"Mr. Ji Zhong, when you first took office, you said you wanted to solve the flood problem in the Yellow River in Hebei County. I want to hear your opinion on the general plan for river control."
After talking for nearly two hours, Zhang Shuye was a little tired. Suddenly he heard Zhao Si mention this topic and suddenly became energetic again.
"In the second year of Yuanfu, the Neihuang River burst, and the diverted Yellow River has always been a serious problem in Hebei Province. When Yuan Gong (General Xu) came out of Daming Mansion to control the river, he decided on this strategy. He personally surveyed the following areas of Puyang The hundreds of miles of river course left behind very precious first-hand information. Mr. Rulin took over the job only a short time ago, and the river management work had just begun and was handed over to the hands of Wei Chen."
Zhang Shuye's dark eyes were particularly bright, as if they contained the vast and endless volumes in the Lantai Library.
"In the spring of the twelfth year of Yongping in the Later Han Dynasty (69 years), Emperor Ming of the Han Dynasty asked Wang Jing, a water conservancy expert, to take charge of river control. This man and his assistant Wang Wu led hundreds of thousands of migrant workers to control the Yellow River. He ruled out the idea of letting the water flow by itself and opposed the restoration of the Yu River. The old road crossed the terrain with Wang and Wu, excavated mountains, built canals and embankments, and traveled more than a thousand miles from Xingyang east to Qiancheng Haikou. They improved the Biankou gate project and diverted the river from Biankou."
"In the summer and April of the 13th year of Yongping, all the projects were completed, and huge benefits were achieved in flood control, navigation and river stabilization. Although the maintenance fee was reduced, it still cost tens of billions. This river has continued for more than 800 years. Wang Jinggong The mouth of the Yellow River, which is subject to manual diversion, is in the Bohai Sea area of Binzhou, very close to Jishui."
"In June of the eighth year of Renzong's Qingli reign (1048), the Yellow River broke through Shang Huxun in Chanzhou, went straight north to Daming, passed through Xiajin, Leshou, and Qingzhou, and captured the Wei River and entered the sea, which is now the mouth of the boundary river. This time it changed its course, The lower reaches of the Yellow River moved thousands of miles from south to north, and the imperial court was also happy to see the large wetlands created by floods in the lower reaches, which could serve as a buffer for the Liao cavalry."
"During the reign of Emperor Shenzong, the Yellow River broke through in Caocun and changed its course again. It entered the sea from the north of the old river course in the Later Han Dynasty. After the breach at Neihuangkou, it again entered the sea from its current course. In the past hundred years of our dynasty, the Yellow River changed its course three times, with some There are also natural disasters and man-made disasters. Especially during the Yuanfu period, the Neihuang breach was really a last resort."
Zhao Si nodded, indicating that he knew about it.
"I know this. Due to hundreds of years of siltation and the two previous diversions of the Yellow River, the riverbed in the Henan section has been raised. A little rain will cause flooding, causing harm to Kaifeng, Henan. In order to cut off this scourge, the emperor brother , I have no idea how to make the Yellow River return to its old path of the Han Dynasty. Who would have known that the success would fall short and even more serious consequences would result."
The monarch and his ministers couldn't help but sigh and sighed a few words, and Zhang Shuye continued.
"I have been discussing with Pan Xun and Wang Dechi for many days... These two men, with a surveying and mapping team, spent several years surveying all the old routes of the Yellow River, as well as the downstream counties and counties. Then they We summoned more than 20 river officials who had worked on rivers for decades to discuss and discuss, and decided to follow the strategy of King Jinggong of the Later Han Dynasty: dig mountains, build canals and embankments, and artificially change the course to divert the Yellow River into the sea."
Zhao Si continued to listen quietly.
"But we learned from the experience and lessons of three breaches and diversions, and decided to dig a number of artificial rivers. We cleaned up and dug out the Bohai River channel based on the old river channels of the Later Han Dynasty; we cleaned up and dug out the Wudi River channel on the old river channels that broke out in the You Dynasty; and in Cangzhou In this area, use the Fuyang River to expand the Cangzhou River. Then, dig one or two more rivers south of the current entrance to the sea to divert the water into the sea..."
After Zhang Shuye finished speaking, he looked at Zhao Si nervously. This was an unprecedented large-scale project since the founding of the country, with huge costs and far-reaching impact.
The draft of the project was submitted to the Shangshu Province. Zhang Dun, who had always been courageous, did not dare to make arbitrary decisions. Instead, he sent Xue Yugui, the administrative officer, and Shi Zhangshu, the advisory chairman, to lead the advisors and invite relevant water conservancy and geography experts.
Most of these people teach in universities and Gwuyuan, and some hold public offices in the three provinces. They have different opinions on Hebei County's river control plan. Some are in favor of it, and some are against it, and their reasons are very good.
For Zhang Dun, the Yellow River breached in the second year of Yuan Fu and the Yellow River changed its course again, almost ruining his reputation and leaving him in infamy for eternity. This time, he never dared to draw conclusions easily, so he packaged all his opinions directly and reported them to Zhao Si.
Zhao Si didn't dare to draw conclusions easily after reading it.
Instead, he discussed the map in detail with dozens of river management experts, and then summoned Pan Xun, Wang Dechi and others to Beijing for several interviews.
This time, I took the opportunity of touring Hebei to conduct on-site inspections of the Yellow River channel, Cangzhou, Wudi, Bohai and other places.
"I Have a Picture Book of Ghosts and Gods"
"Mr. Ji Zhong, I only agree with 70% of the river control plan proposed by you."
Zhang Shuye leaned forward involuntarily and asked eagerly: "Your Majesty, how do you think your plan needs to be improved?"
"The Bohai River, the Wudi River, and the existing main rivers branch into the sea, which is in line with the characteristics of the Yellow River floods. I have also experienced the Yellow River floods personally. It only lasts for two or three months every year, and the states and counties in the upper and middle reaches have flooded one after another.
When it rains, all the water from various rivers flows into the Yellow River. The river water surges, and the river channels that used to be more than enough are completely insufficient. The idea of diverting floods into different channels is right."
"But the water divides of the three rivers are basically concentrated in Puyang, which is not good. The rivers above Puyang are also under great pressure in the rainy season. Especially in Henan, the river bed is raised, making it even more dangerous. So Mr. Ji Zhong, your river management plan
, the biggest problem is that we only focus on Hebei and fail to pay attention to the whole country!"
Zhang Shuye smiled and said a bit sarcastically: "Your Majesty, I am just the governor of Hebei County, not a minister or a prime minister."
"It's not true now, doesn't mean it won't be true in the future!" Zhao Si nodded implicitly, "Only when you have a big picture in your mind can you have a big picture!"
Zhang Shuye nodded calmly, not wanting to get too entangled in his official career, and asked directly: "Your Majesty, what is your opinion?"
"In my opinion, artificial rivers should also be dug in Henan to separate flood discharges. From Heyin below, the terrain becomes flat, and rivers can be dug. They can be connected to the Bohai River through Yuanwu, Changyuan, and Zhencheng, and can be called the South Road; Yang
Another river channel will be dug in Wu, Xucheng, and Weicheng, which can be connected with the Wudi River channel and serve as the middle road."
"Moreover, the artificially dug river channels should be cut and straightened as much as possible to make use of the terrain. They are connected by ditches in the middle and water gates are set up. They can be used as irrigation canals on weekdays and can be used as diversion and flood discharge when floods occur."
Zhang Shuye was surprised and delighted, "Your Majesty has also read Wang Jinggong's Notes on Water Management?"
"I haven't read it carefully, so I dare to talk to you about river control here? What we want to control is the Yellow River, not some small ditch. If we are not careful, millions of people will be harmed and thousands of miles will be ruined."
Zhang Shuye laughed happily and happily, with tears in his eyes. Zhao seemed not to care about his rudeness.