No, gentlemen also guard against

Chapter 352 Be Prepared (please vote for me at the beginning of the month or 2)

Du Shuqing was still missing.

Two days later, letters from Magistrate Diao and the news brought back by Yan Liulang from Longcheng were sent back one after another.

Ouyang Rong was a little silent.

"Ming Mansion, I went to Meiluyuan to take a look. Du Shuqing should have lived there. It was very clean, including fallen leaves, dust, etc., but... I didn't see his luggage.

"In addition, the door is locked from the outside, but I saw this bunch of keys on the table in the side gate room."

Ouyang Rong reached out, took the key handed over by Yan Liulang, and looked down.

It was that day when he was seeing off Li Zhengyan and others at Xunyang Ferry, he smiled and handed Du Shuqing the key to the gate of Meiluyuan.

Ouyang Rong sent Yan Liulang away.

He held the key in his hand and sat quietly on the seat in the main hall for a while.

The morning sunlight that slanted in gradually retreated from the feet of the table to the wooden threshold of the door.

Ouyang Rong came to his senses.

Silently put away the key.

I got up and went out, stood still in the courtyard, and basked in the warm sun that was approaching noon for a while.

Ouyang Rong went to hold Dongmei and left the Jiangzhou lobby.

I went out this morning and promised my aunt that I would go back for lunch.
The junior sister is here, and she will cook lunch.

Weak Guan Changshi rode a maroon rouge horse and passed by Xunyang Ferry and the lively West Market next to it. He bought some snacks that his junior sister and Ye Weilai liked along the way.

He had taken off his official uniform and was only wearing a green soap suit. No one recognized him, just like an ordinary member in this bustling crowd of people.

During this period, Ouyang Rong's eyes fell on the busy streets, on the traffickers, tourists and residents.

He actually likes the bustling and popular atmosphere of Xunyangdu.

When I came to Xunyang City for the first time and saw this classic, old and popular ferry, my morale became high.

Think of it as a second dragon city.

It's a pity that there are still many dragon cities in the world.

Right now, he can change this ferry and the people's livelihood in Jiangzhou, but he can't change the rest of the world.

It cannot influence the imperial policy under the influence of the various forces or factors such as the empress, the Wei family, and the Baoli faction.

Even Wang Lengran was using his Shangguan status and rules to squeeze him out.

Returning to the Huaiye Lane mansion, I had a peaceful meal with my junior sister, Zhen Shuyuan, Ye Weila and other female family members.
That afternoon, Ouyang Rong wore a crimson official uniform and solemnly rushed to Prince Xunyang's Mansion.

Discussed all afternoon.

In the evening, he left Prince Xunyang's Mansion under the eyes of a pair of people, either bright or dark.

The next day, Jiangzhou Hall issued a document, following the order of King Xunyang, the governor of Jiangnan, in order to prevent floods during the rainy season,

The excavation of the twin peaks and the construction of the Donglin Giant Buddha have been temporarily stopped, and recruitment of workers at Xunyangdu has been suspended.

In the afternoon of that day, Ouyang Rong, the governor of Jiangsu Province, went to inspect important grain depots such as Jimincang.

Subsequently, Jiangzhou Hall, which already had sufficient grain and grass, purchased grain and grass on the grounds of preventing floods and expanding the granary.

The tax season has not yet come, and Jiangzhou's finances are stretched thin, so they use the accounting method to let people who sell grain draw deposits.

Thanks to the good reputation of Jiangzhou Hall under the leadership of the new Chang Shi, people in Xunyang responded in an endless stream.

When the wealthy merchants in Xunyang and the Jiangnan businessmen who passed by heard about this, they took action and came to transport grain... Jiangzhou Hall purchased and stored it at a suitable price.

In the next few days, the weak-guan Changshi inspected the wells in each village one by one on the pretext of inspecting the people's livelihood in Xunyang.

Later, the government hired people to add another forty or fifty wells in the vacant areas of the temples or where there were springs of sweet water...

Xunyang City is not short of food and water, but this series of practical actions of hoarding water and preparing food has attracted the attention of many people.

Jiangzhou lobby also welcomed a long-lost "guest".

When Wang Lengran, the governor of Jiangzhou, walked into the main hall, Ouyang Rong was chatting with Yuan Huaimin.
The former seemed to be asking the latter about an ancient Suojiang pagoda built by previous generations and long abandoned on the banks of the Xunyang River.

With his hands behind his back and a cold face, Wang Lengran walked from the gate to the governor's table at the top of the hall and sat down.

"Humph."

A cold hum.

Ouyang Rong turned a deaf ear and continued to ask Yuan Huaimin about the past history of the Suojiang Tower.

The Yuan Huai people were indifferent, but they knew the local chronicles and historical materials such as mountains, rivers, scenery, humanistic biographies, etc. very well.

So Ouyang Rong raised his eyebrows, a little approving of his "poetry and painting excellence" that he talked about every day.

"Hmph, Ouyang Changshi didn't see me coming?"

Wang Lengran snorted again and interrupted.

Ouyang Rong lowered his head and carefully wrote down what he had just heard with his brush. Then he put down the brush and said calmly:

"Master Wang is a rare visitor. If you need me to sweep the couch for you, please wait for me. I'll walk over to welcome you and wash away the dust for you."

The main hall, which had been silent for a long time, had a strong smell of gunpowder.When Yuan Huaimin heard the two officers pointing their fingers at each other, Yuan Huaimin immediately stopped talking and began to look at his eyes, nose and heart.

"It's not Ouyang Changshi who did something good because he was smart."

Wang Lengran looked dissatisfied and asked:
"I heard that Ouyang Changshi suddenly ordered to stop the construction of His Majesty's Donglin Giant Buddha, and instead used the money to store water and food, strengthen the city walls, and build some weird things.

"It's ridiculous. Xunyang City is short of water and food. Why are you hoarding these things? Are you going to rebel? I don't know, I thought you were going to defend the city and be independent!"

Ouyang Rong's business-like expression:

"The suspension of the construction of the Donglin Giant Buddha is an order from the prince to prevent possible floods in the future. The Yangtze River is in flood season, so take precautions.

"Furthermore, I have already reported this matter to the imperial court. The Donglin Buddha will be built within the time limit, and it will not be less than this time and a half. Why is Mr. Wang so anxious?"

"Ah, rebellion." Ouyang Rong chuckled:
"I don't have the slightest power in the military affairs. If there is a rebellion in Xunyang City, the one with the greatest possibility and chance is probably you, Mr. Wang."

"You..." Wang Lengran stood up abruptly, slapped the case and angrily shouted: "That's a bunch of nonsense."

Ouyang Rong nodded: "Look, it's urgent."

"..."

Wang Lengran's blood pressure suddenly surged to his head, and his old face became congested and red.

But there was nothing he could do about Ouyang Rong, otherwise he wouldn't be so angry today.

Ouyang Rong came out in the name of preventing the Yangtze River flood season, and he had previously made great achievements in flood control in Longcheng and was widely praised for his achievements.

In the eyes of Her Royal Highness the Queen and the princes of the court, he is an authority on water conservancy, and he may even be included in the history books of this dynasty a hundred years later.

After all, there is the Broken Wing Canal. This masterpiece is left in the south of the Yangtze River where floods are the most serious. With this famous achievement, it can be regarded as one of the top water conservancy projects in the current dynasty or in the world.

Wang Lengran knew that even if he submitted a letter as the governor, he would probably not be able to compete with him.

"Ouyang Changshi, don't try to use this to do any mischief, build plank roads openly or secretly visit Chencang. I will keep an eye on you."

Wang Lengran warned word by word.

Of course Ouyang Rong knew the meaning of Wang Lengran's words and some of his concerns.He was afraid that Ouyang Rong and the Xunyang Palace would lose control and use this opportunity to do something unexpected and completely break the situation.

In fact, the entire Xunyang City has always been in a state of looseness on the outside and tightness on the inside. Wang Lengran was always keeping an eye on the Xunyang Palace, firmly controlling the prosecutorial and military power.

Ouyang Rong looked at him and said calmly:

"What a coincidence, I also like to stare at people."

Wang Lengran was silent for a while and suddenly asked:
"I heard that in the name of Jiangzhou Hall, you sent someone to deliver a letter to the Hongzhou Governor's Mansion."

"Master Wang is quite well informed."

"I am the chief official of Jiangzhou, so I have the right to know this. Changshi Ouyang, you used the name of Jiangzhou without authorization to warn Hongzhou and point fingers. What do you mean?"

"Naturally, literally."

"If you go beyond the superior official and send official documents privately, you will disgrace me! The people in Hongzhou think that I am incapable of governing."

Ouyang Rong looked at him with strange eyes, as if asking, isn't it?

Wang Lengran suddenly scolded:
"I work hard every day on military and political affairs, so I don't come here often. What do you know? I just deal with some civil affairs in Tsoer, just trivial matters. I really think that I am an unparalleled national scholar. Do you think I can interfere in anything?"

Ouyang Rong's expression did not change and he suddenly said:
"I don't know why Mr. Wang is thinking so hard. I have something to say and I don't know whether to say it or not."

Without waiting for Wang Lengran to say "I shouldn't say it" angrily, he immediately said:

"Sir Wang, stop guarding this three-acre land in Jiangzhou. Find an excuse to temporarily transfer the soldiers from the Third Zhechong Prefecture in Jiangzhou to the Fourth and Fifth Zhechong Prefectures in Hongzhou.
“Reinforce Hongzhou immediately as a precaution.

"Otherwise, if something goes wrong in Hongzhou, there will only be one Zhechong Mansion in Jiangzhou, which will not be of much use. The two closest Zhechong Mansion are both in Hongzhou."

Ouyang Rong sighed.

Wang Lengran, who was angry just a second ago, suddenly became quiet, narrowed his eyes, stared at him and asked:

"Ouyang Changshi, what did you hear?"

"Envoy Hu is not like Lord Wang. He keeps everything under wraps and doesn't discuss it with others."

"Did Ambassador Hu also send a message to Ouyang Changshi?"

Ouyang Rong smiled, naturally he would not mention Qin Heng and expose his allies.

Wang Lengran also sneered: "The relationship between Ambassador Hu and Ouyang Changshi seems to be good."

Ouyang Rong lowered his eyes and advised again:

"If the worst happens, Hongzhou is lost, there is no foreign aid, and Jiangzhou is left with only one soldier, it is difficult to protect it unless the whole state is mobilized...

"Master Wang, as the military and political chief of a state, please consider the overall situation."

Wang Lengran laughed, twitched the corner of his mouth, and said sarcastically:
"Do you know what Governor Zhu Da was doing before? It was just to deal with some disobedient soldiers who made arrogant demands and provoked the imperial court. You, a junior, still need to point your fingers."

Standing up, Wang Lengran rolled his sleeves,
He said "someone please be honest" and left the Jiangzhou lobby without looking back.

Ouyang Rong pursed his lips, he knew what Wang Lengran was thinking.

In fact, what he really cared about with Jiangzhou Zhechong Mansion was never the northern garrison soldiers, but the Xunyang Prince's Mansion.

As long as Prince Xunyang's Mansion is guarded and no mistakes are made, there will never be any mistakes.

And once something unexpected happens in Prince Xunyang's Mansion, even if he makes a great contribution, it will be of no avail. At least Wang Lengran will be safe personally.

……

"Brother Lianghan, why are you suddenly interested in this Suojiang Tower?"

The morning after the unhappy separation from Wang Lengran, Ouyang Rong and Yuan Huaimin went to a historic site on the riverside not far outside the city.

Regardless of his image, Ouyang Rong squatted on the pier of the tower on the river side, stretched out his hand to touch the rusty iron chain underneath, and then rubbed the rust chips between his fingers.

He stared at the rust chips and said nothing.

"It is said that when Emperor Yu was controlling the floods, he used iron oxen to control the water. Therefore, there were four iron oxen guards cast in this building in ancient times. However, they fell into disrepair and two were lost, leaving only half of them.

"Later in the Wei and Jin Dynasties, when the literary style was advocated, when it was still Xunyang County, the prefect Wu Xiu built this building, which took 18 years to complete.

"This building was called Jiangtian Suoyue Tower at that time. Because it towers over the blue sky, is elegant and simple, and the shadow of the tower locks on the river, it is elegant and subtle. Therefore, it has become one of the ten scenic spots in the south of the Yangtze River. There is an endless stream of literati and poets, looking at the river view, splashing ink like rain.

"As the saying goes, Wu and Chu are thousands of miles away, and the waves are gathering in Xunyang downstairs.

"It's a pity that after traveling through the Wei, Jin, north and south, the winds and clouds above us were changing, and the waves were churning below our feet. During this period, we were also affected by wars. After four hundred years of changes, river banks collapsed, buildings were destroyed, cows sank, and pavilions collapsed..."

Yuan Huaimin, who had learned a lot and remembered it well, sighed with emotion:
"Brother Lianghan, in fact, whether it is called Suojiang Tower or Jiangtian Suoyue Tower, as the name suggests, it is naturally to lock the untamable river.
“Floods are like evil dragons breeding, and this tower means to restrain the dragons, eliminate disasters, and maintain peace forever.

"It's just that this kind of water control strategy has the nature of praying for blessings. Brother Lianghan, who is really proficient in water conservancy, should not be able to see it."

"It seems that this building has had other uses."

Ouyang Rong chuckled, pointed at the rusty iron rope under his feet, and said in a calm tone:

"I've heard people say that during the ancient wars, an unknown general came up with a strange plan, made iron chains, laid them down at this dangerous place, crossed the Yangtze River, made a big iron cone, and placed it in the river...

"The location of Suojiang Tower is really good. It's right at the narrowest point of this section of the river."

He was a little moved by the scene and sighed:

"It can be imagined that throughout the ages there has been no shortage of capable people with lofty ideals. They all know that the location of Xunyang City in Jiangzhou is key. It can monopolize the Yangtze River and guard the southeast gateway."

Yuan Huaimin was stunned:
"Liang Han still knows about this old story, whether he was a Soochow general who crossed the Yangtze River, but I remember that he did not meet the Ming Dynasty, and the strategy of locking the river ended in failure, and the country was ruined and the family was forgotten.

"There is a way to serve the country, but it is pitiful and useless, and the dust is dim and white feathers...Iron locks across the river, Jinfan surfing, Sun Lang's kindness...But sorrow knocks on the osmanthus, mourns for Liang's father, tears flow like rain."

Ouyang Rong twitched the corners of his mouth.

Okay, okay, so disappointing, right?

"Okay, don't show off your calligraphy and painting skills anymore. Your book bag fell off my face... Let's go and have a look on the other side."

He stood up and patted the rusty dust with both hands:

"If the local chronicles are correct, there is a place called Huilongji across the river. There is a small abandoned tower, which is connected to the other end of the iron chain."

He took Yuan Huaimin on a boat to the other side of the river.

The next afternoon was spent on field trips.

On the second day, Ouyang Rong personally went to Si Shicao, one of the six Cao Cao in Jiangzhou, and found Si Shicao to join the army.

This company is mainly responsible for the construction of houses, cars and ships, etc., as well as the management of craftsmen in the state.

Ouyang Rong asked about the difficulty of casting some iron chains, and then ordered Si Shicao to summon the best blacksmiths in the city.

At the same time, he began to walk around and collect iron materials on the market.

Ouyang Rong is planning to renovate the Jiangtian Suoyue Tower. To be precise, he is renovating the Hengjiang Iron Chain.

Let's continue to destroy buildings and other things.

While he was running around and busy with this matter,
That morning, Yan Liulang suddenly ran into Si Shicao's blacksmith shop and said urgently to Ouyang Rong, who was supervising the iron chain casting:

"Ming Mansion, Ambassador Hu is back!"

Ouyang Rong paused.

　Good brothers, Xiaorong should adjust his schedule. It should be no more at [-] o'clock in the evening. The update should be tomorrow. This is considered to be a half-day holiday for Xiaorong, woo woo woo.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)