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

Chapter 1262 Establishment of a Governor-General
In the previous capital inspection and the subsequent Jiangnan case, Zhu Shenzhui thoroughly rectified the court and local authorities, even causing the once powerful Donglin Party, which controlled half of the court, to decline. This demonstrates the emperor's ruthlessness.

How many years have passed? And these people are already getting restless again. Can't they see reality? Are they really so stubborn as to challenge the emperor? But this is normal. After all, the temptation of power is too great, and almost every civil official harbors the idea that the scholar-officials and the emperor should rule the world together, believing that they are the true masters of the land.

For the first two hundred years of the Ming Dynasty, the struggle between imperial power and civil officials never ceased, with the latter always gaining the upper hand and suffocating the emperor. Even during the Hongwu era, when the Taizu Emperor launched three major cases and killed so many people, he still could not completely suppress the rise of civil officials.

Hong Chengchou was filled with unease. In his view, the emperor had summoned them today ostensibly for the Yellow River's breach, but in reality, it was not that simple. It seemed that the emperor intended to take this opportunity to strike hard, at least to kill some, imprison some, and demote others, and to suppress this trend severely.

Moreover, the Yellow River breach occurred in Huaibei, which belongs to Southern Zhili, a region historically the stronghold of the civil service. Since Hong Chengchou had heard the recent rumors, the emperor could not possibly be unaware of them. Thinking of this, Hong Chengchou felt extremely uneasy.

"Grand Secretary, what do you think of this matter?" Just as Hong Chengchou was feeling uneasy, Zhu Shenzhui suddenly asked him directly.

Hong Chengchou stood up, his mind racing. He first bowed to the emperor, then said, "Your Majesty, I believe this matter must be severely punished!"

These words surprised everyone, even Zhu Shenzhui. He had originally thought that Hong Chengchou, as the Grand Secretary, would, like Kong Zhenyun, advise the Emperor to let the matter slide and only punish a few people. After all, there was no way to investigate this matter in detail, as it would involve far too many people if investigated too deeply.

Moreover, the situation of privately digging up the Yellow River section in Huaibei is not a recent occurrence; the hidden dangers were sown decades ago. To put it bluntly, this time it was just that the officials in office were unlucky. If it weren't for the heavy rainfall this year and the several torrential rains in early summer, as long as the Yellow River hadn't breached its banks, these officials would still be sitting comfortably in their positions. When the day comes that they are transferred or promoted, the rest will no longer be their concern.

Unexpectedly, a huge pot fell from the sky, coinciding with a once-in-a-lifetime flood, leading to a major disaster. While the officials currently in office certainly bear responsibility and should be held accountable, a thorough investigation would inevitably implicate many others.

In this situation, the best approach is to target the current officials, arrest and severely punish a few, and then take remedial action to resolve the problem. As for the previous issues, they should be temporarily set aside to prevent the situation from escalating beyond control. This way, the problem can be solved while also serving as a warning to officials at all levels—a win-win situation.

Kong Zhenyun and his group thought the same way, so they advised the emperor to be cautious about the matter. However, the emperor was clearly dissatisfied with this suggestion, while Xu Xiancheng demanded severe punishment on the grounds of the Censorate. The emperor seemed quite tempted, and now he asked Hong Chengchou. As the chief minister, Hong Chengchou originally intended to echo Kong Zhenyun and others' attitude and dissuade them, but when he was about to speak, he had a slight change of heart and agreed to severe punishment instead.

Hong Chengchou's proposal surprised Zhu Shenzhui. He had originally planned to wait for Hong Chengchou to express his opinion before giving him a warning and then forcefully pushing the case forward. But Hong Chengchou did not play by the rules and directly expressed his agreement to severe punishment, which left Zhu Shenzhui speechless.

"Does the Grand Secretary believe he should be severely punished?"

“Of course!” Hong Chengchou said matter-of-factly. “Such an event is unprecedented and truly appalling. If it is not severely punished, the law will not tolerate it! These people disregard the safety of the people for their own selfish interests. Can we just let it go? If so, where is the law? How can the souls of the people who suffered and died find peace? And how can we explain this to the world?”

Hong Chengchou bowed to the emperor once again and said, "I propose that this case be jointly tried by the three judicial departments, with the assistance of the supervisory department. In addition, a capable minister should be appointed as an imperial envoy to inspect the local area and strictly investigate and deal with the matter!"

Zhu Shenzhui nodded slightly, his gaze softening as he looked at Hong Chengchou; Hong's words had resonated with him.

This matter must not be taken lightly; it must be thoroughly investigated. Moreover, the officials to be punished will not only be those in these three prefectures and seven counties, but also those in the Southern Zhili region.

Zhu Shenzhui refused to believe that such a major event, which had lasted for decades, could be concealed by just a few local officials. Were the officials in Southern Zhili all deaf and blind? It was impossible for them to be completely unaware. The Ministry of Works in Nanjing certainly knew, since it was the Ministry of Works that was specifically responsible for the maintenance of the local river works. In addition, although Southern Zhili did not have a Provincial Administration Commissioner, it had Left and Right Councilors and Censors-in-Chief. Furthermore, the Governor of Yingtian was in charge of the administration of Southern Zhili. These people could not escape responsibility either.

Immediately, Zhu Shenzhui said, "Then let the Three Departments and the Censorate investigate this case thoroughly. In addition, the Police Department will cooperate in the investigation. No matter how many people are involved, or who is involved, once verified, they will be punished according to the law!" "Yes!" Zhou Anmin and Xu Xiancheng quickly agreed. Then Hong Chengchou and Wang Jinwu also expressed their agreement. As for Wang Mingxuan, the Minister of Works, he had been holding back his anger for a long time. He not only agreed to this arrangement, but also demanded that the Ministry of Works participate. The emperor agreed to this and granted his request.

Although the others wanted to persuade him further, not only Zhou Anmin, Xu Xiancheng, and Wang Mingxuan agreed, but even the Grand Secretary and the Second Grand Secretary had agreed to the matter. Among the remaining cabinet members, Qian Qianyi was a fence-sitter, so he naturally did not object.

As for Kong Zhenyun and the others, although they were somewhat uneasy about this, they had no way to persuade them under the circumstances. With a helpless sigh, they could only agree.

After discussing this matter, Zhu Shenzhui then proposed the re-establishment of the position of River Conservancy Governor. He had conceived of this idea before, but had originally planned to proceed after the situation in Huaibei had subsided. However, the circumstances had changed, and Zhu Shenzhui felt that this matter could no longer be delayed. Therefore, he directly proposed it today, not only to re-establish the position of River Conservancy Governor, but also to solidify this post as a permanent institution to ensure the future importance of river works.

Everyone unanimously agreed with the suggestion, since this position had existed before, albeit as a temporary one, and had been established and abolished several times. It was normal for it to be re-established now due to the Yellow River breach.

But this time everyone understood one thing: the emperor's re-establishment of the River Conservancy Commissioner was different from before. This was to turn this temporary position into a long-term, formal one. Moreover, it was not only for the management of the Yellow River, but also for the dredging and prevention of waterways in the capital region. In addition, it was also responsible for the Grand Canal and grain transport. Although the importance of the Grand Canal had diminished with the rise of maritime transport, it still played a significant role as a means of connecting the north and south. Previously, these were handled by local officials in sections or by eunuchs sent by the emperor. But now, with the establishment of the position of River Conservancy Commissioner, all of these would fall under the jurisdiction of the River Conservancy Office.

"The Governor-General of the Waterways will remain a second-rank official, and his office will be located in Huai'an. What do you all think?"

“Your Majesty’s arrangement is excellent, but Huai’an is still suffering from floods. I think it would be more appropriate to establish its administrative center in Jining, Shandong, first, and then move the government office to Huai’an after the floods in Huaibei have been completely eliminated,” Yang Sichang suggested as he stood up.

Zhu Shenzhui thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Huai'an was indeed in a mess, and it was very inconvenient to set up the River Conservancy Office there. Moving it north to Shandong was a good choice. In any case, Jining was not far from Huai'an, and the River Conservancy Office was also responsible for river works near the capital. This way, they could start from the capital and Shandong first, and then move it to Huai'an after the Huaibei flood was completely resolved.

Besides establishing a river management office, there were two other key issues: the selection of the river governor and the power of the river governor.

Regarding the second point, Zhu Shenzhui had already considered it. River affairs are of great importance, and the power in the hands of the River Governor-General cannot be small. Moreover, the labor conscription for river works is also considerable. If the River Governor-General is just an empty title, requiring local cooperation in everything will make it much more difficult to get things done.

Therefore, Zhu Shenzhui decided that the River Conservancy Governor-General, though of a lower rank than other governors-general, would still be entitled to a Governor-General's Guard, numbering 1,500 men, directly under his command. Furthermore, the River Conservancy Governor-General also had the authority to mobilize local garrisons, especially the main river in Huai'an Prefecture, which was directly under his control. Moreover, the River Conservancy Governor-General was not under local jurisdiction, reporting directly to the Grand Secretariat and the Emperor, and possessed the power to submit secret memorials. This eliminated any concerns about his position and allowed him to focus on his duties.

Zhu Shenzhui still needed to hear everyone's opinions on who should serve as the River Conservancy Governor. This person had to be familiar with the area, capable and willing to take action, knowledgeable about river works, and also unable to have any connections with officials in Huaibei. Otherwise, if a River Conservancy Governor was appointed one day, and an investigation later revealed that he was also involved in the Yellow River breach, it would not only be a slap in the face to the court, but also to the emperor.

To be honest, everyone had their own thoughts about this candidate. Securing the position of River Conservancy Governor-General would be a significant advantage for anyone. The Emperor is clearly prioritizing river works and intends to maintain this position permanently. Moreover, the River Conservancy Governor-General is not only a second-rank official, but also holds the power to supervise the military and mobilize garrison troops—making him a truly powerful regional official!

Furthermore, the importance of river works is self-evident. With the Yellow River breaching its banks this time, the imperial court will certainly devote a great deal of effort to river management, which requires money, and nothing can be done without it. According to preliminary estimates, the annual allocation for river works may be as high as tens or even hundreds of thousands of yuan. With such a large sum of money in hand, even an honest official would not be able to save a small amount just by letting a little slip through his fingers.

Furthermore, the Grand Canal Governor also oversees the grain transport, which goes without saying. Even though maritime transport is booming in the Ming Dynasty and more and more people are traveling north and south by sea, the Grand Canal still has advantages that maritime transport cannot match. The canal is safer and can directly connect north and south without the need for inland transshipment through coastal port cities. In addition, the prosperous commerce and docks along the banks of the Grand Canal from south to north are a great asset to control. If one could appoint someone from the same family to this position, the benefits would be obvious.

(End of this chapter)