There were clouds above our heads, and it was still gray when we looked up, but a ray of dawn had already appeared in the distant sky, showing a faint dappled color.
Birds stood on the eaves and chirped, as if showing off their clear throats; cicadas clung to the tree trunks and sang happily, satisfying their last musical hobby.
Luo Coral took a deep breath of the fresh morning air and felt the peace of this moment.
"Your Majesty, the chariot is ready. Your Majesty and Young Concubine please move."
Hearing the soft call of the eunuch beside him, Coral couldn't help but glance at the slightly dark bedroom behind him, with a trace of reluctance in his eyes. After leaving here, he would no longer be alone with her.
…
The journey back to Handan was extremely difficult. Although the rain stopped, the bumpy road washed by water drops made Zhao Yong uncomfortable.
This heavy rain is also strange. It has been raining all over the eastern part of the Taihang Mountains for more than ten days in a row, but not a drop of water has fallen in the western part!
It's like a joke God played on Zhao Guo.
Zhao Yong turned the bamboo slips back and forth in his hand, and the rope connecting the bamboo slips was almost worn out by him. He felt quite embarrassed now, and his plans were all disrupted.
He held the slip and patted his palms unconsciously.
The most severely affected by this flood were the states of Qi and Zhao.
Although the embankment of the Yellow River broke within the territory of Zhao State, the terrain in the west of Qi State was even lower. The water flowed down the river and destroyed most of the farmland in western Qi State. The most serious ones were Gaotang and Pingyuan, which are adjacent to Zhao State. Two places.
After the heavy rain stopped, the terrain in some areas of the lower reaches of the Yellow River suddenly rose by more than ten feet due to silt.
Although the flood has passed, subsequent risk prevention and disaster relief are still a major expense.
Zhao Yong has sent his internal historian Zhao Tian to the front line to supervise and allocate money and food to the disaster areas for reconstruction.
According to Zhao Tian's statistics, there are more than 3,000 people missing this time, and more than 10,000 livestock losses. And this is only included in the statistics. The actual situation may be more severe.
Farming also came to a standstill, and the newly planted millet seedlings in Jinnan and Xingxiang were all submerged.
A heavy rain brought Zhao Yong's plans completely back to before liberation, and the news from the border made him even more anxious.
…
The sand dune is more than 200 miles from Handan, and it took two days and nights to get there.
The situation in Handan seems to have been stabilized, and there are no signs of flooding on the road. The city gate is still full of cars and merchants, and it is a prosperous scene.
Zhao Yong gently opened the window curtain and couldn't help but glance at the people kneeling on both sides of the road. Behind this superficial prosperity, there were so many bones buried...
*
Returning to the Longtai harem, it was inevitable to be greeted by others, and it was rare for Luo Hualou to get along with Si and Meng.
As soon as Zhao Yong stepped into the palace, a parrot cried out obediently: "Your Majesty will live forever, Your Majesty will live forever."
Zhao Yong was stunned, turned to Chen Zhong and asked: "Where did this big bird come from?"
"The spiritual bird that Xifan paid tribute to was able to imitate human speech, and the concubines and concubines were happy to see it, so they hung it in the palace." Meng Rou took over the conversation and replied.
"I'm determined."
It's quite festive.
Zhao Yong sat on the collapse and saw that his harem was in harmony, and he couldn't help but feel a little relieved.
"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister is waiting for the summons outside the palace." The eunuch's voice came from outside the palace.
"Let Xiangbang answer the call in the front hall first, and I will go later." Zhao Yong replied.
"Here."
When Luo Coral heard Zhao Yong's reply, he turned around and said, "In these troubled years, the king must give top priority to state affairs."
Si and Meng both agreed.
Zhao Yong nodded slightly. They are really a group of sensible women who do not fight for favor and are sensible.
…
Zhao Yong quickly walked into the court hall.
At this time, an eunuch knelt at the door and said, "Your Majesty, the prime minister has been summoned to see you."
"Call." Zhao Yong turned around and sat on the king's couch.
Zhao Bao, Wu Guang and several elders of the Zhao family entered the hall one after another.
After all the ministers entered the palace and bowed, they all turned their gazes to their superiors. Zhao Yong's cold weather had made them worried for many days. Now that they saw that their king was safe and sound, they felt relieved.
"I have been working hard for you all these days while hunting in the north."
Everyone said they didn't dare, "Now that the people live in peace, it all depends on the king's decision. The danger of floods has not affected Handan, so I don't dare to take credit."
"How is the material dispatch going?" Zhao Yong asked.
"The national treasury is full, and supplies have been transferred from the internal history to the disaster area. I think it won't take long for our Zhao country to be able to put an end to the disaster.
Zhao Yong nodded happily, which was a good thing to hear. "My body is no longer in harm's way, and the affairs of the country can be discussed."
Zhao Bao continued to bow and said: "Your Majesty, the State of Song has invaded the State of Qi from the east. Now Qi and Song are already fighting in Pi City (Xiapi). The envoy of the Song Dynasty hopes that we, the State of Zhao, can send troops to jointly attack the State of Qi."
"The State of Qin has also mobilized large-scale troops in the Lantian Camp, and there are vague signs of marching eastward. The King of Wei has asked South Korea and our State of Zhao for troops. Now the Wei envoy is waiting to be summoned at the post house."
Wu Guang reported: "The King of Qin knows that Zhao is seriously affected by the disaster, and is willing to assist Zhao with 50,000 stones of grain. He hopes that Zhao will not interfere in the war between Qin and Wei."
Fifty thousand stones (about three thousand tons today), Zhao Yong was secretly surprised, Ying Si was really generous.
Zhao Yong nodded. Song Guo's attack on Qi was within his expectation.
The monarchs and ministers of the Song Dynasty changed, and Song Tichengjun fled to the Qi Kingdom. The struggle for power became more severe, and even the national policy changed. Zhao Yong knew this very well, and thought that when he took the throne, he used common conflicts to form an alliance with the Song Dynasty.
The purpose of Qin's eastward departure from Hangu was also quite obvious, taking the opportunity to disintegrate the alliance of the five kingdoms. Han, Zhao, and Wei each suffered from floods, among which Zhao was the most serious.
"What do you think?" Zhao Yong asked.
Zhao Yong couldn't make up his mind for a while.
Zhao Cheng bowed and said: "In my opinion, the Song State's use of the weak to bully the strong cannot last long. Qin sent troops in an attempt to divide the five-nation alliance, so we should take this as a precaution."
In the long run, Zhao Cheng's words still make sense. Everyone knows the allusion of lips dying and teeth cold.
But for today, it seems unwise to unite with Wei to fight against Qin. The Qin State was already strong in military strength, but now it has eliminated the military troubles in the west. It is threatened by the five countries, and the soldiers and civilians across the country share the same hatred.
On the other hand, Zhao State has just suffered a new disaster, and Zhongshan is eyeing it in the hinterland. I am afraid that at this time, the Zhao State's military and civilians are not strong enough to unite with Wei and resist Qin.
If the Qin State invaded the Zhao State, the nature would naturally be different. This is the case for ordinary people. When they do not feel the exact life and death crisis, it is normal to accept the situation.
The current situation, geographical location, and people of Zhao State are not superior.
"Now that our Zhao country is suffering from a new disaster, it may be difficult to resist the strong Qin. The King of Qin shows his favor to Zhao, why would our Zhao country not do so?" Zhao Bao said.
Two important ministers who usually work together have obvious differences this time.
Zhao Yong was in trouble for a while.
Wu Guang bowed his head and said, "I believe that all the advice given by Sikou and Xiangbang is good. However, I feel that it is not wise to unite with Wei to fight against Qin today. Qin is prosperous and Zhao is tired. Our soldiers in Zhao are weak in resisting Qin and will easily be defeated if we send troops." Kuang Qin Wang shows his kindness, our Zhao country is now short of food."
"You don't know the allusion of lips dying and teeth cold?" Zhao Cheng retorted.
