Luoyang was covered in rain.
These days, there were few sunny days and more cloudy days, with rain falling incessantly. Many households along the banks of the Luo River were flooded.
Autumn should have been the season for a bountiful harvest of grain and fruits and vegetables, but because of the rain, the prices of grain and vegetables had soared.
Yang Fan did not know about other families, but Steward Niu's eldest son was a farmer and his second son was a vegetable farmer. According to Steward Niu, his eldest son's crops were all submerged in the water. Regardless of whether they were fully ripe or not, the entire family was rushing to harvest and cut. They had even hired many temporary workers, and their income was half that of last year. It could be said that they had suffered heavy losses.
As for his second son's family, their vegetable fields were all submerged in the water. Although the price of vegetables in the city was extremely high, and many rich families could only eat salted vegetables while the smaller families could only eat dried rice, he had only managed to harvest and sell a single plot of vegetables. How could he plant seeds in a vast ocean?
The sudden rise in prices was not a big deal. What was important was that the tributaries near Luoyang had gone crazy from the days of heavy rain. Five rivers circling Luoyang became five rivers surrounding Luoyang. Just yesterday, a county upstream had no choice but to break a breach and allow the river to flood into the villages in order to protect Luoyang.
Although there were certain arrangements made by the government to allow the people to evacuate from the flood discharge area ahead of time so that no lives would be harmed, the loss of property to the local people was self-evident. After the flood, it would be a big problem to provide for the people's families and provide relief after the flood.
The ponds in the palace that were usually used for sightseeing had long since been filled with water and had spread to the foundations of the palace. The sandbags piled up at the Black Tortoise Gate were almost as tall as a person, but the water from outside the palace was pouring in through the palace's drainage system and could not be completely stopped.
Wu Zetian had the same problem as most old people. The ministers had urged her again and again, but she was unwilling to leave the palace to avoid danger. Wouldn't people laugh at the majestic Emperor who had been frightened out of her wits by a few heavy rains? She felt that as long as she persisted for a few more days, the rain would stop and the floodwaters would be drained.
Yang Fan had a heavy responsibility, so he could only stand guard at the Black Tortoise Gate with the Luoyang government and the Bureau of Revenue's Water Controller. They took shifts, constantly observing the situation so that they could respond promptly.
Even under these circumstances, news from the outside world was still delivered to him through various channels. Now that a group of workers had been mobilized outside the Palace to build embankments and drain the floodwaters, people came and went. Actually, if they wanted to deliver news to him, it would be much more convenient than during peaceful times.
Yang Fan stood on top of the sandbag, which was as tall as a human head and as wide as two steps. He was wearing a straw raincoat. The muddy rainwater mixed with dead branches and leaves washed his feet over and over again. He was standing barefoot on the sandbag, and the backs of his feet were already pale from being soaked.
"Hua!"
There was another splash, and the bubbles quickly burst. A dead rat's swollen body floated over. Yang Fan moved away in disgust. Beside him, a man wearing the same straw raincoat moved a few steps with him and continued to report, "The deputy inspector of the Guannei Road, Zhao Houde, has resigned due to illness. However, on our side, Niu Zhiyuan and Ma Sanqin had no choice but to give up the powerful salt administration power. It could be said that both sides suffered losses. "
Yang Fan stared at the swirling turbid stream in front of him without saying a word.
That person sighed and then said, "If the two sides continue to be at a stalemate like this, I fear that both sides will suffer great losses."
Yang Fan glanced at him and said faintly, "Is this your intention, or the intention of the elders in the sect?"
That person hurriedly said, "It is this subordinate's personal intention."
This person was called Wang Yu Chen. He had become a Jinshi, but he had always been a candidate official. He had waited for more than a decade. While his family had not reached a point where they had no food to eat, for someone as hot-blooded as him, it was a waste of his ambition. Disheartened, he had been chosen by the Xian Sect and slowly taken in.
This person had entered the Xian Sect ten years ago, but he didn't know what organization he was working for. It wasn't until not long ago when Yang Fan had read the records of the people in the sect that he had a discerning eye and put him in the center. In ten years, this person had completely merged with the Succession Hall. There was no problem with his loyalty.
Yang Fan smiled and said, "En! But you have to know, while we have lost two wings, these two wings originally had a heavy burden on them. While they can support it, they cannot fly high. In this battle, as long as we defeat the Hidden Sect, we will be able to remove this heavy burden. Even if these wings are injured, once they heal, they will be much more useful than they are now. "
Wang Yu Chen bowed and said, "Yes!"
Yang Fan thought for a moment and then said, "What do the people of the Heaven Observation Division think?"
The seriousness on Wang Yu Chen's face faded slightly and he said, "They all support the Sect Head. Not just them, all the divisions of the Xian Sect fully support the Sect Head's decision. Last time, we lost to the Hidden Sect in Chang 'an, and no one is satisfied. We have long wanted to fight with them again to determine who is stronger. "
Yang Fan nodded, and a faint smile appeared on his lips. He said, "That is good."
The entire Xian Sect could be said to be united against a common enemy. Even those subordinates with strong family backgrounds temporarily broke away from the influence of the families behind them. Or they were outwardly in opposition to their families, but in reality, they fully supported Yang Fan's decision.
They were all people of flesh and blood with their own consciousness. They had operated in the Succession Hall for many years and had their own circle of benefits. Right now, they were bound together with the Succession Hall for good and for bad. There was no reason for them to advance or retreat together. This way, Yang Fan's control over the Xian Sect became stronger and stronger.
In Yang Fan's heart, the Heaven Observation Division was still the most important. He felt that the Heaven Observation Division was the center of the Succession Hall and the soul of the entire Succession Hall. It was a pity that in front of Young Master Jiang who had single-handedly created the Succession Hall, because of Young Master Jiang's power and the unparalleled prestige he had, the Heaven Observation Division had never been used.
Yang Fan was different. He did not believe that one person's intelligence could surpass the intelligence of a group of wise people. No matter how wise this person was, there was a limit to one person's energy. How could one person's energy not be overlooked at all? So he had already strengthened the use of the Heaven Observation Division.
This time, the Xian Sect and the Hidden Sect had drawn in the power of the government. This caused great wariness among the seven great families. Some people who knew that they had the backing of the seven great families were quickly retreating, erasing all traces of them in the Succession Hall to avoid being implicated. The power gap left by the withdrawal of these powerful people needed the people of the Heaven Observation Division to fill.
These people were all people of great intelligence, but it was a pity that they only had the power to advise and the sect master almost never accepted them. Now that they could suddenly do some specific things and truly grasp power, it would be strange if they did not wholeheartedly support Yang Fan and be loyal to Yang Fan.
Yang Fan thought seriously and said, "Let them send as many troops as they want, we will just attack their weakest point! Even if we have to suffer some losses temporarily, as long as we can find a breakthrough point in the Rations Storage, the rest will be up to us! Go back and tell them not to mind the Hidden Sect's provocations and attacks on us in other aspects. Just bite on their only weakness and make sure to make them suffer! "
"Yes!"
Wang Yu Chen squinted her eyes and looked at the gloomy sky. She then walked away. There was a small boat docked there. It was a rare sight to see a boat in Luoyang City. He was disguised as a foreman transporting the sand and stones and couldn't leave for now. He could only leave after the small boats transporting the sand and stones were all unloaded.
Just now, Yang Fan was pointing and pointing as though he was telling him which areas needed reinforcement and how much sand and stones were needed. Now that they separated, Yang Fan went to the top of the city wall and met with Commander Huang Xuchang who was on duty at the Mystic Martial Gate today.
The Obvious Sect and the Hidden Sect were fighting like wildfire. Why did the seven influential clans only advise, threaten, and even watch them fight? Why did they only withdraw their direct descendants to prevent them from being implicated?
It wasn't that they didn't want to exert their influence, but when the Succession Hall became independent from the Hidden Sect and became its own faction, Young Master Jiang also started to manage his own faction in the Succession Hall. From then on, be it in politics, economy, or culture, the Succession Hall had a faction that belonged to him.
From then on, the seven influential clans might still be able to exert influence on the Succession Hall to a large extent, but they were no longer able to command the Succession Hall as though they were their own arms. They also couldn't rely on their powerful influence and economic strength to allow the Succession Hall to continue being trampled upon.
This was like a certain empire in the future where two factions were competing. As the financial groups supporting them, it was impossible for them to obey their will in any policy. The factions had their own strength and interests. Sometimes, when they were powerful enough, they could even control the financial groups behind them.
…
In the Feng Province's granary, Pei Junma's face was ashen as he looked at the few granaries that were still billowing with smoke.
Fortunately, he had brought many bailiffs and regiment commanders. With the participation and supervision of these people, no one dared to slack and allow the fire to spread. However, it wasn't that easy to extinguish a fire in a granary. Currently, they were only controlling the spread of the fire and extinguishing most of the open fire. However, the hidden fire in the granary was still burning. No one could enter and no one could extinguish it.
Hu Yuanli stood there in a daze. The beard on his chin had curled up, and when he stroked it, his hand would turn black. His beard was already burnt to a crisp.
The few granaries that were on fire were the granaries that the 'wanderer' had pointed out in the flying dagger message. He didn't expect those corrupt officials to be so daring and to grasp the timing so well. He might have come quickly, but the other party actually destroyed the evidence one step ahead of him. Lax supervision had caused the granaries to catch fire. No matter how serious this dereliction of duty was, it wasn't as serious as corruption.
What he didn't know was that if it wasn't for the fact that the original provincial governor, Li Hao, had coincidentally come out of the provincial governor's fu today and met him, and that Li Hao was abnormally alert due to his guilt, the other party would not have been able to react in time today. It really was the will of the heavens that things had reached this stage.
As Pei Junma's aide, Mu You did not feel the humiliation of being played around in the palm of the owner's hand. He stared at the four granaries that were still billowing with smoke and thought calmly for a moment. Suddenly, he took two steps forward and whispered something to Pei Junma.
Pei Junma would only be cowardly in front of the domineering Yi 'an Junzhu. Everything in front of him made him not doubt Imperial Messenger Hu's accusations at all. When Mu You spoke, Pei Junma clapped his hands together and said viciously, "Fine! Let's do this! "
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