This year, there was only a local drought in various provinces, but after the summer, it rained in Shanxi, Shandong, Henan, and Jiangsu, and the water levels in all sections of the Yellow River and Huai River soared.

Zhang Guowei, who had already been appointed to the right attendant of the Ministry of Industry, was appointed as the governor of flood control and water control.

Now that the flood waters have receded, Zhang Guowei urgently returned to Nanjing.

Zhao Han checked the disaster situation in various places, and suddenly looked up and asked: "More than 2,000 people were drowned in Sizhou, but the local officials were negligent?" ”

Zhang Guowei replied: "Your Majesty, the power of heaven is unpredictable and inhuman. The city of Sizhou is low-lying, and once the flood water overflows the embankment, it will pour back into the city. ”

"Isn't the levee high enough?" Zhao Han asked.

Zhang Guowei said: "It can't be any higher, but the riverbed is getting higher and higher, and the water level of Hongze Lake is getting higher and higher. If there is another flood that does not occur in a hundred years, once the embankment bursts, the entire city of Sizhou will be submerged, and Sizhou will become part of Hongze Lake. ”

"So serious?" Zhao Han felt that this was a big deal.

At the end of the Ming Dynasty, the area of Hongze Lake was relatively small, but it increased every year, constantly turning the surrounding land into a lake bed.

Zhang Guowei explained in detail:

"During the Hongzhi period, Liu Daxia was ordered to govern the river. In order to ensure the smooth flow of the Grand Canal, it can only block the Huanglinggang, and build the Taihang embankment to cut off the various floodways of the northern flow of the Yellow River, forcing the Yellow River to flood to the south, and take the Biansi, Suisi, and Whirlpool rivers into the Huai River, and the sediment of the Yellow River is increasing in the lower reaches of the Huai River. ”

"During the Jialong period, Pan Jitao was ordered to govern the river, and he also had to ensure the smooth flow of the Grand Canal. Pan Ji tamed the water and attacked the sand, and after 18 years, he built a thousand miles of river embankments. As a result, the Huaibei Pan Road of the Yellow River was also blocked, and all the sediment was taken downstream. In the Qingkou area where the Yellow River, the canal, and the Huai River meet, the riverbed continues to rise. The combined riverbed of the Yellow River is already much higher than that of the Huai River. ”

As a result, the water of the Huai River was blocked at Qingkou and could not be discharged, and a large amount of water flowed into Hongze Lake. As a result, Hongze Lake is getting bigger and bigger, and the land near the lake is encroached upon every year. ”

In this case, Pan Jitao has discovered it when he controlled the river for the third time, and after the water was attacked by the sand, he proposed to store and clear the yellow. Build an embankment in Hongze Lake, raise the water level of Hongze Lake, and use the lake water to wash away the sediment at the mouth of the mouth, so as to achieve the purpose of Huaihuang River flowing into the sea. ”

But today, a large amount of sediment has accumulated in the lower reaches of the Yellow River, and the riverbed has been rising, and the water of Hongze Lake can no longer be brushed. Not only did it not move, but it was also flooded by the river. The bed of Hongze Lake is raised by sediment, and the lake surface is getting wider and wider. If this continues, according to the minister's speculation, within thirty or fifty years, the Sizhou area will inevitably be swallowed up by Hongze Lake! ”

Zhao Han asked, "How to govern?" ”

Zhang Guowei said: "There are two ways. ”

"Speak." Zhao Han said.

Zhang Guowei said: "The first is to build dozens of dams in various river sections, and continue to bind water to attack sand and store and clear yellow. The city of Sizhou and the surrounding people were all moved to other places, allowing Hongze Lake to expand and Sizhou to sink to the bottom of the lake. This method may be guaranteed for 200 years, during which it must be repaired and maintained every year. ”

Zhao Han couldn't help but say: "This is not a cure for the root cause, it is purely wrong!" ”

In the Ming and Qing dynasties, the tactical concept was right, and the strategy was wrong from the beginning.

And it must be wrong, if it is not good, it will be lost.

No matter who is the governor of the river, how many people are drowned, how much land is drowned, it is not their real duty. Their first priority was to ensure the smooth flow of the Grand Canal and to ensure that grain was transported to the capital.

Keeping Cao Yun alive is politically correct.

How can it be possible to govern the Yellow River, but on the premise of politics?

Therefore, Pan Jitao knew that he was wrong, but he could only make a mistake. The Qing Dynasty knew that the Ming Dynasty was wrong, and it could only make mistakes for mistakes, which eventually led to the Yellow River being diverted again.

Zhang Guowei explained these reasons, got up and arched his hand: "Your Majesty, the new dynasty of Datong does not need to think about Cao Yun, it is a great opportunity to control the Yellow River." The second method is to let the Yellow River be artificially diverted, and the water of the Yellow River flows into the sea from Shandong! ”

Zhao Han asked, "How to force the Yellow River to flow into the sea from Shandong?" ”

Zhang Guowei explained: "On the north bank of the Yellow River, there are many floodways that can be used to discharge floodwater, which can be used to accumulate sediment brought by the Yellow River. In order to protect the transportation, the Ming officials blocked all the pan roads on the north bank of the Yellow River, and also blocked all the pan roads in northern Jiangsu, resulting in the continuous accumulation of sediment in the Yellow River in Hongze Lake and the Huai River. The minister's method is to mobilize the people to dig through the old channel of the Yellow River, and also dig up the pan road in Henan and Shandong. When the water is dry in winter, the current river channel is blocked, the Taihang embankment is demolished, and the Huanglinggang is dug up, so that the water of the Yellow River flows from the old channel to Shandong. ”

Zhao Han was speechless: "This is a big project!" ”

Zhang Guowei said: "The old road of the Yellow River and the Pan Road, the local people have to migrate. Nowadays, Shandong and Henan have small populations, so it is a good time to migrate. If it continues to drag on, in another 10 or 20 years, more people will need to migrate. ”

Zhao Han nodded and said, "That's true." ”

Zhang Guowei continued: "If this method is used, at least 300,000 people should be mobilized, and at least one million taels of silver will be spent. This is still not to pay the people, and if they want to pay the wages, the amount of money must be increased. It's too deep, and there are too many projects to do. In addition, after the Yellow River is diverted, manpower can be mobilized to dredge the course of the Huai River. The lower reaches of the Huai River have accumulated silt and sand, and it is no longer possible to pass through large ships. If the Huai River can be dredged, the estuary of the Huai River can also build ports and cities, and the coastal states and counties will surely prosper in commerce. ”

Zhao Han sighed and said: "There is silver, but it is difficult to organize 300,000 people, and it is not easy to buy grain with silver." ”

Zhang Guowei was speechless, he waited for Zhao Han to make a choice.

Zhao Han called all the cabinet officials, and after some discussion, he finally issued an order:

First, select the project sites, and select the old roads and pan roads that need to be built and dredged. It's going to take a year or two.

Second, where embankments need to be built and dredged, no more migration to those areas.

Third, take advantage of the slack season to mobilize local people and dredge in sections. This link is tentatively scheduled to take 10 years to complete.

Fourth, ten years later, the projects in Shandong and Henan will be thoroughly improved. This link is tentatively scheduled to take three years.

Fifth, force the Yellow River to be diverted!

In other words, the entire Yellow River control plan is expected to last for 15 years. It really doesn't work, and it is postponed to twenty years.

This is the largest government project since the Zhao Han uprising.

When the thing is done, it is estimated that Zhang Guowei will die, or he will die halfway through the work.

Zhao Han said to Zhang Guowei: "Zhang Aiqing, you have to spend the rest of your life on managing the Yellow River. ”

Zhang Guowei got up and walked to the center of the lobby, knelt down and kowtowed: "If the Yellow River can be perfected, it will be worth it for the minister to die on the embankment!" ”

Zhao Han did not let him stand up, nor did he reprimand him for kneeling at every turn, but said: "During the period of river control, Shang Fang will be given a sword, and wherever he goes, he will be there in person, and the local officials must fully cooperate." ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang Guowei is more confident.

This is the first time that Zhao Han has given Shang Fang's sword, mainly because he is afraid that the magistrate will be disobedient, because it will inevitably disrupt the local people's livelihood and economy.

Zhao Han said again: "Zhang Aiqing, you are still the right attendant of the Ministry of Industry, with the title of governor of the river, and your rank is higher than that of Shangshu. Whoever heals the Yellow River will go straight to the cabinet one day. To put it mildly, even if you die on the river embankment, I will posthumously crown you as a minister! ”

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhang Guowei said excitedly.

When the ministers heard this, they were envious of Zhang Guowei, and they also felt admiration and regret. Because this man doesn't have to do anything else, he will wait for the rest of his life to work hard, and he will most likely die in office.

Zhao Han said: "Get up, don't kneel in the future." ”

"Yes!" Zhang Guowei stood up with a smile.

Zhao Han admonished: "During the governance of the Yellow River, cultivate more capable ministers to govern the river. ”

What does it mean?

Cultivate a few more people who can do things, and even if Zhang Guowei dies halfway, he can immediately select officials to fill in.

If it is not treated, it will happen sooner or later, and it will affect water transportation.

A few decades ago, the Huai River was 6-13 meters deep, but now it is only 3-8 meters. Historically, in the fifteenth year of Kangxi, the water depth of the Huai River was only 1-3 meters, not to mention large merchant ships, fishing boats may run aground.

Why is Kangxi crazy about managing the river?

It's not that he cares about the people, the fundamental reason is that Caoyun's fortune is blocked, and if Huaihuang is not governed, the children of the Eight Banners in the capital will have to go hungry.

The governance of the Yellow River in the Kangxi Dynasty purely followed the methods of the Ming Dynasty, and continued to fool the mistakes. Thirty-nine dams were built one after another, artificially raising the water level of Hongze Lake to increase its capacity to store and clean up yellow.

What's even more nonsense is that after artificially raising the water level of Hongze Lake, Sizhou could be flooded at any time, but the Manchu officials did not organize the relocation of the people.

In the year of completion, the transportation was smooth.

But the whole of Sizhou sank to the bottom of the lake, and the local people were drowned countless times, and few could escape!

The sins created by the Manchu court were passed down from place to place, but they became Zhu Yuanzhang's pot.

According to legend, the Huaihe water demon called Jellyfish Niangniang turned into a human form, married someone by Hongze Lake, and lived a life of male ploughing and female weaving. Zhu Yuanzhang arrested the people's husband, built the Ming ancestral mausoleum, and exhausted the husband of the jellyfish mother to death. Because the Zhu family is a true dragon emperor, the jellyfish mother can't bear it.

In the Kangxi period, the jellyfish Niangniang liked a scholar again, and Zhang Guolao made a stumbling block from it, instigating the scholar to use a magic weapon to injure the jellyfish Niangniang.

In a fit of rage, the jellyfish mother flooded Sizhou City, drowned the scholar, and drowned the Ming Ancestral Mausoleum, avenging the old hatred and new revenge together. The drowning souls of Sizhou City, even if they went to the underworld to shout grievances, they were also harmed by Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhang Guo.

Anyway, drowning the people of a city has nothing to do with my Qing Dynasty.

Zhang Guowei left Beijing with an arduous task, and he had to go back to his hometown first to reunite with his family for half a month. Next, it is estimated that there is no chance to go home, and you must travel around Shandong and Henan provinces all year round.

The ministers dispersed, and Fang Yizhi, who had been waiting for a long time, was finally brought to meet by the female official.

"Your Majesty, the hot air balloon test has been improved many times, and there is no problem," Fang Yizhi said, "Three days later, Jinling University will organize a lift-off ceremony, and all teachers and students of the university will participate." If Your Majesty has free time, you can also go to see it. ”

As soon as the charter for the governance of the Yellow River was set, Zhao Han was in a bad mood, but he was happy when he heard this: "I must go!" ”