The Ming Dynasty did not revolutionize

Chapter 393 New Major Project

Although Zhu Jingkun's guess was partially verified, his research in Jiangnan had just begun.

After years of earnest instruction from Zhu Jianxuan, coupled with actual grassroots training, Zhu Jingkun has basically accepted and absorbed most of his father's ideas.

Following the guidance of his father the Emperor, Zhu Jingkun also divided all people in the entire Ming society into several typical parts.

First of all, the ruling group, that is, the country’s managers, is also the biggest beneficiary.

Including close relatives of the royal family, nobles and monarchs of various levels, civil and military officials of government offices at all levels, and executives and senior craftsmen of state-owned factories in various places.

The policies of the emperor and the court should protect the interests of the ruling group and curb and eliminate internal contradictions within the ruling group.

Regularly eliminate the decadent and corrupt parts, and retain and improve the relatively excellent parts.

This will improve the court's governing ability and administrative efficiency, and ensure that the orders of the emperor and the court can be passed on.

If these cannot be achieved, the emperor may be sidelined by them, and the central government may be sidelined by the local governments.

It is possible that the government decree will not leave Shuntian Prefecture, or even the Forbidden City.

Then there is the ruling basis. They are the executors of the ruling group’s will, the main source of the court’s power, and also indirect beneficiaries.

Including officials in the imperial court and government offices at all levels, ordinary craftsmen and workers in state-owned factories, and grassroots officers and soldiers in military garrisons.

The imperial court should safeguard the key interests of the ruling base, provide them with a stable upward channel, introduce elites into the ruling group, and continuously inject vitality into the ruling group.

This will maintain the overall stability of the country, ensure that the court always has sufficient power and financial resources, and have the motivation for continuous upward development.

Failure to do so could result in the loss of tax revenue, the loss of power of the imperial court, and the loss of combat effectiveness of the army.

There may even be rebellions that break out one after another and cannot be quelled.

Then there are the valuable marginal groups, who have some power and resources but are not completely controllable.

They include owners, managers, and craftsmen of private manufacturers, as well as folk intellectuals and craftsmen, and the old landlord groups who still remain in the countryside.

The imperial court should win them over and control them, safeguard their fundamental interests, and prevent them from actively opposing the imperial court.

Failure to do so could lead to attacks or even rebellion.

Finally, there are the worthless marginal groups, including all kinds of ruffians, hooligans, lazy scoundrels, and all other similar people.

Their existence will directly affect the interests of other groups, so they must be resolutely cracked down on.

Otherwise it will cause dissatisfaction among other groups and undermine social morals.

Although there are still some landlords who "pass down the tradition of farming and studying" among the so-called "gentry" in the Ming Dynasty, their proportion is already very low.

There are more members of the ruling group outside the traditional feudal lords and nobles, as well as elites among the ruling base and valuable marginal groups.

By clarifying the overall attitude of the gentry group, we can basically understand the attitude of the ruling group and elite group in Ming society.

But in addition to these, there are also a large number of ordinary members of the "ruling base" group who are unable to express their attitudes directly to themselves.

So when Zhu Jingkun met with the local gentry of Suzhou, after receiving authorization from the emperor, he arranged for his servants and subordinates to go out.

With the authorization given by the emperor, he went to the local Jinyiwei Yamen to recruit people to accompany him to conduct research in local factories and businesses.

Ask about the attitudes of ordinary stewards, craftsmen, and even ordinary workers and guys.

The scope of the research must be broad enough and the level must be deep enough, so the time required will naturally be very long.

Zhu Jingkun plans to follow a similar method and visit all the major cities in the Jiangnan region and all types of rural areas.

The overall report may not come out until this fall or even winter.

It will take at least until next year to start the reform attempt, and the final decision on whether to allow women to take the imperial examinations will have to be pushed back further.

…………

In the inner city of Shuntian Prefecture, the New Palace of Beiyuan, the Ming Emperor Zhu Jianxuan assigned tasks to the cabinet and continued to look through the memorials sent by the Ministry of Public Administration and the cabinet.

According to Zhu Jianxuan's request, the emperor must be informed of certain things, and certain things must be approved by the emperor before they can be executed.

Zhu Jianxuan would casually read through the document and make comments, either directly approving its execution or giving a few additional instructions, or requiring the relevant agency to produce a more detailed report.

Most things are routine and don't require much special consideration.

After Zhu Jianxuan flipped through several memorials today, he found a request that was a little special.

The Minister of Jianbu wrote a letter to the emperor, arguing that the current prosperous era with the world united is unprecedented, and the achievements of the current emperor far exceed those of all the gods and saints in ancient times.

These should be specially celebrated, boasted, and commemorated.

Therefore, the Ministry of Construction suggested that a site be selected in the Beiyuan New Palace or other place to build a building as tall as possible as a memorial.

It can be called Tiangong Tower, Tiangong Tower, Tianxia Tower, Guiyi Tower, etc.

The height of this skyscraper should be at least over 100 meters, and as much as possible over 200 meters, which will be a good test of the current engineering technology.

The Ministry of Construction submitted this memorial perhaps simply to flatter the emperor, or perhaps he had some other ideas.

But Zhu Jianxuan felt that this thing could indeed be done.

However, instead of simply boasting about one's own achievements, a special exhibition hall and monument can be built.

To commemorate the great era when the world is truly unified, to showcase and show off the various achievements made by the Ming Dynasty today, and to include all the current and future heroes.

Let ordinary people today yearn for and remember it, let future generations admire the achievements of their predecessors and inspire their morale.

This is something that can improve cohesion and is worth spending a little money on.

So Zhu Jianxuan approved it, wrote down his own considerations, and put forward some general requirements.

This Tiangong Tower cannot be placed in the palace, but must be placed in an open public area, with a wide square built around it and shade-providing trees planted.

Ordinary people can rest here while waiting for their visit, and naturally they should be able to visit and admire the site conveniently.

Let the Ministry of Rites cooperate with the Ministry of Construction to come up with a more detailed plan.

Zhu Jianxuan put down the memorial, picked up the book below and opened it, and found that it was also related to engineering.

It was handed over by Wang Lai, who was in charge of water conservancy project construction.

The main purpose was to tell the emperor that after the hard work of the craftsmen over this period of time, the detailed plans for the Glacier River, Three Gorges Project and Congo River Project have been basically completed.

This was actually a general report. If the emperor wanted to see detailed plans and drawings, he could call them and ask them to send them over.

The plan for the glacial river has been basically determined. The naturally existing river channel remains are the natural canal channel, and the naturally existing estuary is the natural dam foundation site.

However, there are still some uncertainties in the Three Gorges Project and the Congo River Project, and Zhu Jianxuan needs to make some decisions.

For example, the Three Gorges Project provided three candidate plans.

The first plan is what Wang Lai calls the frugal plan.

Build a dam with an altitude of 185 meters in Yichang or Zigui County, Hubei.

It is expected to form a water head of up to 180 meters, a canyon reservoir with an area of ​​about 1,000 square kilometers and a storage capacity of about 40 to 50 billion cubic meters.

This was basically Zhu Jianxuan’s final target for the Three Gorges Project in his previous life.

At that time, Shenzhou had not yet completed full industrialization, and was very cautious in planning this type of engineering project, and the final choice was also very conservative.

At that time, Chongqing's population was already very large, and half of the project investment was used for immigration. But now the situation in Daming is completely different.

The Ming Dynasty court has cooperated with Duke Yu to relocate most of the local residents. This plan now does not require any special immigration and will hardly flood the flat land.

However, in Wang Lai's opinion, the storage capacity of this kind of reservoir is extremely low, and when a flood breaks out, it can only reduce the intensity of the flood peak.

It is impossible to intercept all the water coming in during the rainy season, and it is impossible to use all the water coming in throughout the year for power generation.

After the rainy season arrives, it may even be necessary to discharge flood water specifically to free up reservoir capacity to intercept subsequent flood peaks, so it is impossible to completely avoid floods downstream.

The construction cost is low, the engineering difficulty is medium, and the regulation effect is low.

The second plan, which Wang Lai calls the efficient plan, is to build a dam at an altitude of 240 meters, still in Yichang or Zigui County.

It is expected to form a water head of 235 meters, capable of obtaining a canyon reservoir with an area of ​​about 2,000 square kilometers and a storage capacity of about 150 billion cubic meters.

This indicator is similar to the Soviet plan proposed during the Soviet honeymoon period.

This plan will flood some riverside land in the valley, but it can intercept most of the rainy season floods and basically completely control the flood peak.

In a normal year, very little of the incoming water is wasted and most of the flow is used to generate electricity.

There is also basically no need for relocation, and there is basically no one in the construction area.

The construction cost is high, the engineering difficulty is the highest, and the regulation effect is high.

The dam can also be divided into two, which will greatly reduce the difficulty of the project and significantly increase the cost, but it is better to directly adopt the third option.

The third plan, which Wang Lai called a conservative plan, was to build three dams of different heights between Yichang and Chongqing Prefecture.

The height of the three dams themselves is about 100 meters, but the top of the highest dam is 270 meters above sea level, and the total water head is up to 260 meters.

It is similar to the American plan proposed during the honeymoon period, except that the dam is divided into three.

This plan would flood several valleys near Chongqing Prefecture, and a larger canyon reservoir would also be formed in the middle reaches of the Jialing River.

Several large valley reservoirs have been formed around Chongqing, with a total water surface area estimated to be between 3,000 and 4,000 square kilometers and a maximum storage capacity estimated to exceed 300 billion cubic meters.

The annual runoff above the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River is about 500 billion cubic meters. However, considering the needs of shipping water replenishment during the winter dry season and water release for power generation throughout the year, the reservoir capacity of 300 billion cubic meters is enough to completely control the runoff in the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River.

The flow of the Yangtze River can be adjusted as needed throughout the year, so that the flow and water level of the Yangtze River waterway below Chongqing remain basically stable throughout the year, and will no longer change significantly with the seasons.

If a major flood occurs below Yichang, the dam can stop releasing water for several months in a row, turning the Yangtze River into a river originating in Yichang.

Almost all incoming water throughout the year can be used to generate electricity.

Due to the large flooded area, there are still some residents in the remote areas of the upper reaches of the Jialing River who need to pay extra money to migrate.

The construction cost is the highest, the engineering difficulty is the lowest, and the regulation effect is the best.

If only a 270-meter dam is used, the project difficulty will naturally become the highest, and it may even be impossible to achieve now.

(Water surface of the reservoir lake formed by the third option with a water level of 260 meters)

The final candidate plans for the Congo River Water Conservancy Project are basically enlarged versions of the conservative plans for the Three Gorges Project on the Yangtze River.

Africa is a plateau continent. Even in the Congo Basin, which is a depression, the altitude is basically above 300 meters, and the dam is at an even higher altitude.

Considering the current engineering capabilities of the Ming Dynasty, and the need to maximize the use of the Congo River's hydropower resources, it is natural to recommend staged development.

The Academy of Engineering came up with three plans: two dams, three dams, and four dams.

The fewer the number of dams, the more difficult the project will be and the less the total amount of work may be.

The more dams there are, the easier the project will be, but the workload will be larger and the cost will be higher.

However, the Congo River basin is basically an uninhabited area, so there is basically no need to consider flooding issues.

Regardless of the plan, the maximum altitude of the final dam will be the same, which is 330 meters.

The final water level is just over 320 meters.

Eventually, a reservoir with an area of ​​approximately 30,000 square kilometers will be formed on the western edge of the Congo Basin, with a storage capacity of three to four trillion cubic meters.

The reservoir is capable of storing three years of runoff from the middle and upper Congo River.

Since the interior of the Congo Basin is a plain, although the reservoir is huge in area, the water storage capacity is not too deep.

More than half of the reservoir will become a freshwater swamp environment.

And this is exactly what Wang Lai planned.

Use swamps to retain organic matter in the rainforest and prevent it from continuing to flow into the sea.

This will fully utilize the water energy of the middle and lower reaches of the Congo River, while at the same time creating farmland in the rain forests of the Congo Basin.

That is to prepare more potential arable land for the future of Ming Dynasty in advance.

Wang Lai even planned to block the Amazon River and form a huge shallow swamp on the Amazon Plain to create larger-scale silt fields.

Zhu Jianxuan has never been very supportive of this kind of tropical rainforest reclamation plan.

Therefore, the planning of the Congo Reservoir is relatively conservative, with a total water surface area of ​​only about 30,000 square kilometers, which is approximately one percent of the Congo Basin.

If Wang Lai's idea were followed, the highest point of the dam should be raised to 400 meters, and the reservoir area should be at least 300,000 square kilometers, reaching one-tenth of the Congo Basin.

Zhu Jianxuan considered carefully for a long time and finally adopted the most reliable plan No. 3 for the Three Gorges Project and the most reliable four-dam plan for the Congo River water conservancy project.

A reservoir that can fully control the water flow from the middle and upper reaches of the Yangtze River is of great significance to the southern region of the Ming Dynasty.

The shipping conditions of the Yangtze River, a golden waterway, have been comprehensively upgraded again. The navigation conditions are no longer affected by seasonal flow changes, and the largest ships can still sail in winter.

At the same time, it can completely cure floods in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and provide massive amounts of clean electricity and energy.

If you have the ability, it's definitely worth doing.

The biggest price the Ming Dynasty needs to pay now is to move the Chongqing Prefecture, which has been basically emptied, slightly.

The old city walls on the Chongqing Peninsula will be flooded, the middle area of ​​the peninsula will become an island in the river, and the Guanyinqiao and Longshan areas in Jiangbei will basically not be flooded.

In the future, a large number of scenic valley reservoirs will be formed around Chongqing Prefecture.

After the completion of the Three Gorges Project, Chongqing's shipping conditions and natural environment will be much better than the original Chongqing.

In the past thirty years, although the imperial court cooperated with Duke Yu to carry out large-scale immigration, it also considered that the Three Gorges Project might flood the surrounding land.

Therefore, ordinary people were prohibited from freely migrating and living in Chongqing area.

However, the construction in Chongqing has not completely stagnated. It’s just that the area of ​​large-scale development and construction is not in the old city, but in the surrounding higher areas.

Although the indicators of the Three Gorges Project have not been fully determined, Zhu Jianxuan knew that it was impossible to build a dam over 300 meters high.

Therefore, construction can be carried out with confidence in areas above 300 meters above sea level around Chongqing.

Because Chongqing's geographical location is very important and it is the natural gateway city of Shenzhou in the southwest, it is impossible to leave it completely deserted.

Now that the planning of the Three Gorges Project has been finalized, areas above 270 meters in altitude can also be used for construction planning.

In order to cooperate with the construction of the Three Gorges Project, Chongqing will also usher in a new round of construction boom.

People living in other areas that may be flooded can now directly migrate and settle around Chongqing's future urban area.

(End of this chapter)