Later generations often use the phrase "honest but useless" to discredit upright officials like Hai Rui, but this is nothing more than an excuse for corrupt officials and their spokesmen to justify their evil deeds of taking bribes and breaking the law.

As for a certain professor "He Wu Ang" who described Hai Rui as a weird model bureaucrat, he is nothing but a history dabbler with poor academic skills and a crooked position, who stood on the "end of history" and "beacon of mankind" to overlook his motherland, and deliberately exaggerated and distorted it to prove that "China is bound to lose" and "the sorrow of the river".

Of course, we can have different opinions on a person and a matter, but the most basic point is not to ignore the facts. For example, these people only saw Hai Rui's fierce actions such as submitting a memorial on public security and fighting against Xu Ge Lao, but ignored how he, a juren from a remote county, stood out from a Nanping teacher in a remote mountainous area and was promoted to the magistrate of Chun'an. How he became famous throughout the country and was promoted to Beijing while serving as the magistrate of Chun'an.

He achieved his position with real talent and hard work! It was because he had talents far beyond those of ordinary officials that he was able to break the cage of prejudice and discrimination and become a senior official of the court. In fact, his integrity and honesty hindered his career advancement, not because the court wanted to set up a moral model, that he was promoted to the governor of Yingtian!

The best example is this flood control. The control of the Wusong River has always been a big problem in all dynasties, and the problem of flooding in Taihu Lake is almost unsolvable. During the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, the imperial court and local officials tried countless times to solve the problem, but they failed time and time again at the cost of manpower and money.

During the Yongle reign, the famous Xia Yuanji personally presided over the Wusong River water control project. Even a man like him who worked as an accountant for Zhu Di

They all felt that they had spent a lot of money, but failed in the end.

However, during his tenure as governor of Yingtian, Hai Rui read through the materials and records of flood control in past dynasties by candlelight at night, and conducted field investigations in desolate villages and wild waters. Based on the wisdom of many people, he finally combined the flood control experience of Xia Yuanji and Pan Jixun and came up with the most advanced flood control plan.

Then he raised funds himself. With no support from the court and no cooperation from local gentry, he adopted the method of work-for-relief and mobilized 130,000 disaster victims. In just three months, he completed the dredging project of Wusong River and Baimao River. At the same time, he also provided relief to the disaster victims to get through the spring famine...

From then on, "Taihu Lake flowed directly into the sea, and the coastal canals were able to divert water to irrigate the fields, so that floods were prepared in advance and the harvests were abundant. The people of Wu relied on it forever and enjoyed endless happiness and benefits." Although this statement may be exaggerated as is the customary practice of Chinese literati, at least for more than ten years after Hai Rui's governance, there was no flood in the lower reaches of Taihu Lake.

Moreover, because Hai Rui provided the correct idea of ​​flood control, officials in later generations followed suit and continued to control it. When the Taihu Lake flooded again, it did not easily cause flood disasters. This gave birth to the future prosperity of Shanghai County, located at the mouth of the Yangtze River. Once the flood disaster was controlled, the function of the river, sea and land hub here quickly emerged. As a result, merchants soon gathered here to open ports and set up cities, which created the later famous Shanghai.

But in any case, Hai Rui's achievements in flood control were outstanding and his results were convincing. Even his political enemies who disliked him and the big landlords who slandered him had to admit his great role in turning the tide. It was said that "Hai Rui's achievements in flood control were unprecedented in the Three Wus." "He has accomplished a great feat for all ages." "If Hai Rui had not been willing to take responsibility, how could he have accomplished this great task?"

Therefore, those who describe Hai Rui as "honest but useless" and "eccentric and uninformed" are either liars or historical idiots. It is self-evident whether the conclusions drawn by these people are reliable or not...

~~

In the original time and space, Hai Rui took on most of the work alone, including raising funds, recruiting laborers, supervising construction on site, and personally managing accounts to reduce costs. As a result, the total cost was less than 70,000 taels, and the people who participated in the construction of water conservancy did not feel that it was hard.

Behind these miracles is Hai Rui's painstaking efforts. He managed to overcome this tough challenge with his superhuman abilities and inhuman work intensity.

But now he is no longer alone, he has Zhao Hao, a trustworthy comrade, and Jiangnan Group, a powerful economy, to help him. If he still wants to fight alone, wouldn't he be a fool?

In the cabin of Lannipu, Hai Rui spread out a map of the Suzhou and Songjiang waters that he had drawn himself, and said to Zhao Hao in a deep voice:

"Through the research during this period, and comparing the gains and losses of previous efforts to manage Taihu Lake, I believe that the reason why successive dynasties have failed in flood control is because of preconceived notions. They always regard the Wusong River as the main channel for the discharge of water from Taihu Lake, and put all their efforts on the management of the Wusong River - but they have never thought about whether the Wusong River can still bear the responsibility of discharging flood water for Taihu Lake?"

Zhao Hao nodded. In ancient times, the vast Taihu Lake relied on three major rivers - Loujiang River, Dongjiang River and Wusong River to discharge into the sea. Later, the first two rivers were blocked one after another, and Wusong River became the main flood discharge channel of Taihu Lake. However, with the passage of time and silt accumulation, Wusong River has become very shallow and narrow, with an average width of less than 30 meters. How can it discharge flood water for the vast Taihu Lake?

"My conclusion is that it cannot. In addition to the narrow channel of the Wusong River and the shallow siltation in the lower reaches, it is also because since the Yongle period, Xia Taishi opened Fanjiagang and diverted the water of Huangpu River from Wusongkou to the Yangtze River. The Huangpu River is connected to the Diantao Lake and the waters in western Zhejiang, and the water level is several times that of the Wusong River. The water level of the Wusong River has seriously affected the water output of the Wusong River. This is the real reason for the annual floods!"

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded. Hai Rui's pulse diagnosis was very accurate. Pan Jixun also said so...

"It's like treating a disease. If the root of the disease is not in the stomach, no matter how many stomach medicines you prescribe, it won't work!" Hai Rui pointed to the Wusong River on the map, which was obviously several circles thinner than the Huangpu River, and said, "So I have a bold idea. We must adapt to this change, accept the reality that 'Pu has taken over Song', and discard the traditional concept that 'Wusong River is the main channel for Taihu Lake to drain water'. We should adopt the principle of 'Huangpu as the main and Wusong as the auxiliary' to manage it."

"Yeah." Zhao Hao nodded and cheered, "What a great 'Huangpu Seizing the Song'! It's really great!"

"I haven't said how to do it yet..." Hai Rui glanced at him in a reproachful manner, but he was actually very pleased. After he proposed this plan, everyone around him thought he was crazy. Although some people were deliberately opposing for the sake of opposing, most people were just discussing the matter at hand and simply thought he was fanciful.

Although Hai Rui had already made up his mind to do this, Zhao Hao's approval undoubtedly boosted his confidence.

"You say what you say, I just find it very exciting." Zhao Hao said embarrassedly.

"First, I plan to build a dam and a sluice gate at Henglaojing, which is the east side of Jinhuitang in the ancient Dongjiang River, to force the upstream water to turn north and go to Huangpu instead. This way, the ancient Dongjiang River can resume its function and make Huangpu the main flood discharge channel of Taihu Lake. I estimated that the water volume of Huangpu can be doubled by then. If the river channel is deepened and narrowed, it should be able to achieve the effect of 'restraining water and flushing sand' as Pan Zhongcheng said, flushing away the silt at Wusongkou in one fell swoop, and also effectively resisting the invasion of silt from the Yangtze River, making Wusongkou completely unobstructed!"

"Great!" Zhao Hao clapped his hands and cheered: "Zhongcheng is really a genius, he thinks out of the box and is very imaginative!"

"Are you praising me or insulting me?" Hai Rui glanced at him.

"I think it's a compliment. I firmly believe that this is the only correct way. I agree with it wholeheartedly!" Zhao Hao said as he raised his hands and feet, acting like a cute little guy.

"Put it down now, you're acting like a little bastard." Hai Rui looked at him speechlessly, then said casually, "But I heard that this area is all your land?"

"It belongs to Jiangnan Group, not mine. But Zhongcheng can use it at will." Zhao Hao immediately stated: "As long as the Wusong River can be managed well and the people of Wuzhong can benefit, Jiangnan Group will not frown even if they occupy the entire Pudong!"

"That's more like it." Although Hai Rui expected Zhao Hao to be a man of great righteousness, he still had to ask him in person no matter from which angle. However, he was afraid of delaying the construction schedule, so he launched a series of fatal attacks and called Zhao Hao back from overseas.

~~

"In addition, we will dredge the 80-li river channel of the lower reaches of the Wusong River from Huangdu in Jiading County to Songjiaqiao in Shanghai County. We will also narrow the current 30-zhang river channel to 15-zhang. We will use the method of 'binding water and attacking sand' to prevent the sediment carried by the Wusong River from settling in the Huangpu River." Hai Rui then described his plan:

"Then we will widen the Baimao River in Changshu from its current width of 40 feet to more than 100 feet, so that Taihu Lake will have an additional flood discharge channel to help mitigate the flood!"

After that, he used a pencil to draw three horizontal lines on the map and said aloud: "The Tribute of Yu says, 'After the three rivers are in, Zhenze is settled.' Now Wusong, Huangpu and Baimao are also considered the three rivers, so the flooding of Taihu Lake can be stopped!"

"Of course, it is impossible to solve the problem once and for all. This time the governance can only last for 20 years at most. It will also require future officials to work diligently to dredge the area, and only then can Wuzhong be peaceful for a long time." The always rigorous Hai Zhongcheng added.

"Hmm." Zhao Hao was deeply inspired by Hai Rui's grand flood control plan and said, "Since we are going to do it, let's add a few more. The more flood discharge channels the better!"

"You mean, we should dredge the Loujiang River?" Hai Rui understood the meaning of the song.

As one of the three traditional rivers of Taihu Lake, Loujiang River has now become the moat of Suzhou, which has greatly affected the water discharge. If the Loujiang River can be dredged and widened, the flood discharge capacity of Wuzhong will naturally be greatly improved.

"Not bad." Zhao Hao nodded.

"It's difficult." Hai Rui had traveled all over Suzhou and Songjiang, so how could he not have considered this option? The reason why he didn't mention it at all was that Loujiang River was not only the moat of Suzhou, but also directly connected Kunshan and Taicang. There were many shops and wealthy families on both sides of the river. In his opinion, the resistance to widening the river was too great, and the gains would outweigh the losses.