On the first day of July in the second year of Hongwu, all personnel and materials for the Yellow River renovation project were deployed and all arrived.
Officials from Henan Province and Shandong Province have all prepared, and the local troops and civilians are all in place. Everything is ready, except for the east wind.
On that day, Tian Guizi, together with Shi Zheng and other project managers, gathered at the Yellow River Dam in Kaifeng City. They gathered at the "Stele of the Traitor Du Chong Digging the Yellow River Embankment" and the "Song Junchen Sanyi Return" built under the personal supervision of Su Yonglin. The groundbreaking ceremony was held in front of the river monument.
They swore to all the people in the Yellow River Flood Area that they would devote their entire lives to completing the diversion and subsequent repair projects of the Yellow River, ensuring that the Yellow River would never again suffer from diversion and flooding, and that residents on both sides of the Yellow River would live and work in peace and contentment, without suffering the pain of crippling the country.
So the Yellow River diversion project officially began.
The whole of July was calm and uneventful, and the diversion project was progressing smoothly.
The Yellow River Renovation General Headquarters was connected to the imperial court of the Central Capital, and to the local command branches and local governments. They entered a period of running-in. There were more or less conflicts and disputes, but they were quickly resolved.
They are looking for an effective way to collaborate with each other.
And in the final analysis, Su Yonglin granted the Yellow River Renovation General Headquarters controlled by the Renaissance Society huge power and became its most powerful backer. Officials and governments from all over the country are well aware of this. They will cooperate if they can, and if they have any problems, they will cry out. All in all, no one dares to openly oppose the Renaissance Association.
As we entered August, things changed a bit.
Since the beginning of summer this year, rainfall has been more frequent and heavy in Guanzhong and Henan, so the water volume of the Yellow River has also begun to increase.
The Fuxinghui Engineering Headquarters has issued warnings to Henan and Shandong provinces for three consecutive times about the risk of possible flooding along the Yellow River.
They also asked the two major provinces to relocate the elderly, weak, women and children along the coast as much as possible, and to make every effort to recruit strong men to join the project of strengthening the levees along the coast, and to do their best to protect the levees and prevent the river from flooding.
Zhongdu also quickly received news that there was a risk of flooding again along the Yellow River. Su Yonglin was very worried, so he decided to go south to Henan and Shandong to inspect the Yellow River.
Zhao Xirui was a little worried about this.
"Since the Yellow River may overflow, don't go there. It's very dangerous. It doesn't matter whether you are the emperor or not. Once it overflows, you won't be exempted just because you are the emperor."
Su Yonglin hugged Zhao Xirui and kissed her.
"It is precisely because I am the emperor that I have to go there. My troops, officials, and people are all risking their lives to fight. How can I turn a blind eye? The more dangerous it is, the more I have to go. I Only by going there can people's hearts be stabilized.
The Yellow River Project has just begun. The DPRK and China have spent so much, such a big project, and used so much manpower and material resources. Many people actually have doubts and are worried that it will not succeed. Now is a time when people's hearts are wandering. How can I not go? Woolen cloth? "
Zhao Xirui thought about it and knew the importance of this matter.
"But because this is so important, I am very worried about you. Not only the Yellow River needs you, but the entire Ming Dynasty also needs you. My children and I need you even more."
Saying this, Zhao Xirui turned around and looked at his two-month-old son who was sleeping soundly on the bed.
"It's raining heavily over there, and the water in the Yellow River is rising. Don't blame me. If Ping An knew about it, he would definitely be worried about you."
Su Yonglin followed Zhao Xirui's eyes and looked at his son Ping An, who was just two months old.
Ping'an is his nickname, and he doesn't have a formal name yet. According to the rules of these days, when a child is just born, he only has a nickname but no first name. A formal name will not be given to him until he reaches the age of school at least.
This rule is actually quite helpless and sad. Due to the limitations of medical conditions, the infant mortality rate in ancient times was very high. When a baby was born, he was not sure how long he would live, so he only had a nickname and was not listed in the family tree. He was even treated as a family pet. treat.
When the child reaches the age where he can study and is still safe, he will be qualified to be named and included in the family tree, and will be regarded as a member of the family.
When the child reaches the age where he can get married and is still safe, a crowning ceremony will be held, a cousin will be given, and complete human and clan rights will be given. From then on, he will become a real adult with a series of rights and responsibilities.
In the final analysis, it is the limitations of medical conditions and the low average life expectancy that lead to this series of rules.
This is the case among the people, the landlords and gentry, the high officials, and the emperor. No one can guarantee that their children will grow up healthy.
The couple loved this little life very much and gave him the nickname Ping An, hoping that he would grow up safely and healthily.
The birth of Su Yonglin's son was of great significance to the entire Ming Dynasty. When the child was born safely, all civil and military officials in the court congratulated Su Yonglin and sent him generous gifts to express their excitement. Affection.
Su Yonglin believed that they were really excited.
Of course, he himself is also very excited. No matter what the future holds, how can he not be excited when his biological son is born?
Although now he will be gone for a while and won't see his son for a while.
"If Ping An knew that his father was doing the right thing, he would definitely support it instead of opposing it. This is the right thing to do. It must be done no matter what. If it is done, it will be beneficial to the country and the people."
Su Yonglin walked to the bed, bent down and stretched out his hands, gently picking up Ping An, who was sleeping soundly in his swaddling clothes.
"Ping An, dad is doing the right thing. You will definitely support dad, right?"
Of course a sleeping child cannot tell what is right or wrong, but that is not important.
Zhao Xirui smiled helplessly, stepped forward, stretched out her finger and touched the child's soft face, her face filled with the glory of motherhood.
"You will go regardless of whether Ping An supports it or not. Why do you ask Ping An? You are hypocritical."
"Don't worry, I am still an emperor no matter what. If I can't guarantee my safety, how can I guarantee everyone's safety? Although the rain is heavy this year, the climate is not abnormal this year, and there will be no large-scale floods. Don’t worry.”
Su Yonglin repeatedly comforted Zhao Xirui. Zhao Xirui had no choice but to agree to Su Yonglin's actions, but asked Su Yonglin to bring the most elite Tiger Guards to protect his safety, and asked Su Yong, the general of the Imperial Guard, to accompany him.
Soon, Su Yonglin issued an order and decided to patrol south to Henan Province, and ordered the central court to handle official business as usual. He acted quickly and led Su Yong and 3,000 Huben Army cavalry to Henan to inspect the work.
Su Yonglin arrived in Kaifeng City on the ninth day of August and met with a series of people in charge of river management, including Tian Guizi and Shi Zheng, to discuss with them the impact of heavy rain during this period on the project.
Immediately afterwards, a group of people rushed to Taohuayu in Xingyang County for further investigation.
"This small Taohua Valley is the boundary between the lower reaches and the middle reaches of the Yellow River. The Yellow River comes out from Mang Mountain, passes through Taohua Valley, and then enters the Central Plains. To the west of Taohua Valley, the Yellow River is restrained by Mang Mountain and is stable and peaceful. And the water flow is fast, and the sediment is not easy to deposit.
When heading east from Taohua Valley, the terrain suddenly becomes flat, the river channel widens, and the flow slows down. The sediment begins to gradually accumulate, so the Yellow River becomes an above-ground river. It starts from Taohua Valley and goes eastward, becoming an above-ground river. .
Therefore, during the Song Dynasty, the Song court set up river flood control soldiers here to judge whether the downstream was likely to flood based on the water potential of Taohua Valley. Basically, the old people in this area were flood soldiers and knew the trend of the Yellow River water in this area very well. "
Tian Guizi followed Su Yonglin and told him a little about the importance of Taohuayu to the entire Yellow River management project.
Su Yonglin nodded slowly.
"So the reason why you issued warnings many times is because the flood soldiers here issued warnings?"
Tian Guizi nodded.
"Yes, these experienced flood soldiers saw that the rain continued unabated and the water level in Taohua Valley rose, and they were worried that flooding would occur downstream, so they gave us a warning in advance, and we issued orders to all the government offices along the downstream coast to let them They moved away the old, weak, women and children in the relevant areas and gathered the young and strong to prepare to strengthen the river embankments."
“What areas are currently at risk of flooding?”
"The most dangerous places are Huazhou, Caozhou and Shanzhou. These three places were the disaster-stricken areas where Duchong dug the river mouth. Although the gap has since been closed, it is still very dangerous. I have sent people to repair the embankment and further The embankments will be raised and thickened, but I don’t know if they will be able to stop the river from flooding.”
Tian Guizi wiped the sweat from his forehead. It could be seen that he was very anxious.
So Su Yonglin looked up at the gray sky and felt the dampness in his body.
"Although the rain has stopped temporarily, it will definitely continue to rain. If it continues, it may be dangerous. Regardless of other places, the elderly, weak, women and children in Huazhou, Caozhou and Shanzhou began to evacuate first.
Henan Province and Shandong Province are required to ensure food and accommodation for the people of the three states at all costs. If local finances are difficult, the central government will provide funds and coordinate with other places to fully support Shandong and Henan. Whenever something happens to one person, I will settle the account with them! "
Tian Guizi nodded.
"I understand, I will arrange it."
"Well, that's good."
Su Yonglin thought for a while and then asked: "Are the problems in these three states particularly serious and prone to flooding?"
"That's not true. It's just that there are some problems with the dams in these three states. The quality is not good and they can easily be dangerous."
Tian Guizi sighed and said slowly: "Huazhou is where the Duchong breach occurred. Although the breach was later closed, it seems that the construction team responsible for closing the breach at that time was not very professional and attentive. They did not do their best and the materials used were poor." He was so careless that he encountered dangerous situations many times, and Caozhou and Shanzhou were similar.
The Ming Dynasty has also taken over the problems they left behind. Isn't it just ready to be renovated? As a result, the heavy rain came. Now it is not a question of repairs, but a question of whether it can be blocked. If it can be blocked, it can be carried through. If it cannot be blocked, it must be prepared to divert the flood and release it. "
