Nothing is more joyful than surviving a disaster.

When Zhao Huan met Zong Ze, the elderly man, who was already in his seventies, looked even older.

It was clear that he had been suffering greatly during this period, but the wrinkles between his brows were like sharp ravines, and there was no sign of wavering in his eyes.

It was he who led the main force to detour to the north of Puzhou City, working day and night to build a dike there, which successfully stopped the ever-expanding floodwaters.

It's important to understand that this area encompasses over a dozen counties and millions of people, including Handan, which is located in the Hebei Plain, the granary of Hebei, and is crucial to the future development of the province.

Zong Ze knelt on one knee, about to apologize for the 80,000 dead soldiers, when Zhao Huan helped him up and interrupted him, saying, "You've worked so hard these past few days, it's all thanks to you!"

"His Majesty……"

Zhao Huan said, "I will build ancestral halls for them and inscribe each person's name on them. A thousand years from now, people will still remember who they are, and I will also treat their families well."

"Lord Zong, please take care of your health. I have so many things to do and need your help."

Zong Gong took a deep breath, his heart filled with mixed emotions: "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Zhao Huan's tone sounded calm and collected, but each person seemed incredibly important to him.

Those 80,000 soldiers included not only the elite troops of the Central Army, but also the newly formed local militia in the Jingdong region. The youngest among them was only sixteen years old!

Many of them had just gotten married, and some had just become fathers.

In short, it was a history of blood and tears for 80,000 families.

After a disaster, the focus shifts to rescue and reconstruction.

After spending half a month in Hebei, Zhao Huan began his journey back to the capital.

When the emperor returned, Xu Churen and Tang Ke had already prepared a reconstruction plan for Jingdong Road and Hebei Road for him.

Some have proposed to reroute the Yellow River, adjusting its course to Hebei Province, where the old course could be excavated to alleviate flooding, as the riverbed is too high.

Some have also suggested adding more outlets along Jingdong Road to reduce the pressure on downstream water flow.

Xu Churen's proposed reconstruction plan was to turn Puyang into a grain transport hub, eliminating the need to resettle so many people there.

Grain and goods transported from the Yellow River could be concentrated on the south bank of Puyang and then transported by land to various parts of Hebei.

The proposal to restore the old course of the Yellow River in Hebei was rejected. Wasn't the tragic lesson learned from the three previous changes of the Yellow River in the Song Dynasty enough?

The main channel of the Yellow River should not be easily altered, but opening some branches in Hebei and Jingdong Road to alleviate the pressure on the main channel is a feasible solution.

Afterwards, Zhao Huan listened to Zhou Chao's report on the statistics of the losses caused by the flood.

The losses suffered by the common people amounted to at least 30 million strings of cash, equivalent to half a year's revenue for the Song Dynasty five years ago.

The ten million strings of cash allocated by the imperial court for disaster relief have been almost entirely spent.

The number of people mobilized this time reached as many as four million, almost half of Hebei Province and most of Jingdong Road were mobilized.

This is an unprecedented phenomenon since the founding of the Song Dynasty.

Even the ministers in the imperial court were shocked.

This was a joint effort by the military and civilians, organized by the imperial court, to save and protect themselves.

The proposal to change the course of the Yellow River was rejected by Zhao Huan, but the proposal to dig branches at Jingdong Road and Hebei Road was approved.

Furthermore, the imperial court encouraged some of the disaster victims to migrate south or to the capital region.

The specific plan was to allow the government to sell its public lands at low prices to people from the Jingdong Road and Hebei Road regions.

In the areas of Gyeonggi-ro, Gangnam East Road, and Jinghu Road, the Imperial Bureau of Arts and Crafts increased its recruitment of personnel in response to the disaster.

The general approach is to release resources and increase social employment to facilitate the southward migration of disaster victims and reduce social pressure on Hebei Road and Jingdong Road.

In fact, from a strategic perspective, due to the formation of the Yellow River floodplain, Zhao Huan had no choice but to begin reducing investment in economic development on both sides of the lower reaches of the Yellow River.

Furthermore, guiding the people to migrate westward or southward is something the imperial court needs to continue doing.

Are we just going to abandon the area south of Jingdong Road and Hebei Road?

Although it was a flood-prone area, there were vast stretches of fertile fields there.

The Song Dynasty had not even officially entered the First Industrial Revolution, so it was impossible to build a dam like the Three Gorges Dam of later generations. Therefore, when floods came again, people still had to come to control them.

The only thing we can do is find the root cause.

The Yellow River has been restless since the Song Dynasty because of significant desertification in its upper reaches.

Since the Western Zhou Dynasty, the core area of ​​China has been the Guanzhong Plain and the Central Plains.

Especially in Guanzhong, Chang'an served as the capital of successive dynasties.

Ancient Chinese architecture was all made of wood, requiring a large amount of timber.

For example, the Epang Palace, and the Daming Palace.

Over a thousand years of mining has significantly damaged the vegetation in the Guanzhong Plain. The upstream riverbanks have been washed into the Yellow River, and the silt has accumulated as it flows down the river, raising the riverbed.

This also causes river congestion and flooding in the middle and lower reaches of the river.

Zhao Huan planned to establish a department specifically for planting vegetation in the upper reaches of the Yellow River and strictly prohibit the harvesting of vegetation there.

This matter cannot be delayed any longer. He should start doing it now, and future generations will surely reap the rewards.

A few days later, Xie Dahai gave Zhao Huan a latest report on the public opinion survey on Jingdong Road and Hebei Road.

Recently, as people have resumed their normal lives, there has been a lot of discussion.

For example, some people gossip among the public.

This Yellow River turmoil is a once-in-a-century event. Why did this happen?

The official report is inaccurate; the actual death toll is as high as five million!

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