Fu Shanhe

Chapter 468 The Yongding River Dike Breach

"Lord Wen, don't worry."

I have no intention of criticizing the Court of State Ceremonial.

These foreign rulers dared to disregard the laws of our Great Yu, and they must pay the price.

However, no one is perfect, and everyone makes mistakes.

Their ancestors were the ones who made the mistake, and the Marquis of Hanshui has already taught them a lesson with his troops. They should be given a chance to reform.

Du Shaohua said slowly.

Bringing out the Court of State Ceremonial instead of targeting the Ministry of Rites is naturally picking on the weak.

Censors who impeach others are not held accountable, but even after leaving their position as censors, they still have to navigate the officialdom.

The position of censor is not a one-time job.

He might be transferred out of the Censorate and assigned to another government office someday due to personnel changes.

Compared to the Minister of Rites, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies was clearly easier to bully.

"Lord Du, let them talk to their ancestors about the matter of repentance and reformation."

The matter concerning foreign lands concerns the reputation of our Great Yu, and the Court of State Ceremonies must act in accordance with the rules.

If the information doesn't match, we will not recognize the identities of these foreign envoys!

Wen Siyuan said, barely suppressing his anger.

He didn't want to offend those lunatics in the Censorate, but there were some things in politics that couldn't be compromised.

Now that the work has been done, backing down would be tantamount to admitting that the previous actions were flawed.

This is not only a slap in the face to himself, but also a slap in the face to all the government offices in the capital.

After arriving in the capital, the representatives of those vassal states also visited many government offices.

To date, no government agency has acknowledged these individuals' status as envoys.

Neither the Censorate nor the Censorate publicly acknowledged that Du Shaohua could only represent himself.

"okay!"

“When it comes to vassal states, we must be extremely cautious.”

The information couldn't be verified with the Court of State Ceremonial. What if these guys were imposters? Where would that leave the face of the Great Yu Dynasty?

Similar things have happened in history.

I watched as the Three Judicial Offices sent people to the Southeast Asian region to verify their identities before considering whether to accept their apology.

The Marquis of Zhendong said it casually.

It was thought that after this incident, the civil service would take the opportunity to launch an attack, and the noble faction was prepared to fight back.

Before they could even make a move, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies used the rules to deflect the matter.

The rules of the political game need to be upheld by everyone.

The Court of State Ceremonial (鸿胪寺) operates in accordance with the regulations of the imperial court, so there is certainly no problem with it.

Since the mission's identity could not be confirmed, there was no way to file a complaint.

The Marquis of Hanshui was a high-ranking official in the Great Yu Dynasty, not just some nobody who had the right to file a complaint.

Knowing full well that the task was futile, the civil officials naturally wouldn't stubbornly insist on doing it.

Of course, they could also choose to use sophistry to circumvent the issue of determining the mission's status.

In factional struggles, the side that falls behind often resorts to this tactic.

However, everyone just wanted to take this opportunity to teach Li Mu a lesson; it wasn't a life-or-death situation, so there was no need to do something so shameless.

Several small foreign states were destroyed, but most officials didn't take it seriously.

According to these envoys, the entire war, from its outbreak to the fall of their country, lasted only a few months.

Specifically, any country that could hold out for more than a month could be considered a powerful nation in Southeast Asia.

Based on the performance of each country in the war, the officials automatically drew a map of their respective countries' territories.

Subconsciously, people believed that the territory and population of these vassal states were not even as large as a county in Dayu.

With this understanding, all the problems found a reasonable explanation.

It turns out that it wasn't that the Annam Protectorate was too powerful; it was simply that these guys were too incompetent, which allowed the Marquis of Hanshui to sweep through the Southeast Asian countries.

"Since no one objects, let's leave it at that for now!"

Before the assembled officials could speak, Grand Secretary Jiang Shuhan swiftly delivered his definitive conclusion.

To put a political wrench on the Marquis of Hanshui, one must find a suitable opportunity to gain the trust of the people.

The case brought by the vassal state delegation had procedural flaws.

Using this as an opportunity to stir up trouble will not only fail to gain credibility, but could also exacerbate political conflicts if not handled carefully.

One Liaodong Garrison is enough; if another one comes along, the Great Yu Dynasty will be finished.

The separatist rule of regional military governors has always been a sign that a dynasty is entering its final years.

Any central government must do its utmost to prevent the emergence of regional military governors.

Especially when the emperor is young, the relationship between the central government and local powers needs to be handled with extra caution.

Aside from being a bit warlike, Marquis Hanshui was fairly loyal to the court and never caused any trouble.

For the sake of the overall situation, we must prioritize winning them over issuing warnings.

The northern barbarians were rampant, raiding southwards every few days, and the northern frontier had long been suffering terribly.

If a northern expedition were to be launched one day, the most suitable person to lead the troops would still be the Marquis of Hanshui.

In the view of many officials, Yu's army was no weaker than the Northern Barbarians in terms of fighting power; the difference between the two sides lay in their cavalry and their commanders.

The main generals of the Northern Barbarians were all veterans who had earned their reputations on the battlefield.

Having fought countless battles in the north and south, he possesses extremely rich combat experience and his military command capabilities are among the best in the world.

The generals on Yu Jun's side were basically all apprentices trained by the Marquis of Hanshui.

Because the learning period was short, most generals only learned the basics, but even so, they were able to fight the enemy to a standstill.

The last major battle was a failure because the retired emperor lacked strategic planning and was led by the nose by the enemy throughout.

Since the Grand Secretary has spoken, everyone naturally has to give him face.

Du Shaohua, the person involved, didn't say anything more.

Being able to speak on their behalf in court was already a fitting reward for the gifts from the vassal state's envoy. However, disagreements arose within the civil service regarding the Marquis of Hanshui, making further progress impossible.

Compared to the other officials in the court, he was just a minor censor.

He can follow along and cheer, but he's not qualified to dominate decision-making in the court.

According to the cabinet's proposed solution, it will take at least one or two years for the three judicial departments to verify the identities.

Given that the case involves the Marquis of Hanshui, the officers and soldiers stationed in the Nanyang region may not be willing to cooperate, making the evidence collection process extremely difficult.

It's normal for cases to drag on for three to five years.

With such a long buffer period, the annexation of various countries by the Annam Protectorate became a fait accompli.

Even if Li Mu doesn't personally silence them, the imperial court will find a way to shut them up.

In any dynasty, "expanding territory" was considered a great achievement.

To achieve this political accomplishment, the cabinet will also retroactively recognize the previous military actions, turning them into an external expansion led by the central government.

The reason for not taking immediate action was that no one was certain whether the Protectorate General could gain a foothold in the Southeast Asian region.

After all, conquering the world is difficult, but maintaining it is equally difficult.

"Report!"

"Urgent report from Shuntian Prefecture: The Yongding River has breached its banks, and the floodwaters are sweeping towards the capital!"

The news brought by the soldiers instantly caused a huge uproar in the imperial court.

For most people, the disasters in other places are just cold, hard numbers.

When a natural disaster strikes right on our doorstep, we can no longer remain so calm and composed.

Historically, each breach of the Yongding River has caused enormous damage to the capital.

"Whoever oversaw the construction of the Yongding River embankment should have their entire family executed!"

A young imperial censor couldn't help but burst out.

The torrential rain outside has put enormous pressure on the city's drainage system.

Large amounts of water have accumulated in low-lying areas of the city.

At this time, the breaching of the Yongding River dike was undoubtedly adding insult to injury.

“Imperial Censor Wang, you are wronging an innocent person.”

The Yongding River embankment was built more than a hundred years ago, and there have been no problems for so long. How can the responsibility be attributed to the builders?
The breach in the Yongding River must be due to an excessive volume of water exceeding the dike's capacity.

Minister of Works Yue Xiangsong immediately refuted this.

The Ministry of Works cannot be blamed for the shoddy construction project.

Compared to other regions, the Ministry of Works definitely put in a lot of effort in the management of the Yongding River.

Both the construction of the river embankment and its subsequent maintenance were carried out with utmost care and dedication.

They even distributed 70% of the maintenance funds allocated by the imperial court, precisely to avoid any problems.

"Lord Le, the river embankment has lasted for over a hundred years, so the quality of its construction is naturally beyond question."

But now that the dam has breached, simply saying the water volume was too large won't be a convincing explanation.

Minister of Personnel Zhu Hongxuan raised a question.

It doesn't matter if there are problems with the river embankments in other places, but it's different for the Yongding River.

Every time there was a problem with the river embankment, it was always the capital that suffered.

When the floodwaters entered the city, all sorts of garbage that had accumulated in the sewers were washed up, creating a truly appalling scene.

"My lord, you can see how heavy the rain is outside."

It's hard to say about the South, but in the capital region, this is probably a once-in-a-century event.

Such extreme situations were not considered when the Yongding River embankment was built.

Yue Xiangsong immediately defended himself.

The maintenance of the river embankment cannot be inspected; if it is, the entire construction department will be in trouble.

The Ministry of Works did its best in maintaining the Yongding River embankment, but it mostly did a perfunctory job in other projects.

Once the investigation begins, all the shady dealings within the Ministry of Works will be exposed.

Not only will his subordinates be doomed, but he, the Minister of Works, will also suffer the consequences.

When the money was distributed, he, as the Minister of Works, took the largest share.

……

"Alright, we'll investigate the Yongding River breach later."

The flood has already passed, and it's impossible to stop it now; all we can do is try to clean up the mess.

The Ministry of Works has always been responsible for water management projects; we need to come up with a solution as soon as possible.

All government offices, including the Shuntian Prefecture, the Five City Garrison Command, and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, must mobilize to maintain stability in the city.

If anyone has anything to add, please say so!

Jiang Shuhan said with a solemn expression.

In the last ten years or so, the Great Yu Dynasty seemed to be cursed, with various natural disasters occurring one after another.

Being able to have a few months of peace is considered lucky.

In the past, when I was in power, I always felt that it was the emperor's incompetence and the cabinet's incompetence that caused the situation in the country to deteriorate.

Now that he has become the Grand Secretary, he suddenly realizes that many things do not necessarily yield positive results just because you work hard.

"Other problems are easy to solve, but the well water will also be polluted after the flood enters the city."

The people in the city will have problems starting fires and cooking.

If this can't be resolved, it will cause huge chaos!

Gao Jingfeng then continued the conversation.

This cabinet minister had a relatively low profile in the court.

I rarely express my stance on ordinary matters, but now I can't sit still anymore.

The flooding of the capital not only made life difficult for the ordinary people in the city, but also affected the lives of the powerful and wealthy.

Starting a fire and cooking is an unavoidable problem.

(End of this chapter)