Chapter 659: Attacking the Heart is the Best

The next morning, Zhang Yun, the right prime minister, invited Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy of Dushui, to the Secretariat.

Dushuijian was the smallest functional department among the hundreds of temple supervisors in the Tang Dynasty. It was originally a general. In the 25th year of Kaiyuan, it was separated from the general supervisor and became an independent institution, in charge of the policies of mountains, rocks, bridges, gusts and dams. The highest official of Dushuijian was called Dushui envoy, and was divided into two envoys, with only the fifth rank and the highest rank among all the heads of the ministry.

However, in recent months, Dushui Supervisor was highly valued. Cui Ning went to Jianghuai and Henan to clear the water transportation. Almost half of Dushui Supervisors, including Zhu Min, the right envoy of Dushui Supervisor, followed Cui Ning to Jianghuai. There were only a few five or six Dushui Supervisors left in the court, and Zhang Bingguo, the left envoy, was responsible for the daily affairs of the supervisor.

Zhang Bingguo is about forty years old this year. He was a Jinshi in the second year of Tianbao. He is very tall and dark and thin. Since working as an official in Dushui Supervisory is a chore and often has to go out to run, there are almost no white and fat officials.

Early in the morning, the Right Prime Minister looked for him. Zhang Bingguo did not dare to neglect him. He rushed from the imperial city to the Secretariat and reported his purpose at the door. A person in charge led him to Zhang Yun's court room.

"The right prime minister, Zhang Bingguo, the capital water supervisor, asked for a visit."

"Please come in!"

Zhang Bingguo walked into the court room and bowed and said, "I am not aware of the right prime minister!"

Zhang Yun put down his pen and smiled and said, "I'm so sorry to invite Zhang Zuo to come early in the morning."

Zhang Bingguo belonged to the Wei Party in the court. Since he was the head of the Dushui Supervisor, he was highly valued by Wei Tao and was considered a backbone of the Wei Party. Zhang Yun came to him early in the morning, which made him feel a little uneasy and didn't know what happened. However, Zhang Yun smiled with a kind smile and was easy-going attitude. He felt a little calmer in his heart and quickly replied: "If you have something to do with the right prime minister, how can you not come here if you are humble? Please give me the right prime minister orders."

"Yeah! That's it."

Zhang Yun picked up a memorial and asked him: "I received a memorial from the Jianghuai River the day before yesterday. It said that the Jianghuai River has suffered heavy rains since the beginning of summer this year, and the floods are severe. I am very worried about the situation in Guanzhong. I searched for some information. Basically, five years after Tianbao, all the rivers and canals in Guanzhong have not been repaired, and I don't know what the situation is now?"

Before Zhang Yun finished speaking, Zhang Bingguo hurriedly said: "Many places in the Guanzhong River Canal are indeed outdated. If there is a major flood, the dam will inevitably collapse. My subordinates understand that they have written letters to the Prime Minister Pei several times, but the Prime Minister Pei said that the court's funds are tight, so he slowed down and discussed this matter again and again. The right prime minister is indeed unable to delay this matter."

Zhang Bingguo was telling the truth. As his official affairs, he knew the situation of the rivers and canals in Guanzhong. He was also very worried. Once the dam collapsed and flooded the farmland, his official hat would not be preserved. As the saying goes, three years of flooding will occur. Guanzhong has not suffered from flooding for two years. This year, there will be a lot of rain since spring. He is very worried. Once there is flooding this year, the rivers and canals that have been disrepaired for a long time will collapse and flood the farmland. For this reason, he raised this matter to Pei Zunqing, who was then the right prime minister, since the beginning of the year, but every time it was delayed by Pei Zunqing with the tight funds of the court. Today, Zhang Yun took the initiative to raise this matter. How could he not seize this opportunity?

Zhang Yun pondered for a moment and said, "It is a fact that the court's funds are tight. An Lushan rebelled and Hebei immigrated a lot, which cost a huge amount of money. The treasury was really empty. However, the resettlement of the immigration has ended. Recently, Anxi released another batch of tax and silver, and the situation has improved a lot, so I considered allocating 500,000 jin of money to repair the Guanzhong River Canal...."

Zhang Bingguo was overjoyed and hurriedly gave a deep bow, "Thank you for your attention!"

Zhang Yun waved his hand and stopped him, "Listen to me and finish my words."

Zhang Bingguo quickly shut up, and then Zhang Yun smiled and said, "It's not that easy to get Liu Yan, the money-guarding slave, to pay, so I plan to take him to the field inspection today, and Jingzhao Yin Ligan also went there together. I want to ask you, is the situation on the river bank the most serious?"

The most severe damage to the river canal was the Qizhou section of Shengyuan Que, followed by Zhongbai Canal. Zhang Bingguo originally wanted to say Shengyuan Canal, but when Jingzhao Yin Ligan was going with him, he couldn't talk about Qizhou, so he had to change his words: "Report to the Prime Minister, the Zhongbai Canal area is more serious."

Zhang Yun nodded, "Okay! Let's go to Zhongbaiqu. Zhang Zuo can go back and prepare more information, and we will set off in the afternoon."

Zhang Bingguo hesitated for a moment, "Do you want to go too?"

"Do you have anything else?"

Zhang Yun looked at him strangely, implying that the right prime minister inspected the rivers and canals, can you not accompany him?

Zhang Bingguo felt awe in his heart, "I understand the humble position, so let's prepare now."

Zhang Bingguo turned around and left. Zhang Yun stroked his beard and looked at his back and smiled coldly.

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In the afternoon, Zhang Yun, the right prime minister, brought Liu Yan, the Minister of Revenue, and Zhang Bingguo, a group of inspectors and nearly a hundred guards, accompanied by Jingzhao Yin Ligan. The magistrate of Wu County, Gaoling County had already received news and led the county magistrate and magistrate to greet him from afar.

"Wu Yu, the magistrate of Gaoling County, is in contact with the Prime Minister!"

Zhang Yun smiled in the carriage and said, "We are here to inspect the rivers and canals. We may not be able to go back tonight. I would like to ask the magistrate of Wu County to arrange food and accommodation. It's okay to be simpler."

"I understand, I will arrange it. Now the Prime Minister and all the envoys will go to the county government for a rest first?"

Zhang Yun looked at Liu Yan and smiled and said, "What does Mr. Liu mean?"

Liu Yan knew in his heart that bringing himself to inspect was nothing more than asking for money, but Liu Yan was a very serious person. Since he came to inspect, he would not go through the rules. He looked at the sky and said, "It's still early, so we might as well hurry up and check the river embankment. If possible, I want to rush back to Chang'an overnight. The tax report from Jiangnan will be delivered tomorrow morning, and I need to check it."

"Haha! Mr. Liu is worthy of being the most busy person in the court! I also want to rush back overnight, but my health does not allow it, so I have to stay overnight."

Zhang Jun smiled and asked Jingzhao Yin Ligan again: "What does Li envoy mean?"

Li Gan bowed and said, "It is recommended that you start inspection immediately, but you can stay with you to accompany the prime minister."

Zhang Yun glanced at Zhang Bingguo again, "Where is the envoy of Zhang Zuo?"

Zhang Bingguo was feeling a little nervous all the way. Generally speaking, river embankment maintenance is applied by each county and then reported to the prefecture. The county in Chang'an is reported to Jingzhao Prefecture. After approval by the prefecture or Jingzhao Yin, the Ministry of Water Affairs of the Ministry of Works will summarize and approve the applications of each prefecture and county, and then transfer it to the Dushui Supervisor to formulate specific plans and expenses. Finally, it will be reported to the prime minister for approval. If the cost exceeds a certain amount, it will be reported to the emperor. Then the Dushui Supervisor's officials will organize the construction of civilians and men in conjunction with the county.

During this period, the Ministry of Works belongs to the approval agency and has a great role. Logically, if the Prime Minister comes to inspect, even if the Minister of Works does not come, the Minister of Works must accompany him. However, there is no sign of the Minister of Works Li Kaifu, the Minister of Works. Only a doctor from the Ministry of Water Affairs came. The accompanying ranks are not equal. To put it bluntly, this is called contempt for the Prime Minister and is a taboo in the officialdom.

Zhang Bingguo didn't understand why Kai-Fu Lee didn't come to accompany him today, but he didn't ask too much. He always felt something was wrong in his heart, but he couldn't say it.

Seeing Zhang Yun ask him, he bowed and said, "As the prime minister, the country is in a humble position!"

Zhang Yun nodded, stroked his beard and smiled, "Okay! Don't hurry to the county government, and start inspecting the river embankment now."

Everyone turned around their cars and horses and headed towards Zhongbai Canal. The magistrate of Wu County was very familiar with the situation here, so he introduced the current situation of the river embankment to everyone in detail.

"The Zhongbai Que has been repaired once in the first year of Tianbao, and it has not been repaired for 16 years. It is no different from ordinary rivers now...."

Under the introduction of the Wu County Magistrate, everyone saw that the river was covered with weeds and willow trees were shaded. A bridge built in the early Kaiyuan year was very dilapidated and there was no artificial embankment at all.

The magistrate of Wu County led everyone away again. He came to a section of river channel. He pointed to a section of river channel that had already shown signs of collapse: "Please look here. This section of river is the most dilapidated. The river bank collapsed. A month ago, the collapsed dam occurred in the heavy rain, which flooded dozens of acres of fertile fields. I led the people to use straw bags to fill soil to temporarily block the gap. Now I am most worried about heavy rain. If the rain is too heavy, it will not only collapse the dam, but also the river water will overflow across the entire line, flooding thousands of hectares of fertile fields along the river."

Everyone stopped. The terrain of this section of the river embankment was relatively high, exceeding the large fertile fields outside the river embankment. Looking at the harvest season about to enter, the endless yellow wheat waves, everyone couldn't help but feel a little heavy. Once it rained heavily, this section of the river embankment would collapse and flood this large area of ​​fertile land.

Zhang Yun sighed and said, "It's really time to repair it well. Don't delay this matter. After I go back, I will hold a meeting of the Political Affairs Hall to decide on this matter and start construction as soon as possible."

He said to Liu Yan again: "I hope the money and grain from the Ministry of Revenue can be allocated in time and do not delay the project."

Liu Yan nodded, "I understand, I will allocate it as soon as possible!"

Seeing that it was getting late, Li Gan smiled and said, "It's still a distance from the county town. If you don't go back, it will be dark."

Zhang Yun smiled slightly, "Okay then! I'll see this today, let's go back to the county government first!

Everyone turned their horses and followed the magistrate of Wu County and headed towards Gaoling County. When they arrived at the county town, it was already dark. Everyone had a simple dinner in the county yamen. Liu Yan had something to do tomorrow, so he rushed back to Chang'an overnight, and the rest had to stay in Gaoling County for one night.

The accommodation has been arranged. Due to the simplified conditions of the inn, Zhang Yun lived at a family home in Gaoling County, and the rest of the officials moved into the inn. In the evening, Zhang Yun specially called Zhang Bingguo to learn more about the repair of the river embankment.

Zhang Bingguo led a guard to Zhang Yun's tribe army. The house was located in the east of the city and the post station was located in the west of the city. The two places were quite far apart. After a quarter of an hour, the carriage arrived in front of a large mansion. The house was quite deserted, there were no people guarding the door, and the house was a little old, and there were no plaques, giving people a strange feeling that it seemed that no one lived in it.

With a creaking sound, the guard pushed open the door and led Zhang Bingguo into the house. With a loud bang, the door of the house closed again. When he entered the house, the feeling of being uninhabited was even stronger. It was pitch black everywhere, and there was no light in all the rooms, as if no one was living in it, and it was as quiet as if it was a bit scary.

Zhang Bingguo could no longer help and asked, "Does Zhang Xiangguo live here?"

"Zhang Xiangguo lives in the back house, which is a guest room, and no one lives in it. We just came in through the side door, please follow me!"

The guard replied coldly and took Zhang Bingguo into a yard. He pointed to a room with the lights on in front, "There is the temporary study of the prime minister, please send me a message!"

Zhang Bingguo looked back and saw four burly men holding hands in front of his chest and blocking the door. He felt that he had never seen these four men who had come all the way in the afternoon.

Zhang Bingguo felt even more suspicious, and he walked to the door to report: "I am humble to ask Zhang Bingguo to see the Prime Minister!"

"Come in!"

The voice was very low, unlike Zhang Yun's voice. He slowly pushed open the door. He suddenly realized that the door turned out to be an iron gate. He was shocked and was about to retreat, but the guard pushed him into the room. With a 'boom', the iron gate closed heavily.

The room was dazzlingly bright. Zhang Bingguo covered the light with his hands. When his eyes got used to the light, he realized that the room was actually a stone house. The bare bluestone was not decorated at all. The room was empty. There were more than a dozen burly men standing against the wall, each with naked upper body and fleshy faces. There was an iron pillar in the middle, with iron chains on both sides, and an empty table and chair next to it. There was no one on the chair. He was panicked. What was this place, and he couldn't help but take a step back.

At this time, someone walked out of the inner room and smiled and said, "Welcome Zhang Zuo to Gaoling Intelligence Hall."

"Intelligence Hall?"

Zhang Bingguo's heart trembled. He recognized the person in front of him, Hu Peiyun, the head of the intelligence hall.

"What are you going to do!"

Zhang Bingguo wanted to shout loudly, but his voice was trembling, a little bit harsh and bold. He had guessed that it was very likely that the Ruizhao case had happened, but as the chief official of the imperial water supervision of the imperial court, he had the self-esteem of a high-ranking official.

Hu Peiyun sat down, opened a file on the table and said lightly: "I understand Zhang Zuojun's mood, but if we don't explain many things clearly, it will be difficult for us to let Zhang Zuojun go back, and it will be difficult for me to explain it to the upper level."

Hu Peiyun's boss is Li Qing'an. Did Li Qing'an discover anything? Zhang Bingguo felt even more frightened and said in a trembling voice: "I don't understand... what do you mean? I want me to say...what?"

"Okay! I'll ask a few questions, please answer truthfully."

"etc!"

Zhang Bingguo stretched out his hand, as if he was about to stop Hu Peiyun from coming forward. He said anxiously: "I am a dignified imperial official and the left envoy of the Dushui Supervisor. Unless there is an impeachment by the Censorate and a resolution by the Political Affairs Hall, you have no right to interrogate me!"

"Who said I'm interrogating you? I'm just asking you a few questions. Whether or not to answer or not depends on you."

Hu Peiyun sneered, took out the red line book from the file, turned a few pages and asked, "At the hour of Hai, Qi Xun went to your mansion last night and stayed in your mansion for half an hour. Afterwards, you sent him out. At the door, you said, "President Qi is worried. I will definitely do what I have assigned. I want to ask, first, what is your relationship with Qi Xun, why did you call him General Qi? Second, what does he tell you to do?"

Hu Peiyun's tone was not heavy, but his words hit Zhang Bingguo's chest like an iron hammer. Zhang Bingguo felt a "buzzing!" sound in his mind turned into blank. Do they know everything?

His legs began to become weak, and he was speechless and could not say a word. Hu Peiyun was not anxious and looked at him coldly. Hu Peiyun had to admire his lord's methods. Yesterday he said that it was inconvenient to arrest and interrogate in the capital. As a result, today Zhang Yun brought Zhang Bingguo to Gaoling County in the name of inspecting the river and canals. Without any knowledge, when he returned tomorrow, no one could think that Zhang Bingguo had been interrogated.

In fact, according to Hu Peiyun's idea, there is no need to worry about Zhang Bingguo, directly arrest Qi Xun and capture all the spies from the Southern Tang Dynasty. All officials who collude with the Southern Tang can get it from Qi Xun. There is no need to go around Zhang Bingguo's bend, but Li Qing'an only said one thing: Zhang Bingguo is a good bait. Hu Peiyun suddenly realized that he had to admire Li Qing'an's clever methods.

Looking at the despair in Zhang Bingguo's eyes, Hu Peiyun smiled faintly and said, "What, is it difficult to answer my question? Zhang Zuozhi should not tell me, you have forgotten it."
To be continued...