Volume One: The Young Dragon Opens Its Eyes Chapter 133: The Lugou River

Chapter 133: The Lugou River

Zhu Qizhen placed the Grand Empress Dowager’s hand in his own palm.

He could feel that while her skin remained delicate, it had withered away, feeling almost like a thin layer of hide stretched over the bones of her hand, devoid of any flesh.

The Grand Empress Dowager murmured, "Your Majesty, I dreamt of Emperor Renzong. He said he has been waiting for me down below for a long time, and asked what he would do without me when the Prince of Han bullies him. I also dreamt of the Second Prince."

"Ever since he was a child, the Second Prince was always sickly."

"What will he do now that he has gone down below?"

Her words were spoken almost to herself.

Zhu Qizhen said, "My Lady, how could you bear to leave your grandson behind? Do not let your mind wander into such idle thoughts; you will get better."

Only then did the Grand Empress Dowager collect her thoughts. She said, "Rest assured, I cannot possibly go to see Emperor Renzong before I have seen my great-grandson. With this empire and its altars entrusted to your hands, I am at ease."

Zhu Qizhen urged, "My Lady, you must not utter such discouraging words. I have summoned the finest physicians across the entire realm to come here."

The Grand Empress Dowager replied, "Very well, very well. I know your filial piety. What is the situation outside?"

Zhu Qizhen answered, "Jin Ying has remained outside and already sent word. Although the rainfall is heavy, the elders all say this downpour will not last much longer."

"Yu Qian has handled his duties capably; the urban flooding is not severe. Most of the commoners have been sheltered in temples, while some have entered the palace. Jin Ying has arranged everything properly, so there is certainly no risk of any epidemic."

Quite unintentionally, Zhu Qizhen had achieved the outcome of using a blunder as a merit. Jin Ying applied himself to his duties outside with desperate zeal. By and large, the situation within the city of Beijing remained under control.

After tending to the Grand Empress Dowager and having her take her medicine, Zhu Qizhen finally settled her to sleep.

The moment he stepped outside, he found Wang Zhen looking as anxious as if his eyebrows were on fire, pacing back and forth in agitation.

Zhu Qizhen asked, "What has happened?"

Seeing the Emperor emerge, Wang Zhen immediately hurried forward and reported, "Your Majesty, the Lugou River has breached its dikes."

"What?" Zhu Qizhen was utterly astounded.

Misfortunes never come singly.

Zhu Qizhen had previously issued orders to reinforce the embankments of the Lugou River, yet despite his efforts, a breach had still occurred.

"The members of the Cabinet are all waiting for Your Majesty in the Wenyuan Pavilion," Wang Zhen said.

Without a second word, Zhu Qizhen stepped directly into the torrential rain. Wang Zhen hurriedly held an umbrella over the Emperor's head, but even so, by the time Zhu Qizhen reached the Wenyuan Pavilion, much of his clothing was soaked through.

Only after changing his robes in the side hall did Zhu Qizhen enter the main hall of the Wenyuan Pavilion and directly question Yang Shiqi, "What is going on with the Lugou River? Did the breach occur on the southern side or the northern side?"

Yang Shiqi replied, "The Lugou River has breached on both the north and the south. The southern part of Beijing is already a vast expanse of water."

Zhu Qizhen asked, "How could it come to this?"

Yang Shiqi explained, "The scourge of the Lugou River is of long standing; it has frequently been called the River Without a Fixed Course. In ancient times, after the Lugou River issued from the Western Hills, its waters spread out boundlessly with no fixed channel whatsoever. The present riverbed was established during the Yuan dynasty when Daidu served as the capital, at which time the dikes around the Shijingshan area were reinforced. Even so, it has proved impossible to confine the river permanently."

"This is the very nature of the Lugou River: whenever the seventh and eighth months arrive, it swells violently and overflows its previous channels."

"Furthermore, ever since the capital was relocated to this temporary residence, the vegetation in the Western Hills has been completely stripped away, causing silt to accumulate within the river and raise the riverbed, which only accelerates the frequency of the river changing its course."

"Following the first year of Hongxi, and subsequently in the third and ninth years of Xuande, as well as the first year of Zhengtong, there were major floods that required extensive repairs, yet these measures only treated the symptoms rather than the root cause."

Zhu Qizhen recalled that back in the first year of Zhengtong, he had vaguely remembered seeing memorials concerning this.

However, his impression had been faint.

After all, no matter how great the flood, it posed no threat whatsoever to the Forbidden City.

At that time, the Grand Empress Dowager had handled the matter on his behalf.

Only now, as he sat upon the throne and shouldered the governance himself, did he truly comprehend the devastation wreaked by the Lugou River.

Zhu Qizhen drew a deep breath and asked, "What is to be done now?"

Yang Shiqi immediately presented a series of proposals: opening the granaries to distribute grain, closing the gates of the southern city, clearing out official quarters to accommodate the disaster victims, and issuing orders to transport grain from Tongzhou to the capital.

A comprehensive series of commands.

Every aspect had been thoroughly considered.

Zhu Qizhen approved them without hesitation.

A profound sense of helplessness washed over him. At times, he had to admit a humbling truth: for the Ming Dynasty, Yang Shiqi was the one who was truly indispensable, not him.

Before Yang Shiqi had even sought an audience, he already knew precisely what course of action to take—he was merely waiting for the Emperor's single word of assent.

Upon leaving the Wenyuan Pavilion, Zhu Qizhen did not immediately return to the Palace of Earthly Tranquility. Instead, he headed to the Wenhua Hall and summoned Yu Qian without delay.

Half an hour later, Yu Qian arrived.

As soon as he entered, Yu Qian bowed to Zhu Qizhen and said, "This minister begs Your Majesty to punish him for his crimes."

Zhu Qizhen hurried forward to help Yu Qian up, saying, "This is a natural disaster; what crime could the Master possibly bear?"

Yu Qian replied, "As the Prefect of Shuntian, with the Lugou River breaching its dikes and threatening the capital, this minister cannot shirk his blame."

Zhu Qizhen declared, "If I say the Master is blameless, then he is blameless." He firmly supported Yu Qian to his feet and continued, "While serving in Shuntian Prefecture, your hands were completely tied, unable to put your plans into practice. Whatever you wished to accomplish could not be done; this is not your fault."

"It is only that the common people are innocent, yet they suffer this catastrophe."

"I do not wish to see a second occurrence of the Lugou River disaster."

Yu Qian bowed. "This minister thanks Your Majesty."

Zhu Qizhen went on, "Previously, I always assumed that Beijing, being the imperial capital and the foundational bedrock of our dynasty, must rely on the Grand Canal, even if its own grain production was insufficient to sustain itself."

"Yet until the scourge of the Lugou River is eradicated, Beijing can never truly find peace."

"Master Yu, do you have any sound strategies to instruct me?"

After a moment of silence, Yu Qian replied, "Given Your Majesty's deep benevolence, this minister ought to exert himself unto death. However, this minister is not an expert in water management and truly does not know where to begin in controlling the Lugou River."

"Nevertheless, this minister believes that governing the Lugou River can never be confined to the river itself; the entire river system of Hebei must be considered as a holistic whole."

Zhu Qizhen asked, "How so?"

Yu Qian asked in return, "Is there a map of Zhili at hand?"

Zhu Qizhen immediately commanded, "Attendant Wang."

Hearing this, Wang Zhen promptly retrieved the map of Northern Zhili from within the Wenhua Hall and spread it across the imperial desk. Stepping forward a few paces, Yu Qian pointed and said, "Your Majesty, please look. The river network of Hebei is dense and interconnected. By rights, this should be a land of abundant fish and rice. Yet the outflow of these rivers into the sea lacks smooth passage."

"Consequently, the land of Hebei is densely dotted with lakes and marshes. Many tracts of wasteland appear barren, but when the rainy season arrives, they are entirely swallowed by the rivers."

"Water is present, yet it cannot be utilized; instead, it turns into a watery disaster."

"And the Lugou River is merely one among them."

Yu Qian pressed his finger upon the Lugou River. Zhu Qizhen’s gaze followed the curve of the river, only to discover that upon reaching its lower reaches, the Lugou River actually split into multiple channels.

While other rivers typically had countless tributaries converging into a single channel, the Lugou River was an exception.

It intertwined and separated endlessly with the other rivers of Hebei.

This counterintuitive phenomenon in itself demonstrated how the Lugou River differed from all others.

In later generations, this region would become the Haihe River basin.

Yet at present, not a single river in the Hebei territory bore the name of the Haihe River.

Zhu Qizhen did not know that the chaotic state of Hebei's waterways was directly linked to the Yellow River's shifting course to swallow the Huai River, which had affected most of the rivers and lakes across the Hebei plains.

Many of those lakes were former beds of the Yellow River. The Yellow River's southward diversion had inflicted permanent damage upon Hebei, plunging its river systems into a disorder that had persisted for centuries.

This also explained why, whereas Hebei had been the wealthiest region in the realm during the Han and Tang dynasties, it had declined to such a desolate state by the Ming dynasty. One must remember that during the Han and Tang eras, Hebei alone could field hundreds of thousands of troops.

If Hebei had remained as it once was, the garrisons of the Nine Frontiers would never have suffered from grain shortages.

The Hebei that Zhu Qizhen faced was a scarred and battered land left behind by the Jin and Yuan dynasties.

Waterworks were never built through the effort of a single generation; the current prosperity of the Jiangnan region could be traced back to the hydraulic projects built during the era of the King of Wu and Yue—it was never the accumulation of just one era.

As Zhu Qizhen gazed upon the map, having never previously considered matters from the perspective of hydraulic engineering, he found the prospect daunting enough to cause a toothache.

Zhu Qizhen asked, "Master Yu, if I wish to overhaul the waterworks of Hebei, how much manpower and material resources would be required?"

Yu Qian answered honestly, "This minister does not know. But it is a task that will take no less than a decade of effort."

Zhu Qizhen sighed and said, "Let us speak of Beijing first. What is the condition of the city?"

"It has already stabilized," Yu Qian replied. "In a few days, once the weather clears, the city of Beijing will be entirely out of danger."