The sky has been overcast with clouds for days, and the rain has been falling continuously.

  The rain that started on the first day of May in the first year of Jiayou has been falling until today, without any sign of stopping. The embroidered flags and beaded curtains of the post stations, wine shops, and brothels outside Zhuque Gate hang low and still in the rain; the wide streets have become gleaming jade belts. The evening drums and morning bells from Dasanguo Temple, the noisy market sounds from Quyuan Street, and the shouts of the boatmen from the Bian River cargo ships have all been soaked through by the relentless rain, losing their usual clarity and brightness, becoming dull and turbid instead.

  But life must go on, officials cannot rest for a day, otherwise the huge national machine will not be able to operate; laborers cannot rest for a day, otherwise this city with a population of millions will lack food and clothing; citizens also cannot rest, as the continuous rain and rising prices make them feel the pressure of life. This year's students who are going to take part in the imperial examination naturally cannot rest either, they hold oil umbrellas, wear wooden clogs, and brave the wind and rain to get to school on time.

  Chen Ke still goes to the tea shed by Yingxiangchi every day at noon to read books. He and his brothers will buy some food from the roadside stalls, come to the tea shed, ask for a pot of hot tea, and make do with lunch... The rain that lasted for over ten days has had an impact on all aspects of life. People not only have reduced their activity radius but also lowered their demands on life.

  At this moment, he stands in the tea pavilion, gazing out at the distant Rongxiang Pool. The kiosks and pavilions are faintly visible in the rain, but the lotus flowers and water lilies can no longer be seen, only a few ducks on the water's surface shivering with fear.

  "It's risen another foot compared to yesterday." The speaker was dark and thin, not very tall, and didn't look very impressive. If it weren't for his Taoist student attire, you wouldn't be able to tell he was a scholar at all. His name was Jī Dàng, courtesy name Zhèngfū, from Suzhou's Kunshan, and this year he was only nineteen years old, the youngest among Chen Kè's classmates.

  In daily life, others would often ask Chen Ke about the dictionary, but Jiao Xiao liked to ask him questions about this and that, mostly about water conservancy issues like the Six Towers River and the layered dam construction method. In a year of great comparison, discussing water conservancy issues seemed to outsiders as if they were not focusing on their main job, but Chen Ke discovered that this young brother not only loved water conservancy but also had a natural talent for it, so he taught him all the knowledge about water conservancy that he knew. As a result, the two became good friends, and Jiao Xiao joined his group.

  As for the gang, Chen Ke and the five Lv brothers from Fujian are getting closer and closer. Although they have their own small gang of five brothers, whenever the Chen family goes out to drink or attends a literary gathering, as long as they call out, the Lv brothers will never be absent.

  In addition to Lin Xi, Jiang Zhiqi and others who joined during this period, the group led by Chen Ke has almost thirty people. In a gathering, it is not clear who initiated it, but everyone agreed to follow the trend and establish a "Jia You Xue She". The president was naturally elected as Chen Ke, and it is not clear whether it was because of his charm or because he had money to pay for everything...

  This tea pavilion has become a fixed venue for Jiayou Academy's lunchtime activities...

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Hearing Ji Dang's words, Chen Ke asked: "What about the underground waterway?"

  Although he didn't know why Chen Ke was so concerned about the underground waterway, asking this question every day. He still answered cautiously: "The waterway should be able to sail a boat now."

  "Isn't there anywhere to stand?"

  "It's fine, there's no problem with the high grounds." Ji Dang sighed and said: "The underground waterways of Bianjing City are indeed worthy of their hundred-year construction. Didn't we go down to explore a section that day? The drainage is quite fast. Although it rained for a long time, it wasn't very urgent, so it doesn't pose a threat."

  "Oh..." Chen Ke was somewhat disappointed. He didn't think that if it rained, the underground waterway wouldn't be able to accommodate people, what qualifications did it have to be called Worry-Free Cave?

  So-called worry-free means having no worries at all...

  But Ji Xian was a genius in water conservancy, he wasn't paralyzed by the good performance of the underground waterways in Kaifeng, but calmly said: "But where to drain the water is a big trouble, Kaifeng city's terrain is flat, relying on Bian River, Cai River and Wu Zhang River to drain the flood, once the water level of several rivers rises to a certain extent, it may cause backflow... At that time, not only will the underground waterways be full of water, but also Kaifeng city will be soaked in soup."

  "How high did it rise?"

  "The water in Yingxiangchi will rise another five feet." Ji Dian's face showed a worried expression, saying: "The terrain of Kaifeng City is such that no one can do anything about it now, we can only pray to heaven not to rain again... otherwise, within five days at most, the water will flood Kaifeng."

  "Five days, are you certain?" Chen Ke asked in a low voice.

  "Judging from the rain's momentum, if it remains this strong, it will take five days. If it gets even heavier, it won't take five days."

  Two people were talking, and Old Qian, who was secretly protecting Chen Ke under orders, came into the tea pavilion wearing a rain cape.

  Chen Ke patted Gao Yan's shoulder and walked towards him.

  "Third Brother," Old Qian said in a low voice, "the young master of our house has arrived."

  "Where is it?" Chen Ke was slightly surprised.

  Lao Qian Nunu mouth, Chen Ke saw a carriage with no emblem stopped by the side of the road.

  Following Old Qian onto the vehicle, he saw Zhao Zongji, who had not been seen for many days, looking at the rain outside through a silk curtain.

  "Here." Hearing the car curtain lifted, Zhao Zongji turned his head and scolded Chen Ke: "You are really something, not coming to see me for over a month."

  "Looks like the exam is coming up, I'd better study," Chen Ke settled himself into his seat and adjusted to a comfortable position, saying: "Not like you, born with wealth and nobility."

  "I'd rather swap with you..." The burst of the Liu Ta River changed not only Chen Ke, but also Zhao Zongji. After that, he became much more profound, and only the occasional flash of anger in his eyebrows could reveal the turmoil in his heart: "The result of the Liuhe Tower case has come out."

  Chen Ke didn't say anything.

  Many people were punished, and Li Zhuang was appointed as the governor of Caozhou to oversee the repair of the Yellow River. Yan Du was appointed as the governor of Caizhou to supervise the transportation of goods in Hebei province. Cai Ting was appointed as the governor of Chuzhou to oversee the public affairs of Kaifeng Prefecture and the repair of the Yellow River. Wang Congshan, a palace eunuch, was appointed as the supervisor of Puzhou. Zhang Huain, the deputy director of the Supply Depot, was appointed as the Director of the Imperial Palace Workshop. Li Zhongchang, the Commissioner of the Yellow River Dike, was appointed as the Vice Minister of Justice...

  "..." Although he didn't plan to intervene in these trivial matters again, Chen Ke's anger surged after hearing this: "Why weren't they demoted two ranks?!" This lenient punishment was almost as if there were no punishment at all: "You, the Zhao family, are treating officials like your ancestors?! Thousands of lives lost, millions of taels wasted, and five states' people displaced, just to get a few demotions?"

  "Don't be in a hurry, things are not that simple." Zhao Zongji shook his head and said: "This punishment was decided by the two prime ministers of the Politburo, and they have a basis for handling it this way... Before the announcement of the punishment decision, Wen Gong specially arranged for someone to submit a memorial, which listed the results of the treatment of officials who were unfavorable or made mistakes in river management over the years on the official gazette."

  "In the third year of Xianping, in May, the Yellow River burst its banks at Wanglingwei, Yanzhou, and the governor Ma Xiang and judge Kong were dismissed from office. Li Jiuyuan, who was in charge of inspecting the river dikes and the left treasury, was demoted to a lower rank and exiled to Xucheng. In the third year of Jingde, on June 15th, at midnight, the Yellow River overflowed its banks west of Kaifeng City, destroying the outer dike and damaging houses. The director of the imperial guard, Qian Zhaoxun, and others blocked the Biankou, but were still accused of a crime and demoted in rank. In the seventh year of Tiansheng, on September 25th, officials from Xucheng were collectively demoted one rank due to the failure of the Wangchu dike. In the third year of Jingyou, in October, a fire broke out at the material storage yard west of the Henglin water gate in Xucheng, burning over 1.9 million bundles of hay and straw. An edict was issued ordering the transportation department to investigate and report on the officials responsible..."

  Zhao Zongji read the imperial edict less than ten times and was able to recite it from memory: "It can be seen that in the past, punishments for dereliction of duty by officials were mostly limited to dismissal, demotion, impeachment, etc., with the most severe being exile."

  "It's not that Li Zhongchang and the others can't be blamed for their reckless behavior," Chen Ke sneered, "Even if they fail, it's just a demotion, but if they succeed, they'll soar to great heights and become a legendary tale, what's there to lose?"

  "This time, however, Wen Xianggong miscalculated. Zhao Zongji smiled and said: "The situation is different, because Li Zhongchang has been using his power to suppress public opinion and forcibly promote the opening of Liu Ta River from the very beginning. Moreover, despite their insistence that they did not receive an imperial edict on the day of the merchant's gathering, it is clear that the officials in the government should have already ordered them to suspend work and wait for our measurement results before proceeding. However, the construction of Liu Ta River has not stopped, and the relevant officials' arbitrary actions have caused widespread outrage."

  "After the failure, although there was demotion, the court and the people were obviously not satisfied with following the usual practice. As a result, when the Hebei region suffered from flooding, the people of Bin, Di, De, and Bo prefectures all attributed the blame to Li Zhongchang, Zhang Huaien, Cai Ting, etc., and begged for the execution of these three men to appease the Hebei region!"

  "It goes without saying that this is another one of Lord Jia's tricks." Chen Ke sneered, "With such a good opportunity, how could he not take advantage of it?"

  "It's not right, Jia Changchao and others have repeatedly petitioned to speak out against Li Zhongchang and others' treacherous plans, deceiving the court, seeking quick gains, and committing grave crimes. They should be punished severely, how can they be pardoned? It is requested that several people be dealt with according to the law and put in a strict prison. The people of Xie Lai City are resentful and worried, showing the country's severe punishment.

  Zhao Zongji said: "It is requested to bypass the Policy Hall and decide on the punishment of several people through public discussion."

  "Not only that, they also targeted the two prime ministers and said: 'All those in power have never personally seen the depth of the river, even if there are discussions, it's just speculation, not based on facts.' Zhao Zongji continued: 'They also said that when the prime minister chooses a plan to control the river, he is not starting from its feasibility, but rather with the intention of monopolizing merit and attacking political enemies. Naturally, such childish mistakes will occur, and the officials are asked to punish the two prime ministers.'"

  "What's the result?" Chen Kexin said, this is almost it.

  The officials are still weighing the pros and cons, but they have already summoned Grand Councilor Jia back to the capital. Zhao Zongji also sneered: "The days of the two prime ministers will be even more difficult."

  *Sigh*... fell asleep again...