Guide to Traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty.

Chapter 806 0801 [Breaking water to attack sand? 】

Are you really leaving?

All the civil and military officials stood on the shore, watching the emperor's fleet go away. Their mood was hard to calm down for a long time.

Although it was unusual for the emperor to go out on inspection tours, it was not something too outrageous.

What is really outrageous is that in addition to being escorted by the army, Ju Ming only took away some eunuchs, secretaries of the Tongzhengyuan, and pedestrians. This is tantamount to directly becoming a hands-off shopkeeper and handing over all government affairs of the country to the Supreme Emperor.

What nonsense!

When emperors of all dynasties went out of the capital, they were always accompanied by hundreds of officials. Important matters must be sent to the emperor and handed over to the ministers around the emperor to handle, so as to ensure that the imperial power is not neglected.

"Your Majesty and Your Majesty, our father is kind and our son is filial, and we are both sincere and trustworthy saints!"

Huan Guo was so moved that he even wiped tears from his sleeves.

The regular clothes he was wearing had been narrowed by a tailor, making him look more capable than before.

Zhao Fengji was the son of cabinet minister Zhao Quan and was in charge of the Yellow River management project.

Currently, the Ministry of Rites and the Ministry of Industry are designing official uniform styles.

Ju Ming was very dissatisfied: "Is it still the same as before in the Song Dynasty?"

There is no need to change the dress. This thing is only worn at large events. No matter how wide the robe or sleeves are, it won't hinder much.

Zhao Fengji elaborated: "There were three changes to the river in the former Song Dynasty. The first time was when Jia Changchao advocated returning to the old road to the east of the river to Jingdong, and Li Zhongchang proposed to open the Liuta River first, and then return to the ancient long road across the river."

In early May of the lunar calendar, the water level of the Yellow River continues to rise.

……

Zhao Fengji said: "There is nothing wrong with returning to the river. What is wrong is the party struggle and the emperor's ignorance."

Zhu Ming was surrounded by many officials and went to the county seat. He called Zhao Fengji into the carriage and asked as he walked: "It has been surveying for a year. Have you produced the charter?"

"How?" Zhu Ming asked.

There are two deputies, one is Fu Xingzhong and the other is Wang Huai.

Ju Ming's fleet traveled eastward along the Yellow River. There were high dams built along the way, and some dams could be seen from time to time.

Official uniforms and casual clothes had to be carefully designed, combining the advantages of the Tang and Song dynasties, and then being modified in accordance with the emperor's special aesthetic taste.

Zhao Fengji said: "We can only go back to the river and let the Yellow River change its course and flow eastward."

Zhao Fengji said: "The Yellow River has been flowing north for thirty years, and it still flows through its old route. The river bed has been continuously raised by sediment, and it is no longer inferior to the Ergu River flowing eastward. If it is not controlled, it will change its course within ten years, and There is a risk of dykes bursting every year!”

Wang Huai was a native of Yiwu, Zhejiang, and was named the "Tang God" in the Southern Song Dynasty. His achievement is that he raised his own funds to build reservoirs and dams based on the principles of Dujiangyan, and led the villagers to solve floods and droughts in Yiwu. (Wang Huai, the famous prime minister of the Southern Song Dynasty, was his uncle, but his uncle was much younger than his nephew.)
After accepting the worship from the officials, Ju Ming asked: "Why are you all gathered here? Go back to work quickly."

But there is always something nondescript.

Zhao Fengji explained: "The water volume of the Yellow River is larger this year, and floods may occur. The most important ones are Lingping and Xiaowu, which are more than ten miles downstream. As long as those two places are not flooded, there will be no serious problems in the Yellow River this year. . Once it breaks, the Yellow River may change its course.”

When the boat arrived at Linhe County, Zhao Fengji, the governor of river management, led officials to the shore to greet them.

"Is it already this serious?" Ju Ming looked serious.

Fu Xingzhong was from Nanfeng, Jiangxi, and his ancestor was the brother of Empress Fu of the Northern Song Dynasty. He was forced to join the Zhu family and his son in Hanzhong.

"Both of these two people's ideas were strongly opposed, and it was Ouyang Wenzhong who took the lead. Fu Bi and Wen Yanbo were in favor, and Song Renzong finally listened to their suggestions. It was so confusing!"

"How big is the Liuta River? How can it accommodate the floods of the Yellow River! Once the diversion is completed, it will burst its banks and Hebei will become a vast country."

"The second return to the river has been mixed with party disputes."

"Both the old and new parties agreed to return to the river, but after Sima Guang conducted an on-site inspection, he believed that the return should be delayed. Wang Anshi thought that Sima Guang wanted to delay deliberately, so he insisted on an urgent return."

"Before Wang Anshi made the decision, he did not go to the Yellow River to check it in person. He only listened to the information reported by his generals. He even thought of immediately blocking the north flow and turning all the wasteland into fertile farmland. He did not consider the danger of the Yellow River at all. Take it seriously!"

"Wang Anshi acted too hastily, which directly caused the Yellow River to divert the Huaihe River and flow into the sea. The floods affected 45 counties and destroyed more than 30 million acres of farmland."

"The third time I returned to the river, it completely turned into a party struggle. When the new party gained power, they listened to the new party. When the old party gained power, they listened to the old party. Whatever the new party supported, no matter whether it was right or wrong, the old party completely rejected it. Whatever the old party supported, no matter whether it was right or wrong. Wrong, the New Party is also opposed to it. How is this river management?"

Zhu Ming was silent after hearing this.

Wang Anshi worked really hard. Before returning to the river, he had been diverting the Yellow River to release silt. The Yellow River sediment was used to improve the soil, and more than 700 water conservancy projects were constructed to develop and irrigate million acres of land.

But the party struggle was too fierce at that time, so Wang Anshi always considered the party struggle when considering problems.

Sima Guang did not even oppose his opinion, but after on-site inspection, he proposed a step-by-step approach, which made Wang Anshi's plan more stable.

Wang Anshi subconsciously thought that Sima Guang wanted to do something bad, and his intention was to delay time and finally screw up the matter.

In order to suppress Sima Guang, Wang Anshi chose the most radical method of river control.

In the end, it will lead to endless disasters, causing the Yellow River to go wherever it wants in the next few decades. At that time, Su Shi was working on flood control in Xuzhou, thanks to Wang Anshi. He was so angry that Su Shi wrote a letter and cursed - if the water level continued to rise, Su Shi and all the people in the city would die.

Ju Ming asked: "What are you going to do?"

Zhao Fengji said: "We will carry over this year's flood of the Yellow River, and recruit 300,000 civilians next year or the year after that to dredge the Ergu River. Then use Sima Guang's method to slow down the Yellow River and divert it to the east. Of course, Wang Anshi's diversion Yellow silt can also be used to cultivate and irrigate tens of millions of acres of fertile land in Cangzhou, and improve the saline-alkali land in Cangzhou.”

Ju Ming smiled and said, "It's a trick of yours to use Wang Anshi's and Sima Guang's methods together."

"They can go hand in hand, so why can we only choose one or the other? The Yellow River is the Yellow River, and it has advantages and disadvantages. We must not choose black and white." Zhao Fengji said.

Ju Ming suddenly asked: "Is it possible to use water to attack the sand?"

"Bound water to attack sand?" Although Zhao Fengji didn't understand it, he seemed to have caught something.

Ju Ming said: "Block up all the gaps in the Yellow River and let the river wash the sediment into the sea."

Zhao Fengji shook his head and said: "If we close all the gaps, the embankment will definitely burst within three to five years."

Ju Ming said: “During the critical flood season, of course floods must be discharged.”

"This matter is serious, I would like to discuss it in detail with my colleagues," Zhao Fengji said.

Ju Ming expressed his attitude: "You know how to control water, follow your own methods. I am just making suggestions. Whether it is feasible or not is up to you."

Several dams from Linhe County to Puyang were reinforced last year and are continuing to be reinforced this year.

Zhao Fengji built an overflow dam to allow excess river water to flow to the old Ergu River.

There shouldn't be much of a problem in withstanding this year's flood peak.

Of course, if the water volume of the Yellow River is too large and seriously threatens the safety of Kaifeng, then we can only choose a suitable section of the river to break the embankment and release the flood.

Before the flood could be released, people had to be relocated.

Arriving in Linhe County, Zhu Ming temporarily moved into the county government office, while the county magistrate and his family moved out.

Zhao Fengji called Fu Xingzhong and Wang Huai over and gave a rough outline of the idea of ​​condensing water and attacking sand.

This idea is completely opposite to the current water management.

At this time, the management of the Yellow River means continuous diversion. It was really impossible to divert the flow, so the Yellow River was diverted artificially.

Fu Xingzhong analyzed: "The water of the Yellow River usually has four sands and six sands, but in autumn, there are two sands and eight sands. If the water is diverted blindly, the water will slow down and the sediment will inevitably stagnate. If the water is restrained by embankments, the hydration will be fierce. It can be done by brushing away the sediment from the river bottom. The official method should be feasible."

Wang Huai said: "It is feasible, but it is extremely dangerous. We must find ways to deal with floods every year."

Zhao Fengji said: "The north flow is too slow, so we have to flow east to attack the sand."

Wang Huai said: "If it flows eastward, Ergu River is the first choice. This does not conflict with our plan."

"But the channel of the Ergu River is too narrow. The two rivers must flow together to accommodate the water volume of the Yellow River," Fu Xingzhong said. "But if the two rivers flow together, the water potential will slow down, and the effect of condensing water to attack sand will not be achieved." ”

Zhao Fengji said: "Choose the north channel of the Ergu River, which is straighter. The south channel will be used as a backup. When the flood is too large, the south channel will be used to divert the water and release the flood."

Fu Xingzhong said: "To do this, the North Road must be widened, and the amount of work is huge."

Wang Huai said: "There are too many cities passing through the North Road. Qingping, Gaotang, Pingyuan, Dezhou, Leling, Wudi... all the administrative offices have to be relocated. Once this plan is proposed, it will drive the Ministry of Households crazy. These prefectures and counties All the officials will definitely come forward to oppose it.”

Zhao Fengji said: "We just put it forward and let the officials decide in the end."

"Then we have to make this method properly," Fu Xingzhong said. "With the existing embankment building method, if it is used to contain water and attack sand, the embankment will definitely burst every year."

Zhao Fengji thought carefully for a while: "Building an embankment outside the embankment requires multiple guarantees. We also need to build other different types of embankments according to the actual terrain. Contain water when it is time to contain water, and release water when it is time to release water."

Wang Huai said: "Beyond the levee, build a remote embankment far away. Usually, the levee is used to contain water to attack the sand. When the water volume of the Yellow River increases, it will overflow the levee and automatically enter the remote embankment. In this way, the water can be restrained Attack the sand and release the flood safely.”

"This is not safe," Fu Xingzhong said. "You can build a number of transverse dams between the remote embankments and the thread embankments to turn the area into squares, just like the watertight compartments of sea ships. That is the clue. If the embankment breaks, the horizontal embankment can also buffer it and prevent the distant embankment from being destroyed by the surge. "

Wang Huai said: "In places where the terrain is dangerous or the dams are weak, dikes to divert water should be built to ensure that everything is safe."

Zhao Fengji said: "Next year, we will first dredge the south channel of the Ergu River as a diversion channel for the north flow to carry over the past few years. At the same time, we will dredge and widen the north channel of the Ergu River, build various dams, and relocate the prefecture and county offices along the way. When the Ergu River North Road project is completed, the Yellow River will be diverted to this side to divert water and attack sand, while the south road will be used to divert the water during floods that occur only once in a century. "

Fu Xingzhong exclaimed: "According to this method, I am afraid that half a million civilians will have to be mobilized and hundreds of millions of dollars will be spent. So many prefectures, counties and cities will also have to be relocated..."

Zhao Fengji was extremely bachelor and said: "It's the same sentence. We just put forward feasible strategies. As for whether to do this, it all depends on the official's decision. If there are too many officials who oppose it and the officials feel embarrassed, then we will still use the old method to control the river. ”

The method of constricting water and attacking sand is not a one-and-done solution.

Over the years, sediment will gradually accumulate and the river bed will slowly rise. It's just that the speed of sediment deposition and river bed uplift will definitely be much slower than before.

Maybe it can last for decades.

If it is well maintained, it can last for hundreds of years.

(End of this chapter)