In the Wenhua Palace.
The face of Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance suddenly fell, and he knew that it would be bad for the emperor to drag him around at this time.
You don't need to think about it to know that "building canals to divert water, building dams and building rivers" mentioned by the emperor will not be some trivial project.
Thinking about it, at least it would have to be a big project that would require tens of thousands of people to be recruited, so that the emperor himself and Chen Xun, the minister of the Ministry of Works, could propose it.
However, such a big project...
Shen Shangshu felt a headache when he thought about it.
Ignoring Shen Yi's expression that was about to twitch, Zhu Qiyu continued to speak.
"In recent days, the Qintian Supervisor came to report that although Shandong, Henan, Baoding, Daming and other places have been cold this winter, there has been little snowfall, and drought is expected next year."
"In Shandong, the Yellow River Shawan has burst for several years. On one side, the river is overflowing and there are patches of water. On the other side, there is a drought and no water for irrigation. I am very worried."
"The dyke breach at Kuangshawankou has a significant impact on water transportation. If the court wants to provide disaster relief, grain transshipment is the top priority. Therefore, the Ministry of Industry's top priority next year is to solve the Shawan breach."
This is no small matter. Chen Xun and others looked at each other in tacit understanding, but said nothing.
It wasn't until half a moment later that Zhang Minfang spoke.
"Your Majesty, the breach of Shawan is not a trivial matter. Since the 11th year of Orthodoxy, there have been more than ten breaches here. The first was at Bashukou, which affected Shawan. Then the sand accumulated and the Shawan dam was built, and the number of breaches increased. many."
"After the Shawan breach, the dams in Baimakou, Xuzhou, Jining and other places are also in danger. Therefore, in order to solve the Shawan breach, in my opinion, we must build canals to divert water. If we strengthen the dams, it will be like drinking poison to quench our thirst. It is just barely It’s just a delay.”
Zhang Min is a veteran of the Ministry of Industry, and he hit the nail on the head when he opened his mouth. He said directly that in order to completely solve the Shawan breach, it is necessary to build canals, not just dams.
However, as soon as he finished speaking, Shen Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue immediately became unhappy and stepped forward to cup his hands.
"Your Majesty, building canals to divert water is certainly a long-term solution, but things have to be prioritized. Our imperial court's treasury is empty now, and the war will not end until the war ends. It's time for the people to rest and recuperate, so how can we continue to carry out large-scale construction?"
"If the Shawan breach is to be solved, the canal must be dredged to connect the Yellow River and Qinshui River. This is no small matter. It requires recruiting tens of thousands of people."
"The embankment of Shawan has been broken for several years. It is not a temporary achievement. Now the imperial court is in a dilemma, but for a while, my old ministers wish to temporarily repair the embankment. When the situation recovers and the national treasury is sufficient, we can recruit civilians and send them Officials built the canal."
This is the benefit of being a local official. Whether it is a county magistrate, a state official, or a censor inspecting a local area, he is very focused on catching everyone.
As a parent official, you must have a clear understanding of local prisons, water conservancy, household registration, and taxes in order to be eligible for promotion.
Therefore, although Shen Yi is the Minister of the Ministry of Household Affairs, he has local experience and can talk clearly about water conservancy matters in charge of the Ministry of Works.
In contrast, Chen Xun, who had been moving around in the Imperial Academy, was far behind.
Although he had experience in the cabinet and knew something about these matters, he had never visited the general affairs in person, so he did not dare to speak randomly.
Therefore, this discussion turned into a duel between Zhang Min and Shen Yi.
Regarding the reasons put forward by Shen Yi, Zhang Min didn't buy it and said.
"Building canals to divert water is a long-term undertaking, an act that benefits the country and the people. The imperial treasury is empty, and we can think of ways to do it. However, after the embankment is cleared, how many crops and fields will be submerged and how many people will be displaced. Is this what Shen Shangshu can do?" Don’t you have to think about it?”
"What's more, Your Majesty has something to say. Qin Tianjian has predicted that there may be drought in Shandong, Henan, and Baoding next year. If there is no water for irrigation, there may be famine."
"At that time, floods and droughts will come together, and the imperial court will also need to send personnel to provide disaster relief. Naturally, money will not be spent less, and the people will suffer in vain. How can we build canals and divert water in advance to solve the problem at its root?"
Chen Yi's face looked a little ugly, so why didn't he know this?
But from his point of view, this is indeed not a good time to build canals.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Yi said.
"What Mr. Zhang Ge said, of course I understand that building canals to divert water is a once and for all matter, and I also agree with this."
"But the problem is that not only is the national treasury empty, but the people's power is also close to depletion. Within this year, our court first had the Miao rebellion in the southwest, the Huguang rebellion, and then the civil war, and the number of civilians recruited has far exceeded previous years. .”
"Floods and droughts are certainly terrible, but the imperial court will eventually have ways to deal with them. However, if a large number of people are recruited to build canals at this time, the turmoil will definitely not be felt by one state or one prefecture."
"Therefore, I still believe that now is not a good time to build the canal. It is only right that this matter should be waited for at least two or three years before it can be implemented slowly."
This is actually a bit cruel.
To put it bluntly, it is to allow those few state capitals to suffer disasters in exchange for time for most people to recuperate.
From Shen Yi's point of view, if Shawankou is left alone for the time being, even if we prepare for the worst, only a few state capitals will be affected next year.
Regardless of whether it is a flood or a drought, the imperial court can send personnel to provide disaster relief and comfort.
But if we want to solve the problem of Shawankou and build canals, just recruiting civilians is no small matter.
It should be said that Chen Yi's reasons are very valid, and he also made it very clear that the canal needs to be repaired, but now is not the time.
Canal building is a big project. If we want to completely solve the problem of the embankment bursting at Shawankou, we need to invest a huge amount of public and financial resources.
The court's current shortage of silver is not only secondly, but the most critical issue is the issue of corvee service.
The imperial court cannot excessively consume the people's power!
People have to farm and work to maintain their lives.
If no one takes care of the crops, there will be no harvest.
If the people spend all their time doing corvee labor, then someone at home will starve to death.
If it really comes to this, it won't be something that can be solved by allocating some money for disaster relief.
So from Shen Yi's point of view, he would rather allocate money and send officials to rescue disasters after these places were hit by disasters than build canals at this time.
This may be too cruel for the people in the state capital who may be affected by the disaster, but from the perspective of the court, it is the least costly way.
At this time, Zhang Min was also a little dumbfounded. He opened his mouth to refute, but in the end he didn't speak again.
Because it's really hard to say which method is best for this kind of thing.
Disputes in court affairs are always like this.
No one can predict what the future will be like, and the things they worry about are all unknowable at the moment.
Perhaps, the disaster next year will not be too big, or even there will be no disaster, and the imperial court can recuperate smoothly before starting to build the canal, then Shen Yi is naturally right.
Or perhaps, the foundation left by Taizu Taizong was strong enough, and even if these civilians were recruited again to build canals, they could still manage to sustain it.
When the large canal is built, it will relieve the worries of floods and droughts in Shandong, Henan and other places, and will be more conducive to the stability of the country.
No one can know which decision is right, or maybe both sides are right...
At this point in the argument, the basic situation has been made clear, so the next step is to see what the emperor wants.
Of course, after such a major matter has passed the emperor's level, there will still be court discussions, but in the end, it depends on the emperor's will first.
Under Shen Shangshu's expectant gaze, Zhu Qiyu frowned tightly. After a moment, he asked Chen Xun, who was silent at the side.
"Chen Qing, you are the Minister of Industry, what do you think of this matter?"
This chapter has been completed!