Survival countdown

Chapter 23

Birds are singing, and the sun shines through the window into the bed curtains, and the light is speckled.

Zhao Baiyu's eyelids trembled, his facial features were wrinkled, and he buried his face in the quilt with discomfort. After a while, his consciousness came back, and the image of Da Hongxi being soaked with sweat and the bed curtain like a surge flashed in his mind.

The heaven and the earth are upside down, the breath lingering in the ears is like water mist, damp and hazy with strong sandalwood and medicinal fragrance, there are candles flickering in the dark, and in the flickering, you can see the glass-colored Bodhisattva eyes rolling with boundless desire, like compassion The ruthless Bodhisattva fell from the 33rd heaven to the boundless sea of ​​mortals.

With a creak, the door was pushed open, Huo Jingtang threw the Wujin whip to the table, took off his belt and robe with his left hand, and walked towards the back room, opened the bed curtain and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to test the temperature of Zhao Baiyu's forehead , the big hand almost covered half of Zhao Baiyu's face, revealing his slightly parted lips and neat white teeth.

Further down is the neck and collarbone. The body under the quilt is only wearing a middle coat, the skirt is open, and there are bright red marks on the collarbone, spreading all the way down. You don't need to lift the quilt to know that there are more dense traces inside.

"Not sick."

Zhao Baiyu lowered his eyes, his expression was a little listless, and he said in his nasal cavity: "Mmm." Lying on the pillow, his eyelids could not fall off, and his black hair was scattered on his shoulders and back. The bite marks and hickey marks were all made by Huo Jingtang.

"Why did you run away?" Seeing Wu Jinbian and Huo Jingtang on the table dressed in neat and sharp clothes, there was a thin layer of sweat on their foreheads and arms, and the scent of sandalwood and medicine on their bodies changed due to sweating. Nong, Zhao Baiyu felt incredible, and said in a hoarse voice: "Go to practice martial arts early in the morning-how do you still have energy?"

He felt that he no longer belonged to him from the neck down, how could a person who really contributed was still in good spirits?

Huo Jingtang looked at Zhao Baiyu with a smile, and massaged his lower back: "Your body is too weak, and when you make a big move, your legs and waist cramps—I have never seen anyone with waist cramps in my life. It was an eye opener for me.”

Zhao Baiyu squinted his eyes comfortably, and retorted unhappily: "Most normal people can't do difficult movements, and it's not like everyone practices martial arts. Besides, I'm an office sickness. Can I get office approval all day long?"

I don’t know the new term “office disease” but can guess the meaning based on the meaning, Huo Jingtang is noncommittal: “Learn Wuqinxi from me in the future, keep exercising, otherwise you will have a lot of problems in your body within a few years. If you still want to continue to be an official , the body has to be trained."

"This has something to do with being an official?"

"If you are released to be an official, at least you will have to travel for three or four days. Are you in a bad health?" Huo Jingtang patted Zhao Baiyu's buttocks: "Get up and eat."

Zhao Baiyu scratched his hair and found that all the clothes had been taken away. He turned his head and was about to inquire when Huo Jingtang applauded three times. Then a row of maids and two eunuchs came in with water basins, towels and a change of clothes. One of the faces was quite familiar, and I vaguely remembered that it was the maid who came in to make the bed and change the hot water last night.

Officials and officials are served by food, clothing, housing, and transportation. Even Zhao Boyong and Xie, who are never used to their children, will assign a few personal servants to each Langjun's courtyard. Even Zhao Baiyu has a beautiful mother. ma.

But most of the time, Zhao Baiyu is used to doing it by himself.

Huo Jingtang changed into his robe, and when he reached out for a belt, a beautiful maid stepped forward and boldly said: "Your Highness, I will fasten it for you."

Zhao Baiyu paused while washing his face, then looked back, and saw the maid looking at Huo Jingtang shyly and boldly, and the servant next to her lowered her head and concentrated on her work, turning a blind eye to this scene.

Huo Jingtang only glanced at the maid and then looked away. He didn't say a word the whole time, and fastened it neatly with his belt. It was obvious that he was used to not needing others to wait for him to dress.

He has been marching and fighting for many years, and he started as a small soldier. Who would let him bring maids and eunuchs into the barracks to serve his daily life?

The maid's expression was about to cry instantly, her eyes were red, and she wrung her handkerchief and retreated to her position in aggrieved unease.

Huo Jingtang moved very quickly, Zhao Baiyu didn't hesitate, dressed in simple and crisp clothes, and went to the front hall for dinner together after washing up.Two or three of the domestic servants left, and the rest stayed to clean the house and the courtyard, and no one paid attention to the charming maid during the whole process.

The maid stomped her feet and twisted her handkerchief indignantly: "What are you proud of? A big man is not ashamed to live under others!" Sooner or later, the county king will have someone to carry on the family line. Right now, it is just a new game. Sooner or later, she will find that it is better for a woman. It's my aunt and side concubine, how dare these blind servants look down on them!

Speaking of which, before she was given to the county prince's mansion, she heard that the county prince of Lin'an was nicknamed 'Shura' and she was extremely ugly.

She blushed and walked out of the house, not doing the sweeping work, and was about to walk around the mansion, but when she arrived at the courtyard, she was stopped by the mammy of the county mansion.

"You have a bit of beauty, no wonder you dare to do the job of flattering the Lord." The nanny is in her forties, her temples are silvery white, her eyes are capable and vicious, she pinches the maid's chin and looks left and right, her tone is calm: " Locked up for five or six days, just feed some rice soup and hang your life, and send off Zhuang Farm if there is no problem with your identity."

The maid panicked when she heard that her scalp was numb: "What do you want? You can't treat me like this. I came from the palace, and I was rewarded by His Majesty—"

"Did it come from His Majesty or was it given by some lady in the palace?" The nanny interrupted the maid coldly, and wiped her hands while saying, "You'd better pray that your identity is clean enough, otherwise you won't be going to farm, but go to Cry on the road to Huangquan."

The maid's legs were weak and she kept struggling, yelling nonsense that she was a maid from the imperial court, that she was here to be the side concubine of the county king, and she was gagged and dragged away forcibly.

The main courtyard returned to silence, and the servants were silent. The nun looked around and left without saying anything.

Killing chickens to scare monkeys is the highest state where silence is better than sound, so there is no need to say more.

***

Zhao Baiyu thought to himself while drinking the porridge, it seems that the county palace is not very quiet, and he thought that Huo Jingtang has no real power and should be invisible so as not to be hated by others.

Huo Jingtang: "Come back in three days, will you come back?"

Zhao Baiyu: "No reply."

Huo Jingtang scooped a spoonful of tofu nao into his bowl, "I brought everything here, didn't I miss anything?"

Zhao Baiyu: "I counted it early in the morning, Yan Bing made up my mind not to leave a single brick or tile to the Zhao Mansion. By the way, I have to bring Yan Bing to live in the County King's Mansion, okay?"

"Just go to Uncle Hai and tell him. He is the housekeeper of the mansion. I remember there are two people beside you, why don't you bring them here together?"

"Uncle Wei doesn't like crowded places, and has been living alone outside. Madam Xiu manages the restaurant and teahouse business outside, and helps Li Yiru and the others to start again." Zhao Baiyu asked curiously: "What are you going to do next? Do I need to go to you?" Visiting my natal family? What else do I have to do as a county concubine, such as entertainment and housekeeper?"

Huo Jingtang's movements were elegant, and his eating speed was not slow at all. Zhao Baiyu had only refilled his second bowl, and he had already finished three or four meat buns and two large bowls of noodle soup. At this time, he took Zhao Baiyu's old towel to wipe mouth, leaning on the seat, put his hands in his sleeves, half-closed his eyelids and said: "Idle, play, bask in the sun, have nothing to do and sleep in the cage. I don't have any duties, and you have nothing to do right now." During the wedding vacation, relax properly, relax and enjoy, no one can tell you anything. The county palace never makes friends with others, and there is no need to participate in any entertainment. If you like, you can ask Uncle Hai for invitations. You have to pack a bunch of invitations every month , I have to find an excuse to refuse, Uncle Hai just wants someone to share the burden for him."

Zhao Baiyu quickly shook his head: "I don't like socializing!"

Huo Jingtang: "In the house, there is Uncle Hai, and there are a few nuns in the backyard to take care of them. You can trust them all. As the old saying goes, if you don't find it troublesome, just tell them."

Zhao Baiyu breathed a sigh of relief, and said firmly, "I get headaches when I'm in charge, so let's leave it to professionals!"

He has a job, so he is already busy, if he still participates in social affairs in the back house and managing affairs in the house, how can he have time to work?In the end, he must have been forced to resign from his post, overwhelmed by the trivial affairs of the back house.

"Have you been to Beijing Suburb Gardens?"

"Which one?" There are many gardens in the outskirts of Beijing, either owned by princes or princesses in the capital, or under the names of princes and ministers, and idlers cannot enter. "I haven't been to any of them."

"Longquan Villa behind the hill of Baohua Temple, I won a reward from defeating the Turks when I was 15 years old. It is the only villa with hot springs in the gardens in the suburbs of Beijing. I have nothing to do, go there for a few days."

Zhao Baiyu: "Okay."

After dinner, he asked someone to simply prepare the carriage and left the mansion. Someone outside the mansion stopped Zhao Baiyu, and he saw that it was Chen Fangrong.

Chen Fangrong came forward and said: "After the case of the imperial court and the legal arguments before the imperial court, Your Majesty thinks that my father is a clean and capable official, upright, not pedantic, and doesn't care about official career. The construction was handed over to my father, and I followed the chickens and dogs to ascend to heaven. The assessment that originally required two or three years passed in less than a few months, and I was given a job as a county magistrate in Sishui County, Shandong Province. The appointment letter came out in two days. .”

After a pause, he took out a spiritual lottery from his sleeve and presented it to Zhao Baiyu, and said with anticipation in his eyes: "I have been asking for a lottery from Baohua Temple for half a month, and it is said to be the most spiritual lottery. People are safe."

The spiritual lottery is gorgeously framed and decorated with strings of pearls. Only [-] copies are distributed in half a year. It is said to be the most effective signpost consecrated by the Buddha. Most of them are for marriage, and a few are for safety and career. Zhao Baiyu can tell at a glance. The hunger marketing made by the monks in Baohua Temple.

Zhao Baiyu took the spiritual lottery, with humble and open eyes: "The road ahead is long, and each has its own end. I hope you will cherish it."

Chen Fangrong looked at him fixedly, took two steps back for a while, put his hands and fingers together, raised his head high, bowed deeply, without any parting words, then got up and raised his head, looked at each other with a smile, and was suddenly enlightened.

Zhao Baiyu stepped into the carriage, Huo Jingtang reached out to him, hugged him into his arms, buried his face in Zhao Baiyu's shoulder and pretended to sleep, and lazily said: "Xiao Lang, sleep with me for a while."

Zhao Baiyu yawned, infected with drowsiness, and then fell asleep.

***

After several days of soaking in the hot springs in the suburbs of Beijing, Zhao Baiyu felt that his bones were about to soften, not to mention the fact that the water in the hot springs is the best for sex, and Huo Jingtang couldn't get enough of it.

Several times, Zhao Baiyu was carried out of the hot spring pool by Huo Jingtang when he was half asleep and half awake. Poor Yanbing was forced to understand the bed affairs between adult men because of this, so that he had a little psychological shadow on getting married.

sin.

Zhao Baiyu was deeply sorry, so he asked Yan Bing to pick lotus seeds in the lotus pond to play instead of following him. After all, it would be quite embarrassing for the young man who was brought up by one hand and regarded as his own brother to see him with no prestige.

As soon as he sat down, Huo Jingtang, who was leaning on the couch, leaned over and lay on him as if he had no bones. A light kiss fell on Bai Nen's neck: "In the morning, I picked lotus roots, made lotus seed soup, killed a sheep, sliced ​​some fish and beef, and marinated them for two hours. It happened to be an antique soup at noon."

The so-called antique soup is hot pot, a very popular delicacy in the big scene. In the cold winter, almost every household has a small copper stove on the table, but it is summer now.

Zhao Baiyu looked up, the couch was next to the window, the window was slightly open, and he could see the green and majestic mountains outside.

The villa is built on a high place in the outskirts, surrounded by mountains and mountains. The tower building is the tallest building in the villa. It has seven floors and is nearly 30 meters high. It can be seen from the poems and articles written by the literati in the mansion that it is one of the scenic spots in the suburbs of Beijing.

At this time, it was drizzling outside, and the room was cool and quiet. Hearing the wind and rain in the mountains, and the occasional chirping of birds, the leisurely and slow day passed by like this. Zhao Baiyu felt that even his soul became calm and quiet.

"How long has it been raining?"

"It's been four or five hours."

"Isn't it a bit unusual? Generally speaking, Jixia is characterized by showers and short torrential rains, which come in bursts, and there are very few non-stop drizzles."

In fact, the rain is not too small, it should be light to moderate rain.

"What are you afraid of?"

"This year's flood."

Fu flood in July and August, together with the autumn flood in September and October, the annual autumn flood is the most troublesome problem for Emperor Yuanshou and the Beijing officials, because they are afraid that the Yellow River will burst and flood.

"The Water Conservancy of the Ministry of Industry, the local government of the Metropolitan Water Supervision, and the garrisoned river workers survey and record the water level of the Yellow River more than ten times a year. The responses are basically the same. There is no possibility of the Yellow River breaking this year."

"That's good."

Zhao Baiyu's mind settled down a bit, a certain thought flashed through his mind, and he tried to think about it, but he couldn't think of a reason, so he left it behind.

Soon someone brought up the small copper stove, and placed the current fruits and vegetables, fresh mutton, pork, marinated beef slices, and condiments such as pepper on the table.

The mutton is well processed without any fishy smell. It is so tender that the tongue is almost swallowed when it is mixed with slightly spicy seasoning and hot air.

But after a while, Zhao Baiyu was sweating from eating, and when he took off his outer shirt, a servant came to report that the villa had taken in a group of people from the mansion who were sheltering from the rain an hour ago. Proposed to see the host to thank in person.

Zhao Baiyu looked at Huo Jingtang, but Huo Jingtang refused without raising his eyelids.

Not long after, the servant brought a pearl the size of a longan and said that it was a gift from a son in the crowd hiding from the rain.

Zhao Baiyu was quite surprised when he saw this. Such a pearl is worth at least one or two thousand taels, just to hide from the rain.

Huo Jingtang didn't change his face: "Throw it back. Is there no umbrella in the house?"

The servant didn't understand: "Yes."

Huo Jingtang: "Give them a few umbrellas and let them go back. If the road is slippery and you can't see the road clearly in rainy days, you can go to the Baohua Temple on the top of the mountain to take shelter from the rain."

The servant stepped back quickly: "Yes."

Zhao Baiyu bit his chopsticks: "Is it for you? Your reputation in the Kyoto Prefecture is not hated by people, why are there still people rushing to curry favor with you?"

"I don't know who spread the rumor that although I handed over the military power, I still have a brave and skilled ghost soldier hidden in my hand. Over the years, people have come to test it one after another. A few years ago, they took the opportunity to stuff more than a dozen soldiers into my mansion. Twenty men and women."

Zhao Baiyu was really surprised, "Is it the time when more than [-] corpses were carried out of your house two years ago?"

"you know?"

"I took care of it."

"Xiao Lang and I are destined."

"..."

Huo Jingtang glanced at his gloomy expression, curled the corners of his lips and said, "But no one knows that I am the owner of the villa. Back then, when I was in the limelight, His Majesty was afraid that the tree would be more beautiful than the forest, so he didn't dare to reward him publicly."

"Who is that?"

"Wait for idlers, don't need to be in your arms."

***

The small gate of the villa.

A young man in the uniform of the Imperial College held a returned pearl and an umbrella and was indignant: "What are you doing so high? Do you know who we are? Who in the whole of Kyoto will squeeze their heads to join us! Shiro, we don't want to keep this shitty place." , go to Baohua Temple to shelter from the rain."

In the center of the crowd was Zhao Yuzheng, who was wearing apricot-yellow gauze, took the paper umbrella, pursed his lips and said, "Let's go."

After walking a long distance, Zhao Yuzheng looked back at the Shanhe Tower in the misty wind and rain, his expression was unclear, his eyes flickering. No one knew that when he was eleven or twelve years old, he had strayed into a certain mountain, and saw a person climbing up the opposite Shanhe Tower from a distance. Independence from the world, unique charm.

Afterwards, he came to Longquan Mountain Villa once a year, and every time he couldn't meet the owner of the villa, and finally met someone today, but was rejected when he wanted to see him, Zhao Yuzheng was a little bit unwilling.

***

In July of the same year.

The north, which had been dry for more than half a year, was suddenly overcast with clouds, lightning and thunder, and all the dragons hidden in the mountains, rivers and lakes seemed to get into the thunderclouds in one day. There was light rain at first, and then it turned into a torrential rain for three days in a row. It's like a battle to poke a hole in the sky, which is very worrying.

Chen Fangrong, who had been in office for less than a month, was wearing a coir raincoat and stood on a higher river course under the pouring rain, overlooking the rolling Sishui River below. The downward trend, I am worried that the river will be washed away and the Sishui County will be submerged!"

The river worker also replied loudly: "My lord, the mission has sent people to go down the river to fill sandbags and gravel. But Surabaya is not the only way for the Yellow River to enter the sea. Logically speaking, no matter how heavy the rain, we will not be able to flood here. "

Chen Fangrong: "It's better to take precautions before they happen-prepare to move the people to a higher place, and I will go to the capital water prison!"

***

The mouth of the Yellow River in Yangwu County.

Rumble!Thunder resounded through the sky!Click!The silver snake shuttled through the thunderclouds, the bean-sized raindrops slammed down, and the river rumbled continuously against the river.Boom!Booming——Suddenly, there was an explosion that overwhelmed the roaring thunder, and the muddy flood ruthlessly devoured the houses and crops like a beast, and the earth became a flooded country in an instant.

In the upper reaches of the river, the River Workers of the Dushui Supervisor and Repair Department were full of panic, and their terrified shouts cut through the rainy night: "The Yellow River has burst—the Yellow River has burst—!!"

***

Sishui County, Shandong, late at night.

The light was still on in the study room of the county yamen. Chen Fangrong's eyes were black and blue, and he fought for many days at night with the lamp on. He found that the Sishui River channel was indeed relatively strong as the river worker said, and then he slightly relieved the nerves that had been tense for many days.

Just when he was about to fall asleep, he suddenly had severe palpitations. Chen Fangrong stood up suddenly, restless, and paced back and forth. Just at that moment, a river supervisor knocked on the gate of the county government in the rain, and almost fell in front of Chen Fangrong, with a mournful voice. Shout: "The river has burst! The river has burst!"

***

"Hurry up for [-] miles! Hurry up for [-] miles!" The yellow dust rolled, the horses galloped, and the palace gates opened wide. At the same time, candles were lit up one by one in the Wende Palace, as bright as day.The post soldiers got off their horses, galloped and shouted: "The Yellow River is diverted, and Si is taken into the Huai River!"

With a crisp snap, Emperor Yuan Shou was so startled that he swept the porcelain cup off the table. The eunuch hurried forward to clean it up, while the post soldiers rushed in soaked through, threw themselves on the ground and shouted: "Report to Your Majesty, the Yellow River channel in Yangwu County Bursting, the flood flooded into the Huai River, submerged Surabaya, the houses in the city collapsed, the livestock floated in the sewage, and the seedlings and rice fields disappeared! The Yellow River flows into the Huai River through Sishui, and Xuzhou bears the brunt. There are countless casualties and victims everywhere. The disaster is serious, and relief is needed as soon as possible, and flood control is urgent!"

After finishing speaking, the post soldier fainted from exhaustion and was carried down to rest.

Emperor Yuan Shou's face was heavy: "Call third-rank officials, no, fourth-rank and above Beijing officials to enter the palace overnight to discuss matters!"

At midnight, the Da Nei Assembly Hall was brightly lit, as bright as day.Emperor Yuanshou sat at the top, and all the officials sat at the bottom, each holding a cup of strong tea, all talking and discussing solemnly.

"Fan Wenming, let me ask you, the river in Yangwu County has not had an accident for a hundred years, why did it suddenly burst under your management?"

Fan Wenming, minister of the Ministry of Industry, came out to report: "In the past hundred years, the trend of the Yellow River moving southward has become more and more obvious. The river is silted up, and only a slight breach will cause the Yellow River to divert! There are many precedents for the Yellow River diversion since ancient times. Man-made disasters and sudden diversions lead to the floods of the Yellow River in areas that had not experienced floods before. There are far fewer places in Yinliang than places where floods are frequent. Right now, there are natural disasters, and no one can predict the occurrence of disasters. I beg your Majesty, wait until the floods and floods are resolved before finding responsibility for the unfavorable affairs. The most important thing at the moment is to prevent disasters. Breach, resettlement of victims and other matters."

Zhao Boyong, the prime minister, came out and said, "Your Majesty, what Fan Shilang said is true. At present, we should minimize casualties and losses, and focus on preventing further breaches and helping the victims. After the flood, there will be a plague. Besides, this time we have seized Si into the Huaihe River." Not far from Kyoto Prefecture, a large number of disaster victims are likely to flock to Kyoto Prefecture, and migrate to the two Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, which may lead to riots, and the Turks in the east may take advantage of this natural disaster to go south, threatening border security. The most important thing right now is to quell the disaster and stabilize the hearts of the people!"

Emperor Yuanshou: "According to your family, what should I do now?"

Zhao Boyong: "My minister thinks that the transfer envoys, appeasement divisions and prefects of all provinces should give priority to river control and resettlement of victims, and they can dispatch military affairs to block or dredge river mouths that have not yet broken their embankments, and cooperate with capital water supervision to control water. The imperial court Allocate grain, allocate money and allocate medicinal materials, prohibit grain merchants from sitting on the ground to raise prices, and order Hanlin medical officials and imperial medical bureaus to send people to accompany them to the worst-affected places to prevent the plague from happening."

Emperor Yuanshou: "Yes."

The prince came out: "I suggest that the most severely affected areas should first raise money from the local gentry, or the gentry of neighboring provinces and states, for emergency relief, and then the court will reward them afterwards."

Emperor Yuanshou: "Yes."

"The minister has played..."

Hundreds of officials came out, thought extensively and gathered benefits, and quickly formulated a plan to divert the Yellow River, which affected Jingdong and Huainan provinces, the most serious flood since the founding of Dajing.

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The author has something to say:

Historically, Yangwu County was in Henan, and it was a little closer to Kaifeng in the Northern Song Dynasty, but it is set a little far away in the text.