Eagle-eyed and wolf-watching

Chapter 1775 Those who encounter evil are deserving of death!
Ji Yu Hongnong

Liujiadu was originally just a small town with only a few hundred households and a population of just over a thousand. The residents of the town basically lived a peaceful life, working at sunrise and resting at sunset.

However, one morning, the arrival of thousands of soldiers shattered the peace of the town. At first, the town's residents were very nervous, but seeing that these suddenly appearing soldiers did not harm anyone, but only searched house to house and checked the identities of the town's residents, and seeing that everything was fine, the town's residents gradually relaxed their vigilance, and some even dared to try to talk to these soldiers.

However, these suddenly appearing soldiers remained tight-lipped about everything they had done, leaving the townspeople even more confused. They didn't know what the soldiers were doing. Since they didn't know what had happened, the residents of Liujia Ferry gradually returned to their normal lives, working from sunrise to sunset as usual.

This continued for another five days, and then a group of people arrived at Liujiadu. It was only then that the residents of Liujiadu learned that Zhao Wanxian, the Provincial Governor of Hebei and Henan, had come to their little-known town, which surprised and delighted everyone in the town.

Although Zhao Wanxian served as the Provincial Governor of Hebei and Henan for only about two years, he accomplished a great deal during that time. He continued the policies of Murong Yuliang's era, adopting a lenient approach to governance, encouraging industrial and commercial development, establishing the Yujing Iron and Steel Plant with an annual output of 100,000 jin (50,000 kg), constructing infrastructure, and successfully repairing the road from Yecheng to Yujing, significantly reducing travel time and facilitating smoother economic exchanges between the two cities.

In addition to developing the economy, Zhao Wanxian also actively responded to Ye Mingsheng's idea of ​​revitalizing the country through education. During his two years as provincial governor, he spent a total of 70,000 taels of silver in special funds to build new public schools for school-age children in Hebei and Henan. In two years, a total of 37 new public schools were built, changing the old and dilapidated state of public schools in Hebei and Henan.

In addition, Zhao Wanxian also actively undertook Ye Mingsheng's plan to establish one hundred libraries in Daqian. Currently, eleven libraries have been established throughout Hebei and Henan, making it the region with the most libraries in Daqian.

In a report released six months ago by the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Rites on the current state of education in various regions of the Great Qian Dynasty, Hebei and Henan, under the rule of Zhao Wanxian, were far ahead of other regions in terms of educational resources. They surpassed Shandong, the traditional hometown of Confucius and Mencius, and ranked second only to the most economically developed Jiangnan region. Children in Hebei and Henan enjoyed a significant advantage in educational resources throughout the Great Qian Dynasty, which is a very commendable achievement.

In the series of natural disasters this year, although Zhao Wanxian was somewhat unprepared in the early stages of the response, his merits outweighed his shortcomings. For several months, he was on the front line of disaster relief. In whichever region in Hebei and Henan was most severely affected by floods, Zhao, the provincial governor, would often be there.

In addition to directing disaster relief, Zhao Wanxian also did his best in handling the aftermath of the disaster. Because of the simultaneous drought and floods this year, the grain output of the entire Hebei and Henan provinces was less than 30% of that in previous years. To address this, Zhao Wanxian sought help from the imperial court and opened all the granaries in Hebei and Henan to distribute grain to the affected people according to the per capita quota.

In addition, Zhao Wanxian also negotiated with the gentry and landlords of the entire Hebei and Henan provinces, asking them to show their patriotism during this crisis and contribute their stored grain to help everyone get through the difficulties. He guaranteed in the name of the provincial governor that the government would return the grain when the harvest came the following year.

Under Zhao Wanxian's persuasion and guidance, these gentry and landlords, though unwilling, had no choice but to hand over a large amount of grain under Zhao Wanxian's example. It was precisely because of this ample guarantee that the tragedy of widespread starvation did not occur in Hebei and Henan during such a year of great disaster.

Zhao Wanxian also introduced a work-for-relief program, launching several large projects to sustain the livelihoods of these disaster victims. The Yujing Steel Plant and the road from Yecheng to Yujing were also completed during this period.
It was precisely because of Zhao Wanxian's numerous achievements over the past two years that the lives of the people of Hebei and Henan provinces have improved significantly. The people have witnessed Zhao Wanxian's efforts and therefore deeply respect and admire him, considering him a rare and excellent official.
Therefore, upon hearing that Zhao Wanxian had arrived in Liujiadu, the residents of Liujiadu all wanted to meet Zhao Wanxian and witness the demeanor of this Provincial Governor Zhao.

Unfortunately, Zhao, the provincial governor, who was known for his approachability, did not have time to meet with the people. Instead, he led a group of officials from Hebei and Henan to explain things to Emperor Ye Mingsheng and Crown Prince Jingren, who had come to inspect the area.

"Your Majesty, Your Highness, Liujia Ferry is located at the end of the middle reaches of the canyon, serving as the 'first gateway' for the De River as it emerges from the clouds and passes through the canyon before entering the Central Plains! According to our calculations, Liujia Ferry controls 90% of the De River's area, water volume, and sediment load in the Hebei-Henan watershed, directly impacting the downstream water-sediment balance!"

Upon hearing Zhao Wanxian mention these three 90% figures, Ye Mingsheng became interested and asked:
How did you calculate this data?

"Your Majesty, we have dedicated measurement points. Previously, we took samples every month, but now we do it every ten days. We send people to collect and weigh the samples to ensure that changes in the De River are within our monitoring range!"

Ye Mingsheng nodded slightly, signaling Zhao Wanxian to continue.

"Back then, Pan Jixun used the method of controlling water and attacking sand to manage the De River and built a dike for more than 600 li. One of the main reasons why it still breached the dike many times in the later period was that the soil structure of the dike was very easy to collapse under the impact of floods. Once the dike collapsed, it was forced to retreat to the remote dike. The original river channel quickly silted up, the riverbed rose, and the remote dike was under great pressure. In the end, the breach was inevitable!"

"But things are different now! Pan Jixun could only use earth and wood, but we now have steel and cement. We can build dams entirely with steel and cement, making the dams far stronger and more durable than those made of earth and wood..."

"Therefore, Your Majesty, I am confident that by making good use of the method of constricting water to attack sand, we can manage the De River and greatly reduce its flooding!"

As Zhao Wanxian spoke, he took a document from his subordinate and handed it to Ye Mingsheng, saying:
"Your Majesty, this is a report written by our Hebei-Henan Provincial Administration Commission after investigating the water conservancy situation at Liujia Ferry. Please take a look when you have time!"

Hearing Zhao Wanxian hand him another highly specialized report, Ye Mingsheng, who knew nothing about water conservancy, was somewhat troubled. However, in front of everyone, he had no choice but to pretend to look through the report. As before, Ye Mingsheng recognized all the Chinese characters in the report, but when they were put together, he couldn't quite figure out what they meant.

After quickly glancing through the report, Ye Mingsheng asked:
How much silver do you plan to spend this time?

Hearing Ye Mingsheng's question, Zhang Wanxian felt slightly dejected. This report was the culmination of his work over the past few months. He had led water conservancy officials from Hebei and Henan provinces on a field investigation around Liujia Ferry before writing it. Therefore, he had submitted it to Ye Mingsheng with high hopes, hoping it would be taken seriously. However, when Ye Mingsheng was reviewing the report earlier, Zhang Wanxian could sense Ye Mingsheng's perfunctory attitude. Now, Ye Mingsheng's question only reinforced Zhang Wanxian's belief that Ye Mingsheng hadn't carefully read the report. This undoubtedly poured cold water on Zhang Wanxian's enthusiasm, making him feel that his months of effort had been in vain…
Although Zhao Wanxian was feeling frustrated and disappointed, he could only suppress his true feelings and thoughts when faced with Ye Mingsheng's question, and explained:
"Your Majesty, according to our Provincial Administration Commission's estimate, implementing the water-constriction sand-attack method at Liujiadu will require 370,000 taels of silver!"

"Your Majesty, we plan to build the main canal, dikes, remote dikes, grid dikes, and flood-reducing dams at Liujia Ferry!"

"The dike is close to the main river channel. Its low and straight shape makes it easy to narrow the river channel and increase the flow velocity. It uses water power to flush away the silt in the riverbed, restrict the water flow to the channel, and prevent overflow. This is the origin of the word 'attack sand' in the phrase 'attack sand with water'!"

"The remote dike is three miles away from the main dike. It is a tall and sturdy flood control barrier, specially designed to withstand major floods. When the main dike breaches, the remote dike will be needed to support it. My plan is to build this remote dike with a large amount of steel bars and cement to ensure that this dike will not easily breach!"

"The grid dike vertically connects the horizontal dike and the remote dike to stabilize the riverbed, which facilitates the blocking of the lateral flow of floodwater, protects the remote dike, promotes siltation of the riverbed, and stabilizes the river channel!"

"Your Majesty, my overall plan is this: during the dry or moderate flood season, we will reinforce the dikes to accelerate water flow, flushing away silt from the riverbed and ensuring that silt does not accumulate and the riverbed does not rise!"

"When the rainy season arrives, the floodwaters overflow the dikes and enter the beach area between the dikes and the remote dikes. The dikes divide the beach area, restricting the lateral spread of the floodwaters, and causing siltation and sedimentation."

"If a truly massive flood occurs, the only option left is to retreat to the outer dikes and mobilize manpower and resources for a desperate last stand..."

Ye Mingsheng noticed that Zhao Wanxian had introduced the Lu Dike, Yao Dike, and Ge Dike, but had not mentioned the flood control dam. Curious, he asked:

What role does this water reduction dam play in your plans?

Seeing that Ye Mingsheng had taken the initiative to ask, Zhao Wanxian answered without hesitation:

"Flood diversion dams are built on key river sections, such as Liujia Ferry. Our plan is to build two flood diversion dams with the dam crests lower than the main dike. Floodwaters will automatically overflow and be diverted to protect the main dike. This is also part of the water-binding and sand-controlling system!"

After silently calculating in his mind, Ye Mingsheng couldn't help but ask Zhao Wanxian:
"You're spending 370,000 taels of silver just on Liujiadu, so wouldn't the entire water conservancy infrastructure in the Hebei-Henan section cost 500,000 taels of silver?"

Zhao Wanxian was taken aback for a moment upon hearing this, but after a quick thought, he replied:
"Your Majesty, how much will it cost overall? We haven't calculated it yet, but it will definitely exceed 500,000 taels of silver!"

Ye Mingsheng's expression turned somewhat helpless upon hearing this. His officials were all incredibly extravagant. The construction of Taogang required two million taels of silver, and Zhao Wanxian's river management required five hundred thousand taels of silver. They were all eager to ask him for money, but they didn't seem to consider how much the court's annual tax revenue was.
Feeling helpless, Ye Mingsheng suddenly seemed to remember something and continued speaking:
"The Ministry of Works previously submitted a plan for the management of the De River, which mentioned the construction of water conservancy projects in your Hebei and Henan provinces. I wonder if you are familiar with this plan?"

When Ye Mingsheng asked about this, Zhao Wanxian replied with some disdain:
"Your Majesty, I am aware of the Ministry of Works' plan. The total cost is only a little over two hundred thousand taels of silver. Your Majesty, please forgive my bluntness, but this plan is simply unacceptable..."

Hearing Zhao Wanxian's direct statement, Ye Mingsheng was somewhat surprised. On the field, although members might hate each other to the core, they still have to pretend to be harmonious to show unity. Unless they completely break off relations, they rarely use such blunt language to criticize their colleagues.

Against this backdrop, Zhao Wanxian, who is always outspoken, is undoubtedly an anomaly, but that is also what Ye Mingsheng admires about him!

"Since you say the published plan is no good, then tell me exactly what's wrong with it?"

Zhao Wanxian spoke without hesitation:
"Your Majesty, the Ministry of Works' plan covers the entire project from Yongliang and Guanzhong to Qilu, spanning the entire east and west of our Great Qian Dynasty. It involves the construction of several water conservancy projects, and the cost is only a little over 200,000 taels of silver. On average, each water conservancy project costs less than 50,000 taels of silver!"

"Your Majesty, this figure alone makes it clear that the Ministry of Works' idea is nothing but a charade!"

At this point, Zhao Wanxian got a little carried away and continued:
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, Minister Su of the Ministry of Works knew that Your Majesty was unwilling to spend a lot of money on water conservancy projects, so he came up with this plan. This plan may not have any problems with minor disasters, but if a disaster like this year occurs, it will only be a drop in the ocean!"

"Therefore, Minister Su's actions are nothing more than currying favor with the emperor; his intentions are despicable!"

The moment the words "encountering the wickedness of the ruler" were uttered, everyone around changed their expressions immediately. Even Gao Congwen, the deputy provincial governor standing beside Zhao Wanxian, looked at him in disbelief. Could such words be uttered so casually? Did he have a death wish?
(End of this chapter)