prosperous age

Chapter 1117 1208 Pan Jixun

"Shandai, come and have a look, this is Shandong Express."

Wei Guangde had just stepped into Zhang Juzheng's duty room and had no time to salute when he saw a flash before his eyes. Zhang Juzheng had already rushed to him and handed him a memorial.

"Shandong, what happened there?"

Seeing Zhang Juzheng's flustered and angry look, Wei Guangde reached out to take it and asked.

"The siltation of the Yellow River has affected the navigation of the canal, and many canal ships have been stranded as a result."

Zhang Juzheng directly told Wei Guangde the main content of the memorial, and Wei Guangde was immediately shocked.

Shipping on the Grand Canal is of great importance. It not only affects the food supply of nearly one million people in the capital, but also the food and clothing of hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the border. How can we not care about it?

So he immediately lowered his head and started to look through the memorials in his hand, without even bothering to find a place to sit down.

The memorial was sent from the Jining River Governor's Office because they were in charge of the river.

Since the Yuan Dynasty straightened the Grand Canal of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, Jining has gradually become an important canal town.

Especially during the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a special government office appeared in Jining - the River Governor's Office. As the highest administrative agency managing the entire Grand Canal, it has a history of more than 500 years.

The fact that such an important administrative agency is located in Jining is closely related to the local special terrain.

Jining is located in the central area of ​​the Huitong section of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal. It is located in the Shandong hills and is the area with the highest altitude in the entire Grand Canal, making it an unavoidable obstacle on the Grand Canal.

Nanwang Town in the north of Jining City has an altitude of 39 meters, which is 30 meters higher than Linqing in the north and Pei County in the south. It is known as the "water ridge" of the canal.

During the Yuan Dynasty, this section of the river suffered from "embolism" due to the difficulty in water supply.

Ships traveling from the south to the north would run aground if they were not careful when passing through this place. During droughts, there would be "a river without water".

In the early Ming Dynasty, the Minister of Works Song Li adopted the suggestions of Bai Ying, a local farmer and hydraulic expert, and adopted two major strategies to solve this problem.

The first major strategy is to "draw water from the Wen River to transport goods and use the water for navigation."

Daicun Dam is located on the Dawen River to the north of Nanwang Hub. The river has relatively abundant water and is at a higher altitude than Nanwang Hub. So a dam was built here to block the water flow, and then a Xiaowen River was dug to divert part of the water from the Dawen River to the Nanwang Hub.

Therefore, Daicun Dam is also called the "heart" of the canal, providing abundant water for the highest section of the Grand Canal.

In addition, Song Li and Bai Ying also adopted the second major strategy of "digging springs and building water tanks", which brought water from the surrounding springs into the Xiaowen River, further replenishing the canal's water source.

Utilizing natural lakes and depressions, three large regulating reservoirs, also called “water tanks,” were built around the Nanwang hub to store water during the flood season and to replenish the Grand Canal during the dry season.

In order to ensure the smooth flow of the Grand Canal, countless methods were considered in the early and middle Ming Dynasty, the most important of which was to fill the canal with water.

"Huai'an is where the Grand Canal, the Yellow River and the Huai River meet. If the Yellow River floods, the backflow of the Yellow River will cause the Huai River and the Grand Canal to become blocked, and the water transport will be blocked. This stubborn problem can never be cured.

The Yellow River."

Wei Guangde couldn't help but put down the memorial, looked up and sighed.

In recent years, the problems of the Yellow River and the Grand Canal have always been the most pressing affairs of the Ming court, but no matter how much financial resources are invested, they always recur.

The essence of the Jiajing Canal is to bypass the Yellow River in order to keep the canal shipping unobstructed.

But the Yellow River is there and we can never avoid it.

Also because of the Yellow River, the Grand Canal has always been influenced by it year after year.

"Brother Uncle, if we want to protect the grain, we can choose to abandon the canal and transport it by sea.

However, the Yellow River floods remain an unsolvable problem.”

Wei Guangde had no way to solve the Yellow River problem, and there was no Yellow River disaster in later generations, so there is no way to learn from him.

However, the canal can avoid the Yellow River by sea, but the people on both sides of the Yellow River cannot.

The blockage of the Yellow River actually means that at some point in the future, if the river floods, it may endanger the fields on both sides of the river and the countless people living there.

This is what Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde were most worried about. As for the blockage of the canal, the two actually didn't take it seriously.

Since we already have backup measures, we naturally feel confident.

This year, some grain ships have gone directly through the Yangtze River waterway into the sea, bypassing Shandong along the coastline and reaching Tianjin, transporting grain to the capital.

Although there are certain losses, they are still within an acceptable range.

However, sea transportation is ultimately a substitute. Neither Zhang Juzheng nor Wei Guangde would publicly propose that sea transportation replace river transportation.

However, floods in the Yellow River have always been an important factor affecting the stability of the imperial court.

The folk song "The stone man with one eye stirs up the Yellow River and the whole world rebels" originated in the late Yuan Dynasty. At that time, the Yellow River frequently flooded and the Yuan Dynasty government organized civilian workers to dredge the Yellow River.

Later, during the dredging process, migrant workers dug out a one-eyed stone man in the Yellow River. This was seen as an ominous sign, causing anxiety and discussion among the people.

The final outcome was that the Yuan Dynasty was overthrown and the Ming Dynasty was established.

With such a good example before them, the two cabinet leaders had no choice but to treat it with caution.

“Who can tame the Yellow River?”

Wei Guangde suddenly said something abruptly.

"Who?"

Zhang Juzheng asked subconsciously.

Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng looked at each other, both speechless.

Wei Guangde picked up the memorial again and looked through the Ministry of Works' comments, but soon shook his head.

Not surprisingly, the Ministry of Works recommended dredging.

This is the tried and tested solution for all cases of blockage in the Yellow River: dredge it if it gets blocked.

However, Wei Guangde knew that if the road was cleared today and blocked again next year, the result would be a waste of time and money.

"This matter still needs to be handled by the Ministry of Industry."

Zhang Juzheng looked at Wei Guangde and said.

Faced with Zhang Juzheng's words, Wei Guangde was speechless.

The Ministry of Works is in charge of this, so Zhu Heng has to come up with a solution.

"I will go to the Ministry of Industry later and have a good discussion with them to see who has the ability to solve the Yellow River problem on their own."

Wei Guangde could only respond.

"I remember that during the reign of Emperor Shizong, Zhu Heng once managed the Yellow River and opened a new canal. I remember that there was siltation at that time, and the Ministry of Works had different opinions on silting.

Shandai, do you remember who worked with Minister Zhu to control the floods at that time? "

Zhang Juzheng lost himself in memories and asked casually.

Of course Wei Guangde remembered, otherwise his excellent memory would have been in vain.

But he didn't respond, so how could he respond?
If we really continue to talk about this, wouldn't it imply that Zhu Heng's opinion was wrong and the work was done poorly?

I remember that at that time, because Zhu Heng and Pan Jixun had different political views, the two had a very unhappy quarrel, and the lawsuit was even brought to the capital.

At that time, Wei Guangde naturally stood firmly on Zhu Heng's side, after all, they were from the same hometown.

As for Pan Jixun, it was him.

Wei Guangde lowered his head and thought. At first he was just pretending because he didn't want to look Zhang Juzheng in the eye, but later he really started to think.

In fact, neither of the two people's opinions is necessarily very wise.

One said dredging, the other said digging a new river, and finally they came up with a compromise, digging a new river and dredging at the same time. Well, that matter was over, and Wei Guangde didn't want to continue.

However, Zhu Heng was definitely not capable of controlling the Yellow River.

As for Jiang Zhi, as far as Wei Guangde knew, there didn't seem to be a good solution, and most of the time it was just treating the symptoms instead of the root cause.

"Is his name Pan Jixun?"

Suddenly, Zhang Juzheng seemed to remember something and asked Wei Guangde.

"Seems to be."

Wei Guangde was not sure whether Zhang Juzheng had long been eyeing the Ministry of Works and wanted to push him to interfere in its affairs.

However, the Ministry of Works was indeed helpless against the Yellow River and it seemed difficult to stop it.

Although the Yellow River is important, people will still consider themselves and be suspicious of their opponents when the time comes.

Wei Guangde actually remembered that Pan Jixun had conscripted more than 50,000 men for flood control during the Longqing period, spending 92,000 taels of treasury money. But soon after, he was impeached and dismissed from office by Luo Zun, the Hejian Shizhong, because of a grain ship capsizing accident.

Could it be that Pan Jixun wanted to be reinstated by following Zhang Juzheng's lead?
At this time, Wei Guangde's mind changed from trying to find ways to solve the Yellow River flood to being suspicious of Zhang Juzheng and Pan Jixun's intentions.

"Shan Dai might as well go to the Ministry of Works and ask if Pan Jixun can really control the flood."

Zhang Juzheng said again.

Wei Guangde nodded slightly. Now the cabinet member Lu Diaoyang was recuperating at home, and his resignation memorial was kept in the palace.

Because the cabinet still nominally consisted of three ministers, Zhang Juzheng's previous memorial requesting the addition of cabinet ministers was also kept in the palace.

After all, increasing the number of cabinet ministers is no trivial matter, as it concerns the stability of the outer court and imperial power.

After coming out of Zhang Juzheng's duty room, Wei Guangde first went back to his own duty room and briefly flipped through the memorials on the desk. None of them were important and needed to be dealt with immediately.

So, after putting down the memorial, Wei Guangde went straight out of the cabinet and went to the Ministry of Works.

Except for the Ministry of Justice, the six ministries of the Ming Dynasty are all outside the imperial city, but not far away.

Even the farthest Ministry of Justice was only two streets away.

When Wei Guangde arrived at the Ministry of Works, he was quickly taken to the Shangshu's duty room.

He did not go to the lobby of the Ministry of Industry. After all, Wei Guangde felt that some things were better said in private.

But he knew that the relationship between Zhu Heng and Pan Jixun was very strained because of what happened in the past.

"Shandai, you are here for the memorial from Shandong, ahem."

After entering the room, before Wei Guangde bowed and said anything, Zhu Heng spoke.

"Yes, Brother Shinan, the Yellow River floods are very serious. I know it is difficult to deal with. The court has never been able to solve it since the founding of the country, but the silt blockage is something we cannot take lightly."

Wei Guangde immediately responded.

"I know very well that today the canal transportation is blocked, but tomorrow the flood will be as vast as a thousand miles of Hongze Lake. Alas."

Zhu Heng sighed and said, "If it was just to protect the Grand Canal, it would still be within human power, but this time it's not just the Grand Canal. If the Yellow River continues to be blocked, I'm afraid it will cause another major disaster of the Yellow River changing its course."

"Brother Shinan, does the Ministry of Works have no solution to the problem of the Yellow River being blocked by silt?

As far as I know, every year the Yellow River carries a large amount of sediment and settles in the middle and end sections, which is why the Yellow River encounters dangerous situations all year round. "

Wei Guangde asked seriously.

"Shandai, the Ministry of Industry really doesn't have any good solution to the Yellow River silt problem."

Suddenly, Jiang Zhi's voice came from behind.

He also heard that Wei Guangde had arrived, so he came over from his duty room.

Upon hearing this, Wei Guangde turned around and bowed to him as a greeting.

"In the sixth year of Hongzhi, the Yellow River broke its dike at Zhangqiu and flowed into the sea from the Wenshui River, cutting off the grain transport. The court sent Liu Daxia to control the flood, but in the end he only built a dike on the north bank of the Yellow River to prevent the Yellow River from flooding northward and affecting the safety of the capital.

But because of this, the Jianghuai area was severely invaded by the Yellow River, which directly took over the Huai River and flowed into the sea.

Now the Huai River is almost blocked, and I am afraid it will soon be diverted again."

Jiang Zhi sighed and said.

"Does that mean the court can only prepare for this?"

Wei Guangde felt his scalp tingling when he thought about the Yellow River changing its course, because it was difficult to determine the new estuary and the place it would flow through.

It can be said that new river channels may emerge anywhere on the south bank of the river, and the people on the south bank are already in a precarious situation.

“Is it possible to dig a new river near the silted area? If that is not possible, dig up the river bank and let the Yellow River water flow into the sea from the new river channel, at least the flood can be controlled.”

At this time, Wei Guangde could only refer to the practices of the flood discharge area in the past. He thought of preparing a new river and digging the dike to discharge the flood when the water level of the Yellow River rose sharply and there was a risk of dam bursting.

Since it is blocked, just bypass the blocked area.

"It's difficult. The Yellow River is thousands of miles long and there are dangers everywhere. How can we cover everything?"

Zhu Heng shook his head and said.

“Moreover, time waits for no one. Even if we really want to dig a new river, based on what we know now, it will take several years. There is not enough time, and the court simply cannot afford it.

Even now, the excavation of the Jiajing Canal has already occupied most of the Ministry of Industry’s energy.”

Jiang Zhi also interrupted at this time.

"Don't the officials in the Ministry of Industry have any good ideas?"

Wei Guangde looked at the two of them and asked seriously, "If that's the case, Lord Zhang did recommend someone before. If the Ministry of Works really can't do it, it's better to throw this hot potato away."

"Who?"

Zhu Heng did not consider throwing away the hot potato, but wanted to know who Zhang Juzheng recommended.

Wei Guangde glanced at Zhu Heng and whispered, "Pan Jixun."

"He."

Zhu Heng was not angry. He shook his head and said, "He can only dredge and dredge again, but you can only dredge a section, not the entire Yellow River. In the end, it will only be a waste of money and manpower."

Zhu Heng was very disdainful because he knew Pan Jixun's abilities.

In fact, the story of Pan Jixun using the "water-binding and sand-attacking" method to clear the silt blockage in the Yellow River has been exaggerated by later generations.

The water-binding and sand-attack method increases the flow rate by narrowing the riverbed section, attempting to use the power of the water flow to flush the silt at the bottom of the riverbed to achieve the purpose of silt removal and flood control. However, this method does not fundamentally solve the problem of silt blockage in the Yellow River.

The theoretical basis of the water-binding and sand-attacking method is to increase the sand-carrying capacity of water flow by increasing the water flow velocity, thereby reducing the deposition of sediment in the riverbed.

Although this method can scour the riverbed and reduce siltation to a certain extent, due to the extremely high sediment content of the Yellow River, the sediment in the water flow cannot be completely washed away, which will eventually cause the riverbed to continue to rise.

Historically, the frequent course changes and breaches of the Yellow River are directly related to siltation.

The sediment content of the Yellow River is too high. Even if the flow rate is increased through water diversion and sediment control, it is impossible to wash away all the sediment.

The problem of the Yellow River's diversion and breach is not just a matter of siltation, but is also related to many factors such as the river's topography and climate.

Therefore, although Pan Jixun's water control and the use of water-binding and sand-control methods were effective, the Yellow River floods were not eradicated at all, which laid the groundwork for his repeated impeachments.

Yes, not long after each flood control project was completed, the Yellow River would flood again. As the person who controlled the flood, he would naturally be held accountable by the court and the censors.

(End of this chapter)