In the lobby of Hangzhou Mansion, under the rainy weather, the lobby looks a little gray. Yan Zhengsu sat in the hall, and seven or eight officials on both sides were reporting on the reinforcement of the embankments on both sides of the Qiantang River.

"Your Excellency. The embankments in the area of Yulin Township were somewhat damaged, and although they were reinforced after the high tide last year, they were not fully strengthened due to limited money and materials. Xia Guan is worried that if it rains for a few more days, the water level will rise to a high place, and he is afraid that he will not be able to hold on. A young officer, with bloodshot eyes and mud on his trouser legs, reported in a deep voice.

"There are a lot of people living under the embankment in Yulin Township." Yan Zhengsu frowned and asked.

"There are eight villages, a total of 620 households, and nearly 4,000 people."

"That's not to be missed, so the official will go and see for himself. If necessary, evacuate as soon as possible. The rainy season has just begun, so you need to prepare early, otherwise it will be too late. Yan Zhengsu stood up.

"My lord, it's raining so hard, you better not go. It's dozens of miles away, and the road is muddy, so you can't ride a horse, so you can only walk. You still don't have to toil. Take someone to investigate carefully, and then report to the lord in detail. ”

"What, how can such a thing be too hard? Something happened to thousands of lives, is that a small thing? A few relevant officials of the yamen went with me. Inform the Qiantang magistrate to wait on the embankment, and discuss a solution at that time. Yan Kuan, bring the rain boots. ”

Yan Zhengsu waved his hand and walked to the door of the yamen lobby. The officials on the side were busy, some immediately prepared, and some were dissatisfied with going out of the city to patrol the embankment at this time, but they were helpless. Yan Zhengsu's personal companion followed Yan Kuan and walked back to the back hall to get rain gear.

Yan Zheng came to the door of the lobby with his hands in his hands, frowning and looking at the dense rain curtain outside. The Yamen Square was deserted, and the muddy rainwater accumulated in the puddles, and the rainwater on the blue brick steps collected into a stream that flowed along the ditch at the end of the lobby into the distance.

Suddenly, there was a noise at the street intersection to the southwest, which could be heard clearly even in the heavy rain. Yan Zhengsu frowned, and soon, he saw a small group of cavalry rushing through the rain curtain and galloping. They were all strong horses, and the cavalry on them were also well-armoured and majestic.

Yan Zhengsu only hesitated for a moment, and then immediately understood whose soldiers and horses it was. Although there was no shortage of horses in the Great Zhou Dynasty, the war horses in the army were still quite precious, and most of the war horses were concentrated in the army on the border of Liao, while there were few formed cavalry in the garrison of the inland state capital. In Hangzhou City, there is only one place where there is such a strong horse team, and that is the Liang Wangfu. There are more than 2,000 guards in the Liang Palace, and there are more than 500 cavalry, which is even 100 more than the number of cavalry in the Ning Navy garrison in Hangzhou.

Sure enough, after the cavalry, a black carriage rolled through the rain curtain, the black wheels splashed the rain in the low-lying places, and the horses pulling the cart neighed in the rain and galloped.

Yan Zhengsu was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly stepped out of the yamen and stood on the steps of the door, he knew who was coming. This carriage is the car of Guo Bing, the king of Liang, and the person who is riding a black horse and following the carriage to the left is also the little prince Guo Chong.

Dozens of horsemen galloped to the outside of the yamen, and in a neighing sound, the horses stopped in the rain curtain, and the well-trained ones made way of a passage. Guo Bing's carriage stopped at the foot of the steps, someone stepped forward to hold up a big umbrella, the door opened, and Guo Bing, dressed in a brocade robe, with a black gauze crown, stepped on a high waterproof clogs and got out of the car.

"Lord Yan, how do you know that this king is coming? Is this already waiting for the king? Guo Bing saw Yan Zhengsu standing on the steps and bowed, and laughed.

Yan Zhengsu smiled and said: "Xiaguan was about to go out, but he didn't expect it to coincide with the arrival of the prince." It's just a coincidence. Lord Wang, please come in. ”

Guo Bing smiled and walked through the rain curtain and walked up the steps step by step, and the people around him took the umbrella and retreated. The little prince Guo Kun also got off the horse and came to the steps, untied his clothes and hat. Yan Zhengsu was also busy saluting him.

"Hello Lord Yan." Beside him, a man wearing a hat and dripping with rain suddenly spoke.

Yan Zhengsu was stunned for a moment, and turned his head to see that the man had just taken off his hat and showed his face.

"Lin Jue? Why are you here too? "Solemnly surprised.

"Hahaha, Lord Yan, he was invited by this king. Can we go in and talk, it's all blocked at the door, it's too small, too crowded. Guo Bing said with a smile.

solemnly said: "Yes, yes, yes, please, please." ”

Yan Zhengsu led King Liang's father and son, Lin Jue and others into the yamen hall, ordered people to sit down and serve tea, and seven or eight guards also followed, standing behind King Liang's father and son. There was also a person standing behind Lin Jue, wearing a long robe, and he didn't take off his hat. Yan Zhengsu thought that he was also an entourage of the palace, but he didn't care too much.

"Lord Wang, little Lord Wang, what's wrong today? I said that the rain is getting heavier and heavier, it turns out that the prince and the little prince are coming, I am afraid that this is the first time in three years that the prince has come to my mansion. Yan Zhengsu said with a smile.

Yan Zhengsu is right, since Yan Zhengsu took office as the prefect of Hangzhou, King Liang has not been to the prefect's yamen once. When the previous Governor Zhang was in office, King Liang often came and went.

Guo Bing smiled and said: "Lord Yan is a good official, and all the people praise him. This king can also be regarded as a people under the rule of Lord Yan, since the government is peaceful and clear, why bother the adults. Besides, doesn't Lord Yan also like the officialdom of people coming and going? ”

Yan Zhengsu smiled slightly and said, "The prince has won the award." As an official below, he only seeks to do more things for the people, ensure the peace of one party, live up to the trust of the court, and live up to the grace of the saints. If you can get it, you will be satisfied. ”

Guo Bing nodded and said: "What I said is that if all of our officials in the Great Zhou Dynasty can think like Lord Yan, my Great Zhou Dynasty will be a paradise on earth." Unfortunately, not everyone is like that. Even under Lord Yan's rule, some things are not satisfactory. ”

Yan Zhengsu was stunned, and hurriedly asked: "The prince came here today, could it be that he has something to order the lower officials?" But please make it clear that if the lower officials have done something wrong, they should do their best to correct it. ”

Guo Bing nodded slightly and said, "It's not an order, but it's here to discuss." What Lord Yan just said is very good, we, the local officials, are responsible for the court's shepherd, and it is our responsibility to keep the peace of the party. But this is easier said than done. For example, our Hangzhou Mansion, although under the rule of Lord Yan, there are still many things that have become stubborn diseases and have become a stalk in the hearts of the people of Hangzhou. Lord Yan, I have here a letter signed by one hundred and eighty-three businessmen in Hangzhou Prefecture, and they don't know what to think, so they sent it to my mansion. This king saw that he had to come and discuss this matter with Lord Yan. ”

Guo Bing waved his hand, and Guo Kun on the side immediately took out a cowhide envelope from his arms, and Yan Zhengsu hurriedly stepped forward to take it, and presented it to Yan Zhengsu with both hands.

Yan Zhengsu was a little surprised when he heard that one hundred and eighty-three businessmen had jointly written to the prince. The merchants under his rule should also come to the yamen to say that they have something to say, why did they write to King Liang? He didn't have time to ponder it carefully, took the envelope handed over by Yan Kuan, took out the thick letterhead inside, and frowned and read it carefully.

Guo Bing picked up the teacup and drank tea, his eyes staring at Yan Zhengsu's expression. After only taking a sip of tea, Guo Bing resisted the urge to spit out the tea in his mouth, frowning and swallowing his stomach. The tea leaves were so bitter, with a lot of scraps and even a musty smell. It is said that this is a strict and strict life, and it is extremely strict with itself, and it is really true. He didn't deliberately treat himself slowly, but he drank such inferior tea in the first place, and he used this kind of tea to entertain guests. The tea drinks in the palace are all top-notch teas, and drinking this tea at first glance is like drinking medicine.

Yan Zhengsu quickly finished reading the letter, and his brows were twisted into a big pimple. However, the content of the letter explains one thing, why these merchants want to write to the prince, it turns out that the merchants in the letter reflect that the bandits are troubled and cause them huge losses. Everyone knows that the Liang Wangfu existed in Hangzhou to suppress the bandits, and it is understandable that the prince should turn to the prince for help in this matter.

Yan Zhengsu deliberately looked at the joint names on the last page of the paper, and sure enough, it included the most important businessmen in Hangzhou. Most of them are big businessmen engaged in overseas trade, shipping and related businesses.

"Lord Yan, have you finished reading?" Guo Bing also spit out the broken tea leaves in his mouth and asked in a deep voice.

"Lord Wang, the matter of bandits has been troubled for a long time, and this is indeed the trouble in my Liangzhelu heart. This official has also told the prince many times. It is understandable that the businessmen have grievances. Please also ask the prince not to blame them. ”

"Blame? Where does this begin? Shall this king blame them? The plague of the pirates is the responsibility of this king, and this king is very ashamed and blames himself in his heart, how can he blame them? The king was very angry when he saw all the plunders they had enumerated, and the time had come for the pirates to be so rampant that they had to take measures. That's why I came to you, how can I blame these businessmen? Guo Bing frowned.

Yan Zheng hurriedly said: "I see, it is the lower official who misunderstood." Did the prince come here to deal with the troubles? ”

Guo Bing waved his hand and said, "Lord Yan, please retreat and wait." ”

Yan Zhengsu nodded, it is indeed inappropriate to talk about this matter publicly, because it may involve confidentiality. So all the people in the hall were dismissed, and the guards of the palace also left one after another, but Lin Jue was still present, and the mysterious man with a hat standing next to Lin Jue did not leave. Although Yan Zhengsu felt strange, he was not easy to ask.

"Lord Yan, this king stayed in the capital for three months, and did not return to Hangzhou until the end of February. During his stay in the capital, he had the privilege of listening to the hadith. The banditry in our Hangzhou Mansion has spread to the capital, and it is very bizarre. There are rumors that the city of Hangzhou is full of bandits, people die every day in the city, and kidnapping and looting are heard of day by day. Guo Bing said.