The Prosperous Era of Longwan

"Shun Qing, you are here, sit down, but the Ministry of Industry has already drafted the regulations?"

On this day, Wei Guangde met Jiang Zhi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, in the duty room, thinking that he was here to deliver what he had said before and hand over the various possible consequences of Pan Jixun's water control method.

However, when Jiang Zhi arrived in front of Wei Guangde, he looked a little ugly and said: "Up to now, Pan Weiliang's water control method has caused more and more controversy in the Ministry of Works, and a charter has not yet been formed."

"What?"

Wei Guangde said in disbelief.

His request is very simple. Regardless of whether it is feasible or not, the Ministry of Industry only needs to brainstorm and analyze the possible consequences of using this method to control water.

To put it bluntly, the only thing left is for the cabinet and ministers to work together to calculate the gains and losses and make the final judgment.

But I didn’t expect that the Ministry of Industry still couldn’t come up with such a simple request.

"Why?"

Wei Guangde's tone became stern and he asked.

“Some predictions are highly controversial and may even affect the success or failure of this law in water control.”

Hearing that Wei Guangde's tone was unkind, Jiang Zhi had no choice but to tell him the focus of the debate in the Ministry of Industry over the past two days.

Since the mid-Ming Dynasty, the importance of Qingkou hub in the water transportation system has increased significantly.

At that time, the Yellow River occupied the Huaihe River channel and carried a huge amount of sediment, causing the downstream river bed to continuously silt up and cause frequent flooding.

Qingkou hub is not only the intersection of Huanghuai River but also the only way for the Grand Canal to go north.

Three streams of water meet here and interact with each other.

In order for grain from the south to move north safely, it must face the intrusion of sediment from the Yellow River.

As a result, a protracted debate arose over the management of the Yellow River and the protection of the canal.

The method of "confining water to attack sand and accumulating clear water to brush away yellowing" proposed by Pan Jixun is very different from the traditional method of diverting water to control yellowing, and is also the focus of controversy.

After all, before that, the "diversion and killing" method of river control was the main method used in all dynasties.

The traditional diversion method is to reduce the impact of floods by dispersing water flow, but this method will cause the flow speed to slow down, sedimentation is easy, and the effect is not good in the long term.

Pan Jixun advocated blocking the branch channels to converge the Yellow River water to form a single channel, using the power of the water flow to wash away sediment and maintain the depth of the river channel.

The innovation of this method lies in its theoretical basis and practical effect, but it has also caused controversy.

Pan Jixun's theoretical basis is that the Yellow River has a large sediment content, and diversion will lead to slow water flow and sediment deposition.

The water-beaming sand attack concentrates the power of water flow and uses the water flow to wash away the sediment and maintain the depth of the river channel.

This theory was innovative at the time, but some people questioned its scientificity and feasibility.

Sure enough, as soon as Jiang Zhi opened his mouth, he expressed the concerns of Cen Zhongmian, the head of the Ministry of Industry, who was also the official who mainly opposed Pan Jixun's law of restricting water and attacking sand.

"What did he say?"

Wei Guangde became interested when he heard that a small official in the Ministry of Industry dared to raise objections and his attitude was extremely firm. He also wanted to know what the people of the Ming Dynasty thought of the method that was so praised by later generations.

Jiang Zhi glanced at Wei Guangde and then said slowly: "In his opinion, although the theory of beaming water to attack sand has certain truth, it can only work in a short time and cannot solve the fundamental problem, so that it will take several years. After that, the Yellow River continued to be troubled frequently.

He compared the Huaihe River to a flock of sheep and the Yellow River to a fierce tiger. The clear water and the yellow river are like a flock of sheep resisting the tiger, which is doomed to fail.

He also disagreed with Pan Jixun's statement that "when two rivers flow together, Haikou will dredge itself" and believed that it was destined to fail.

His main purpose was to make a small model at the Ministry of Industry to actually verify the harm of this method.

It has been proven through examples that when the project of dredging the Yellow River is abandoned, the sediment is still silted downstream, the river bed becomes higher and lower, the slope of the whole river becomes lower and lower, and the river speed further decreases, forming a vicious cycle.

In addition, he also believed that the tides encountered at the entrance to the sea could not be solved by themselves, and the flooding in the lower reaches of the Yellow River would intensify. "

"The Ministry of Industry has also done experiments?"

Wei Guangde asked in surprise.

"Yes, according to the method proposed by Pan Jixun, he also conducted an actual verification process of the water beam attack sand attack method to the Ministry of Industry, so we made a model in the back garden of the Ministry of Industry for several tests.

The effect should be said to be pretty good, which shows the effectiveness of the water-beaming sand attack method.

However, after Cen Zhongmian's point of view came out, we also conducted a test, which was more time-consuming.

Because he also admitted that Pan Weiliang's method may be effective in the short term and can make the canal, Yellow River channel and Huaihe River smooth, but the process will only be short-term, and the troubles of the Yellow River will become bigger and bigger in the future.

The most important thing is that after the water is restrained, it will be difficult to dredge the river channel, because the dredging will reduce the scouring effect.

If things continue like this, sedimentation in the downstream rivers will become more serious.

If the water flows downward, this method may reduce the slope of the entire river, reduce the river speed, and the scouring effect will be greatly reduced, and in the end it will be completely ineffective.

The most worrying thing is that a vicious cycle will be formed, that is, the river bed will rise faster. "

"Can those who support Pan Weiliang come up with any countermeasures?"

Now that the opponents have stated their reasons for opposing it, those who support it should also have ways to deal with it.

Well, this is ancient dialectics. Just ask each other questions and then find a way to solve them. In the end, who can have the last laugh.

Sure enough, Jiang Zhi hesitated a little and said the solution proposed by his supporters, “That is to raise the dam height.

They believed that since Qingkou was silted up, they could build high weirs to contain it and set up embankments to block the water in the Huaihe River. If they were to win against Huangjiao, they would not be able to defeat it. "

"That is to say, what they want is similar to what we said before, which is to continuously raise the dam and lift the Yellow River?"

Wei Guangde knew what it meant as soon as he heard it.

It should be pointed out that although the Yellow River has been raised due to siltation, it has not yet reached the level of a "hanging river".

After all, river dams in the Ming Dynasty also had "scumbag" engineering. Once the flood broke out and the river embankments breached, the Yellow River would find a lower location to flow in, and then find a new entrance to the sea or river.

Anyway, the water of the Yellow River will eventually flow into the sea because of China's topography, which is higher in the west and lower in the east.

However, the Yellow River seeks its own path, and the result is floods. Countless people will be displaced and their fields will not be harvested.

This was also a heavy loss that the feudal dynasty could not bear.

"The most terrifying consequence is here. Once the weir dam is continuously raised to store water in Gaojiayan, the water level of Hongze Lake will inevitably continue to rise, and the lake water will submerge more places and form a large artificial lake."

Jiang Zhi said again.

Although they had talked about Hongze Lake before, after all, the lake level is still within the tolerable range and it will not cause serious trouble.

However, according to Pan Jixun's method of concentrating water and attacking sand, in order to ensure the amount of water flushing the Yellow River, the water volume of Hongze Lake must be continuously increased, that is, a higher dam must be built to store water.

"From the perspective of the imperial court's water control logic, in order to achieve the goal of ensuring water transportation, when encountering floods, priority should be given to ensuring the safety of areas north of the Yellow River and south of the Huaihe River, while areas south of the Yellow River and north of the Huaihe River will definitely bear the brunt and become the subject of floods. Object of sacrifice.

Xuzhou, Huai'an, Fengyang, Sizhou and other places are bound to be severely affected by floods year after year. "

When talking about Fengyang and Sizhou, Jiang Zhi emphasized his tone.

He was also reminding Wei Guangde that if this method was really implemented, the safety of the imperial mausoleum would really not be guaranteed.

"The flood in the ancestor's mausoleum is the first priority, followed by luck and people's livelihood."

Wei Guangde said at this time.

In fact, these words were not what he said, but the offensive formed by the court since Hongze Lake was formed during the Hongzhi period.

In other words, the Ming court at that time was actually aware of the possible harm caused by the formation of Hongze Lake.

Of course, the purpose of building weirs and dams at that time was not to store water for water supply, but to store water to protect water transportation.

When the canal is short of water, water from Hongze Lake is used to replenish the water in the canal.

The direct impact was that the Yellow River had nowhere to vent after taking over the Huaihe River, and poured into Sizhou City.

In order to ensure the safety of the ancestral mausoleum in the north of the city, the people of Sizhou City suffered many disasters, and the ancient city did not escape the fate of sinking to the bottom of Hongze Lake.

In this regard, Sizhou people have not resisted.

Historically, Sizhou Jinshi and former Huguang Councilor Chang Sanxing once went to Shu and insisted on changing Pan Jixun's practice of building Gaojiayan, believing that this would cause Sizhou City to suffer a devastating blow from floods.

In order to refute Chang Sansheng, Pan Jixun did not discuss it from a technical perspective, but put Chang Sansheng's remarks into context.

He wrote: "Now your Majesty will accept the advice of Kechen and build it with stones, thinking that there are hundreds of millions of borderless plans. The three provinces are so eager to destroy it, how can you endure it?"

Let Emperor Wanli think that the objections were directed at the emperor himself.

In order to explain the rationality of his river control method, Pan Jixun even regarded the "Huaihe River Confluence" as the foundation for maintaining the Feng Shui of the ancestral mausoleums. "The Yellow River and the Huai River flow into the sea, and the water meets the heart of heaven, and thousands of rivers worship the ancestors. This is the true Feng Shui of emperors for all generations."

In some popular science books and biographies of later generations, in order to pursue the so-called impact of words, they deliberately downplayed the complexity of history and directly adopted the statement that the Yellow River had no major troubles in more than two hundred years.

There are even some so-called popular science works that deliberately create a black-and-white confrontation between Pan Jixun and his opponents, attributing the criticism to "rigid stereotypes" and portraying Chang Sansheng and other opponents as ugly enemies.

When describing Pan Jixun's theory of conquering water and attacking sand, he used the word "earth-shattering", and when talking about his opponents, he used the word "encirclement and suppression on the top of the line."

This also formed the reason why Wei Guangde had a great impression after hearing the "Water Confinement and Sand Attacking Method" at first, and he believed from the bottom of his heart that this method might solve the Yellow River floods.

However, after several discussions with Jiang Zhi, and after learning about the complexity of Huang Zhi from the officials of the Ministry of Industry, he gradually woke up from his sweet dream.

It seems that Pan Jixun's "Water Confinement and Sand Control Method" is not only not a good medicine to control the Yellow River, but a poison.

As for why the Manchus and Qing Dynasties still insisted on using Pan Jixun's method of water control, it may also be because they were convinced by Pan Jixun's subversive theory and thought that this could solve the increasingly troublesome Yellow River floods.

After all, the Ming Dynasty began to use this method to control water from the Wanli period, and the effect was indeed remarkable in the first two years.

But in the middle and late Wanli period, floods in the Yellow River became more frequent until the Ming Dynasty fell. Perhaps in the eyes of the Qing emperors, this was God's warning to the Ming Dynasty, indicating that they would perish and be replaced by the Manchu Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, the flooding of the Yellow River in the late Ming Dynasty was not a failure of water-reinforcement methods to attack sand, but a warning from God.

If it didn't work in the Ming Dynasty, it would be fine if it were replaced by the Qing Dynasty.

It was just a good idea, but in fact it turned out to be wrong.

In 1855, the Yellow River moved north again and broke out in Tongwaxiang, Henan Province. This ended the situation in which the Yellow River flowed south to seize the Huaihe River and entered the sea. It instead entered the sea through Shandong. The Qingkou hub suddenly withdrew from the torrent of history.

Only scattered ruins remain of the Qingkou hub in later generations, making it difficult for people to imagine the grand scene of the confluence of the three rivers.

On the dam, both sides are planted with vegetation, and the roar of the Yellow River is no longer heard, but replaced by the occasional bird calls.

Gaojiayan, which was raised by Pan Jixun and others, is the Hongze Lake embankment. In the photographers' lenses, one side is the quiet Hongze Lake water, and the other half is the lush embankment.

"If the transportation protection is taken out of the water control, can the Ministry of Industry manage the Yellow River?"

Wei Guangde thought carefully, weighed the pros and cons, and finally made up his mind, that is, to prepare for a fierce battle with the transportation protection faction.

The Yellow River is already in trouble, and it is also intertwined with the important tasks of protecting the imperial mausoleum and the canal, but putting the protection of people's livelihood in the last place, he thinks it is unacceptable from the bottom of his heart.

Since Pan Jixun's method of restraining water and attacking sand cannot solve the fundamental problem and may cause greater trouble, then we should remove the firewood from the bottom of the pot and take out the transportation protection first, and only consider protecting the imperial mausoleum and people's livelihood.

As for the Grand Canal, Wei Guangde intends to forcefully promote sea transportation to replace river transportation. He can take advantage of Yu Dayou's expedition to make the Ming court accept that sea transportation is safe.

Just kidding, tens of thousands of troops traveled thousands of miles across the sea to fight, which is enough to prove the safety of Ming sea vessels.

Let's get some Spaniards and Portuguese to the capital?

Suddenly, an idea came to Wei Guangde's mind.

These barbarians came to Ming from tens of thousands of miles away to do business. It's also good to let them impact the concepts of Ming officials.

It's funny to say that although the Ming court has known that there are barbarian merchants on the coast since the Hongzhi and Zhengde dynasties, it has never accepted their tribute because it does not know where their country is.

Yes, in the eyes of Westerners, diplomacy in the Ming Dynasty would become tribute, with envoys from vassal states paying tribute to the Ming emperor.

Rather than the equal exchanges between countries that Westerners are familiar with.

Now in the Ming Dynasty, the stubborn sea ban faction has ceased its efforts due to the opening of the customs, and even actively participated in it, seeking the benefits of sea trade.

However, their way of making money is still to make money by exporting Ming goods.

The flow of goods from north to south has always relied on the transportation capacity of the Grand Canal.

Among them, it is naturally related to the transportation protection faction that for the sake of profit, it is related to the prohibition of sea vessels from transporting north.

In fact, it is not that there is no situation of southern goods being transported north, but this behavior is mostly carried out in the form of "smuggling", and the quantity is very small, which cannot achieve the scale effect.

After knowing the big trouble of the Yellow River flood control, Wei Guangde simply gave up river transportation and promoted sea transportation with all his strength.

However, before that, he must get a clear guarantee from the Ministry of Industry, that is, he can successfully control the Yellow River flood without considering river transportation.

If this cannot be achieved, the push for shipping will inevitably encounter unimaginable resistance. (End of this chapter)