Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 573 We must make the Yellow River clear again!

Upon hearing the emperor's question, Chen Zheng straightened up slightly, still looking down at the ground, not daring to look directly at the emperor, and solemnly replied, "Your Majesty is wise. Your invention of cement and the improved steelmaking method have increased the steel production of our Great Ming Dynasty by more than a hundred times compared to before."

"By combining cement, sand, and steel bars to cast reinforced concrete, the dike can be reinforced."

"As long as we strictly follow the construction procedures and never allow any cutting corners, the newly built dike will be as solid as a rock."

Zhu Yunwen pressed on, "Can a dike built in this way truly guarantee that the Yellow River will never breach its banks again?"

Chen Zheng's lowered head trembled slightly as he said, "Your Majesty, such a dike can naturally withstand ordinary floods."

"But if we encounter a once-in-a-century catastrophic flood, I'm afraid... I'm afraid we'll still be powerless to help."

Zhu Yunwen looked displeased and said coldly, "What I want to ask is how to fundamentally and thoroughly manage the Yellow River so that it will never breach its banks again. What use are your flattering words to me?"

Chen Zheng bowed deeply, respectfully cupped his hands in greeting, and said, "Your Majesty, the Yellow River's breaches and floods have likely occurred tens of thousands of years ago."

“Even counting from the time of Yu the Great’s flood control efforts, it has been thousands of years.”

"Your humble servant previously served as a river engineer, managing the Yellow River for over twenty years."

"Forgive my bluntness, but the Yellow River problem can only be addressed with temporary measures, not with any fundamental solution."

"Reinforcing the riverbanks with steel and cement to make them indestructible is currently the best option in the governance strategy."

"Although the risk of levee breaches cannot be completely eliminated, the risk of breaches and floods that used to occur every three years or even every year can be significantly reduced to once every ten, twenty or even thirty years."

"This is the best result that can be achieved by human effort!"

Chen Zheng paused for a moment, his voice tinged with helplessness and bitterness, and continued, "As for the method Your Majesty desires to ensure that the Yellow River will never breach its banks, I have pondered it for twenty years and personally put it into practice for twenty years. Please forgive my dullness, but I really cannot come up with one."

"Not only me, but none of my colleagues who worked with me to manage the Yellow River could come up with such a solution."

“Since the time of Yu the Great, countless sages and heroes have failed to find a way to completely eradicate the disease.”

As the saying goes, "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

"The Yellow River is a suspended river that descends from the sky. Its floods can only be managed and the damage reduced, but they cannot be completely eradicated."

Zhu Yunwen gave him a deep look, then looked away at the rolling Yellow River flowing eastward, and asked again, "Is there really no way to completely cure this?"

Chen Zheng respectfully replied, "Your Majesty, the biggest problem with the Yellow River is the enormous amount of sediment in its waters."

"Sediment is carried downstream by the water and continuously accumulates at the bottom of the riverbed, causing the riverbed to rise year by year, eventually forming a 'suspended river'."

"In order to prevent the water from overflowing, we can only keep raising the river embankment."

"This process repeated itself, and the riverbed became higher and higher, and the river embankments were built higher and higher. When floods came, the water level also rose accordingly."

"Once the dikes are breached, the Yellow River will change course, forming a new riverbed, thus creating a vicious cycle that continues endlessly."

"To ensure that the Yellow River never breaches its banks again means that the Yellow River must never change its course again."

"The only way to prevent it from changing course is to stop the riverbed from rising."

"This would only be possible if the Yellow River were to become clearer and stop carrying such a huge amount of silt."

"But as everyone knows, the Yellow River has been known for its 'turbidity' since ancient times, so how could it possibly become clear?"

A faint smile appeared on Zhu Yunwen's lips as he said softly, "Is that so? Is it really impossible for the Yellow River to become clear again? What if I insist on making the Yellow River clear?"

Chen Zheng stood there stunned for a long time. Then, he suddenly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly, saying, "Your Majesty, it is absolutely impossible to make the Yellow River clear again!"

He kowtowed several times and advised, "Your Majesty befriends virtuous ministers and stays away from treacherous officials, which has made the government efficient and the country peaceful and prosperous, allowing the people to live and work in peace and contentment."

"Heaven will sense Your Majesty's benevolent rule and will not easily send down disasters, and the Yellow River will naturally not easily breach its banks."

"This may be the ultimate way to fundamentally manage the Yellow River."

"Oh?" Zhu Yunwen responded indifferently, his voice extremely light, and said, "Are you saying that this year's Yellow River breach was caused by my failure to implement virtuous governance?"

The words weren't loud, but to Chen Zheng, they were like a sudden clap of thunder.

He was terrified and kowtowed repeatedly, protesting, "Your Majesty, I had no such intention! I am terrified, I would never dare!"

Zhu Yunwen's tone suddenly turned cold: "Confucius once said, 'Respect the spirits and gods, but keep them at a distance.' You are a scholar who has read many books; surely you don't understand this simple principle?"

"Heaven moves forever, it does not exist for Yao, nor does it perish for Jie."

"I established the lineage of 'science' precisely so that you would observe the principles of all things in nature, understand the laws of nature, and utilize and change them, rather than engaging in empty talk about the relationship between heaven and man..."

His voice trailed off at this point, without uttering the word "sensation," and he calmed down, saying, "From now on, don't say such nonsense to me again."

Originally, Zhu Yuntong wanted to directly rebuke Chen Zheng and tell him to stop spouting absurd nonsense like "the interaction between heaven and man".

However, as the words were about to come out, he suddenly realized that the idea of ​​being "divinely ordained" was precisely the cornerstone of his legitimacy to rule.

Only by "receiving the mandate of Heaven" could Zhu Yunwen rightfully and securely sit on the throne.

If this point is broken rashly, the first to lose the legitimacy of his rule will be the emperor himself.

Of course, even today, Zhu Yunwen has enough confidence in himself, knowing that he has accumulated high prestige among the people.

Even stripped of the "divine right of kings" aura, Zhu Yunwen was still able to firmly grasp supreme power.

In later societies where science has become more widespread, many heads of state have not claimed to be "chosen by God," nor has this affected their rule in the slightest.

However, from any perspective, completely dispelling this claim now would not benefit Zhu Yunwen at all.

In the Ming Dynasty today, the vast majority of people still firmly believe that the emperor is the Son of Heaven, chosen by Heaven, and possesses a sacred and inviolable status.

If this understanding is overturned rashly, it will only plunge the people into confusion and may even increase the risk of social unrest in the Ming Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen always adopted a delicate balancing strategy.

On the one hand, he devoted himself to promoting the development of "science," while on the other hand, he tacitly approved of the concept of "divine right of kings."

Furthermore, the Imperial University of Peking even offered special courses to demonstrate the legitimacy of the emperor's rule from a "scientific" perspective.

Zhu Yunwen would naturally not do something that contradicts himself.

Furthermore, although science and theology are inherently in conflict, those who adhere to theology can also become outstanding scientists and make remarkable scientific contributions.

These two are not absolutely opposed.

A devout believer does not prevent him from conducting scientific research.

In later generations, in many scientific laboratories, some scientists would even perform a "prayer" before conducting experiments, praying to the gods and Buddhas to bless their experiments so that they could succeed.

Scientists with religious beliefs are even more numerous.

Zhu Yunwen, of course, would not allow so-called "theology" to become a stumbling block to the progress of "science." The Ming Academy of Sciences and the Imperial University of Peking had already fully launched their exploration of the universe and celestial bodies.

With the help of newly developed telescopes, they have conducted a more in-depth exploration of the mysteries of the universe, rather than simply predicting human fortune and misfortune by observing celestial phenomena, as was the case with the former Imperial Astronomical Bureau.

Of course, with the rapid development of science, the "theocratic theory" has also evolved.

As the saying goes, "As long as you are the victor, there will be great scholars to debate the classics for you."

As long as the power of the Ming Dynasty remained stable, those learned scholars would naturally develop a brand-new "theocratic theory" to sing praises of the regime's legitimacy.

No matter how advanced science becomes, it can never escape this framework.

It was precisely because he understood this that Zhu Yunwen dared to unleash the beast of "science" without any scruples, letting it roam freely.

Unlike the later Qing Dynasty, which, in order to maintain its own rule and stability, forcibly stifled many scientific ideas in their cradle, ultimately causing the country to fall behind the world.

Upon hearing the emperor's stern reprimand, Chen Zheng immediately bowed and acknowledged the emperor's reprimand, daring not to show the slightest negligence.

Zhu Yunwen turned his gaze back to the surging Yellow River and said, “The Yellow River has not always been so muddy. The Book of Songs records that the Yellow River’s waters are ‘clear and rippling.’”

"This is enough to prove that in the early Western Zhou Dynasty, the Yellow River was still crystal clear."

He withdrew his gaze and looked at Chen Zheng again, saying, "If you don't believe me, you can go home and carefully read through the classics to verify it."

Since transmigrating to this world, Zhu Yunwen has spent far more time reading than in his previous life.

He has a particularly deep understanding of classical Chinese texts.

There were no cell phones or the internet in this era. Although he was an emperor, his entertainment life was still rich. However, compared with the life of being inseparable from cell phones 24 hours a day in later generations, it was undoubtedly a world of difference.

At least, his fragmented time is no longer filled with meaningless information, and his brain gets a full rest.

Whether handling government affairs, enjoying entertainment, or immersing himself in reading, he has more energy.

Before inspecting the Yellow River, Zhu Yunwen had specifically consulted relevant classic texts, which is why he was able to speak fluently and readily.

Chen Zheng quickly replied, "Your Majesty's teachings are absolutely correct! The Book of Songs, in the section 'Wei Feng: Cutting the Sandalwood,' does indeed contain the line, 'Chop, chop, cutting the sandalwood, placing it on the riverbank, the river water is clear and rippling.'"

"Judging from these verses, the Yellow River at that time was indeed undoubtedly clear."

"It wasn't until the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when the world was in chaos, that the Yellow River gradually became muddy."

"Your Majesty is learned in both heaven and man, which is why you can see the truth in a single sentence."

"I have been governing the Yellow River for many years, yet I never thought of this aspect. I am truly ashamed."

"After returning home, your humble servant will certainly obey Your Majesty's decree and study diligently!"

Zhu Yunwen couldn't help but give Chen Zheng a deep look.

Although I remember there is a line in the Book of Songs that describes the Yellow River, I can't quite recall which poem it is from.

Chen Zheng was able to accurately identify the poem "Cutting Sandalwood" from the Book of Songs (specifically, the section on the Wei Feng section).

When it comes to quoting classical texts and nitpicking over words, I really can't compare to these traditional scholars.

But on second thought, isn't this just as reasonable?

The Book of Poetry is one of the "Four Books and Five Classics".

Which civil or military official in the imperial court cannot recite it fluently?

The ancient books I read were nothing compared to those of the traditional scholars of this era.

However, Zhu Yunwen did not feel embarrassed by this.

Everyone has his strong and weak points.

My strengths don't lie in that.

Zhu Yunwen did not dwell on this point, but changed the subject, saying, "The reason why the Yellow River is muddy is because human activities have destroyed the vegetation of the Loess Plateau in the upper reaches."

"Once the vegetation is lost, soil erosion becomes more and more serious, and a large amount of silt is poured into the river, resulting in the muddy and yellowish-brown landscape we see today."

"Therefore, making the Yellow River clear is not actually that difficult."

"Simply plant trees extensively on the Loess Plateau, and let those barren hills be covered in lush greenery once again."

"The tree roots stabilize the soil, preventing silt from entering the river, and the Yellow River will gradually become clear."

He paused, his gaze drifting into the distance.

"The Loess Plateau was originally a vast and boundless primeval forest, with branches and leaves blocking out the sun and full of vitality... but later, human axes, saws and torches shaved it away inch by inch."

"When people lacked food, they had no choice but to destroy forests to cultivate wasteland; when they lacked firewood for heating, they felled trees everywhere."

"Year after year, the destruction of forests has become increasingly serious. The mud and sand on the ground are washed down by water and enter the Yellow River, which is why the Yellow River is the way it is today."

"Now, the granaries of our Great Ming are full, and there is enough grain to feed all the people in the world. Moreover, the output increases year by year."

"We have coal for heating, so there's no need to cut down trees anymore."

"This is a good opportunity to replant trees and make the Loess Plateau green again."

Zhu Yunwen knew that although the technology of later generations was more advanced, turning the Loess Plateau green would not necessarily be easier than it is now, and might even be much more difficult.

In later generations, the Loess Plateau became densely populated, with a total population exceeding one hundred million.

The larger the population, the heavier the dependence on land, and the more difficult it is to promote the conversion of farmland back to forest.

Although later generations implemented policies to convert farmland back to forest, the scale and pace were strictly controlled, and no one dared to convert too much or too quickly.

Because in later generations, China had too large a population and too little arable land per capita, resulting in a severe food shortage.

The country has no choice but to make great efforts to protect arable land.

The Ming Dynasty today, however, benefits precisely from its relatively sparse population, which is less than one-tenth of that of later generations, resulting in a much larger per capita arable land area.

Under Zhu Yunwen's "scientific" guidance, the yield per unit area per mu steadily increased.

Even without considering any foreign grain imports, the Ming Dynasty's current grain reserves are more than enough to meet its own needs, with a large surplus.

Implementing the policy of returning farmland to forest and protecting soil and water was much easier at this time than it was in later years when the conflict between people and land was acute.

……

(End of this chapter)