In the city of Bianjing, there were a lot of material discussions about Zhang Dun.

A report from Huainan made Zhao Xu couldn't help but frown.

"What a troubled time!"

He was holding the memorial from Gan Xianli who came from Huainan East Road to accept official duties.

Severe drought occurred in several states along Huainan East Road!

Although it is not as clear as a mile, the river flow has been greatly reduced, and a large number of crops have begun to wither. This year's harvest failure in Huainan is a foregone conclusion.

This is not good!

Last year, Hebei experienced alternating floods and droughts, which was enough to cause headaches.

If drought comes again this year, the national treasury may have to spend money for disaster relief again.

If not, they may have to recruit refugees as soldiers.

What’s even more troublesome is that the affected area happens to be stuck on the Grand Canal, the main artery of Bianjing’s lifeline.

The reduction in canal flow directly affects the amount of grain transported by water.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu frowned even more tightly.

Bianjing City has a shortage of eight million stone grain every year.

Among them, grain from the southeast accounts for at least 80%.

It is no exaggeration to say that the current Bianjing depends entirely on the support from Southeast.

The Lianghuai region is not only the largest distribution center for Caoliang, but also the main supplier of Caoliang.

"We can't go on like this..." Zhao Xu said, walked to the bedroom, and asked Feng Jing to lead people to uncover the map of the world of states and counties in the Song Dynasty drawn by Shen Kuo hanging on the wall of the bedroom.

Covered with red cloth.

He stood in front of the wooden map and stared at the states and counties on it.

"Feng Jing..." Zhao Xu waved.

Feng Jing immediately came to him: "What are your orders?"

"Let me ask you..." Zhao Xu looked at him: "You said this cunning rabbit has three burrows, why is the lifeline of the country and dynasty all tied to this Grand Canal?"

Does Feng Jing know this? Even if he did, he didn't dare to say it. He could only say weakly: "Everyone, I don't know about water conservancy. You should ask Song Duzhi."

Zhao Xu nodded: "Yes."

"It is said that Song Yongchen should come to see me!"

"promise."

…

An hour later, Song Yongchen was summoned into the palace.

Since Song Yongchen resigned from his duties as the ambassador for the dredging of the Dadong River Road in the capital and the ambassador for the road repair of Hebei and Jingdong roads.

Zhao Xu asked him and Shen Kuo to preside over the affairs of the weapons manufacturing bureau.

Nowadays, the system of a bureau that specializes in manufacturing arms is almost straightened out.

The Ministry of Household Affairs is responsible for financial approval and budgeting, and the current person in charge is Zhang Heng.

Personnel and management were presided over by Shen Kuo, and internal supervision was carried out by the internal ministers headed by Song Yongchen.

"I respectfully ask that everyone is okay with the holy body." When he arrived in front of Zhao Xu, Song Yongchen was as respectful and cautious as ever.

"Song Duzhi is here...come and talk to me!" Zhao Xu smiled and called Song Yongchen to his side.

Song Yongchen immediately bent over, trying to make his height lower than Zhao Xu's current height as much as possible.

This is difficult for him.

Song Yongchen is five feet six inches tall. He has to lower his head to his chest to make him appear shorter than Zhao Xu.

Zhao Xu didn't say much, just pointed to the wooden map on the wall and said to Song Yongchen: "Everyone knows that there is another drought on Huainan East Road..."

"It hasn't rained for a month."

Song Yongchen listened quietly and made no move to ask for help.

Because he knew very well that if the official wanted to send him to take charge of disaster relief, a decree would be enough, and he would not be summoned to the ban for special instructions.

Zhao Xu said softly: "I'm afraid that this year, all walks of life in the world will start to suffer frequent disasters again."

The climate affected by the Little Ice Age was so unpredictable.

Sometimes there is severe drought, sometimes there are heavy rains and floods.

Even like last year, the two came together, with floods first and then droughts.

This impact is global.

Therefore, Xixia, Liao, Jiaozhi, Goryeo... will all be affected, and no one can get rid of it.

In other words, Xixia will definitely continue to experience severe drought this year!

so……

Zhao Xu knew why the party members had to tear up the peace agreement in the previous life.

He also knew why even the Tubo people started making trouble.

A natural disaster!

If they don't take over the Song Dynasty, they won't be able to survive.

Thinking of this, Zhao Xu said to Song Yongchen: "The ancients said: prepare for a rainy day, I am afraid that floods and droughts in the future will be difficult to eliminate."

Just the Yellow River is enough to give Zhao Xu a headache.

Although the east channel was dredged last year, afforestation in the middle section of the Yellow River began to increase.

But the problem is that the upper reaches of the Yellow River and the Hetao area were not under the rule of the Song Dynasty.

Therefore, Zhao Xu even planted trees all over the Song Dynasty.

As long as the Dangxiang people are still cutting down trees tirelessly, then the Yellow River will still burst when it should.

It’s just a matter of a few years earlier and a few years later.

"So, I think it's time to prepare a few more back-ups."

"Bianjing City can no longer rely entirely on the Bianhe River!"

Song Yongchen's heart skipped a beat.

Don’t rely on Bianhe River?

Who else can you rely on?

Cai River? Wuzhang River? Jinshui River?

Taken together, these rivers do not have 30% of the transport capacity of the Bian River.

And they are more susceptible to precipitation than the Bianhe River.

But he still remained silent, quietly listening to his master's words.

"I want to open a port in Jingdong!" Zhao Xu pointed to the corner of the map, which was known as Shandong in ancient times and is now known as Jingdong Road.

"So, I want to send Douzhi to Jingdong Road to check it out on the spot."

"If possible, choose a good place in Mizhou or Haizhou on Huainan East Road as a good port."

Between Mizhou and Laizhou, there is a natural bay, which is the modern Jiaoxi Bend, where the famous Qingdao is located.

In modern Qingdao's economy, it ranks first in Shandong's economy and the provincial capital is overwhelmed.

Haizhou on Huainan East Road belongs to Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province in modern times.

Naturally, this is also a good harbor.

The first stage of the famous Huaihai Campaign was fought around Haizhou.

Song Yongchen bowed and said, "I understand."

He is very familiar with Jingdong Road.

Last winter, we spent two or three months building roads there.

Song Yongchen also had a very good impression of the local heroes who were simple, kind, and eager for justice.

They are all good people!

Not only are they willing to work, but they are also willing to spend money!

Thanks to these good people, Song Yongchen built hundreds of miles of official roads in the east of Jingdong and Hebei. He also carried out a dredging of the east flow channel and dredged hundreds of miles of river mud.

This made him, Song Yongchen, receive commendations after he returned to the court, and not only was he promoted - he was promoted to the post of the imperial guard of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the governor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

He also transferred the military minister rank, self-proclaimed political envoy, to Caizhou defense envoy.
To be continued...