Imperial Master of the Ming Dynasty

Jiang Xinghuo came out of the Fengtian Palace and looked up at the sky for a rare moment. He looked at the yellow glazed tiles covering the roof of the double-eaves verandah of the Fengtian Palace. The lingering snow still lingered, but under the afterglow of the setting sun, they looked a little more dense, rarely seen in the strict palace. of warmth.

"It can be considered as witnessing history."

Jiang Xinghuo thought as he rubbed his sore cervical spine.

When I read history in my previous life, I only knew about Chengzu's lifetime achievements in the Ming Dynasty, including compiling the "Yongle Dadian", recovering Annan, seven voyages to the West, moving the capital to Beijing, and five expeditions to Mobei.

Now that I have experienced the beginning of the first three items, the last two items have also unknowingly finalized the historical trend and the course of events in words.

I just don’t know if the numbers are correct.

After all, the Ming Dynasty's national policy turned to opening up the sea to prosper the country and making all peoples at home. So there must have been more than seven voyages to the West, and it would not be surprising if they made seventy voyages.

But the five expeditions to Mobei are open to question.

It's not that Jiang Xinghuo can't provide military expenses for Zhu Di, but the problem is that going to the West to compete for overseas markets and raw material origins is profitable, and the great powers have proven that it is sustainable to fish from the marsh, and that's it.

But going to the grasslands and deserts to fight the Mongols is not the same thing.

Not to mention throwing money into a bottomless pit, it can also be said to be a waste of effort.

In a broad sense, "Sealing the wolf to live in Xu" means working all the way to the northernmost lair of the nomads. Of course, the gold content is very high. Huo Qubing of the Western Han Dynasty, Dou Xian of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Li Jing of the Tang Dynasty, and Lan Yu of the Ming Dynasty all did it. Pass.

In the narrow sense of "Sealing the wolf to stay in Xu, and strangling Shi Yanran", only Huo and Dou are the two.

But no matter who it was, even if it was Zhu Di who hit the Onan River, from a consequential point of view, it still failed to cure both the symptoms and the root cause.

Because an obvious proposition is that the army of the farming people cannot completely wipe out the nomads just by carrying their baggage on expeditions. The fierce nomads were transformed by the power of modern industry into beings that can sing and dance.

Therefore, if we look at it from an absolutely rational point of view, if we stick to the Great Wall, vigorously develop maritime trade, promote the industrial revolution, and wait until the economic and industrial strength has been reduced, there will naturally be no so-called threats to the grassland. Just a bunch of harmless sheep herders.

Mounted shooting? This is our traditional talent.

But reality is often irrational, because in the current environment, the Ming Dynasty is facing a real threat from the Timurid Empire's expedition. Now that it has simply ended Annan's expedition, it must quickly extract itself from the possible quagmire. They struck hard at the Mongols. Only by making the Mongols hurt and frightened would they be unable to unite with Timur to go south to attack the Ming Dynasty.

Jiang Xinghuo still thought of the Timur Empire's expedition as simple before, or in other words, from the perspective of a time traveler, it was somewhat taken for granted.

Of course Jiang Xinghuo knew that Timur would die on the border of Ming Dynasty.

But the problem is, even if Zhu Di believes in him, and the princes who formulate and implement military strategies also believe in him, who can pat their chests and guarantee that the national adviser has predicted that the old lame Timur will die, and the national adviser will go there So many predictions have been accurate, and they are also accurate this time, so we don’t need to prepare?

The answer is, no one.

The threat of Timur is real. He has an army of 6 to 700,000, and these 6 to 7 million troops are veterans who have experienced hundreds of battles. They have followed Timur in conquering east and west, and have established an army in the past few decades. An unprecedentedly powerful second most powerful country in the world.

Don't think that the Ming Empire is far away from the Timurid Empire. The two countries are bordering each other.

Although the march distance alone is indeed very far from the map, the difficulty of the march is also obvious at a glance.

But the question is, have the Timur Empire fought too few expeditionary battles like this?

The Mongols possess unparalleled expeditionary capabilities, and the Timurid Empire also possesses it. Just look at Timurid's battle history. He conquered Persia to the west and defeated the main force of the Golden Horde in the Kundulcha Valley and the Terek River. , marched eastwards to the Delhi Sultanate in the Tianzhu region, destroying Delhi, Punjab, Kashmir and other state cities.

If these can be considered "close" battles, then the battles with almost the same distance and difficulty as the expedition to the Ming Dynasty are enough to prove the Timur Empire's ability to destroy a huge country through expeditions and decisive battles with the main force.

In the first year of Jianwen, the Timur Empire marched five thousand miles westward (the distance from Samarkand to Damascus is 2,800 kilometers) and defeated the Mamluk dynasty that ruled there. The Mamluk dynasty was the physical defeat of the Mongols. exist.

In the fourth year of Jianwen, that is, the year when Jiang Xinghuo was in prison, the Timurid Empire defeated the main force of the Ottoman Empire in Ankara, the second largest city of the Ottoman Empire, and captured Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I alive. The army was almost on the verge of war. Constantinople.

These two expeditions, with a straight-line distance of 2,800 kilometers and 2,900 kilometers respectively, have fully proved the terrifying strength of the Timur Empire.

You know, the distance from Samarkand to Jiuquan and Zhangye is 2,600 kilometers, and to Lanzhou is 3,200 kilometers. Who can guarantee that the Timur Empire cannot conquer the Ming Dynasty?

It is obviously unreliable to pin the safety of the Ming Dynasty on the death of the imperial monarch.

If the old cripple is dead, of course everyone will be happy, but if someone leads hundreds of thousands of people to rush over vigorously and Ming Dynasty is not prepared at all, then things will be in trouble. Even if the foundation of Ming Dynasty cannot be shaken, Gansu, Ningxia, and Shaanxi Such places were turned into battlefields, which was also a serious damage to the national power of the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, the northern expedition to Mongolia next year has become inevitable.

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and temporarily put these worries out of his mind.

"Beijing's palace needs to be renovated."

As the highest-level building in the palace, Fengtian Hall is usually used for important occasions such as enthronement, wedding, queen appointment, birthdays (Wanshou Festival), expeditions, court meetings, etc. The reason why Zhu Di often meets Jiang Xinghuo in Fengtian Hall is because It's just because he has special habits.

Well, the three main halls in Nanjing Palace are called the main hall Fengtian Hall, the middle hall Huagai Hall, and the back hall Jinshen Hall. As for why the names are different from what most people think of, it is because the name change was made by Mingxian Zong Jiajing after the Great Ceremony Conference. Fengtian Hall was renamed Huangji Hall, Huagai Hall was renamed Zhongji Hall, and Jinshen Hall was renamed Jianji Hall. After the Manchu Qing Dynasty took over the Central Plains, in order to avoid taboos about his father Huang Taiji (the Ming Dynasty called him Huang Taiji), Shunzhi changed the name of the emperor to Huang Taiji. Ji Palace was renamed Taihe Palace.

Looking at this behemoth, which is thirty feet wide, fifteen feet deep, nine rooms wide and five rooms deep, Jiang Xinghuo thought, how about we just build cement in Beijing? Now that we have low-phosphorus steel, it is not impossible to make steel bars. It's just a little troublesome to come out.

Of course, this is just a thought.

Jiang Xinghuo took the little gray horse from the corridor of the palace and rode out with a click.

The big white horse gave Song Li a gift. I thought something would happen, but I didn't expect that Song Li, an old boy, had a tough life. He was still jumping around every day until now.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xinghuo turned around and went to the Ministry of Rites.

"Hello, Imperial Master."

The officials of the Ministry of Rites are quite familiar with Jiang Xinghuo.

After being promoted this time, Jiang Xinghuo more or less gave a slightly higher evaluation to the doctors, Yuanwailang, and supervisors who were close to him.

There is no way, the base is too small. Among the six ministries, only the Rites and Households can intervene. The rest are other people's territory. Even if you want to interfere, you will be beaten back. The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Personnel are even more monolithic. , so if you don’t use these people, who should you use? Everyone and you are here for promotion and wealth. There are too few good partners with ideals like Zhuo Jing and Xia Yuanji.

Therefore, as long as his ability is sufficient and his character is not a big problem, Jiang Xinghuo will use it as much as possible based on the principle of applying it to the fullest.

You can't shut out everyone just because you are noble, and then make the whole court full of enemies. Then there will be nothing you can do.

The new right minister of the Ministry of Rites, Mo Lin, was still on the way from Beijing to Nanjing at this time, so the Ministry of Rites was still under the jurisdiction of Shangshu Zhuo Jing and left minister Song Li.

Seeing that the door of Zhuo Jing's room was closed, Jiang Xinghuo caught the clerk who was passing by with his head lowered and asked, "Where is Master Zhuo?"

The clerk was muttering "You can't see me if you can't see me", but he was caught by Jiang Xinghuo. He said with some trepidation: "Hui, Hui Guoshi, Zhuo Shangshu often goes to Qintian Prison recently, about There."

Qin Tianjian?

Jiang Xinghuo thought for a while. Ever since Zhuo Jing planned to introduce his granddaughter to him, he seemed not to pay much attention to what Old Man Zhuo was doing recently.

But it doesn't matter, he was originally here to see Song Li this time, but based on the principle of respecting the elderly, he first came to see if Zhuo Jing was there.

Song Li and Zhuo Jing's rooms were not next to each other, so Jiang Xinghuo had to turn around and go in the opposite direction.

The Chinese New Year is approaching, and although it is about to go off duty, there are quite a lot of officials still working in the Ministry of Etiquette, because the Ministry of Personnel has a total of four clerical departments, namely the Ceremony Department, the Temple Priests, the Host and Guest Department, and the Fine Food Department. , each department has one official of the fifth rank, one wailang of the fifth rank, and one chief minister of the sixth rank. These three are serious officials, and the rest are assistant officials and minor officials.

And these few people, every Chinese New Year, have to organize and hold ceremonies and welcome foreign missions who come to see them. Not only are they busy, but they are also busy.

In addition, the Ministry of Rites, like other departments, also has some directly affiliated agencies. However, unlike the Ministry of Industry, which has a large list of agencies, the Ministry of Rites is relatively simple, with only three. One is the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, which is responsible for making seals and ribbons for officials. , the other is the Jiaofang Bureau (also called Jiaofang Bureau). Ahem, it is actually an organization that manages some serious music households and specializes in playing music at celebrations or welcoming distinguished guests. However, because it also manages official prostitutes, it has a relatively good reputation. big.

As for the last one, of course it is the Angel Hall.

"Don't say it, don't say it!"

"Don't say anything?"

As soon as he entered the door, he saw a green-robed official talking to Song Li with a beaming look on his face.

Seeing Jiang Xinghuo come in, he immediately sat upright.

"You will go out first." Song Li waved his hand.

The green-robed official bowed slightly, then saluted Jiang Xinghuo before walking out.

"For what?"

Jiang Xinghuo raised his eyebrows and looked at the door.

Song Li laughed and said, "You are from the Jiaofang Department, and you still want to give me a concubine. Am I that kind of person?"

Believe it or not.

"Come here to run an official job?"

Song Li said disdainfully: "He has the ability to maneuver both sides. If I really let him do the work, I asked him that the Angel House in Luzon was short of people. Would he dare to go by himself? There are many such people in the yamen. They usually wander around. Akira, he just likes to curry favor with his superiors, and some officials just fall into this trap, and forget about it when being favored by others. When he really loses power, he will probably be the first to add insult to injury."

"As long as you can carry it clearly." Jiang Xinghuo asked again, "Where is Zhuo Jing? I heard that he always goes to Qintian Prison recently. What are you busy with?"

Song Li rubbed his head and thought for a few moments before replying: "It seems that you are studying some "Xingkongzhi"?"

Jiang Xinghuo was startled for a moment and then understood.

Whether this matter should be discussed or not, it still has a lot to do with the Ministry of Rites.

Ritual, since Dong Zhongshu bound the relationship between heaven and man, it has become the unity of heaven and man. Ritual must conform to the pre-Qin Zhou rites and the laws of heaven.

So to break the connection between heaven and man and re-realize the doctrine of the Holy King, we need to let the people see the astronomical and cosmic truth of this world.

These things are definitely available based on current experiments, but they are of little use. The reason is very simple. Although it is not just words, but even if seeing is believing, the people's acceptance is not high.

To change this conceptual thing, the official must come up with something authoritative enough. At the same time, with the progress of great navigation, more and more people have seen the vastness of the world, and they have seen that the world does not seem to be located geographically. With China as the only center, there are many other different existences in this world. Then combining astronomy and geography, we can naturally break the theory of heaven and man's induction from an all-round perspective.

Everything about the Ming Dynasty was good, but the status and level of the Qin Tianjian were, to be honest, completely incomparable with previous dynasties. Not to mention the Song Dynasty, it was even worse than the Yuan Dynasty.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the Minister of Rites personally provided guidance.

Even though the Ministry of Rites only has the Bureau of Engraving and Printing, the Jiaofang Department, and the Angel Hall directly under the Ministry of Rites, it has the smallest number of directly affiliated agencies among the six ministries. However, in fact, the Ministry of Rites has no direct affiliation with the departments, but has a guiding relationship in terms of default rules. There are quite a lot of connections. In other words, the Rites Department is the department with the most guidance relationships among the six departments.

Guanglu Temple is a third-grade temple. It is mainly responsible for purchasing sacrifices, preparing palace and diplomatic banquets, and is under the guidance of the Ministry of Rites. It has direct business dealings with many departments of the Ministry of Rites. Also under the guidance of the Ministry of Rites, there are also those in charge of national sacrificial rituals and music. Taichang Temple, which is a third-level temple, and Honglu Temple, which holds court gatherings, guests, and good and bad luck rituals.

This is equivalent to half of the six temples being under the guidance of the Ministry of Rites.

Of course, this is also a normal business transaction, and it belongs to the higher-level guidance department of the temple. However, there is no corresponding financial and personnel rights for Guanglu Temple, Taichang Temple, and Honglu Temple. All financial rights and human rights of these temples All other powers were directly in the hands of the emperor.

In other words, you can exert influence, but as long as the business is done well, people can say "yes, yes, yes" on the surface, but in fact they don't take your etiquette seriously.

Also having a mentoring relationship are the Ministry of War and the Ministry of Punishment.

For example, Taipu Temple, as a third-rank temple, is responsible for managing the national horse administration. Because most of its horses are war horses and military transportation horses, it is directly under the guidance of the Ministry of War.

The Ministry of Punishment, on the other hand, directs the Dali Temple, which is in charge of the trial of criminal and prison cases, and serves as the review agency, and the Shenfa Temple, which is responsible for revising and promulgating laws. It was also commonly known as the "three-law division system" in the past, and now it has become the "four-law division system". It highly overlaps with the business content, has strong liquidity and is self-contained.

But on the surface, Dali Temple and Shenfa Temple are independent. The Ministry of Punishment only has the ability to guide, and it cannot even be said to have power, because these are not written on paper. It is just that over the years, the six departments and the temples, The unspoken rules developed through mutual cooperation between companies.

"Why are the Imperial Masters here so late?"

While Jiang Xinghuo was thinking, Song Li stood up and poured him a cup of tea. Holding the cup of hot tea, Jiang Xinghuo also came to his senses.

"Tell you three things."

After hearing this, Song Li also put away his relaxed expression and looked at Jiang Xinghuo solemnly.

"The first one is after the New Year. After the handover in Beijing, Mo Lin and Lu Xiang will come over. Mo Lin is an upright person. You and Zhuo Jing should pay attention to it. Get along well on weekdays and don't have any problems. Hostility. This kind of people may not be tied to death in the same boat just because of their background and past. If we do well, we can also win over it."

Jiang Xinghuo's words were relatively straightforward, and Song Li understood what he meant and nodded.

"The second one is how is the matter with the Angel Hall?"

Song Li replied without hesitation: "Japan, Korea, Annan, Champa, and Ryukyu. The angels currently dispatched by these five countries have been confirmed. The angel hall in the capital of each country has a Ministry of Rites. Angels, according to their importance in different countries, are sent from the Yuanwailang and the chief ministers of the Ministry of Rites, as well as the attachés sent by the Governor's Office of the Fifth Army and the Jinyiwei. As for the Luzon Kingdom, it has not been decided yet."

"Do the Fifth Army Governor's Mansion and Jin Yiwei cooperate?"

"They are all very cooperative, but some of the selected people were unwilling to go overseas even if they were promoted. North Korea, on the other hand, all rushed to go. Except for North Korea, everyone looked like a tiger."

Jiang Xinghuo nodded slightly and said: "It's not surprising. North Korea, like Annan, calls itself 'Little China', but Annan has just ended the war and many places are still unstable, while North Korea has been at peace for decades. It borders the Ming Dynasty and is close, so naturally everyone wants to go.”

This situation is not difficult to understand. For many central government officials, being sent to serve as angels in foreign countries, especially island countries such as Japan, Ryukyu, and Luzon, is equivalent to cracking coconuts with barbarians, and the future is dark.

On the contrary, the army and the Jin Yiwei didn't have so many worries because they already had a lot of overseas assignments.

But when the imperial court's foreign policy changed, these people had to go even if they didn't want to. Anyway, someone had to do the work.

Therefore, there were some petty officials and Imperial College students who wanted to find a quick background, but they could not resist the temptation of directly becoming blue-robed officials. After being trained by the Ministry of Rites, they were sent to overseas countries.

Commodity insurance, futures, the embassy system, the municipal shipping department system, and the opening-to-sea policy are all inseparable. Since the historical line has moved in different directions, no one can resist these things in the face of the torrent of the times.

"What about the third thing?"

Facing Song Li's inquiry, Jiang Xinghuo looked at him steadily.

Obviously, this matter is about Song Li himself.

"There is an opportunity, but whether you want to take it or not depends on you."

Jiang Xinghuo said: "Last time, you contributed a lot to control the floods in Jiangnan. Now the floods in Jiangnan have subsided and the river work is in good order. This is a contribution that can be seen by all the civil and military officials of the dynasty. No one can erase it. With your ability, you are actually more suitable to go there. Ministry of Industry.”

Song Li was slightly shocked, but the expression on his face remained unchanged. After thinking for a while, he asked.

"Is Huang Fu going to move, or is Chen Shou going to move?"

Chen Shou was a direct descendant of Zhu Gaochi, and was praised by Zhu Gaochi as "the first among ministers." If Chen Shou was to be promoted or transferred, he would have been Zuo Shilang in the past, from Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Rites to Zuo Shilang of the Ministry of Works. Real power may not increase much.

And if Huang Fu wants to make a move, then it will be the "last step" for the civil servants.

That is to say, from the minister to the minister.

This is a positional level. In the blank space where the prime minister system has been abolished and the chief minister system has not yet entered the historical stage, civil servants are in the truest sense of the word.

"Huang Fu, he may be transferred to another department."

Song Li frowned deeply, this step was not that easy.

The minister is the third rank, and the minister is the second rank. However, from the second rank level, there is no official position, which means that it is either the third rank or the second rank. There is an empty section in the middle. Whether you can cross it depends entirely on yourself.

Generally speaking, when a Zuo Shilang is promoted to a minister, only a senior Zuo Shilang who has been in charge of or has been mainly responsible for ministerial affairs for many years will be legitimately promoted to the rank of minister.

Without this condition, there is only one way left.

With the title of Zuo Shilang, he was transferred to do important things that others could not do. With this credit, he was naturally promoted to minister, shutting up all criticism.

"So what is the opportunity that the National Master is talking about?"

Song Li vaguely guessed it, but he still couldn't believe it, because this task was too difficult. Countless people had tried it over thousands of years, but only a few succeeded, and it even brought down the Yuan Dynasty.

"Controlling the Yellow River has corrected the current status quo of diverting the Yellow River from the Huai River and flowing into the sea. Currently, Shandong and Hebei are seriously short of water, but the Yellow and Huai River floods all year round, which has affected basic agricultural production in the Hebei and Henan plains, as well as in Shandong near the Yellow River. The plains are important grain-producing areas. If you want to restore the economy and population, you must control the Yellow River. Your Majesty appreciates the work-for-relief model and plans to apply it to the larger-scale Yellow River control project."

"The two are not on the same scale."

Song Li was a little instinctively afraid. The roaring Yellow River was the nightmare of many flood controllers.

"One eye of a stone man can instigate rebellion across the Yellow River." Managing the Yellow River requires hundreds of thousands or even millions of manpower. Once it is not done properly and someone deliberately provokes a conflict or even an uprising, it will be an outright uprising. disaster.

Even if people can be managed in an orderly manner, what about the river water? Can you really be obedient?

If the embankment really bursts or something goes wrong, the flood is ruthless and it won't be surprising how many people drown. By then, let alone being promoted, it would be good if they are not beheaded.

In fact, in the history of Jiang Xinghuo's previous life, Song Li was able to become Minister of the Ministry of Industry because of his control of the Yellow River.

After the founding of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang had always been worried about the Yellow River that diverted the Huaihe River into the sea due to the destruction of the Ming Dynasty. However, due to the population and production in the early Ming Dynasty, they never returned to a better state. By the end of the Hongwu Dynasty, the national strength had declined. It is said that he has the ability to control the Yellow River, but at that time, Zhu Yuanzhang had already prioritized Zhu Yunwen's succession. He was worried that the long construction period of managing the Yellow River and the large-scale labor gathering would lead to unexpected events that would affect the normal handover of the empire. , so it was put on hold.

After Zhu Di ascended the throne, he asked Song Li to regulate the Yellow River with the mentality of "it has been broken long ago, and it will be broken again."

The first thing Song Li did was to dredge the river. This river was dug from Dongping Minshan to Linqing between the Yuan Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty, and the Wen River was diverted to the Wen River. , named "Huitong", but the bank was narrow and the water was shallow and could not bear heavy loads. In the 24th year of Hongwu, the Yellow River burst at Yuanwu, directly destroying Anshan Lake, and the Huitong River was silted up.

After an on-the-spot investigation, Song Li weighed a variety of options, and finally adopted the suggestions of local elders who had participated in water control in the late Yuan Dynasty. He built a dam from Yancheng to Daicun, spanning five miles, to curb the flow of Wenshui River and control Wenshui River. It is divided into two, with 40% going to Peixian County of Xuzhou in the south and 60% going to Linqing in the north.

After the Huitong River is dredged, the current Yellow River is equivalent to one more river that discharges floods. Only with this prerequisite can the current situation of the Yellow River from diverting the Huai River to flowing into the sea be partially changed.

Of course, the main problem still cannot be solved, because both the Yuan and Ming dynasties had Beijing as their capital. In order to maintain the Grand Canal's water transportation mission of transporting grain from the south to the north, the river management strategy was to try to prevent the Yellow River from breaching northward to avoid endangering the canal. According to this This method is actually the same as in the Yuan Dynasty, treating the symptoms but not the root cause. During the Yuan Dynasty, there was a situation where the Yellow River flowed mainly into Wudu and Ying from the south, and then flowed into Si from the east. At that time, the south-flowing river was called the Great Yellow River. The one that flows eastward is called the Little Yellow River.

Jiang Xinghuo, on the other hand, has a longer-term vision and is more determined.

Although it is difficult to regulate the Yellow River, it is by no means impossible.

In this matter, when the Yuan Dynasty was simulated in the imperial edict, the decision had actually been made.

The so-called "a peck and a drink is a predetermined decision", this is probably the case.

"Since the Yellow River needs to be managed, it must be managed well. Now the Yellow River robs the Huai River and flows into the sea, while the Huai River robs the river and flows into the sea. The Huai River does not even have its own outlet to the sea. It has to merge into the Yangtze River from Sanjiangying and then into the sea. How can this be done in the long run? Woolen cloth?"

The Huaihe River is originally an outflow river, that is, the water of the Huaihe River will eventually flow from the land into the ocean. The Huaihe River originally had its own channel into the sea and was a river that flows alone into the sea. However, due to the geomorphology of the water system in the Huaihe River Basin, the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River have been diverted many times in history. In particular, the Yellow River diverted the Huaihe River into the sea, which blocked the downstream channel into the sea, causing chaos in the originally formed Huaihe River system, leading to frequent natural disasters, whether floods or droughts. Like the previous situation in Jiangnan, it was all caused by poor water control.

"Of course I know."

Song Li smiled bitterly and said: "Whenever the Huaihe River is in full swing, the west wind stirs up the waves, and the white waves are as white as mountains. For hundreds of miles along the Huaihe River, there is public and private panic, and no one dares to rest his head on it. But, alas."

"Big Ben."

Jiang Xinghuo said sincerely: "That's why I use you. Only you can do this. You don't have to worry about money. Xia Yuanji and I will find a way."

"In addition, if you are willing to take on this important task, I have two ways to give them to you."

"Those two methods?"

Song Li was slightly surprised. When it came to water control, he was indeed an expert. He knew that Jiang Xinghuo was knowledgeable and talented, but he didn't know what achievements he had made in water control. Apart from using gunpowder blasting, he really didn't know.

"Tell me first, if you were asked to regulate the Yellow River, what would you do?"

Song Li thought for a while and then said: "If I were really asked to control the Yellow River, I would have to dredge the Huaihe River system and then build a levee on the north bank of the Yellow River."

In fact, this was indeed the method Song Li chose in Jiang Xinghuo's previous life.

I can’t be wrong, I can only say that it is the best solution given the limited budget and labor, because after the construction of the embankment on the north bank of the Yellow River is completed, the water of the Yellow River will be able to flood northward, thus ensuring that there will be no problems with the river. But this only solves the problem. On the one hand, the problem will also bring new problems, that is, the Yellow River will divert more and more southward. The more the Yellow River diverts, the lower the flow and velocity will be, which will lead to its own sand entrainment and sand washing. The lower the capacity, the more serious the siltation of the old Yellow River. At that time, a vicious cycle will be formed in which "the river bed rises and the river embankments must be raised. If the river bed continues to rise, the river embankments must continue to be raised."

This strategy of drinking poison to quench thirst will eventually lead to the number of tributaries of the Yellow River in the Huaihe River Basin in the later years of Mingxianzong.

Later, the management of the Yellow River went through two stages, namely the Hongzhi stage and the Wanli stage. During the Hongzhi period, the famous minister Liu Daxia was responsible for regulating the Yellow River. Liu Daxia took control of the Yellow River's northward flooding and divided part of it into the Huaihe River instead of seizing the Huaihe River. In this way, Liu Daxia led people to build a river embankment of more than a thousand miles on the north bank of the Yellow River, and then dredged the Jialu Old River at Huanglinggang, allowing part of the Yellow River to flow into the Si River, and part of the Yellow River to flow into the Si River. The main stream of the Yellow River enters the Si River in Xuzhou, and the tributaries flow from the Wo River and Ying River to the Huaihe River. In fact, in essence, they are no different from the large and small Yellow Rivers in the Yuan Dynasty.

As for the real management of the Yellow River, we have to wait for Pan Jixun, an expert in water control during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Pan Jixun adopted a three-step management plan of "accumulating clear water, flushing yellow water, and improving transportation". He not only built dams on the north bank of the Yellow River, but also Moreover, the south bank was also built, and then washed away using the famous method of "reinforcement of water to attack sand". Seeing that the water volume of the Yellow River was insufficient, the Hongze Lake embankment was used to force the Huaihe River to flow into the Yellow River to help attack the sand. After countless years of sedimentation, the Yellow River was washed away, and this was like opening up the Rendu and Du rivers. It suddenly became smoother. Until the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were not many breaches and disasters in the Yellow River.

Jiang Xinghuo shook his head and said, "No, I have two methods here. One is to use reinforced concrete, and the other is to use water to attack the sand. Remember it."