The controversy between the eastward and northward streams in the court has not yet reached a final conclusion, but it doesn't matter, you can fight slowly, let's do ours first.

This year, the first batch of 50,000 troops to be dismantled has been requisitioned and transferred under the unified command of the Metropolitan Water Superintendent. Shen Qingzhi dismissed the young eunuch of the heavenly prison and promoted the water supervisor.

There is a Song generation, perennial organization of a large number of people engaged in the collection of river defense materials, often to Meng Qiu pre-adjusted the things of the plug, shoots, firewood, 楥機, bamboo stone, cocoon, bamboo Suo Fan more than 10,000, called the spring material. The imperial court sent envoys to work with local river officials to take advantage of the agricultural gap to lead the Dingfu water workers to harvest and reserve for later use.

Now, with an edict from the imperial court, these materials are being shipped to the Biankou (that is, the mouth of the Bianhe River connecting the Yellow River).

Aren't you going to fight for the east or the north? Let the Yellow River choose first, whether it loves the north or the east, there are rivers there, follow it. Let's first strengthen the section from Biankou to Puyang (the east and north diversion is in Puyang Xiaowusi) first, and then we will talk about it, and there is no dispute about this section.

In the arch hall, a construction meeting was officially held with the participation of the government hall and water conservancy experts recruited from all over the country to Beijing.

At the meeting, the guiding concept of river control was quickly determined, that is, Shen Qingzhi proposed: build embankments to contain water, and use water to attack sand.

According to this concept, in addition to comprehensively raising and reinforcing the embankment, where the river channel is wide and the water flow is gentle, the embankment should be built to reduce the width of the river channel and make the water flow turbulent to reduce sediment accumulation.

In addition, there are a series of supporting measures, such as the issuance of decrees prohibiting the cutting down of trees and the destruction of vegetation in the middle and upper reaches of the Yellow River.

The specific embankment construction method is also different from all the previous ones, this time it is no longer a simple embankment, but is divided into four types: main embankment, auxiliary embankment, remote embankment, and lattice embankment.

The main embankment is near the river, which is used to restrain the flow of water, and is intended to bind the water and attack the sand; A secondary embankment is built within the main embankment as an avant-garde to prevent the water from directly impacting the main embankment and playing the role of protecting the main embankment.

In addition to the main embankment, another remote embankment was built as the second line of defense; Between the remote embankment and the main embankment, a lattice embankment is built again, that is, a cross embankment, in case of an accident on the main embankment, the cross-flow meets the lattice embankment and stops, so as to prevent the water from flowing down the remote embankment and become another river channel.

In the depression along the bottom of the river, a water-reducing stone dam was built, which was equivalent to a spillway weir in later generations. When the flood water rises to a certain height, it is appropriately discharged to the flood distribution area through the dam to kill the water potential, and at the same time, a careful embankment system and maintenance methods are formulated.

This plan was formulated by a large group of "river control experts" in accordance with Shen Qingzhi's general policy of "building embankments to contain water and attacking sand with water," and it was quickly approved by the deacons.

The curtain of river governance was officially opened.

Shen Qingzhi and the water conservancy experts recruited from all over the country, as well as most of the officials of the capital water superintendent, immediately rushed to Gubai Mountain, 20 miles above Biankou, where the control of the lower reaches of the Yellow River would start and extend to the mouth of the sea.

Of course, the embankment between Gubailing and Puyang has been attached great importance to the safety of Tokyo over the years, and most of the main embankment does not need to be constructed; It's just that where the river surface is wide and the water flow is slow, a bundle embankment is added to make the river surface small, and the other is to add a secondary embankment, a remote embankment, and a lattice embankment.

Accompanying Shen Qingzhi was the 2,000 forbidden army led by Xie Dongsheng, and these 2,000 men and horses were used to deal with emergencies.

50,000 people is too small for such a large project, but this is due to Yang Yi and Zhang Dun's other considerations, if hundreds of thousands of people are recruited at a time, the imperial court will have a hard time coping with it, and I am afraid that it will shake the country's foundation.

No, in the Privy Council, Empress Dowager Liu, Zhang Dan, Yang Yi, Cai Jing, Lin Xi, Li Qingchen, Su Song, Xu Jiang and others are discussing this matter.

Cai Jing was in charge of the money bag, and his account was calculated penny by penny, so he only heard him say: "The 50,000 dismissed van army has an average daily wage of 12 wen per person, plus the cost of rations and clothing, the first person is about 150 wen per day, and 50,000 people spend 7,500 yuan a day; Counting the materials for repairing embankments, such as pegs, stones, and cocoons, the cost is no less than 20,000 per day, which is 7 million yuan a year, and the use of 50,000 people of the treasury can still support it, and I am afraid that any more will affect the normal income and expenditure of the imperial court. ”

Seven million guan a year is actually nothing for the Great Song Dynasty, compared to the figure of 130 million guan per year, 7 million guan only accounts for half of the annual income.

However, it is not yet the time to drain the treasury to control the river, and even if the people are hired to do their labor, the more people are hired to build the embankment, and the impact on domestic production will be enormous.

However, if only 50,000 people are used to control the river, the progress is too slow, and I don't know what year of the monkey will take to really control the Yellow River.

Then, without affecting the domestic production of the Great Song Dynasty, where to find some cheap labor has become a problem that needs to be solved urgently.

This is also the main topic of discussion in the Privy Council today.

The huge map opened, and no matter what the reaction of others was, Yang Yi and Zhang Tun's eyes invariably fell on that area of Western Xia.

Zhang Papi is not a good class, and Yang Yi is not.

Yang Yi, as the Privy Councillor, first spoke: "Since the defeat of Huanzhou, the people of Western Xia have been bored and their vitality has been greatly damaged, and then the Liang family's purge of the eight party departments has further aggravated the internal division/split of Western Xia; Renduo Baozhong and Wei Ming Ah Wu served as the chief generals of our Great Song cavalry, which further prompted a large number of Qiang people in the Hengshan area to attach to our dynasty, and the Hengshan defense line in Western Xia was in fact extremely weak.

In the past few years, the Great Song Dynasty closed the border with Western Xia, and the "Helan Righteous Army" led by Yang Zhi and Ruan Erlang destroyed the Qingxing Mansion and Lingzhou area, which made Western Xia even worse.

Zhuo Luo and Qi Ligang, the unified army of the Southern Capital, led the people to annex, so that this strategic node between the Hetao and the Hexi Corridor formed a defensive gap. This is the best time for me to seize the Hexi Corridor. ”

Last year, the Great Song Dynasty laid off 210,000 forbidden troops for the elderly and weak, and this alone saved the Great Song Dynasty at least 15 million yuan in military expenditure this year.

At present, the river is only mobilized 50,000 troops, and the cost is not very large, and the Great Song Dynasty is fully capable of fighting another war this year.

The seizure of the Hexi Corridor was to open up the Silk Road, open up a major artery for the commerce and trade of the Great Song Dynasty, and increase the revenue of the imperial court.

Second, it is necessary to solve the problem of labor to control the river. It can be said that this war is absolutely worth fighting in terms of both long-term interests and short-term benefits.

This is also the reason why Yang Yi has not returned to Beijing yet, and Xu Jiang and they are already arranging to attack Liangzhou.

And Yang Yi, who had led the army in the northwest and had made great achievements, undoubtedly had the most say in this matter, and even General Xu had to ask for his opinion: "Yang Shi said, in your opinion, how should I fight this battle in the Great Song Dynasty, to what extent, and how many troops need to be mobilized?" ”

Everyone looked at him together, and Yang Yi immediately replied: "At present, the strength of Western Xia in the Hexi Corridor is less than 60,000, and this official thinks that if we only seize the Hexi Corridor, it will be enough for us to dispatch 40,000 troops; But most of these 40,000 troops must be cavalry, and the Hexi Corridor is thousands of miles away from east to west, and if we attack with infantry, regardless of whether we can win or not, logistics supplies alone are enough to halt our army; And with a quick cavalry attack, you can achieve the effect of fighting with war. There is no need for too many logistical supplies.

In addition, the seizure of the Hexi Corridor is likely to cause a shock in the Western Xia state, as the so-called opportunity cannot be lost, the time will not come, so our 150,000 troops in the northwest must be prepared for a full-scale war against Xia, once the Western Xia country is violently turbulent and the people's will is scattered, then immediately attack the five states of Dingyan, and even the entire territory of the Western Xia. ”

Liu Qingjing said with some hesitation: "Yang Qing, the year before last, the Great Song Dynasty responded to the Liaoxia attack, the national strength was greatly lost, and the treasury was almost emptied. ”

Yang Yi replied: "The Queen Mother is very worried, now she is just ready to fight a big battle, and in the end she will not fight, and then it will depend on the actual situation, if the Western Xia still has stamina, then do not fight the Hetao for the time being, if the Western Xia itself is in chaos, it will not cost much to fight the Hetao, and once the Western Xia is really destroyed, all the costs will be able to be recovered exponentially." ”

Liu Qingjing nodded, no longer spoke, Zhang Dian pointed to the map and said: "Now that the ice and snow in the northwest have not melted, and the grass has not grown, it is not conducive to our army to attack Hexi for the time being, but we can attack Liangzhou first and cut off the connection between Hexi and Hetao, so as to prevent Western Xia from dispatching troops and increasing the defense of Hexi."

Lao Chen suggested that 10,000 troops should be sent from Hedong Road, Yanyan Road, and Jingyuan Road to attack Yinzhou and Tiandu Mountain respectively, so as to contain the troops of the Xixia Hetao, and then gather the troops of Qinfeng, Xihe, and Lanzhou to make preparations for the comprehensive capture of Hexi. ”

Zhangdun's platoon formation was decent, and everyone could accept it. The final question fell on the choice of the main general, who will lead the 40,000-strong army to seize the Hexi Corridor, this is the core issue. This will have a direct bearing on the outcome of the war, and we must not be careless.

Yang Yi thought about it before and after, Miao Zhu, Zhe Keshi, Chong Pu, and Yao Xiong are all good candidates; But in general, these Mesozoic generals are less qualified, and they are at the same level, and it is difficult to convince others that one person is the main general, which may lead to scheduling failures in wartime.

And it was difficult for the imperial court to accept entrusting them with such a major military task, Yang Yi finally recommended Zhang Kai, Zhang Kai had enough qualifications to lead these proud generals, and his military ability was very reassuring.

However, as soon as Yang Yi put it forward, he was opposed by Zhang Dan, who meant to leave Zhang Qi on Jingyuan Road, once after capturing Hexi, the internal instability of Western Xia, Zhang Qi as the commander of the attack on Hetao.

Su Song proposed that Pan Rui be the commander of the attack on Hexi.

Pan Rui had fought against the Liao army in Hebei the year before last, and had considerable experience in battle formations, and as the deputy envoy of the Privy Council, it was not a problem to serve as the commander of the attack on Hexi with this capacity.

However, this point was opposed by Empress Dowager Liu and General Xu, on the grounds that Pan Rui was not familiar with the military situation in the northwest, and those arrogant generals who commanded the western army may not be handy.

In the end, Empress Dowager Liu proposed that Yang Yi be the commander of Hexi, which was opposed by Su Song and Li Qingchen, but Zhang Dan, Xu Jiang, and Cai Jing expressed their support; The final plan was determined, Yang Yi presided over the Hexi military, and Zhang Qi presided over the Hetao military.

(To be continued)