The sky is clear and the wind is gentle. It is a good time to go on the road. The official road from Bianjing to the west is filled with pedestrians, cars and horses.
Wei Chen and his party had only been away from Bianjing for three days. Shortly after setting off on the fourth day, they saw the boundary monument of Yuzhou.
Wei Chen reined in his horse in front of the boundary monument, leaned over and pushed aside the weeds in front of the monument, lowered his head and took a closer look, then turned back and said with a smile: "This Yuzhou is really close to Bianjing, but we will get there in more than three days after leaving the capital. "
Gu Tingye, who was following Wei Chen, snorted softly and said: "Even the boundary monuments are not taken care of properly, making them overgrown with weeds. It seems that this Yuzhou is probably not a good place. The poor mountains and rivers are full of unruly people. Xingyun, how can you do it?" You have to be careful!”
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Wei Chen just laughed when he heard this and didn't say much. Another person following Wei Chen explained to Gu Tingye in a warm voice: "Yuzhou was called Xiayi in ancient times and was the capital of Great Xia. Dayu was granted the title here because of his contribution to flood control. It got its name. In the Spring and Autumn Period, it was called Liyi, which was the other capital of Zheng. In the Warring States Period, it was called Yangzhai, which was the capital of South Korea. During the Han Dynasty, it was governed by Yingchuan County. In the Zhou Dynasty, it was renamed Yuzhou and was placed under the jurisdiction of Henan. There is also Xinzheng below. It has two jurisdictions, Mi County and Mi County, and it can be regarded as a thousand-year-old city."
The person who spoke was dressed as a Confucian scholar and his name was Wei Shuping. He was the eldest of Wei Chen's three staff members and was already over fifty years old. He was recommended by Wang Wenqing, the Minister of Dali Temple. He was mature and prudent, well-informed and knowledgeable. The historical evolution of Yuzhou is also eloquently told.
After hearing Wei Shuping's words, Gu Tingye looked a little embarrassed, scratched his head and said: "I didn't expect that Yuzhou has such a great origin, and it can be traced back to Dayu. It's just that I am ignorant."
"My ancestors in Yuzhou were rich, but Zhonghuai is not wrong when he said that this place is a poor place."
The middle-aged scribe who spoke last was called Fang Yuan, who was in his thirties and from Youyang, Jiangning. He was a staff member recommended by Sheng Hong to his future son-in-law.
Fang Yuan and Sheng Hong had known each other since childhood. When Sheng Hong was an official in Yangzhou, Fang Yuan would advise him behind the scenes.
Sheng Hong had been in Yangzhou for three years, and the fact that he was rated as high or low in performance evaluations had something to do with this capable staff member. Sheng Hong also relied heavily on him and treated him as a guest of honor.
It's just that Sheng Hong is now an official in Beijing and has very little use for his staff. Fang Yuan has no place to use them and can only be an idle guest in the Sheng family.
He happened to hear that Wei Chen was going to be sent to Yuzhou and was in urgent need of manpower, so Fang Yuan asked Sheng Hong for a favor and came to Wei Chen.
I heard Fang Yuan say with emotion: "Yuzhou is close to Bianjing and an important place in Hejin. Thirty years ago it was considered prosperous. However, in recent years, the yellow dragon has danced several times and the people of Yuzhou have been displaced. Ding Most of the mouth was damaged, and it has not yet recovered its strength. In the past, the place where Dayu controlled floods is now plagued by constant river troubles, which is ironic!"
The Yellow River is in trouble!
Hearing Fang Yuan mention this matter, everyone including Wei Chen felt heavy in their hearts.
Since the founding of the Zhou Dynasty, the Yellow River has burst its banks almost every year, turning from a gentle mother river into a violent Yellow Dragon.
The Yellow River is prone to frequent disasters, with turbid waves emptying and yellow water surging into the sky. In the past seven or eight years, the city of Bianjing alone has been flooded more than once.
The most serious one was five years ago, when it rained heavily in Bianjing for more than a month. The Liuta River burst its banks and flooded the city of Bianjing. Tens of thousands of corrupt officials and private houses were destroyed. Soldiers and civilians were killed and injured, and the economic losses caused were even greater. It's immeasurable.
So if the Yellow River did not flood in any year, historians would be very happy to write down such records as "It was Hening that year".
"Disasters from heaven have affected the people, all because of the lack of moral integrity of meat-eaters!" Wei Shuping lamented, stroking his gray beard.
When Fang Yuan heard this, he frowned and said: "Xunzi said, heaven's behavior is constant, not because of Yao's existence, not because of Jie's destruction. Floods and droughts are just the rotation of heaven and have nothing to do with human affairs. If this is not the case, why did Yao and Shun do so? When such a sage was in power, floods still spread all over the world, so that Dayu was needed to control the floods?"
"this……"
Wei Shuping was speechless for a moment. He stared and wanted to argue with Fang Yuan, but Wei Chen raised his hand to stop him.
Wei Chen got on his horse and said with a smile: "It's getting late, let's hurry up."
"Yes, Dong Weng."
Although Wei Shuping and Fang Yuan were older than Wei Chen, they knew how to position themselves properly. After hearing Wei Chen's words, they both closed their mouths wisely, bowed their hands respectfully towards Wei Chen, and turned around to find their horses. .
Gu Tingye had been impatient for a long time. Seeing Wei Chen nodding towards him, he waved his whip and shouted to the team behind him: "Keep on going!"
…
God blessed the sixth year, the sixth day of June.
This day is the day when Wei Chen, the new governor of Yuzhou, officially takes office.
The news had already spread to Yuzhou City. Huang Shouzheng, the general magistrate of Yuzhou who was temporarily in charge of the state's affairs, summoned all the officials in the city to the state government office to discuss the matter.
Huang Shouzheng was sitting at the top of the hall and said in a deep voice: "We have to figure out how to welcome this new magistrate. He is a young upstart and it is his first time to go abroad. His temperament is hard to predict. If we welcome him according to the past practice, I’m afraid it will make him unhappy.”
The magistrate of Xinzheng, who was sitting side by side with the magistrate of Mi County below, smiled and said: "Don't worry, Lord Tongpan. I have some old friends with the new magistrate. He is young, mature and reasonable, and he will not make it difficult for us."
"What, you and the new governor are old acquaintances! Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
Huang Shouzheng was happy and angry at the same time, and then he slapped his head in annoyance: "I forgot, Chen Zhixian, you are the top three in Jinke Palace Examination, and you are from Youyang, Jiangning. You are not only the same year as the new magistrate, but also the same hometown! "
After saying that, Huang Shouzheng suddenly realized that Chen Zhixian, who had been on an equal footing with Wei Chen before, had now become Wei Chen's subordinate. He must have felt uncomfortable. He said apologetically: "Chen Zhixian, I made a mistake."
The magistrate of Xinzheng County said calmly: "He is a monster that is rare to see in thousands of years. It is normal to be unable to compare with him. I have become accustomed to it over the years."
Huang Shouzheng laughed and said, "In that case, let's go visit this future boss together!"
"That's what I meant. I can't wait to see this old friend." The magistrate of Xinzheng smiled and nodded, and the other officials also stood up from their seats.
Huang Shouzheng stood at the door, nodded, and found that one person was missing. He frowned and asked, "Why don't you see Zhao Tuanlian?"
An official with knowledge of the situation reported: "Today, the sixth day of June, is the so-called Insect King Festival among farmers. A temple fair will be held to worship the Insect King, drive away insects and pray for rain. Yesterday, Zhao Tuanlian took people to the fields to prepare for burning incense and offering sacrifices. , I think I haven’t heard about the arrival of the new magistrate.”
When Huang Shouzheng heard this, he opened his mouth in astonishment, then sighed helplessly, glared at the officials next to him and said, "What are you doing standing there in a daze? Why don't you send someone to look for him quickly!"
"Yes, I'm going to go now!"
