In the early years of the Hongwu reign of the Ming Dynasty, floods ravaged the Jiangnan region. Particularly in the Jiaxing area, the canal embankments frequently collapsed, making it the hardest-hit zone, with the people crying out in distress. Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang received continuous reports of the disaster. Although the imperial treasury had some silver, distributing it would be like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water. So he simply closed his eyes and declared, "The dynasty is newly established, the treasury is empty. For now, we can only reduce taxes; we cannot allocate grain for disaster relief!"
On this day, Song Lian was deeply concerned about the famine in Jiangnan when Xie Yaoguang, the Prefect of Jiaxing, came to see him. Knowing it was about disaster relief, Song Liang immediately received him in the flower pavilion. As soon as Xie saw Song Lian, he anxiously pleaded, "Please, sir, save the people of Jiaxing!"
Song Lian replied, "I am also deeply worried about the famine. But the dynasty is newly founded, the entire Jiangnan region suffers from disasters, and the treasury is empty. How can we possibly save everyone?"
Xie Yaoguang said, "The collapse of the embankments here in Jiaxing is also one of the causes of the flooding!"
It turned out that the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal, like a soaring dragon, ran through Jiaxing City. Three miles outside the west gate, it made a sharp right-angle turn from east to north. Within less than a hundred meters, it turned sharply again at a right angle towards the west, and after another hundred meters, it made yet another sharp right-angle turn southward into Chongde territory. Because of these three consecutive sharp bends, the river current was swift and often breached the banks.
Song Lian knew that in the past, Zhang Shicheng, who controlled Jiangsu and Zhejiang, had listened to a wandering sorcerer who claimed he was the White Dragon descended from heaven. To ascend the throne, the sorcerer said he needed to construct "dragon-flight" waters at the junction of Jiangsu and Zhejiang on the Grand Canal. Thus, Zhang Shicheng conscripted laborers to excavate the Grand Canal three miles outside the west gate of Jiaxing, changing the originally single bend into three consecutive sharp turns. This created hazards for passing boats, and every rainy season, floods frequently broke the dikes, inundating fields and houses on both banks. Hence, it was called the "White Dragon Pool." With such rampant flooding, the disaster in Jiaxing was worse than elsewhere. After taking office, Xie Yaoguang had repeatedly petitioned the court, requesting treasury funds to repair the banks, but due to the enormous cost, Zhu Yuanzhang had never agreed.
Song Lian said, "Managing the three bends of the canal is indeed an urgent matter. Why not raise funds from the people?"
Xie Yaoguang shook his head, saying, "Although the Jiangsu-Zhejiang region is prosperous, it has suffered three consecutive years of famine. The people can't even get enough to eat, and some villagers are even preparing to flee their homes. Where could they find money or goods to contribute?"
Song Lian frowned and said, "Both repairing the dikes and relieving the famine require huge sums. The court absolutely cannot afford them."
Xie Yaoguang said, "Now the court only reduces taxes but does not distribute relief grain. If we ask starving people to repair the dikes, that's unimaginable!"
After pondering for a moment, Song Lian said, "I have a plan that can make the emperor release silver for repairing the canal banks. However, the relief grain for the disaster victims will have to be solved by your prefectural government."
Xie Yaoguang asked, "If we rely on harvests, it will take at least half a year. How can the victims survive this half-year?"
Song Lian said, "Prefect Xie, you should first return to Jiaxing and spread rumors everywhere that a white dragon lies dormant in the White Dragon Pool, stirring up storms, absorbing the light of sun and moon in ordinary times, and every year on the sixteenth day of the third lunar month, two beams of white light shoot from the water surface late at night, piercing the heavens."
Jiaxing Prefecture was only a hundred li from the capital Nanjing, so the swirling rumors quickly reached the capital, spreading that a white dragon lay hidden in the White Dragon Pool of Jiaxing, its eyes absorbing the essence of sun and moon, showing signs of ascending to the sky.
Indeed, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately summoned Song Lian to the palace and asked if he knew about the dragon appearing in Jiaxing.
Song Lian deliberately said, "Folk tales are all baseless nonsense."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The white dragon absorbs the light of sun and moon, and 'sun and moon' is precisely the name of our Great Ming. Better safe than sorry. Esteemed minister, please go to Jiaxing on my behalf and see if there are any unusual signs!"
In fact, Song Lian was exploiting Zhu Yuanzhang's psychology—his fear that a true dragon might replace his Ming dynasty. That's why he had instructed Xie Yaoguang to spread rumors upon returning to Jiaxing. And Zhu Yuanzhang trusted Song Lian for a reason: back when Zhu Yuanzhang had just started his uprising, his forces weren't strong. Once, the Yuan dynasty sent an envoy to Zhu Yuanzhang's camp to try to persuade him to surrender. The envoy told Zhu Yuanzhang, "You want to overthrow the Great Yuan? Only if sun and moon unite!"
Zhu Yuanzhang, who usually believed in fate, knew that the sun and moon merging was impossible, so he lost heart instantly. At that moment, Song Lian sneered coldly and said solemnly, "Our general raises an army of righteousness to resist the tyrannical Yuan, for the sake of the common people under heaven. We have the protection of heaven itself. If the sun and moon must unite, it's very easy!"
The Yuan envoy also sneered, "Sun and moon are the great light of heaven and earth; how can mere mortals control them?"
Song Lian rebuked him, "Who says our general is a mere mortal! Heaven has already given clear signs. From today on, we follow heaven's will and have united sun and moon!" Seeing the Yuan envoy confused, Song Lian added, "From today on, our righteous army has changed its banner to 'Ming'!"
The Yuan envoy did not expect such a brilliant strategist in Zhu Yuanzhang's camp and was shocked, slinking away.
Thus, Zhu Yuanzhang followed Song Lian's advice, changed the banner to "Ming," swept away opposition like rotten wood, advanced with unstoppable force, quickly captured the Yuan capital Beijing, overthrew the Yuan dynasty, then defeated various other rebel armies like Chen Youliang and Zhang Shicheng, establishing the Ming dynasty.
Following imperial orders, Song Lian left the capital for Jiaxing. Xie Yaoguang accompanied him to inspect outside the city. Indeed, the disaster was severe, with almost no harvest in the farmland. Farmers from the surrounding countryside flooded into Jiaxing City, filling every street and alley with hungry people. Song Lian knew that with disaster victims gathering in the city, facing hunger and cold, collective looting and unrest were easily triggered, worsening the situation. He asked Xie Yaoguang, "How much grain remains in the granaries?"
Xie Yaoguang replied, "Due to consecutive years of famine, most stored grain has already been distributed for relief. What remains is less than a hundred hu!"
Song Lian shook his head, saying, "A hundred hu of grain is still just a drop in the bucket!"
Xie Yaoguang then accompanied Song Lian on a field inspection of the Grand Canal.
At the bend of the Grand Canal three miles outside the west gate of Jiaxing, the Longyuan Temple was built during the Tang dynasty. Because it had three pagodas, it was also known as the Three Pagoda Temple. After years of warfare, the three pagodas had long disappeared, and the Longyuan Temple was reduced to ruins and broken walls.
Seeing the Grand Canal with three consecutive large bends, Song Lian was secretly alarmed, thinking that such a dangerous waterway explained why boats met accidents and floods occurred frequently. He said, "The only solution is to straighten the river channel and build stone banks on both sides!"
Xie Yaoguang said, "If we can open the channel, these three right angles will become one, greatly reducing the risk for boats. The main flooding here is due to bank collapses. Building dikes is a huge expense!" Song Lian said, "After straightening the river, if we rebuild the Longyuan Temple on the north side of the new channel... and reconstruct the three pagodas in front of the temple! Then, with water on all four sides, the three pagodas standing tall before the temple gate, it will surely become a scenic spot in Jiaxing!"
Xie Yaoguang anxiously said, "Minister Song, right now the people have no food, and floods are raging. How can we think about building temples and pagodas..."
But Song Lian just smiled pleasantly. Back in the city, Song Lian stayed at the inn. Worried about the disaster, he dressed casually in the evening and walked alone through Jiaxing. He saw crowds of disaster victims on the streets, while teahouses and restaurants were bustling with full tables. He also saw several temples filled with incense smoke, with a constant stream of people burning incense and worshipping Buddha. Sighing, he muttered to himself, "Jiangnan is truly a land of plenty. Although the disaster is severe, it seems to have no effect whatsoever on the numerous wealthy merchants and big families!"
The next morning, Xie Yaoguang arrived at the inn and, seeing Song Lian seemingly calm, anxiously said, "Sir, more and more hungry people are gathering in Jiaxing City. The most pressing matter now is relief grain..." Song Lian smiled and said, "We need to dig the canal and build dikes while also overcoming the famine. How can we achieve both goals? But in Jiaxing City, grain is not lacking—it's just held by the big families!" Xie Yaoguang shook his head, saying, "But these rich households won't give their grain to relieve the victims for no reason!" Song Lian said, "Prefect Xie, you can post notices prohibiting victims from fleeing, saying the prefectural office can immediately solve the food supply for the victims. Regarding straightening the canal and repairing the banks, although the dynasty is newly founded and the treasury is not rich, such major livelihood projects benefiting both water management and transportation cannot be ignored by the court! Prefect Xie can immediately recruit workers and begin preparations for straightening the channel and repairing the dikes. The required funds will be allocated by the court!"
Xie Yaoguang said, "Minister Song, you're asking me to post a notice saying I can immediately solve the victims' food supply, but I don't have any grain at all!"
Song Lian said, "There are many wealthy households in the Jiangnan region, and they all believe in Buddhism. You can encourage the local big families to donate funds and grain to build ten or twenty more temples. Once the victims have livelihoods, they naturally won't cause trouble!"
Upon hearing this, Xie Yaoguang suddenly understood, saying, "I understand Minister's intention!" He ordered his subordinates, "Proclaim to all villages: let villagers stay at home. I will solve the famine immediately!"
Song Lian smiled, saying, "Wait for me to return to the capital and report to the emperor, so the silver for digging the canal and building dikes can be released as soon as possible!"
The next day, Xie Yaoguang had his subordinates post public notices advocating private funding for building Buddhist temples. In the Nanjiang region, since the Southern Dynasties, Buddhism had flourished, once earning the title "Four Hundred and Eighty Temples in the Southern Dynasties." It wasn't until the Chongning period of the Northern Song, when Emperor Huizong strongly believed in Daoism, that Buddhism gradually declined. When the wealthy merchants and big families in the region heard that the government was issuing notices advocating temple construction, it was exactly what they wanted. They immediately began donating money and grain. Xie Yaoguang personally went to the countryside, registering households one by one among the villagers, drafting one laborer from each household, and paying them daily grain as wages. The disaster victims from the surrounding countryside, who had been worrying about having no way to survive, eagerly signed up when they heard about jobs to dig the canal and build temples. With their livelihoods secured, they naturally wouldn't flee their homes anymore.
Song Lian returned to Nanjing and immediately paid homage to the emperor. When Zhu Yuanzhang saw Song Lian return to the capital, he summoned him urgently and asked, "Esteemed minister Song, have you clarified those folk tales?"
Song Lian said, "Jiangnan has always been a place where dragons rise. The Jiaxing area has fertile soil and abundant water. As early as the beginning of the Tang dynasty, Jiaxing experienced strange occurrences!"
Zhu Yuanzhang hurriedly asked for details.
Song Lian said, "Three miles west of Jiaxing City, originally named the Three Pagoda Bay, had three pagodas first built during the Zhenguan period of the Tang dynasty. Legend has it that in the Three Pagoda Bay outside the west gate of Jiaxing during the Tang dynasty, there was the White Dragon Pool, deep and swift. A white dragon lay dormant there, stirring storms, making boat travel perilous and accidents frequent. Every year on the night of the sixteenth day of the third lunar month, two beams of white light shot from the water surface, piercing the heavens. A mysterious monk named Xingyun passed by, saw through the situation, and instructed the authorities to organize people to fill the pool with earth and build three pagodas on top to suppress it, thus preserving the Tang dynasty's rule!"
After hearing Song Lian's words, Zhu Yuanzhang pondered, "If the White Dragon Pool was already filled during the Zhenguan period, how could there still be a white dragon stirring storms?"
Song Lian said, "Your Majesty certainly remembers that when Zhang Shicheng raised his army, occupied Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and contended for the empire with Your Majesty, he listened to a fangshi (diviner) who changed the straight section of the Grand Canal in Jiaxing into three winding loops as a 'dragon-rising' site." Zhu Yuanzhang said, "So it is true that the Grand Canal outside the west gate of Jiaxing shows signs of a dragon rising. I'm afraid a true dragon might appear in the future!"
Song Lian said, "Although it's just rumors, we must still be cautious!" Zhu Yuanzhang, superstitious by nature and fearing most of all that someone else would seize his empire, asked, "Esteemed minister, since you've seen through this, you must have a method to resolve it!"
Song Lian said, "Follow Emperor Taizong of Tang's method: straighten the river channel, repair the embankments, build a temple on this dragon-rising site, and erect three pagodas to suppress it!"
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "The dynasty is newly established, the treasury is not rich. We need to dig the canal, build dikes, construct temples, erect pagodas, and relieve starving people. There's surely not enough silver for all this!"
Song Lian said, "Your Majesty only needs to allocate the silver for digging the canal and building dikes. The costs for building temples, erecting pagodas, and relieving the people can be raised by the Jiaxing Prefecture from among the people!"
Upon hearing such good news, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial decree ordering Xie Yaoguang, the Prefect of Jiaxing, to straighten the river channel and repair the embankments, allocating the necessary silver, and sending Song Lian personally to Jiaxing to supervise the project.
Xie Yaoguang had already prepared everything according to Song Lian's instructions. As soon as the court's silver arrived, he immediately gathered laborers. Song Lian personally surveyed and planned, opening the three-bend channel into one right-angle turn. Thus, the three bends became one, reducing the impact of the river current, and stone revetments were built along both sides of the canal. Meanwhile, the Longyuan Temple was rebuilt on the north bank of the Grand Canal, which was surrounded by water on all sides, and three Buddhist pagodas were erected in front of the mountain gate.
Because the government advocated temple construction, wealthy families in the region纷纷 donated money and resources, not only rebuilding the Longyuan Temple on the water-surrounded banks but also constructing temples elsewhere. Six months later, many temples were built in the Jiaxing area, especially the Longyuan Temple on the original three-bend bank, which became even grander in scale, with three brick pagodas, each level featuring niches embedded with iron bas-relief Buddha statues. Song Lian said, "Laozi said, 'The highest good is like water. Water benefits myriad things without contention.' Governing a state is the same!"
Thus, through his clever strategy, Song Lian achieved relief for the disaster victims, straightened the river channel, and built temples and pagodas.
From then on, boats traveling north and south could see the three towering pagodas from afar, knowing the Grand Canal was turning, so they slowed down and proceeded carefully. In reality, the three pagodas served as actual navigation markers. Every year on the sixteenth day of the third lunar month, local people spontaneously organized boat races to "suppress" the storm-stirring white dragon, known as "Tabai Boat" races, forming a famous traditional folk cultural activity that continues to this day.