After listening to Pei Yuanjin's words, the Han Emperor guessed that he was afraid of offending others, so he spoke so tactfully, so he also had an idea in his mind, "In this case, let's declare them to the palace first and then make a decision!"
After a while, Yao Qian and Gao Han entered the palace to salute one after another.
At first glance, the Han Emperor saw Yao Qian's heroic appearance and extremely beautiful mustache, so he asked Yao Qian first: "Yao Aiqing, how many years have you been in the Ministry of Works?"
Yao Qian bowed, but his voice was slightly trembling, and he said: "I have reported back to Your Majesty, it has been... more than eight years!"
Emperor Han saw that although his behavior was a bit rude, he generally felt that this person was quite good, so he asked lightly: "Well! So you already know the situation of the Ministry of Industry very well, right?"
Yao Qian smiled slightly and said: "Thanks to Pei Shangshu's careful guidance for all this! Without him, Wei Chen would not be able to make progress."
Gao Han felt quite uncomfortable listening to this. Why did the two of them drag their parents into trouble? The more they chatted with each other, the slimmer his chance of promotion might become.
Emperor Han continued to ask Yao Qian: "Did you know that the Yellow River flooded two days ago?"
"Reporting to Your Majesty, our Ministry of Industry only learned of this report last night. This morning, Shangshu Pei ignored his illness and insisted on reporting to Your Majesty. I only learned about it just this morning." Yao Qian gradually overcame his fear. , replied methodically.
Emperor Han twirled his beard with his hand and said, "Well, Yao Aiqing, tell me if there is anything you can do about it?"
Yao Qian thought: "I have something to say. As long as the Yellow River reaches the flood season every year, either the river will overflow or the river mouth will burst its embankments. Wei Chen once conducted on-site inspections along the Yellow River. The main reason is that the embankments built by lower-level officials are not strong enough, or the embankments are not strong enough." The construction was too low, so Wei Chen felt that the dam height should be increased and the thickness should be widened. The farmland along the river could be subsidized by the court and relocated to the upper reaches to reclaim wasteland. The towns along the river could be moved to higher ground, so that wasteland could be reclaimed. It can save the people from years of floods. If an imperial envoy can be sent to supervise this matter, it may be better!"
Emperor Han nodded and felt that what he said was polite, "Yao Aiqing is indeed experienced. Well, then the post of Minister of the Ministry of Works will be..."
Before the Han Emperor finished speaking, Gao Han hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, I also have a way to control floods!"
"Oh?" Emperor Han looked at Gao Han curiously, "Tell me about it!"
"Yes!" Gao Han vowed, "Weichen feels that although what Master Yao said is a good idea, it is also a bad strategy. Building more dams will only make the Yellow River rise higher and higher. If the dams cannot bear it, River water, then the flood will be more lethal at that time, the scope of the impact will be wider, and more people will be affected. Wouldn't it be good intentions to do bad things, and the court's money will still not be spent in real terms. Moreover, it would be difficult for the people along the river to move elsewhere. After all, the people on both sides of the Yellow River have lived here for generations. Relocation is time-consuming and laborious, and the people are easy to accumulate grudges. Wouldn't the anger and resentment at that time go against the original intention of the Holy Will? "
After listening to Gao Han's words, Yao Qian felt a chill down his spine, beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and he couldn't help but curse secretly in his heart.
The Emperor of the Han Dynasty listened with great interest. It seemed that what Gao Han said was not unreasonable. If the rains during the flood season were stronger, the dams might not be of much use. Not only that, it might also cause more disastrous consequences. "Well, Gao Aiqing, you Is there any way to solve this problem?"
Seeing that the emperor was becoming more and more interested, Gao Han felt secretly happy and said with a smile: "Wei Chen feels that artificial diversion and diversion of the river are more reliable than building dams!"
"Artificial diversion? River diversion?" Emperor Han asked curiously.
Gao Hanzhi explained with satisfaction: "That's right! After many embankments and dams were built on the Yellow River, the river channel became narrower and narrower, and the embankment lines also meandered. If a flood occurs, it is easy to have poor discharge, so the other side of the river will be blocked. There will be a risk of bursting, so if you carry out artificial excavation and divert the river water, you can solve the risk of bursting. Then dig river channels and then divert the river water. This can reduce the intensity of the flood and allow the flood to flow through the flood channel. , This can solve the problem of river overflow and reduce the risk of embankment collapse. In addition, dredging the river can also make the river smoother."
Although Yao Qian also felt that what Gao Han said was reasonable, if he surrendered so quickly, wouldn't his position as Minister of the Ministry of Industry have to be given up again? So he raised his eyes and glanced at Gao Han, and said in a neutral tone: "Mr. Gao, you have only been working in the Ministry of Engineering for a few months and may not have much experience. You are not very clear about the difficulty of dredging the river. Dredging the river is not only time-consuming and laborious, but also of no use. After a few years, the Yellow River will still have sediment deposits, and the river will be dredged." block."
Yang Youxian, the minister of Dali Temple, also said: "Yes, dredging the river has been done in previous years, but in the end it was of no use!"
As soon as Yang Youxian said this, many ministers also echoed, saying how could this method not work and that Gao Han could only talk on paper.
Prince Liu Yan was quite dissatisfied when he saw those ministers secretly changing their ideas. He went out to report: "Grandpa Huang, I think the ministers may have misunderstood what Mr. Gao meant. Since dredging the river is of no use, there is no need. But Master Gao’s first two opinions, changing the river’s course and diverting it, are feasible, and are safer than building dams as Master Yao said!”
Emperor Han glanced at Pei Yuanjin and saw that he closed his eyes and said nothing, so he frowned and asked Gao Han: "Gao Aiqing, the two opinions you mentioned earlier are good, but do you have any method for dredging the river?"
Gao Han smiled slightly, already knowing what everyone was thinking, and replied calmly: "The ministers are right, dredging the river is time-consuming and laborious. Once the sediment accumulates in the coming year, it will have to be cleaned again. This move really does not make sense. . But Wei Chen has a way!"
Everyone widened their eyes and looked at Gao Han curiously. Emperor Han was also quite curious and couldn't help but take a high look and asked, "Oh? Gao Aiqing, please come quickly!"
Gao Han continued: "Narrow the river!"
"Narrow the river?" Yao Qian said with a disdainful smile, "Once the river is narrowed, it will probably speed up the water flow. That may accelerate the danger of the embankment breaking, right?"
"It seems that Mr. Yao didn't hear clearly what I said before!" Gao Han sneered, "Narrowing the river can speed up the water flow, but it can also allow the water flow to automatically wash away the sediment. If it is as mentioned before By building a flood diversion area, we can solve these problems together!"
After Gao Han said this, the prince and others clapped their hands and applauded, and even Pei Yuanjin nodded silently.
At this moment, the Han Emperor already knew what he was doing, and said with great satisfaction: "In that case, I will appoint Gao Han as the Minister of Works, and he will take up the post immediately to cooperate with General Pei to control the Yellow River floods!"
