Facing Emperor Liu's questions, the three people continued to look solemn and looked at each other, but did not speak directly. Seeing this, Emperor Liu's face became a little more serious. He flicked his thin and loose robe sleeves and said calmly: "You came in a hurry and were not afraid of the pain of climbing. When you saw me, you hesitated!"
"Say!" The short and powerful shout made the three of them tremble.
Facing Emperor Liu's gaze, it was Liu Yang who took a deep breath, cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Chanzhou reports, Hejue!"
"It's broken again!" Emperor Liu frowned suddenly and asked, "What's the situation? What kind of situation?"
Not daring to hide anything, Liu Yang said in a deep voice: "The battle at the mouth of the river! It was reported that the embankments were broken for several miles, and the flood spread and swept across Puyin. The entire county was wiped out, many farm buildings were destroyed, the city was shaken, the officials and the people suffered serious losses, and the situation was extremely serious. ! In addition, there was also a breach in Daming Mansion. Fortunately, the officers, soldiers and civilians stopped their mouths in time, and the water situation was under control!"
"Bursts, floods, floods, disasters... This is the second time I have heard these things this year!" After hearing this, Emperor Liu's expression became visibly cold: "Go skiing in autumn. The state, Chanzhou, is prone to breaches this summer. Are the river embankments of the Han Dynasty so fragile? In the past twenty years, so many people and financial resources have been invested in river engineering and water conservancy construction, but the results are all rubbish projects? "
Emperor Liu's words were biased, but his anger was conveyed. He stared at Liu Yang, and this time he scolded somewhat mercilessly: "Last year, when you patrolled the east river defense, didn't you come back and tell me that everything was fine outside Huazhou? ? The words are still ringing in my ears, how long has it been since the yellow fever started again! Huh? "
Even with Liu Yang's current status in the city, he couldn't help but blush when faced with Emperor Liu's question. In fact, when he first heard about the flood, he felt as if he had been slapped in the face.
With his head slightly lowered, Liu Yang pleads guilty in a slightly dejected tone: "My inspection was sloppy and the inspection was ineffective. The fault lies with the court and has caused harm to the people along the coast. I beg your majesty to plead guilty!"
With that said, Liu Yang had already stood up and prostrated himself.
Seeing this, Emperor Liu narrowed his eyes but did not express his position. Zhao Pu couldn't seem to sit still anymore. He stood up and bowed, and said something fair: "Your Majesty, in my opinion, the fault of the breakup of Chanzhou cannot be blamed on His Highness the Crown Prince. This is due to the negligence of the old ministers and the laziness of the local officials." !”
"Ms. Zhao doesn't have to excuse me!" Seeing Zhao Pu speak for himself, Liu Yang's eyes flashed with a little gratitude, but his expression was serious and firm, and he solemnly wanted to take the responsibility on himself: "Not to mention In addition, His Majesty has been entrusted with the task of supervising the country. It is my fault that he failed to detect and control it in time when such a harmful situation happened!"
"You are quite responsible!" Emperor Liu commented with a hint of saltiness. Emperor Liu looked at Zhao Pu again and said, "I want to hear it too. Where did you neglect it?"
Upon hearing the question, Zhao Pu responded in a serious tone: "Returning to Your Majesty, since midsummer, there have been reports that heavy rains have occurred in some areas of Henan and Hebei, and the rain has not stopped, and it is still continuing to this day.
However, the ministers were not vigilant enough about this, and they also lowered their control and urged officials in prefectures and counties along the river to prevent river disasters. I have consulted a specialist and found out that the rain this summer has been extremely unusual and different from previous years. As a result, the water level has skyrocketed, making it difficult for the river to drain water. He also said that this flood may be a major disaster that is rare in twenty years.
The imperial court has invested huge sums of money in the construction of river water conservancy in recent years, and it has indeed been effective. The officials and people along the river have not been affected by major floods in the past ten years, and their awareness of danger has been greatly reduced. As for last year's river battle, they were quickly blocked and re-defended, and the impact did not spread.
Later, due to the Huazhou case, local governments inspected and improved the embankments within the territory and repaired them to fill the gaps. However, when natural disasters come, their speed and magnitude are far beyond imagination. It is inevitable that all places will be unprepared, resulting in Puyin Jue, which is sudden and difficult to resist..."
"Haha!" When Emperor Liu heard this, he sneered twice and looked at Zhao Pu: "Zhao Qing can indeed speak, but with these remarks, he blamed all the faults and omissions on the natural disaster itself! Why, you know , can’t I ask the sky above my head for sin?”
Hearing this, even with Zhao Pu's psychological quality and thick skin, he couldn't help but feel a sudden shock in his heart. He didn't dare to look at Emperor Liu, but said solemnly: "I don't mean to blame you. It's just that I have to tell the truth. !”
After looking at Zhao Pu for a while, I saw that he was a little uneasy. His eyes wandered around Liu Yang again, his expression softened, and then he said: "I am not doing it for myself, but since the rain is different, why should I look at it from the outside to the inside? , bureaucrats at all levels, and supervision at all levels, no one raised the disaster alarm or reminded defense?
So many officials, including you, can only discuss the reasons with me after the fact, and only realize it afterwards? "
"I have been negligent and neglectful. This is a serious mistake. Your Majesty, please punish me!" Zhao Pu's attitude was the same as Liu Yang's, but he forced Emperor Liu into a corner.
With Emperor Liu's temperament, it is not impossible to really use this to hold Zhao Pu accountable, but it is really not necessary. Not to mention many other factors, after Zhao Pu, he has not been able to find a candidate who is satisfactory, trustworthy, reliable and just right for him.
Wang Pu, who had been silent all this time, also spoke at this time, his face serious as usual, and he cupped his hands and said: "Your Majesty, Prime Minister Zhao is busy with official duties and takes care of everything. Although there are some oversights in this flood, it is real and unpredictable. It is definitely not the fault of Prime Minister Zhao." If one person's fault is committed, I think it is inappropriate. For the current plan, flood prevention and disaster relief should be given priority. For other matters, I think we can wait until the situation is resolved before we deal with it!"
Listening to Wang Pu's words, Emperor Liu was slightly surprised. Wang Pu actually spoke for Zhao Pu. This was considered a strange thing at the moment. The relationship between the two could only be described as drifting apart. Emperor Liu knew this very well.
However, these words were indeed more in line with Emperor Liu's wishes. His eyes swept over the three people, and finally stopped on Liu Yang, and said in a deep voice: "Get up! Accountability cannot solve the overflowing river. At the moment, emergency treatment comes first, and others Let’s deal with the matter later!”
"Yes!" After saying this, the three of them subconsciously breathed a sigh of relief.
Zhao Pu took the opportunity to report: "After learning about the disaster, the Zhengshitang has issued a series of flood relief decrees, spreading them widely to the officials and people of the counties and counties along the river, asking them to save themselves and avoid disasters. I believe that this rain has spread far and wide, and Puyin has been resolved. It is even more important to prevent dozens of prefectures and counties on both sides of Henan and Hebei from being destroyed again, and to prevent more people in the area from suffering from Shanghai.
In addition, the rescue of civilians and floods requires the cooperation of local officers and soldiers, and the order to mobilize the army needs to be issued by His Majesty... At the same time, the water in the Yellow River rose, and so did the Bian River. The same order was issued to Gyeonggi Prefecture and County, Be prepared, including Xijing! "
"Since you have given enough consideration, let's handle it as it is!" Zhao Pu said eloquently, obviously he had already responded, and Emperor Liu agreed. After all, the Han Dynasty court was still very experienced in disaster relief matters. Emperor Liu doesn't need much guidance.
Of course, the attitude of asking for instructions is still very necessary, especially when there is such a big omission.
"The great man has come all the way through this flood and drought. He has survived every disaster in the past, and it will be the same this time. You should act boldly!" Emperor Liu instructed, his tone unavoidably a little uninterested.
Upon this incident, Emperor Liu's interest in viewing the scenery from the high platform obviously disappeared. He got up and went out again. He stood in front of the railing and looked outside. The setting sun was like blood, and the raging wind seemed to have some evil spirit.
Emperor Liu frowned and murmured to himself: "It's sunny and sunny here in Luoyang, and the sky is clear, but there are heavy rains in Henan and Hebei. Is there really something different about this flood?"
