Today was the seventeenth of the third month. The imperial court released the results of the Palace Examination in the afternoon, and Zhao Sui returned to the princely estate an hour earlier than usual.
The tribute scholars who participated in the Palace Examination would no longer face the risk of failing; they would simply be graded into three tiers: First, Second, and Third Class. The top three scorers of the First Class—the Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua—would directly enter the Hanlin Academy as officials. The advanced scholars of the Second Class and the associate advanced scholars of the Third Class would need to undergo another selection process at the Ministry of Personnel. Based on these final results, they would either be assigned low-ranking posts in the capital or sent out to the provinces as county magistrates, deputy magistrates, and the like.
Those who could remain in the capital were generally the top-ranking scholars of the Second Class. For people like Di Xian and He Wenbin, who hung at the very tail end of the Third Class, barring any special strokes of luck, they were practically destined to be sent out as provincial county magistrates.
Zhao Sui had his duties at the Ministry of Works, and Di Xian was about to face a barrage of social engagements as well as the Ministry of Personnel's selection process. Thus, Zhao Sui could only use this brief window of time right after the results were posted to meet with him.
Di Xian was invited into a carriage by a plainclothes guard of the princely estate. The driver urged the horses on in silence, and soon drove the carriage through a side gate on the western side of the estate.
Following behind the young eunuch leading the way, Di Xian's heart pounded like a drum, his mind a tangled mess. He had absolutely no idea why His Highness, Prince Hui, wanted to see him. Di Xian had already sifted through every person he had met and every event he had experienced since arriving in the capital, and he was quite certain he had never had the slightest connection with Prince Hui.
Feiquan led Di Xian to the hall of the second courtyard, pushed open the door, and motioned for Di Xian to go in by himself.
Through the widening gap of the doorway, Di Xian saw the master of the estate sitting alone behind a long desk facing south—His Highness, Prince Hui, whom he had once caught a distant glimpse of during the Palace Examination.
Lamps had already been lit in the hall. Prince Hui was holding a book, and upon hearing the door open, he lifted his eyes to look over.
Di Xian lowered his gaze just in time. He stepped over the threshold, lifted the hem of his robe, and knelt down respectfully to pay his obeisance to Prince Hui.
Zhao Sui set down his book. Dispense with the formalities.
Thank you, Your Highness.
Because he had mentally prepared himself thoroughly on the way here, Di Xian was able to stand up with relative calm.
Zhao Sui asked, As far as I know, you are from Rao'an County in Jizhou?
Di Xian was not surprised that Prince Hui had already looked into his background. Yes, he replied.
Zhao Sui continued, Lord Di Yong, who served as the magistrate of Qingxia County in Liangzhou during the twenty-fifth year of Yongchang, also hailed from Rao'an in Jizhou. Are you two...
Di Xian never expected to hear his late father's name from a prince of the blood. After his initial shock, his eyes reddened, and he choked out, To answer Your Highness, Lord Di was my father.
Zhao Sui paused. ...Is the venerable gentleman doing well?
Di Xian kept his head bowed and said, In the twenty-sixth year of Yongchang, my father resigned from his post due to illness and returned to our hometown. He passed away the following year.
Zhao Sui offered his condolences and asked more about Di Yong's life. He learned that Di Yong was nearly forty when he finally earned the rank of an associate advanced scholar in the Third Class. Afterward, he spent years moving from place to place as a county magistrate. Because of his upright and unyielding temperament, he was not favored by his superiors, and in the twenty-fourth year of Yongchang, he was transferred to the impoverished Qingxia County in Liangzhou. By then, Di Yong was already fifty-five years old.
Zhao Sui scrutinized Di Xian and said, It seems you have already guessed why I brought up your esteemed father.
Di Xian looked up, his eyes holding both bitterness and pride. My father entered officialdom late in life and served as a county magistrate for over a decade. Although he was diligent and conscientious, he had no other achievements worthy of Your Highness's memory. Only the canal construction proposal he submitted to the imperial court in the twenty-fifth year of Yongchang remained in his thoughts, and he was deeply proud of it. Unfortunately, there were frequent wars in the north during those years, and he never had the opportunity to put it into action for the court.
Zhao Sui asked, Do you still remember your father's method for building the canal?
Di Xian answered without hesitation, Not only do I remember it, but it is engraved in my very bones and heart.
Zhao Sui told him to explain it.
Di Xian said, It involves the various terrains of Qingxia County as well as dozens of ancient channels. If Your Highness would be so kind as to have someone bring brush and ink, I can draw a rough map. Then the method of constructing the canal will be clear at a glance.
Zhao Sui thus ordered Qingai, who was waiting outside, to fetch brush and ink.
Qingai brought several sheets of Xuan paper large enough to cover half the long desk, ground the ink, and then retreated outside.
Holding back his sleeve with one hand, Di Xian wielded the brush. He first outlined a section of the Yellow River flowing from south to north on the paper, and then, to the west of the river, he sketched the several main canals distributed near and far around Qingxia County, along with the dozens of smaller channels branching off from them.
Di Xian explained, The plains in this area are arid with little rainfall. Since ancient times, the common people have dug canals large and small to divert water from the Yellow River to irrigate their fields. However, even the most recently dug of these ancient canals dates back four or five hundred years. With the changing course of the Yellow River and frequent warfare, many channels were tragically abandoned because they could no longer draw water in time. The Fengyan Canal is one such main canal. Its head is already eight miles away from the banks of the Yellow River, and the river's current at this section is too rapid, making it unsuitable for digging a connecting trench.
Zhao Sui pointed to a spot downstream from the head of the Fengyan Canal. So your father proposed digging a new canal here, and then extending it northward to connect with the Fengyan Canal.
Di Xian said, Exactly.
As he spoke, he drew a long, narrow sandbar in the middle of this section of the Yellow River and explained, The riverbed here is relatively shallow, and the sandbar divides the river into eastern and western streams. We only need to build a dam about three hundred paces long on the western side to divert the river water into the new canal. My father personally measured this dozens of times. The new canal would be about forty miles long, and the ancient Fengyan Canal is two hundred and ten miles long. By conscripting ten thousand laborers for a period of half a year, we could dig the new canal and dredge the blocked, abandoned ancient canal. If we start construction now, the entire canal could be completed before winter sets in. By next spring, it would be able to draw water to irrigate nearly four million acres of farmland in this area, solving the poverty of the local people in one fell swoop and adding a major new grain-producing region for the imperial court.
Zhao Sui remained silent for a moment before saying, Your father mentioned all of this in the memorial he submitted to the court. Do you know of any specific details he found inconvenient to include in his memorial?
Memorials had a limited length, so back then, Di Yong could only pick the most crucial points to discuss.
Di Xian recalled the canal-building details the old man used to repeat to him before passing away from illness. He went on to explain to Prince Hui the necessary constructions to be built at the mouth of the canal, such as intake sluices, drainage sluices, and overflow dams. During non-farming seasons, the head of the canal would be closed, so there would be no need to dam the Yellow River's water. When it was time for irrigation, the intake sluices would be opened to allow the river water to flow through the entire canal system.
Di Xian also described the placement of diversion sluices throughout the canal. This way, not only could water be diverted to irrigate the fields, but the canals could also be used for flood control when the Yellow River overflowed.
Zhao Sui had read Di Xian's Palace Examination paper. Among the more than three hundred tribute scholars who had passed, Di Xian's essay was mediocre and unremarkable. However, when speaking of the canal project now, Di Xian rattled off the details like family treasures, speaking fluently and endlessly, a burning light in his eyes. It faintly allowed Zhao Sui to see the visage of a fifty-something old man surnamed Di superimposed over this young face.
Zhao Sui believed that Di Xian was the most suitable person to inherit his father's ambition of building the canal.
Finally, Zhao Sui asked, If I have a way to transfer you to Qingxia County, are you confident you can successfully build this new Fengyan Canal?
Upon hearing this, Di Xian knelt on the ground and said, If I can truly be given this opportunity, I am willing to guarantee it with my life!
After Di Xian left, Yao Huang, who had been hiding in the side room listening in a state of confusion yet feeling inexplicably thrilled, immediately ran out. She leaned close to the river and canal map Di Xian had left behind and asked Prince Hui to explain it to her again using the drawing.
Zhao Sui was more than happy to be of service to his Princess Consort.
With the map, it was indeed much easier to understand at a glance. Yao Huang sighed with emotion, "Lord Di Yong must have intended for his son to inherit his legacy before he passed away. That would explain why he taught Di Xian so well, enabling him to take charge on his own."
Zhao Sui said, "Di Xian also needed to have a natural aptitude. If he had merely memorized things by rote without truly understanding them, he would never be able to shoulder a task as monumental as building a canal."
Yao Huang still felt pity for Di Yong, who had died without completing this great endeavor. "How could such an incredible man only pass the imperial examination and become a Jinshi when he was nearly forty?"
Zhao Sui replied, "Both civil and military scholars can be guilty of being mere armchair strategists. The metropolitan and palace examinations are only the first steps for scholars across the world to enter officialdom. How high they can rise later depends on their practical ability to govern. In every dynasty, there are top scorers who achieve nothing of note in their entire lives, as well as pillars of the state who rise step by step from lowly county magistrates or minor clerks. Practical ability and opportunity, sometimes neither can be lacking."
Yao Huang smiled. "Di Yong had talent but never met a good opportunity. Di Xian, on the other hand, is just about to enter officialdom and has already met His Highness Prince Hui, who is willing to give him a chance to showcase his abilities. This is his good fortune."
Zhao Sui lowered his eyes and said, "It is not guaranteed to succeed yet. I can only do my best."
Yao Huang leaned over the back of the wheelchair onto Prince Hui's shoulder, tilting her head to look at him. "Whether it succeeds or not, Your Highness is incredibly amazing in my eyes!"
Who else could recall a construction proposal from six years ago just from hearing a surname? And who else would be willing to dig through years-old memorials just to confirm whether this project was feasible or not?
It was Prince Hui, a prince who, despite his physical disability, still kept the livelihood of the people across the world in his heart.
The next morning, after working continuously for over two hours, the sexagenarian Minister of Works, Yan Lun, was suffering from a terribly sore lower back. Wearing his purple official robes, he came out into the courtyard to stretch his arms and exercise his joints while soaking in the sun.
Just as he was twisting his waist, he suddenly caught a glimpse of Eunuch Qingai, Prince Hui's attendant, waving at him.
Did Prince Hui have business with him?
Yan Lun maintained his composure. He slowly walked over while continuing to stretch, acting as if he had merely strolled over by chance.
Qingai said in a low voice, "His Highness invites you to come over, My Lord."
Yan Lun then went to Prince Hui's office.
Qingai stood guard outside, Feiquan was in the inner resting room, leaving Prince Hui alone in the study.
Zhao Sui dispensed with Yan Lun's formalities. He turned the river map in front of him and pushed it across the desk, gesturing for Yan Lun to take a look.
Yan Lun had also been the Minister of Works six years ago. Although the proposal to rebuild the Fengyan Canal was rejected back then for various reasons, and he hadn't thought about it due to being busy for the past six years, the moment Prince Hui pushed this river map in front of him, Yan Lun remembered it at a glance. He looked at Prince Hui in astonishment. "Why has Your Highness suddenly dug this up?"
Zhao Sui replied, "In this year's examinations, there is a third-tier Jinshi named Di Xian. I unintentionally heard someone mention that his father is Di Yong, and I happened to remember it."
Yan Lun fell silent for a moment, accepting the coincidence in Prince Hui's words, and asked, "Does Your Highness wish for the Ministry of Works to re-approve this proposal?"
Zhao Sui said, "Yes, but let it be that you remembered Di Yong. You will summon Di Xian and test his canal-building talents once more. If you find him capable, you will then go before the Emperor and secure the position of Qingxia County Magistrate for him. If my imperial father agrees, you need not mention my involvement."
Looking at Prince Hui's peaceful face, so indifferent to fame and fortune, Yan Lun suddenly felt a pang of sorrow in his heart. What an excellent candidate for the crown prince he was, yet now his legs were crippled. Even when he wanted to offer strategies for the imperial court, he had to be cautious not to clash with Prince Kang and Prince Qing.
Yan Lun understood Prince Hui's painstaking efforts, but he said, "Di Xian has only just passed the examinations as a Jinshi. The officials in the Ministry of Works alone will not be convinced to let him take on such a massive project. Furthermore, building canals and managing rivers have always been prime opportunities for embezzlement; both the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Revenue will definitely want to recommend their own people. Relying solely on me, I fear it will be difficult to successfully recommend Di Xian. Moreover, I am not entirely at ease with him either. If he builds it well, of course, there is no issue. But if the silver is spent and the canal is not properly built, who will bear the responsibility for him?"
Zhao Sui said, "You just go ahead and recommend him. If there are disagreements during the court assembly, I will speak on your behalf."
