Guide to traveling through the Northern Song Dynasty

Ju Ming stood on the embankment of the Yellow River and used a telescope to observe Xiao Wu Xun on the other side.

After the Yellow River changed its course to the north, it turned sharply at Xiaowuxi, which became the most dangerous section of the river.

Once the Xiaowu Pier bursts its embankment, Puyang City downstream will be flooded immediately.

Putting away the telescope, Ju Ming asked: "According to your method, how much river workers, money and food will be needed?"

Zhao Fengji said: "At least 500,000 river workers are needed, and the money and food are countless. It is not yet certain how much food will be needed, but 20 to 30 million yuan will definitely not be enough."

“I will try my best to raise money, and if it doesn’t work, I will issue national bonds,” Ju Ming said.

Anything that money can accomplish is no big deal.

But most of the time, it is a penny that stumps the heroic man.

Wang Anshi failed to regulate the Yellow River, and his fight with Sima Guang was only one of the reasons.

There is another important factor in his eagerness to block Beiliu: his finances are about to be exhausted!

If the Beiliu River is not blocked, the annual repairs there cannot be stopped, and maintenance funds will continue to be consumed, and countless more laborers will be recruited.

In particular, the recruitment of forced labor severely damaged agricultural production and many families went bankrupt as a result.

This is not a matter of a year and a half. According to Sima Guang's prudent method, Beiliu will have to be maintained for at least two or three years.

How much money and labor will it cost?

If it is blocked directly, money and labor can be saved, and people's livelihood in the Beiliu Yellow Flood Area can be restored as soon as possible.

At that time, the two sides were arguing for several months. When the water volume of the east flow reached 60%, the New Party wanted to block the north flow due to financial pressure.

Sima Guang said, at least 80% is enough.

The emperor planned to send both the old and new parties to inspect, but in the end only the new party was sent. New Party officials returned to Beijing after an inspection and said that 80% of the people had been diverted, leaving Sima Guang speechless.

Is there an 80% diversion?

If not, were the inspection officials lying to Wang Anshi, or did Wang Anshi know the truth all along?

If there is, is it not enough to divert 80%?

No one can explain these things clearly, only the parties involved know.

But one thing is very clear. If the Northern Song Dynasty had sufficient finances at that time, Wang Anshi would definitely not be in such a hurry - after all, he was at risk of being dismissed from the prime minister!

Ju Ming looked at the increasingly rapid water and couldn't help but sigh: "Money!"

Zhao Fengji, Fu Xingzhong, Wang Huai and others stood quietly behind the emperor, but they looked at him with infinite admiration.

No emperor can dare to make up his mind on such a huge project.

It’s not just a matter of money and food, but several cities have to be relocated!

The money for moving the administrative office, rebuilding the city, and resettling the immigrants has not yet been taken into account.

Moreover, after the tenants enter the land, they cannot levy corvee at will. Di Dingyin definitely couldn't afford so much. The main funds still had to be provided by the court, and the financial pressure was greater than in the previous Song Dynasty.

This is also beneficial, as it will not force countless people to have their families destroyed.

Ju Ming said: "Before I left the capital, the Supreme Emperor once reminded you that when you are asked to use water to attack the sand, you must take into account the issue of floods."

"Ling Xun?" The three river management officials were stunned.

Records about Lingxun existed as early as the Western Han Dynasty.

But since the Yellow River changed its course frequently, Lingxun has rarely appeared, and even if it does, it is not large in scale. This may be related to the method of river control, which diverts water and releases floods everywhere, preventing large-scale floods from occurring.

Once water is used to attack sand, floods may become more frequent and larger in scale.

There are gains and losses, and there is no foolproof strategy.

After a discussion among the three river management officials, Zhao Fengji said: "The former distributary channels and gates cannot be abandoned after the water is released to attack the sand. Especially in the upper reaches of the river that are prone to heavy floods, new spillways should be dug. Once encounters Open the gate immediately when danger arises. It would be best to dig a few more lakes for flood discharge and water storage."

…

After staying in Linhe County for a few days, Ju Ming continued his northern tour.

The Yellow River did not burst its banks, but the Yangtze and Qiantang rivers were in turmoil.

Heavy rains have fallen across several southern provinces, and river water levels have skyrocketed. The entire Zhejiang province is expected to have a poor harvest this year.

There is even a rumor among the people, but I don’t know who made it up.

That is to say, Zhu Guoxiang was a truly benevolent king, and everything went well for him for several years in charge of the country. However, Ju Ming was too cruel and murderous, which hindered the harmony of heaven, so there were floods in the early years after he took the throne.

Local officials in various prefectures and counties are organizing flood fighting and rescue operations while also arresting those who spread rumors.

I searched and searched, but couldn't find the source, so I had to give up after a lot of trouble.

When Ju Ming arrived in Cangzhou, the floods in the south had receded, and the Zhejiang chief envoy Shangshu requested to return the fields to the lake.

Not only the Xuanwu Lake in Jinling, but also the lakes on the south bank of the Qiantang River, as well as the large and small lakes in the entire Jiangnan.

It has nothing to do with Wang Anshi, it is all caused by the surrounding wealthy households surrounding the lake to create land.

The rumor that Wang Anshi abandoned Xuanwu Lake to cultivate fields was purely a rumor deliberately spread by the literati of the Southern Song Dynasty. Because before Wang Anshi was born, there was not much left in Jinling Xuanwu Lake.

As early as when Wang Anshi was "-3 years old", there were only 76 hectares of Xuanwu Lake left. Moreover, the siltation is serious, and the bottom will be bottomed out even if there is a slight drought. Simply rent it out as a land tenant and receive more than 500 land rent every year.

Ding, the magistrate of the state at that time, said that Shangshu asked for the return of the farmland to the lake, and dispatched Xiang troops to clear the silt and dredge it.

However, the wealthy households are greedy and steal the lake for farmland year after year. Now Xuanwu Lake has become a small pond.

The whole Jiangnan is like this!

"Be careful. Only in Xuanwu Lake."

This is the cabinet's vote of approval for the memorial to the Chief Secretary of Zhejiang.

Zhu Guoxiang read the appendix of the memorial for a long time, and wrote in person with a red pen: "All prefectures and counties in Zhejiang Province report the details of stealing lakes for farmland. In the past thirty years, the counties and counties that have experienced frequent floods should order the people to return their farmland to the lake. The imperial court will allocate money to purchase the land that has been withdrawn. Anyone who steals the lake again will be punished as if it were arson."

After thinking about it, Zhu Guoxiang wrote another note to the cabinet: "The crime of stealing the lake should be written into the "Da Ming Code". This is not only the case in Zhejiang, but also in all provinces across the country."

Shortly after calling the cabinet, Prime Minister Zhai Ruwen came to ask for an audience.

Zhu Guoxiang asked: "What's the matter?"

Zhai Ruwen said: "The land south of the Yangtze River is also the country's granary. It is good to return the land to the lake, but there is a risk of big trouble. Officials may take the opportunity to extort or even seize the people's land."

"And cunning people can also take the opportunity to report more acres of land to defraud the court of compensation. Zhejiang is still allocating acres of land this year, and the situation is already tense. If the land is returned to the lake, it may trigger a civil uprising."

"Also, His Majesty's approval is ambiguous. How much of the farmland should be returned to the lake? For the sake of political performance, the government, fearing greed and greed, turned serious farmland into lakes. They even colluded with the gentry and wealthy people to prevent the land of large households from being returned to the lake. , only return the fields of those small people."

"I didn't think well," Zhu Guoxiang asked, "How are you going to deal with it?"

Zhai Ruwen said: "Plan it slowly. Restore Xuanwu Lake first, and then start with other lakes after the land is spread. Even for Xuanwu Lake, the matter should be raised by officials sent by the imperial court, and local officials cannot be allowed to do it." It would be best to send people from the Ministry of Works who understand water conservancy. To determine how big the Xuanwu Lake should be, we must first draw up a regulation. The Ministry of War should also participate in dispatching the Cao Army and garrison troops to dredge and clear the silt. At the same time, it can also prevent unruly people from causing trouble. .”

Zhu Guoxiang praised: "Just deal with it this way."

After thinking about it, Zhu Guoxiang added: "If there are people who are willing to move to Youzhou, and how much land is returned to the lake, we will compensate them three times the land in Youzhou. In addition, the government will be responsible for food and accommodation along the way, and will also pay them Seeds and clothing were rented to them free of charge for one year, and cattle were used for farming. On the acres cultivated in Youzhou, taxes were fully exempted for three years, and taxes were halved for two years."

"This is good governance!" Zhai Ruwen complimented.

What a good government, just luring people to Youzhou, where there are countless lands waiting to be reclaimed.

Zhu Guoxiang said: "The entire Zhejiang Province has followed this example of returning farmland to lakes."

Zhai Ruwen is not an old-fashioned man. He will also try to figure out what's going on and greet the special commissioner in charge of the matter later.

That is to say, the compensation price for the acres of land returned to the lake was set much lower than the local market price.

The big families don't lack that little money, so it doesn't matter if they don't want to move. It is also possible to take the opportunity to send concubines, Xiaozong, etc. to Youzhou for development.

Small landowners and farmers do not want to lose money, so they must bite the bullet and migrate to Youzhou.

In this way, it not only saves the court money, but also enriches the population of Youzhou.

If you mobilize the army in advance, you won't have to worry about any trouble, and you can also ask the soldiers to help dig the lake and desilt it.

At least 40,000 to 50,000 acres of land must be cleared away from Xuanwu Lake, and there may even be more!

When Zhai Ruwen returned to the cabinet, Xiao Chu smiled and asked, "How was it?"

"Your Majesty agreed, and added some more to connect with enriching Youzhou." Zhai Ruwen said.

The strategy presented before was the result of discussions between Zhai Ruwen and Xiao Chu, and they discussed with each other to check for any omissions and fill in the gaps.

They have long been too lazy to oppose anything, because opposition is ineffective. It is better to provide suggestions according to their own wishes and handle one thing more satisfactorily and properly.

Zhai Ruwen returned to his office, sat on his chair and thought for a long time, and finally decided not to interfere too much in his hometown affairs.

In his hometown, it is estimated that another wealthy family will be exiled.

Because there is Lian Lake there, an artificial lake dug and built in the Western Jin Dynasty. It initially covered an area of ​​100,000 acres, but increased to 200,000 acres in the Tang Dynasty.

Regulating floods and droughts and irrigating farmland are secondary. The biggest role of Lianhu is to ensure water transportation in the south of the Yangtze River!

In the Tang Dynasty, it was forbidden to encircle the lake to create fields. Even releasing water privately was tantamount to murder.

However, in the Song Dynasty, there was no control and a large number of lakes were reclaimed for farmland, causing the area of ​​​​Lianhu to shrink by one-third. It's all done by powerful people, and no one else can take care of it, because it would be useless if they did.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhai Ruwen once suggested that the management of Lian Lake in the Tang Dynasty should be restored. This not only benefits the country and the people, but also benefits his own family by avoiding frequent floods and droughts.

It is estimated that some people are not taking it seriously and must still be quietly stealing lakes and enclosing fields.

After Xuanwu Lake is completed, Zhai Ruwen will manage Lian Lake. As a fellow villager, he can't take action directly, but he can use the name of the court to severely punish those who benefit himself at the expense of others!

Various civil affairs measures from the imperial court came one after another.

There are people in every group who deserve bad luck.

Zhai Ruwen leaned back on the seat leisurely, closed his eyes and smiled.

Although it is difficult for him to accept some of the ideas of the Zhu family and his son, the entire country is changing rapidly. Military, agriculture, water conservancy, administration... and even religious beliefs are all developing in all directions, reversing the messy situation of the previous Song Dynasty.

I think at the beginning, he just couldn't stand Liang Shicheng occupying the common people's cemetery in the suburbs of Beijing. Zhai Ruwen impeached him several times and was demoted to Xuanzhou as a local official.

How wonderful it is now. Corrupt officials are trembling in fear, and treacherous ministers have disappeared from the court.

Ten years ago, Zhai Ruwen wouldn't have dared to think about it.