Chapter 888 977 Surrender

After leaving the Prime Minister's office, Wei Guangde returned to his own office and wrote a note to the Ministry of Works, asking them to re-discuss the pros and cons of the Jiaolai Canal and the Jia Canal, and to make a rough estimate of the costs of the two canals.

The only thing that was noted was that the Jia Canal was to be dug in five years, using the slack season in farming, instead of recruiting a large number of civilians to work day and night like other river workers in the court during this period, striving to complete it in the shortest possible time.

After writing the note, Wei Guangde handed it to Lu Bu and asked him to send someone to deliver it to the Ministry of Works, and directly to the Shangshu Zhu Heng.

What Wei Guangde didn't know was that today's casual opinions and the debate with Zhang Juzheng in the office had an impact on the historical direction of the Ming Dynasty.

Originally, in history, since the Hongzhi period, the Yellow River has gradually and frequently burst its banks to the east in Guide, Cao, Shan and Fengxian areas, flooding the Sihe River in Yutai and Peixian areas, and the canal has been repeatedly blocked, and the canal in southern Shandong is no longer smooth.

Weng Dali, then the Minister of Works and Chief River Censor, made three petitions to the court in the third and fourth years of the Longqing reign: to open a new canal to avoid the flooding of the Yellow River.

"Open a new canal south of Liangshan to avoid the dangers of the Qingou and Zhuohe River. Recently, the river disaster is not in Shandong, Henan, and Fengpei, but in Xu and Pi, so we first want to open the mouth of the Yihe River to keep the river away. The long-term strategy... is to open the Yihe River to avoid floods."

Not only was Weng Dali's suggestion not adopted at the time, but he was also convicted and dismissed from office for delaying the grain transport.

However, since he started it, a "Yinghe River debate" that lasted for 37 years has been triggered.

In April of the fifth year of the Longqing reign, the Yellow River broke again in Pizhou.

At this time, Zhu Heng, the Minister of Works, again petitioned to open the Yihe River, so the court ordered Luo Zun, the Minister of Rites, to go and investigate.

After the investigation, Luo Zun said that although the excavation of the Yanhe River was a convenient route, the construction was difficult, and he listed the "three difficulties in excavating the Yanhe River".

After reading this memorial, Emperor Longqing ordered another investigation.

This time, after returning, Wan Gong, the chief censor of the river, told Zhu Heng what he saw and heard, which changed Zhu Heng's opinion.

He reported that there were "three difficulties in excavating the Yanhe River, roughly as Zun pointed out", and said that the Caohe River was now unblocked, and the dikes between Xu and Pi were high and the water was deep, so there was no need to excavate another river.

This memorial, coupled with Wan Gong's proposals of "six difficulties in excavating the Yanhe River" and "permanently stopping the excavation of the Yanhe River", made the opinions against excavating the Yanhe River prevail in the court, so the excavation of the Yanhe River was abandoned.

In front of Wei Guangde, Zhu Heng once again proposed to excavate the Jia Canal. In fact, compared with the Jiaolai Canal, excavating the Jia Canal was more practical.

At the very least, the new river can be used for transport after completion, instead of being like the Jiaolai Canal, which can only pass ships with shallow draft due to the water volume.

Time came to February of the third year of Wanli, when Fu Xizhi, then the Chief River Censor, again submitted a memorial to the court, reiterating the excavation of the Yihe River.

In his memorial to open the Yihe River, he systematically explained that the management of the Yellow River should focus on its greatest disaster and must be fundamentally managed.

In his memorial, Fu Xizhi refuted the "three difficulties" of excavating the Yihe River, saying that he sent drilling, surveying and mapping specialists to the "three difficulties" places to investigate one by one, and concluded that the above problems could be solved.

Fu Xizhi's memorial on the excavation of the Yihe River detailed the solution, which was so in-depth, detailed, precise, and reasonable, and it was like a masterpiece of water control theory, which was in sharp contrast to the empty, dogmatic, and mediocre style often found in some officials' memorials.

Its practical insights had a strong persuasive power, which could not but make the then Emperor Wanli admire it.

After reading it, Wanli ordered Hou Yuzhao, the chief official of the Ministry of Works, to work with Fu Xizhi and Liu Guangguo, the inspector of the grain transport, to jointly propose a clear and specific proposal in return.

It seemed that the excavation of the Yihe River had already moved the heart of Emperor Wanli and could become a reality.

However, after Hou Yuzhao inspected it on the spot, he raised some practical questions, believing that the Liangcheng Fushi should be excavated first, and the Feng and Pei dikes should be built in advance, and then the excavation of the Yihe River should be discussed slowly.

The Ministry of Works, which was in charge of this matter, also said in the report that "it would take several years to open the Yihe River, and the river management should be the most urgent".

After hearing this, Emperor Wanli was very unhappy.

He blamed Hou Yuzhao and others for obstructing this matter, questioned their survey memorials, and said that this was very different from Fu Xizhi's memorials, accusing them of "people who cannot be relied on to accomplish great things".

But in fact, they still listened to their idea of ​​"treating the Yellow River first and then opening the Yan River", which made the proposal to open the Yan River fall through again.

So far, the proposal to "open the Yan River" has become a hot potato that the court cannot afford to pick up or let go of. The court officials are even more cautious about it and dare not touch this topic again.

This situation continued until the 21st year of Wanli, when the Yellow River broke again and flooded Pei County and Xuzhou, and the canal transportation was blocked again.

At that time, Shu Yinglong was the Minister of the General River. He used the issue of venting the accumulated water in Weishan Lake and Yutai County to approve the opening of a branch canal in Hanzhuang, from Hanzhuang to the east, to divert the lake water through Penghe to Yan River.

Although the excavation of the Hanzhuang branch canal still did not solve the problem of the canal avoiding the yellow silt, it opened the curtain of the excavation of the Yan River in a large sense.

Later, during the floods of the Yellow River in the 25th and 28th years of the Wanli reign, the Yellow River broke through the Huanggou River in Xuzhou again, and the river course moved southward, and the river section below Xuzhou and Luliang almost dried up.

By this time, the excavation of the Jiayun River had become a necessity instead of a consideration, and the ministers in the court began to support this proposal.

Under the leadership of Liu Dongxing, the river channel was widened and deepened on the basis of the Hanzhuang branch canal originally excavated by Shu Yinglong.

Liu Dongxing overcame various difficulties and finally opened the Yanhe River in the 29th year of the Wanli reign.

They also opened a river forty-five miles north of Hanzhuang to the east of the lake in order to haul ships and avoid the risks of sailing in the lake.

Although the Yahe River has initially been opened, it is not yet open to traffic and can only be used by small boats: "The river is still shallow, with water ranging from two to three feet. The large grain ships in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Huguang are difficult to navigate."

In the 31st year of Wanli, Li Hualong, who was the Minister of General River at that time, once again proposed to open the Yahe River for transportation. In the first month of the following year, he published "Please open the Yahe River and dredge the old roads", in which he proposed the "Six Good Things" of opening the Yahe River. , "Two No Doubts" theory, which more comprehensively explained the necessity and benefits of opening up transportation and avoiding Huang. It was specific and realistic, and won the approval of Emperor Wanli.

The imperial edict ordered that we immediately concentrate our efforts to start construction and make long-term plans for the water transportation plan.

Li Hualong followed the old traces, starting from Lijiakou in the south of Xia Town, eastward through Zhongkou, gradually turning southeast to Xishan Mountain, turning eastward at Hanzhuang, turning southeast through Taierzhuang, and ending at the mouth of Zhihe River in Pi County, where it entered the Yellow River. The total length is 260 miles, collectively known as The Jia River was opened to navigation in May of the 32nd year of Wanli.

At this point, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal that would be seen in later generations was completely determined. Until the founding of New China, the canal still maintained its current course and never changed.

In fact, the opening of the Jia Canal basically solved the obstacles to water transportation caused by flooding in the Yellow River. Jin Pu, a river management expert and river governor in the Qing Dynasty, said: "There are many achievements in river management in the Ming Dynasty. There is no better way to avoid the Yellow River." The danger is also the benefit of the spring lake."

Looking at the Ming Dynasty's efforts to regulate rivers and protect transportation in southern Shandong, the court ministers formed two factions in their opinions: the "borrowing the Yellow River for transportation" and the "avoiding the Yellow River for transportation" groups.

The ideas of the "avoiding yellow luck" faction have become clearer from the discussions of Weng Dali, Fu Xizhi, Shu Yinglong, Liu Dongxing, Li Hualong and others.

The Zhuhuang faction was represented by Pan Jixun, Wan Gong, Chang Jujing, etc. They believed that the fundamental problem at that time was the Yellow River. As long as they concentrated their efforts to heal the Yellow River, they could not only free the people from the Yellow Disaster, but also benefit from the Yellow River.

During the Wanli period, Pan Jixun began to experiment with water-reinforcement methods to attack sand. The successful experience in regulating the Xuhuai Yellow River proved that the problem of siltation of the Yellow River can be solved without having to disperse efforts to open a new river.

In the "Bah River Debate", the Zhuhuang faction represented by Pan Jixun opposed the opening of the Ba River.

After the opening of the Yahe River, they believed that the excavation of the Yahe River was unsuccessful and seriously delayed the management of the Yellow River.

Although after the Yahe River was established, it was often shallow and submerged. In summer and autumn, it was hit by flash floods from the Yihe River, Wuhe River and Jinghe River, resulting in a large amount of siltation.

The new canal of the Yahe River was continuously expanded and dredged in the late Ming Dynasty, and its construction was continuously improved.

By the Qing Dynasty, the results of the excavation of the Ba River were fully accepted and used as the main channel of the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal. The old transport channel was completely abandoned.

Now, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, river politics had undergone significant changes. Under Wei Guangde's insistence, the Jia Canal avoided the debate that lasted for two decades and directly entered the Ming court's vision.

That night, Zhu Heng arrived at Wei Guangde's residence. Naturally, he came to ask what the cabinet meant.

"I have thought about it. Instead of trying the Jiaolai Canal again, it is better to dig a new canal to avoid the danger of the Yellow River."

Wei Guangde explained his reasons to Zhu Heng, "In Zhang Juzheng's heart, water transportation is still far more important than sea transportation. I don't have as much say in the cabinet as he does, so I can only settle for the second best.

It would be beneficial to the court to support the excavation of the Jia Canal and keep water transportation flowing.

The start of the Jia Canal construction does not mean that the Yellow River will not be controlled. In my opinion, the Yellow River still needs to be controlled, but this time it is just water control and has nothing to do with ensuring transportation. I think the responsibility for those who control the water will be smaller. "

"Five years?"

When Zhu Heng asked, Wei Guangde gave an affirmative answer.

“The project is huge and requires stability. The first year is mainly to reconfirm the possibility of opening the river.

You said before that there are some problems that need to be solved urgently, and the Ministry of Industry will convene experts in hydraulic engineering to discuss and solve them.

The preparation work must be completed when building embankments and cutting rocks when necessary.

The surrounding water systems must be investigated in detail, and water diversion must be planned in detail, so that the amount of water must not affect navigation."

Wei Guangde explained all his considerations to Zhu Heng, and finally said: "In recent years, water transportation has been frequently interrupted due to flooding in the Yellow River. I hope that after the completion of the Jia Canal, water transportation can continue to be smooth.

It's just that when the Yellow River is crossing, it is acceptable to stay for a few days, but it is absolutely unacceptable if the navigation is interrupted because of this. "

After hearing this, Zhu Heng thought for a while and then said: "In that case, I will take the time to go there myself and lead someone to conduct an on-the-spot investigation first."

"Don't have any confidence in your heart?"

Wei Guangde laughed when he heard this.

"Since the completion of the new canal in the 45th year of Jiajing, I have never been there. I have never seen it with my own eyes, and I dare not pat my chest and say it can be done."

Zhu Heng smiled bitterly.

He finally understood that whether the Jia Canal was feasible or not seemed to involve a private battle between Wei Guangde and Zhang Juzheng.

Wei Guangde did not want to lose to Zhang Juzheng, but the condition was that Jia Canal was feasible.

Otherwise, if there is any dispute between Zhang Juzheng and Wei Guangde regarding government affairs in the future, what happened today may become the reason for Zhang Juzheng to attack Wei Guangde.

That is to learn from past mistakes. You Wei Guangde opposes his opinion, but your method will not work and is no better than Zhang Juzheng's method.

So on the next day, Zhu Heng reported to the Ministry of Industry that he wanted to go to South Zhili to conduct on-site inspection of the direction of the Jia Canal.

When the memorial arrived at the cabinet, Wei Guangde quickly approved it, and then sent it to the palace to approve it.

Half a month later, Wei Guangde took another day off and went to Tongzhou Pier to pick up his wife and children.

Since Wei Guangde was ordered to return to the capital in the sixth year of Longqing, the couple had not seen each other for a year. This time, I wanted to see him, but I had thousands of words to express my longing.

I took the two children on the carriage back to the capital, talking about the past years along the way, and unknowingly arrived at the door of my home.

The next day, when I returned to the cabinet to do my work, I received an official document from the Ministry of War.

Qi Jiguang's last battle report only described the results of the battle, and did not report the entire battle in detail. This time, the official document was more detailed. It not only described the course of the battle, but also reported that the leader of the Doyan tribe, Dong Huli, led more than 200 people to knock on the gate and surrender, and asked the court to decide how to deal with it.

That is, in the spring of the first year of Wanli, Dong Huli personally led his nephew Changang to gather almost all the assets of the Doyan tribe. After tens of thousands of people harassed Jizhen without success, in the autumn, his brother Dong Changtu led his troops to harass the border again.

The Doyan tribe first burned, killed and looted in the surrounding areas outside Xifengkou under the pretext of "inviting rewards" in an attempt to lure the Ming army out of the border.

But they obviously underestimated the fighting power of the Ming army. Qi Jiguang immediately dispatched troops after hearing the news and severely damaged the outpost of the Doyan tribe outside Xifengkou.

The Doyan tribe simply attacked the Dongjiashan Fortress with heavy troops. This time Qi Jiguang also concentrated heavy troops and ordered the Dongjiashan defenders to take the initiative to attack, and asked the defenders of the Yumu Fortress in the north to attack from the rear, and fought a head-on field battle with the Doyan cavalry.

The Ming army first stopped the Mongolian cavalry with chariots, and then bombarded with artillery. The Doyan cavalry was in chaos under the artillery fire of the Ming army. The Ming infantry took advantage of the situation to charge, and the cavalry encircled the two wings, quickly disrupting the Mongolian cavalry formation.

The Doyan tribe's painstaking plan of "luring out to fight" soon turned into a collapse and massacre. The Ming army chased and killed for more than 150 miles, not only severely damaging the enemy, but also capturing the leader of the Doyan tribe, Dong Changtu.

Dong Huli took the initiative to surrender, but was actually defeated by the fierce artillery fire of the Ming army.

You know, the victory Qi Jiguang won this time was a hard-fought field battle. In the minds of the Mongols, they were invincible in field battles.

But this time they kicked Qi Jiguang's iron plate, directly used the chariot camp to fight head-on, and used the cavalry to chase and kill the tactics, so that the Duoyan tribe knew that they had no chance of winning the battle with the Ming army.

Without the confidence to fight, they naturally had to surrender.

However, perhaps because they had fought many battles with the Ming people, they also requested to restore the tribute while surrendering.

Before, it was a war report, so it didn't matter whether it was sent early or late, but this time, the situation was different for surrender and tribute. Wei Guangde immediately took the memorial from the Ministry of War and went to Zhang Juzheng.

"What do you think of Shandai?"

Zhang Juzheng asked after reading the memorial in the Prime Minister's duty room.

"Datong has recognized it. If you refuse the request, it will inevitably make the Mongolian tribes give up and fight to the end with the court."

Wei Guangde smiled bitterly.

Zhang Juzheng knew that Wei Guangde had the same attitude as him, so he nodded and said, "Then follow the old practice of Duoyan." (End of this chapter)