Ju Ming stood on the embankment of the Yellow River and used a telescope to observe Xiao Wu Xun on the other side.
After the Yellow River changed its course to the north, it turned sharply at Xiaowuxi, which became the most dangerous section of the river.
Once the Xiaowu Pier bursts its embankment, Puyang City downstream will be flooded immediately.
Putting away the telescope, Zhu Ming asked: "According to your method, how much river workers, money and food will be needed?"
Zhao Fengji said: "At least 500,000 river workers are needed, and the money and grain are countless. It is not yet certain how much grain will be needed, but 20 to 30 million yuan will definitely not be enough."
"I will try my best to raise money, and if it doesn't work, I will issue national bonds," Zhu Ming said.
Anything that money can accomplish is no big deal.
But most of the time, it is a penny that stumps the heroic man.
Wang Anshi failed to regulate the Yellow River, and fighting with Sima Guang was only one of the reasons.
There is another important factor in his eagerness to block Beiliu: the finances are almost unsustainable!
If the north stream is not blocked, the annual repairs there cannot be stopped, and maintenance funds will continue to be consumed, and countless more laborers will be recruited.
In particular, the recruitment of forced labor seriously damaged agricultural production and many families went bankrupt at that time.
This is not a matter of a year and a half. According to Sima Guang's prudent method, Beiliu will have to be maintained for at least two or three years.
How much money and labor will it cost?
If it is blocked directly, money and labor can be saved, and people's livelihood in the Beiliu Yellow Flood Area can be restored as soon as possible.
At that time, the two sides were arguing for several months. When the water volume of the east flow reached 60%, the New Party wanted to block the north flow due to financial pressure.
Sima Guang said, at least 80% is enough.
The emperor planned to send both the old and new parties to inspect, but in the end only the New Party was sent. Officials of the New Party returned to Beijing after the inspection and said that 80% of the factions had been diverted, leaving Sima Guang speechless.
Is there an 80% diversion?
If not, were the inspection officials lying to deceive Wang Anshi, or did Wang Anshi know the truth all along?
If there is, is it not enough to divert 80%?
No one can explain these things clearly, only the parties involved know.
But one thing is very clear. If the Northern Song Dynasty had sufficient finances at that time, Wang Anshi would definitely not be in such a hurry - after all, he was at risk of being dismissed from the prime minister!
Ju Ming looked at the increasingly rapid river water and couldn't help but sigh: "Money!"
Zhao Fengji, Fu Xingzhong, Wang Huai and others stood quietly behind the emperor, but they looked at him with infinite admiration.
No emperor can dare to make such a huge project.
It’s not just a matter of money and food, but several cities have to be relocated!
The money for moving the administrative office, rebuilding the city, and resettling the immigrants has not yet been taken into account.
Moreover, after the tenants were assigned to the land, they could not levy corvee at will. The landlord's silver would definitely not be able to provide so much, and the main funds had to be provided by the court, so the financial pressure was greater than in the previous Song Dynasty.
This is also beneficial, as it will not force countless people to lose their homes and lives.
Ju Ming said: "Before I left the capital, the Supreme Emperor once reminded you that when you are asked to use water to attack the sand, you must take into account the issue of cold floods."
"Ling Xun?" The three river officials were stunned.
Records about Lingxun existed as early as the Western Han Dynasty.
But since the Yellow River changed its course frequently, storm floods rarely occur, and even if they do occur, they are not large-scale. This may be related to the method of river control, which diverts water everywhere and releases floods, preventing large-scale storm floods from forming.
Once water is used to attack sand, severe floods may become more frequent and larger in scale.
There are gains and losses, and there is no perfect solution.
After a discussion among the three river management officials, Zhao Fengji said: "The former distributary channels and gates cannot be abandoned after the water is collected to attack the sand. Especially in the upper reaches of the river that are prone to heavy floods, new spillways should be dug. Once encounters
Open the gate immediately when danger arises. It is best to dig a few more lakes for flood discharge and water storage."
…
After staying in Linhe County for a few days, Ju Ming continued his northern tour.
The Yellow River did not burst its banks, but the Yangtze River and Qiantang River were in turmoil.
Heavy rains have fallen across several southern provinces, and river water levels have skyrocketed. The entire Zhejiang province is expected to have a bad harvest this year.
There is even a theory among the people, but I don’t know who made it up.
That is to say, Zhu Guoxiang was a truly benevolent emperor, and everything went smoothly for several years in charge of the country. However, Zhu Ming was too cruel and murderous, and his actions hindered the harmony of heaven, so there were floods in the early years after he took the throne.
Local officials in various prefectures and counties organize flood fighting and rescue operations while also arresting those who spread rumors.
I searched and searched, but could not find the source, so I had to give up after a lot of trouble.
When Ju Ming arrived in Cangzhou, the floods in the south had receded, and Zhejiang's envoy Shangshu requested that the fields be returned to the lake.
Not only the Xuanwu Lake in Jinling, but also the lakes on the south bank of the Qiantang River, as well as all the large and small lakes in the south of the Yangtze River.
It has nothing to do with Wang Anshi, it is all caused by the surrounding wealthy households enclosing the lake to create farmland.
The rumor that Wang Anshi abandoned Xuanwu Lake to cultivate farmland was purely a rumor deliberately spread by the literati of the Southern Song Dynasty. Because before Wang Anshi was born, there was not much Xuanwu Lake left in Jinling.
As early as when Wang Anshi was "-3 years old", there were only 76 hectares of Xuanwu Lake left. Moreover, the siltation was serious, and it would bottom out if there was a slight drought. It was simply rented out as official land tenants, and he could receive more than 500 hectares of land rent every year.
The governor of the state at that time, Ding Wei, asked Shangshu to return the farmland to the lake, and dispatched Xiang troops to clear out the silt and dredge it.
However, the wealthy households were greedy and stole the lake for farmland year after year. Now Xuanwu Lake has become a small pond.
The whole Jiangnan is like this!
"Be careful. Only in Xuanwu Lake."
This is the cabinet’s draft reply to the memorial to the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang Province.
Zhu Guoxiang read the appendix of the memorial for a long time and wrote in person with a red pen: "All prefectures and counties in Zhejiang Province will report details of stealing lakes for farmland. In the past thirty years, the counties and counties that have experienced frequent floods should order the people to return their farmland to the lake.
The imperial court will allocate money to purchase the land that has been withdrawn. Anyone who steals the lake again will be punished as if it were arson."
After thinking about it, Zhu Guoxiang wrote another note to the cabinet: "The crime of stealing the lake should be written into the "Da Ming Code". This is not only the case in Zhejiang, but also in all provinces across the country."
Shortly after calling the cabinet, Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen came to ask for an audience.
Zhu Guoxiang asked: "What's the matter?"
Zhai Ruwen said: "The land south of the Yangtze River is also the country's granary. It is good to return the farmland to the lake, but there is a risk of big trouble. Officials may take the opportunity to extort or even seize the people's land."
"And cunning people can also take the opportunity to report more acres of land to defraud the court of compensation. Zhejiang is still allocating acres of land this year, and the situation is already tense. Returning farmland to lakes may trigger a civil uprising."
"Also, His Majesty's approval is ambiguous. How much of the farmland should be returned to the lake? For the sake of political performance, the government, fearing corruption and pursuing big gains, turned serious farmland into lakes. It even colluded with the gentry and wealthy people to prevent the large households' farmland from being returned to the lake.
, only return the fields of those small people."
"I didn't think well," Zhu Guoxiang asked, "How are you going to deal with it?"
Zhai Ruwen said: "Plan it slowly. Restore Xuanwu Lake first, and then start with other lakes after the land is spread out. Even for Xuanwu Lake, this matter should be raised by officials from the imperial court and cannot be left to local officials."
It would be best to send people from the Ministry of Works who understand water conservancy. To determine how big the Xuanwu Lake should be, we must first draw up a charter. The Ministry of War should also participate in dispatching the Cao Army and garrison troops to dredge and clear the silt. At the same time, it can also prevent unruly people from causing trouble.
."
Zhu Guoxiang praised: "Just deal with it this way."
After thinking for a while, Zhu Guoxiang added: "If there are people who are willing to move to Youzhou, and how much land is returned to the lake, we will compensate them three times the land in Youzhou. In addition, the government will be responsible for food and accommodation along the way, and will also pay them
Seeds and clothing were rented to them free of charge for one year and cattle for farming. On the acres of land cultivated in Youzhou, taxes were fully exempted for three years and taxes were halved for two years."
"This is good governance!" Zhai Ruwen complimented.
What a good government, just luring people to Youzhou, where there are countless lands waiting to be reclaimed.
Zhu Guoxiang said: "The whole of Zhejiang follows this example of returning farmland to lakes."
Zhai Ruwen is not an old-fashioned person, he will also try to figure out what is going on, and will say hello to the special commissioner in charge of the matter later.
That is to say, the compensation price for the acres of land returned to the lake is set much lower than the local market price.
The big families don't lack that little money, so it doesn't matter if they don't want to move. They may also take the opportunity to send their concubine sons, small clans, etc. to Youzhou for development.
Small landowners and farmers are unwilling to lose money, so they must bite the bullet and migrate to Youzhou.
In this way, it not only saves the court money, but also enriches the population of Youzhou.
If you transfer the troops there in advance, you won't have to worry about any trouble, and you can also ask the soldiers to help dig the lake and dredge it.
At least 40,000 to 50,000 acres of land must be cleared away from Xuanwu Lake, and there may even be more!
When Zhai Ruwen returned to the cabinet, Xiao Chuxiao asked: "How?"
"Your Majesty agreed, and added some more to connect with the enrichment of Youzhou." Zhai Ruwen said.
The strategy presented before was the result of discussions between Zhai Ruwen and Xiao Chu, and they discussed with each other to check for any omissions and fill in the gaps.
They have long been too lazy to oppose anything, because opposition is ineffective. It is better to provide suggestions according to their own wishes and handle one thing more satisfactorily and appropriately.
Zhai Ruwen returned to his office, sat on his chair and thought for a long time, and finally decided not to interfere too much in his hometown's affairs.
In his hometown, it is estimated that another wealthy family will be exiled.
Because there is Lianhu Lake there, an artificial lake dug and built in the Western Jin Dynasty. It originally covered an area of 100,000 acres, and increased to 200,000 acres in the Tang Dynasty.
Regulating floods and droughts and irrigating farmland are secondary. The biggest role of Lianhu is to ensure water transportation in the south of the Yangtze River!
In the Tang Dynasty, it was forbidden to encircle the lake to create fields, and even releasing water privately was equivalent to murder.
However, during the Song Dynasty, there was no control over the lake and a large number of lakes were reclaimed for farmland, resulting in the area of Lianhu Lake being reduced by one-third. It was all done by the rich and powerful, and no one else could take care of it, because it would be useless if they did.
After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhai Ruwen once suggested that the management of Lian Lake in the Tang Dynasty should be restored. This would not only benefit the country and the people, but also benefit his own family to avoid frequent floods and droughts.
I guess some people don't take it seriously and must still be quietly stealing lakes and enclosing fields.
After Xuanwu Lake is taken care of, Zhai Ruwen will manage Lian Lake. As a fellow villager, he can't take action directly, but he can use the name of the court to severely punish those who benefit himself at the expense of others!
Various civil affairs measures of the imperial court came one after another.
There are people in every group who deserve bad luck.
Zhai Ruwen leaned back leisurely on his seat, closed his eyes and smiled.
Although it was difficult for him to accept some of the ideas of the Zhu family and his son, the entire country was rapidly changing for the better. Military, agriculture, water conservancy, officialdom... and even religious beliefs were all developing in all directions, reversing the messy situation of the previous Song Dynasty.
I think at the beginning, he just couldn't stand Liang Shicheng occupying the common people's cemetery in the suburbs of Beijing. Zhai Ruwen impeached him several times and was demoted to Xuanzhou as a local official.
How wonderful it is now! Corrupt officials are trembling in fear, and treacherous ministers have disappeared from the court.
Ten years ago, Zhai Ruwen wouldn't have dared to think about it.
