As the weather cleared for several days, the water level of the Yellow River finally receded from its dangerous position.
Countless people on the riverbank two to three hundred miles north from Daming Mansion breathed a sigh of relief.
Finally... I made it through!
The imperial troops and Xiang troops who were recruited to guard the river embankment happily returned to the station under the leadership of their respective commanders, carrying silk cloths and a large bag of copper coins.
A conscientious person might go home and give the reward money and silk cloth he earned this time to his wife at home.
Those who are heartless are probably already thinking about the railings and tiles near the station.
Yes……
Where is the station of our imperial army of the Song Dynasty?
The tiles and hooks will follow wherever they go.
This is a characteristic of the times and no one can stop or avoid it.
And on both sides of the river embankment, the people who were recruited or volunteered to guard the embankment did not come in vain.
The wages of one hundred and twenty yuan a day were all settled.
The four commanders of the Imperial Guards of the Fourth Army brought by Professor Miao were specifically responsible for this matter.
However, Professor Miao had an edict from the emperor authorizing no one in Hebei to dare to gossip.
A large amount of copper coins and silk cloth flowed into the people of Hebei.
It can be expected that Hebei's business will be prosperous for a period of time in the next two months.
Standing on the river embankment, Zhang Dun looked at the jubilant camps everywhere.
He also smiled.
"You can return to Beijing to renew your order!" he said.
However, Zhang Dun scanned the circle of people and did not see Song Yongchen.
So, Zhang Dun asked: "Where is Song Zhaoxuan?"
Professor Miao replied: "Zhaoxuan has received the decree and has been appointed as the ambassador for the Dongliu River Survey in Tidian. Yesterday he led his troops to Dezhou to explore the sedimentation situation of the Dongliu River..."
"Huh?" Zhang Dun frowned: "Anyone else proposes to restore the old course of the Yellow River?"
This is what he fears most.
We have already carried out the movement to return to the river twice. Who can bear it if we do it again?
Professor Miao smiled and said: "You don't have to worry, you are just surveying the east-flow river. It is said that starting from this year, the siltation of the east-flow river will be dredged every winter..."
"Oh..." Zhang Dun felt relieved. If it was just clearing out the silt, he wouldn't worry anymore.
I'm afraid of going back to the river!
Xining's four-year return to the river directly caused the Yellow River water to rush into the Yuhe River and block the Yuhe River.
From then on, military food supplies for Xiongzhou and Bazhou on the Hebei front line needed to be transported by land.
And this is a tragedy that Zhang Dun experienced firsthand!
only……
"Where does the money come from?" Zhang Dun asked.
Professor Miao shook his head, but he remembered something and said: "Sheng Zuo, the subordinate of the last general, has heard a lot of discussions among the people these days..."
"People in Hebei, especially those living on both sides of the river, have been saying recently..."
"The exemption money is well paid!"
"If the exemption law had not been passed, the river would have burst its banks..."
This is a fact!
This autumn flood has made the whole of Hebei on tenterhooks.
If it weren't for the money allocated by the emperor, Hefang could have whatever he wanted!
The craftsmen alone recruited more than 3,000 people.
In this way, various instruments, river management tools, and transportation vehicles were built.
Just the chicken buses for transporting soil, thousands of them were built!
Inspired by money and silk, both civilians and the military were mobilized for rescue efforts.
Just in the Damingfu area, I rescued hundreds of people!
There were dozens of dangerous pipe surges!
This is all money.
As for the court's generosity, the local people are not blind or stupid, so they can naturally feel it.
Especially compared with the catastrophes in Xining in four and ten years.
The people on Hebei Road, especially those living on both sides of the river, certainly knew that the money they paid was not in vain.
Even those households who used to pay two to three thousand guan every year are now singing praises for the exemption law - the floods in Hebei will really flood their land, industries and ancestral graves!
Zhang Dun thought about this, let out a sigh of relief, and said to Miao Shu: "Then the general will send a letter to Bianjing together with a certain person, requesting to step down from the post!"
"The last general will obey the orders of the provincial commander!"
…
Song Yongchen was riding a horse and standing on the embankment of the east-flowing river.
He looked at the river rolling eastward toward Texas.
This river is far less wide than the North Channel, its flow is less than half that of the North Channel, and its flow rate is even slower.
Song Yongchen is an old expert in water control. Of course he knows the reason for this?
The water flow is downward, and the terrain of the north flow channel is much lower than that of the east flow channel.
Naturally, the Yellow River water will flow more northward rather than eastward.
By the same token, the flow rate and volume of the east flow channel are smaller than those of the north flow channel. Therefore, the sedimentation situation in this river channel may not be optimistic!
"First carefully survey along the way and record the trend of the river..." Song Yongchen told the officials from the Metropolitan Water Supervision Bureau who were following him: "Pay special attention to places with serious sedimentation conditions such as river bends!"
"In the next few decades, whether Hebei will be able to live in peace or not depends entirely on the princes' inspection of the river!"
"No!" The officials responded on horseback with their hands raised.
These officials were carefully selected from Hebei Road by Song Yongchen in accordance with his decree.
They have one thing in common - their hometowns are on both sides of the Yellow River!
It was related to the safety of their clan and ancestral tombs, so they had no choice but to sacrifice their lives.
As a result, dozens of riders scattered in all directions.
Each of them is responsible for a section of the river, and Song Yongchen has to look at the entire east flow channel and draw a map of the river's flow.
In addition, he also has a mission - to find a low-lying, sparsely populated and economically deprived place as a flood discharge area for future disasters.
…
Renwu in the eighth month of the eighth year of Yuanfeng (twenty-one)
Jiangning Mansion, Banshan Garden.
Wang Anshi was wearing a plain white robe, sitting lazily, with his hair that had gradually turned white, stroking the strings of the piano.
With the melodious sound of the piano, the entire Banshan Garden seemed to be immersed in the notes.
Opposite Wang Anshi, his younger brother Wang Anli was sitting upright, listening to Wang Anshi's piano music.
Melodious, unrestrained, empty...
Wang Anli sighed. He knew that the voice was the voice of the heart.
Especially to someone like his eldest brother, who never bothered to hide his feelings.
If you are happy, you are happy, if you are happy, you are happy, if you are unhappy, you are unhappy, and if you don’t want to be an official, you don’t want to be an official.
I never want to play tricks with others, and I don't even bother to agree with worldly opinions.
This is his eldest brother - Wang Jiefu.
A unique man in the world!
A consistent gentleman!
After a long time, the sound of the piano stopped, and Wang Anli clapped his hands and praised: "Brother's piano skills are even better..."
Wang Anshi waved his hand and said: "Qin Zhidao is just for personal entertainment... Even if it is beneficial, it is not worth mentioning!"
Then he looked at Wang Anli and asked, "Hefu always goes to the Three Treasures Hall for nothing..."
"Is it because you came here specifically today to deal with Bianjing?"
Of course Wang Anli knew his brother well. He nodded and said, "It's precisely because he heard about Bianjing..."
"My little brother doesn't understand, so he has no choice but to shamelessly ask his elder brother to explain..."
"The New Testament of Song and Liao...Did our government suffer a loss or gain?"
"Brother, please give me some instructions!"
After Wang Anli finished speaking, he bowed his head as he did when he was young.
He knew that his eldest brother was one of the few economic wizards in the world!
On this matter, it is most appropriate to seek advice from Wang Anshi.
Wang Anshi laughed loudly, looked at Wang Anli and said, "It depends on how He Fu views Qian Bo!"
Wang Anli didn't quite understand, so he said, "Brother, please give me some advice..."
Of course Wang Anli wants to return to Bianjing.
Return to the capital hall and return to the position of holding the power of the world.
Wang Anshi fiddled with the strings and said, "Hefu, in ancient times, when the kings tied ropes to record events, what did they use as money?"
Wang Anli naturally knew it, so he replied: "It's about using shells as money!"
This is something clearly recorded in Shuo Wen Jie Zi.
The treasures of ancient times are precious turtles!
"Why is copper used as money today?" Wang Anshi asked: "Why can iron be used as money in Sichuan and Shaanxi?"
Wang Anli was stunned.
"Hefu, think about it carefully... Once you think about it clearly, you will naturally know the answer..."
Wang Anli's eyes flashed with inexplicable color.
He looked at Wang Anshi: "Brother, what you mean is...the emperor...the emperor wants to pay for his son?"
Wang Anshi smiled: "Isn't this an obvious thing?"
"Take the silver and silk that were originally given to the Liao people as capital to convert the money and silk of the Song Dynasty..."
Wang Anli swallowed.
"If I'm not wrong, this is just the beginning..."
"Maybe in two or three years, the Liao people will send their gold and silver to the Song Dynasty and beg the Song Dynasty to give them Yinjiaozi!"
The Liao Kingdom was short of copper, even more so than the Song Dynasty!
Therefore, iron money was also very popular in the Liao Kingdom, but iron money was heavy, easy to rust, and had poor circulation. Therefore, the money shortage in the Liao Kingdom was even worse than that in the Song Dynasty!
This was something Wang Anshi had already seen through when he was prime minister in Bianjing.
But Wang Anshi never thought that the young emperor would take advantage of this and make the people of Liao willingly sacrifice money for the Song Dynasty.
When Wang Anshi learned about this, his mind suddenly became excited.
It was as if a window had been opened in my brain.
Countless fantastic thoughts came and went in his mind, which cheered him up. He even thought about going back to Bianjing for a while.
But this idea only lasted for a few breaths and then died naturally.
Wang Anshi knows very well.
If the young emperor wanted to summon him, and a decree was sent to Jiangning, would anyone dare to stop the emperor from summoning the late emperor's valued elders?
But he didn't!
Therefore, as a bad old man, it is better not to embarrass yourself and cause trouble to others.
Besides, wouldn’t it be beautiful to watch a theater in Jiangning?
A few days ago, Wang Anshi heard that Sima Guang in Chenzhou was confused by some subordinate officials.
In the end, he had no choice but to rely on killing people to establish his authority and make all officials obey his orders.
However……
If you kill people, you can make the officials honest.
There is no such thing as that sentence - subordinate officials are all said to be killed!
How many Jinshi, how many Ci ministers, and how many literary figures all fell into the hands of the subordinates below!
This is a lesson stained with blood and tears!
Therefore, there is a saying: A fierce general must be selected from the army, and a prime minister must be selected from the state and county.
Those who have not accepted the test of the state and county, and who do not have the ability to tame all the subordinate officials from top to bottom, are not worthy of being in charge!
Note: The bad habits of the Northern Song Dynasty army... are difficult to describe in one sentence.
The same was true for the Song Army after crossing south. According to historical records, the Song Army replicated all the enjoyment in Bianjing in Lin'an.
Including but not limited to tiles, hook rails, half-open doors...
That's why there is that poem: The warm wind makes tourists drunk, and they call Hangzhou Bianzhou.
(End of chapter)
