CHAPTER 530: CHAPTER 226: THE WATER DEMON EMERGES, YELLOW RIVER BREACHED (PART 2)

The Capital, a certain well-known place of entertainment.

Elder Liang was diligently inspecting the work inside. After being busy, he finally waited for Xu Qing and then dismissed everyone around.

"The position of Grand Secretary this time, none other than you, Elder," Xu Qing shamelessly declared.

Elder Liang pretended not to hear the previous words, his heart filled with excitement, and he raised his wine glass: "Gongming, nothing more to say, I’ll drink to that."

Getting the Grand Secretary position he dreamed of, Elder Liang’s heart was filled with ambition and grandeur.

His speech and actions took on a worldly air.

He decided from today onwards to exercise well, and next time anyone in the Cabinet opposes him, he would just swing a bench at them...

Of course, this was just a fantasy...

Everyone is the pillar of the nation, there’s no need for great hostility, things can be discussed.

After toasting Mr. Xu.

Xu Qing asked, "After becoming Grand Secretary, how do you plan to continue implementing the reform?"

Elder Liang originally had a heap of ideas, but seeing Xu Qing’s wistful gaze, he suddenly had a realization, "Whatever Gongming says, I’ll do."

Xu Qing patted Elder Liang’s shoulder, thinking to himself that the old man was reliable.

He took out a ten-thousand-word essay.

"This is called the Five-Year Plan, and it is the outline of the upcoming five-year reform strategy. Elder, after you carefully consider it, submit it to His Majesty, and the position of Grand Secretary will be secure."

"Five years? Zhang Tai’a will be back from mourning within twenty-seven months..." Elder Liang was somewhat concerned.

Xu Qing restrained the urge to roll his eyes.

As the saying goes, people leave and the tea cools, but you’re not even gone, Elder Liang, and the tea has already cooled.

"After the mourning period, Tai’a may not return. Even if he does, this plan will not change." Xu Qing reassured Elder Liang.

Elder Liang immediately took the essay, as it concerned his future. He browsed it directly and found it increasingly interesting.

Prepare beforehand or fail.

This ten-thousand-word essay’s five-year plan captures the essence of preparedness.

Moreover, he guaranteed that His Majesty would accept the essay.

Because following the essay would provide a clear outline for future administrations. While not guaranteeing significant results, it ensured that the superior felt in control.

Additionally, the old Emperor could randomly check on the progress of the reform without looking for details in the report.

But being an old bureaucrat, Liang intended to ensure that in practice, the implementation would be full of pretense.

Yet, on the surface, the reforms would seem highly effective.

For him, that was enough.

If a mess was left, it would be the next Grand Secretary’s problem.

And with this essay, Elder Liang could thoroughly enjoy the benefits of reform without worrying about his posthumous reputation.

Xu Qing also knew that a character like Elder Liang would find it hard to implement reform as determinedly as a Grand Secretary, executing it perfectly.

Thankfully, the old man was obedient.

If this essay was given to the Grand Secretary, the effect would be far better, but alas, it’s a matter of fate.

Xu Qing gave it to Elder Liang with a waste-not mentality.

Whether there are dates or not, take a couple of swings.

Moreover, with the plan, following it could lessen Elder Liang’s resistance. After all, trying to manipulate a Grand Secretary like a puppet would be too outrageous.

Now with the plan as an excuse, that mindset no longer existed.

...

...

Although the new Grand Secretary was chosen, in the Capital, the main drama was still Xu Liushou’s verbal battle against the scholars!

A group of imperial censors and officials were fully armed, criticizing the emotional decree drafted by Xu Qing on behalf of the Emperor.

Xu Liushou didn’t hold back. He directly wrote a memorial mocking the Pure Stream faction.

It could be said that during the entire reign of Emperor Wan, this was the greatest cultural event.

So many memorials from this debate were passed down to future generations and became valuable cultural relics.

Future historians even claimed that Xu Liushou corrupted the public discourse of an era. To this, Xu Liushou stated in his personal notes that the Great Yu Dynasty’s atmosphere was corrupt from the start.

"Husband, are you writing a memorial today?"

"No, it’s meaningless to fight with a bunch of riffraff." Xu Qing put down his pen and sighed.

Fighting with novices for too long, you’d be brought down to their level and then defeated with their rich experience.

Of course, the more important reason was that memorials from his father-in-law and Wu the mentor arrived, and both pointed at Xu Qing’s nose and scolded him.

One was a father-in-law, and the other a mentor.

Xu Qing showed respect and submitted the memorial, admitting they were right.

So, the victory over Xu Liushou’s defeat was directly taken by Master Feng and Master Wu.

Cheating!

Many censors of the Inspection Bureau almost vomited blood.

After fighting many days, victory was almost in sight, only to have the fruits of victory stolen.

Moreover, theoretically, Master Feng and Master Wu came from the Pure Stream, so they were hard to criticize.

With their memorials, the final nail was driven.

Soon, the Grand Secretary submitted the final memorial requesting to resign, and the Emperor agreed.

This grand drama finally concluded.

During this time, the Grand Secretary arranged the ensuing matters, then stood his final watch.

...

...

Tonight is the Grand Secretary’s last night on duty in the Cabinet.

He was filled with emotion.

Meanwhile, that day, Xu Qing’s Weiyang Sword emitted a vibrating hum.

Xu Qing was initially puzzled.

Until that night, the Grand Secretary urgently summoned him to the Inner Court for a court meeting, where he learned of a major event.

"The Yellow River breached again?"

The last time the Yellow River breached, it created many refugees in Central State and sparked a civil uprising in East Mountain Province. Naturally, the Court sent people to manage the water afterwards.

During the court meeting, Xu Qing heard the reason for this Yellow River breach.

It turned out to be due to improper sacrifices to the Divine Spirits.

Historically, the primary deity worshiped for the Yellow River was the "River God," followed by various mountain and river natural spirits.

In charge of managing the Yellow River were two major officials: Minister of the Ministry of Industry Zhu Ling, and Liu Quan, who served as the Right Deputy Imperial Censor and River Director.

Because water disasters from the Yellow River often shook the foundation of the state.

Thus, these two officials were not in the Capital, but responsible for water management.

Water management has always been a significant task throughout the ages.

It couldn’t be left to one person.

Since in ancient times Yu the Great changed dynasties through water management.

Hence, it required two ministers to counterbalance each other, preventing the formation of rebellious forces.

These two ministers were handling water management locally, which was quite interesting.

Instead of building dikes, they were offering sacrifices to the Divine Spirits.

Zhu Ling believed they should worship the River God, while Liu Quan thought they should worship the mountain and river natural spirits. They couldn’t agree, so each performed their own sacrifices.

The result was that the Yellow River still breached.

Thus, they blamed each other for worshiping the wrong spirit, angering the other spirit and causing the Yellow River to breach again.

Upon hearing this, Xu Qing initially thought they were both crazy.

But after listening to the court meeting, he discovered that wasn’t the case.

Building dikes indeed helped manage water, but there were indeed God and Demon factors involved in the breaches of the Yellow River.

In the Yellow River, an extremely terrifying Ancient Water Demon was suppressed.

The frequent water disasters often related to the Water Demon charging against the Emperor Yu’s seal inside.

Their sacrifices to the Divine Spirits were also attempts to energize the spirits receiving incense on both banks of the Yellow River to suppress the Water Demon.

Of course, the Yellow River itself needed management as well.

It required a balance between both approaches.

But the cost of building dikes was far greater than sacrifices to the Divine Spirits.

For the moment, the Court couldn’t allocate much money for water management, so they tacitly approved the sacrifice practice, acting with a hopeful mindset.

"Right now, we need a competent minister to manage water and someone with great ability to reinforce the Water Demon’s seal." The Grand Secretary set the tone directly.

After he finished speaking.

All eyes in the Inner Court drifted towards Xu Qing.

Xu Qing: "..."

He experienced for the first time what it meant to be expected by everyone.

Moreover, Xu Qing remembered something, could the unusual movement of the Weiyang Sword be related to the Water Demon?

Because the Zhuge family had once used the Weiyang Sword to suppress a Yangtze River Water Demon.

The Water Demon in the Yellow River was reputed to be the foremost of all Water Demons, and rumors said that those Yangtze River Water Demons were formed from the Devil Thought of the Yellow River Water Demon impregnating Demon Beasts...

Regardless of the connection, Xu Qing was willing to manage the water.

Though managing water was a great difficulty, it was also a tremendous opportunity!

He took the duty as his own, "Xu is willing to go."