Chapter 123 The Crisis of the Yellow River

Yang Pu said: "Your Majesty, the Yellow River is a river hanging above the ground. The water is extremely ferocious. Layers of reinforcements are not enough to resist the water. Moreover, the river embankments have been in disrepair for a long time. Simply repairing them is no longer enough."

"It has to be rebuilt. Once something happens to the Yellow River, it will affect several provinces in the world, including Henan, Shandong, and the people of Huaihe River. Are they not your majesty's innocent sons?"

"I would like to ask your Majesty to think of the people on both sides of the river, and to temporarily elaborate on the Northern Expedition."

"You are ready to speak out." Zhu Qizhen thought to himself.

Although Zhu Qizhen said that he did not intend to spend a lot of money to repair the Yellow River, he did not skimp on the maintenance of the Yellow River. The allocation for the Yellow River exceeded 500,000 taels for two consecutive years.

This is already quite good.

At least before the reform of the salt policy, the imperial court's annual income was only a few million taels of silver, and the tax revenue of Henan Province may not be as much as 500,000 taels.

Nowadays, the repair of the border walls near Xuanfu, Datong, and Beijing is gradually completed. Zhu Qizhen summoned Zhou Chen, the Minister of Household Affairs, many times, so it was just one thing.

That is to save money for the upcoming war.

Projects under the central government's responsibility are either completed or stopped.

In the political and fiscal policy of the Ming Dynasty, Zhu Qizhen only required a slight surplus before. But now Zhu Qizhen requires a large amount of silver dollars to be left as war funds.

To put it in more modern terms, at least the financial aspect has been transformed into wartime finance.

Almost every year, about six million taels of silver dollars are deposited into the inner treasury as a balance.

It is estimated that in three to five years, the balance of Zhu Qizhen's internal treasury will probably reach the 32 million taels left by the Empress Dowager, which will be enough for Zhu Qizhen to start a war with Wasi.

Even because fiscal expenditures have increased significantly and there is a steady flow of positive fiscal inflows, it will not be a problem for several years.

Therefore, it is not stingy for Zhu Qizhen to spend a small amount of money.

In Zhu Qizhen's eyes, the expenditure of half a million yuan was just a small amount of money.

But the Yellow River can be repaired without 500,000 taels of silver.

Although Zhu Qizhen has been refraining from fighting with Wasi now, he is not prepared to fight with Wasi if the Ming court is not prepared.

However, war has always been a matter between the two countries, and it cannot be unilaterally restrained by Zhu Qizhen.

Zhu Qizhen now has tens of millions of dollars in funds for river control, but he is determined not to spend it. This is not the first time Yang Pu has said this.

The first thing in Zhu Qizhen's mind was that Yang Pu was diverting Zhu Qizhen's strategic purpose. He wanted Zhu Qizhen to divert his attention from foreign wars to regulating the Yellow River.

But since Zhu Qizhen came to the throne, he has been preparing for this event for more than ten years. How can he give up? For this war, Wasi may have been prepared to have sex, two generations before him. But Zhu Qizhen was also prepared

It’s been twelve years.

No matter what happens, you can't be shaken.

To be honest, Zhu Qizhen has been in charge of the court for so many years, and he understands one truth very well, that is, if he wants the world to be peaceful, it is something that he should not even think about.

If you really want to say that something is wrong, where in the world is it not?

The yellow records were untrue, the guard fields were occupied, heavy taxation in the south of the Yangtze River, Yunnan-Guizhou chieftains, droughts in Gansu and Shaanxi, floods in the Yangtze River, Sichuan chieftains, and even Songpan chieftains have been unstable, but Sichuan mostly tried to appease them and reported to the court that they were safe.

Just a matter.

As for the grain chiefs below who bully the people, the families of scholar-bureaucrats run rampant in the countryside, and so on.

Which one is not a problem?

If you have to arrange all the major affairs of the court one by one. These problems have been solved. Zhu Qizhen will never be able to finish it in his lifetime.

In Zhu Qizhen's view, tile thorns were the biggest problem of the Ming Dynasty.

The Ming Dynasty's most elite army, most capable generals, massive financial expenditures, and all aspects of energy were entangled in the Nine Borders. Without fighting against Waca, North China, led by Beijing, would not want to develop its economy.

Without economic development, the economic imbalance between north and south China will become even more serious.

Beijing became more and more dependent on Jiangnan, which directly affected Zhu Qizhen's authority.

Moreover, being able to defeat Wasi and reestablish Ming Dynasty's rule in the grassland not only liberated the burden of the north, but also greatly increased Zhu Qizhen's authority, even surpassing Renzong and Xuanzong, directly reaching the level of Taizu Taizong.

By then, whatever Zhu Qizhen wants to do, he won't be as constrained as he is today.

Therefore, if Zhu Qizhen wanted to attack Waca at the beginning, it was Zhu Qizhen's modern thinking that caused the problem. But now that Zhu Qizhen insists on this strategy, it is not just a matter of great success.

It was Zhu Qizhen's plan to avenge his defeat and establish his own authority, a complete set of solutions. It was Zhu Qizhen's idea for the future change of power in the military, and the prerequisite for the reform.

It was impossible for Zhu Qizhen to carry out drastic reforms in the entire Ming Dynasty without fully controlling the army. Zhu Qizhen wanted to be the emperor, not to seek death.

Only the emperor who leads the army to victory can fully own the army.

Only the fierce metabolism in the army can allow Zhu Qizhen to arrange his people into appropriate positions.

Therefore, Zhu Qizhen has placed too many hopes on the battle with Wasi. His determination cannot be shaken. Not to mention, in Zhu Qizhen's view, Yang Pu is simply being alarmist.

The minister has done this kind of thing not once or twice.

To take a step back, even if what Yang Pu said was true, Zhu Qizhen would not be swayed.

Zhu Qizhen can compromise on many things, but there are some things that he cannot compromise on.

Zhu Qizhen said: "I will give Henan one million taels of silver from my inner treasury to repair the Yellow River. As for the conquest of Wa Ci, it is a national policy of the imperial court. Even if the sea is dry and the rocks are rotting, I will not change it."

"Your Majesty," Yang Pu said, "Why do the people deserve this?"

Zhu Qizhen said: "I spend one million taels every year, but the water control official in Henan cannot guard the Yellow River embankment. Is it my fault? Before the seventh year of Zhengtong, the imperial court was determined to spend so much on annual maintenance expenses.

Yes, you haven’t come over yet.”

"That's not possible now."

"Your Majesty is late for a while, but the other time is too late." Yang Pu said.

Zhu Qizhen said: "Sir, I know what you mean. It's just about the Yellow River. Can't we retreat? Ever since I came to the throne, I have been thinking about conquering Waci. I was even almost deposed by the Empress Dowager, but I can't.

After changing my original intention, all I have done for so many years is for this one thing. Today, water and sea transportation are the same. Grain and grass in the south are unimpeded. Water conservancy is booming in Hebei. Tens of millions of grains are produced every year. There are also roads to pass the border and transshipment.

The losses are very small. The salt tax was levied, and the annual income was tens of millions. The treasury was full, and the tiles were aggressive. This year, outside the border wall of Datong, the armies of the two sides faced off, killing each other. It is no longer a question of whether I want to fight or not.

It’s a problem. Can’t you, sir, be considerate of me?”

After these words, Zhu Qizhen was already slightly angry, but he suppressed it forcefully. It was not that Zhu Qizhen was not angry, he knew that anger could not solve the problem.

After all, Yang Pu is an important minister of the imperial court, and he has never seen any big scenes. Even if you put a knife on his neck, he may not give in.

Don't say a few loud words of reprimand.

It's of no use at all.

Dare to stick to your opinions unwaveringly in front of the emperor. This is the most basic quality of a minister. It is also something Zhou Chen does not have.

Yang Pu said: "I am not a timid person. Now the imperial court and Wacha are fighting in Haixi, and I have not said anything. What I want to say is that your majesty should think of Taizong's advice, the emperor and the empress dowager's legacy, and the common people's wishes."

"Regardless of what you are doing, it is enough to fight against Wac and defend the country. Why order the soldiers to cross the desert, chase water and grass, abandon the bodies of their parents and go to the barren land? It is only a waste of the essence and blood of the people, and it is the great achievement of the king."

Zhu Qizhen felt his throat rising and said, "Yang Shoufu, is this what you should say?"

Yang Pu stood up, knelt on the ground, and said: "I dare not hurt your majesty's wisdom, so I retreated to the left and right without leaving any words. It is just the heart of the old minister's fists, which is shared by heaven and man. Your majesty can kill the ministers, and chase the ministers away.

But it is absolutely impossible to seize the minister's words."

"I have been here since the Yongle period, and I am determined not to make the same mistake again. Please think twice."

Zhu Qizhen looked at Yang Pu with a look of murderous intent in his eyes.

At this moment, Zhu Qizhen was really murderous because what Yang Pu said was too unpleasant.
Chapter completed!