Chapter 7 River Control (5)

"Your Majesty, the prince asks to see you!" The two eunuchs on duty quickly stepped inside, attached to Guo Wei's ear, and reported in a low voice.

"Let him come in directly, what are you asking for?" Guo Wei still had the fire in his stomach, turned his head, and shouted in a deep voice. Immediately, he hurriedly changed his words, "Please, please invite the prince to come in quickly, and by the way, I will order the kitchen to get some wine and food." It's been a long time since I've eaten with the Prince!"

"Yes!" the eunuchs saluted and hurriedly withdrew. Guo Wei himself, on the other hand, cleaned up his chaotic mind and shook his head with a miserable smile.

Lonely people, no wonder the emperors claim to be alone. Now the old brothers in the past have their own stomachs, and most of the civil and military forces in the Manchu Dynasty only care about the one-third of an acre of land in front of them, and they can really say a few words to themselves, and respect themselves as elders, and only one prince is left. And the prince, because he is not his own child, has not been recognized by Wang Jun, Wang Yin and other old ministers, in case he drives the crane to the west one day, I am afraid that in this Bianliang City, there will be a river of blood again!

He shook his head vigorously, and at the same time his heart let out a cry of pain!

He didn't want to kill people, especially he didn't want to use knives against his old brothers, even if he knew that some old brothers were no longer with him for a long time. Over the years, everyone has supported each other to get to where they are today. used to fight side by side, and once shielded each other from arrows. Years of life and death should not be so easily powdered by power. Between the monarch and the minister, there should be a better ending. It should not be a matter of drawing a knife at every turn.

He doesn't want to be the second Liu Zhiyuan, and he doesn't want his righteous son to be Liu Chengyou. Liu Zhiyuan was still calculating the taste of his old brother before he died, which may not be comfortable. Liu Chengyou would rather take the risk of being unavailable, and ruthlessly kill all the old ministers of the humerus, which is even more ignorant. If these things are repeated again, what is the point of him Guo Wei raising troops to replace Liu Chengyou except for avenging his family's blood revenge?

The same death is not alive, the same blood flows like a river, except that the surname on the flag is changed from Liu to Guo, Da Zhou and Hou Han, where is the slightest difference.

"Father, are you still worried about the flood? There's no need, Erchen already has a practical countermeasure here!" Chai Rong's voice came from the door, accompanied by a breeze and sunshine.

"Oh, my son, you've got a way. Hurry up and sit down, sit down and tell your father to understand!" Guo Wei's spirit suddenly lifted, he stood up, and couldn't wait to send out an invitation.

"Erchen has seen his father, may his father be in good health!" Chai Rong smiled and saluted Guo Wei unhurriedly.

"Ankang, Ankang, you are also healthy!" Guo Wei was very useful in his heart, but he waved his hand angrily, "Get up, don't be polite." How many times have I told you, between our father and son, we don't need these vain things. ”

"Erchen is going to talk about state affairs today, so he is more solemn!" Chai Rong explained with a smile, stepped forward quickly, and placed an extremely large parchment paper map on the imperial book case, and quickly unfolded it.

A long river leaps out on paper. Mengzhou, Huazhou, Lanzhou, Bozhou, Qizhou, as well as Dizhou, Binzhou, all the counties along the river and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the topography and landform are clearly drawn. In several areas where the flooding was severe, several circles were also drawn with colored ink, and a large string of small data was marked.

"What is this?" Guo Wei's gaze was suddenly attracted by the circled part of the colored ink, frowned, and said in a low voice.

"The flood storage area, or rather, the man-made lake that was specially carved out with the help of this flood. When it rains a lot, it can store water and discharge floodwater. When the weather is dry, you can get water to irrigate the nearby fields!" Chai Rong had already done his homework, smiled, and explained with a little pride.

Hearing this, Guo Wei's brows suddenly furrowed even tighter, and he pondered for a long time, and continued to hesitate and ask: "Doesn't that mean that people have to make way for the river? The villages that have been washed away by the river will sink under the water forever from now on, and will never see the light of day?"

"Not all, but at least a little bit of it, especially near the banks of the Yellow River. Chai Rong quickly put away his smile and responded in a low voice, "But Erchen thinks that there is no need for the imperial court to compete with the river. In our big Zhou, what is most lacking right now is people, not land!"

"This ......" Guo Wei's body suddenly stiffened, and then, his brows stretched and he smiled bitterly.

It's a demon, it's really a demon. I only thought of the overflow of the Yellow River, swallowing up too much fertile land on both sides. But I forgot that after more than 70 years of war, the people of the Central Plains have long been less than in the Tang Dynasty. At present, there are still large tracts of unowned wasteland near Bianliang that no one has planted, so why should the imperial court risk repeatedly breaking the gap and compete with the Yellow River for hundreds of thousands of acres of land that has been swallowed up by floods? As Chai Rong said, storing water when it rains and irrigating when it is dry, killing two birds with one stone.

"According to Erchen's speculation, the flood is due to the fact that the river embankment has fallen into disrepair due to heavy rainfall, and on the other hand, it is due to the increasing amount of sediment in the upstream river. When it reaches the downstream, it continues to silt. So, the benefits of setting aside a few lakes can also be used to deposit sediment. lest the river be repaired higher and higher, and finally it will be completely unrepairable!" Knowing that Guo Wei had initially understood his thoughts, Chai Rong nodded on the map with his finger and continued to add in a low voice.

At this time, the Yellow River was far from being like in later generations, and had already become a hanging river on the ground. The water in the middle and lower reaches of the river is below the ground, and there is enough water to drive a giant boat. Therefore, few people have noticed that the flooding is actually closely related to the continuous rise of the downstream river. No one has thought about how to reduce the amount of sediment and prevent it from happening.

As the emperor of the Great Zhou Dynasty, Guo Wei's vision is undoubtedly much broader than that of ordinary people. However, he was also unable to understand the causal relationship between the amount of sediment in the river and the flooding. However, since the excavation of artificial lakes can have both flood and drought resistance, in his view, the role of sediment sediment is an addition. Yes, it's better, no, it doesn't matter.

Also, when Erchen checked the annals, it seemed that the Yellow River would be diverted every more than 100 years. Every time a route is diverted, it causes a catastrophe. If the father decided to control the water, the son suggested that he simply dig a river between Bozhou and Qizhou. In this way, if the next time there is a bigger flood that exceeds the water storage capacity of the lakes along the river, the sluice gates will be opened and a part of the water of the Yellow River will flow into the Jishui and the sea will be flowed into the sea in two ways. In this way, I can be guaranteed that within a hundred years, there will be no worries about the Yellow River breaking!" After waiting for Guo Wei's reaction speed for a while, Chai Rong clicked on the map again and proposed loudly.

"This ......" Guo Wei's brows furrowed again, and in his eyes, there seemed to be two flames burning.

If it can really be done, even if he cannot unify Kyushu during his lifetime, he will definitely leave a strong mark in the annals of history. The merits cannot be compared with the Qin Emperor and the Han Wu, but the legacy is definitely not inferior to Sui Wen and Tang Gao. (Note 1)

However, it is necessary to dig artificial lakes and dig ditches connecting the Yellow River and Jishui, which will cost a huge amount of money, and I am afraid that it will far exceed the tax income of the imperial court in recent years. At present, just to help the victims, the government treasury has been emptied, where can we still move money and grain to provide support for such a huge project?

After all, the prince is still too young, unlike Wang Jun and other old ministers, who know how to live within their means and do what they can......

Thinking of this, Guo Wei couldn't help but close his eyes, shook his head and sighed, "Alas, your honor, it's hard for you." Our Da Zhou is ...... poor now"

"Father, the son does not need the court to pay any money and food. As if he had expected that Guo Wei would be embarrassed by "no rice in the pot", Chai Rong smiled and interrupted loudly, "Before Erchen entered the palace, someone taught Erchen eight words, 'work for relief, sell land for money'." If the father is willing to govern the river, he will entrust all the affairs to his sons. Erchen promised that within five years, all the lakes and canals would be completed, and from the beginning to the end, not a penny from the state treasury would be taken. ”

Note 1: Sui Wen, Tang Gao. Emperor Wen of Sui Yang Jian, Tang Gaozong Li Zhi. These two, in history, are not emperors who are known for their martial arts. However, during his reign, he rested and recuperated with the people, so that the treasury was full and the people were prosperous. can be regarded as a promising gentleman.