My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 238 Subei Irrigation Main Canal
However, even after Pan Jixun left, Su Ze did not promise how much he would do his best.

March 6th, Ministry of Works.

Despite being the largest ministry in the capital, the Ministry of Works had a very weak presence.

However, Minister of Works Lei Li still enjoyed this peace and tranquility.

The last time the Ministry of Works was the subject of the most discussion in the court and among the public was during the reign of the late Emperor Jiajing when the palace caught fire. In order to rebuild the Forbidden City, the Ministry of Works imposed a quota on the whole country, which caused all the civil and military officials to curse the Ministry of Works.

However, these days, Lei Li, the Minister of Works, has not had such an easy time.

The reason was that Wang Zhihuan, the Grand Canal Transport Commissioner and Vice Minister of Works, and Pan Jixun, the current Vice Minister of Works, got into a dispute over whether to build the Grand Canal or dredge the Yellow River.

The Ministry of Works has only so much budget, and it's clear that it can only accomplish one thing before the new budget comes in October.

The Ministry of Works was divided into two factions, arguing endlessly about whether to repair the river first or manage the Yellow River first.

The debate escalated to the point that it affected the daily operations of the Ministry of Works.

However, Su Ze did not go directly to the Ministry of Works, but instead invited his good friends, Wan Jing and Fu Shun, who were assistant secretaries of the Ministry of Works.

Fu Shun was promoted to Assistant Director for his meritorious service in the construction of the Dongshengwei Fortress.

Wan Jing then oversaw the casting of cannons in Shanxi and was promoted for his merits.

Fu Shun was darker and stronger than when he helped Su Ze repair the house, while Wan Jing looked more scholarly.

When asked about the dispute within the Ministry of Works, Fu Shun said in a rough voice, "These people are arguing back and forth; it's so boring."

Wan Jing knew he was a simpleton, and said to Su Ze:

"Brother Zilin, in fact, neither of the two vice ministers was wrong in the dispute over the Yellow River."

"The root of the problem lies in the series of issues that arose after the Yellow River changed course and flowed into the Huai River and then into the sea."

Su Ze wasn't very familiar with the history of water conservancy, so he humbly asked:

"Please enlighten me, Brother Wan."

Wan Jing said:

"I dare not presume to instruct you. The practice of diverting the Huai River into the sea began in the Southern Song Dynasty. It was Du Chong, a general of the Southern Song Dynasty, who breached the Yellow River dike in an attempt to block the Jin army from advancing south, intending to use water as a weapon. However, this caused the Yellow River to change its course and invade the Huai River."

"The diversion of the Huai River to the sea has led to several consequences."

"First of all, the Huai River has a narrow channel, so once the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River flood, floods will inevitably occur at the point where it flows into the Huai River. Moreover, due to the silt in the Yellow River, the Huai River is blocked and has become a suspended river."

"Secondly, the Huaihe River section of the Grand Canal was also affected. The silt raised the riverbed, making it difficult for the grain transport from Huaibei to Shandong. This is why Vice Minister Wang insisted on digging a new canal to alleviate the siltation of the grain transport."

Su Ze listened attentively. The problem with the Yellow River was actually the problem with the Huai River. The impact of the Southern Song Dynasty's diversion of the Huai River into the sea was extremely profound, and its lingering effects have not been eliminated to this day.

Sin ah.

The Huai River basin, which was once comparable to the Jiangnan region, has now become the poorest area in Southern Zhili.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, the granaries of northern Anhui were also flooded by the Yellow River year after year, resulting in a significant reduction in grain production and making it difficult to even guarantee basic food and clothing.

Su Ze remembered that the Huai River issue in the previous timeline continued into the Republic of China era, and the northern Jiangsu region remained the poorest area.

Su Ze suddenly said:

"Would it be feasible to dig a river to guide the Huai River into the sea?"

Wan Jing paused for a moment and said:
"This? No one has ever thought of this before."

Based on his memory, Su Ze said:
"The lower reaches of the Huai River start from Gaoliangjian on the shore of Hongze Lake in the west, flow through six counties including Hongze, Qingjiangpu, Huai'an, Funing, Sheyang, and Binhai, and end at Biandan Port in the east. If the Huai River were diverted to the sea from here, wouldn't it irrigate both banks and also play a role in flood control?"

Wan Jing picked up the tea, dipped it in the water, and began to draw a hydrological diagram on the table. The more he drew, the more ingenious the plan seemed.

What Su Ze was referring to was actually the final solution to the Huai River problem after the founding of the People's Republic of China—the Subei Irrigation Main Canal.

The Subei Irrigation Main Canal was dug to solve the Huai River problem.

Moreover, this canal not only serves the purpose of flood control and drainage, but is also an important water conservancy and irrigation project!
After the successful excavation, the northern Jiangsu region, which was originally impoverished due to flooding, became a super granary of the country.

Is it feasible?
In the early days of the People's Republic of China, resources were scarce and there was no large machinery. The main irrigation canal in northern Jiangsu was dug by the people on both banks during their off-season.

Su Ze gradually sorted out his thoughts.

Whether it was Pan Jixun's project to confine water to attack sand and reinforce the dikes of the Yellow and Huai Rivers, or Wang Zhihuan's project to excavate the Jiayun River, neither was wrong and both were beneficial to the Ming Dynasty.

In the history before Su Ze's time travel, both projects had already been completed.

Although the project was completed, the Yellow River and Huai River problems were not solved. During the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, there were huge floods that displaced millions of people.

Therefore, both of these projects are merely stopgap measures that do not address the root cause of the problem.

The Subei Irrigation Main Canal is the key to solving the Yellow River and Huai River problems!

Wan Jing then said:
"But digging this river will require a lot of manpower."

Su Ze nodded.

In fact, the methods for water conservancy projects are not difficult. The reason why this main canal was not excavated until after the founding of the People's Republic of China is that such a huge water conservancy project requires extremely stringent conditions.

Such large-scale projects require the mobilization of a large number of people. Generally, the times that can meet this condition are the founding period when the court has high prestige, or the period of revival when a wise and capable ruler and ministers are in power.

Otherwise, like in the Yuan Dynasty, when the court's prestige was clearly insufficient, it would still gather the people to repair the Yellow River, which would be tantamount to gathering soldiers for the rebels and could only hasten its own demise.

Secondly, this type of water conservancy project requires extremely strong grassroots governance capabilities.

When constructing water conservancy projects, those lands will be turned into river channels, and the farmland along the river will also be transformed into river embankments. How will the people who have lost their land due to the excavation projects be resettled?

If not handled properly, it could lead to widespread conflict, which requires extremely strong local control.

Finally, there is the stable domestic and international environment.

In fact, the Republic of China also wanted to manage the Yellow River, but the Huai River Guidance Committee had just been established when the War of Resistance against Japan broke out, and the management ultimately failed.

In Su Ze's view, now is a good opportunity to manage the Huai River.

However, this project requires more resources than Pan Jixun's Yellow River management plan and Wang Zhihuan's canal plan.

This is not something that the Ministry of Works alone can accomplish.

It requires funding from the Ministry of Revenue, cooperation from multiple local departments, oversight and auditing by the Six Ministries and the Censorate, and the concerted efforts of the local people.

If you submit a petition directly and force it through, the amount of prestige points required would be enormous.

Su Ze decided to prioritize public opinion and create momentum in the newspapers first.
-
March 10th.

Shandong, Daming Prefecture (Jinan).

An elderly man in plain clothes disembarked from a cargo boat, escorted by several followers to the dock. Gazing at the bustling Damingfu dock, the old man seemed lost in thought. The old man's name was Yan Jun, the patriarch of the Taizhou School of Neo-Confucianism.

Several years ago, he was lured and arrested by Geng Xiangding, the provincial education commissioner of Nanjing, and sent to the capital on charges of spreading heresy. At that time, he also stayed overnight at the dock in Daming Prefecture.

Yan Jun often lectured along the Grand Canal and had deep connections with the canal gangs. When his disciples wanted to break him out of prison, Yan Jun refused the proposal.

Looking at the bustling Damingfu Wharf today, Yan Jun was filled with emotion. Compared to the last time it docked, Damingfu Wharf was clearly more lively.

"Breaking news! Breaking news! Should we build the Grand Canal or tame the Yellow River? The Ministry of Works is debating the issue, and the Imperial Cabinet is now making a decision!"

"There are newspapers here too?"

When Yan Jun was released from prison, his students and disciples, knowing that he loved reading, gathered newspapers for him to pass the time.

His former disciple He Xinyin founded the "New Yuefu Newspaper" in the capital, and Yan Jun was also very interested in newspapers.

Yan Jun's disciples quickly stopped the newsboy and bought four newspapers from him.

Yan Jun never expected that he could buy all four major newspapers in Daming Prefecture.

Yan Jun was unaware that his former disciple, He Xinyin, had established a printing house in Daming Prefecture, using the Grand Canal as a hub. He shared distribution channels with the "New Gentleman's Daily" and the "Business Daily," thus promoting the newspapers throughout Daming Prefecture.

As a key hub for the Grand Canal transport in Shandong, Daming Prefecture was also the location where the Tongzheng Post Office set up its offices, so the official gazette, Yuefu Xinbao, naturally extended to this area.

Yan Jun looked at the newspapers. All four newspapers were from four days ago, but the fact that they could be delivered to Daming Prefecture so quickly was enough to surprise Yan Jun.

When he was young, even news from a province away would take one or two months to get through.

Moreover, the news at that time was mixed and difficult to distinguish between true and false, and the imperial court's gazette only contained major events in the court.

At that time, although the Ming Dynasty was nominally a unified dynasty, in reality, the provinces, prefectures, and counties were fragmented.

Newspapers from the capital can now be delivered to Daming Prefecture in four days, allowing scholars in Daming Prefecture to learn about the major events that occurred in the capital's court four days prior.

This would have been completely unimaginable in the past.

"Let's find a teahouse, rest for a bit, and then talk."

The teahouses by the docks were frequented by shop owners, merchants, and a few passing scholars.

To Yan Jun's even greater surprise, the teahouse also provided free newspapers for customers to borrow.

Meanwhile, in the teahouse, the customers taking a break were discussing things from the newspapers.

This is also a new change.

In Yan Jun's time, due to the limited flow of information, discussing current affairs was a privilege reserved for scholars in the capital.

Even scholars in Nanjing could not keep up with the latest developments in the capital, so discussions about current affairs were completely shrouded in mystery.

One day, someone is eloquently discussing the political situation at court, and the next day news arrives that the cabinet has collapsed. Such discussions about current affairs are utterly meaningless.

Therefore, when Yan Jun was young, scholars preferred to discuss academic topics such as the philosophy of mind.

Academic content is not updated that quickly, and each school of thought has its own topics of debate. Yan Jun often discussed abstract topics such as "righteousness" and "emptiness of nature." Debating scriptures was the most popular activity among young scholars.

But it is different now.

The advent of newspapers meant that the latest developments from the imperial court in the capital could reach Daming Prefecture in just four days.

There's a threshold to debate scriptures, but anyone can spout off about politics!
Besides, political commentary is a man's romance, much more fun than debating scriptures!

Yan Jun noticed that several merchants in the teahouse were arguing about something in the newspaper, making quite a scene.

Yan Jun also started reading the newspaper.

This time, all four major newspapers reported on the debate within the Ministry of Works, namely, Pan Jixun's proposal to repair the river and Wang Zhihuan's proposal to build a new canal.

The full text of the memorials submitted by both sides was published in the Yuefu Xinbao, including Pan Jixun's prediction of the Yellow River's water conditions and the important significance of the Yellow River construction.

Wang Zhihuan's memorial focused on the economic benefits of building the new Jia Canal. He argued that once the Jia Canal was completed, the Huaihe River section of the Grand Canal would be unobstructed, preventing the Yellow River from silting up the Huaihe River section and causing blockages in the grain transport.

The Yuefu Xinbao newspaper presented a balanced account of both sides' opinions.

Yan Jun nodded slightly. The Yuefu Xinbao is an official newspaper. As long as it publishes the news truthfully, that's already very good.

Yan Jun secretly admired Su Ze. He had seen many successful officials who were often happy to use their power to interfere in various matters.

However, the Yuefu Xinbao was able to "restrain" itself and adopt a relatively neutral attitude in official news.

Holding a sharp blade, murderous intention arises.

Despite possessing the powerful weapon of the "Yuefu Xinbao" newspaper, Su Ze remained steadfast in his principles and refrained from using it to attack his political enemies.

This is also why the imperial court was at ease knowing that the "Yuefu Xinbao" was in Su Ze's hands.

Yan Jun then opened the "New Yuefu Newspaper," which was the newspaper of his former disciple He Xinyin.

The Xinyuefu Daily was more inclined to support the proposal of the Jiahe Canal.

The Grand Canal's poor traffic flow hindered the development of industry and commerce in the north. The Jia Canal, by facilitating the transport of grain, also benefited the cities along the canal.

This article is of high quality; Yan Jun could tell at a glance that it was written by his former disciple.

He Xinyin pointed out that the Grand Canal is no longer the dominant mode of transport; now, many merchants are using sea transport to transport goods between the north and south.

Cities along the Grand Canal will eventually be replaced by sea transport if they cannot improve the efficiency of canal transport and reduce losses.

The New Gentleman's stance was much more conservative; it opposed both.

The reasons for opposing Pan Jixun were that spring plowing was imminent, and repairing the Yellow River at this time would affect this year's harvest; they also argued that it would be a form of forced labor that would harm the people.

The reasons for opposing the Jia Canal are the same: it is a waste of manpower and resources.

The Business Daily was much more straightforward, focusing primarily on business analysis. It mainly addressed the impact of the Jia Canal on the cities along the original canal, and also mentioned the costs of maritime and grain transport.

The Commercial Daily also reported that nowadays, goods such as wool and cotton from the capital are transported south by sea.

Tea, silk, and porcelain from the south were also preferred to be transported by sea.

The advantages of sea freight—low ​​cost and high speed—have been recognized by merchants, and with the development of sea freight, trade between the Ming Dynasty and other countries has become more frequent.

After reading the four newspapers, Yan Jun understood his former disciple's choice. He had to admit that newspapers were truly a genius invention, as their influence and speed of dissemination far surpassed that of lectures!
However, Yan Jun also had his own thoughts. He said to his disciples:
"We'll find a place to stay temporarily today, and tomorrow we'll find a place to run night school."

Yan Jun suddenly realized that newspapers and night schools were the same old paths Su Ze had taken.

Why are the two of them, master and disciple, following the same path as Su Ze?
-
In the capital, as the controversy surrounding the Ministry of Works escalated further, the attention of both the court and the public focused on the newspapers.

Unbeknownst to them, officials and common people alike in the capital were instinctively thinking:
The matter has escalated, why hasn't Su Hanlin taken action yet?

(End of this chapter)