The Ming Dynasty started with saving the eldest grandson

Chapter 126 The Little Ice Age is here

Treat Huangshu?
Chen Jingke immediately thought of the Yellow River bursting its banks last year, when several counties were flooded.

It also coincided with the outbreak of the Zhao Mao case, and all officials from the Ministry of Industry were wiped out, almost failing to deal with it in time.

Fortunately, Zhu Yuanzhang was decisive and immediately dispatched civilian servants to block the gap.

The disaster was resolved by transferring food to the disaster area for disaster relief.

But this large-scale killing of officials did reduce the efficiency of the court a lot.

It is only now that the Ministry of Industry has come up with a plan to treat Huang Shu, which shows how serious the problem is.

However, when Zhu Yuanzhang asked Zhu Xiongying to read this memorial, he certainly did not expect him to come up with any good ideas.

But let him understand the treatment of yellowing.

Huang He's mother's character is really a bit irritable.

In severe cases, the dam breaks three times in two years on average.When things are calm, we can fight twice in three years.

Every five to ten years, it needs to be overhauled.

Otherwise, the Yellow River will let the world know that water can not only capsize boats, but also flood the earth.

Since the end of the Tang Dynasty, controlling the Yellow Emperor has become a serious concern in all dynasties.

Zhu Yuanzhang's purpose should be to let Zhu Xiongying understand the Yellow River and the history of Yellow River control.

With this understanding, Chen Jingke did not rush to give him an answer, but said:

"Curbing pornography is a big topic. I need time to sort out this knowledge. I will tell you about it tomorrow."

"You can also find relevant books yourself to learn more about the Yellow River."

Are you going to give lectures again?

Zhu Xiongying said excitedly: "Okay, I'll go to Dashantang to look for books about the Yellow River."

Since the treatment of pornography is an important topic, there are naturally special books on it.

Dashantang is Zhu Yuanzhang's private library, so it is not surprising that there are such books in it.

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew immediately that Chen Jingke was going to give a lecture.

It is inevitable to be a little excited.

Because every time Chen Jingke gave a lecture, he would bring up a big topic, so he couldn't help but ignore it.

Immediately issue an order to keep an eye on Chen Jingke for the next two days and record everything he says verbatim.

Chen Jingke didn't know this, and he wouldn't be surprised even if he did.

It was almost an open secret that he was being watched, so there was nothing surprising about it.

If one day Lao Zhu suddenly stops monitoring, you only need to worry.

I took out a pen and paper and started to sort out my understanding of the Yellow River.

In his previous life, his hometown was on the edge of the Yellow River, and he grew up listening to various stories about the Yellow River.

When I was in school, my teacher often mentioned the Yellow River issue.

Under the influence of his ears and eyes, he still has a certain understanding of this river.

Although it is not very detailed, it is enough for Zhu Xiongying.

It even inspired the Huang officials of this era.

So he didn't try to dig deeper. It was enough to sort it out and tell Zhu Xiongying.

But even so, the time it took to compile this knowledge exceeded his estimate.

It took more than two days to sort it out.

During this period, Zhu Xiongying was a little anxious while waiting, but the most anxious one was the Ministry of Industry.

It has been three days and the emperor has not approved it yet. Are you satisfied or dissatisfied?
On the contrary, Zhu Yuanzhang was not anxious at all. After all, curing Huang was not a matter of a day or two, so there was no point in rushing.

Besides, this was the first time he met Chen Jingke and spent so much time preparing.

In the past, no matter what topic I talked about, I would start talking after thinking about it for a while.

It can be seen that he must have a deep understanding of the Yellow River, and he may be able to find a better way to control the Yellow River.

As for the Ministry of Industry's plan to control river dredging, it mainly focused on two points: strengthening river embankments and using branches to divert water to cope with the impact of flood peaks.

They are all commonly used methods in all dynasties. There is really nothing to say.

If there is no feasible way from Chen Jingke's side, it won't be too late to give him a reply.
-
After checking the things he had sorted out again to make sure there were no omissions, Chen Jingke found Zhu Xiongying.

Before he could speak, Zhu Xiongying said impatiently:

"Jing Ke, are you ready?"

Chen Jingke laughed dumbly. This guy is more anxious than me.

"Okay, I asked you to go and find out about the situation of the Yellow River two days ago. Have you gone to see it?"

Zhu Xiongying nodded quickly and said: "Look, the Yellow River is really troubled."

"Dynasties throughout the ages have had to invest a lot of manpower and material resources to barely control it and prevent major floods from happening."

"If no one repairs it in troubled times, it may be diverted, causing loss of life."

"In the past, the Yellow River entered the sea through Henan and Shandong. During the Southern Song Dynasty, it took the Huai River and entered the sea. It has not changed yet..."

After speaking, he looked at Chen Jingke, waiting for his comments.

Chen Jingke nodded slightly. Being able to say this shows that he has really understood it carefully.

"Not bad, very attentive, worthy of praise."

Zhu Xiongying was overjoyed to receive the praise.

Chen Jingke smiled and said: "The control of Huang Dynasty is divided into two stages, before Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and after the fall of the Tang Dynasty."

Zhu Xiongying asked in confusion: "Why are they divided like this?"

Chen Jingke said: "Because during the reign of Emperor Guangwu and under Wang Jing's management, no major disasters occurred in the Yellow River for more than [-] years."

Zhu Xiongying said in surprise: "Really? If so, Wang Jingzhen is the No. 1 cure for Huang."

Chen Jingke nodded and said: "Before Wang Jing controlled the Yellow River, the Yellow River was like now, often bursting its banks and causing major disasters."

"Especially during the Wang Mang Rebellion, due to the inability of the imperial court to control the situation, the Yellow River burst its banks year after year, resulting in thousands of miles of red land."

Zhu Xiongying said: "I really want to know how he controls the Yellow River. If we learn this method, we can completely solve the Yellow River floods."

As he said that, he looked at Chen Jingke expectantly: "Jingke, do you know?"

Chen Jingke shook his head: "His method of controlling Huang has been lost. Even if it has not been lost, it may not be suitable for today's Ming Dynasty."

"As long as the court is willing, we can find a method to control Huang that suits us."

Zhu Xiongying nodded solemnly: "We will definitely find a way to completely conquer the Yellow River."

If he thought the Yellow River was uncontrollable before, after learning about Wang Jing's achievements, he gained unprecedented confidence.

If others can do it, I, Daming, can do it as well, or even do it better than them.

Chen Jingke is very satisfied with his ambition. Regardless of whether he can achieve it or not, he must at least dare to think.

“If you want to manage the Yellow River, you must know what is the biggest problem of the Yellow River... Do you know what is the biggest problem of the Yellow River?”

Zhu Xiongying recalled the records in the book and said: "Sand, the Yellow River water carries a lot of sediment, which accumulates downstream and raises the river course..."

Chen Jingke smiled and said: "Yes, it is silt, so to treat yellow sand first."

"If you want to control sand, you need to understand where the sediment in the Yellow River comes from."

Are we talking about the core?

On the contrary, Zhu Xiongying was a little disappointed. In his previous lectures, he talked about ancient times and the present, and then gave solutions.

Why did you get it right in one step today?

Chen Jingke didn't know what he was thinking and continued: "The sediment of the Yellow River is brought from the upper reaches. Specifically..."

He took out a map, pointed at it and said, "Most of the sediment in the Yellow River comes from these three places."

Shanxi-Shaanxi Plateau, Hetao Plain, Ordos Plateau.

Zhu Xiongying put away his slight disappointment, lowered his head and looked carefully.

"These three places are located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River, and almost all the tributaries merge into the Yellow River..." "The sediment in the Yellow River is carried by these tributaries."

Zhu Xiongying asked in confusion: "Why do the rivers here carry so much sediment?"

Chen Jingke said approvingly: "That brings me to the point. Why? Because of soil erosion."

"It is the vegetation in these areas that has been destroyed in large areas and the soil is exposed."

"Without vegetation protection, rainwater will wash away the soil and eventually carry it into the Yellow River..."

He spoke in detail, and Zhu Xiongying quickly understood what desertification and soil erosion were.

At the same time, we also have a deeper understanding of the causes of floods in the Yellow River.

"Actually, before the mid-Tang Dynasty, the Yellow River did not carry so much sediment."

"Wang Jing's governance can prevent major disasters in the Yellow River for more than 800 years, and it will benefit from this."

"Since the mid-Tang Dynasty, the sediment carried by the Yellow River has increased dramatically, which is the real reason why the Yellow River cannot maintain long-term stability."

"Do you know why?"

Zhu Xiongying's eyes lit up and he started, let's start, do you want to talk about history?
I said, Jing Ke will definitely talk about history in his lectures.

"I don't know, Jing Ke, just start talking."

Um... Chen Jingke was quite speechless. You are not a good guy.

"Before the middle of the Tang Dynasty, the Hetao area was rich in water and grass, and there were still large forests in the land of Shanxi and Shaanxi."

"In the Qin, Han, Sui and Tang dynasties, most of the wood used to build palaces was cut directly from the land of Shanxi and Shaanxi."

"So the palaces during that period were particularly grand and tall."

"By the Song Dynasty, all forests in Shanxi and Shaanxi had disappeared."

"The wood to build the palace can only be transported from Yunnan, Guizhou or even overseas. The cost is too high."

"So from then on, the palace grounds became much smaller but more elaborate."

Zhu Xiongying was very happy and learned another piece of knowledge.

Although this knowledge seems useless, speaking out can make me appear more knowledgeable.

Chen Jingke paused for a moment, feeling that he had gone too far, so he brought the topic back:
"Going back to the topic, why did the Hetao and Shanxi-Shaanxi areas still have abundant water and grass before the middle of the Tang Dynasty, but then they suddenly became deserted?"

He asked himself and answered: "Because of over-cultivation."

"During the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty recaptured Hetao from the Xiongnu, and successively migrated millions of people from the Central Plains to reclaim wasteland..."

"The Hetao became the horse farm and granary of the Han Dynasty..."

"After the unification of the Sui and Tang Dynasties, a large number of people moved here to cultivate land..."

"But until this time, the Hetao and Shanxi-Shaanxi areas were still covered by grasslands and forests."

"The sediment in the Yellow River was far less than it is today..."

"The Tang Dynasty was peaceful for more than a hundred years, and the population surged...the new population required more land to support it."

"As a result, the grasslands in Hetao and the forests in Shanxi and Shaanxi were all transformed into farmland..."

"The ability of farmland to retain water and soil is naturally not as good as that of grasslands and forests..."

"Furthermore, farmland must be cultivated in rotation. In the year of rotation, it will undoubtedly be like wasteland, further exacerbating desertification..."

"In this way, after 200 years of land reclamation and cultivation, the Hetao and Shanxi-Shaanxi areas have become completely desertified..."

"After that, the Yellow River was completely out of control, and major management was required every three to five years."

Zhu Xiongying subconsciously asked a question:
"So planting trees and grass here will solve the problem of soil erosion?"

Chen Jingke nodded, shook his head and said, "Yes, but it's difficult."

Zhu Xiongying asked in confusion: "Why?"

Chen Jingke shook his head and said, "We'll talk about this later. Let's talk about the current problems of the Yellow River first."

"You have also read the Ministry of Industry's anti-pandemic book. What do you think?"

Zhu Xiongying scratched his head and said, "Now all I can think about is planting trees. I have no other ideas."

"Haha..." Chen Jingke couldn't help laughing:
"Even if we want to plant trees and grass there, it's just a long-term plan and won't solve the urgent needs."

"The Yellow River can overflow at any time, and we must find ways to control it."

Zhu Xiongying said sheepishly: "I...I think their method is pretty good."

"While using this method to alleviate flooding in the Yellow River, planting trees upstream will solve the problem."

This child cannot do without planting trees.

I hope there won’t be another tree-planting emperor in Ming Dynasty in the future.

"The consequences of the Yellow River diverting the Huai River into the sea are very serious. The Ministry of Industry's method is to drink poison to quench thirst, which will cause endless disasters."

Zhu Xiongying said humbly: "Please Jing Ke clear up the confusion."

Chen Jingke pointed to the map and said: "The Huai River can become one of the four rivers because it has independent sources and branches..."

"In other words, it is an independent water system."

The four rivers are the Yellow River, the Yangtze River, the Huai River, and the J River.

It has an independent source, an independent water system, and finally merges into the sea, which is called sacrilege.

"The water volume of the Yellow River is much larger than that of the Huai River, and the Huai River channel is not enough to carry such a large amount of water."

"This is also one of the main reasons why floods occur frequently after the Yellow River diverts the Huaihe River and flows into the sea."

"Excess Yellow River water will flow into the tributaries of the Huaihe River, and huge amounts of sediment will accumulate in the tributaries."

"It won't be long before the tributaries of the Huai River will disappear completely..."

"This also means that the Huai River, which has existed for countless years, will completely disappear."

"Even if the Yellow River returns to its old course in the future, the Huai River will never come back."

Zhu Xiongying still couldn't realize what the disappearance of Huaishui meant, but subconsciously he knew that this was not a good thing.

Chen Jingke continued: "Let's not talk about Huaishui for now, just talk about the present."

"When these tributaries are silted up by sediment and rely entirely on the narrow Huaihe River channel, how can they accommodate such a huge amount of Yellow River water?"

"Therefore, the Ministry of Industry's strategy of using the branches of the Huai River to divert water from the Yellow River is to drink poison to quench thirst."

"In less than ten years...maybe as long as five years, the lower reaches of the Yellow River will be completely out of control."

This is not Chen Jingke’s nonsense, but something that actually happened in history.

At the beginning, the branches of the Huai River were used to divert the water of the Yellow River, and the effect was very good.

Then within a few years, all these branches were silted up, and the only way to manage the Yellow River was to raise the river embankments.

Keep raising the level until the embankment breaks and the road is diverted.

Fortunately, someone later invented the method of beaming water to attack sand, which alleviated this problem.

By the late Qing Dynasty, the Yellow River was completely out of control and returned to its old course.

The Yellow River has returned to its old course, but the Huaihe River system has been completely destroyed and most of the rivers have been blocked.

Light rain floods, heavy rain floods.

The entire lower reaches of the Huai River has completely become a flood area.

It was not until the beginning of the 21st century that the water system was manually organized to solve this problem.

It can be said that the Yellow River diverting the Huaihe River into the sea was a complete disaster.

A disaster that lasted for 900 years.

Zhu Xiongying was frightened by the scene he described. He couldn't help but swallowed and blurted out:
“Then it’s even more important to plant trees.”

Chen Jingke shook his head and said, "It's difficult."

Zhu Xiongying asked in confusion: "Why?"

He didn't understand that the land there could grow crops, why couldn't he grow trees?
Chen Jingke sighed and said, "The Little Ice Age has arrived."

(End of this chapter)