The Kingdom That Never Sleeps CH 058 Heavy Rain On The Jing River
At the end of July, the three inspection envoys left Shengjing one after another.
Youzhou is the frontline of the conflict between the Song and Liao states, but since the signing of the peace agreement eighteen years ago, there have been no official battles between the two countries, only minor skirmishes in Youzhou. Wang Zhen was heading to Youzhou, which is more dangerous compared to the places Su Wenyun and Song Xun were going. When Tang Shen sent him off, Wang Zhen did not say much, but smiled and said, "Parting is inevitable after sending you a thousand miles, little Junior Brother, no need to see me off further."
The carriage clattered out of the city gate, and Wang Zhen and the accompanying officials and soldiers gradually disappeared into the horizon.
Life went on day by day.
As the Mid-Autumn Festival approached in mid-August, a time for family reunions, the three inspection envoys were also nearing their return to the capital. That afternoon, it was Tang Shen's turn to be on duty. Zhao Fu was sitting in the side hall of the Chui Gong Hall, meditating while listening to the teachings of the chief astronomer of the Bureau of Astronomy, Li Xiaoren. Suddenly, a young eunuch hurried into the hall and whispered a few words in the ear of the chief eunuch, Ji Fu.
Ji Fu's face changed suddenly.
Interruption during Zhao Fu's meditation was absolutely forbidden, but for such ordinary teachings, the rules were not as strict. However, Zhao Fu would still be upset if interrupted.
But Ji Fu, at this moment, could not care about that. He stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty, the Yu Department official, Director Gao Wei, requests an audience."
Zhao Fu slowly opened his eyes and glanced coldly at Ji Fu. Ji Fu shivered and looked down at the floor.
Zhao Fu said, "Summon him."
Ji Fu immediately called out loudly, "Summoning Director Gao Wei!"
Before long, a middle-aged man dressed in a red official robe, looking over forty years old, walked in from outside the hall.
Zhao Fu sat back in the main room of Chui Gong Hall, and Tang Shen and another chamberlain sat on either side, ready to record the proceedings.
The position of director is a fifth-rank official position. Tang Shen's classmate, Wang Xiao, is also a Yu Department director, just like this Gao Wei. However, there were more than a dozen such directors in the Ministry of Works, and Tang Shen had only met Gao Wei once during an official business visit to Qinzheng Hall. They had no other interactions.
At this moment, Gao Wei looked pale and sweaty, and upon seeing Zhao Fu, he suddenly knelt down.
Kneeling had almost been abolished in the Song Dynasty, so Gao Wei's act of kneeling startled Tang Shen, and Zhao Fu's eyes narrowed. Gao Wei tried to steady his voice, but it still trembled slightly, and what he said was like thunder crashing onto the golden bricks of Chui Gong Hall: "Paying respects to Your Majesty. I have come from Cizhou. Six months ago, I received an imperial order to go to Cizhou to repair the official road. After entering summer, there were continuous heavy rains in the north. Yesterday afternoon, a torrential rain… washed away a bridge along the official road."
Tang Shen was recording notes but hearing this he looked up in shock at Gao Wei.
After a long pause, Zhao Fu slowly said, "A bridge?"
Gao Wei kept his head bowed tightly, "Replying to Your Majesty, it was a bridge over the Jing River."
Zhao Fu: "Were there any casualties?"
Gao Wei paused for a moment, and his voice gradually lowered, "The number of deaths and injuries has not yet been tallied..."
"Preposterous!"
Bang—
A memorial was taken directly from the table by Zhao Fu and smashed onto the floor, hitting Gao Wei's forehead. Instantly, blood flowed, and a wound opened on Gao Wei's forehead. But he dared not complain about the pain and instead knelt and said, "This official's fault!"
On August 9th of the 28th year of Kaiping, a heavy rain in Jing River collapsed the bridge under construction, resulting in nearly a hundred deaths and injuries, shocking the court and the public.
The north has fewer rivers, and the Jing River is the longest river in northern Song territory. It starts from Xuzhou and crosses Cizhou and Jingzhou, serving as the largest water source for the three northern provinces. To build a road from Shengjing to Cizhou, it inevitably has to cross the Jing River. In Tang Shen's view, the Jing River is far less significant than the Yangtze River. In later times, building a bridge over the Jing River would not be difficult. However, in this era, it was a major project.
The difficulty of the official road to Cizhou lies in building a bridge across the Jing River.
However, no one expected that this bridge, only half-completed, would collapse!
The court and the public were shocked, and the emperor was furious.
The Son of Heaven's wrath could cause a million deaths and blood to flow for a thousand miles.
During the morning court the next day, Zhao Fu, abandoning his usual restrained demeanor, scolded the officials.
"The court feeds you wasteful trash, and yet you provide nothing of value! Just the other day, I received news from Cizhou that the situation was very good, everything was stable. Today, I am told that the bridge has collapsed, and there is a disaster. Is this the kind of work you are doing for me, this is the kind of road you are building for me?"
The court fell silent, no one spoke.
The officials present also felt wronged. The Ministry of Works was primarily responsible for the construction of the official roads. Whether it was the Ministry of Personnel, the Ministry of War, or other departments, or local officials, they were all assisting. If the bridge collapsed, the main responsibility certainly lay with the Ministry of Works. The Ministry of Works officials failed to properly design the bridge, not accounting for the unusually rainy summer. Even if the bridge did not collapse this year, it would eventually collapse in the future. Unfortunately, it collapsed during construction, resulting in dozens of deaths and drownings. If it had collapsed later, perhaps only one or two people would have died, or maybe no one, and Zhao Fu would not have been so angry.
However, in reality, Zhao Fu was not angry about the deaths of nearly a hundred workers and a few officials. The high-ranking officials in the Zichen Hall knew that Zhao Fu was more concerned about losing face, feeling that his officials had failed to do their job properly.
That was what he truly cared about.
After Zhao Fu vented his anger, Chen Linghai, the Left Vice Chancellor of the Secretariat, stepped forward and said, "The matter of the Jing River cannot be delayed. I propose that Your Majesty appoint another inspector to investigate."
Zhao Fu asked, "Chen qing, do you have a candidate in mind?"
Chen Linghai said, "I believe that Ji Zhi of the Censorate is suitable for this position."
During the morning court, several officials from the Secretariat drafted a list, and the next day they were set to depart for Cizhou. That day, Tang Shen was not on duty in the palace. He had seen Zhao Fu's angry outburst in the Chui Gong Hall the day before and was not surprised to hear that Zhao Fu had lost his temper again during the morning court. However, in the afternoon, a eunuch came to the Secretariat and called Tang Shen to the palace, saying that Zhao Fu had summoned him.
Tang Shen was surprised but quickly followed the eunuch into the palace.
Usually, at this time, Zhao Fu would be handling official business in Chui Gong Hall, but today the eunuch led Tang Shen to the Immortal Ascension Platform. Since the eunuch could not enter, Tang Shen waited outside until Ji Fu came out to bring him inside.
The Immortal Ascension Platform was a place specially built by Zhao Fu for his personal cultivation, and it was the only three-story building in the imperial palace. Normally, Zhao Fu meditated on the first floor, but today Ji Fu took Tang Shen to the third floor. Zhao Fu was standing by the railing, looking out over the entire imperial palace.
Tang Shen said, “Greetings to Your Majesty.”
Zhao Fu did not turn around but pointed to a distant place and asked, “Jing Ze, do you know what that place is?”
Tang Shen looked in the direction Zhao Fu was pointing. It was a building with a yellow-tiled roof, looking like any other building in the palace, and Tang Shen, limited in his movements within the palace, did not know what it was.
He honestly replied, “I do not know.”
“That is Bailu Hall, the place where the white deer is kept, and I personally wrote the name for it.”
Tang Shen looked down and did not speak. Having been a chamberlain for a year, he knew Zhao Fu did not require an answer at this moment.
As expected, Zhao Fu continued, “Two months ago, these useless officials spoke of celestial omens and great auspices. Now, they show me such a grand omen! Jing Ze, would you be willing to go to Cizhou on my behalf?”
Tang Shen was startled, his mind racing with thoughts, completely unsure of Zhao Fu’s intentions. However, on the surface, he simply bowed respectfully and said, “I am fearful. As a chamberlain, my duty is to record Your Majesty’s daily activities.”
“Do you not wish to go, Jing Ze?”
Tang Shen’s fingers trembled, with countless thoughts flashing through his mind. After a moment, he looked up with anxious eyes and said firmly, “I am willing to help Your Majesty!”
Zhao Fu looked at Tang Shen with a gentle, accommodating gaze and smiled, “Then you shall go to Cizhou with Ji Zhi and the others tomorrow.”
Tang Shen clenched his fingers and said, “I accept the command.”
After leaving the Immortal Ascension Platform, Tang Shen walked briskly, his expression unsettled. After he left, Zhao Fu stood on the third floor, looking out over the palace with a distant expression. The kind smile he had shown Tang Shen earlier had vanished.
Back at the office, Tang Shen pondered deeply but still could not grasp Zhao Fu’s intentions.
Ji Zhi and other officials were appointed by the Secretariat to be the inspection envoys to Cizhou. Now, Zhao Fu wanted him to join them, become one of the inspectors, and report back every three days about the situation in Cizhou.
“…He wants me to be his eyes and ears,” Tang Shen concluded.
He did not understand why Zhao Fu had given him this responsibility.
If Zhao Fu wanted someone to send reports from Cizhou, he should have chosen a trusted confidant. Conveniently, Su Wenyun, the Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, had gone to Cizhou as an inspector last month and had not yet returned. He would have been the best choice. But Zhao Fu chose Tang Shen instead and did not mention Su Wenyun at all.
Had Zhao Fu and Su Wenyun’s relationship soured?
Did Zhao Fu not trust Su Wenyun?
Was Zhao Fu’s purpose for sending him to Cizhou to investigate the Jing River incident or to investigate Su Wenyun?
A city shrouded in mist stood before Tang Shen, from which he could neither advance nor retreat. Zhao Fu had pushed him into it.
After a long time, Tang Shen exhaled a deep breath.
“Do not hear, do not ask… Wang Zifeng, could you have foreseen today’s situation?” After thinking for a while, Tang Shen found it impossible. He smiled self-deprecatingly. Even if Wang Zifeng were incredibly astute, he could not have predicted a heavy rain that would wash away the Jing River bridge in half a month.
Wang Zhen was still in Youzhou and had not returned to the capital. Tang Shen had no way to consult him for answers.
But Wang Zhen had said: Do not hear, do not ask.
“The matter of going to Cizhou has no way back. It is not my choice. But once I am there… do not hear, do not ask.”
The next day, Supervising Censor Ji Zhi and other officials left the capital and headed north to Cizhou.
Along the way, they did not pass the washed-out Jing River bridge. They took a detour and directly arrived at Cizhou. When they reached the city gates of Cizhou, the governor, deputy prefect, and officials from the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Personnel, and Ministry of War who were working on the official road construction were all waiting at the gate.
In front of the officials stood Xie Cheng, Right Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works, and Xu Linghou, Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Personnel. Next to them was Su Wenyun, Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review and Inspector of Cizhou, dressed in a deep red official robe. Su Wenyun looked up and scanned the inspection team. Suddenly, he saw Tang Shen among the crowd, and a fleeting glimmer appeared in his eyes before he quickly averted his gaze.
At the city gate of Cizhou, Xie Cheng and Xu Linghou stepped forward and said, “This official, Xie Cheng/Xu Linghou, greets the esteemed Inspector.”