The Yellow River is now divided into two, constantly shifting between north and south. Because of the constant breaching and silting of its tributaries, which alternate between primary and secondary flows, its course is extremely chaotic, a truly troublesome situation.
Yan Zhenzhi immediately said, “Your Majesty, I believe the root cause of the Yellow River’s floods lies in the accumulation of silt. I believe that to control the Yellow River, we must first control the silt. I believe we must first establish the Yellow River’s waterway. I intend to reinforce the riverbanks and allow the river to return to its original course.”
That makes sense. The Ming Dynasty needs to stabilize the Yellow River's course and prevent it from drifting aimlessly. Otherwise, the Yellow River's floods will truly be impossible to control.
Zhu Yunying seemed to remember something and said, "So, does that mean our Great Ming should build a thousand-mile-long dike to cut off the northward flow of the Yellow River?"
Yan Zhenzhi immediately looked at Zhu Yunying and said very seriously, "Your Majesty, that is exactly what I intend to do!"
Zhu Yunying and Yan Zhenzhi reached a consensus: if the Ming Dynasty wanted to control the Yellow River, it really needed to restrain it and prevent it from continuing to run rampant. Cutting off its northward flow and forcing the Yellow River back to its ancient course would naturally mean that the Yellow River could be stabilized.
Cutting off the northward flow of the Yellow River, allowing it to return to its ancient course, and building a great dike along the Yellow River—these seem to be the only things that could be done in this era.
Although this may be time-consuming and laborious, and it is not a real cure, sometimes there is no other way but to do these seemingly temporary solutions in the face of nature.
However, while this kind of project may seem a bit clumsy, it is ultimately quite useful. Some things can't be truly perfect, and this approach seems to be the most suitable one.
Looking at Yan Zhenzhi, Old Zhu continued, "Cutting off the northward flow and letting the Yellow River return to its ancient course is indeed a good idea. But even if the Yellow River returns to its ancient course, how will we manage the sand in the river?"
The Yellow River contains too much silt, a fact that is widely known. Everyone also understands that most of the Yellow River's floods are due to this excessive siltation, which causes the riverbed to rise above the land surface.
If such a suspended river is not managed, it will continue to cause breaches and other problems.
Yan Zhenzhi didn't have many ideas at this point. In fact, desertification control was an extremely difficult task. For thousands of years, countless people had tried to control the Yellow River, but still, they had no success.
Even hundreds of years later, many outstanding talents still have no way to achieve a truly permanent solution.
Zhu Yunying naturally knew that it was important to prevent soil erosion, especially on the Loess Plateau. But even as emperor, he couldn't change the weather or the earth's surface; those were things beyond human control.
Even if Zhu Yunying ordered the planting of trees and grass on the Loess Plateau, it might seem like this could slightly limit soil erosion. However, hundreds of years later, it wouldn't be able to change the landform of the Loess Plateau, and at most, it could only slightly reduce soil erosion.
Zhu Yunying looked at Yan Zhenzhi and said, "You can go back and discuss these matters with others. The governance of the Yellow and Huai Rivers should be decided from the beginning, and we must not change our orders frequently. We agree with the policy of cutting off the northward flow and dredging the southward flow. However, if the method of controlling the sand is not done well, I'm afraid we will not be able to control the floods either."
Yan Zhen nodded. At this point, he could only accept the order, even though it seemed he hadn't yet gained the emperor's full approval. However, it wasn't a major problem, as the general direction was basically set; all that was needed now was further refinement.
With the major decisions regarding the South Flow and North Flow projects finalized, now that the issue of desertification control has been addressed, everything will be fine.
Or perhaps this isn't a perfect solution, but it probably just means we can officially start work.
Yan Zhenzhi seemed quite excited. Both emperors had highly approved of some of his methods, which made him even happier. He knew that this matter would soon succeed, because the two emperors certainly wouldn't oppose it.
Yan Zhenzhi was well aware that no matter how hard he tried or how proactive he was, he would not be able to do this well without the emperor's approval.
Ultimately, it boils down to managing the Yellow and Huai Rivers, a time-consuming and labor-intensive project. It requires at least 100,000 laborers and tens of thousands of taels or shi of grain and silver. It's not something that can be accomplished in just one or two years.
Such a massive project, while not requiring the entire nation's resources, certainly necessitates the involvement of the imperial court. Only a strong court can direct and coordinate such a project, and only a powerful dynasty can successfully undertake such a monumental undertaking.
Watching Yan Zhenzhi leave in high spirits, Old Zhu and Little Zhu exchanged a glance and couldn't help but laugh.
Ministers like Yan Zhenzhi are indeed capable of being entrusted with important responsibilities. He can be considered a true pillar of the Ming Dynasty and can make the country and society better.
Seeing Yan Zhenzhi leave, Xiao Xiao Zhu immediately asked, "Great-grandfather, Minister Yan, you're already a minister, why do you still have to do this thankless task?"
Old Zhu couldn't help but sigh and said, "Yin'er, in this world, some people become officials and think about power, some want to get promoted and make money. But some people just want to do more for the people, as long as it benefits the country and the people."
Little Zhu immediately asked, "Then Minister Yan is a minister who cares about the world? Is he thinking about doing things that benefit the country and its people?"
Zhu Yunying smiled and nodded, saying, "Although Minister Yan has his own thoughts, ultimately he wants to do something beneficial for the country. Remember, everyone has selfish motives."
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