Ming Dynasty: Ask Zhu Yuanzhang to abdicate at the beginning

Chapter 575 South-to-North Water Diversion Project! A Further Exploration of the Intricacies of Officialdom!
Zhu Yunwen pondered for a moment and said, "Immediately send a telegram to Nanjing, ordering Xia Yuanji to assume the position of Imperial Commissioner in the capacity of Minister of State Affairs, overseeing the construction of the Yellow River's 'Lüdi' and 'Yaodi', as well as all related resettlement matters."

"All local governments along the route must fully cooperate and must not be negligent in the slightest."

Zhu Yunwen's eyes sharpened, and he said sternly, "Anyone who disobeys the imperial decree, pretends to comply but does not, obstructs the process, takes the opportunity to embezzle, oppresses the people, or deceives the superiors, shall be punished by Xia Yuanji according to the severity of the circumstances. He may act expediently and, if necessary, execute first and report later."

Xia Yuanji was accomplished in financial management and water control, and as a minister of state affairs, local officials dared not disobey his orders and transferred him to handle this matter, which can be described as making the best use of his talents.

Upon hearing that the emperor had appointed a high-ranking official to oversee the management of the Yellow River, Chen Zheng felt greatly relieved and bowed in admiration, saying, "Your Majesty is wise!"

Zhu Yunwen's gaze returned to Chen Zheng, scrutinizing him from head to toe. "You said you've been managing the Yellow River for twenty years and can come up with a strategy for controlling it. It seems you do have some real talent."

Chen Zheng said that the plan he presented was not leaked to him by any official in the court, and Zhu Yunwen actually believed him to some extent.

One source is information from the imperial court. Although it is often leaked, unless it is officially announced, it is not something that a prefect like Chen Zheng, who is far away in Henan, can easily find out.

Especially what the emperor said.

Ministers might leak information, but they wouldn't leak it casually.

Chen Zheng worked in the river management office for twenty years until recently when he was promoted and appointed as the prefect of Guide Prefecture due to the floods that had struck the prefecture.

Such a person almost certainly doesn't have any powerful connections.

Secondly, even if he did find out what the emperor said in court and wanted to curry favor with him, no one is a fool.

Everyone knows that speaking exactly like the emperor will only arouse suspicion.

A smart person will deliberately say something different.

As long as some of them align with the emperor's ideas, that's enough.

However, Chen Zheng's suggestion was completely consistent with what Zhu Yunwen said in court.

This actually suggests that he probably didn't find out any relevant information, which is why he offered this advice.

The two of them just happened to have the same idea about managing the Yellow River.

This is not surprising.

Ultimately, there are only a few ways to manage the Yellow River.

With careful consideration, it is easy to reach a consistent conclusion.

Zhu Yunwen changed his tone and said, "In my opinion, the position of Prefect of Guide Prefecture is not suitable for you due to your temperament."

When the government affairs office transferred Chen Zheng to the position of prefect of Guide Prefecture, it may have been because they sensed problems in the Henan officialdom and intended to bring in a clean official from outside.

On the other hand, Guide Prefecture is suffering from an unprecedented flood and indeed needs an official who is well-versed in flood control to handle the aftermath.

However, there are huge differences between routine local administration and the professional work of governing the Yellow River.

Zhu Yuntong felt that Chen Zheng was better suited to play a role in his professional field.

"Once the aftermath of this flood is settled, you will become Xia Yuanji's deputy and assist him in handling the important matter of Yellow River management."

"Your Majesty, I accept the decree and thank you for your great favor!"

Chen Zheng immediately kowtowed, overjoyed.

When His Majesty the Emperor said that he was not suitable to serve as the prefect, his heart tightened suddenly, and he was truly frightened.

Chen Zheng was well aware of his own limitations; he had devoted twenty years of his life to the management of the Yellow River, almost half of his life's work to it.

In terms of expertise, my skills are indeed only suitable for continuing to work on river management.

However, who wouldn't want to go further and rise to the top?
The power and official position of the Prefect of Guide Prefecture were far greater than his previous positions.

If he had the freedom to choose, he would certainly prefer to be the local prefect, governing a region and experiencing the feeling of commanding the country.

But His Majesty the Emperor bluntly stated that he was not suitable for the position of prefect?

How could this not make him feel nervous and uneasy?

To everyone's surprise, the emperor not only did not demote him, but promoted him again.

His promotion from an ordinary river official to the prefect of Guide Prefecture was already a testament to the importance the government had placed on him.

However, Guide Prefecture was a prefecture that had just suffered a major disaster, which gave it a sense of being "appointed in a time of crisis".

Only if things are done well can the position of prefect be considered secure.

If you don't do well, you might lose your official position or even your head.

However, Chen Zheng remained confident and determined to govern Guide Prefecture well and deliver a satisfactory report to the government affairs office.

However, he immediately encountered united resistance from the Henan officialdom upon taking office.

If it weren't for His Majesty the Emperor's personal inspection tour of Henan, this prefect, who was essentially sidelined, would likely have followed the same path as his predecessor sooner or later.

They either had to collude with the officials in Henan's bureaucracy, or they would be made scapegoats and brought to justice by the imperial court.

The complexities of local officialdom far surpass those of the river management department.

Now, His Majesty the Emperor has ordered him to return to the river channel, but he has also become the deputy of Minister of State Affairs Xia Yuanji.

Although the rank has not yet been determined, the fact that a Minister of State personally led the effort demonstrates its importance.

Becoming the deputy to the Minister of State Affairs is a much closer position to the core of power than serving as the prefect of Guide Prefecture, and the future prospects are much brighter.

Chen Zheng was overjoyed.

Zhu Yunwen then inquired in detail about the resettlement of the disaster victims in Guide Prefecture and the progress of various follow-up matters after the Yellow River breached its banks.

After gaining a clear understanding, he gave some instructions and then returned to his residence to begin drafting more detailed specific measures and implementation plans for the management of the Yellow River.

The following morning, Zhu Yunwen set off to inspect the Grand Canal.

Although the fall of the Sui Dynasty was inextricably linked to the construction of the Grand Canal, it is undeniable that this magnificent waterway had a profound impact on later generations.

After the Yuan Dynasty established its capital in Beiping, it carried out a large-scale renovation of the Grand Canal in order to transport grain from the south to the north smoothly. The most important measure was to "straighten the bends," which greatly improved the canal's shipping efficiency.

After all, the main task of the Grand Canal in the past was to transport grain to Luoyang and Chang'an.
This is quite different from the later system that was opened to facilitate the transport of grain to Beiping.

During the Yuan Dynasty, the Grand Canal's transportation capacity was stronger than in previous dynasties, and the amount of grain transported reached its peak.

However, after the fall of the Yuan Dynasty, the Grand Canal fell into disrepair. Although the Ming Dynasty made some repairs for its northern expeditions, its overall condition was still far from what it used to be.

In addition, the Yellow River has repeatedly breached its banks, causing siltation and blockage of the canal, making navigation increasingly difficult.

In Zhu Yunwen's view, the greatest value of the canal was not just in transporting grain.

After all, with the advent of steamships, sea transport became more cost-effective and had greater capacity than river transport.

Moreover, with steam locomotives already invented, the laying of a north-south railway was only a matter of time.

In fact, railway surveys and planning are already underway, and preliminary preparations are gradually unfolding. Canals, after all, are man-made, and their depth and width are limited.

Although it is navigable, its transport capacity is not very large.

During the Yuan Dynasty, approximately three million shi (a unit of dry measure) of grain were transported northward annually.

According to the original historical development, even at its peak during the Ming and Qing dynasties, the annual output was no more than four million shi (a unit of dry measure).

One shi (石) is equivalent to about 120 jin (斤), which translates to an annual transport volume of about 500 million jin (斤), or 250,000 tons.

It seems like a lot at first glance, but this is the total amount for an entire year.

To maintain this scale, the imperial court had to support hundreds of thousands of canal workers.

On average, a canal worker could only transport one ton of grain a year, or even less.

If we include the grain consumed by the canal workers and their families, the amount of grain they consumed would probably be far more than the amount of grain they transported.

From an efficiency standpoint, this mode of transportation is shockingly inefficient; it can only be described as "appalling."

However, Zhu Yunwen had no intention of abandoning the Grand Canal.

On the contrary, he already had a plan in mind to make the canal play a greater role.

It is not only about continuing to transport supplies, but more importantly, about using it as a channel for the South-to-North Water Diversion Project!

The prelude to the Little Ice Age has quietly begun.

A series of unusual weather and climate events have occurred, causing unease among the people.

Although the Yellow River basin suffered from floods this year, Zhu Yunwen was well aware that the biggest crisis in the north in the next few years would probably not be floods, but rather the widespread drought brought about by the severe cold weather.

Because of the backdrop of the Little Ice Age, the most prominent feature of the North is the extreme scarcity of rainfall.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project must be launched as soon as possible.

After all, such a massive project cannot be completed overnight.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty had already entered the wave of the Industrial Revolution.

Steam engines were being manufactured in large quantities, steel production capacity increased dramatically, and reservoirs were being built in various places.

Overall, it has basically acquired the capability to carry out the South-to-North Water Diversion Project.

As for the transport of goods, that was merely an additional benefit brought about by this project.

Moreover, with the support of steamships and a whole set of new technologies, the same canal could carry far more than just four million shi (a unit of dry measure) a year.

In Zhu Yunwen's calculations, his material transportation capacity could potentially be increased tenfold, or even a hundredfold!
After the inspection, he immediately made a decision to coordinate the repair of the Grand Canal with the management of the Yellow River, and Xia Yuanji was put in charge of the project.

From this point on, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project of the Ming Dynasty was officially launched.

Zhu Yunwen summoned local officials and gave them a speech, demanding that all regions must both prevent floods and combat drought.

The vast North China Plain should be transformed into the granary of the Ming Dynasty.

Instead of relying on grain transfers from the south in the long term.

The emperor's speech caused a great stir on the spot and was even telegraphed back to Nanjing and published in the "Da Ming Daily", spreading throughout the country at the fastest speed.

In fact, the advent of the telegraph also completely changed the operating logic of the Da Ming Daily.

In the past, apart from regional newspapers edited and printed by local branches, all other newspapers distributed nationwide had to be printed in Nanjing and then transported by horse-drawn carriages to major cities for distribution.

With the advent of the telegraph, news releases from the head office could be transmitted directly to various locations, allowing local branches to type, print, and distribute them locally, no longer hampered by traffic delays.

First, the headquarters in Nanjing would compile and organize the content to be published in the "Da Ming Daily," confirming it word by word to ensure accuracy. Then, it would be transmitted to the provincial branches via telegram, where the branches would type and print it, and then distribute it to various regions.

In this way, the people of Taiyuan, Shanxi, could read the same newspaper on the same day as the readers in Nanjing.

The speed of information dissemination has thus undergone a qualitative leap.

Admittedly, telegrams are now priced by word count, and the Ming Daily compiles a large amount of news content into telegrams and sends them to various places every day, which costs an astonishing amount of money.

However, compared to the previous model, printing telegrams in Nanjing and then transporting them to major cities by horse-drawn carriages could actually save a lot of manpower and resources.

This transformation not only benefited the newspaper office but also opened up new avenues for profit for the telegraph department, promoting further construction and investment in telegraph stations and lines.

The South-to-North Water Diversion Project seems too advanced to both officials and ordinary people, and very few people can truly understand its profound meaning.

However, Zhu Yunwen was an emperor with real power and enough courage to do what he wanted to do, so naturally no one could stop him.

After the imperial edict was issued, there were few dissenting voices in the court.

After all, His Majesty the Emperor's thinking has always been unconventional, but every decision he has made has been proven correct by facts.

Even though the ministers were surprised and doubtful, they could only submit in the end.

Gradually, fewer and fewer officials in the court voiced their opposition to his new policies.

After taking care of these matters, Zhu Yunwen did not rest for long, but continued north to Shandong without stopping.

Having finally managed to leave Beijing, he naturally wanted to inspect as many places as possible.

Shandong was also affected by the Yellow River dike breach, but the damage was much less severe than in Henan.

He only became aware of the corruption in Henan's officialdom after personally visiting the area. What about Shandong?

Does Shandong also harbor the same deep-seated problems?
It should be noted that Xi Zhaoxue, the woman who once stopped a car on the road to appeal for justice, was from Shandong.

The case she accused of framing her younger brother, Xi Yunlang, was simple, but it was met with collusion among officials in the local bureaucracy, and the truth was never revealed.

Although Zhu Yunwen did not personally preside over the case, he always kept it in mind.

This time, he not only wanted to inspect the disaster situation, but also to take the opportunity to probe the depths of Shandong's officialdom.

Furthermore, Shandong is the hometown of Confucius, and Zhu Yunwen also planned to visit it on his trip to personally offer sacrifices.

Although he was wholeheartedly promoting "new learning" and "science," which was contrary to many of the ideas advocated by Confucius, Zhu Yunwen always adhered to pragmatism.

His approach was not to completely negate the old "way of the sages," but rather to cleverly interpret things that were originally completely unrelated as interconnected.

Once "new learning" and "science" are cloaked in the guise of "theories of sages," those who claim to uphold Confucian doctrines will have no grounds to oppose them.

Otherwise, that would be opposing a sage!
As for those who already support new learning and science, they can immediately see that this is using Confucius's name as a pretext.

They won't object; on the contrary, they'll be happy to see it happen.

……

(End of this chapter)