Emperor Ming's grandson

Chapter 623 Governance
Harnessing the Yellow River is a matter that must be taken seriously, and the impact of the diversion of the Yellow River is indeed too great.

Since the Yellow River was diverted in the Song Dynasty, the Yellow River has been divided into a southern branch and a northern branch, dividing the Central Plains into two.The Jianghuai Plain, which was once famous for its beautiful scenery and rich products, has been largely salinized under the impact of the Yellow River.The Huaihe River, which lost its estuary, has since become a disaster river, with frequent floods.

In fact, the current Beiliu has not been very stable, let alone the Nanliu, the Huaihe River has not yet entered the sea.

Yan Zhenzhi also understood this, so he said with a smile, "Your Majesty, I believe that to govern the Yellow River, the Huai River should be governed first. I intend to warn the hundred thousand people that the Huai River should be governed first."

Zhu Yunying and Lao Zhu looked at each other, and they basically agreed with Yan Zhenzhi's idea.The diversion of the Yellow River and the diversion of the Huaihe River into the sea seem to be the root cause, which naturally needs to be dealt with.

But what needs to be done at this stage is not just thinking about "treating the symptoms and the root cause", because harnessing the Yellow River itself is a time-consuming and labor-intensive long-term project. What the Ming Dynasty needs to consider now is to tidy up the Huaihe River Basin.

First, the lower reaches of the Huaihe River have been rectified. Although it does not mean that there will be no more floods in the Huaihe River, it can reduce the frequency of floods.

This is very important to Zhu Yunying, and it can even be said that this is also a key to governing the Yellow River.

Old Zhu looked at Yan Zhenzhi, and asked directly, "Zi Min, then tell me how to manage the Huai River?"

This time, Yan Zhenzhi became more serious, and said, "I think that when the censor of the river is set up, the management of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River cannot be accomplished by one person, one state, and one government. The minister thinks that His Majesty should make an order, and the Huanghuai River flows through all the state capitals to work together. "

Old Zhu and Xiao Zhu nodded slightly, of course they also had the same thoughts.They are also very clear that the governance of Huanghuai is definitely not something that can be achieved by one state and one government. This must require the concerted efforts of the state governments along the way.

Even this is not something that can be done by the state capitals along the way. It also requires the entire Ming court to gather the power of the country to govern.

Yan Zhenzhi continued to say at this time, "The old course of the Yellow River today is inherited from the end of the Yuan Dynasty. After the Huai River was captured and entered the sea, the river channel was chaotic, multiple branches flowed in parallel, frequent changes, and the river was seriously affected. I thought that the south flowed through the Huai River and entered the sea. The larger rivers entering the Huaihe River include the Jialu Old Road, Woshui, and Yingshui, and there are also some smaller tributaries."

Lao Zhu said at this time, "We also know this. The Yellow River has a lot of mud and sand, so that the waterway of the Huaihe River is also very silted up."

This incident also aroused Zhu Yunying's concerns. The current ancestral mausoleum of the Ming Dynasty is actually surrounded by Hongze Lake and Huaihe River.

Once the floods of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River will rush and surge in the lower reaches of the Huaihe River, the floodwater will overflow the river channel and invade the nine hills and eighteen depressions on the right bank. The originally sporadic small lakes will be connected and eventually form the Hongze Lake that will be formed in the future.

Really, if that time comes, the Mingzu Mausoleum located on the west bank of Hongze Lake will be submerged by the lake.

This is not a trivial matter. In fact, everyone knows that it is also related to Feng Shui.When Lao Zhu built the imperial mausoleum for his grandparents, great-grandfather and others, he did not dare to move the remains of his ancestors, for fear of breaking the dragon's veins and ruining Fengshui, so he built a tomb next to it.

If the Huaihe River is not cured, the ancestral tomb of the old Zhu's family may be in danger of being submerged, and that is no small matter!

Yan Zhenzhi said at this time, "Your Majesty, I think that the Huai River should be treated first. I intend to dredge the floods of the Huai River, and I should clear the silt in the river."

Zhu Yunying asked directly at this time, "Then tell me, the Yellow River has a lot of alluvial sediment, and the river channel is often silted up. How do you deal with it?"

"Your Majesty, I think this is the usual way to desilt." Yan Zhenzhi said at this time, "It's just that there are more sediments from the Yellow River in the Huaihe River now, and I intend to build more dams and expand the lake, so as to reduce the flood."

There is basically no big problem with this statement. A large part of the reason for the flooding of the Yellow River is that there is too much sediment.

Yan Zhenzhi also continued to say at this time, "I think this is not enough. I intend to dredge the Huai River channel to ensure that the Huai River flows into the sea smoothly. If the Huai River flows into the sea smoothly, naturally there will be fewer floods."

There is actually no big problem with this statement. In fact, the Huaihe River does not have an estuary to the sea, which naturally causes a lot of hidden dangers. This has caused frequent floods in the Huaihe River.A large amount of water from the Yellow River poured into the Huaihe River, but the river water could not be 'digested'. If there were no accidents, there would be a problem.

Not only Yan Zhen understood this, but both Lao Zhu and Xiao Zhu actually understood this truth, and this was what they were worried about.If you want to control the Huaihe River, you naturally need to consider these influx of Yellow River water, as well as those Huaihe River waters that have a large flow rate.

It is very important to find an outlet to the sea. This is definitely not a trivial matter. This is also the key to harnessing the Huaihe River and the Yellow River. If this is not done well, no matter how much manpower and material resources are spent, it will be useless.

At this time, Lao Zhu looked at Yan Zhenzhi and said, "Nanliu should be governed in this way, but it will probably take some time, maybe even years. If it is really like this, we are afraid that you will not be able to wait until then." Huang Huai has been cured."

Yan Zhenzhi said frankly at this time, "If I am lucky enough to be able to see that the Yellow River has been healed, then it would be great. If I can't see it, it doesn't matter. I did these things after all. These things that govern the Yellow River are also the things that I have done. made."

This is not just doing one's best and obeying the destiny, it is also an indelible achievement with a clear conscience.

Zhu Yunying asked again at this time, "This Nanliu is safe for the time being. What about Beiliu? What about Beiliu?"

The Yellow River is now divided into two. It can be said that the Yellow River is constantly swinging from north to south.It is also because these tributaries decide one another and take priority over others. It can be said that the changes are very chaotic, which is obviously a very troublesome thing.

Yan Zhenzhi said immediately at this time, "Your Majesty, I think that the flood of the Yellow River is caused by sediment accumulation. I think that the treatment of the Yellow River should first control the sand. I think that the waterway of the Yellow River should be established first. I intend to strengthen the embankment and let the river return to the old course of the Yellow River." .”

There is no problem in saying that, the current Ming Dynasty needs to fix the Yellow River waterway, and cannot let it swing around willfully.Otherwise, there is really no way to deal with the Yellow River flood.

Zhu Yunying remembered something, and said, "Then we, Daming, should build a thousand-mile embankment to cut off the Yellow River North River?"

Yan Zhenzhi immediately looked at Zhu Yunying, and said very seriously, "Your Majesty, I have exactly this intention!"

Zhu Yunying and Yan Zhenzhi also reached a consensus. If the Ming Dynasty wants to control the Yellow River, it really needs to give the Yellow River some restraint, and the Yellow River cannot be allowed to continue to make trouble.Cutting off the northern flow and allowing the Yellow River to return to its ancient path will naturally mean that the Yellow River can be stabilized.

Cutting off the northern flow, allowing the Yellow River to return to the ancient path, and building the embankment of the Yellow River, this seems to be something that can be done in this era.

Although this may be time-consuming and labor-intensive, it is not actually a temporary solution, but in the face of nature, sometimes there is no other way, and we can only do such things that seem to treat the symptoms but not the root cause.

But such a project, although it seems a little stupid, is more useful in the end.There is no way to achieve real perfection in some things, and it seems that the current approach is naturally the most appropriate.

Lao Zhu looked at Yan Zhenzhi, and continued to say at this moment, "Cutting off the north flow and letting the Yellow River return to the ancient way is a good way. But even if the Yellow River returns to the ancient way, how should the sand in the river be treated?"

There is too much sediment in the Yellow River, which is obviously something that everyone knows well.Everyone knows that most of the floods in the Yellow River are caused by too much sediment, which has caused more and more sediment to accumulate and caused the river to be higher than the surface.

If such a hanging river is not dealt with, it will continue to form breaches and so on.

Yan Zhenzhi didn't have too many thoughts at this time. In fact, sand control is also very laborious.Countless people have been trying to control the Yellow River for thousands of years, but there is still no way.

Even after hundreds of years, many outstanding talents have no way to do it once and for all.

Zhu Yunying naturally knew that attention should be paid to preventing soil erosion, especially on the Loess Plateau.But even if he is the emperor, he can't change the weather and the surface of the earth. Those are impossible things, and they are truly non-human.

Even if Zhu Yunying ordered the planting of trees and grass on the Loess Plateau, it seemed that soil erosion could be slightly limited.However, after hundreds of years, there is no way to change some landforms of the Loess Plateau, etc., at most, it can reduce soil erosion a little bit.

Zhu Yunying looked at Yan Zhenzhi and said, "You should go back and discuss these matters with others. To govern the Huanghuai River, you should make a decision from the very beginning, and you must not change it overnight. Cut off the north stream and dredge the south stream. It is approved. Even if this method of sand control is not done well, I am afraid it will not be able to cure the flood."

Yan Zhen nodded straightly, and at this time he could only take orders, although it seemed that he hadn't been fully approved by the emperor now.But there is no big problem, because the general direction is basically determined now, and now it only needs to be further improved.

The major events of Nanliu and Beiliu have been confirmed, and now the matter of sand control is also added, and everything will be fine.

Or maybe it's not that everything will be fine, and it probably means that it can officially start work.

Yan Zhenzhi looked quite excited, the two generations of emperors recognized some of Yan Zhenzhi's practices very much, which also made Yan Zhenzhi even happier.He knew that this matter would be successful soon, because the two generations of emperors would not object to this matter.

For this matter, Yan Zhenzhi also knew very well that no matter how hard he tried and how active he was, he would definitely not be able to do this matter without the emperor's approval.

In the final analysis, it is to manage the Huanghuai River, which is also a time-consuming and labor-intensive project.At least [-] people are needed, and the food and silver needed are not just tens of thousands of taels or tens of thousands of shi. This is not something that can be done in one or two years.

Such a huge project needs the power of the whole country, not to mention, but it definitely needs the power of the court. A strong court can command and coordinate such a project. Only a powerful dynasty can complete such a huge project.

Seeing Yan Zhenzhi leaving in high spirits, Lao Zhu and Xiao Zhu looked at each other and couldn't help laughing.

A minister like Yan Zhenzhi can indeed be entrusted with important tasks. This can be regarded as a real pillar of the Ming Dynasty, and can make the country of the Ming Dynasty better.

Seeing Yan Zhen leaving, Xiao Zhu immediately asked, "Great-grandfather, Yan Shangshu, are both Shangshu, why do you still want to do this thankless thing?"

Lao Zhu couldn't help but sighed, and said, "Yin'er, there are people in the world who are officials, and they think about power, and some people want to get promoted and get rich. There are people who want to do more things for the people in the world. It’s good to benefit the country and the people.”

Little Zhu immediately asked, "Then Yan Shangshu is a minister who cares about the world? Do you want to do things that benefit the country and the people?"

Zhu Yunying nodded with a smile, and said, "Although Yan Shangshu also has some thoughts on his mind, in the final analysis, he still wants to do some great things that are beneficial to the country. You have to remember, people have selfishness."

Little Zhu smiled, and said as a matter of course, "We also have selfish intentions. We don't like to study, but we like to dance with knives and guns. We don't want Dad to always use soldiers outside. After you fight for the world, we can do it in the future." How to do?"

This is an unfilial son, and the sense of crisis is very strong.It's not that he's worried about the unstable position in the East Palace, but he's mainly worried that his father is too wise and powerful, and he's worried that this will end the world.

Little Zhu, that's thinking about going to the imperial conquest in the future. This is also a man who aspires to become Emperor Wu, and he is very interested in swords and weapons.

Lao Zhu got up and said, "Yin'er, you and we go back. Your father still has to deal with political affairs, so he has no time to talk to you. Let him talk to you after dinner."

Zhu Yunying supported Lao Zhu and said with a smile, "Grandpa Huang, we are going to the imperial concubine today."

Lao Zhu flicked his sleeves angrily, and scolded angrily, "I'll delay you with a dinner? Can I miss you if I go there after dinner?! The matter of the Yellow River has not been straightened out yet, and I have been thinking about it all day long. Female sex, if you want us to say, you are also unseemly!"

This time Zhu Yunying was also speechless. If you followed the old Zhu's meaning, Zhu Yunying was a filial son and grandson.But if he disobeyed Lao Zhu's wishes a little bit, Zhu Yunying would be regarded as an unworthy descendant.

However, Zhu Yunying is indeed used to such things. Lao Zhu's criteria for judging are very flexible, which has always been Lao Zhu's characteristic.

Zhu Yunying smiled and didn't say much, probably because Lao Zhu was missing his grandson, it was just that Lao Zhu was thinking about having Zhu Yunying accompany him for dinner, so it's not a big deal.

Let's continue to deal with political affairs now. Zhu Yunying has a lot of things to do. What he should do now is not just governing the Yellow River, there are many other things to be dealt with.

But speaking of it, the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Minister of the Ministry of Industry are about to be replaced!
(End of this chapter)