Ming Jiajing: Starting from Immortality

Chapter 46 All the people kneel down to express their gratitude and exempt Chun’an from taxes!
This day.

Are there ghosts and gods?

Witnessed by countless people, the breach was first blocked by huge rocks that came from nowhere in the river channel, and then fine stones and fragments filled the gaps, and then sand and yellow mud evenly covered it.

With layers of stones and mud, the breach was sealed tightly and not a drop of water flowed out of the levee.

With the breach as the radiant point, the entire levee was reshaped and reinforced. The originally turbulent and turbid river water suddenly became gentle and clear, flowing downstream.

However, the gentleness of the river water is just an illusion created by the lack of a reference object; the actual water speed is still very fast.

On a sunny day with clear blue sky, it suddenly started to drizzle. Strong sun and light rain appeared at the same time.

A resident of Jiande County leaned over and scooped up a handful of water with both hands. In the sunlight, the river water flowing out from between his fingers sparkled. When he drank it, there was a sweet taste that penetrated his heart and lungs.

The old man next to him saw this and shouted, "Xiao Wuzi, you can't drink that. It will bring plague. Spit it out!"

I don’t know how many things died in the flood water. If you drink it, you will most likely get sick. Poor people cannot afford to get sick.

The little boy was still lying on the levee, looking up at the old man, crying and smiling at the same time, "Old man, it's sweet! Sweet!"

“This is the water God has given us!”

talking.

Xiao Wuzi scooped up some water again, supported himself on the embankment with his elbows, and climbed up, then came to the elder as if offering a treasure.

The old man looked at the gradually dripping river water, the anxious Xiao Wuzi, and the many shocked and inquiring eyes around him, and he made up his mind, "Xiao Wuzi, you stole so many peaches from my yard. From now on, you have to take good care of the two peach trees in my yard. Otherwise, I will not forgive you even if I die!"

The old man has no descendants.

But he was very open-minded. He laughed and scolded Xiao Wuzi a few words, then lowered his head and drank the water.

Chun'an suffers from floods every year, and the neighboring Jiande is not much different. Elderly people have seen people drinking unclean river water.

Even if a good person drinks it, he will become ill and his body will react to varying degrees. When the abdomen reacts, the elder subconsciously covers his abdomen with a frown.

When the people around him were uneasy, the elder’s “painful” expression turned into “comfort”, and it seemed as if a warm current was flowing in his body, nourishing his whole body.

At this moment, the chronic illness from the past surprisingly disappeared. There was no pain in the whole body and I felt surprisingly good.

It is just like the legendary "last flicker of life", but not exactly the same. There is no feeling of decline after reaching the peak in the body.

The elder couldn't help but exclaim the same way as Xiao Wuzi, "Sweet!"

"So sweet!"

A "miracle" occurred in front of so many people, and the people, who already believed firmly in ghosts and gods, were the first to waver, and they all bent down to scoop up river water to drink.

As the health of the people improved, all the people on the levee came to the bank to scoop up river water to drink.

Only the soldiers with guns, swords and sandbags did not move. Perhaps the soldiers also wanted to drink the river water, but no one dared to move without military orders.

"Go drink some water."

Qi Jiguang noticed the unrest among the soldiers and immediately issued a military order.

Looking at the soldiers rushing to the bank, Qi Jiguang was shocked. The army was best at killing. Since there were "miracles", could there be "ghost signs"?

But the thought of gods and ghosts only flashed through Qi Jiguang's mind and then disappeared. The "miracle" that descended on Xin'an River, on the Ming Dynasty, and on the Jiajing Dynasty represented that God bless China and God bless the emperor.

Even if we, the army blessed by God, kill many people, we are acting in the name of justice.

If a "miracle" befalls the enemy or falls on the enemy's place, it means that heaven is cruel. My Ming Dynasty's righteous army must go against heaven and fight for a chance of survival for all people in the world!
Yang Jinshui stretched out a palm to catch the dripping raindrops, looked at the clear sky, his eyes shining: "God has sent down a good omen!"

From ancient times to the present.

Perhaps no one likes auspicious signs more than the present emperor. From the 21st year of the Jiajing reign, when the emperor moved into the Western Garden, to the 40th year of the Jiajing reign, in the 19 years, officials at all levels in the two capitals and 13 provinces of the Ming Dynasty have presented auspicious signs as many as 38 times.

On average, there are twice a year.

These auspicious signs include various supernatural phenomena, as well as some divine animals such as white magpies, white rabbits, white deer, white turtles, five-colored turtles, as well as fairy peaches, fairy dew, fairy pills and other items. There are many kinds and they are endless.

The emperor believed in these auspicious signs and thought they were a gift from heaven.

We cannot invite the Emperor to see the magic of Xin'an River, but we can present this divine rain in a jade bottle to the Emperor, so that Chaotian Temple can use it to make elixirs and it will surely have miraculous effects.

Yang Jinshui is different from other Zhejiang officials. Over his head is the only cloud in the palace. As long as that cloud does not bring rain, he will be safe.

Ordering his eunuch to fetch the Hetian white jade bottle to receive the rootless divine rain, Yang Jinshui looked at Hu Zongxian, only to hear Hu Zongxian say slowly: "The emperor is virtuous!"

Just this sentence.

The joy on Zheng Michang and He Maocai's faces froze immediately, and shock appeared in Yang Jinshui's eyes.

Attributing the miracle of Xin'an River and the divine rain to the emperor, Yang Jinshui felt that Hu Zongxian was not only suitable to be an official, but also more suitable to enter the Imperial Household Department.

Hu Zongxian looked at the various people and soldiers, and said to Xu Wei beside him: "Pass it on, this river water and this divine rain are auspicious signs of our Ming Dynasty, and are bestowed by the emperor of our Ming Dynasty."

Auspicious!

emperor!

It spread into everyone's heart.

There was a moment of silence at first, and then the little fifth child knelt toward the north and shouted at the top of his voice: "Long live the emperor!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

Cheers spread throughout the Xin'an River embankment. The people of the nine counties, facing north, praised the emperor's kindness.

The levee was as solid as a rock, and the Taohua flood disaster in Xin'an River came to an end. However, the disaster relief work in Chun'an was far from over.

Several huge candles were burning brightly, and Hu Zongxian was writing a memorial.

There was still no wind. Yang Jinshui, Zheng Michang and He Maocai sat there in boredom. The chirping of insects after the rain was always exceptionally loud, so loud that it made people feel annoyed.

"A grain ship carrying one million dan of grain has been transported to Chun'an. Sir, you can finally kill people now, right?" He Maocai said.

The magistrates of the nine counties and the supervisors of the river office must not live to wait for the imperial envoy from the court, otherwise, the entire Zhejiang officialdom would be finished, and even the capital would be implicated.

The only thing that could kill them was the royal decree in Hu Zongxian's hand. Who knows what was written in Hu Zongxian's memorial?
"The flood diversion to Chun'an has saved the eight counties of Jiande from danger. There is food, but the people still need to hurry up and plant rice seedlings so that they can have some harvest in the fall. However, the harvest from the fields that have been hit by the disaster will certainly not be much. If they are burdened with taxes, I am afraid that many people will not be able to survive. Therefore, I would like to petition the emperor to exempt Chun'an from taxes for three years."

talking.

Hu Zongxian picked up the memorial and placed it on the table.

Zheng Michang and He Maocai were silent. They had not forgotten the 500,000 acres of land they had promised to Beijing.

If one signs his name on this memorial, the people of Chun'an will eat the grain provided by the Weaving Bureau, have the harvest as usual in autumn, and be tax-free for three years. No one will sell their land there.

If no one sells land, how should Zhejiang officials report to the Beijing government?
Zheng and He both looked at Yang Jinshui again.

"I agree." Yang Jinshui spoke with his eyes still closed.

After this incident, he no longer thought about the credit for the 700,000 pieces of silk business with Western merchants. Now, all he thought about was "getting away with murder."

As for the dealings in Zhejiang officialdom, what does it have to do with the Weaving Bureau?
(End of this chapter)