Chapter 100 Yellow River Road

At the end of July, the tail of the autumn tiger is still wagging, and people feel stuffy in the hot weather.

Song Yuzhu was awakened by the heat early in the morning. The ice in the bedroom had melted, and the eunuchs wanted to replace it with new ones.

Song Yuzhu asked hoarsely, "What time is it?"

"Your Majesty, it is just past the hour of Chou."

"No need to change the ice, open the window and ventilate."

"yes."

Song Yuzhu leaned on the bed and opened the system. She selected Binzhou Port on the map and clicked on it. This was the departure point of the Hope.

When she has nothing to do, Song Yuzhu always likes to come here to take a look. It has been two months since Axiao left, and no one knows where the boat has gone.

Song Yuzhu turned her eyes to the seaside. It was high tide, and the sea water kept rushing to the shore, hitting the rocks on the shore, making a splashing sound. Listening to the sound of the waves, her body instantly cooled down.

It was still early for court, and Song Yu had a lot of free time, so he controlled his gaze and looked around on the map.

Today, thousands of primary schools have been established across the country, and tens of thousands of children have received enlightenment education. Although it is still far from what he expected, as long as he persists, he believes that all children in Daqi will have the opportunity to go to school.

Binzhou Prefecture also built three primary schools, one of which was located in the nearby county town. Before dawn, Song Yuzhu saw that many children had already gotten up, put on their clothes, put on their schoolbags, and walked towards the school with steamed buns and cakes in their pockets.

Children were walking and laughing in groups of three or four, reciting the poems that their teacher had taught them yesterday.

"When you look from the side, you see a mountain range; when you look from the front, you see a peak; from a distance, you see a different height; you cannot see the true face of Mount Lu because you are inside it."

"Sister Xiaoyue, you recited really well!" Several younger children followed the girl and praised her. These children were young and at the peak of their innocence.

The girl named Xiaoyue raised her head and said, "I can recite all the poems that the teacher taught me."

"Wow! Sister Xiaoyue is so amazing!"

Song Yuzhu was amused by the group of children and followed them towards the school.

After reciting a poem, Xiaoyue sang the national anthem "The Song of Great Enlightenment". This song was arranged by the Jiaofang Division and the lyrics were written by Song Yuzhu himself. The main point is that it is catchy and the content of the song is simple, so that people can sing it as soon as they hear it.

"Beautiful mountains, beautiful waters, beautiful scenery, strong soldiers and horses, and healthy life. Living in this good era, the people of Daqi are happy... God bless Daqi, and blessings will last for generations~" The girl's voice was crisp and pleasant, and Song Yuzhu also followed the beat.

Finally they arrived at the school gate. All the children went into the school except the girl named Xiaoyue, who stopped and refused to go in with red eyes.

Song Yuzhu looked at her in confusion, why didn't she go in?

As the bell rang, the children ran into the classroom, only Xiaoyue lowered her head and walked in the direction she came from.

Song Yuzhu was a little puzzled, but he was about to go to court, so he had to write down Xiaoyue's address and planned to go and see what was going on after the court.

A lot of reports were delivered to the court this morning. Heavy rains have occurred in the Yellow River basin in recent days, and there is a risk of dike bursting. Local governments have requested the court to allocate funds for disaster relief.

Since ancient times, the Yellow River has burst its dikes thousands of times, large and small, and has changed its course more than a dozen times. Every time it bursts its dikes, houses are destroyed, crops are destroyed, and people are displaced.

The water of the Yellow River comes from the sky, flows to the sea and never returns. This mother river nourishes the people while also causing indelible harm to them.

July to October every year is the flood season of the Yellow River. The water volume has already increased significantly, and with continuous heavy rains, large-scale dike breaches are very likely to occur.

Because of its geographical environment, the Yellow River contains a large amount of silt in its water. This silt is washed downstream by the water flow. Over time, the riverbed will be filled up, and the downstream will become higher and higher, eventually causing the river to change course.

Liu Lin said: "Your Majesty, the last time the Yellow River changed its course was during the Wu Dynasty three hundred years ago. A large-scale flood turned the lower reaches of the Yellow River into a flood zone. It was precisely because of this flood that the foundation was shaken and the Wu Dynasty was destroyed."

Song Yuzhu nodded: "What do you think, my dear ministers?"

Wang Jing, the Imperial Censor, said: "In my humble opinion, we should continue to strengthen the dikes downstream to prevent the Yellow River from bursting its banks."

The Minister of Works Ji Mingli said: "I think it is better to drain than to block. The riverbed of the lower Yellow River has long been overfilled. Continuing to raise the dam is only a temporary solution and will eventually burst the dam."

Other officials nodded in agreement, but clearing the river was not easy. In ancient times when productivity and tools were backward, ordinary people could only rely on carrying mud and sand out in bamboo baskets, like ants moving house. It was slow, time-consuming and costly.

Wang Jing was dissatisfied and said, "Since ancient times, people have built dams to prevent disasters. How long will it take to dig out the mud and sand?"

“Building a dam will eventually break, and it won’t solve the fundamental problem!”

"It's too dangerous to dig sand in the water. Sir Ji, you treat human life as worthless!"

“More people died when the dam burst!”

The two of them actually started arguing in public. Song Yuzhu frowned and interrupted them: "Do you have any other ideas, my dear ministers?"

Liu Lin cupped his hands and said, "Lord Ji said that it is better to relieve the problem than to block it. I think that is indeed a good idea."

Ji Mingli raised the corner of his mouth and bowed to Liu Lin from a distance, but he didn't expect that Liu Lin's next sentence almost made him spit.

“But dredging sand is a bad idea.”

Ji Mingli said coldly, "I wonder what Lord Liu thinks?"

"I don't accept your advice. I think the Yellow River washes down countless silt every day. It would take years and days for ordinary people to dig it out. Instead of wasting time and effort, it is better to change the river manually."

There was a lot of discussion in the court, "Master Liu, are you kidding me?"

"How big a project is it to artificially divert the Yellow River?"

Song Yuzhu coughed lightly, and the hall instantly fell silent: "Lord Liu, please continue."

"Manual diversion has three advantages. First, it is less dangerous. Working in the water is difficult and it is easy to lose lives if you encounter undercurrents. Working on the shore is safer and workers can do the work even if they cannot swim."

Song Yuzhu nodded, this was indeed a benefit.

"Secondly, it costs less money to divert the river, and artificial diversion can control the direction of the water flow, divert the Yellow River, and prevent large-scale siltation in one place."

The Yellow River washes down hundreds of thousands of stones of silt every year, three-quarters of which flows into the sea, and the remaining quarter accumulates on the Huai River and the North China Plain.

As the Yellow River is diverted, silt accumulation will be reduced and it will be much easier to handle.

"As for the third option, artificial diversion can control the direction of water flow. We can divert water to dry areas, which can not only irrigate the land and develop animal husbandry and fisheries, but also ensure that the banks of the Yellow River will not burst during the flood season. I wonder if this method of killing three birds with one stone is feasible?"

After Liu Lin finished speaking, all the civil and military officials in the court fell into deep thought. Although artificial diversion would take a lot of time and energy, it was really insignificant compared to the dam bursting!

Thousands of years ago, ordinary people were able to dig the Grand Canal by carrying it on their shoulders and hands. Now it is not difficult to dig the Yellow River. If one generation cannot dig it out, two, two, or three generations can always dig it out. This is a good thing that benefits the country and the people and will be passed down for thousands of years!

Ji Mingli bowed to him and said, "Lord Liu, your opinion is profound. It is me who has a narrow vision."

Song Yuzhu smiled, clapped his hands and laughed, "Great! Let's leave this matter to the Ministry of Revenue and the Ministry of Works to discuss and solve it together."

The two men knelt down at the same time to receive the order: "Your humble servants obey your orders."

Liu Lin is worthy of being Liu Lin, he always brings him surprises! Artificial diversion of the Yellow River is one of the ways to manage the Yellow River in later generations. Liu Lin was able to think of this method a thousand years ahead of time, which really surprised him.

Song Yuzhu remembered that the Yellow River was also a natural power station. The water drop here was too large, which was very suitable for hydroelectric power generation. When the time was right, he would definitely build several more power stations on the Yellow River.

*

After the morning court session ended, Song Yuzhu returned to his study. He flipped through the memorials and suddenly remembered the girl he saw in the morning.

He walked to the low couch in the side hall and rested for a while, then opened the map and found the girl named Xiaoyue according to the location he had just visited.

Xiaoyue's home is easy to find. It lives in the east of the village. There are three mud houses in the house and some livestock in the yard. At this time, the adults have gone to work in the fields, and Xiaoyue is the only one left at home doing housework.

After washing the clothes, Xiaoyue dried her hands, took out the book issued by the school from the cloth bag, and began to read it carefully.

When she came across the illustrations in the book, she actually picked up a wooden stick and copied them on the ground. Although Xiaoyue had never learned to paint, the birds she copied were lifelike, and if they were painted on paper, they would definitely not be inferior to those of famous artists.

Since she likes reading so much, why doesn't she go to school? Just as Song Yuzhu was wondering, several farmers driving ox carts came back.

A sturdy woman got off the ox cart and asked: "Why are you reading this book again? Is the meal ready?"

"Done." Xiaoyue pouted and put the book back into her bag.

"Tomorrow ask your father to take this book to a shop in town to pawn it. I heard that a book can be pawned for fifty coins, which is just enough to buy two feet of cloth so that your mother can make you two new sets of clothes."

Xiaoyue's eyes immediately turned red when she heard this: "I don't want new clothes! I don't want to be a book!"

"Child, why are you so stubborn?" The woman came over and pulled her daughter into the house.

Due to system restrictions, Song Yuzhu was unable to follow them into the house, but she could still hear the conversation between the mother and daughter while standing outside the door.

"Boys can take the imperial examination after learning to read and write. Even if they fail, they can still work as accountants in the town. What's the point of studying for a girl like you?"

"But the teacher said that I have a great talent for studying. If I were a man, I would definitely pass the imperial examination!"

The woman said with a melancholy look: "You also said that if you were a boy, your mother would naturally want you to continue studying, but you happen to be a girl."

Xiaoyue lay on her mother's lap and cried sadly. The woman touched her daughter's hair and felt bad. If she had known earlier, she would not have sent her to school. It would have been better for her to not know anything than to suffer like this.

My daughter is already twelve years old and will be engaged in two years. Not allowing her to go to school is for her own good. How can she take care of her husband and children in the future if she focuses on studying all day?

After Xiaoyue stopped crying, she took out the book and said, "Mom, please ask Dad to pawn the book and use the money to buy big brother some new clothes. Big brother is getting married in October."

The woman wiped away her daughter's tears and said, "Dear Yue'er, I will make a new set of clothes for you and your elder brother."

Song Yuzhu came out of the map and sighed silently. Her idea was too simple. She only wanted women to receive education, but she never thought about what they could do after studying.

If they had not read and were ignorant, they might not have been so sad. Reading broadened their horizons, but did not lead a corresponding life, which increased their pain.

This is not a solution. After a long time, girls will definitely not have the opportunity to receive education.

Song Yuzhu quickly sent someone to summon Qin Fengtu, Xu Bing, Liu Lin and others into the palace to discuss the matter.

(End of this chapter)