Gou was a member of the imperial family in the late Ming Dynasty

Chapter 1249 River Governor
"Mr. Yang!"

"Chen is here!"

"According to what you just said, the Ministry of Revenue no longer has the ability to allocate funds?" Zhu Shenzhui asked directly.

Yang Sichang's forehead was slightly sweaty. He had originally planned that after he gave such an answer, Zhu Shenzhui would consider it and then propose to divert funds from the palace and garden repairs to disaster relief. In this way, his goal would be achieved.

Unexpectedly, the emperor did not follow his plan at all, but instead pretended not to know and asked directly, which put Yang Sichang under pressure.

But now that Yang Sichang had put his words to this extent, he could not refuse the emperor's reply. He could only grit his teeth and say, "Your Majesty, perhaps I should go back and recalculate. Maybe I can still scrape together 100,000... 200,000?"

"That's too little," Zhu Shenzhui shook his head. "Even if it's 200,000, it's only 1.2 million. Right now, disaster relief alone requires nearly 2 million, and that doesn't even include subsequent expenses. After the Yellow River breached its banks, these three prefectures and seven counties probably won't recover for at least two or three years. Logically, the court should reduce or exempt local taxes. In addition, the management of the Yellow River is also of paramount importance, and a lot of silver will need to be continuously invested. The Ministry of Revenue needs to find ways to raise these funds. You are the Minister of Revenue and also a Grand Secretary, so you need to come up with more ideas."

“In that case, I think…” Yang Sichang pondered for a moment, a resolute look flashing across his face, and then spoke to the emperor.

Before he could even speak, Grand Secretary Hong Chengchou, who had been mostly silent, suddenly interrupted, cupping his hands to Zhu Shenzhui and saying, "Your Majesty, I have an idea, but I don't know if it's feasible."

"Oh, if the Prime Minister has any ideas, just say so."

Hong Chengchou ignored Yang Sichang's gaze and looked at the emperor, saying, "The Yellow River's breach was an accident. Regardless of whether it was a natural disaster or a man-made one, it was ultimately unexpected. It is true that the Ministry of Revenue was unable to gather enough funds and grain for relief in a short time. I can understand your predicament, Lord Yang..."

Zhu Shenzhui remained silent, listening quietly as Hong Chengchou continued.

Hong Chengchou continued, "I understand what you just said. There shouldn't be any problem for the Ministry of Revenue to take 1.2 million. Is that right, Lord Yang?"

Yang Sichang nodded, about to explain something, but Hong Chengchou didn't give him a chance to explain at all, and continued: "Since that's the case, let's not talk about the subsequent funds for now. Judging from the current disaster relief situation, although this 1.2 million taels is a little insufficient, I think it can still do a lot."

"How about the Ministry of Revenue temporarily allocate 1.2 million for initial disaster relief? Fire and flood are merciless, and disaster relief is the court's top priority. This cannot be delayed, and the people cannot afford to wait. The Ministry of Revenue can then devise a plan to allocate another 500,000 in mid-March, bringing the total to 1.8 million. After March, it will be the end of the year, and according to custom, the customs will soon settle accounts with the Ministry of Revenue. After the settlement, the Ministry of Revenue will have new funds in its account. By the spring of next year, the taxes collected from various regions will be transferred to the Ministry of Revenue by the Royal Bank. In this way, the crisis will be overcome, and the remaining expenses should also be settled. This way, both sides will benefit, wouldn't that be perfect?"

Zhu Shenzhui glanced at Hong Chengchou with slight surprise. He had originally thought that Hong Chengchou would side with Yang Sichang, emphasizing the importance of the matter under the pretext of disaster relief, and proposing to divert repair funds for disaster relief. But to his utter surprise, Hong Chengchou actually took a fair stance, and his words were reasonable and well-founded, without any faults whatsoever.

Hong Chengchou is right. Although the initial estimate is that disaster relief will require nearly two million yuan, and the figure will be even larger if subsequent funding is added, the problem is that these funds do not need to be allocated all at once, because this is not something that can be accomplished in a short time.

The most important task at present is immediate disaster relief efforts following the breach of the Yellow River's dikes, namely, resettling and providing relief to the affected people. These relief efforts mainly involve allocating funds and supplies and stabilizing local areas. Therefore, from this perspective, even 500,000 yuan would be sufficient, let alone 1.2 million. As long as the people are stabilized, properly resettled, and prevented from becoming displaced or going hungry, the first step in disaster relief will be completed.

As for the subsequent resumption of production and reconstruction of homes, there is no rush for now; we can proceed step by step. Moreover, it is now late July, approaching August, and the weather is still quite hot. There is no need to rush to build houses in the disaster-stricken areas; setting up makeshift shelters can provide a meager means of survival.

More importantly, there's the settlement time between the customs and banks and the Ministry of Revenue, as mentioned by Hong Chengchou. One is at the end of the year, and the other is in early spring of the following year. The former is only about three or four months away. As long as this period is managed, the rest can be completed. From this perspective, although the Ministry of Revenue faces difficulties, it's not insurmountable. They can simply exploit the time difference and take advantage of the order of events. It's not as difficult as Yang Sichang described. Zhu Shenzhui looked at Wang Mingxuan and asked, "Lord Wang, you have served in local government and as an imperial inspector. Now you are the Minister of Works. In your opinion, is what the Grand Secretary said feasible?"

"Absolutely feasible!" Wang Mingxuan had no ulterior motives. He already felt guilty about the Yellow River breach, and when the emperor asked about it, he answered without hesitation.

Not only did Wang Mingxuan give this answer, but he also carefully analyzed and explained to the emperor that there was nothing wrong with this approach. For example, he pointed out the most crucial things to do now, how to do them, how to provide disaster relief, and how to resettle affected people. In addition, Wang Mingxuan made a good suggestion regarding the subsequent river works. Since many people on both sides of the Yellow River were affected by the disaster, the local river works should be rebuilt. These people should not be supported entirely by the imperial court's relief efforts.

Even if the imperial court has money, it shouldn't spend it like this! It could easily utilize these people, organizing them into a work-for-relief program to repair river works and restore their homes. This would solve the problem of these people being idle and prone to gathering and causing trouble, while also reducing the burden on the imperial court and using the people to do something for it.

Wang Mingxuan's suggestion was good, and Zhu Shenzhui was very pleased to hear it. This was the attitude of serving the Ming Dynasty and the emperor. Although the Ministry of Works bore responsibility for the Yellow River breach, Zhu Shenzhui did not really intend to hold him accountable. On the one hand, this old minister was advanced in age and held high prestige; to hold him accountable in this matter would be unreasonable and would tarnish his reputation in his later years. Furthermore, Zhu Shenzhui knew in his heart that although he was the Minister of Works, he was at most in a leadership position, not primarily responsible; the actual work was done by his subordinates. Therefore, his attitude towards him earlier was merely a reprimand and an expression of his strong dissatisfaction with the Yellow River breach.

Wang Mingxuan proposed the work-for-relief method, a method with ancient origins. If implemented well, it could not only solve subsequent problems but also save significant financial resources. However, the key to work-for-relief is ensuring the policy is effectively implemented. This person is crucial. Furthermore, Zhu Shenzhui also saw a serious problem with the recent Yellow River breach: relying solely on the central government and the Ministry of Works to oversee Yellow River engineering was problematic. Focusing on major issues while neglecting minor ones could lead to numerous problems. The Ministry of Works, as the central institution, could only coordinate overall planning but couldn't address local needs. Conventionally, the Ministry of Works allocated funds, and local prefectures were responsible for segmented river repairs and maintenance. If lower-level officials were negligent or engaged in shoddy construction for personal gain, similar breaches would occur again, and such situations would be impossible to prevent in the future.

Thinking of this, Zhu Shenzhui had an idea: to set up a special agency to manage the waterways. This position actually existed in the Ming Dynasty. As early as the Yongle period, the court specially appointed the Minister of Works to be in charge of river management. Later, during the Chenghua period, the position of River Supervisor was specially set up to manage river affairs.

However, later, as the imperial court's efforts to manage the Yellow River began to yield results and the flood situation eased, this position was abolished. It was only temporarily added later when the Yellow River breached its banks, and then abolished again. This temporary position appeared and disappeared intermittently, almost like treating the symptoms rather than the root cause—abolishing it when there was no problem and setting it up when there was one. This position was never established again until the mid-to-late Wanli period.

Now Zhu Shenzhui intends to reinstate this position. In addition, considering the Grand Canal and the Yongding River in the capital, he will unify the management authority of the Yellow River, the Grand Canal and the Yongding River, and establish a special office for the Governor-General of the Waterways as a long-term management institution.

In the future, this River Conservancy Commissioner will not belong to any of the government departments, but will be directly responsible to the Emperor and oversee all river affairs. In this way, he will be separated from the Ministry of Works and placed under the direct jurisdiction of the Emperor. His rank will be the same as that of the Provincial Treasurer and the Provincial Governor, which is the second rank, and he will also hold the title of Vice Minister of the Ministry of Works.

However, this matter still needs some refinement, so Zhu Shenzhui did not bring it up immediately. He planned to study it carefully before formally proposing and setting it up. Another issue was the selection of personnel. In theory, Wang Mingxuan would be the most suitable person, but unfortunately, Wang Mingxuan was too old. Even as the Minister of Works, he could not serve for long, let alone as the Director-General of the Waterways. Therefore, Zhu Shenzhui also needed to carefully consider who to choose.

Thus, Zhu Shenzhui temporarily settled the matter, instructing the Ministry of Revenue to allocate funds for relief as soon as possible, with Grand Secretary Hong Chengchou in charge, and suitable officials to be dispatched to the disaster area. In addition, the Ministry of Works also needed to cooperate, to come up with a comprehensive plan for the proposed work-for-relief program, and submit it to the Cabinet for discussion before implementation.

After the matter was finished, Zhu Shenzhui did not keep them. He told them to get on with it as soon as possible, as disaster relief was urgent and this matter could not be delayed.

Hong Chengchou and the others bowed in response before taking their leave. After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Wang Mingxuan, preoccupied with the matter, hurried back to the Ministry of Works to make arrangements. He nodded slightly to Hong Chengchou and Yang Sichang and quickly left, while Hong Chengchou and Yang Sichang walked together toward the Cabinet, which was not far away.

"Brother Hengjiu, why did you say that just now?" After walking for a while, Yang Sichang suddenly lowered his voice and asked Hong Chengchou.

"What? Is Ziwei blaming me for talking too much?" Hong Chengchou asked with a smile.

"How dare I say such a thing? Brother Hengjiu is now the Grand Secretary, upholding justice for the country and sharing the emperor's burdens. I admire him more than I can bear," Yang Sichang said leisurely, his words carrying a hint of sarcasm.

(End of this chapter)