Water Margin: The opening scene involves assassinating Emperor Huizong of Song and forcibly taking L

Before making his decision, Wang Anshi did not personally go to the Yellow River to investigate; he only listened to the information reported by his capable subordinates.

"He even thought about immediately blocking the northward flow and turning all the silted land into fertile fields, completely disregarding the dangers of the Yellow River!"

"It was because Wang Anshi acted too hastily that the Yellow River changed course and flowed into the Huai River and into the sea."

"The floods affected 45 counties and destroyed more than 30 million mu of farmland."

"The third return to the river turned into a complete factional struggle."

"When the new party is in power, listen to the new party. When the old party is in power, listen to the old party."

“Whatever the new party supports, whether it’s right or wrong, the old party rejects entirely.”

“Whatever the old party supports, regardless of whether it is right or wrong, the new party will oppose.”

"This is hardly river management!"

Zhao Yuan remained silent upon hearing this.

Wang Anshi really worked hard; before the river was diverted back, he had been diverting silt from the Yellow River.

The soil was improved by utilizing the sediment from the Yellow River, and more than 700 water conservancy projects were built to irrigate 10 million mu of land.

However, the factional strife at the time was so intense that Wang Anshi always considered issues from the perspective of factional struggle.

Sima Guang did not even object to his opinion, but after conducting on-site investigations, he proposed a gradual approach, which made Wang Anshi's plan more prudent.

Wang Anshi instinctively believed that Sima Guang wanted to sabotage things, intending to delay and ultimately ruin the matter.

In order to suppress Sima Guang, Wang Anshi chose the most radical approach to river management.

Ultimately, this led to endless troubles, causing the Yellow River to flow wherever it pleased for decades to come.

At that time, Su Shi was in Xuzhou fighting floods, thanks to Wang Anshi. Su Shi was so angry that he wrote a letter cursing that if the water level continued to rise, Su Shi and all the people in the city would die.

Zhao Yuan asked, "What do you plan to do?"

Zhao Fengji said, "After we get through this year's Yellow River flood, we will conscript 300,000 laborers to dredge the Ergu River next year or the year after."

"Then we will use Sima Guang's method to slow down the Yellow River and make it change its course to flow eastward."

"Of course, Wang Anshi's policy of diverting silt from the Yellow River should also be used, as it can reclaim and irrigate millions of acres of fertile land in Cangzhou and improve the saline-alkali land in Cangzhou."

Zhao Yuan laughed and said, "You're quite clever, using the methods of Wang Anshi and Sima Guang together."

"Why can't we choose one when we can have both?"

"The Yellow River is the Yellow River; it has both advantages and disadvantages. We must not see it in black and white," Zhao Fengji said.

Zhao Yuan suddenly asked, "Is it feasible to use water to attack sand?"

"Using water to attack sand?"

Although Zhao Fengji didn't understand, he felt as if he had grasped something.

Zhao Yuan said, "Block all the breaches in the Yellow River and let the river carry the silt into the sea on its own."

Zhao Fengji shook his head and said, "If all the breaches are plugged, the dam will definitely burst within three to five years."

Zhao Yuan said, "During the critical flood season, of course we also need to release floodwaters."

“This is a matter of great importance. I request to discuss it in detail with my colleagues,” Zhao Fengji said.

Zhao Yuan stated his position: "You are knowledgeable in water management, so do it your way."

"I'm just making a suggestion; whether it's feasible is up to you."

Several embankments from Linhe County to Puyang were reinforced last year, and reinforcement is continuing this year.

Zhao Fengji then built an overflow dam to allow excess river water to flow into the old course of the Ergu River.

We should be able to withstand this year's flood peak without too much of a problem.

Of course, if the Yellow River's water volume is too large and seriously threatens the safety of Kaifeng, then the only option is to breach the dikes and release floodwaters at a suitable section of the river.

Before the floodwaters are released, residents must be evacuated.

Chapter 3397 Using Water to Attack Sand

Upon arriving in Linhe County, Zhao Yuan temporarily stayed at the county government office, while the county magistrate and his family moved out.

Zhao Fengji called Fu Xingzhong and Wang Huai over and briefly explained his strategy of using water to attack sand.

This approach is completely opposite to the current methods used in water management.

At this point, managing the Yellow River means continuously diverting its flow.

If it becomes impossible to divert the flow, the Yellow River will be artificially guided to change its course.

Fu Xingzhong analyzed: "The Yellow River's water level is normally 4:6 for water and 6 for sediment, but during the late summer and early autumn seasons, the water level is 2:8 for water and 8 for sediment."

“If the flow is diverted, the water flow will slow down, and the sediment will inevitably stagnate.”

"If the water is contained by a dike, the water will be strong and can wash away the silt and sand on the riverbed."

"The official law should be feasible."

Wang Huai said, "It is feasible, but extremely dangerous."

"We must find a way to deal with the annual floods."

Zhao Fengji said, "The northward flow is too slow; it must flow eastward to attack the sand."

Wang Huai said, "If it flows eastward, the Ergu River is the first choice, which does not conflict with our plan."

"But the Ergu River channel is too narrow; both rivers must flow together to accommodate the Yellow River's water volume,"

Fu Xingzhong said,

"But if the two rivers flow in parallel, the water flow slows down, and the effect of constricting the water to attack the sand is not achieved."

Zhao Fengji said, "Choose the northern route of the Ergu River; that river is straighter."

"The South Channel serves as a backup; when the floodwaters are too high, the South Channel will be used to divert and release the floodwaters."

Fu Xingzhong said, "If we do this, we will have to widen the North Road, which is an enormous undertaking."

Wang Huai said, "The northern route passes through too many cities, including Qingping, Gaotang, Pingyuan, Dezhou, Leling, and Wudi... The administrative centers of all of them have to be relocated."

"Once this plan is proposed, it could drive the Ministry of Revenue crazy."

"The officials in these prefectures and counties will surely all submit memorials opposing this."

Zhao Fengji said, "We'll just raise our concerns, and we'll see what the Emperor decides in the end."

"Then we need to make sure this method is implemented properly,"

Fu Xingzhong said,

“The existing methods of building dikes will definitely cause them to breach every year if used to confine water and attack sand.”

After thinking carefully for a while, Zhao Fengji said, "Build a dike outside the dike for multiple layers of protection."

"We also need to build other types of dikes based on the actual terrain."

"Binding the water when it should be bound, and releasing the water when it should be released."

Wang Huai said, "Build a distant dike beyond the main dike."

"Normally, the dikes are used to confine the water and attack the sand. When the Yellow River's water volume increases, it overflows the dikes and automatically enters the remote dikes."

"In this way, we can both control the water flow to attack the sand and safely release floodwaters."

"That's still not safe,"

Fu Xingzhong said,

“Several transverse dikes can be built between the remote dike and the spur dike to turn that area into a grid of squares, just like the watertight compartments of a ship.”

"Even if the first dike breaks, the horizontal dikes can buffer it, preventing it from being swept away by the surging force."

Wang Huai said, "In places with dangerous terrain or weak dikes, dikes should be built to divert water, so as to ensure that nothing goes wrong."

Zhao Fengji said, "Next year, we will first dredge the southern channel of the Ergu River to serve as a diversion channel for the northern flow, so as to get through these next few years."

"At the same time, the northern channel of the Ergu River was dredged and widened, various types of dikes were built, and the county and prefectural governments along the route were relocated."

"Once the Erguhebei Channel project is completed, the Yellow River will be diverted to this side to constrict water flow and attack sand, while the southern channel will be used to divert water during major floods that occur only once in a century."

Fu Xingzhong clicked his tongue and said, "If we follow this method, we'll probably have to mobilize 500,000 laborers and spend hundreds of millions of dollars."

"We still have to relocate so many prefectures and counties..."

Zhao Fengji, with utter straightforwardness, said, "I'll say it again."

"We will only propose feasible strategies; whether or not to implement them is entirely up to the Emperor."

"If too many officials oppose it, and the government also feels embarrassed, then we should still use the old methods to manage the river."

The method of constricting water to attack sand is not a one-time solution.

Over the years, silt will gradually accumulate, and the riverbed will slowly rise.

However, the rate of silt deposition and riverbed uplift will definitely be much slower than before.

It might last for decades.

If maintained well, it can last for a hundred years without any problems.

.....

Zhao Yuan stood on the Yellow River embankment, using binoculars to observe Xiaowu Sao on the opposite bank.

After the Yellow River changed its course and flowed north, it made a sharp turn at Xiaowu Sao, which became the most dangerous section of the river.

Once the Xiaowu dike breaches, the city of Puyang downstream will be immediately flooded.

Putting away his binoculars, Zhao Yuan asked, "According to your method, how much river engineering and funds are needed?"

Zhao Fengji said, "At least 500,000 river workers will be needed, and the amount of money and grain will be countless."

"It's still uncertain how much grain we'll need, but 20 to 30 million strings of cash certainly won't be enough."

"I will try my best to raise funds; if all else fails, I will issue national bonds," Zhao Yuan said.

If money can solve something, then it's not a problem.

But most of the time, even a hero can be brought down by a single penny.

Wang Anshi's failure to manage the Yellow River was partly due to his political maneuvering with Sima Guang.

There was another important reason why he was so eager to block Beiliu: the government was on the verge of collapse!

If the Beiliu River is not blocked, the annual maintenance there cannot be stopped, which will continuously consume maintenance funds and require the recruitment of countless laborers.

In particular, the conscription of laborers severely damaged agricultural production, and many families went bankrupt as a result.

Chapter 3398 Spring Ice Jams

This is not a matter of a year or two; according to Sima Guang's prudent approach, it will take at least two or three more years to maintain the Beiliu region.

That would cost so much money and labor!

If the floodgates are blocked directly, it will save money and labor, and also restore people's livelihoods in the Beiliu Yellow River flood area as soon as possible.

After months of back-and-forth, when the eastward flow reached 60% of its capacity, the New Party, under financial pressure, wanted to block the northward flow.

Sima Guang said that it should be at least 80% complete.

The emperor intended to send both the old and new factions to inspect the area, but in the end only the new party was sent.

New Party officials, upon returning to Beijing after their inspection, claimed that 80% of the party members had been reassigned, leaving Sima Guang speechless.

Did 80% of the patients actually get diverted?

If not, were the inspecting officials lying to Wang Anshi, or did Wang Anshi know the truth all along?

If so, wouldn't even 80% of the diversion be insufficient?

These things are unclear to everyone; only those involved know the truth.

But one thing is very clear: if the Northern Song Dynasty had sufficient funds at the time, Wang Anshi would not have been in such a hurry to do things—after all, he was risking being dismissed as prime minister!

Looking at the increasingly rapid river, Zhao Yuan couldn't help but sigh, "Money!"