During the dry season in November and December last year, Su Yonglin had already sent people from Kaifeng to follow the Yellow River waterway to find the end of the Yellow River.
They investigated the conditions at the mouth of the Yellow River and the Huai River at this time and found that the two were too close to each other.
Once the water volume of the Yellow River rises, it will easily invade the Huai River waterway, causing the Huai River to overflow and cause disasters. Together, we will make the lives of the people on both sides of the Huai River miserable.
At present, many places in the Lianghuai land cannot survive for a long time. They are completely dead places, and such fertile soil has been wasted.
Judging from the current situation, no one dares to live there in the Yellow River and Huai River area. A few families can be found here and there, but they have provoked some people who cannot be provoked. They have no choice but to live there, almost waiting for death.
Compared with the prosperity in the early and middle periods of the Northern Song Dynasty, it is really a lifeless scene now.
Therefore, the most important thing right now is to redirect the Yellow River back to its original path and break the development deadlock faced by the Huaihe and Huaihe regions.
The amount of this project is too large. There is also the problem of processing the above-ground river and how to deal with the large amount of sediment carried by the Yellow River.
In response, Su Yonglin mobilized the energy of the emperor and the court, summoned all the water conservancy experts he could find, and discussed with them the idea of confining water to flush out sand and building an outer embankment.
These are all methods that Pan Jixun, a man from the Ming Dynasty, came up with to control the excessive sediment load and insufficient flow of the Yellow River. Su Yonglin knew a rough idea but didn't know the specific operations, so he came up with this concept to discuss with water conservancy experts.
As the name suggests, the water beam sand flushing method is to tighten the river channel and speed up the water flow to achieve the effect of allowing the water flow to impact the deposited sediment, thus refreshing the river channel and lowering the river bed.
Building an outer embankment is to build another embankment outside the river channel in addition to the current Yellow River embankment to expand the capacity of the embankment. It is the second line of defense when the water volume of the Yellow River rises.
These are the two concepts for regulating the Yellow River that Su Yonglin can currently propose. He knows very little about the others, so he can only leave it to these water conservancy experts to develop their thinking and come up with some better ideas.
In addition, Su Yonglin proposed a solution to the problem of the large amount of sediment carried by the Yellow River and the above-ground river problems in Kaifeng.
"Everyone knows that the Yellow River carries a large amount of sediment, which accumulates downstream and gradually raises the river bed, forming the above-ground river we see today. So where does this sediment come from?"
Su Yonglin looked around and asked, "Has anyone thought about this problem? Where does this silt come from?"
Water conservancy experts, you look at me, I look at you, and then someone raises his hand.
"Your Majesty, the sediment naturally comes from upstream."
"Where upstream? What places can provide such a large amount of sediment to the Yellow River? Why does this sediment continue to flow with the river to the downstream and then be deposited downstream?"
Su Yonglin pointed to the Yellow River on the map: "Why is it that only the Yellow River carries such a large amount of sediment? Why don't other rivers have this situation? Then again, there was no mention of the Yellow River in historical materials a long time ago, but it was called It is a river.
I was reading the Book of Songs, and in the chapter about Wei Feng cutting sandalwood, I read "The sandalwood was cut down in the ridges, and the river was dry, and the water was clear and rippled." This refers to the current Yellow River. It can be seen that in the Spring and Autumn Period of the Pre-Qin Dynasty, the Yellow River Still clear river water.
During the Warring States Period, the water of the Yellow River began to become turbid, and it was called the turbid river. I read "Zuo Zhuan" and in the chapter of the eighth year of Duke Xiang, I read the sentence "As long as the river is clear, the life span will be long", which shows that people at that time already thought that the Yellow River was Even if you wait until you die, the water will not become clear again.
By the time of the Han Dynasty, the name of the Yellow River was already known, and this statement was generally adopted in the Tang and Song Dynasties. Today, the name of the Yellow River is deeply rooted in people's hearts, and few people still remember that the Yellow River was once just a big river with clear water. "
After speaking, Su Yonglin asked: "Why? Why did the Yellow River change from clear to turbid? Who can explain it to me? I want to hear the specific reasons, which must be detailed, reliable, and well-founded."
Everyone on the scene was silent.
Because in the past, the management of the Yellow River was all about treating headaches and treating problems, blocking it when it overflowed, repairing it when it burst, and lying down when its course was changed. There were basically no other solutions, let alone solving the problem at the source.
Although people at that time had ecological concepts, they were very simple and general. They were not systematically organized and integrated with all aspects of social life. It was difficult for people to realize the importance of environmental protection.
Although our ancestors have consciously put forward some environmental protection concepts and even legislated them since the Qin Dynasty, such as not catching birds during a certain period of time, not logging during a certain period of time, etc., these were mostly government decrees and laws and did not tell people this. Why.
Therefore, once the political subjects that implement these decrees and decrees disappear, environmental protection policies will collapse and will no longer have any effect. The ecological environment will also be greatly damaged due to extensive agricultural production.
The Yellow River is a direct product of this phenomenon.
But this time, Su Yonglin actually put forward a new opinion-why does the Yellow River turn yellow?
The water conservancy experts are really unprofessional.
They know how to build dams and block river water. They even dare to take on dangerous diversion projects and challenge nature. But when asked why the Yellow River water turns yellow, they really haven't thought about it systematically.
Su Yonglin saw that none of them spoke, so he took out a thick stack of papers and placed them on the table.
"This is a specific report I got after I asked Commander Su Haisheng of the Qilu Corps to go to the upper reaches of the Yellow River for an in-depth inspection. You all should take a look."
Su Yonglin asked people to distribute Su Haisheng's investigation report, so the officials attending the meeting had five copies and began to read them.
To be more specific, after the Qilu Corps captured Guanzhong, Su Yonglin immediately ordered Su Haisheng to conduct an on-the-spot investigation on both sides of the Yellow River Basin in Guanzhong, focusing on observing the soil, vegetation, and production and living conditions in the surrounding areas.
Su Haisheng spent a month leading the army on an arduous investigation along the Yellow River. He found out everything Su Yonglin wanted to know. He wrote an investigation report on five pieces of paper and sent someone to return it to Zhongdu. Gave it to Su Yonglin.
Just in time for Su Yonglin to hold a meeting to solve the Yellow River problem.
"To put it bluntly, the main reason why the Yellow River water becomes turbid and carries a large amount of sediment downstream is because previous dynasties over-exploited the Guanzhong land. They cut down trees, destroyed forests, and destroyed the vegetation on both sides of the Yellow River. Almost exhausted.
The loess soil on both sides of the Yellow River is relatively loose, unlike the soil in the south and north of the Yangtze River. Without tree coverage and no trees to protect the loess, the loess will be easily washed away and carried away by the river water, rushing all the way to the middle and lower reaches. Because the river channel is widened and the terrain is flat, The water flow slowed down and the loess just settled.
The Yellow River in the Guanzhong area has a fast flow rate and strong scouring force. Day after day, year after year, it continues to send a large amount of sediment to the middle and lower reaches for deposition. The river bed is getting higher and higher, which is the above-ground river we see today. The relationship between the two is not three to five years. "
Su Yonglin saw that everyone had almost read Su Haisheng's investigation report, and then made a concluding speech.
"Therefore, when the previous dynasty managed the Yellow River, it only treated the symptoms but not the root cause. Even if it was successful for a while, there would always be a recurrence of floods. But when we manage the Yellow River, we need to deal with the fundamentals. Not only must we change the Yellow River back to its old course, but we must also restore the land and sediments in Guanzhong. A decisive battle between mud and sand.”
Zhao Zuoliang was deeply shocked after reading the report. Hearing Su Yonglin's talk of a decisive battle, he hurriedly asked: "May I ask your Majesty, what does a decisive battle mean?"
"Four words, return farmland to forest."
Su Yonglin tapped the table and said these four words one by one.
The ministers were very surprised by this.
The four words "returning farmland to forests" are easy to explain. It means returning farmland to forests and returning it to nature. This is easy to understand.
However, these four words are quite politically incorrect in today's world where agricultural production and adequate food are important, and the person who proposed it happened to be the Ming Emperor who represented political correctness.
Chen Jichang, the left minister of the Ministry of Civil Affairs, could not bear it any longer and stood up to speak on his own initiative.
"Your Majesty, returning farmland to forests... This policy may be too shocking. If announced publicly, it may cause an uproar and be detrimental to the country. I ask your Majesty to think twice before taking action."
