Zhu Yuanzhang Returns from Modern Times

Chapter 212: By giving the crown prince so much power, wasn't Zhu Yuanzhang afraid that Zhu Biao would rebel against him in the future?
Inside the Wenhua Hall, Crown Prince Zhu Biao sat at the head of the table, while Hu Weiyong, the Chancellor of the Secretariat, led relevant officials to report to Zhu Biao.

Just like when they faced Zhu Yuanzhang before.

Zhu Yuanzhang, that beggar, was really good to his son!
By delegating power in this way, aren't we afraid that one day Zhu Biao will become too powerful and restless, and might stage a Xuanwu Gate Incident to directly dethrone Zhu Chongba from the throne, imprison him, or even kill him?

History has shown that emperors who relinquished power too early rarely lived good lives.

With such actions, Zhu Yuanzhang will certainly find it difficult to have a good ending in the future.

If something like that were to actually happen, it would be hilarious; just thinking about it makes me happy.

Hu Weiyong muttered to himself.

"Your Highness, how should we handle the memorial submitted by Xue Xiang, the Minister of Works? Please advise."

Hu Weiyong looked at Zhu Biao and asked for instructions.

By placing Zhu Biao in this position and having him do these things, Zhu Yuanzhang was clearly vying for power for himself as the Chancellor of the Secretariat.

This was something that Hu Weiyong, who always valued power highly, could not tolerate at all.

Ever since Zhu Biao took on this task, he had been resentful and unhappy, and had tried to trip up and cause trouble for Zhu Biao.

The most common method is to report everything, big or small, to Zhu Biao and let him handle it.

The purpose was to torment Zhu Biao relentlessly, to the point that Zhu Biao couldn't take it anymore.

But who would have thought that Zhu Biao would persevere for so long?

Moreover, they have become increasingly adept at handling government affairs.

While feeling somewhat frustrated, Hu Weiyong also became increasingly dissatisfied and anxious, wanting to find a thorny issue for Zhu Biao to handle and make things difficult for him.

As long as Zhu Biao feels troubled or unhappy, he is happy.

This time, the memorial submitted by Xue Xiang, the Minister of Works, was exactly what he wanted.

This matter seems simple, uncomplicated, and easy to handle, but in reality, it is not.

Because it involves far too many factors.

Water conservancy projects have always been a great undertaking, let alone the management of the Yellow River.

Even with the Northern Yuan dynasty still intact, Zhu Yuanzhang dared to invest so much in repairing the Yellow River.

You could say he has a broad mind and a great spirit.

However, in Hu Weiyong's view, besides having a grand vision and a broad mind, he could also be described as a complete fool.

The Yellow River's flooding is a chronic problem that has plagued the country for many years.

The Yellow River is different from other rivers; it is a truly great river.

When the summer and autumn seasons are rainy, it goes berserk, roaring like a mad dragon as it heads east.

Wherever it went, houses collapsed and buildings crumbled.

Since the Yellow River breached its banks so many years ago, where is there any way to fundamentally control the Yellow River?

Did those previous emperors not want to manage the Yellow River?
No, it's because the amount of money, manpower, and resources needed to manage the Yellow River is simply too much.

Most importantly, it is extremely difficult.

It is not to say that investing a lot of manpower and resources will necessarily bring the Yellow River under control.

Due to a combination of reasons, the Yellow River has been largely left unmanaged for the past two hundred years.

But when it came to Zhu Yuanzhang, things were different; he started managing the Yellow River much faster than expected.

Moreover, the plan is to fundamentally manage the Yellow River.

The tone was set so high, and the investment was so great.

But now we're facing such great difficulties.

Now, Zhu Yuanzhang is in for a rough time.

Think about it, so much was invested, so much was spent, and such high aspirations were set.

But then, at this point, because no particularly good solution could be found, the work had to be temporarily suspended, or the Yellow River, which had been repaired, would breach its banks again after only a few years, flowing swiftly for miles. That would be even more of a mess.

Instead of spending a lot of effort to repair it, it's better to just ignore it.

In this matter, the more you do, the more mistakes you make.

Zhu Yuanzhang was full of ambition, but now he has been dealt a heavy blow. Surprised?
With such high aspirations and such a large investment, we have no choice but to grit our teeth and continue.

But if you grit your teeth and keep going, there won't be any good results; the more you do, the more you'll lose.

This is what is called being caught in a dilemma, unable to move forward or backward, riding a tiger and unable to get off, unable to back down!
At first glance, this matter seems quite simple to handle.

Xue Xiang has already made the choice. Either agree with Xue Xiang's suggestion, and the imperial court issues an edict to recruit knowledgeable and insightful people in water conservancy from across the country, gathering wisdom from all over the world to devise a way to fundamentally control the Yellow River.

Or perhaps they disagree with Xue Xiang's suggestion and want Xue Xiang to continue revising.

However, behind this seemingly simple choice lay far too many considerations, concerning the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Yuanzhang's reputation, and tangible interests.

As things stand, in Hu Weiyong's view, no matter what choice is made, it won't work.

None of these methods can fundamentally solve the problem.

Xue Xiangzi's memorial to the throne is excellent!

Next, Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang will have a headache.

Hu Weiyong also applauded Xue Xiang's current predicament.

As the Minister of Works, this guy should have been extremely respectful to the Prime Minister.

As a result, this guy wasn't punished much by Zhu Yuanzhang for his involvement in the Zhongdu incident. Instead, he was later promoted to the official position of Minister of Works.

From then on, this guy seemed to consider himself a confidant of Zhu Yuanzhang.

He didn't really respect himself as the Chancellor of the Secretariat.

This infuriated Hu Weiyong.

At this time, Xue Xiang was in charge of repairing the Yellow River and caused such a commotion, so he was naturally happy to watch the show.

Xue Xiang thought he was so intelligent and capable that he could completely control the Yellow River.

How can it be!

If the Yellow River problem were so easy to solve, why has it been breached for over two hundred years, and why has no one been able to manage it properly for such a long time?

This guy even fantasized that by thoroughly controlling the Yellow River, he could become famous for all time and achieve such a great feat.

Now look what happened; they've gotten themselves into trouble instead of catching the fox.

It seems that after this incident, Xue Xiang no longer has the face to remain arrogant.

This memorial not only presented Zhu Biao and Zhu Yuanzhang with an enormous problem, but also exposed Xue Xiang's incompetence to the public.

Let the whole world know that he, the Minister of Works, is not very capable.

For someone who wanted to gain empty fame by repairing and managing the Yellow River, such a result must have been incredibly bittersweet.

In fact, Hu Yong believes that the Yellow River does not need to be controlled at all.

They've been doing this for over two hundred years, and everything's been fine, hasn't it?

Why did Zhu Yuanzhang have to be so foolish as to try to control the Yellow River? Wasn't he just asking for trouble by doing something pointless?
The Yellow River can bring many benefits if it is well managed, but the possibility of it not being managed is too great.

If things go wrong, we might end up spending more than we earn.

Of course, most importantly, the emperor kept a close eye on the Yellow River management and entrusted Xue Xiang with full responsibility.

Xue Xiang was ignorant of the ways of the world for officials. Such a large project, involving so much manpower, material resources, and money, was something that made people envious.

As a result, he, the prime minister of the Secretariat, could not gain any benefit from it, which made him very upset.

They harbor even greater hostility towards the governance of the Yellow River.

A project is a good project if it allows him to reap a lot of benefits, and a project is a bad project if he can't reap any benefits. It's that simple.

The emperor said that the management of the Yellow River had benefited all people and was a great and benevolent policy that history would remember and future generations would praise.

The emperor also said he wanted to call on everyone to work together for the Ming Dynasty, for the people, and for the greater prosperity of China, and so on...

In Hu Weiyong's view, all of this was pure nonsense; the emperor was just using these words to deceive people.

These are all fake; only the benefits that you can actually obtain are real.

The emperor could use these words to deceive some people, but he couldn't deceive Hu Weiyong.

The Yellow River should never be repaired; it's fine as it is.

Every year the Yellow River floods, destroying houses, inundating farmland, and drowning people... but so what?
Hasn't it always been like this for over two hundred years?
How could those people be so foolish? Knowing full well that the Yellow River would overflow and cause floods, leading to such a disaster, they still chose to live in areas prone to flooding, without knowing how to avoid the danger.

If someone suffers a disaster and dies, isn't that just what they deserve?

However, in his opinion, it was quite good that such fools had brought so much trouble to Zhu Yuanzhang and his son Zhu Biao.

This can be considered as the little value that these foolish people have brought to the table.

Zhu Biao nodded slightly after hearing Hu Weiyong's words, but did not speak immediately.

His gaze lingered on the memorial submitted by Xue Xiang.

Seeing Zhu Biao's reaction, Hu Weiyong couldn't help but feel smug.

I knew that Zhu Biao would feel extremely troubled when faced with such a memorial.

Now it seems that it is indeed the case.

"Let's put this matter aside for now; it's a serious matter and we can't make a decision lightly."

"I'll consult my father and the Empress before I speak," Zhu Biao said after a moment of silence.

Hu Weiyong smiled to himself; he knew this would be the outcome.

But even if you find Zhu Yuanzhang, what good will it do?

Managing the Yellow River is a very real and difficult task; it requires a high level of expertise and is extremely challenging.

Even if we invited Zhu Yuanzhang, it would be in vain.

Some of the officials present, like Hu Weiyong, were gloating and enjoying the spectacle.

Some people simply don't care because it's none of their business.

But some people also felt heavy-hearted about it.

They are worried about the inability to effectively manage the Yellow River.

Your Majesty is a great ruler. The Yellow River has been flooding for over two hundred years, and you still haven't been able to control it.

His Majesty's current efforts to control the Yellow River can be considered the most successful attempt yet to completely tame it.

If even His Majesty cannot manage the Yellow River well during his reign, then expecting future emperors to manage it well is practically impossible.

If the Yellow River is not managed, it will cause continuous floods.

There will be large areas of floodplains, making much fertile soil unsuitable for cultivation.

Every year, the Yellow River floods, bringing numerous disasters and constantly draining the Ming Dynasty's resources!

At the same time, the Grand Canal, a precious waterway connecting the north and south, will also suffer from siltation due to the flooding of the Yellow River, which will greatly reduce its navigability and hinder its connection between the north and south.

Putting everything else aside, just looking at this alone, Du Chong, that scoundrel, is a sinner for all time!
Even though they dug up the Yellow River, few Jurchens drowned, and it did nothing to improve the situation.

Yet, it caused countless Chinese people to suffer annihilation as a result.

The harm caused continues to this day, and it is even very likely that it will continue to cause harm!
Some people are gloating, some are worried, and others are racking their brains to find a solution.

Some people prayed incessantly, hoping that the Ming Dynasty would receive divine assistance and find a good way to solve the Yellow River problem.

……

"Father, Xue has submitted a memorial stating that the management of the Yellow River has encountered a major problem. Father, please take a look..."

In the Wuying Hall, Zhu Biao met with Zhu Yuanzhang alone, holding Xue Xiang's memorial, his brows furrowed with an unyielding sorrow.

Zhu Yuanzhang took the memorial and read it carefully.

After reading it, he nodded with an approving expression.

"Xue Xiang is indeed excellent. We made the right choice in appointing him to manage the Yellow River."

Before addressing the problem, Zhu Yuanzhang praised Xue Xiang.

His praise of Xue Xiang was not without reason.

For someone who loves water management, the promises made to him in the past, coupled with the great reputation of managing the Yellow River, are incredibly tempting.

Such a great achievement would normally be firmly held in one's own hands, without sharing even a fraction of it.

But now, in order to manage the Yellow River, Xue Xiang has openly submitted such a memorial.

It is clear that Xue Xiang chose to do practical work rather than pursue fame and fortune.

Xue Xiang naturally wanted the promises he had made to him, as well as the chance to be remembered for eternity.

However, compared to these, he still prioritized thoroughly managing the Yellow River.

Such a person is trustworthy and worthy of our joy.

Zhu Yuanzhang was convinced that Xue Xiang, given his abilities in river management, truly wanted to gain fame and rewards.

There's no need to submit this memorial; there are many ways to temporarily manage the Yellow River.

For at least the next twenty or thirty years, there shouldn't be any problems.

Given Xue Xiang's age, by then the Yellow River would have breached its banks, and he would have long since returned to dust, having achieved fame and success.

Given that the Yellow River had frequently flooded in earlier years, even though such a problem arose 20 or 30 years after Xue Xiang began his river management efforts, few people would blame him.

But Xue Xiang didn't do much, which is a rare quality.

"Xue Xiang is indeed very good."

Zhu Biao affirmed his father's assessment.

"But... Father, what should we do about this?"

Zhu Biao naturally hoped that the Yellow River could be completely restrained.

However, the silt in the Yellow River is indeed a major problem, and it is extremely difficult to handle.

"How about... we follow Xue Xiang's suggestion and temporarily slow down the pace of Yellow River management, and instead gather talented individuals from across the country to offer suggestions and advice on how to manage the Yellow River?"

Zhu Yuanzhang shook his head: "That won't be necessary."

Zhu Biao was somewhat surprised by his father's words.

My father has put so much effort into controlling the Yellow River, but he doesn't seem to care about getting to the root of the problem. This is not like my father at all!

"We already have a solution for controlling the siltation in the Yellow River."

Ok? !

Zhu Biao's eyebrows immediately rose.

It was a pleasant surprise.

Father already has a solution? This... Father is too amazing!
How do you know everything?
"To control the sediment in the Yellow River, we need to address the problem at its root."

The first thing to do is to understand why the Yellow River has so much silt.

This is because the upper reaches of the Yellow River pass through the Loess Plateau.

The Loess Plateau has loose soil, and heavy rains easily wash away large amounts of soil into the rivers.

Before that, the Yellow River wasn't this yellow, and it didn't contain so much sediment.

The upper reaches of the Yellow River, namely Guanzhong and some areas further upstream, have been overdeveloped, resulting in severe vegetation damage and an inability to conserve water and soil.

Therefore, the most important and fundamental measure to reduce the sediment in the Yellow River is to restore the vegetation in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.

In areas near the Yellow River where the terrain is steep and unsuitable for cultivation, the policy of returning farmland to forest is implemented.

Plant more trees, plant more grass, use tree roots and grass roots to hold the soil in place…

Zhu Biao's eyes lit up; this was indeed a good idea.

It's just that this matter has taken too long.

Furthermore, the Yellow River's riverbed is now covered with a large amount of silt, making river dredging very difficult.

Moreover, even if, as the Emperor said, a large number of trees are planted upstream to reduce soil erosion.

However, a considerable amount of silt will still enter the Yellow River channel and gradually accumulate on the riverbed.

Over time, the riverbed will rise, causing all sorts of problems.

This issue is also difficult to resolve.

Zhu Yuanzhang said, "That's one thing. Besides that, there's another method for cleaning up the downstream river channels."

This method is like using water to attack sand.

Pan Jixun, who proposed and implemented the method of "constraining water to attack sand," was an extremely talented person who came up with such a way to manage the Yellow River.

The results were excellent and the achievements were remarkable.
His idea was to create a super-large water gun through engineering, using the powerful impact of water to wash away the silt deposited on the riverbed.

Why is there a large amount of siltation in the riverbed of the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, while the problem is not serious in the upper reaches?

This is because the upstream area has a narrow river channel, a large drop, and a rapid current.

The silt in the water doesn't have time to settle before it flows eastward with the water.

In the middle and lower reaches, the terrain becomes flat and open, the river channel widens, and the water flow slows down.

The silt carried in the river begins to settle.

So, if the river channel is narrowed, and some engineering works are built in certain key places to implement the strategy of constricting water and attacking sand, the water flow can be made to flow quickly again.

Wouldn't that solve the silt problem?
This method also aligns with Xue Xiang's pursuit of a permanent solution.

Although it cannot achieve what Dujiangyan did, once completed, it can be used for generations to come.

After the water-binding sand-fighting project is completed, some maintenance is still required.

However, as long as it is properly maintained, it can be used for hundreds of years or even longer without any problem!
Zhu Yuanzhang personally wrote a letter detailing methods for controlling desertification, including afforestation, water diversion, and other miscellaneous methods he knew of in later generations, and had it urgently sent to Xue Xiang.

Given Xue Xiang's abilities, he should be able to understand and implement the strategy of confining water to attack sand.

……

Hu Weiyong waited expectantly for two days, but the news he received was not what he expected. He agreed to Xue Xiang's proposal, which would have caused both the court and Zhu Yuanzhang to lose face.

Or they could let Xue Xiang continue with the current approach, ignoring the fundamental problem of controlling the Yellow River and resorting to self-deception.

Instead, it means that the emperor already had a solution and gave Xue Xiang instructions.

After the unexpected turn of events, I couldn't help but sneer inwardly.

What did Zhu Yuanzhang know about flood control? How dare he give such reckless orders?
Let's see how much embarrassment he will suffer in this matter in the future!

(End of this chapter)