Chapter 123: The Yellow River Crisis

Yang Pu said: "Your Majesty, the Yellow River is a hanging river on the ground, the water potential is extremely fierce, and the layers of reinforcement are not enough to resist the water potential, and the river embankment has been in disrepair for a long time, and it is no longer a simple repair. ”

"It has to be rebuilt. Once something happens to the Yellow River, it will affect several provinces in the world, Henan, Shandong, and the people of Lianghuai, who are not His Majesty's children? ”

"Your Majesty is invited to remember the people on both sides of the great river, and to temporarily refine the thoughts of the northern expedition."

"You're ready to speak up." Zhu Qizhen said secretly in his heart.

Although Zhu Qizhen said that he did not have the intention of spending a lot of money to repair the Yellow River, he was not stingy in the maintenance of the Yellow River, and the Yellow River allocated more than 500,000 taels for two consecutive years.

That's pretty good already.

At least before the reform of the salt administration, the annual income of the imperial court was only a few million taels of silver, and the taxes of Henan Province may not be as much as 500,000 taels.

Now Xuanfu, Datong, and the repair of the side walls near Beijing are gradually completed. Zhu Qizhen summoned Zhou Chen, the head of the household, many times, and the so-called thing is one thing.

That is to save silver taels for the upcoming big war.

Projects for which the central government is responsible are either completed or stopped.

The political and financial policies of the Ming Dynasty have also been from before, and a slight surplus required by Zhu Qizhen can be sufficient. But now, Zhu Qizhen asked for a large amount of silver dollars to be left behind as war funds.

In more modern terms, at least the fiscal has been converted to wartime finance.

Almost every year, about six million taels of silver dollars were deposited in the inner treasury as a surplus.

It is estimated that in three or five years, the balance of Zhu Qizhen's inner treasury will probably reach as much as 32 million taels left by the empress dowager, and then it will be enough for Zhu Qizhen to start a war with the tile thorn.

Even because of the sharp increase in fiscal expenditure. There is a steady stream of positive financial inflows, and it will not be a problem for a few years.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen is not stingy with a little money.

The expenditure of 500,000 yuan is a small amount of money in Zhu Qizhen's eyes.

But the Yellow River is not 500,000 taels of silver, and it can be repaired.

Although Zhu Qizhen has been refraining from fighting with the tile spur now, he is not ready to fight with the tile spur when the Ming court is not ready.

But war has always been a matter for the two countries, and it is not something that Zhu Qizhen can unilaterally restrain himself.

Zhu Qizhen now has tens of millions of funds for river control, but it is impossible to come up with it. This is not the first time Yang Pu has said this.

The first thing that Zhu Qizhen thought about was that Yang Pu was transferring Zhu Qizhen's strategic purpose. I want Zhu Qizhen to shift his attention from foreign wars to the governance of the Yellow River.

But since Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, he has been preparing for this thing for more than ten years. How can you give up? In this war, the tile spurs may have been prepared to get rid of the joy, and it was also two generations ahead. But Zhu Qizhen also

It's been 12 years of preparation.

No matter what happens, you can't shake it.

To tell the truth, Zhu Qizhen has been in charge of the imperial court for so many years, and he understands one truth too well, that is, if he wants nothing in the world, it is something that he should not even think about.

If you really want to say that there is something, where in the world is it not a thing?

The yellow book is not true, the Weisuo Tuntian was occupied, the Jiangnan was heavily endowed, the Yunnan-Guizhou Tusi, the Ganxi drought, the Yangtze River water, the Sichuan Tusi, and even the Songpan Tusi have not been very stable, but the Sichuan side mostly appeased, and reported to the court that it was safe and sound.

As for the grain chief below, oppression of the people, the house of the scholar and doctor is rampant in the township, and so on.

Which question is not a problem?

If you have to arrange the major affairs of the imperial court, they are all arranged one by one. These problems are solved. Zhu Qizhen can't finish it in his life.

In Zhu Qizhen's view, the tile spur is the biggest problem of Daming.

The most elite army of the Ming Dynasty, the most capable generals, a large number of financial expenditures, and all aspects of energy are entangled in the nine sides. If we don't fight the thorns, Beijing will lead the north of China, and we should not think about economic development.

Without economic development, the economic imbalance between the North and the South will become even more serious.

Beijing's increasing dependence on Jiangnan directly affected Zhu Qizhen's authority.

Moreover, being able to defeat the tile thorn and re-establish the rule of the Ming Dynasty in the grassland not only liberated the burden of the north, but also greatly increased the authority of Zhu Qizhen, even surpassing Renzong and Xuanzong, directly to the level of Taizu Taizong.

When the time comes, what does Zhu Qizhen want to do, he will not be as constrained as he is today.

Therefore, if Zhu Qizhen wanted to fight the tile thorn at the beginning, it was still Zhu Qizhen's modern thinking that caused trouble, but now Zhu Qizhen insists on this strategy, but it is not a simple good achievement.

It is Zhu Qizhen who uses himself to repay his losses, establish his own authority, and a complete set of solutions. It is the method that Zhu Qizhen thought of for the change of power in the army in the future, and the precondition for changing the law.

It is impossible for Zhu Qizhen to carry out drastic reforms of the entire Ming Dynasty without fully mastering the army, Zhu Qizhen is the emperor, not looking for death.

As long as the emperor leads the army to victory, he can fully own the army.

As long as there is a violent metabolism in the army, Zhu Qizhen can arrange his own people into suitable positions.

Therefore, the battle with the tile spur has pinned too much hope on Zhu Qizhen. We must not waver. Not to mention, in Zhu Qizhen's view, Yang Pu is simply alarmist.

The minister has done such a thing more than once or twice.

Take a step back, even if what Yang Pu said is true. Zhu Qizhen will not waver.

Zhu Qizhen can compromise on many things, but he is absolutely uncompromising on some things.

Zhu Qizhen said: "I gave one million taels of silver from the inner treasury to Henan, and asked him to repair the Yellow River

It is the national policy of the imperial court, and even if the sea is dry and the stones are rotten, it must not be changed. ”

"Your Majesty." Yang Pu said: "Why are the people innocent? ”

Zhu Qizhen said: "I spend millions of taels every year, but the minister of Henan who controls the water can't hold the embankment of the Yellow River, is it my fault?" Seven years before orthodoxy, the imperial court spent so much money on maintenance every year, and it was not over. ”

"Not anymore."

"Your Majesty is late, and so is that." Yang Pu said.

Zhu Qizhen said: "Sir, I know what you mean, it's just the matter of the Yellow River, can't you retreat?" Since I ascended the throne, I have been thinking about the things of the thorns, and even almost abolished by the Empress Dowager, I have not changed my original intention, so many years, what I have done is for this one thing, now the sea transportation is the same, the grain and grass in the south are unimpeded, the water conservancy in Hebei is prosperous, and the annual grain production is tens of millions of stones, and there are gallops through the border customs. The loss of transshipment is very small. The salt tax was changed and levied, with an annual income of 10 million taels, the treasury was full, and the thorns were aggressive. This year, outside the border wall of Datong, the armies of the two sides confronted each other, killing and injuring each other. It's not a question of whether I want to fight or not. Can't the gentleman be considerate and considerate? ”

With these words, Zhu Qizhen was already faintly angry, but he was forced to hold it. It's not that Zhu Qizhen isn't angry, he knows that anger can't solve the problem.

After all, Yang Pu is an important minister of the imperial court, and he has never seen any kind of big scene. Even if you put a knife on his neck, he may not give in.

Don't say a loud rebuke.

It doesn't work at all.

Dare to stand up for your opinion in front of the emperor is the most basic quality of being a minister. It is also something that Zhou Chen does not have.

Yang Pu said: "The minister is not a cowardly person, and now the court is fighting with the tile thorn in Haixi, and the minister has not said anything. What the minister wants to say is that His Majesty should think about the Yin Jian of Taizong, the last order of the Empress Dowager, and the importance of the people, fight against the tile thorns, and defend the country. In vain the blood of the people, the great work of the king. ”

Zhu Qizhen only felt that his throat was on fire, and said, "Yang Shoufu, are you what you should say?" ”

Yang Pu got up, knelt on the ground, and said: "The minister doesn't dare to hurt His Majesty's wisdom, so he retreats left and right, and does not drop the words, but the heart of the old minister's fist, heaven and man learn together." Your Majesty can kill the ministers, and you can chase the ministers, but the words of seizing the ministers are absolutely unacceptable. ”

"The minister came from the Yongle period, and he definitely didn't want His Majesty to repeat the mistakes of the past. Please think twice, Your Majesty. ”

Zhu Qizhen looked at Yang Pu deadly, and there was a faint killing intent in his eyes.

At this moment, Zhu Qizhen really has murderous intentions. Because what Yang Pu said was too ugly.

What "Emperor Taizong's Yin Jian, the Empress Dowager's will," clearly denied Zhu Qizhen, saying that Zhu Qizhen was inferior to the two. Not to mention that "the blood of the people is wasted in vain, and the great work of the whole king." ”