"Difficult!" Ma Yu answered Su Hao's question with one word.

"Haha, being able to make Brother Duwen say a difficult word, it can be seen that this matter is difficult, and it is difficult to go to the sky." Su Hao laughed.

Ma Yu's answer did not surprise Su Hao. As early as when Li Long revealed to Su Hao that he was sent to Huai'an to govern the river, he had already said that governing the river was a thankless task and a chore that could be ranked. As a traverser, Su Hao also knew that the problem of flooding in the Yellow River and Huai River had not been solved until the 20th century, and it was conceivable how difficult this problem was in the Ming Dynasty.

Ma Yu said: "This Huai'an Mansion is the confluence of the river, Huai and Yun, and it is also the key to river governance. The strategy set by the imperial court today is simply six words: suppressing the river, seizing the Huai, and protecting the luck. With these six words restricted, if we want to make a difference, I'm afraid it's not easy. ”

"What is the meaning of suppressing the river, seizing the Huai, and protecting the transport, can Brother Duwen make it clear?" Su Hao asked. He could understand the words Ma Yu said, but he didn't know what the specific background was.

"Please sit down and wait for me to talk to you slowly." Ma Yu said.

Su Hao sat down, pulled over a piece of paper, and began to listen to Ma Yu's narration, while listening, he also recorded some points on the paper. Ma Yu also took a pen and drew a map for Su Hao at any time, explaining the relationship between various locations. With Ma Yu's narration, the situation about the improvement of the Huai'an River gradually formed an impression in the minds of Su Hao and others. Among all these people, only Su Hao had been to the Huai'an area in his previous life, and he knew more about the local situation than Ma Yu and the others.

In ancient China, "river" was generally used as the abbreviation of the Yellow River, and Wang Xijue asked Su Hao to govern the river, which actually meant to govern the Yellow River. The Yellow River is thousands of miles long, spanning the entire northern part of China, and Su Hao is responsible for the improvement of the Huai'an section of the Yellow River, because this section of the Yellow River is very important, and it not only involves the Yellow River itself. It also involves the Huai River and the canal.

The middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River originally ran eastward from Kaifeng to the sea through Lijin, Shandong. However, due to the large amount of sediment in the Yellow River, the riverbed will continue to rise due to siltation, and after it has been raised to a certain extent, once it bursts, the Yellow River will be diverted. Enter the sea from other places. Historically, the Yellow River has been diverted southward several times to enter the sea through the course of the Huai River, which is known as the seizure of the Huai.

In the second year of Jianyan in the Southern Song Dynasty, that is, in 1128, a large-scale southward migration of the Yellow River took place. Since then. Until the end of the Qing Dynasty in 1855, the Yellow River continued to conquer the Huai River for more than 700 years, bringing infinite disasters to the lower reaches of the Huai River.

The Yellow River's seizure of the Huai River is not simply a shared passage into the sea with the Huai River. After the Yellow River is recaptured, the sediment it carries will quickly fill the channel, causing it to rise. At this time, the original Huai River will be blocked by the raised channel. As a result, the passage into the sea will be lost, and waterlogging will occur within the basin, which is the biggest harm of the Yellow River.

The banks of the Huai River are the hinterland of China's Central Plains, which was once a rice granary in history, raising millions of Chinese sons and daughters. After the Yellow River was recaptured, the Huai River became a harmful river, and disasters occurred frequently, seriously threatening the livelihood of the people.

Think from common sense. Under such circumstances, the government should actively plug the gap in the Yellow River, return the Yellow River to its old course, and return it to the mouth of the Huai River. However, it is not only the Huai River that the government needs to consider, there is another issue that is more important for the government, and that is the canal troughing.

The section of the canal from Huai'an to Xuzhou. It is the old road of the Yellow River, that is, Surabaya. In order to avoid the diversion of the Yellow River from affecting the trough transportation, since the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the government has formulated the so-called strategy of suppressing the river and seizing the Huai River to ensure transportation. That is, the Huai River was sacrificed to divert the water of the Yellow River and ensure the smooth flow of the canal.

The canal trough transportation is related to the supply of the Ming center and is the top priority. In contrast, the tens of millions of people in the middle and lower reaches of the Huai River are nothing more than grass mustard. If any of the river control plans affect the smooth flow of the canal, then it cannot be passed through the center. To manage the Yellow River and the Huai River on the premise of protecting the canal is tantamount to dancing in shackles.

Over the years, the Ming government has invested a great deal of human, material and financial resources in the management of the Yellow River, the most effective of which is the work done by Pan Jitao, who is currently the governor of the river. Pan Ji tamed the river, a total of four times, lasted more than 20 years, from Jiajing 44 years, until now. According to his own summary, his concept of river management has six points, namely, "plugging the breach to save the river, building embankments to prevent breaches, rebuilding sluice dams to prevent foreign rivers, creating rolling dams to strengthen embankments, stopping dredging projects to save waste, and opening up the old Yellow River to still benefit from the discussion."

Among all the methods of river control, one of the things he is most proud of is "harnessing water and attacking sand".

The so-called water and sand attack is the method commonly used by people in later generations to discharge flood and flush sand, in order to raise the water level by building dams, and then use the potential energy generated by high water level to wash away the sediment accumulated on the downstream river, so as to achieve the effect of dredging the river. The concept of water and sand flushing was first created by a talent in Yucheng County, Shandong, but it was transformed into reality in the hands of Pan Jitao.

Pan Jitao first strengthened the dikes on the north and south banks of the Yellow River to make it difficult to break. Subsequently, he personally supervised his husband and built the Gaojiayan Dam for more than 60 miles to raise the water level of Hongze Lake. Hongze Lake is formed by the accumulation of the Huai River, and the lake water contains little sediment. Through the Gaojiayan Dam, Pan Jitao diverted water from Hongze Lake into the Yellow River, diluting the water of the Yellow River and scouring the downstream river. This process, known as the accumulation of Huai and the brushing of yellow fortune, once played a very good role.

However, the good times did not last long, and the accumulation of Huai Huai and the Yellow River could not completely solve the problem of raising the Yellow River, so in order to maintain the gap between the water level of Hongze Lake and the Yellow River, Pan Jitao had to continue to raise the Gaojiayan dam. The increase in the water level of Hongze Lake has put the upstream provinces of Sizhou and Fengyang at the risk of flooding. In recent years, frequent floods in Sizhou and Fengyang, and even flooded the ancestral tomb of the Ming Emperor for a time, which shows that Pan Jitao's strategy of governing the river is no longer sustainable.

This time, Wanli and Wang Xijue sent Su Hao to Huai'an to govern the river, but in fact, they were also seriously ill and went to the doctor. In the entire Ming Dynasty, the one who knows water conservancy the most is Pan Jitao. Although the cabinet knows that Pan Jitao's method of governing the river is wrong, it is very difficult to find a replacement for him.

Su Hao's appearance gave everyone some hope. Su Hao is an alternative, and what is different is that what he has learned is not the knowledge that everyone is familiar with, but the knowledge in the cloak of a Franc machine. Both Wanli and Wang Xijue had a glimmer of hope, thinking that Su Hao might be able to find a different way to control the river and get rid of the current predicament.

What is the solution to this problem? Su Hao himself also fell into deep thought. The management of the Yellow River and the Huai River had a lot of experience in later generations, but in the Ming Dynasty, some experience may not be applicable, and we have to see the situation on the spot. However, Su Hao believes that he will definitely not be at a loss, at least his proficient geology and surveying and mapping can play a role in river basin governance.

While Su Hao was pondering, Ma Yu had already finished introducing the situation of governing the river, and the next was Jiang Yida introducing the economic and social situation of Huai'an Mansion to Su Hao.

"This Huai'an Mansion was originally the land of fish and rice, and it is known as the Jianghuai ripe and the world is full. During the Three Kingdoms, Deng Ai was here in Tuntian, which was a rich place. Nowadays, due to the seizure of the Yellow River and the waterlogging of the Huai River, the people here are already struggling to make a living. Since the beginning of our dynasty, Huai'an Fuye has been flooded, drought, hail, locusts, and various disasters have been endless. In the fifteenth year of Hongzhi, Yancheng suffered three disasters in a row. First there was a great drought, then a plague of locusts, and the locusts were exhausted. Then there was an earthquake, thunder, and the walls of the city were destroyed. In the event of such a catastrophe, there are records of cannibalism. Jiang Yida said.

"Cannibalism......" Su Hao couldn't help but shudder, how miserable must this be for this situation to occur.

"Brother Gai, after listening to the introduction of the younger brother, what do you think about this way of governing the river?" Ma Yu asked.

Su Hao shook his head and said, "This Governor Pan has been governing the river here for more than 20 years, if there is any obvious good way, he must have thought of it and done it." I haven't seen the Yellow River so far, and I'm afraid it's too early to say anything. ”

Ma Yu nodded and said, "What the brother said is very true, but the younger brother is impatient."

Tan Qi said: "Brother Change, you are known to be talented, and the younger brother believes that you will be able to find a better strategy for governing the river than Governor Pan, and then our brothers will be able to touch the light of Brother Change, and also leave a name in history."

Su Hao said with a smile: "Brother Bingnan has a good reputation, what the younger brother has learned is just some surveying and mapping and land surveying skills. Governing the river is also a new thing for the younger brother, and the younger brother is not sure. If you want to make a performance, I'm afraid you still need our brothers to work together and brainstorm. ”

Ma Yudao: "Change, according to the experience of the younger brother when he was repairing the reservoir in Fengcheng, in my opinion, no matter what method is used, the most important one is that the military, the government, and the people work together, and only in this way can the water disaster be completely cured." Nowadays, we don't know the situation of these three parties, and it's just a dark eye. I don't know what kind of person this Huai'an prefect is, if it is a corrupt official or a mediocre talent, I am afraid that our affairs will not be easy to handle. ”

Su Hao nodded and said, "Brother Duwen is right, I want to wait for us to meet Governor Pan after we arrive in Huai'an, and then we will go to meet the prefect of Huai'an to see who he is." Whether it is a corrupt official or a mediocre person, we can only prescribe the right medicine when we figure it out. In addition, we have to visit the public opinion, and the real power is hidden in the people. In the end, it must be the people who will decide the success or failure of river control. (To be continued.) If you like this work, you are welcome to come to the starting point to vote for recommendation, monthly pass,. For mobile phone users, please go to read