Chapter 1732: Water Control Strategy, Disasters Come from the Mouth

On the way from Caoqiao Pavilion to Nishan Academy.

Su Mingzhe couldn't stand the affection between Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, so he could only take the initiative to open the topic:

"Shanbo, I just heard you say that your ambition is to control the floods in the south of the Yangtze River. Can you tell me what you think and feel about flood control?"

"Brother, I think the first step to controlling water is to dredge it!"

Liang Shanbo was a typical science guy. When he started talking about his hobbies, he put Zhu Yingtai aside and started talking excitedly.

This immediately made Zhu Yingtai so angry that she started pouting.

Su Mingzhe pretended not to know and continued to talk to Liang Shanbo in detail about the elements of water control.

"Second brother, the waters of Jiangnan are different from those of the north. They are winding and have certain rules. They are very difficult to manage!"

Su Mingzhe pointed to the farmland next to him and said:

"If we want to control floods, I think the first thing is to figure out where the floods are. You just said that water control should be done in the countryside and in the fields. I think that's both right and wrong."

"Brother, do you have any experience in water management?"

Liang Shanbo saw that Su Mingzhe actually refuted him, but he did not feel ashamed or angry, but asked humbly:
"Please enlighten me, brother. How come what I said is neither right nor wrong?"

Su Mingzhe was not polite either, and immediately put on a posture and asked:

"Second brother, let me ask you, what is needed to control the flood?"

"What do you need? We need craftsmen, tools, labor..."

Liang Shanbo's family tradition was flood control, so he was naturally not afraid of Su Mingzhe's question and started talking about it immediately.

"Wrong, absolutely wrong!"

Su Mingzhe directly criticized:

"Second brother, you must remember that what is most needed for flood control is the support of those in power and the local aristocratic families! As long as we can gain the support of those in power and the local aristocratic families, flood control will be twice as effective with half the effort. Otherwise, it will be half the result with twice the effort!"

Liang Shanbo agreed with Su Mingzhe's words, but shook his head slightly and said:
"Brother, since ancient times, 'those who eat meat are despicable'. It may not be easy to get those court officials to support flood control. If we want to control the flood, we can't pin our hopes on them..."

"Brother, you need to change your character of 'giving up when faced with difficulties'! You should know that flood control is not something that can be accomplished overnight. It is a century-long livelihood event that concerns the people of the common people. And since ancient times, those who have accomplished great things have not been fussy about small matters. How can you abandon the people in power and the aristocratic families just because 'meat eaters are vulgar'?"

Su Mingzhe said seriously:

"Back then, Emperor Gaozu of Han and Xiang Yu were fighting for supremacy. Xiang Yu was a great man of his time. Whether in terms of family background or in terms of both literary and military skills, he was far superior to Emperor Gaozu of Han. But why did Emperor Gaozu of Han win over Xiang Yu?"

"The reason is that Emperor Gaozu of Han was good at making friends with heroes. For example, Emperor Gaozu of Han looked down on people like Ying Bu, but in order to fight for the world, Emperor Gaozu of Han still made friends with people like Ying Bu."

"By the same token, to control a severe flood, all forces must be gathered. But you took the first step and excluded the most powerful people in power and the aristocratic families. This is not the attitude of controlling a flood, but a way of seeking fame and reputation without caring about people's livelihood!"

"Big brother taught me a lesson."

Liang Shanbo's face turned red after being scolded, and he had no way to refute, so he could only shiver in silence.

Zhu Yingtai, who was standing next to him, felt indignant when she saw Liang Shanbo being scolded. She questioned Su Mingzhe:

"From what Big Brother said, do you have a way to get those people in power and the aristocratic families to agree to help control the flood?"

“It’s not that hard!”

Su Mingzhe was upset when he saw Zhu Yingtai speaking up for Liang Shanbo, and continued to preach in a lecturing tone:

"In Sima Qian's "Biographies of Merchants", there is a saying: The world is bustling, all for profit; the world is bustling, all for profit! As long as we adapt to local conditions and find the points of interest that are recognized by those in power and the aristocratic families, this matter can be promoted! Of course, the situation in different places is different. When looking for points of interest, we must also avoid policies that harm the people..."

Su Mingzhe, who had served as an emperor many times in the various planes of the universe, was naturally eloquent and eloquent when it came to speaking about the truth, and his words were always meaningful and full of reason.

Although Liang Shanbo disagreed with some of Su Mingzhe's views, he still eagerly absorbed the knowledge points involved in Su Mingzhe's discussion. Zhu Yingtai was still angry at Su Mingzhe's attitude, but after listening for a while, she had to admire him:
Although this sworn brother is a little annoying, he knows a lot!

At least Zhu Yingtai searched her memory and found no one among all the people she had known in the past who could compare to Su Mingzhe.

……

Su Mingzhe was in high spirits as he saw that he had won over his two sworn brothers and had become the focus of the three people.

Just as Su Mingzhe was about to continue showing off his talents and make the two of them completely convinced of him, the sound of horse hooves came from afar.

Soon, the men rode past them on horseback and headed towards Nishan Academy.

"This guy is so arrogant, he actually rides a horse in front of the academy!"

The servant Mingyan looked at this with envy.

Before setting out today, he had suggested harnessing a carriage or riding a horse up the mountain, so that he wouldn't have to carry his book boxes and luggage.

As a result, Su Mingzhe said that riding a horse or taking a carriage up the mountain was too arrogant and did not conform to the sincere attitude of studying.

So Mingyan reluctantly carried her book box and luggage and followed her master for more than twenty miles.

……

"Xu~"

The horsemen had already passed by Su Mingzhe and others, but after a while, they turned back.

The leading nobleman pointed at Su Mingzhe with a whip and laughed:
"Isn't this Master Su? How come you're walking up the mountain?"

Su Mingzhe looked at the familiar face of the other party and immediately recalled some bad scenes:

"It's Mr. Ma. I haven't seen you for a long time. How are you?"

……

This nobleman is the main villain in "Butterfly Lovers" - Ma Wencai, the son of the prefect of Hangzhou.

The Ma family originated from the Fufeng Ma family, and the Yuyao Su family is the Wugong Su family.

Fufeng and Wugong are not far from each other.

The ancestors of the two families had hatred for each other during the Three Kingdoms period.

Later, the two families moved to Jiangnan to avoid the war.

The Ma family settled in Haiyu County, Kuaiji County (Suzhou) and took refuge with the royal Sima family.

Ma Wencai's father, Ma Junsheng, became the prefect of Hangzhou by fawning on Sima Yu, the King of Kuaiji.

The Su family settled in Yuyao County.

Because of the war, Yuyao, Fenghua, Shanxian and other places originally belonged to Kuaiji County. However, Dongyang County was the territory of the Grand Commander Huan Wen. Huan Wen was powerful, and Dongyang County actually controlled Yuyao, Fenghua, Shanxian and other places.

Because the Ma family defected to the royal family, the Su family, which had a grudge against the Ma family, simply joined the faction of aristocratic families.

Today, Ma Wencai and Su Mingzhe are the next generation heirs of the two families respectively, and naturally they have inherited the hatred of their ancestors.

……

At this moment, after seeing Su Mingzhe, Ma Wencai immediately burst into laughter:
"Ever since I found out that Master Su's fiancée ran away from the marriage, I've been enjoying everything I eat these days, hahahaha..."

After ridiculing Su Mingzhe a few times, Ma Wencai achieved his goal and felt very proud. He immediately turned his horse around and continued to gallop towards Nishan Academy.

Su Mingzhe's face suddenly turned pale:
"I'm afraid Ma Wencai, the idiot, doesn't know the proverb 'Misfortune comes from the mouth'!"