But what Liu Xie didn't expect was that after he finished speaking, Zhuge Liang blurted out without hesitation. "I would like to attend on behalf of the Imperial Academy."
"Huh?"
Liu Xie was stunned and couldn't help but ask, "Are you... sure you don't want to think about it carefully? This matter is no small matter."
"I have already thought it through."
Zhuge Liang nodded slightly and said, "Your Majesty, Imperial Academy is a good thing that benefits the country and the people. Now that I have earned the salary of the Han Dynasty, I should consider Great Han Altars of Soil and Grain's future."
"In private matters, I am a commoner, and I work hard for Nanyang. Your Majesty does not think that I am despicable, so I sent Emissary all the way to visit him and entrusted him with important tasks."
"Your Majesty's kindness to me is greater than that of Mount Tai, but I have nothing to repay. Now that Your Majesty is in the prime of employing people, how can I ignore it just because I care about feathers?"
"This is not the way to be a minister."
"Therefore, I am willing to participate in this debate with Zheng Xuan. No matter what the outcome is, I will not betray Your Majesty's trust."
Liu Xie looked at Zhuge Liang in front of him with a firm expression, clear eyes, and full of enthusiasm, and felt slightly absent-minded.
He opened his mouth, but in the end he couldn't say anything. He just reached out and patted Zhuge Liang on the shoulder.
Everything is left unsaid.
Zhuge Liang bowed, stood up and left.
Chapter 503 Yellow River The water is clear and a severe drought is coming?
Regarding the organization of Debate Conference, Liu Xie has made a formal decision and ordered Guo Jia to be announced to the government and the public.
As soon as the news came out, it caused a huge sensation.
It has been four months since the launch of the Imperial Academy. The controversy over Imperial Academy has never ceased between the government and the public, but there has been no official response to the matter.
Now Imperial Court has publicly announced the establishment of Debate Conference, launched a debate on the establishment of the Imperial Academy, and invited Famous Scholars from all over the world to participate. This is no small matter.
If the four subjects offered by the Imperial Academy are New Learning, then the traditional Confucianism is Old Learning. Son of Heaven now wants to obtain scholars with New Learning. This is the reason why many scholars oppose the establishment of the Imperial Academy.
Now that Debate Conference is open, it is not just as simple as arguing whether Imperial Academy should be opened, but also involves the dispute between New Learning and Old Learning.
It's said to be a debate, but it's actually a debate!
The influence brought by the debate is far-reaching, and is directly related to Great Han's policy of governing the country and mainstream doctrines and thoughts.
The last time the debate was conducted by White Tiger Hall Conference organized by Emperor Zhang, it has been more than a hundred years, and now it is restarted again.
For a time, the government and the public were discussing this matter.
Famous Scholars great Confucian people from all over the world could no longer sit still after hearing the news, and rushed to Chang'an one after another to attend this grand event.
Liu Xie is not concerned about the impact of Debate Conference.
In order to give Famous Scholars people from all over the world enough time to get to Chang'an, Debate Conference is scheduled to be held in June, and it is still early.
At present, he is more concerned about the flood situation in various places.
With the arrival of spring, Spring Flood is something that cannot be ignored. It is related to State public sentiment and the safety of the people.
When it comes to flood conditions, we have to say Yellow River.
Yellow River floods is a headache for all dynasties. Countless people live on both sides of the Yellow River and downstream. Yellow River floods is even more serious during Spring Flood. If it is not managed well, millions of people will suffer.
Yuan Xi As Grand Minister of Works, he is responsible for all water conservancy projects.
Regarding the matter of managing Yellow River floods, he went to Xuan Room and started arguing with Fa Zheng very early in the morning. The two of them argued so hard that they even got in front of Liu Xie.
The reason is very simple. It takes a lot of money to manage Yellow River floods and repair dams. Now the person who is really in charge of Great Han's money bag is Tax Bureau, so Yuan Xi went to the Tax Bureau to apply for funds to manage Yellow River, but Fa Zheng did not agree.
Because last year he allocated 300,000 guan to Yuan Xi to control floods in the Yellow River. After the repairs were completed, there was a balance of 100,000 guan, but he did not return it.
As a result, now Yuan Xi comes to him again to ask for money to manage Yellow River. Do you really think that their Tax Bureau money came from the strong wind?
"Yuan Minister of Works, didn't you just spend 200,000 yuan to repair the dam last year? The remaining money was not returned, so why are you asking for money again this year?"
Fa Zheng said to Yuan Xi with a bad look on his face and a rather blunt tone.
Although Yuan Xi is one of the Three Excellenciess, this is a business matter, and business matters must be run by the public. He will not compromise easily just because of his status as Yuan Xi.
Now Great Han is short of money!
Yuan Xi glared when he heard this and said angrily, "We spent the remaining One Hundred Thousand money from last year to repair river works in other places. Where is there any left?"
"Although it was repaired last year, Yellow River is very important, so it needs to be reinforced just in case."
"Otherwise, if something happens, who will bear the responsibility? Tax Bureau? Or you, the chief prosecutor?"
"Tax Bureau is only responsible for allocating funds. How can you know how many things need to be considered to control river works?"
After that, Yuan Xi bowed his hand to Liu Xie on Seat of Honor, and said sincerely, "Your Majesty, I am dedicated to serving the people, but Tax Bureau refuses to allocate funds, and Your Majesty is invited to comment!"
Fa Zheng was so angry that his lungs almost exploded when he heard this. His face turned livid, he scratched his neck and said, "I don't want money, but I want my life!"
"Yuan Minister of Works Look how much my life is worth, then just take it, I won't say anything!"
In fact, if Yuan Xi talks nicely, Fa Zheng may not deny funding.
After all, he also knows the importance of the Yellow River.
But Yuan Xi came to Xuan Room today and directly asked him why his request for funding had been rejected. With such a bad attitude, he naturally didn't look good.
River management costs money, and other places also need money!
Seeing the two people scolding each other with red faces, the officials handling government affairs on the side were all snickering, but most of them felt that they were used to it.
Although Liu Xie felt it was funny in his heart, he naturally couldn't laugh. He tried to persuade him, "Xianyi, Xiaozhi, you all calm down, why are you so noisy?"
Liu Xie spoke, and Fa Zheng and Yuan Xi respectively answered.
But they still stared at each other.
After persuading the two of them, Liu Xie said, "Governing Yellow River is indeed important. It is related to the safety of millions of people. Xiaozhi you can allocate funds."
Son of Heaven has already spoken, which is the final conclusion. Fa Zheng naturally cannot violate it, so he can only nod his head reluctantly and say, "I obey the decree."
Then Liu Xie said to Yuan Xi, "Xianyi, so are you. Xiaozhi is dedicated to public service, and he doesn't deliberately deny funding to you. If you have anything to say, please speak to him."
"We are all officials in the same dynasty, so why should we be tit for tat?"
Yuan Xi raised his hands and said honestly, "I will follow Your Majesty's teachings. I just made a mistake. I made a mistake just now, so please forgive me."
The money is already here, so it doesn't matter if you say a few nice words.
Fa Zheng is a petty person, so naturally he didn't calm down so quickly, but he stretched out his hand to avoid hitting the smiling person, so he let out a dull "hmm".
But no matter what, this matter is a turning point.
Liu Xie continued to ask Yuan Xi: "How is Yellow River's flood situation this year compared to the past? Have you sent anyone to pay attention?"
When this matter was mentioned, Yuan Xi became energetic and said, "Your Majesty, this year Yellow River floods are much smaller than in previous years, and there is also a very strange thing."
Liu Xie asked curiously, "Something strange? What is it?"
Yuan Xi said, "Your Majesty, according to the report below, the water in the Yellow River has become infinitely clearer this year, and you can even see the bottom."
"An old saying goes: Yellow River clear water means Sage will come out. This is an auspicious sign!"
After hearing Yuan Xi's words, the attention of other people in the palace was also attracted. After all, it is extremely rare for the Yellow River to have clear water.
Sima Yi immediately echoed, "I remember when Your Majesty Heaven-Worship Rite happened, the phenomenon of Purple Qi Comes from the East three thousand miles away appeared; now that I, Great Han, have just unified, the Yellow River that has been turbid for thousands of years has become clear."
"Such visions prove that Your Majesty is an unparalleled saint!"
Sima Yi is extremely good at flattering.
If you want to make progress, flattery is essential.
Although others despised Sima Yi's flattery to Son of Heaven, they quite agreed with these words. After all, Son of Heaven's achievements are obvious to all.
"Yellow River The water is clear?"
After Liu Xie heard what Yuan Xi said, instead of feeling happy, his expression changed.
"Xianyi, you just said Yellow River that the water has become clear? When did this happen?"
Liu Xie Sword-shaped Eyebrows was wrinkled and looked extremely serious.
Son of Heaven's reaction stunned Yuan Xi. He originally wanted to tell Yellow River's auspicious message of clear water to please Son of Heaven, but he didn't expect that Son of Heaven suddenly became serious after hearing it, which made him a little confused.
However, he still answered truthfully, "Your Majesty, this matter is indeed true. I am not making any false claims. It was reported to the Yellow River by officials from the area a few days ago."
"The water in the Yellow River has been turbid since ancient times, but now it has become clear, which is a rare spectacle seen in thousands of years. It is said that when Sage Confucius was born, the water in the Yellow River became clear overnight, so there is a saying that Sage came out, Yellow River is clear."
"Your Majesty is kind-hearted and serves the people. It can be seen that Yellow River's clear water is God's recognition of Your Majesty's merits and benevolence!"
Yuan Xi thought that Son of Heaven thought he was telling lies, so he defended himself and gave various allusions.
But after listening to it, Liu Xie looked a little ugly. What Yellow River clearly Sage said was all nonsense!
He accidentally read relevant information in his previous life. There were also examples of the Yellow River clear water in history, but what followed was a severe drought in the surrounding area!
A severe drought is a catastrophic disaster, and countless people will suffer!
Later, during the Ming Dynasty, in order to control the Yellow River, a method of weighing water to determine celestial phenomena was created.
The so-called water determines the celestial phenomena is to ask the flood soldiers to fetch water from the Yellow River, and compare the weight of the water with previous years.
If the obtained Yellow River is heavy in water, then you need to pay attention to flood prevention that year. If the Yellow River is light in water, then you need to pay attention to drought prevention. The prediction accuracy of this method is extremely high.
If a severe drought that is rare in a century really occurs.
What a disaster!
However, it is obvious that this method has not yet appeared. Thinking of this, Liu Xie immediately said, "No, Yellow River clear water is not auspicious."
"It's a sign of an impending drought!"
As soon as these words came out, everyone was shocked and turned their attention to Son of Heaven, with puzzled looks on their faces.
Yellow River Clear water is a sign of severe drought?
Liu Xie knew that they couldn't understand, so he explained, "Erya There are clouds, and the river flows out of Kunlun Void, which is white in color. Because the canal merges with thousands of rivers, it is yellow in color."
"Book of Han There are clouds again, and the river water is very turbid. It is called one stone of water and six buckets of mud. The yellow stream is the turbidest, measured in buckets, and the sand ranks sixth. If it is late autumn, the water ranks second."
"Two liters of water carry eight buckets of sand. From this, we can see that the reason why the Yellow River water is turbid is because of the accumulation of sand carried in the water, and the sand in the water is carried by the rivers upstream."