The stars shift, the sun and the moon alternate.

More than half of Lin'an's summer has passed in heavy rain.

Meng Hao's situation in Yamen is becoming increasingly difficult. The county Cheng Du Liang wants to cover the sky with one hand and control all affairs, but he only owes a chance.

Meng Hao didn't care so much about this, after all, he was ready to resign and hang his seal, no matter what happened in the yamen, what did it have to do with him.

Meng Hao planned to submit his resignation to the Hangzhou Government after the autumn, so that his career in the sea was over.

It's a pity that people are not as good as heaven. You never know which will come first, tomorrow or the unexpected.

In the first year of Taiping, the third day of June. The afternoon sun scorched the earth, the trees, flowers and other plants were a little wilted, the streets were unusually cold, no people could be seen, the banners at the doors of the shops hung quietly, and the whole Lin'an City was silent.

In the hot air, there was a sudden high-pitched croaking of frogs, which was very strange.

After a while, a dark cloud suddenly floated into the sky, which was still clear, and then the clouds became wider and thicker, and gradually solidified, and the sky and the earth were dark, and the dark and heavy sky seemed to collapse.

The wind howled, the lightning thundered. The bean-sized raindrops kept falling like beads with broken threads.

The wind chases the rain, the rain chases the wind, and the wind and the rain unite to chase the clouds in the sky, and the whole heaven and earth are in the rain. Rainwater from the eaves of the houses collects into small streams in the streets.

The rain kept falling, and it was getting heavier and heavier.

The water in the courtyard was getting deeper and deeper, and the water on the street slowly began to run away, and gradually, the whole of Lin'an was soaked in rainwater.

The water is getting deeper and deeper, and the flat ground has accumulated more than three feet of water, and the walls of many houses have begun to seep water, fall off the wall skin, and slowly tilt. The entire city was in a panic.

The shouts, the cries, the prayers, the cursing were incessant.

The air is getting more and more humid, and people who have not prepared firewood in advance have begun to split the tables and cabinets at home to make fires for cooking.

Gradually, the flood water from the upper reaches began to spread to Lin'an, crashing into the low city walls one after another.

At this time, Lin'an was like a vast ocean.

It rained heavily for five days and five nights, and the whole of Lin'an was flooded and soaked, many houses had collapsed, and the surviving people were climbing on the walls and roofs. Fortunately, the flood outside the city was all blocked by the city wall, and did not directly impact the city, otherwise, the entire Lin'an would have suffered countless casualties.

It's just that the people in the countryside outside the city have suffered a great disaster. Countless houses were destroyed by the flood, and the people in the houses were not spared, or they were killed on the spot by the collapsed beams and walls, or swept away by the torrent. Only a lucky few were able to escape.

As far as the eye could see, there were all kinds of wood, chests, bed boards, cupboards, dead people, and the carcasses of domestic animals.

According to later statistics, tens of thousands of houses collapsed, more than 100,000 people died, tens of thousands went missing, and some towns and villages were plunged into a sea of water. The flood did not recede for many days, and many people were starved on high rooftops, tree tops, and isolated islands, and many others were sick, vomiting and diarrhea, and suffering from dysentery and typhoid.

The Meng family was trapped on the rooftop, waiting for the water to recede. They were hungry and tired, frightened and afraid.

When the rain stopped, the flood waters slowly receded.

The crowd began to walk down the house, and in desperation they cleaned up their post-disaster scene. Looking at the devastated streets, everyone wept and sighed.

When the news of the flood in Hangzhou reached the capital Luoyang, the capital was still a scene of singing and dancing, a prosperous and peaceful scene.

In the imperial city, the majestic Xuanzheng Hall sits on a white marble pedestal about five meters high. I saw that the carved railings that stand in rows around the pedestal are called the pillars, the column head is carved with the pattern of cloud dragon and cloud phoenix, there are three stone steps before and after, the middle stone steps are carved with the dragon, and the "royal road" that sets off the waves and flowing clouds is set off. There are pinky gold lacquered wooden pillars and delicate dragon caisson in the hall, hang a large plaque with the words "Jishi Anmin" on it, and there is a majestic middle-aged man sitting on the golden lacquer carved dragon throne in the middle of the hall, which is Liang Heng, the emperor of Liang State today. On either side of the emperor stood the palace ladies and internal officials.

Under the jade steps, the ministers of civil and military affairs stood in shifts.

An internal official stepped forward, "If there is something to do, there is nothing to retreat." ”

At this time, an official came out of the ranks, "Your Majesty, Hangzhou Mansion has suffered a flood that is rare in a century, and the people's houses have collapsed and been displaced, and I ask Your Majesty to issue an order for disaster relief." ”

As soon as the words fell, the whole dynasty shook, everyone talked about it, and there was a lot of noise in the Xuanzheng Palace.

"Ahem...", the emperor who sat on the dragon chair frowned. The ministers instantly stopped and fell silent.

At this time, I saw a thin middle-aged man in a scarlet official robe walking out of the standing column and said loudly: "Your Majesty, Jiangnan suffered from the earth dragon last year, and now it has been hit by floods, and the minister believes that Your Majesty should immediately send officials to relieve the disaster." And we should issue an 'edict for sin', so that if we are guilty of sin, we can win the forgiveness of heaven and the people of Jiangnan, so that the people of Jiangnan can overcome the difficulties as soon as possible, resume production, and live and work in peace and contentment. ”

"Oh?" the emperor on the dragon chair raised his voice slightly, "Du Aiqing, do you all mean this from the Imperial History Tower? Do you all think that there is a problem with my virtue?

The official named by the emperor was dressed in a purple official robe, his white and pure fat face was full of panic, and he hurriedly came out of the queue and retorted: "Your Majesty is angry, Xiao Yushi's performance does not represent all the opinions of Yushitai, Weichen is afraid, please see it clearly." ”

The emperor nodded imperceptibly, and then asked, "Xiao Yushi, do you think I am wrong?"

The imperial history surnamed Xiao was neither humble nor arrogant, "The minister doesn't dare." It is not that the minister thinks that His Majesty is at fault, but wants His Majesty to comfort the people of Jiangnan, take the opportunity to gain the trust of the people, win the hearts of the people, and alleviate regional contradictions. ”

The emperor smiled coldly, "Xiao Yushi has a heart, but I don't think so." ”

The ministers looked at the already angry emperor, uneasy.

The official surnamed Du, who had not been named, turned around and showed a look at a certain place, and then an official came out, "Your Majesty, Weichen wants to impeach Yu Shi Xiao He." During his tenure, Xiao He was deceitful, lawless, corrupt and bribed, jealous and jealous, and the private property of the family far exceeded the family property and the income of Yulu, so I implore His Majesty to issue an order to transfer Xiao He to Dali Temple for investigation. ”

Several more officials came out, "The ministers are reconsidering." ”

"Exactly. The man on the dragon chair said coldly.

This Xiao He Yushi did not defend himself, but just hung his head and was speechless.

Several wolf-like warriors quickly rushed in outside the hall, pushing and pressing Yu Shi Xiao He Lian.

There was silence.

"I want to sacrifice to the heavens and pray for blessings, pray for God to bless the people of my Liang country for peace and happiness, and bless my Liang country to enjoy peace forever, what do the Qing family think?" the emperor asked.

All the ministers applauded, boasting that the emperor was virtuous and loved the people, and he was a virtuous and virtuous monarch that was rare since ancient times.

In the days that followed, Dali Temple quickly convicted Xiao He. The crime reads: Xiao He, the former imperial historian, roared at the court meeting, disrespected the emperor, which is the first crime; ignored the laws of the country, trampled on the law, and the second crime was the second crime; indulged his family to accept bribes and accumulate property, which was the third crime; and was jealous of the virtuous and slandered his colleagues, which was the fourth crime. This person disregarded the grace of the country and did not repent, so he was convicted and sentenced to beheading, and he was to be executed and beheaded after the autumn.

It's just that what makes people laugh is that when Dali Temple raided Xiao He's mansion, it only found more than ten taels of silver.

On June 13, the emperor issued an edict, saying: June 25 is an auspicious day, and the sky is sacrificed on the mound.

The decree was issued to the ministries, and the Ministry of Works began to repair the various buildings and facilities in the mound. Repair the streets from the Imperial City to the Emperor Yuanqiu to give them a new look. Five days before the festival, the Ministry of Rites is sent to inspect the livestock that have been prepared for slaughter during the festival. Three days before the sacrifice, the emperor began to fast. Two days before the festival, write the blessing on the blessing plate. The day before the sacrifice to the heavens, the livestock is slaughtered, the sacrifices are made, and the sacrificial vessels of the Shenku are arranged; the emperor reads the blessing version, goes to the imperial dome to offer incense, goes to the altar of the mound to see the gods, goes to the Shenku to see the beans, the gods cook to see the animals, and then returns to the palace to fast. On the eve of the festival day, Taichang Siqing led his subordinates to arrange the tablets, offerings, and offerings of the gods, and the band was ready for the orchestra to be furnished, and finally the attendants of the Ministry of Rites conducted a comprehensive inspection.

On June 25, the emperor and his courtiers sacrificed to the heavens, the gods, and prayed for blessings on the mound.

The first part of the ceremony is to welcome the gods, and fireworks are raised in the burnt wood stove, expressing the meaning of worshiping heaven in the world. The emperor bowed down in front of the main seat of the Haotian God tablet, and then went to the ancestors to offer incense and bow before the throne. After returning to the throne, bow three times and bow nine times to the gods. After welcoming the gods, it is to lay jade silk, that is, to offer jade and silk to the gods and ancestors. During the salute, Tai Changqing guided the emperor to wash and go to the shrine to make three incense offerings, and the deacon presented the jade silk to the emperor. The emperor went to the tablet of God and ancestors to pay tribute, bowed and bowed and returned to the throne. The third step is to enter the altar, after the inner praise is played and ascended to the altar, the emperor is accompanied by the guide to the main position, and the emperor is reinstated. Next, the first gift. The emperor first to the lord to wash the throne to receive the knight, the clean, the lord, into the knight, and then ascend to the altar to the wine respect, the consul to the lord into the emperor, the emperor to the throne before kneeling to offer the knight, three incense ceremony, at the same time the division of the kneeling to read the blessing, the music is suspended, read the music up.

After the first offering, the second offering and the final offering are performed, except that the blessing is not read, and the procedure is basically the same as that of the first offering. After the final offering, the drink blessing is bowed, the officials of Guanglu Temple play the blessing wine, the emperor bows and returns to the throne. Sacrifice to the sky is the head of the great sacrifice, and according to the ancestral system, it is generally the emperor's personal sacrifice. After drinking and receiving blessings, he wrote and sent it to God. Reading the blessing of the official, into the silk official to hold the silk, the priest to hold the writing, are sent to the furnace to burn, the emperor to the burning position to watch the burning of the sacrifice, the praise is finished, the ceremony of sacrificing to the sky is officially over.

At the beginning of July, the news of the emperor's sacrifice to heaven spread to various places, and everyone talked about it endlessly, and the people of Hangzhou were particularly angry. It is rumored among the people that the emperor did not care about the lives of the people in the south of the Yangtze River, and after learning about the disaster, he did not rescue the people as soon as possible, but went to worship the heavens and pray for blessings.

The people of Hangzhou are full of grievances and excitement.