As people get older, they always like to reminisce.
Zhao Xi is no exception, but his memories are not about how to make the Song Dynasty strong. His memories have been filled with his past self since the death of the Queen Mother.
This led to this inexplicable trip.
There was still something to be done. Since they were traveling to survey the terrain of the Yellow River Spillway, they couldn't just go back to the court as if they had settled their thoughts. Therefore, Zhao Xi ordered the team to turn back to the northeast.
To the northeast of this place, it should be where the Fen River merges into the Yellow River. The Wei River and the Fen River are the two largest tributaries of the Yellow River. With the investigation of these two places, we can also explain this trip to a certain extent.
As for going further upstream, to be honest, Zhao Xi can clearly realize that with the current level of construction technology, it is impossible to open a flood discharge gap somewhere in the Taihang Mountains and Luliang Mountains, let alone build any dam.
Zhao Xi didn't want to build a nondescript dam at this time, and let future generations debate whether it should be preserved as a legacy or demolished for practical purposes. Don't cause trouble for future generations because of your own whims.
Zhao Xi probably remembered that this journey should be at the junction of the Guanzhong Plain and the Northern Shaanxi Plateau. The mountain range to the north is the Qiaoshan Mountains. Looking at it at this time, the damage to the vegetation is not too serious, but it is beneficial to changing soil erosion.
Have some confidence.
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The entire exploration team only stopped at Hezhongfu for a while, replenished some supplies, and then continued northward along the Yellow River. This was almost the same line that Su Song and others surveyed in the early stage.
Su Song had been waiting for the officials to call them to check the terrain sand table prepared by Shen Kuo, but the officials never did such a thing. The officials walked all the way and looked around, and from time to time they would let the team stay in the wild, and he took
A few people casually strolled around some market towns.
It is said that it is surveying the terrain, but the official is more like a private visit incognito.
Zhao Xi still believed in the rigorous work attitude of Su Song, Shen Kuo and others. The survey was just an excuse for this trip, and Zhao Xi couldn't give up halfway, so he just regarded the survey as a fun trip.
Staying in the inner garden all day long, all you can see are palace walls and government affairs. Zhao Xi rarely has the opportunity to travel like this, so he is a bit willful.
The only good thing is that he didn't see anything unsightly during this walk... This time it wasn't really a private visit incognito, it was just a trip. It was just a strict order not to disturb the local area. It is not as good as the state capital.
It's not that local officials don't know his whereabouts.
As in ancient and modern times, the best will be presented to Shangfeng. Zhao Xi wants to see the real local governance of the Song Dynasty, but it is impossible in this way.
Zhao Xi also knew that he was once a grassroots official, so how could he not understand these tricks?
He doesn't seem to care much about this now, and just regards it as a time to relax.
Although the imperial court's reports were delivered in time every day, Zhao Xi only read them occasionally and did not express his opinions on the various handlings of the imperial court.
On the one hand, this long trip allows me to relax, but it can also give the prince, who has the function of supervising the country, an opportunity to perform in the cabinet and the court officials.
The prince is different from himself. Zhao Xi's experience was during the turbulent period of the Song Dynasty. It was easy to gain recognition and prestige among ministers, but for the prince, it was more difficult for him to gain recognition in the stable government affairs of the country.
Be big.
Just like this, the team has reached the northern Shaanxi Plateau.
From the topography, Zhao Xi could be sure that he had reached the Northern Shaanxi Plateau, but in terms of landform, Zhao Xi could not see the landforms of the Northern Shaanxi Plateau that later generations would recognize.
"Zirong, where does this place belong?"
The ground is loess, but it is not the kind of yellow to white soil that Zhao Xi saw in later generations, nor is it the kind of landform with no vegetation. The weeds on the roadside are messy, but they are equally lush, and they are not at all what Zhao Xi remembers.
A desolate and desolate impression.
After setting up camp, Zhao Xi asked Su Song.
"Go back to Guanjia, north of Yanchuan, Yongxing military area."
Along the way, the officials rarely asked about it. Su Song always thought that the officials were familiar with the sand table made by Shen Kuo and didn't think much about it. Unexpectedly, the officials asked again at this time.
Sure enough, we have arrived at the Northern Shaanxi Plateau, but it seems that this landform should not be able to be afforestation? Zhao Xi was very confused, so he grabbed a handful of soil from the ground...
“Is it possible to farm this soil?”
"In the official family, the soil is suitable for farming. In the early years, it was a border area with a vast land and sparsely populated areas. In recent years, the country has been stable and strong, and the population has increased dramatically. Along the way, I discovered that the place was still deserted when I surveyed it a few years ago.
Some farmland was cleared."
"Due to the industrial development of the country and the lack of food, the trend of land reclamation and farming is not obvious, so there is no large-scale land reclamation. I believe that as the population increases, large-scale land reclamation and farming will inevitably occur."
······”
Su Song thought that the officials were worried about such a desolate situation, so he gave some explanations.
"What was the original situation here?"
"Originally? There is a record in the previous dynasty: At that time, China's territory was prosperous, stretching from Anyuan Gate to the west of the Tang Dynasty for more than 2,000 miles, with villages and villages facing each other, and mulberry and hemp covering the wilderness. According to the official family, during the previous dynasty, this place should have been mostly mountainous and forested.
"
"During the previous dynasty, this area was the main area for grazing horses, dominated by trees and forests. In this dynasty, the Western Bandits started to cause rebellion, and from the north of Qinzhou, the northwest army had to build camps to fight against the Western Bandits, so they mostly took food from nearby areas.
Decades of logging and construction have led to the current situation."
As Su Song spoke, he kicked the soil on the ground casually with his feet, and it seemed that he could still see the roots of the former trees.
When he and Shen Kuo and others were surveying in the past few years, he deplored this phenomenon... Some officials had conducted water and soil erosion experiments, and he recognized the idea of maintaining water and soil to control floods in the Yellow River.
When the officials asked this question, Su Song also roughly understood the officials' intentions. The officials' focus was not on desolation, but on soil and water conservation.
After wandering around these days, Su Song had forgotten the purpose of the official trip.
It wasn't that Zhao Xi was unclear, but he just needed confirmation because what he saw was different from what he remembered. Obviously, the Loess Plateau at this time was not so bad that it was irreversible.
"Let's go east tomorrow, I'll take a look closer to the Yellow River..."
Zhao Xi probably understood that the harsh environment of the Loess Plateau started with this dynasty.
During the reign of the late Emperor, the Western Xia invaded the border areas and the country suffered repeated defeats. In order to defend against the invasion of the Western Xia, about 200 forts were built in the area from Linfu Prefecture in the east to Qinzhou in the west. These forts were built in the northern part of the Loess Plateau.
and the west, causing certain damage to the originally small forest trees here.
At the same time, in order to strengthen the military strength of these fortresses, many troops were stationed here, and in order to provide military supplies, they recruited settlers and developed agriculture... In this way, how could the environment not be worsened?
Fortunately, it seems that the current situation is not irreversible. This is caused by the country, so it is up to the country to improve it!