I served as an admonisher in the Song Dynasty

Chapter 115 The temptation of returning to the river, conservatives Su Liang and Ouyang Xiu

On the 22rd of the first month.

A [-]-word "Old Road to the Junhe River" attracted the attention of all officials in Bianjing City.

Drunk means dredging; river means the Yellow River.

The officials who submitted this memorial were: Jia Changchao, who was the military envoy of Wu Shengjun, the imperial tutor of the school, and the judge of Daming Prefecture under Tongzhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi.

Jia Changchao said that since the first year of Jingyou (1034), the Yellow River broke through Henglong in Chanzhou and diverted to the northeast, and now has the tendency to flow northward.

The river is higher than the bank, the river channel is silted up, and the river problem is becoming more serious.

He suggested blocking the Henglong and Shanghu entrances, diverting water to the east, and restoring the old route of the Yellow River to the east of Jingdong, so as to consolidate the capital internally and restrict the barbarians and Di outside.

He fully explained the benefits of changing the course of the Yellow River in "The Old Road of Junhe River".

The Yellow River flowing eastward can prevent the Hebei area from being frequently flooded, making it difficult to collect taxes, and causing refugees and thieves; it can irrigate tens of millions of acres of fertile land and enrich the land east of Beijing; it can form a huge natural moat to prevent Liao soldiers from going south, and to protect the city of Bianjing... …

In a nutshell: Returning to the old path of the river has merits today and benefits for future generations.

at the same time.

During the Zhenzong period, a water conservancy work "Guohe Xingshengshu" written by an official named Li Chui was translated by many officials.

This book predicted a few years ago——

As the river goes north, it has the potential to enter Yanyun. At that time, the Khitan people are very likely to follow the Yellow River and approach Bianjing City.

If this difficulty is to be solved, the great river must be made to flow eastward.

Now, the prediction has come true, and the river has really flowed north.

Returning the Yellow River to its old course is a major project that consumes a lot of manpower and financial resources.

But at this moment, Zhao Zhen was very ambitious and wanted to do something big.

Zhao Zhen admired the strategy of returning to the river in "The Old Road of Dredging the River" and immediately ordered the post soldiers to spread the book to the military governors of various states throughout the Song Dynasty.

I want to listen to the opinions of officials from all over the world.

at the same time.

Officials in Bianjing also began to support the strategy of returning to the river, calling it a good strategy to resist the Liao Kingdom.

When Su Liang saw this article "The Old Road of Junhe River", he couldn't help but frowned tightly.

Four words came to his mind: Sanyi Huihe.

The reason why the Song Dynasty was disliked by later generations.

In addition to the shame of Jingkang, there was another extremely stupid thing he did, which was Sanyi Huihe.

Now, it is the eve of returning to the river for the first time.

In the minds of Zhao Zhen and officials, the main role of the Yellow River is to serve as a military barrier to resist Liao soldiers; the second priority is the role of the Yellow River in people's livelihood.

Zhao Zhen and officials thought the Yellow River was too simple!

Regardless of how much financial, manpower and time it takes to make the Yellow River flow eastward.

Even if the Yellow River water is moved into its original course, the Yellow River will still flood and cause disasters.

The root cause of the Yellow River floods.

The reason is that there is too much loess and sediment in the upper and middle reaches, and the constant impact causes sediment accumulation in the lower reaches, and the river bed is too high, becoming a hanging river.

When the flood season comes, the water has nowhere to flow and flooding is inevitable.

To prevent the Yellow River from flooding during the flood season, what needs to be dredged is the sediment in the downstream section where it enters the sea. However, the sediment accumulated here cannot be solved by current human conditions.

In Su Liang's eyes, the current floods in the Yellow River cannot be completely solved.

Only by building more dams, planting more trees, and diverting the Yellow River as much as possible can the dangers of the river be reduced.

Now, the strategy of returning to the river has no practical help in solving the problem of the Yellow River. It will also make Hebei and Jingdong, two heavily taxed places, suffer from the abuse of the Yellow River, and the people will have a hard time.

It's really not worth it.

but--

All the officials in the court thought this was a very good idea.

Among them, the most attractive part is that it can turn the Yellow River into a military barrier to resist the Liao Kingdom.

This role is really attractive to the current Song Dynasty.

This time, Jia Changchao's policy was supported by many court officials.

Chen Zhizhong, Wu Yu, Zhang Fangping, Xia Song, Ding Du, Wang Yaochen, and even the admonishing officials in Taiwan, except Ouyang Xiu and Su Liang, who did not say anything, all expressed their support, feeling that this move would not only protect the Liao Dynasty, but also benefit future generations. .

Bao Zheng did not come forward either.

Because Bao Zheng's principle in his memorial is: he only expresses opinions on matters that he has a comprehensive understanding of. He has not yet understood the Yellow River in detail.

……

Yushitai, inside the Chaoyuan.

Su Liang sat at the table, picked up the pen and put it down again. He really didn't know how to write a plan to oppose Huihe.

If he said that after returning to the river, although the Yellow River can be used as a military natural moat, it will cause constant floods in Hebei and Jingdong, making people's livelihood difficult.

The officials would not believe him at all.

Because, after returning to the river, the value of the Yellow River as a military natural moat is certain.

After returning to the river, it is uncertain whether it will make the east of Hebei Province more prosperous or whether it will suffer floods.

Su Liang thought for a long time, and finally objected.

He analyzed the causes of floods in the Yellow River over the years and showed that the harm of the Yellow River lies in the accumulation of sediment in the lower reaches. The northward movement of the Yellow River is a natural trend formed by the accumulation of sediment and cannot be changed without human intervention.

In addition, he said that changing the course of the Yellow River would cost hundreds of thousands of people and a lot of money, leading to a tired country and people...

The next day.

Su Liang received Zhao Zhen's approval on the memorial.

"Returning to the river will consume a lot of money, so you should be careful. I'm aware of it."

Zhao Zhen's words obviously only admitted that returning to the river was very costly, but he did not think there was any problem with returning to the river.

Followed by.

Fu Bi, who was in Qingzhou on Jingdong Road, also submitted a petition to express his support for Jia Changchao's plan to return to the river.

Subsequently.

Fan Zhongyan, Han Qi, Cai Xiang and other foreign officials also submitted reports one after another, believing that this was a good policy and should be implemented quickly.Wang Anshi and Sima Guang, who were in Qizhou, also reported that the river could be restored to its original path, and Qizhou would do its best to help the court repair the old path.

Officials agreed.

The main reason is the role of "using the Yellow River as a military barrier to resist the Liao Kingdom", which is really attractive.

Who let the front of Kaifeng Mansion be a flat land!

Who made the kings and ministers of the Song Dynasty extremely afraid of those Khitan people on horseback?

At this time, Ouyang Xiu also started to play.

Ouyang Xiu once served as the transfer envoy of the Hebei capital and had a certain understanding of the Yellow River.

As soon as he opened his mouth, he criticized "The Old Road of Junhe River" as useless.

"The river has been a national danger for two thousand years."

"Now I want to go against the nature of the water, block it, and deprive the river of its true flow. This was something Yu the Great could not do."

"To use 30 people to open a river that is more than a thousand miles long is really a fantasy and undermines the foundation of the imperial court!"

"The old road to the east of Jingdong has been repeatedly blocked. After returning to the river, it will definitely become a flood. Who cares about the livelihood of the people?"

……

As for the military barrier function of the Yellow River, Ouyang Xiu said: If the Khitans went from the Yellow River to Bianjing, wouldn't all the Eastern Army in Hebei be killed?

Ouyang Xiu moved Dayu out, but did not convince Zhao Zhen.

With the addition of a natural barrier from the Yellow River, Bianjing will naturally become more stable.

This is the first question Zhao Zhen will consider as an emperor.

However, Ouyang Xiu also revealed what Zhao Zhen was most worried about.

The cost of returning to the river is huge.

As Ouyang Xiu said, with 30 people, it would take at least one or two years to open a river of more than a thousand miles.

The court really couldn't afford such expenses.

At this moment, Xia Song started to act like a monster.

He reported that Ouyang Xiu and Su Liang opposed the plan to return to the river because they had a grudge against Jia Changchao.

As for the expenses for returning to the river, he personally calculated it and believed that it was far less than the military expenses incurred by the war with Liao.

For a moment, Zhao Zhen was moved again.

Chaohui day.

Except for Su Liang and Ouyang Xiu who opposed Huihe, other courtiers either agreed or remained silent.

Su Liang and Ouyang Xiu fought against the crowd with two, and had a fierce quarrel with Xia Song and others.

But after the debate, Su Liang found that he and Ouyang Xiu couldn't come up with many opinions at all, except for the "very high cost" point.

All the officials in the court supported the plan of returning to the river.

Wu Yu and Zhang Fangping even stood up and advised Su Liang and Ouyang Xiu to believe that man can defeat nature, to believe that everything depends on man, and to have an attitude of reforming the old and reforming...

For a moment, Su Liang felt that he and Ouyang Xiu were the only conservatives in the court who were timid and did not dare to go against destiny.

In addition, Su Liang and Ouyang Xiu are not known for being good at water conservancy.

Some officials felt that they were targeting Jia Changchao and took the opportunity to retaliate. Even Zhao Zhen did not publish their memorials.

The only reason for Zhao Zhen's hesitation was: the cost was too high.

at this time.

Li Zhongchang, the chief official of the River Canal Department in charge of the construction and material affairs of the Yellow River embankment, put forward a new suggestion.

He believed that the Henglong and Shanghu estuaries could be blocked, the water from the big river could be diverted to the Liuta River, the water could be diverted from the big river, and then the water could be diverted into the Henglong River.

The Liuta River is a river about fifty paces wide.

As soon as this policy came out, it immediately attracted the support of many officials.

First, this policy ensured that the Yellow River flowed eastward, and the Yellow River remained a natural barrier to the Liao Dynasty.

Second, this strategy saves money.Dredging the Liuta River is much cheaper than opening up the old Jingdong Road. If the national treasury is sufficient in the future, we can consider returning to the old Jingdong Road.

Zhao Zhen was also very happy and thought this strategy was feasible.

At this time, Ouyang Xiu stood up again.

He also knew something about the Liuta River and said directly: The Liuta River is only fifty steps wide. It is ridiculous to try to accommodate the water of a big river with fifty steps. "

This move is more likely to cause the Yellow River to burst its banks.

But Zhao Zhen ignored him at all, thinking that he only needed to widen and deepen the river.

Zhao Zhen made the decision directly in the court and immediately formulated an implementation strategy for dredging the Liuta River. After the strategy was finalized, the diversion of the river must be completed before the flood season this summer.

Su Liang knew that this was another "very smart" idea.

If a big river flows into a small river, there is no reason why it will not overflow.

Everyone only saw the role of the Yellow River as a military barrier.

As for the flooding of rivers, destroying dozens of acres of fields and dozens of villages, as long as it is not particularly serious, they can accept it.

After all, Bianjing's safety is above all else.

Zhao Zhen and many of his officials were completely unaware of the destructive power of the Yellow River.

Su Liang stopped arguing. There was no point in arguing anymore.

He planned to change his approach and look for evidence to see if he could convince Zhao Zhen.

At this time, Tang Wanmei was about to give birth.

Su Liang took ten days off directly and returned home.

Ouyang Xiu wrote several memorials, but after they were all ignored, he also became silent.

No matter how good he was in writing and speaking, he could not compare to the mouths and pens of all the officials in the dynasty.

The officials in the court felt that he had a scholarly temperament, and that when he targeted Jia Changchao, he was abusing public affairs for private purposes.

Ouyang Xiu did not defend himself. He believed that time would prove everything, and he only hoped that the price could be smaller.

(End of this chapter)