I, the prince, only want to be deposed.

Chapter 12: Dayu Ancient River Channel

After returning to the mansion carefully arranged by Puyang Ling Zhang Liang.

Liu Ju immediately ordered someone to invite Guo Chang to his room alone, and after dismissing his attendants, he said mysteriously, "Doctor Guo, I want to ask you to do something for me in secret."

"Your Highness, please speak."

Guo Chang hesitated for a moment, but finally bowed and responded for Wei Qing's sake.

As for the Crown Prince Liu Ju...just based on the ridiculous words he said not long ago, he had already left a very bad impression in Guo Chang's mind.

That was why Guo Chang did not agree to too much.

If what Liu Ju asked him to do next was as absurd as what he said, even if he could not refuse directly due to personal feelings, he would not choose to help the tyrant.

On the contrary, he would immediately order someone to report what happened here to Wei Qing as quickly as possible.

This way, his uncle Wei Qing could take action in time to avoid a big mistake.

"I need you to select a hundred experienced scouts from your troops and divide them into five groups to survey the terrain in Weijun, Qinghe, Xindu, Bohai and other places."

Liu Ju said seriously, "The key locations for investigation are the five areas north of Guantao, south of Linqing, east of Qinghe, south of Jingxian, and west of Dongguang County. I need to connect the low-lying areas of these five locations into a line, draw a Zhouxiang map, and find out the distribution of residents and fields along this line."

"..."

After hearing Liu Ju's words, Guo Chang was a little confused at first.

It took me a moment to realize that the five places mentioned by Liu Ju were all located on the north bank of the Yellow River and could indeed be connected into a line.

So... Liu Ju is still planning to tear down the north dike, allowing the river water to pour down to the unaffected north bank, turning the north bank into a disaster area as well?
But at the same time.

His past military career reminded him that once a superior officer issued an order so detailed that even the location was specified, it must have been carefully considered, with all gains and losses calculated, and the overall situation firmly in mind.

Therefore, Guo Chang couldn't help but have a hint of doubt in his heart.

Was this also the case with Liu Ju's previous decision, and not just a whim or incompetence as he thought?

Thinking of this, Guo Chang couldn't help but say, "I am a stupid subordinate. Could you please explain the purpose and reason of this action, otherwise I will inevitably have concerns."

Meeting Guo Chang's gaze.

Liu Ju knew that if he didn't give him a reasonable explanation, not only would this matter not be accomplished, but it might also cause other troubles, so he could only nod and say:
"I can tell you, but you have to promise me that you will never tell anyone what I ask you to do or say today."

"Okay, I promise Your Highness."

"That's not enough. I hope you can swear a poisonous oath. The more poisonous the better."

"???"

Guo Chang suddenly felt that he was overthinking. This prince could definitely not be the kind of person who could plan and control the overall situation.

How could someone like that be so childish?

"Please understand, Doctor Guo, this matter concerns the well-being of tens of millions of people, so I have to be cautious."

Seeing that Guo Chang refused to swear an oath, Liu Ju could not feel at ease, and immediately gave him some strength, "It's just a poisonous oath. Doctor Guo is a man of sensible mind, he should not want these people to suffer, right?"

"That's...ok."

Guo Chang was obviously attracted by this, or perhaps his curiosity was completely aroused. Although he was a little hesitant, he finally said,
"I swear a solemn oath that I will never tell anyone what Your Highness asked me to do or say today. If I break this oath, I will die tragically in the chaos of the army, and my body will not be intact!"

"Okay, I believe Dr. Guo."

Liu Ju nodded in satisfaction, and then lowered his voice and said, "In this case, I won't hide it from Doctor Guo."

"Before coming here, I had read numerous ancient books and ordered people to explore along the way. We found an ancient river channel left by Dayu when he was controlling floods. If the water from the Great River is diverted to the ancient river channel, it can at least protect the lower reaches of the Great River from major disasters for a hundred years."

"And the main places where this ancient river flows are exactly the five places I ordered you to survey just now."

After hearing this, Guo Chang's eyes widened: "Are you serious, Your Highness?" Of course it was nonsense.

Liu Ju only knew the records in history books.

Historical records say that four years later, after Emperor Liu Che blocked the breach in the Huzi dike at all costs, the north dike breached again not long after.

This breach not only did not cause too much disaster, but instead turned out to be a blessing in disguise as it created a new tributary of the Yellow River, making Jizhou on the north bank, which was already known as a granary, even more prosperous.

And because this tributary diverted the river water, there was no large-scale breach in the lower reaches of the Yellow River for about 70 years.

This tributary is called "Tunshi River".

The Tunshi River flows along the line that Liu Ju had just asked Guo Chang to survey.

It can be said that as long as Liu Ju had confirmed the relevant terrain, he would have opened up this tributary in advance.

The difficulty and cost of blocking the breach in the Huzi River will be greatly reduced. Both the people on the south bank and the people on the north bank can live a stable life four years earlier. Why not do it?
"Whether it's true or not, you only need to send someone to investigate and make a guess after understanding the terrain. Why do you need to ask me?"

Liu Ju smiled confidently.

"I will order someone to do it right away!"

Guo Chang was also an impatient person, so he stopped talking, turned around and walked out.

As a result, he suddenly stopped when he reached the door, turned around and bowed solemnly to Liu Ju: "If what Your Highness said is true, I am willing to apologize to Your Highness for what I said today."

"It is a blessing for all the people that the Han Dynasty has a prince like Your Highness!"

Only a fool would want to be the crown prince.

This was what Liu Ju hated to hear the most. He waved his hand to drive him away and said, "Just remember the oath you swore. Go now."

He only knew that he had to make sure Guo Chang didn't go out and talk nonsense.

When he ordered the removal of the north dike, it must have caused strong opposition from many people. The nobles and powerful families who owned land on the north bank, local officials, and Du Zhou would have written to him to report him.

The people who are unaware of the truth will also spit on him and curse him.

At that time, Emperor Liu Che might have had no choice but to depose him from the position of crown prince to silence the gossips.

Even if the "Tun's River" was formed later, it would be interpreted as him just being lucky rather than having any merit.

This win-win operation is as stable as a rock.

……

At the same time Guo Chang sent out scouts to survey the terrain.

Liu Ju was not idle either.

He knew that after opening up the "Tun River", the breach on the south bank of the Yellow River still had to be blocked.

Although it would be much easier to block the road then, the necessary preparations still had to be made, so Chen Guo, the governor of Dongjun, and Zhang Liang, the magistrate of Puyang, were summoned and asked in front of Du Zhou:

"Gentlemen, plugging the breach requires a large amount of earth, stone, bamboo and wood. Do you have enough of these materials in the county?"

"This……"

The two looked at each other.

Zhang Liang immediately took the initiative to answer this unpleasant question, bowed and said:

"To answer your question, Your Highness, although there is no shortage of soil and rocks in Puyang County, it has been hit by floods for many years, and only one in ten trees remain."

"As for bamboo, which is more resilient and has less buoyancy, it is not a local specialty. I'm afraid it will take a lot of manpower to go to the south to collect and transport it. It is really difficult to meet the needs of flood control at the moment."

(End of this chapter)