I was compiling the daily records during the Wanli reign

Chapter 198 River Management! With a sufficient budget, strategies flow like a spring.

The eighth day of the third month of the sixth year of the Wanli reign.

Just as the young Wanli Emperor was full of fighting spirit, and the officials in the capital were also preparing to meet the new challenges brought about by the nationwide land survey.

Chen Zan, the 74-year-old Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate, resigned due to illness.

This is not an excuse.

However, Chen Zan was seriously ill and unable to get out of bed, and the imperial physician said that he did not have much time left.

Helpless, Emperor Wanli sent someone to visit him and granted his request to resign and recuperate, while also promoting Chen Kai, the Left Vice Censor-in-Chief, to Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

Chen Zi was a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in the 20th year of the Jiajing reign (

At fifty-six years old this year, with an upright, steady, and pragmatic character, he is the best candidate to succeed the Left Censor-in-Chief of the Censorate.

None of the officials raised any objections.

Just then, another piece of bad news arrived.

Wu Guifang, the Governor-General of the Grand Canal, who had just taken office last September at the young age of 58, died in office.

When news of his death reached the capital, the entire court was in an uproar.

Officials said he died from overwork and stress caused by the heavy workload of river transport.

An official claimed that Wu Guifang died of anger because the imperial court's allocation of funds was not timely, local government departments failed to coordinate properly, and the construction, dredging, and transportation of river works on both sides of the Caohe River did not meet the requirements.

Some officials even said privately: Whoever is in charge of river transport will die young!
Such remarks are made because being the current head of the river transport system is extremely difficult.

Before Wu Guifang took office as the Governor-General of the Yellow River and the Yellow River.

The river and canal were divided into two sections: the River Commissioner was in charge of the river channels, and the Canal Transport Commissioner was in charge of the canal transport. However, because the powers of the river channels and the canal transport overlapped, they would shirk their responsibilities when problems arose.

The river management was neglected in terms of river maintenance and shipping, prioritizing the people over the grain transport, which led to frequent backflow of the Yellow River and silt blocking the canals.

The officials in charge of the canal transport were in charge of transporting grain but not of repairing the river. They protected the grain transport but not the people, and frequently damaged sluice gates, dams and culverts, causing the Yellow River to flood every year.

Ever since.

The imperial court repairs the river every year, but it only wastes money and manpower, and the floods and blockages in the canal transport remain the same.

Zhang Juzheng, having reached his limit, abolished the position of Grand Censor of Waterways in August of last year, merging waterways and grain transport into a new position of Grand Canal Governor.

The Governor-General of the River Transport had great power.

He was responsible for both river management and grain transport, as well as military affairs, and had the power to impeach incompetent local officials in the four provinces of Hebei, Shandong, Henan, and Jiangsu along the river.

It can be said that he held military, political, and financial power over the management of rivers and canals.

After this official position was established.

The court officials were arguing fiercely over the selection of the Governor-General of the Grand Canal.

The Governor-General of the Grand Canal was a technical official who had to be knowledgeable about river management; this was a position that not every official could hold.

There were three candidates at the time.

They were: Fu Xizhi, the Grand Canal Commissioner and Imperial Censor of the Waterways; Wu Guifang, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner; and Pan Jixun, the Governor of Jiangxi, who had two experiences in river management.

The three men had very different philosophies on river management.

Fu Xizhi advocated prioritizing blocking over digging new canals, ensuring smooth water transport, and only secondarily addressing the Yellow River flooding.

The advantage of this plan is that it is inexpensive, flexible, and can effectively ensure the normal operation of the canal. However, it is a minor repair and cannot solve the fundamental problem.

Wu Guifang advocated restoring the old course of the Yellow River and dredging at its estuary, emphasizing the combination of dredging and water storage.

This plan costs more than Fu Xizhi's, and the project is mainly concentrated in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, which can temporarily solve some problems.

Pan Jixun proposed the strategy of "constraining water to attack sand and clearing away yellow water," emphasizing the construction of dikes, controlling water speed, and unifying the main stream to stabilize the river.

This plan involves a large-scale project with high material costs and is difficult to implement. In the short term, it is a waste of manpower and resources, and the long-term effects are hard to guarantee.

After all, the Yellow River has flooded for thousands of years, and no one can predict its temperament!

Finally, after deliberation in court.

Zhang Juzheng chose Wu Guifang's proposal and appointed him as the Governor-General of the Grand Canal.

Now that Wu Guifang has suddenly passed away, the imperial court is facing a dilemma in selecting a new governor-general for the Grand Canal.

Wu Guifang's subordinate river officials and canal transport officials were unable to gain the respect of the people, while those in other positions who understood river management had different ideas from Wu Guifang's.

Furthermore, the disagreements over officials' river management strategies last year were too great.

Some officials in charge of river management were disheartened, and if the court forced them to take on the task, they might prefer to resign rather than go to manage the river.

River management has always been a thankless and arduous task.

Among them, the one who was hurt the most was Pan Jixun, the current governor of Jiangxi.

His proposed strategy of "constraining water to attack sand and clearing the yellow" required the construction of hundreds of miles of dikes and embankments along both banks of the Yellow River, mainly made of earth and bricks. This was criticized by officials as a repeated waste of money and failure to achieve the goal.

Pan Jixun was criticized because during his previous tenure as the head of the waterway, a cargo ship capsized, leading to his dismissal. Furthermore, no one believed he could completely solve the Yellow River's problems, so they all disapproved of him.

This job is difficult for anyone who does it, they'll get scolded, and they might even die young.

Emperor Wanli and the cabinet urged the Ministry of Personnel to quickly select suitable candidates.

Wang Guoguang, the Minister of Personnel, recommended five people over three days, but all of them were rejected by the young Wanli Emperor and the cabinet.

……

That afternoon, the cabinet was on duty.

Wang Guoguang sat opposite the three cabinet ministers with a bitter face, looking aggrieved.

"My esteemed elders, I truly cannot recommend a suitable candidate for the position of Grand Canal Governor. Whoever is appointed will be busy but ineffective, or even busy but making mistakes. For thousands of years, no one has been able to control the Yellow River. It would be better to simply select a river official and have him follow Governor Wu's river management policies to ensure the smooth flow of grain transport as much as possible!"

Lu Diaoyang, Ma Ziqiang, and Yin Zhengmao all had dark faces.

Emperor Wanli and his followers wanted to find someone who could manage the river effectively, save money, and win the hearts of the people.

However, none of these three conditions are currently met.

Seeing that the three remained silent, Wang Guoguang thought for a moment and then said, "I have one more person I can recommend!"

"Who?"

The eyes of the three Grand Secretaries gleamed.

“Me!” Wang Guoguang straightened his back and said, “As the Minister of Personnel, I have failed to select a river management official who satisfies His Majesty and the three Grand Secretaries. I am guilty. I am willing to take charge of the river transport. I cannot guarantee that the Yellow River will be clear and the canal transport will be smooth, but I can still become the second official to die in office!”

Lu Diaoyang and the other two immediately lost their temper.

Wang Guoguang is 77 years old. Although he is in good health and has a ruddy complexion, given the difficulty of the work on the river canal, he may not be able to work for more than a month before he dies in office.

Lu Diaoyang scoffed, "Alright! We won't urge you to recommend a candidate for Governor-General of the River Transport anymore. Let's brainstorm together!"

Say it.

Lu Diaoyang looked at the Secretariat Drafting Officials not far away and said, "Order all the Drafting Officials of the Drafting Office to come to the Cabinet to discuss the selection of the Governor-General of the Yellow River and the Yellow River!"

Ma Ziqiang thought for a moment and added, "Order Minister Guo of the Ministry of Works to come here as well!"

Guo Chaobin, the Minister of Works, also had unique insights into river management.

In the third year of the Wanli Emperor's reign, Fu Xizhi, the Grand Canal Commissioner and Governor of Shanxi, petitioned to excavate the Jiaolai Canal. The aim was to shorten the distance for grain transport, avoid areas where the Yellow River silted up the canal, and reduce the time required to transport grain to Jizhou and Liaodong. This plan was described as having excellent results, but it was extremely expensive.

At that time, Zhang Juzheng and others discussed for a long time. In order to avoid the suffering of the Yellow River, they gritted their teeth and agreed to the river management plan, which would cost up to a million taels of silver.

Of all the officials in the court, only Guo Chaobin opposed it.

Guo Chaobin's reasons were insufficient water supply, difficulty in dredging the river channel, and the fact that the river channel was easily silted up due to the influence of sea waves.

In the end, Guo Chaobin's prediction came true.

After this policy was implemented, it cost a lot of money, took a long time to complete, and seriously affected the livelihoods of people on both sides of the original river channel, so it had to be abandoned in the end.

The hundreds of thousands of taels of silver invested were all wasted.

Therefore, the plan was shelved, and money was wasted. The imperial court will seriously consider the budget in subsequent river management policies.

……

After a while.

Minister of Works Guo Chaobin and a group of officials from the Drafting Department came to the Cabinet Office.

Everyone spoke freely and began to discuss the best candidate for the position of Governor-General of the River Transport.

Some people mentioned Fu Xizhi, some mentioned Wang Zongmu, and some mentioned Li Shida...

These were all officials who had served as river officials and canal transport officials, and who had certain insights into river management.

However, most people do not agree with Wu Guifang's river management philosophy.

After all three cabinet ministers rejected these candidates, people began to discuss strategies for river management.

Some argue that the Yellow River in its middle and lower reaches has become a suspended river above ground, carrying too much silt and making it impossible to completely control. They suggest focusing on dredging the waterway for transporting grain, leaving the issue of drought or flooding to fate.

Some people believe that the current approach should be to use whichever strategy saves money, since the final result will inevitably be no result, so it is better to put the money elsewhere.

Some people also felt that the court should hold another meeting to discuss river management strategies, and perhaps a new strategy would emerge.

……

Shen Nian had some knowledge of river transport, but he remained silent.

Because his ideal candidate was Pan Jixun, but Pan Jixun's plan was too expensive, and he couldn't guarantee its effectiveness to anyone at the moment, Shen Nian's recommendation of him would not be accepted by the public.

Shen Nian did not participate in last year's court meeting.

However, it is also known that Pan Jixun was heavily criticized. When he finally learned that Wu Guifang had become the Governor-General of the Grand Canal, he tore his own river management plan to shreds, and almost wrote "I don't even care about managing the river" on his face.

Even if the imperial court ordered Pan Jixun to manage the river, Pan Jixun might not agree.

About half an hour later.

Ma Ziqiang noticed that Shen Nian hadn't said a word.

"Ziheng, why have you remained silent? Do you have a suitable candidate in mind? Or do you have another plan?"

Immediately, everyone looked at Shen Nian.

"Reporting to Grand Secretary Ma, there is currently no suitable candidate and no good solution, but I have another idea."

Shen Nian turned to look at Yin Zhengmao and asked, "Grand Secretary Yin, how much silver does the imperial court allocate to the river transport in a year?"

Yin Zhengmao thought for a moment.

“In recent years, the imperial court has carried out intermittent dike repair projects for river management. Each construction project costs about 30,000 to 100,000 taels of silver, and the daily maintenance of the river channel costs about 30,000 taels of silver per year.”

"Then...can you come up with one million taels for river management this year?"

Yin Zhengmao was taken aback and asked in confusion, "Ziheng, do you have a good plan for controlling the river? If you can eradicate the river disaster, I will take the officials of the Ministry of Revenue out to beg and raise one million taels!"

Shen Nian smiled helplessly and cupped his hands, saying, "I have no good solution."

"In my opinion, the best solution at present is Governor Pan's strategy of 'constraining the water to attack the sand and clear the yellow soil,' but whether this strategy can make the Yellow River calm is still uncertain."

"I just felt that when we were discussing the river management strategy, we subconsciously thought about how to save money. The suggestions we made were all small-scale and the words implied that the river disaster was insurmountable and that we could only solve problems as they arose."

"If the imperial court could clearly state that it would allocate at least one million taels of silver to solve the river problem, would people be able to offer more strategies, and would officials skilled in river management be more willing to participate?"

"I believe the imperial court must adopt a fundamental approach to solving the river problem."

"A clear Yellow River is a sign of a prosperous era, and a peaceful Yellow River is key to ensuring that people all over the world have enough to eat. We measure the fields precisely to enrich the national treasury while enabling people to live a good life. Spending a lot of money often saves a lot of money!"

"Therefore, I suggest that the court directly propose to allocate at least one million taels of silver to manage the river disaster and grant special privileges to the officials in charge of river management. Everything else can be compromised for the sake of river management. In this way, officials will surely volunteer and good ideas will emerge!"

Upon hearing Shen Nian's words, the three cabinet ministers couldn't help but smile helplessly.

Lu Diaoyang said helplessly, "That makes sense, but it's still a million taels of silver, and we've already suffered a setback in dredging the Jiaolai River!"

One million taels of silver.

It was equivalent to one-fifth of the annual Taicang silver (national treasury reserves), equivalent to the annual military expenditure of Jizhou garrison, enough to feed about 50,000 households for a year, and enough to sustain the livelihood of 250,000 disaster victims for a year...

Now, it's just about buying a possibility.

If the money is wasted in the river, the person who approved the one million taels for river management will be infamous for eternity.

present.

The government's expenditures were always based on whether the money should be spent and whether it was worth spending, rather than simply throwing money away.

Military spending enables soldiers to guard the borders, while disaster relief funds can feed disaster victims and prevent unrest; their effects are obvious.

But when it comes to river management, it's entirely possible to throw a million taels into the water and only make a splash.

"One million taels of silver demonstrates the imperial court's determination to control the river. If we attach so much importance to this and work together as one, yet still fail to solve the flood problem, then it is the will of Heaven. Why not take a desperate gamble?"

Shen Nian is very good at stirring up people's emotions.

Upon hearing this, Yin Zhengmao immediately stood up.

"I think it's worth a try. The failure of the Jiaolai River should serve as a warning to us, but it shouldn't make us afraid to take bold measures to manage the river again!"

Yin Zhengmao's powerful voice immediately excited everyone.

Lu Diaoyang paused for a moment, then slammed his hand on the table.

"Snapped!"

"Alright, let the cabinet draft this memorial and take responsibility. Let's first apply for a budget of one million taels to show the court's attitude towards eradicating the river disaster and encourage officials skilled in river management to volunteer. This river management is not just about the waterways and canal transport, but about all of us!"

After years of being mild-mannered, Lü Diaoyang's words suddenly carried a hint of Zhang Juzheng's imposing manner.

Immediately, the three cabinet ministers began drafting a memorial to the throne regarding the budget for river management.

Shen Nian and others began to think about how to get the ministers who were good at river management to volunteer and propose new strategies after they learned of this news.

At this moment, Shen Nian hoped that Pan Jixun would volunteer.

He might only have a 50% success rate if he did it on his own, but with the help of Shen Nian and others, the success rate could reach 100%.

One million taels of silver is enough to give hope back to the people of the world.

If one million taels were used in the right places, it would be enough to ensure regional stability along the Yellow River, to ensure smooth operation of the Grand Canal, and to prevent delays in grain transport from lasting several months.

(End of this chapter)