The door creaked open and Gu Qi sat up from the bed.
"Your Highness? Why are you here?"
Yuan Zhe came over with a smile: "I'll feed you some medicine."
After saying that, he held the medicine bowl in one hand, scooped up the dark soup with a spoon in the other, blew twice, and brought it to Gu Qi's mouth.
Gu Qi frowned, the strong smell of medicine made her feel sick to her stomach.
The soup was so hot that even a martial arts practitioner with thick calluses on his hands couldn't bear the burning pain.
Gu Qi, however, refused to open his mouth to drink the medicine.
Yuan Zhe gritted his teeth and said, "Be obedient."
This sound made Gu Qi's hair stand up in fear!
Gu Qi quickly opened his mouth and drank the medicine, raised his hand and said: "I, I will do it myself..."
"No need."
Feeding it spoon by spoon made the bitter taste worse.
But due to Yuan Zhe's presence, he had no choice but to endure the discomfort and swallow everything, and tears began to flow.
"Give."
Yuan Zhe reached out and handed over a cube of honey.
Gu Qi hurriedly grabbed it and stuffed it into her mouth. The sugar melted very quickly and was very sweet.
"Thank you, Your Highness."
Yuan Zhe stood up and put the medicine bowl on the table, grinning with Gu Qi on his back.
"Your Highness, why did you come to Tuzhou?"
Yuan Zhe paused.
"I don't know either..."
"Ah? What did you say?"
"I said," Yuan Zhe poured a cup of tea and raised his voice slightly: "Didn't you call me here?"
Gu Qi smiled awkwardly: "I didn't mean that. I thought it would be General Rong who came."
"Oh?" He was planning to hand the tea cup to Gu Qi, but upon hearing Gu Qi's words, Yuan Zhe's face flashed with a hint of displeasure.
He put down the tea cup and turned to stare at Gu Qi: "It seems that you and Rong Di get along well."
"If Your Highness sends someone here, of course he will be someone I know well. Apart from General Rong, I can't think of anyone else."
"Have you never thought that this king would personally come to protect you?"
Gu Qi raised her head and met Yuan Zhe's gaze.
"Your Highness is joking." Gu Qi turned away and looked at the treatise on water control on the bedside.
"Your Highness, I have some questions about Tuzhou's flood control."
Yuanzhe walked closer and sat on the edge of the bed: "Ask."
Gu Qi picked up the Treatise on Flood Control and opened the title page: "Is this the handwriting of the former Qishui County Governor, Mr. Gu Yuan?"
"Pei Qihuan, you always surprise me. Yes, this treatise on water control was obtained by combing and transcribing the notes of water control by General Gu Yuan. It is divided into two volumes. The first volume was given to a friend, and the second volume was given to me."
"Friend? Your Highness, does he know who this friend is?"
Yuan Zhe shook his head: "I don't know, either."
Gu Qi was even more confused.
Yuan Zhe would not know that the first volume of the Treatise on Water Control was in his hands at this moment.
That's all, let's investigate this matter slowly.
Seeing that Gu Qi was lost in thought, Yuan Zhe couldn't help but ask, "What else do you know?"
Gu Qi came back to her senses and smiled at Yuan Zhe: "What does Your Highness want me to know, and what does he not want me to know?"
"Ha," Yuan Zhe pursed his lips: "Tell me your plan."
The two of them had a tacit understanding and moved directly to the next topic.
"Since arriving in Tuzhou, Mr. Xue and I have been surveying the landforms of Tuzhou and met with various county guards. There are many capable people among them, and the situation in Tuzhou is getting more and more serious."
"So, do you think someone is causing trouble?"
Gu Qi looked at Yuan Zhe and nodded: "Other than the governor of Tuzhou, there is no one else who has the ability to obstruct us. But now our every move is being watched by Feng Rui, so Brother Zhao decided to report it to His Majesty and His Highness. you."
Seeing that Yuan Zhe was silent, Gu Qi continued: "I read the treatise on water control left by Lord Gu today. Some of the methods in it coincide with Lord Xue's ideas. At the moment, the people of Tuzhou are starving. , the granary must be opened, but Feng Rui means to wait for His Majesty’s decree.”
"I understand."
For some reason, Yuan Zhe's eyes were slightly red.
He was also so melancholy and sad when he was discussing the matter of Princess Zheng in Zhao Yu's house.
Is it for the people of Tuzhou?
Gu Qi's nose felt sour. Thinking of the plight of Yang Yi's family and Zhou Hu's bulk grain, she couldn't help but shed two lines of tears.
She stood up, hugged Yuan Zhe, and patted Yuan Zhe's back.
The faint scent of medicine hit his nostrils, and Yuan Zhe's pupils trembled!
He raised his hand to hug Gu Qi, and a tear fell from the corner of his eye.
"sorry..."
"What?" Gu Qi let go.
Yuan Zhe turned around and wiped his tears: "Nothing. Just rest."
next morning
The county guards of Tuzhou were dressed in official uniforms and stood respectfully in front of the governor's mansion.
Seeing Yuan Zhe coming out, they all saluted: "Greetings to His Highness King Zhe."
"Get up." Yuan Zhe clasped his hands behind his back and looked at the people in front of him: "I call you here to control the water in Tuzhou. In the past two days, I and Mr. Xue will inspect all the way along the Yingjiang River. If you If you have countermeasures, you might as well talk while walking."
"that..."
Zhou Hu and Li Jinghao looked at each other and stopped talking.
"What's the matter?"
Zhou Hu mustered up his courage, stepped forward and asked, "May I ask His Highness King Zhe, why is Lord Pei not together?"
Yuan Zhe glanced at Zhou Hu: "Which county are you from?"
"Go back to your highness, I am the governor of Qishui County and the guardian of Zhou."
"Um."
Yuan Zhe became suspicious again, and then shook his head in annoyance.
"Master Pei was injured earlier and needs to recover for a few days."
"Huh? This-"
"Let's go." Yuan Zhe went straight to the car, and the rest of the people didn't dare to say anything and got in the car one after another.
The three chariots and horses headed straight for the Ying River.
Since Yuan Zhe arrived in Tuzhou, Feng Rui has followed him closely.
In the next few days, Yuanzhe had visited all the places Gu Qi had visited.
Coupled with many descriptions by Xue Peilin and the governors of various counties, the situation in Tuzhou has been understood.
After dinner, Li Jinghao presented the topographic maps drawn by various county governors to Yuan Zhe.
Gu Qi stepped forward and took a closer look. These maps were slightly inferior to the topographic maps drawn by Pei Qihuan.
Yuan Zhe looked at the picture and said calmly: "The next step is to discuss a solution that has both ends."
The room was so quiet that you could hear nervous breathing.
Gu Qi had a theory of water control in his hand, but he didn't dare to follow it completely.
After all, it’s a lesson learned from the past.
"Master Xue, what do you think?"
Hearing Yuan Zhe's roll call, Xue Peilin looked melancholy: "Right now, we still need to solve the urgent tasks, apply for disaster relief grains, and open granaries. Flood control needs to be done step by step, and the problems in Lingjiang and Lingshan counties must be solved first."
"The lower official agrees with Mr. Xue's opinion. This can be regarded as having the best of both worlds."
Yuan Zhe looked sideways at Feng Rui, a little dissatisfied with him for interrupting rashly.
"Every county guard, do you have any countermeasures?"
Li Jinghao looked at Gu Qi, seemingly asking for advice.
Gu Qi smiled slightly and nodded at him.
Li Jinghao pursed his lips and spoke slowly: "I would like to report to His Highness Prince Zhe. I have some ideas."
"explain."
"What Mr. Xue said is true, but opening large granaries to provide disaster relief is not a long-term solution. If Yingjiang and Yingshan counties are solved, the downward flow will be more rapid, and I am afraid that Lianshan County and Jinghu County... ."
This directly spoke to the hearts of Yuan Xiu and Hu Yujie.
The two nodded hurriedly.
"Pei Qihuan, tell me what you think."
Gu Qi's heart trembled, but she couldn't escape.
"Controlling water cannot be achieved overnight. I agree with Mr. Xue's view."
Yuan Zhe frowned, slightly surprised.
Seeing Yuan Zhe staring at her, Gu Qi swallowed nervously.
"However, what Governor Li said is not unreasonable. If you want to have both sides, the best way is-"
"What is it?" Li Jinghao couldn't wait.
Zhou Hu, who was always silent on the side, said two words lightly: "Move the village."
Gu Qi didn't comment, just smiled.
"Relocating a village is too cumbersome. Registration and land redistribution are all problems."
Xue Peilin always disapproved of relocating the village, even if the people had no way to survive.
Gu Qi was a little disappointed.
"Do you have any other suggestions?"
As soon as Yuan Zhe opened his mouth, the discussion stopped abruptly.
"Presenting to His Highness King Zhe." Zhou Hu stood up and bowed deeply to Yuan Zhe.
Feng Rui said hurriedly: "This is the governor of Qishui County, Zhou Hu."
"This king knows."
Yuan Zhe stared at Zhou Hu: "Say."
Zhou Hu straightened up and said: "Tuzhou has been plagued by floods for years, and the people are in dire straits. It does take time to control the floods, but the people can no longer afford to wait. I have carefully calculated that if we move the village and gather the people in one place, it will also be difficult to control the water later. It is quite helpful. As for the registration and register mentioned by Mr. It is still managed by the county guards. After the next three counties have built canals and opened water, each county can return to the original route. "
The county governors did not raise any objections. Seeing that Yuan Zhe did not object, Xue Peilin could not stop further obstruction.
Feng Rui stood there with a dark face, wondering what he was planning.
"I think it makes sense." Gu Qi walked to Zhou Hu and said boldly: "Although Tuzhou is not big, the people are also pitiful. There are a lot of empty places. At worst, we can arrange for some people to live in the governor's mansion. Well! I believe that the governor will never sit idly by."
Feng Rui bit his back teeth and looked at Gu Qi with a smile: "That's natural."
"In that case, we will move to the village as Lord Pei said. The county guards will go back and inform the people that they will set off soon."
"I will obey His Highness's orders."
Back in the room, I wanted to look for Yan Churong, but Yuan Zhe blocked the door.
Yuan Zhe sat down at the table with a dark face: "Why don't you follow the water management theory I gave you?"
Gu Qiqian took a breath and stepped forward to pour a cup of tea: "Your Highness, when it comes to water control, I admit that I am not as good as Mr. Gu. But I have also... heard a little about the results of Mr. Gu's method of carving mountains."
Yuan Zhe did not take the tea cup, but looked straight at Gu Qi: "I am here, and I will definitely protect you and never let you become the second Gu Yuan."
Gu Qi put the tea cup on the table and sat down aside: "Your Highness, what I say next will be extremely disrespectful."
Yuanzhe was a little flustered: "You tell me."
"Since you stepped into the border of Tuzhou, you have pushed me to the edge of the cliff."
Yuan Zhe's eyes began to dodge, he picked up the tea cup and took a sip.
"The method of carving out mountains is indeed feasible." Gu Qi turned to look at Yuan Zhe, but Yuan Zhe was sitting upright, looking straight ahead.
"After the village is moved, I will request you to dig the mountain, and I believe your majesty will agree. At that time, I hope that your highness will take the overall situation first and don't push me into a situation that will never be restored."
Yuan Zhe clenched his hands into fists, his face burning hot: "When the time comes, I will return to Qingzhou and I will not disturb Lord Pei anymore."
Gu Qi stood up and bowed deeply towards Yuan Zhe: "Thank you, Your Highness, for your consideration!"
Yuan Zhe also stood up and walked to Gu Qi: "If one day, Pei Qing has to choose a side, what should you do?"
