Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 76: When will the emperor be changed?
“Ah…A-choo!”
Beilin was startled by the cold water and woke up immediately. She rubbed her nose and saw a man dressed as a scholar sitting in front of her.
He was not a Jinshi and had no chance to meet the emperor in the palace, so naturally he did not recognize that this was the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
Seeing Beilin's confused look, Zhu Qizhen smiled and said, "What's your name, sir?"
"Oh, my name is Beilin. I wonder if you are…"
"I'm Song Fu!" Zhu Qizhen glanced at Song Guxi beside him and said calmly, "Just now I was next door and heard Brother Bei talking about natural anomalies and earthquakes in the northwest, so I came here to ask what they meant."
However, Song Guxi understood the trick, Song Fu, Song father... Oh my, the emperor actually took advantage of me!
This... let's just forget it. He's the emperor after all. Just bear with it!
Beilin was immediately interested when she heard this, and said excitedly: "Brother Song, you don't know, I observed the sky recently, there was a solar eclipse during the day, and earth lights appeared at night, the effect of the earthquake is obvious. The "Book of Han" says that if you live in a nest, you can know the wind, and if you live in a cave, you can know the rain. The changes in the sky are seen in the eclipse of the stars, and the changes in the earth are seen in the vibration of strange objects..."
Zhu Qizhen was completely confused when he heard this. Just imagine, if he were the director of the Imperial Observatory, he would probably not be able to bear it.
"Brother Bei, Brother Bei!"
Beilin was talking excitedly and didn't want to be interrupted, so she continued, "Also, the Wei star in the northwest is broken and the Shu star is scattered. This is a sign of a major earthquake!"
Although Zhu Qizhen didn't understand, he was greatly shocked.
"Brother Bei said there was an earthquake. Where exactly?"
Beilin pointed to the south window and shook her head, saying, "The northwest direction of the capital is roughly in the area of Yan'an and Yulin."
Zhu Qizhen and Song Guxi looked at each other, and they both saw confusion in each other's eyes. Since it is the northwest direction, why are you pointing to the south?
This person can't even tell the direction, yet he claims to be able to observe the celestial phenomena...
Zhu Qizhen thought he was drunk, so he asked again: "Can you be more specific?"
"I'm afraid not!" Beilin shook her head and said, "If we can see the local reports, we may be able to find some clues, but our warden is totally clueless. Ha, if he wasn't so old, I would definitely beat him to a pulp!"
Zhu Qizhen asked again: "Since there is a warning from the sky, when do you think this earthquake will occur and what will be its scale?"
Beilin thought about it carefully and said, "About ten days, no more than half a month at most. In terms of scale, it will probably exceed all the earthquakes recorded since the Ming Dynasty."
Zhu Qizhen suddenly fell into deep thought. If what he said was true, this would be a huge disaster.
In the farming era, people's ability to resist natural disasters was almost zero.
Moreover, every time a natural disaster occurred, the emperor had to issue an edict of remorse.
Because in the eyes of the people, natural disasters are God's punishment on mankind. If a natural disaster occurs during your term of office, it means that there is something wrong with you as an emperor. You must admit your mistakes to God and write a review of several thousand words before you can be considered done.
Otherwise, the people will think that you are an incompetent emperor and it is time to change someone.
"There is something I don't understand. Since Brother Bei has discovered the problem, why don't you report it to the court?"
"Brother Song, you are joking!"
Beilin picked up the wine glass on the table and drank it all, then smiled bitterly and said, "Who am I? I am just a humble Sichen, without any rank or status. How can I make a report?"
Zhu Qizhen asked in return: "Why can't I submit a memorial?"
Beilin sighed and said, "I first reported my discovery to Lingtai Lang, but he said I was bored. I had no choice but to report it to the Supervisor, but he said I was sensational and alarmist. Who else can I report to? Should I go directly to the palace to see the emperor?"
"If Brother Bei has confidence in himself, why can't he enter the palace to meet the emperor?"
"Haha!" Beilin picked up the wine glass and shook her head, saying, "Brother Song, I can see that you are making fun of me!"
"Brother Bei, you are wrong!" Zhu Qizhen snatched the wine glass from his hand and said solemnly, "I just want to ask you one question, are you confident in your observation?"
When Beilin heard someone doubt her expertise, she immediately said unhappily, "Of course!"
Zhu Qizhen continued to ask: "If an earthquake really happens, how many people will be killed or injured?"
"I'm afraid... there are countless!"
"Brother Bei cares about the world and is determined to save the country from collapse. Why can't he enter the palace to see the emperor?"
Hearing this, the sadness on Beilin's face gradually disappeared and she became calm.
"What are you afraid of? Are you afraid that your predictions are inaccurate?"
"impossible!"
Beilin's face immediately turned red, and she said, "I have read all the ancient books, and this celestial phenomenon is a warning of a major earthquake, there is absolutely no doubt about it!"
"Since there is no problem, what are you afraid of?"
"me……"
"Are you afraid that you will be regarded as a lunatic and driven out of the palace?"
"I...I'm not wrong, I can't be wrong!"
Zhu Qizhen smiled faintly and said, "You are not wrong, then who is wrong?"
"It's Lingtai Lang and Jianzheng. They don't understand astronomy at all. They stare at Ziwei Star every day to predict the situation in the world, to see who will gain power and who will be unlucky, to see how long the emperor can last and when to replace him..."
Inadvertently, Beilin noticed that Mr. Song opposite her looked unhappy.
"Brother Song, what's wrong with you?"
Zhu Qizhen's face was as black as charcoal. He asked, "Has the Imperial Observatory figured out when the emperor will be replaced?"
"They'll watch shit!"
Beilin picked up the wine glass again and said, "Let's not talk about them. I feel upset. I met Brother Song today. We get along really well. Let's have a drink!"
Zhu Qizhen picked up the wine glass in front of him, drank it all, then stood up and said, "It's getting late, I'll take my leave first , brother Bei, see you later!"
Beilin stood up, clasped her fists and said, "See you later!"
After leaving Tingyu Pavilion, Zhu Qizhen did not return to the palace directly, but went to the Beizhenfusi first.
Yuan Bin did not dare to neglect and asked, "What does the emperor want?"
Zhu Qizhen said with a dark face: "Investigate the Imperial Observatory from the chief supervisor down one by one. I want to know what these people do every day!"
"I will do it right away!"
"Also!" Zhu Qizhen continued, "Tomorrow morning, if there is a young man named Beilin who asks to enter the palace, let him in and tell him that it was my wish."
"yes!"
After returning to the palace, Zhu Qizhen called Huai'en to his presence.
"I need all the memorials from Yan'an Prefecture to Yulin Prefecture within the past month!"
Huai En couldn't help but feel troubled, and asked carefully: "What does the emperor want to see?"
"all!"
"I will go find it right away, but... it may take some time."
Zhu Qizhen asked: "How long?"
Huai En thought about it carefully and said, "Give me one day and hand it over to the emperor before dark tomorrow."
"No!" Zhu Qizhen shook his head and said in an unquestionable tone, "Before the morning court tomorrow, I want to see these memorials!"
"Your servant... obeys your command!"
Huai En sighed secretly. When Wang Zhen was around, he was free and leisurely every day. Why was it that he was so busy all day long?
Looks like I have to stay up late again tonight, oh!
