Yan Zhenzhi had no choice. His original name was Yan Zimin, and his courtesy name was Zhenzhi. However, he was appreciated by Emperor Zhu, who often addressed him by his courtesy name, which was an honor. So Yan Zhenzhi changed his name. In addition, Emperor Yingshi was "taking an inch and wanting a mile," so Yan Zhenzhi had no choice but to change his name.

Zhu Yunying looked at Yan Zhenzhi and said with a smile, "Is it still about the Yellow River? Zhenzhi, you should know that this is no small matter. We need to discuss it carefully. If we really want to manage the Yellow River, we'll probably need to mobilize more than 200,000 laborers."

Yan Zhenzhi's eyes lit up. Although the emperor seemed to be just going through the motions, this was actually setting the tone for the matter. It would require 200,000 laborers; this was definitely a massive undertaking, not a minor repair.

Seeing Yan Zhenzhi's somewhat excited expression, Zhu Yunying smiled and said, "Many people outside say that we are ambitious and greedy for perfection, but I'm too lazy to say much about that. Since our Great Ming Dynasty is going to manage the Yellow River, then we should manage it well. Zhenzhi, the money, grain, and labor we have raised so far are not enough. Do you understand what I mean?"

Yan Zhenzhi immediately stood up and said with a serious and excited tone, "Your Majesty, I understand Your Majesty's good intentions. Managing the Yellow River is a major undertaking, and the court must plan and prepare accordingly."

Zhu Yunying nodded with a smile, which was exactly what he meant. "It's good that Zhenzhi understands all this. We don't intend to just patch things up. We need to clarify the estuary of the Yellow River. We also need to define the course of the Yellow River."

Yan Zhenzhi suddenly realized that he had underestimated Emperor Yingshi. Emperor Yingshi's management of the Yellow River was obviously a much larger project.

The Yellow River has frequently changed its course since the late Song Dynasty, becoming somewhat 'unrestrained' with its course constantly undergoing minor shifts. While no major breaches have occurred, minor course changes still happen.

Now, Emperor Ying Shi's demands are even higher. He wants to completely "fix" the unrestrained Yellow River, which will inevitably be an enormous project, meaning that it will require even more financial and human resources.

Two hundred thousand laborers and several million taels of silver—this will likely not be enough, and it's not something that can be done overnight.

Looking at Yan Zhenzhi, Zhu Yunying instructed, "There are some things that are not suitable to be discussed in court right now. Bringing them up now will inevitably cause a commotion, with everyone sticking to their own reasons, which will really cause trouble. Although if we get angry, we can force all the officials to admit these things, it is not a good idea. Zhenzhi should understand us."

Yan Zhenzhi naturally understood that everyone said the Hongwu Emperor was domineering, and no one could change his decisions; all the civil and military officials only needed to obey orders. However, Yan Zhenzhi also understood that the Hongwu Emperor did not completely disregard the feelings of his officials.

Even the Hongwu Emperor did this, so the Yingshi Emperor should naturally 'respect all civil and military officials,' even if it was just superficial respect.

If the matter of governing the Yellow River were to be discussed in the imperial court now, it would inevitably cause a great uproar and generate various opinions.

In fact, there have been quite a few rumors circulating these days, but the emperor does not acknowledge them and consciously avoids these matters in court. So even if many people are speculating in private, they can only speculate in private.

If Zhu Yunying wanted to make a final decision, he needed to do more thorough preparation beforehand. Then, when these matters were discussed in court, it would be a sign of complete preparation and a decisive victory.

More thorough preparation in the early stages would allow more time and energy to be devoted to getting things done, rather than wasting more energy on court squabbles. This was Zhu Yunying's true thought and intention.

Zhu Yunying looked at Yan Zhenzhi and said, "You need to figure out how many laborers we need, how much money and grain we need, how to reinforce the river embankment, and how to determine the estuary. Not only do you need to figure these things out, but you also need to give us a definite answer. This is not something to be discussed casually."

Yan Zhen knelt down and kowtowed heavily, "Your subject obeys the decree, and will certainly live up to your mission!"

Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying, "Zhenzhi, it's hard to say how we'll be evaluated in history books in the future. But remember this: if you manage to tame the Yellow River, you'll be remembered in history, and we'll erect a monument to you at the river's mouth! These things benefit the country and its people, and will leave a legacy for generations to come!"

Yan Zhenzhi was somewhat excited. He could be said to have reached the pinnacle of his career, rising from a local gentry and grain official to the Minister of Works of the Ming Dynasty and becoming a confidant of the emperor. It could be said that Yan Zhenzhi had reached the highest position among officials.

His earlier proposal to manage the Yellow River was indeed driven by his desire to become a renowned official and a capable minister who could govern a peaceful era. However, wasn't this also a reflection of Yan Zhenzhi's own ambitions—to accomplish something significant during his tenure, something that would truly leave a lasting mark on history?

In this way, perhaps people will stop criticizing him for not being from a traditional scholarly background, and perhaps the civil officials will be more accepting of him...

In fact, Yan Zhenzhi sometimes felt inferior to many of his colleagues in the imperial court. Although heroes are not judged by their origins, Yan Zhenzhi was somewhat out of place in the civil administration system; he was not considered a 'scholar' by the civil officials.

Even in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, and even further back when Emperor Hongwu was conquering the country, Li Shanchang, though without official rank, was indeed a legitimate scholar. Liu Bowen, on the other hand, was a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) during the Yuan Dynasty, making him a genuine scholar with official rank.

Especially now that the Ming Dynasty has been established for thirty years, and the numerous imperial examinations have filled the court with orthodox scholars, it is virtually impossible to replicate someone like Yan Zhenzhi in terms of background and experience.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!