hand, "Local matters, please stay away for the time being!" ”

Immediately, a few pro-soldiers stepped forward and stopped Gonggong Hai outside the circle.

This Li You is so crazy, it's really unreasonable for a eunuch to meet a soldier... Gonggong Hai secretly regretted in his heart, and he had already known that he would bring over one hundred and eighty guards to see who dared to choke here!

The situation was deadlocked, and Li You took out another volume of things, held it high and shouted: "The imperial edict is here!" Ordered the official to be the assistant governor of the Yamen River Affairs, who dares to make a mistake! ”

This is indeed an edict... The Queen Mother, her old man, was angry and asked Li You to go to the river affairs to help endure hardships during the flood season, and the Holy Mother, who acted on behalf of the imperial power, of course, became a constitution, and the edict was served. But it was just an edict, and it did not give Li Youqin the status of a chap.

Wang Zhizhou and Gonggong Hai understand very well that this kind of edict is a fart, and it is no different from ordinary official documents.

But the surrounding people were ignorant about officialdom, and discussed: "Master Li is so powerful, it turned out that the emperor sent him to Sizhou." ”

Not to mention the people, the state officials are also a little confused, look at Lord Li's confident appearance, what is the doorway? If he really wants to obey the secret decree, won't he become a rebel?

Immediately, Li You's momentum prevailed. There was no time to waste here, so Master Li took the opportunity to order again: "Take the Sizhou Zhizhou left and right!" Whoever dares to disobey will be killed! ”

The soldiers brought by the Yangzhou Garrison Department all showed their steel knives and forced them up, and most of the state officials had sticks and iron rulers in their hands, and there were very few with blades, so they didn't dare to fight against the elite soldiers, so they retreated in fear.

"Li You, you are good at arresting officials, aren't you afraid of being convicted!" Wang Zhizhou shouted bitterly after being restrained.

Li You said fiercely: "When the ancestral tomb is in danger, the matter should be in power, and then the official will ask the court for guilt!" Don't bother with it! ”

He had already decided in his heart that the breach of the embankment was man-made. As long as the interference is eliminated and the truth is found out and the ancestral tomb is saved, and the great achievement is achieved, is the court embarrassed to pursue him for his act of obedience to power at this urgent moment? Even if it is investigated, it is not worth the credit, at most it is better than stupidly watching the embankment collapse and doing nothing.

(To be continued)