Chapter 5: A Great Plan
These were not thieves at all, but Lao Yu and Lao Yang who came to see the fortune tellers the day before yesterday.
When he saw their shabby attire, he asked in surprise:
"Old Yang, I haven't seen you for a few days. How come you have become so sour?"
Lao Yang and Lao Yu changed their silk cloaks from the day before, and this time both of them were dressed in cloth clothes and had gray hair and faces.
Lao Yu took a sip of water and said breathlessly:
"It's a long story. You really did get it right. The dragon boat passed Yongqiu and gradually reached the territory of Ningling. Suddenly, the dragon boat ran aground."
When Li Ji heard this, he burst into laughter.
The historical materials I looked up were very authentic, otherwise there would be a lot of trouble.
"I think this is weird. The dragon boat ran aground, and it has nothing to do with you two. Why are you running away?"
When Lao Yu heard Li Ji's question, he scratched his head and said:
"How can I not run? The government is arresting people everywhere to dig canals. I heard that they are also going to arrest and kill the laborers who were recently conscripted."
"Then what do you want to do by wandering around my farm?"
" You know what? The world is in turmoil right now. There are barren fields and abandoned villages everywhere."
"I see the wheat seedlings in your fields are green and the chickens and dogs are crowing and jumping in the village. We are just curious."
Old Yang's face was full of envy.
It turned out that he was thinking about the fields of the mountain temple.
Li Ji looked at Lao Yang and answered thoughtfully:
"Just think about it. I'm a poor boy. How can I support so many servants if I don't grow some crops and raise some poultry?"
He looked at Lao Yu's face again and said, "Look, these guys are like thieves, they eat a lot."
"They are not real bandits, are they?" Old Yang asked cunningly.
"No, no, they are all displaced refugees."
Li Ji pointed to the wasteland outside the door and the barren mountains in the distance and said, "I will take them in and cultivate the fields and plant trees in Shenmiao Village. My fruit trees will bear fruit next spring."
Old Yang asked in surprise: "What kind of variety do you have? How many months will it take for it to bloom and bear fruit?"
Li Ji smiled and said: "I usually have nothing to do, except helping people to read their fortunes, and I am thinking about grafting new varieties. I named the fruit tree Guoguang No. 20."
Old Yang praised:
"My dear little brother, you are a talented person. You can not only read faces, but also invent things."
Li Ji was immediately delighted by Lao Yang's praise.
"Fortune-telling is something I learned from my master. It's a scam."
He suddenly realized that he had let the cat out of the bag.
At this time, Lao Yang disagreed:
"Stop talking nonsense. You are not kidding. You are a god descended to earth."
"You said the dragon boat ran aground, so it just lay flat after passing Ningling and wouldn't move."
Li Ji laughed in his heart. He thought:
"What gods or no gods? There have never been any gods in the world. They are all myths and legends."
"If you want to talk about the order of hearing the truth, I may have known the information first, but I do have some foresight."
Relying on the historical knowledge accumulated from his previous life, Li Ji guessed that the dragon boat was stranded, which convinced Lao Yang and Lao Yu.
Lao Yang patted Li Ji on the shoulder and said, "Brother, no matter what others say, I believe it anyway."
He winked at Lao Yu, who understood.
He took out a check and placed it in front of Li Ji.
"Do as you say. This is the promise your boss made to you."
Old Yang still wanted to find out the truth, so he interrupted:
"The Emperor Yang's previous two tours to Jiangdu were not delayed at all. Why was there such an obstacle today?"
Li Ji immediately said mysteriously:
"Old Yang, I observed the stars last night and found that Suiyang is surrounded by royal energy. This place is close to Suiyang. I think the ground veins must have been contaminated by the royal energy, so they suddenly became lighter."
Old Yang was still skeptical.
"Even if the earth veins are changing, there should be a process. It's impossible for them to change instantly."
At this time, Lao Yu started cursing his mother.
"Damn it , I don't know which supervisor is derelict in his duty, cutting corners and cheating, and we ordinary people are suffering."
"If anyone finds out, the government will punish them severely."
When Li Ji saw the situation, he immediately realized that he must not suggest that the government mobilize troops, so he quickly said:
"Lao Yu, I think the government doesn't need to investigate anymore. I've already figured out who did it."
Old Yang's eyes lit up and he looked at Li Ji several times.
"You also know this river dredging file. How old are you?"
"I'm already sixteen years old. As the saying goes: A man with ambition never ages, but without ambition one is wasting his life."
Li Ji stretched out his right hand again and counted with his fingers thoughtfully:
"This supervisor's surname is Zhao, and his name is Er."
"He is in charge of the construction supervision from Ningling to Suiyang. It just so happens that Zhao Er is also traveling with the emperor. You can go to the government office to inquire about him."
Old Yang thought, what is the point of inquiring? Li Ji's words are consistent with the criminal record investigated by the government.
Old Yang knew that the inspecting officials had already found out that there were a total of 129 shallow silt areas from Yongqiu to Guankou.
This young fairy, despite being so young, is so wise.
Like a god, a living god!
Lao Yu also secretly admired Li Ji's foresight.
The government has already sent people to the shallow part of the canal to investigate the names of the workers who worked on the construction the day before.
Lao Yu told Li Ji:
"Brother, do you know?"
Li Ji immediately asked, "Lao Yu, if you have something to say, please say it quickly."
"The government has arrested all the laborers involved in the case. They will be buried upside down on the bank. They will be river diggers in their lifetime and sand ghosts in their death."
Before Lao Yu finished speaking, Li Ji's hair stood on end and his scalp went numb.
There were 129 shallow silt areas and more than 50,000 people involved. If they were all buried alive, it would be a shocking tragedy in the Sui Dynasty.
Compared with the Qin Empire's killing of Confucian scholars, it was much more cruel.
Now that I have traveled back to the Sui Dynasty, I cannot watch these common people being buried alive.
Li Ji wanted to reverse his fate and save the lives of these servants.
He said to Lao Yu:
"The Grand Canal is the pride of the empire. Water flows from north to south, and flows around the Luo River."
"From the perspective of Feng Shui, a thousand feet is momentum, a hundred feet is form; far is momentum, near is form."
Old Yang was puzzled and asked, "Is there any mystery here?"
Li Ji patiently explained to Lao Yang and Lao Yu.
Although shape and momentum differ in size, they are closely related.
The momentum is in the coarse, the form is in the fine;
The trend can be observed from a distance, but the shape needs to be observed from close up.
Therefore, observing the situation from a distance may be brief but true;
Looking at its shape from close up, it is concise yet comprehensive.
Qi meridians, bright hall and water mouth are the "three principles" in Feng Shui.
The canal mouth is where the rivers on both sides converge and flow out from between the two mountains. These silted-up places are symbols of auspiciousness.
According to Feng Shui, the more water outlets there are and the more winding the water flows, the more auspicious the Feng Shui is.
The qi veins are connected to the dragon veins, and any unusual movements of the dragon veins must be observed.
These blockages are formed naturally and are the result of natural forces.
Reduce the tossing and turning and do not disturb the qi meridians.
In a word, don't ruin the feng shui of the Sui Dynasty.
Old Yang listened for a long time and seemed to understand, so he asked:
"How can we avoid the siltation and allow the dragon boat to pass smoothly?"
