Gao pragmatic frowned and said: "Floods are natural disasters, and no one can predict them. But I heard that Mr. Wenggong, the director of the river, went to Shu to open the Ba River some years ago? I wonder what the third uncle and the princes in the court think about this method?"
He Zong Weng Gong refers to the current Prime Minister He Dao Weng Dali.
Gao Gong nodded and said: "That's what happened. Weng Rushen followed the book and listed twelve pictures, depicting the tragic situation in the flooded area. The sage was so sad that he ordered the cabinet and the Ministry of Household Affairs to , the Ministry of Industry and other public consultation offices.”
"Is Mr. Weng's reason for asking the river to be opened valid?" Gao pragmatically asked.
Gao Gong pondered and said: "Weng Rushen said: When managing a river, we should take into account its general trend, take into account the dangers, and ensure that it lasts forever. When I saw Xu, in the Pi area, the river body was covered with silt, and the danger of obstruction, migration, and migration was not in this autumn, but in the future. Sui, fortunately, it can still be done if it depends on Xu and Lu. If it depends on Xiao and Dang, the Zhahe River will be interrupted and both floods will dry up. Fortunately, it can still be done if it depends on the south bank; if it depends on the north bank, then If you don't go away from Zhang Qiu, you will be able to shoot abundant and abundant rivers... Now we use the Zi River as a canal, so the nature of the water is strong enough to follow me. Even the god Yu will not be able to achieve success! Only by creating the Ya River and leaving the Yellow River out of the way, the common people will Yongtur...from northwest to southeast, it is more than 500 miles long, which is nearly 80 miles compared to the Yellow River. Nine out of ten rivers, canals, lakes and ponds are located, with flowing water at the source and connected veins. This is why this place is a canal. ... We have spent ten years to control the river to build the Yahe River. The Yahe River is now complete. There is no need to worry about the Yellow River being choked and blocked. There is no need to worry about filling up the silt in the tea city. There is no worry about the difficulty and danger of the two floods. There is no worry about the drifting and damage of the shipping boats. The branch of Yangshan Mountain The river may not be opened, the sluice seat of Jingshan may not be built, the floodmen of Xukou may be exhausted, and the embankment work of the family bridge may be interrupted. Today's unpaid expenses will be paid by all the provinces tomorrow."
Gao pragmatic thought for a while: "It sounds reasonable?"
Gao Gong shook his head and sighed: "It's true, but you should also pay attention. Weng Rushen said that he would spend ten years to control the river to open the Ba River. In other words, he estimated the cost of opening the Ba River. At least ten times the current annual river management funds. The imperial government is in a tight treasury, where can it get such a large amount of money? Also, don’t think that when he said ten times, he really thought that it was exactly ten times. I am an official in the court. After ten years, they still don’t know what they are going to do? Right now, they say it is ten times. After the court really decides to start work, they will soon say that this ten times only refers to the cost of labor, and the rest includes personnel rations, wages, Redemption of land along the river, etc., Ling Ling Zong can always report dozens of items to you. In short, in one sentence, at least another ten times! Hey, as the river manager, he only needs to come up with ways to control the river. No one can say that his corpse is a piece of cake. However, if we are waiting for the secret, after hearing what he said, we will invest all the world's treasury in this matter? What's more, even investing it all is not enough now!"
Oh, after a long time of fussing, it was still due to lack of money.
Gao Pragmatic smiled bitterly and said: "What should we do? The flooding of the Yellow River always needs to be solved. Even if it cannot be cured for the time being, it must at least be alleviated year by year. Otherwise, there will be a 'loss of huge tens of thousands' every time, and the court will also We can’t afford the loss. Besides, every time it floods, people along the river are killed, injured and displaced. If the court still can’t find a solution, then... it will also undermine the court’s prestige and popular support.”
The man with a tall, tall beard raised his eyebrows and said, "I don't want to do it, but the court doesn't have the power for the time being!" As he said this, he couldn't sit still anymore. He stood up and walked around, saying, "I made the decision before. By opening the sea in Yuegang, the imperial court now earns nearly 20,000 taels of silver a year, accounting for 30% of Fujian's tax revenue. According to my original intention, the imperial court could open a few more ports, but there are huge opponents from top to bottom, all because of the You think I don’t know what’s going on with these silly excuses? But right now, there are so many things going on in the court that it’s hard for me to deal with them all at the moment, so I can only deal with them one by one, and there must be a sequence.”
He paused and continued: "A braiding method (note: a whipping method) has been practiced for so many years, and it has some effect. But as soon as it has an effect, some people become worried, even the uncle did it last time. He tentatively asked me if he wanted to promote it nationwide. I think he was also busy making troubles. How could this method be easily promoted nationwide? For example, Jiangsu and Zhejiang are rich, and the people's taxes and grains are converted into money and turned over. Naturally, it is convenient for both the upper and lower parties. But as Shaanxi and Gansu and other places are already barren and impoverished. If you change money to pay taxes, where will the money come from? Don’t you have to find those rich officials, gentry, and rich people to exchange it? Do you think those people will be so kind? If you say you want to exchange it, they will exchange it for you. ? It will definitely have to be plucked, and then the people there will have to sell their sons and daughters. Alas... It is not easy for the court to do something. Many things have to be done, but they cannot be ignored. I am a generation Holding the center of the handle, every move must be thought over and over again to be sure, otherwise Wang Jinggong’s old things will not be far away.”
Gao Pragmatic didn't want to deviate from the topic, so he quietly brought the conversation back: "Since it is quite difficult for the court to implement this method, does the court have other methods?"
"Yes." Gao Gong stretched out a finger: "There is a man whose surname is Pan, whose given name is Ji Xun, whose given name is Shi Liang and whose nickname is Yinchuan. Do you know about it?"
Gao Pingshi's heart was moved, and he nodded and said: "I heard that this gentleman was also the president of He, and Ding You resigned a few years ago."
"Yes, in the forty-fifth year of Jiajing, he connected and dredged the old river in Liucheng. Emperor Shizong appointed him as the right deputy censor of the capital. He was about to put him to great use. Unexpectedly, there was a change in his family, and Ding You resigned. Not long after, the late emperor passed away and the emperor succeeded him, so this person was forgotten by the court."
Gao Pingshi smiled and said, "But didn't Third Uncle forget it?"
Gao Gong shook his head: "I'm not afraid of your jokes. It was because I was also in charge of the official department and I was looking through the documents that I remembered him. I wrote to him shortly after I got up this time, asking about the method of river management. His reply arrived not long ago. , and indeed proposed an unprecedented new method...but this method has not been used by anyone for thousands of years, and I don't know whether I should believe him or not?"
Gao Qingshi's heart suddenly tightened: It's coming!
Pan Jixun wants to open up! Is this Yu Shen II’s unique trick of “bringing water to wash away the sand” coming?
Gao pragmatic took a deep breath and asked as calmly as possible: "How is it unprecedented?"
Gao Gong recalled slightly and replied: "In his reply to the old man, he said: It can be seen that the water from Haikou to the Yellow River last year was blocked, and sand accumulated on the ground. The river in Xupi area has become shallower, and it is no longer what it used to be. The water is Flooding means overflowing the embankment. So there is a decision to restore Suining. Even if the upper and lower parts of Pizhou can only restore the old road, can the Xu and Lu rivers be completely free of siltation? For the current plan, we should start from Xu to Pi, and from Pi to Huai, Looking at the two cliffs and embankments, they are as high and thick as the law. Beyond the two cliffs, remote embankments are still built to prevent unexpected events. The common water flows through the ground, and the silt is also gone with it. In a few years, the depth and width are as old as before, and the changes in the erosion It can be avoided by itself. It can be seen that the siltation of the Yellow River is mostly due to the thin embankment, and the water breaks through it. Therefore, the lower flow is choked and the river body suddenly rises. I visited the south of the second flood and the embankment is very thin. I am afraid that the flood will break out in May and the water will break out from the side. , then the shallow siltation in the Baiyang River will be cleared, and the disasters south of the Second Flood will follow."
Gao Pragmatic was already prepared and immediately said: "Although this method is new, someone actually proposed it in ancient times, but it was just not implemented yet."
"Oh?" Gao Gong's face was full of surprise: "Who has ever discussed this? How did you know about it?"
