Seeing that the two of them were quarreling again, Li Zhi waved his hand lightly and said, "Okay, you don't need to discuss it anymore. You have a reason for this matter. You should not be careless about abuse of entering the water reduction gate. In this way... Xu Aiqing, you wrote a book by Yuan Gongyu, so that he would not be able to do this in the future."

Xu Jingzong did not dare to be dissatisfied and bowed to say "yes".

Li Zhi said naturally: "The huge amount of money is not greedy, which shows that the person recommended by Xu Aiqing is unimpeded in character. The achievements he has obtained in Suzhou are extremely considerable and can be used. There are no vacancy in the court at present, and when there are vacancy, they will be allocated."

A hint of joy flashed in Xu Jingzong's eyes and he hurriedly said, "Your Majesty's wise!"

Liu Rengui sighed inwardly, and was very tactful and didn't say anything more.

Although Li Zhi ordered Yuan Gongyu to prohibit him from abuse of entering the water reduction gate, he also invisibly stood up for Xu Jingzong.

Compared to Liu Rengui, Li Zhi chose to stand on Xu Jingzong's side.

It’s not that he didn’t know that Liu Rengui was far superior to Xu Jingzong in terms of his ability, but that Xu Jingzong was the sharpest knife in his hand and took a lot of blame for it.

Strictly speaking, Xu Jingzong was Li Zhi's own person. Although Liu Rengui was unparalleled in talent, he was still a little different from his own people.

Although he knew that Liu Rengui was in charge, Li Zhi still decided to stand on Xu Jingzong's side.

After all, Xu Jingzong used his killer move to deal with Changsun Wuji. He could give up in times of crisis, and it was not a pity. If he abandoned a talent like Liu Rengui, abandoning it would be a loss to the entire country.

As the emperor, Li Zhi naturally followed the original intention of interests rather than simply discussing right and wrong.

Li Zhi did not take this matter to heart, and Liu Rengui also felt that as long as Yuan Gongyu was not so utilitarian and was not abused into the sluice reduction gate, then the matter would end here.

They all ignored a little.

Natural disasters are inevitable, but some of them are inseparable from the uncontrollable squandering resources of mankind.

When Li Yuanai cleared the Grand Canal, many places did not do their best. Because their purpose of clearing the canal was to transport grain from Jiangnan and support the battle to conquer Goguryeo.

They must complete the construction within a deadline, and the construction period is very fast.

Crushing the construction period means not being fine and having some mistakes.

Li Yuanai knew this well and specifically ordered local officials to follow-up management of the entry and reduction gates and ship locks.

Li Shimin is very fond of merit by nature, and is no different from Yang Guang in this regard, but he knows to learn lessons, especially those of the previous dynasty.

He knew very well that Yang Guang was eager to achieve success, which caused many parts of the canal to be blocked and difficult to pass through.

In order to make the canal smooth, based on the arrangements of Li Yuanai, Li Shimin issued another edict to govern the canal.

However, as Li Shimin died of illness, he was the emperor and the minister.

Yuan Gongyu, the governor of Suzhou, began to be eager to achieve success when facing his classmate and friend Xu Jingzong, who was rising to the sky, and was eager to achieve something. He had a bad idea and went to the wrong way.

Suzhou is located in the lower reaches of the Bian River. With the prosperity of the Bian River's canal transportation, it gradually developed, and it strangled the throat of the Bian River and was about to rush to the north and south.

Merchant ships heading north or south must pass through Suzhou and enter the Bian River.

According to Li Yuanai's requirements, when there is insufficient rain, the number of times the gate is opened and closed should be adjusted according to the amount of water.

In the past, when merchant ships encountered a lock shut, they could only wait obediently.

But Yuan Gongyu came up with a charge for opening the gate. No matter when and where, as long as the amount is given, the gate can be opened and passed.

Originally, the amount of water saving during this rainy period is uncontrollable, and local officials need to use their own judgment to open the gate and close the gate.

This also has a systemic blind spot.

When will the gate be opened and when will the gate be closed, the first in charge will decide.

Even if the water level is insufficient, Yuan Gongyu can say enough. When it is time to drain the water, he can say that the time has not arrived.

Both sides of the world are in control of Yuan Gongyu.

Yuan Gongyu was not greedy, and regarded all the money he earned as a support from a wealthy businessman, invested in Suzhou construction, reclaimed wasteland, and encouraged production, which made Suzhou's economy flourish.

In terms of the political performance table, he received titles for many years, and local people also regarded it as his parents' officials.

No one chewed his tongue soup like this.

Until the third year of Yonghui, during the plum rain season in June, more than 20 consecutive days of rain, accompanied by the collapse of the embankment, floods swept across the Jianghuai land.

The flood is not big, it is not the kind that can be destroyed and does not cause much casualties.

But the excess rainwater cannot be excreted and began to pour into the fields and into villages and towns.

The people could only escape to the high places for refuge in panic. They stood on the high places, watching their homes, and watching their fields submerge their floods little by little...

In a land in Huainan, thousands of hectares of fertile land were affected by floods, and hundreds of thousands of people were homeless and lacked food and clothing.

The flood in Huainan spread to the capital, and the capital was terrified and rumors spread like wildfire.

After Li Zhi ascended the throne, he suffered from disasters, which became more and more serious.

Earthquakes, droughts, locust plagues, fires, landslides, and large and small come.

The area of ​​this flood in Huainan and the number of people affected is unique since the founding of the Tang Dynasty.

On this day, Li Zhi summoned the ministers to discuss how to provide disaster relief.

Huangmenlang, the third-rank subordinate of the Secretariat, wrote to Yuwen Jie, "Your Majesty, I think how to provide disaster relief is a matter of later generations. The most urgent task at the moment is not to provide disaster relief, but to appease the people's hearts."

Li Zhi's always gentle face showed a bit of solemnity, and he said, "What should he do according to Yuwen's love Qing?"

Yuwen Jie said word by word: "Your Majesty, but today there is no disaster, and people from all directions are in panic, and they are afraid that disaster will come again. Your Majesty should beg the people for the sake of the people to calm the hearts of the people!"

Li Zhi's face turned pale and said, "Does Yuwen Aiqing think this natural disaster is caused by my improperity?"

Yuwen Jie hurriedly said, "I dare not, but this method can only stabilize the people's expectations. Your Majesty is the Emperor, so he should set an example."

Li Zhi was furious and slammed the table and said, "After I ascended the throne, I worked diligently and did not dare to slack off at all. I asked myself that I am guilty of my heart. What is wrong? Yuwenjie, as the prime minister of the country, you do not think of countermeasures when facing natural disasters, but you attribute the blame to me alone. What is the reason? It is my fault. I admit that it is not my fault, and no one can force me."

He glanced at Yuwen Jie and left with a swing of his sleeves.

When he returned to the back hall, Li Zhi was still angry, but his face was no longer visible. He did not discuss with anyone, and directly wrote the imperial edict, and ordered King Li Yuanai of Wu to be fully responsible for the relief work of the flood in Huainan and give him the right to adapt to the situation.

At this critical moment, he knew very well that no one in the temple could be trusted.

Trusted, lack of prestige, and sufficient prestige, but untrustworthy.

Only Li Yuanai, Jiangnan, can take on this important task.

He believed that Changsun Wuji would agree with his decree. It would be the most appropriate to teach Li Yuanai, who is increasingly famous.

The imperial edict was drafted, and Li Zhi asked someone to pass it on to the Secretariat to stamp it.
Chapter completed!