This move not only won the support of the craftsmen, but also ensured their livelihood. After all, building such a massive project as Beiping Prefecture was not something that could be done overnight; it required perseverance and could not be accomplished in one fell swoop.

For Yan Zhenzhi, dealing with tens of thousands of officials and hundreds of thousands of artisans was not a problem; these matters were indeed challenging. However, he was a man of great experience and handled these matters exceptionally well.

Yan Zhenzhi then said, "Your Majesty, I believe that in this effort to manage the Yellow River, we should also select people to serve, compile their names and occupations, have them work at home on weekdays, and call them up in rotation according to their registered status when needed."

At this moment, Zhu Yunying waved his hand and said, "Labor service is inevitable, and that's as you wish. We'll send those prisoners to the Yellow River embankment. Although these people are difficult to control, they shouldn't be allowed to eat and drink for free."

Yan Zhenzhi was overjoyed. The prisoners of the Ming Dynasty were not having an easy time, and they could be considered one of the main forces in various projects.

Labor reform meant that whether it was building bridges and roads or reclaiming land, they all needed to contribute their labor. There were no problems with management; those with shorter sentences were simply kept in the prefecture or county and given work nearby.

Those sentenced to longer terms or guilty of more serious crimes were sent directly to military garrisons. There, they were no longer just under the supervision of yamen runners, but rather by the entire Ming Dynasty army; at that point, there was little to say.

Even now in the Ming Dynasty, apart from a few extremely vicious criminals or those who needed to be executed, many prisoners were people that officials were reluctant to kill.

With relatively limited productivity, some tasks and jobs actually require human lives to complete.

At this point, there's no point in talking about humanity; in such a feudal dynasty, there wasn't much humanity to speak of. Often, for some people, there's really no need to consider so much, otherwise it would be unfair to law-abiding citizens.

Yan Zhenzhi was naturally delighted. The prisoners of the Ming Dynasty were the true main force of corvée labor. In fact, many dynasties throughout history had forced prisoners into service. It was just that the Ming Dynasty was more organized; basically, anyone imprisoned had to serve, and this was a widely accepted practice.

Even some female prisoners were busy weaving cloth and pasting umbrellas; they couldn't even imagine eating moldy food and waiting to die in prison.

In truth, Zhu Yunying understood that some prisoners with relatively short sentences and minor crimes would die during their service. However, there was nothing Zhu Yunying could do; many construction projects resulted in some casualties, and these things were unavoidable.

The only thing he could do was probably to ask the Ministry of Justice to be more careful and, apart from some wicked criminals, also to provide some protection for prisoners whose crimes did not warrant the death penalty. It would be a bit unreasonable to send ten prisoners there and then have none of them return.

These things still need to be considered in terms of their impact, and we should exercise some restraint.

Zhu Yunying naturally knew that there would definitely be some wrongful convictions or cases of abuse of power for personal gain. But there was nothing he could do; that's just how the world is, and true, complete justice is impossible. In such situations, the best thing to do is to ensure proper oversight.

This was naturally very important regarding matters like corvée labor. Projects like taming the Yellow River inevitably required a large workforce, which was unavoidable. One could even say that the more corvée labor the better.

This isn't something that ten or twenty thousand would be enough; it would require tens or hundreds of thousands of workers. And such a project wouldn't last a year or two; it's quite normal for it to continue for more than ten years.

So, most people were aware that Yan Zhenzhi would die on the Yellow River embankment. He was almost sixty. In those days, that wasn't considered a long life, but it wasn't young either. In another ten or twenty years, Yan Zhenzhi might not have been able to hold on.

Sufficient funds, sufficient food, and naturally, sufficient labor are all necessary. Only when these most basic guarantees are in place can the Yellow River management project be carried out smoothly.

Only with these most basic safeguards in place can the army of hundreds of thousands of people be guaranteed to remain intact. Zhu Yunying clearly did not want to actually dig up a one-eyed stone man from the Yellow River, nor did he want a new Ming King, a Little Ming King, or a self-proclaimed King of Wu to emerge.

Even though the Ming Dynasty is currently militarily strong, such things should be avoided if possible. If unrest were to break out, it wouldn't necessarily cause serious damage, but it would certainly not benefit the Ming Dynasty at all.

Having covered the basics, it's time to get down to business. Managing the Yellow River clearly requires more than just enthusiasm; it demands thorough preparation.

These preparations obviously don't just mean having sufficient food and labor; they also require specific plans and a sufficient number of concrete measures. These are the most fundamental aspects.

Both Zhu Yuanzhang (the old Zhu) and Zhu De (the young Zhu) trusted Yan Zhenzhi, who indeed had experience dredging the Lingqu Canal and had officials under his command who had experience dredging the Grand Canal. However, every river is different, and there are many experiences to draw upon.

However, these projects obviously cannot be completely copied, and everyone is aware of this, especially since the situation along the Yellow River is even more complicated.

Looking at Yan Zhenzhi, Old Zhu asked, "Tell me, why are you so concerned about managing the Yellow River?"

Yan Zhenzhi immediately said, “Since the Song Dynasty, the Yellow River has changed its course, causing many floods. Since it changed course and flowed into the sea via the Huai River, the Yellow River seems to be more stable, but the Huai River has become more severely affected by floods. Furthermore, the imperial court is about to move the capital. Although there is the Grand Canal, the smooth flow of grain into Beiping should be ensured.”

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