Chapter 373: The Heir's Tempering

The tensions in the Northern Frontier and the internal strife of the False Song seemed to be temporarily shut out by the sound of the Yellow River's rushing waters.

Southeast of Bianliangcheng, at the border of Heyin County where the Bian River meets the Yellow River, the scene is now one of bustling activity.

The chill of early spring has not yet fully faded, and remnants of ice still float on the river surface;

But along the banks for several li, it is already filled with the clamor of people and fluttering banners.

Large numbers of laborers, under the officials' command, barefoot and shouting low work chants, dig out basket after basket of silt from the Bian River channel and carry it to the bank;

Or they fill newly made, thick hemp bags marked with a "vortex" symbol with earth and stone to reinforce the long-neglected river dikes.

This is the site of the first large-scale dredging and embankment project under Zhang Cheng's grain-transport reform.

Beside the river channel, a simple yet imposing reed shelter has been temporarily erected.

Outside the shelter stand the ceremonial guard representing the Crown Prince's identity, and the Eastern Palace Guard responsible for protection.

Inside the shelter, the eight-year-old Crown Prince Chen Hong wears a light apricot-yellow narrow-sleeved robe for ease of movement, his young face flushed slightly by the river wind;

He is intently listening to the explanation of an elderly official beside him.

That old official points to the river chart spread on the wooden table, his fingers rough and deformed from years of labor.

"Your Highness, please look: here the river bends, the current is swift, and it is the most prone to siltation year after year."

"Last autumn and winter, when the waters ran low, the silt buildup was even worse."

"If we do not now, before the spring floods arrive, deepen and clear the channel, then when summer and autumn rains abound, there is a risk of overflowing the dikes, endangering downstream grain transport and even farmland."

Chen Hong listened very attentively, nodding his small head from time to time.

Although he is young, having been taught by Zhang Cheng, Wang Ru and others since childhood, he deeply knows that grain transport is the "lifeline of the state," concerning the food supplies of Bianliangcheng's millions of soldiers and civilians, as well as the north-south allocation of materials, and allows no negligence.

"Then... why not straighten the river channel?" Chen Hong asked, raising his head, his eyes shining with the desire to learn.

"The teacher once taught that between two points, a straight line is the shortest. If we straighten the river channel, would the flow be smoother and less prone to siltation?"

The old official did not expect the Crown Prince to ask such a question; he froze for a moment, his face showing both admiration and embarrassment.

"Your Highness is intelligent; your words are indeed reasonable."

"However... changing the river course involves a great deal."

He pointed to the upper and lower reaches on the drawing.

"It requires requisitioning vast amounts of farmland and relocating villages, consuming enormous funds, grain, and manpower—not something achievable at once."

"Moreover, a newly opened river channel would have unstable banks, making breaches more likely."

"Therefore, in controlling rivers through the ages, the main approach has been dredging and reinforcing banks; one does not alter the course unless absolutely necessary."

Chen Hong seemed thoughtful, his young brows slightly furrowed as he digested the complex trade-offs.

At that moment, Zhang Cheng, who holds the offices of Chancellor of the Secretariat and Minister of Revenue, walked in from outside the shelter.

He wore a purple official robe; although nearing fifty, with frost at his temples, his spirit was vigorous and his eyes clear.

He had already overheard the gist of the earlier exchange between the Crown Prince and the old official from outside.

"Your Highness being able to consider altering the course is already rare."

Zhang Cheng first gave the Crown Prince an encouraging look, then gently explained.

"In governing the state, especially for such a major matter affecting the livelihoods of countless people, one cannot simply seek the 'shortest' or the 'smoothest'."

"One must also consider 'feasibility' and 'steadiness'."

"For example, this dredging and reinforcing of embankments, though it looks clumsy and laborious, can take effect in the short term, ensuring this year's grain transport runs smoothly, stabilizing grain prices in Bianliangcheng and calming the people's hearts."

"This is what 'feasibility' and 'steadiness' mean."

He walked to the table and lightly tapped his finger on the river chart.

"As for the siltation problem Your Highness worries about, we are not entirely passive."

"Over at the Ministry of Works, Minister Zhao is, according to the 'vortex' principle, prototyping a device called the 'Dragon Stirrer'; it is said that when placed at the prow, it can rotate on its own using water power, stir up the riverbed silt, and let it be flushed away with the flow, thereby possibly reducing the manual labor needed for future dredging."

"This is seeking 'advancement' within 'steadiness'."

Chen Hong's eyes lit up.

"Is Master Zhao making something new again?"

"He has always been curious about those ingenious devices that Old Zhao tinkers with."

Zhang Cheng nodded with a smile.

"Exactly. The wonder of investigating things lies in applying learning for use and benefiting the people."

He then shifted the topic.

"Your Highness, having inspected the river today, do you know how much food and fodder these thousands of laborers consume each day? If the schedule is delayed by one day, how much more silver must the court expend?"

Chen Hong was stumped by the question, his face slightly reddening as he shook his head.

He has not yet come into contact with these specific numbers.

Zhang Cheng did not blame him, and patiently said:

"I have already had the clerk of the Ministry of Revenue compile the relevant accounts into a ledger, to be sent to Your Highness's desk shortly."

"Your Highness must know that as a ruler, one must not only understand principles but also be versed in practical affairs."

"Knowing the hardships of the people's livelihood and the difficulty of the treasury, future decisions can then be made with gravity, neither aiming too high nor quarreling over trifles."

"I understand." Chen Hong solemnly nodded, committing Zhang Cheng's teachings to heart.

Thereafter, accompanied by Zhang Cheng and the river works officials, Chen Hong left the reed shelter and personally inspected the embankment.

He saw the laborers shouting work chants, jointly pulling a massive stone roller to tamp the newly built embankment;

He saw someone steering a small boat, probing the river's depth with a long pole;

He also saw the cooks bringing steaming buckets of millet rice and pickled vegetables, the laborers sitting together and gulping them down hungrily.

The air was filled with the earthy odor, the salty tang of sweat, and the aroma of food.

All of this was utterly different from life deep within the palace's high walls.

Chen Hong tried to imitate Zhang Cheng's manner, nodding at the laborers who passed by and bowed to him, and even wanted to step forward to ask a few questions;

But the dragon robe he wore and the stern imperial guards around him invisibly drew a chasm between him and those dark-skinned, ragged laborers.

He still didn't quite know how to communicate naturally with these lowest-level workers.

Zhang Cheng observed all this but did not expose it.

Some experience needs time to accumulate gradually.

Just as the inspection was about to end, a commotion suddenly arose from a section of the river embankment ahead.

A minor clerk rushed over to report:

"Minister Zhang, Your Highness the Crown Prince, ahead... ahead there are dozens of laborers surrounding the foreman, it seems there is a dispute!"

Zhang Cheng frowned slightly, exchanged a glance with the commander of the guard beside him, signaling to increase vigilance, then said to Chen Hong:

"Your Highness, let's go see what's happening."

The crowd rushed to the scene and saw dozens of agitated laborers surrounding a slightly better-dressed foreman, shouting in all directions.

"On what grounds are you deducting our wages!"

"We were promised thirty wen per day, but after only five days it's dropped to twenty-five wen!"

"The earthwork on this embankment is clearly harder to dig than elsewhere, yet the wages are the same—this is unfair!"

The foreman, surrounded in the middle, drenched in sweat, tried to explain:

"It's not a deduction! It's... it's a new rule from above, this section of the river channel has mixed soil and stone, making it difficult, but... but the quota is set like this!"

"I'm just following the rules!"

The laborers clearly didn't believe him, and the noise grew louder.

Chen Hong watched the agitated crowd, a flicker of tension crossing his young face, and instinctively moved closer to Zhang Cheng.

Zhang Cheng's face remained calm, and he did not immediately shout or suppress them.

He listened quietly for a while and roughly understood the cause.

This is a common problem in project management: unfair quota accounting leading to labor-capital disputes.

He whispered a few instructions to the Ministry of Revenue official beside him.

The official nodded, quickly walked over to the laborers, and raised his voice:

"Silence! Minister Zhang and the Crown Prince are here—no more clamor!"

Upon hearing "Minister Zhang" and "Crown Prince," the laborers' clamor immediately subsided, and they all knelt on the ground, though their faces still bore resentment and grievance.

Only then did Zhang Cheng step forward slowly, his gaze sweeping over the crowd and finally settling on the foreman.

"You say the quota is thus—where is the quota document? Who set it? Has it been made public?"

The foreman, intimidated by Zhang Cheng's aura, fumbled and produced a document from his bosom.

"It... it was set by the county workshop... and not... not made public..."

Zhang Cheng took the document, quickly skimmed it, and already had a clear idea in his mind.

He turned to face the kneeling laborers, his voice calm yet carrying undeniable authority:

"The Imperial Court undertakes waterworks to safeguard grain transport and ensure the people's livelihood, certainly not to exploit you."

"This river channel contains mixed soil and stone, making excavation difficult; the quota calculation is indeed improper."

"I, as minister, will immediately order a re-survey and recalculation; within three days, there will be fairness."

"Your wages for the past five days will still be paid at thirty wen per day, with any shortfall made up by the Imperial Court."

"Starting tomorrow, the new quota will be implemented."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"However, gathering to shout and assaulting the foreman is also improper; considering your grievances have cause, this time I will not pursue the matter."

"In the future, if there are disputes, you may report them through proper channels according to law; do not repeat such rash actions."

"Did everyone hear that clearly?"

The laborers, hearing this, turned their resentment into astonishment, then gratitude, and all kowtowed:

"Thank you, Minister Zhang! Thank you, Crown Prince! We understand, humble servants!"

Zhang Cheng nodded slightly, signaling them to rise and continue working.

Thus the disturbance was dissolved into nothing.

Chen Hong stood behind Zhang Cheng, watching his teacher resolve the conflict with just a few words, soothing the laborers while upholding the Imperial Court's dignity, and he felt deep admiration.

On the return carriage, Chen Hong could not ask:

"Master Zhang, how can you determine that the quota calculation is indeed unfair?"

Zhang Cheng looked at the river construction site fading outside the window and spoke slowly:

"Your Highness, those who govern should know the three principles of sentiment, reason, and law."

"Law is the rule and standard, not to be lightly abolished."

"But if law does not conform to sentiment and reason, resentment among the people arises."

"In today's matter, the laborers' collective emotions are agitated; their 'sentiment' can be observed;"

"Mixed soil and stone make excavation time-consuming and labor-intensive; their 'reason' can be verified;"

"The foreman cannot produce a public document; their 'law' is lacking."

"The three corroborate each other, thus it can be definitively said that the quota calculation is unfair."

"In handling it, we must promptly correct the bias to pacify the people's hearts, and also proclaim the law to warn others; only then is it comprehensive."

Chen Hong listened attentively, striving to understand the principles of governance hidden behind this seemingly simple conflict.

He knew that there was still much, much more for him to learn.

The waters of the Bian River continued to flow ceaselessly.

The Crown Prince's training, too, was just like this river water—just beginning to flow.

In another carriage not far away, Chen Wen, who had come incognito, lowered the curtain.

He did not disturb Zhang Cheng and the Crown Prince, merely watching from afar for a moment.

Watching his son, under Zhang Cheng's guidance, come into contact with this real and complex world.

Watching his back, still youthful yet already striving to straighten.

In Chen Wen's eyes, a fleeting, hardly noticeable relief flashed, along with a deeper anticipation.

The empire's future needs to step forward, step by step, from the silt and sweat of the Bian River.