Chapter 655: The Great Shun Is Finally About to Go Smoothly

The yellow waters surged on, boundless and without end.

At this moment, the Hongxing Emperor of the Great Ming stood atop a long stone-built embankment, gazing out at the endless yellow flood, utterly at a loss.

Even Zhu Cilang had moments of helplessness!

Because he knew that this time he had met a true and mighty foe — a foe Zhu Cilang could never defeat in his lifetime!

That mighty foe was none other than the surging yellow waters before the Zhu Emperor's eyes!

This was the water of the Yellow River, which had come south through Xuzhou, seized the Si River, and seized the Huai River!

The Yellow River's seizure of the Huai and its entry into the sea had not been a matter of one or two years. It had first occurred at the juncture of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties, when Du Chong, the Left Capital Garrison Commander of the Song, in order to block the Jin troops from advancing south, deliberately breached the dikes west of Ligu Ford in Hua County, sending the Yellow River east through Ligu Ford, south of Hua County, between Puyang and Dongming, then through Juye, Jiaxiang, and Jinxiang in southwestern Lu to flow into the Si River, and from the Si into the Huai. It had been several hundred years by now!

If what the Yellow River's seizure of the Huai brought were merely water, it would not have been a great problem — at most the channel at the lower Huai's sea outlet would have widened, which would actually have benefited the economic development around the Huai's estuary. But the reason the Yellow River ran yellow and turbid was that it carried enormous quantities of silt. And this silt would settle on the riverbed in stretches where the current was relatively gentle; accumulated day by day, month by month, the channel would gradually rise, forming a suspended river. In severe cases it would even cause the channel to silt up and shift course.

By now the Yellow River had seized the Si and the Huai for several hundred years, and the amount of silt brought down over those centuries was probably an astronomical figure. Thus the Guo River and the Ying River, which in earlier years had jointly served as the Yellow River's southern channels, had already silted up, leaving only the single channel of the Si. And the Yellow River's entry point into the Huai had likewise been reduced to Qingkou, near the prefectural seat of Huai'an.

The Yellow River, the Huai River, and the Grand Canal — three rivers converged at Qingkou, and one could well imagine the sheer volume of water.

And the channel running east from Qingkou to the sea, after centuries of silting, had gradually risen until it had all but vanished!

So great quantities of Yellow River and Huai River water had no choice but to flow through the canal into the Yangtze. To ensure the canal's navigational safety, in the thirty-second year of Wanli the Ming court had been forced to spend enormous sums to build a new channel parallel to the old canal course. Yet the immense flow of the annual flood season still could not be diverted in time into the sea or the Yangtze.

As a result, Hongze Lake near Xuyi became a "reservoir" for storing Yellow River and Huai River water, and after vast amounts of silt settled on Hongze Lake's bed, the lake's water level rose year by year, flooding continuously.

Left with no alternative, the Ming court could only build great dikes around Hongze Lake. The stone embankment where Zhu Cilang now stood was the Gaoyan Weir — the Ten-Thousand-Zhang Long Dike on the eastern side of Hongze Lake!

It was a dam more than ten thousand zhang long and over one zhang high, built of rammed earth faced with stone. After this great dike was completed, the flooding on the eastern side of Hongze Lake in Huai'an and Yangzhou prefectures lessened somewhat. But the western shore of Hongze Lake then suffered, so much so that the safety of the imperial ancestral mausoleum at Sizhou was threatened.

To alleviate the flooding at Sizhou, the renowned official Pan Jixun, who had overseen the Gaoyan Weir project, also built the forty-li Guiren Dike downstream on the Sui River, forcing the Sui into the Yellow, cutting off the flow to protect the mausoleum.

"This dike is very well built! How much did it cost?"

Gazing at the boundless yellow waters, Zhu Cilang sighed, then asked about the silver.

"When Pan Yinchuan oversaw the work, he built more than sixty li of the Gaoyan Weir and more than forty li of the Guiren Dike, sealed one hundred and thirty breaches, built more than fifty-six thousand zhang of distant dikes on both banks at Xu, Huai, Pi, Su, Tao, and Qing, and one great dam each at Dang and Feng. The project was vast, and the treasury funds expended amounted to a little over one hundred sixty thousand."

The one answering Zhu Cilang's question was the newly appointed Governor-General of River Works, Fang Gongyue. He had previously served as Governor of Huguang. At the beginning of the first year of Hongxing, Zhu Cilang, feeling his finances were more ample, had resolved to properly harness the Huai River, and so had consulted Shi Kefa, Gao Hongtu, and Zuo Maodi. The three had recommended Fang Gongyue. Fang Gongyue had never managed a river, but he had built the sea wall at Songjiang — also a stone wall, more than eight li long and extremely sturdy.

"So great a project cost only one hundred sixty thousand taels?" Zhu Cilang was taken aback. Even setting aside how corrupt Ming officials were — even if not a single cash had been embezzled, such a vast project could not possibly have been done for one hundred sixty thousand taels!

"Your Majesty may not be aware," Fang Gongyue explained, "that the people of the Huai region have long suffered from flooding, and Master Pan was renowned for his water management, having served four terms in river administration and being known as an incorruptible official. Therefore the gentry of Huai'an and Yangzhou were all willing to donate grain and funds, and the farmers were willing to render labor service to build the dikes. That is why it cost only one hundred sixty thousand, and all of it from the treasury."

Zhu Cilang said: "Even so, the silver spent was still too little. This Pan Jixun was an honest and capable minister, and Zhang Wenzhong above him was likewise a pillar of the state! Fang, We know you too are an honest and capable minister, and skilled at building dikes. The Huai River is entrusted to you. But We are richer than His Late Majesty of the Shen Temple. Spend whatever needs to be spent — not only on great works and major projects, but also on small repairs and minor upkeep. If a breach or overtopping occurs anywhere, seal it as promptly as possible! If it cannot be sealed, then prioritize protecting the Huai and protecting the grain; there is no need to consider the canal or the Sizhou imperial mausoleum."

The Zhu Emperor paused. "The canal north of the Huai is already useless, and the Sizhou imperial mausoleum will be relocated to Fengyang as soon as possible."

Fang Gongyue nodded and said: "This old subject understands. Food is the heaven of the people. Now grain is scarce in the southeast, rice prices are high, and the common folk can scarcely make a living."

Zhu Cilang also sighed: "Therefore the Huai grain cannot be lost!"

"Protect the mausoleum, protect the canal" was a principle of Ming governance of the Yellow and Huai rivers — that is, to preserve the safety of the Sizhou imperial mausoleum and the Grand Canal as far as possible. And protecting the canal ranked above protecting the mausoleum, because after Zhu Di moved the capital, the more than four million shi of annual tribute grain was the lifeline of Beijing and absolutely could not be lost.

To guarantee the transport of tribute grain, when the Yellow River flooded, Ming water-management officials had no choice but to seal off the eastern and northern directions as much as possible. At the same time, to protect the mausoleum, they had to seal the southwest. Thus the Yellow River water gradually gathered into the Si, all of it entering the Huai by way of the Si.

As a result, the Si's channel became extremely broad — and once the channel was broad, the current slowed during the dry season; once the current slowed, silt easily settled.

So the Si's riverbed rose ever higher!

The same problem also appeared at the Huai's sea outlet. The riverbed at the Huai's estuary rose ever higher as well, gradually blocking the outlet entirely.

In short, this Yellow River and Huai River were now the mighty foe that Zhu Cilang could never defeat in his lifetime.

Knowing that no amount of money could overcome the Huai and Yellow Rivers, Zhu Cilang, his mind heavy with cares, left the Gaoyan Weir, mounted the short, stout horse that Wu Sangui had presented as tribute, and returned to his temporary palace at Bochi Mountain in Huai'an.

The party had just reached the temporary palace when they saw the military strategist Li Yan and the Embroidered Uniform Guard Commander Zhu Chunjie coming out from Jinghui Temple, where the Zhu Emperor was staying, to greet them. Both men wore smiling expressions, and upon seeing the Zhu Emperor they not only paid their respects but also offered congratulations.

Zhu Cilang, who was at that moment weighed down with concern for the state and the people, did not react at once, and asked: "Where does this joy come from?"

Zhu Chunjie, smiling, produced the memorial that Empress Wu Sanmei had sent with him, and presented it with both hands. "Your Majesty, the Imperial Noble Consort Zheng has given birth to the eldest prince!"

The eldest prince! It was indeed a happy event! Though not a son of the empress, he was still an heir!

But why had this news been brought by the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard?

Zhu Cilang's mind was far too sharp — the moment he saw Zhu Chunjie he knew something else must have happened!

"Strategist, Chunjie, come with Us," Zhu Cilang said with a smile. "Tell Us everything."

As he spoke, Zhu Cilang had already dismounted from the short, stout horse, and together with Li Yan and Zhu Chunjie walked toward the imperial study within Jinghui Temple. Once inside the study, seeing that there were no outsiders, Zhu Chunjie took out the intercepted handwritten edict of the Retired Emperor and handed it to Zhu Cilang.

Zhu Cilang opened Chongzhen's handwritten edict and read it through, his expression unchanged.

"Your Majesty," Zhu Chunjie said, "these days this subject has also obtained many letters in Gao Yushun's own hand, all written to governors-general, governors, and military commanders in various regions, inciting rebellion."

"Have any couriers been caught?" Zhu Cilang asked.

"Some have been caught," Zhu Chunjie said, "but they know nothing. Those behind this operate with great secrecy and leave no traces."

Zhu Cilang gave a cold snort: "Even without traces, We know who is behind it!"