Ouyang Xiu's proposal sank without a ripple precisely because he went against the tide.

  Reviewing the past, Jia Changchao's 'Restore the Old Course Method' and Li Zhongchang's 'River Enters Six Towers Method' were actually just disputes over methods, but their goals were very clear - that is to restore the Yellow River's eastward flow.

  Ouyang Xiu said, "You are all blind to the situation. The Yellow River changed its course because the original riverbed was too high and silted up, so the water flowed to a lower place and turned northward. We should take care of the current riverbed, making sure it doesn't overflow in the future."

  Actually, everyone knows that his words are not wrong at all from a rational point of view. The problem is that the Yellow River in the Song Dynasty was never just a livelihood issue, but a national defense issue that topped everything else.

  During the Five Dynasties, Shi Jingtang of Later Jin gave sixteen prefectures of You and Yun to Khitan, causing the Central Plains dynasty to lose the Great Wall and the Yan Mountains screen. As a result, after the Song Dynasty was established, the Hebei Plain had almost no natural defenses, and the Khitan cavalry could come and go as they pleased.

  After the failure of Yongxi's northern expedition and the loss of almost all the elite troops, the Northern Song Dynasty completely abandoned its hope of recovering the lost territories of Youyun. The national strategy shifted from offense to comprehensive defense.

  After the alliance of Chanyuan, the two countries of Song and Liao took the line along the Baigou River as the boundary between Song and Liao, which is what is called the "Boundary River". They agreed to stop fighting and put down their arms, and would no longer take any hostile actions.

  But who dares to entrust the safety of the country to a piece of paper? In order to defend against the Liao army's repeated invasions, in addition to stationing heavy troops on the Hebei Road, the Song Dynasty also utilized the natural terrain of the Hebei riverbank to create a defensive position along the border where the water was too deep for ships to pass and too shallow for people to wade. To conceal this military purpose, the publicly stated goal was to develop paddy fields...

  After decades of painstaking efforts, a strip of defense zone finally appeared on the Song-Liao border, from Baigou River in the south to Cangzhou, and from the foot of Taihang Mountain in the east to the sea, with a width of over 300 miles from east to west and over 80 miles from north to south.

  With this semi-artificial defense strip, the Song Dynasty can concentrate its forces on Western defense, feeling really great.

  Nature always favors the brave, this thorough turtle policy was ridiculed by the ruthless creator, and the two changes of the Yellow River in a decade or so made the river flow from east to north into the sea. The Song Dynasty's proud dyke defense line became a joke overnight.

  The Yellow River brings in billions of cubic meters of mud and sand, which can easily fill up those ponds that are six or seven feet deep, making it possible for the army to march as if on flat ground. And during the flood season, large ships and vessels can also navigate through the ponds, eliminating their hazards.

  What made the Song Dynasty even more anxious was that the Yellow River had changed from an inland river to a boundary river shared by two countries. If it continued to flow northward and entered the sea within the territory of Liao, then the last reliance of the Song Dynasty - the natural barrier of the Yellow River - would also be completely lost. At that time, there would be no more obstacles before Kaifeng, and the Song Dynasty would really be at the mercy of others.

  So the emperors and prime ministers knew very well that they were going against the trend, fighting against nature, yet still insisted on restoring the Yellow River to its original course.

  Is this bravery? No, it is a manifestation of cowardice. This approach to governance, prioritizing military over water control, is the evil consequence of the Song Dynasty's emperors' emphasis on literature over martial prowess. The self-righteous civil officials would rather entrust the country's safety to some ponds than trust their own generals and troops.

  But what was the result? History has long told us the answer. Relying on natural barriers for passive defense can only numb oneself, but cannot stop the enemy. With thousands of miles of border lines, where can't the enemy find a breakthrough point? Why bother treading on your muddy swamp?

  The national strength and people's hearts of the Northern Song Dynasty were also consumed bit by bit, failure after failure, until they were exhausted. The entire Hebei Road became a no man's land. When the Jin army invaded and marched in, the prosperous Northern Song Dynasty collapsed without any resistance...

  In the Northern Song Dynasty, the first time the monarch and his ministers tried to reclaim the river was at Liu Ta River. On the night of its completion, the water level rose violently and uncontrollably in Chen Xiao's original timeline. The Shanghu Dike burst shortly after its completion, and tens of thousands of soldiers were unable to withdraw from the dike before it collapsed again...

  Not only were the downstream provinces flooded, but even the upstream Gyeonggi region was also affected by the backflow of floodwaters, and the capital city was inundated, with countless lives lost...

  ===========================================================================

  Chen Ke suddenly woke up from a nightmare, opened his eyes wide, feeling sticky and uncomfortable all over his body. He randomly touched himself and found that he was already drenched in sweat.

  "Damn it! Chen Ke panted heavily: 'How did I remember all this? He had been in this world for over a decade, and his memories of the past life had basically faded away. He rarely thought about what history was like before. But after seeing Ouyang Xiu's "Third Memorial on the Repair of the River" in the Imperial Gazette, the impending "Six Towers River Disaster" kept appearing in his mind like a nightmare."

  The completion date is getting closer and closer, and he is also tortured by nightmares, so that from the first day of entering Beijing, there has not been a night when he can sleep peacefully until dawn.

  Even Ouyang Xiu was ignored by the high-ranking officials and aristocrats; what use could such an insignificant young man be?

  Although that's the case, I still can't help but think, is there a way to stop the tragedy from happening? The biggest problem lies in the fact that until the moment of complete collapse, no one can prove that "the river has entered the six towers" is wrong, and therefore it's impossible to defeat the enemy who holds an absolute advantage on the battlefield.

  Only the sword has gone astray... Chen Ke couldn't help but sigh silently, this was precisely what Ouyang Xiu was least good at.

  The Great Song Dynasty's quarrel king, can only exert his combat power on the battlefield of Zhengda Guangming, if it comes to conspiracy and cunning, he can really be schemed by others until nothing is left.

  He thought and thought, but couldn't think of a solution, so he lay back in bed dejectedly: "What's it to me? Whether I live or die, it won't make a difference... why should the emperor be anxious when his eunuchs are not?"

  So he spent a sleepless night, and naturally looked listless the next day. His brothers noticed his abnormality and asked him what was wrong with him recently?

  It's no use telling them, it would only make them worry too. So Chen Ke just smiled and said: "Maybe it's the water and soil that don't suit you, your body isn't feeling quite right, it'll be fine after a while."

  "Don't go out today, just stay at home and take care of yourself." Song Duanping said with concern: "There's plenty of time, wait until you're feeling better before going out to have fun." Originally, they had planned that today Ouyang Xiu's sons would bring them on a tour of the amusement places in Bianjing City.

  "Whatever." Chen Ke's mind was preoccupied with official business and he really wasn't in the mood for sightseeing.

  After breakfast, everyone went out to meet with Ouyang Fa and others. Wu Lang originally said he wanted to stay behind to accompany him, but was driven away by Chen Ke. Just as he was about to enjoy some peace and quiet, why would you want this big black guy to accompany you?

  After the family members left, Chen Ke moved a bamboo chair and sat in the courtyard to bask in the sun. He thought about the unsolvable Liu Ta River for a while, and then missed that poor little Prince Wang... Being a spare tire is not sad, but being a spare tire born as a spare tire is indeed speechless. Heaven is going to drive people crazy.

  Think about it again, others don't know the future, living a carefree life, I also want to forget the memories of my past life, and stroll through this world with ease. Who knows that when things come to a head, I still can't forget. This kind of pain, watching tragedy unfold before one's eyes, yet being powerless to stop it, is truly a shared suffering with that young master Zhao Zongji.

  "I should go take a look at him." Chen Ke stood up and said quietly: "Having been in the capital for so many days, he didn't even send a message, if he knew about it, he would definitely feel even more uncomfortable. As for what Ouyang Xiu instructed, he had all thrown them to the back of his mind..."

  He thought and did it, this is his character, so he casually washed his face, changed into clean clothes, went to the street to find a helper, and asked him to take him to the Beihai County Wangfu.

  The Wangfu of Beihai County is inside the city, after passing Taixue, passing Longjin Bridge and Zhuque Gate, the main gate is on Kaiyue Street, adjacent to Jingling West Palace.

  After sending away those idle people, Chen Ke looked at the majestic stone lions in front of the Wang Fu gate and sighed secretly: "It's just a showy thing." He then took out a letter from his pocket and said to the guard who had noticed him early on: "You, come here."

  So-called seventh-rank officials in front of the Prime Minister's mansion, and guards in front of the King's mansion, naturally also have their own style. Hearing Chen Qian call himself like a small dog, he immediately got angry. However, he couldn't figure out the other party's background, so he had to put on a straight face and say: "What brings you here?"

  "Give this to your second master." Chen Ke tossed the letter into Wei Shi's arms and said, "I'll wait for him at the tea house across the street. Just a cup of tea, I'll leave after finishing it." After that, he walked away loudly.

  "Who are you......" Wei Shi was so angry with his arrogant attitude that he couldn't help but mutter to himself, looking at Chen Ke's back: "Does he think this is somewhere else?" He wasn't very literate, so he handed the letter to someone next to him and said: "Take a look at what it says."

  "Brother Zhang Fang, respectfully written by younger brother Zong Ji, bowing his head." The man read out loud, one word at a time.

  "Should we listen to him?" Wei Shi called out loudly.

  "What did you say?" The person next to him glared at him and said: "The signature is the name of our family's second young master!"

  ============================================================================

  Chen Ke entered the teahouse across from the Wang estate and ordered a single room on the second floor.

  It's called a single room, but it's actually separated by a screen. Although you can't see the guests next door, every word they say is audible.

  Chen Ke casually ordered a pot of tea, some snacks, and asked the tea doctor to bring up a cup of plain water. He then started chewing on the snacks with the plain water... He hadn't had a proper breakfast that morning, but now he felt hungry.

  While eating, he listened to the people next door speaking in Kyoto dialect and laughing, and it took Chen Ke a while to get used to it before he could understand what they were saying. After understanding, his eyebrows furrowed, because what they were discussing was none other than Zhao Zongji, the second son of the Duke of Beihai County.

  "What a good young man he was, but these two years he has become mentally ill"

  "When things are going well, I'm just like a good person. But when things aren't going well, I become stupid and silly, chasing after girls on the street... Alas, what kind of karma is this?"

  （）