Beijing, Dongcheng District.
Zhou Mansion, courtyard garden.
The moon and stars are sparse and the breeze is gentle.
Zhou Zhenwen lay comfortably on the rocking chair, looking at the night, somewhat lost in thought.
"I still remember that the night sky in my previous life seemed not as clear as it is now... Various toxic gases, greenhouse effect, and haze made it difficult to see the bright moon in the sky..."
"However, although the sky in the previous life was not very bright, there were many activities and all kinds of interesting and interesting things. I couldn't sleep all night..."
"In my previous life, there was no one who didn't stay up late!"
"hehe......"
Zhou Zhenwen laughed and murmured: "You are so young, can you sleep?"
"How can you sleep at your age?"
"Why!"
"No one can understand my jokes, which is also a very boring thing!"
Who can understand the pain of having no one to answer your questions?
pain!
It hurts so much!
Zhou Zhenwen was remembering the past. His ears twitched slightly and he heard the sound of hurried footsteps. The faint smile on his face gradually faded away. He was still rocking the rocking chair and silently waiting for the visitor.
"Master, someone is coming from the palace! I want you to come into the palace immediately and have a meeting in the imperial study!"
The visitor was none other than Uncle Fu, an official of the Zhou government.
"Is there a meeting in the imperial study room?"
Zhou Zhenwen frowned a little. There was an urgent meeting at night. What could happen to this little emperor?
"I see."
Zhou Zhenwen waved his hand, signaling to Uncle Fu that he could leave.
"Yes." Uncle Fu saluted and left the compound.
Zhou Zhenwen used the technique of transmitting sound into secrets to transmit the sound to the ears of the secret guards hidden in the Zhou Mansion.
"Contact with the secret guards in the palace and investigate the reason."
After saying that, Zhou Zhenwen put on the blue official uniform, strode out of the Zhou Mansion, and got on the carriage.
The carriage headed towards the palace...
Before entering the palace, Zhou Zhenwen received the news from the secret guard.
[The Minister of Industry, the Minister of Household Affairs, and all the cabinet ministers were awakened, and they were all on their way to the palace. 】
[The news came from Qingzhou that locusts appeared in Qingzhou. 】
"locust?"
"Locust plague?"
"Super hybrid rice, sweet potatoes, corn, and potatoes are the cornerstones for the expansion of the wilderness and for the people to live and work in peace and contentment. Nothing should happen to them!"
Zhou Zhenwen picked up the ink pen and wrote quickly, writing a line of words.
[Xiao Si, no matter what method you use, you must keep this food! 】
Zhou Zhenwen put the note into an envelope, left it on the table of the carriage, stepped out of the carriage and entered the palace.
Not long after, a figure appeared on the carriage, looked at the envelope on the table, put it in his arms, and disappeared.
On the way to the imperial study room, Zhou Zhenwen saw many cabinet colleagues.
The reason for convening the cabinet, the Minister of Industry, and the Minister of Household overnight was probably because of the Qingzhou locust incident... Zhou Zhenwen thought silently in his heart.
After a while, everyone saw the empress Liang Zhao sitting on the dragon chair in the imperial study room with a serious look on her face.
Empress Liang looked after everyone and said in a deep voice: "I called all my dear friends here overnight just for one thing... Locusts appeared in Qingzhou!"
"What?" Deng Qi, the minister of the Ministry of Industry, changed his expression. From ancient times to the present, locust plagues have been extremely terrifying disasters. The locusts in the sky are constantly gnawing at crops and food, causing countless families to be separated from their families, sell their children, and become homeless.
Ji Gu, the Minister of Household Affairs, looked extremely sad. He had just dealt with the Qingzhou Prefect Zhang Qi's swallowing of Qingzhou's grain reserves a few days ago. Looking at the information collected by Feng Qian, it was simply shocking!
Only he knows what is happening in Qingzhou now?
As a former major grain storage state and the world's granary... At this moment, the amount of grain reserves is not even as good as in desolate places like Liangzhou and Youzhou.
Under such circumstances, once a locust plague breaks out, the consequences are simply unimaginable!
The expressions of many cabinet bachelors also changed slightly.
The house leaked, but it rained all night, and the boat was late and encountered a strong wind... This Qingzhou is really full of disasters!
This is the thought that has emerged in the minds of many officials.
"My dear friends, please share your thoughts!"
"I want a specific solution!"
Empress Liang looked after the ministers and said in a deep voice.
As soon as these words came out, all the ministers kept silent, not wanting to be the one who stood out.
Empress Liang Zhao frowned slightly. She didn't have much patience now and said directly: "The Ministry of Household Affairs is in charge of fields, household registration, taxes, salaries... The matter of locusts is also a matter of your Ministry of Household Affairs, Minister of Household Affairs, You come first!"
"Yes, Your Majesty." Jigu, the Minister of Household Affairs, bowed his hands, walked out, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, locust plagues have existed since ancient times. I suggest that the people catch locusts on their own initiative. The court can subsidize some silver rewards and reward those who catch the largest number of locusts. People.”
"This method cannot solve the urgent need." Empress Liang Zhao shook her head, "The danger of locusts is imminent. Even if we mobilize the masses to catch the locusts, it is probably too late now! Besides, things like silver rewards can easily be destroyed if they are not controlled well. It breeds opportunistic people who deliberately allow locusts to overrun in order to collect rewards.”
"My dear friends, do you have any other good ideas?"
Fu Kang, the great scholar of Huagaidian, said: "Your Majesty, for the current plan, the only way is to organize the people and officers and soldiers to dig out locust larvae and completely cut off their roots before they become a disaster. Furthermore, I suggest that we prepare food and grass in advance and prepare for a long time." Preparation to fight locust plague.”
"Well, what else is there?" Empress Liang Zhao nodded slightly and continued to ask.
Another bachelor said: "We can use the swatting method. Let the people use bamboo poles to hold up a few feet of cloth, drive the locusts to one place, and focus on swatting them to kill them."
The bachelor of Wenhua Palace also echoed: "Your Majesty, the swatting method has been passed down to this day and is the most effective method. If we can stop the people and hunt them together, we can definitely stop the locust plague before it becomes a disaster."
The cabinet academicians offered their opinions and suggestions one after another, and even Deng Qi, the minister of industry, also put forward several suggestions.
Only Zhou Zhenwen, the chief minister of the cabinet, remained silent.
Empress Liang Zhao has also been waiting for Zhou Zhenwen to speak, but several ministers talked for a long time, but Zhou Zhenwen did not say a word.
Empress Liang Zhao had no choice but to take the initiative and ask: "Master Zhou, do you have any method to solve the locust plague?"
As soon as these words came out, the imperial study room became quiet, and everyone's eyes turned to Zhou Zhenwen, waiting for the chief minister of the cabinet to speak.
Zhou Zhenwen came out, looked at the empress Liang Zhao, cupped her hands and said, "Your Majesty, I have three strategies to solve the locust plague."
"oh?"
Empress Liang Zhao was overjoyed and quickly urged: "Ai Qing, please speak quickly!!!"
"The first strategy is to exterminate the locusts. In addition to the swatting method that Grand Master Chen just mentioned, I have two other ways to solve it."
"One of them is called the burying method. Although the swatting method is simple and easy to use and easy for the people to use, once the number of locusts increases, manpower cannot fight. This time, we dug deep pits in advance and used swatting on the path that the locusts must pass. Wait for the method to knock down the flying locusts into the pit, and then focus on filling them."
"The advantage of this method is that it can kill a large number of locusts in one go, but the hole dug must be deep. If it is shallow, the locusts may escape, resulting in failure."
"The disadvantage is that it requires preparation in advance and the operation is difficult."
"The second method is called the campfire trapping method. This method is similar to the previous one, but this method must be used at night. It uses the light of the campfire to attract locusts to gather, and then uses flames to hunt and bury the locusts into deep pits."
"But the disadvantage of this method is that once the fire spreads and is not handled properly, it may damage the crops and crops and cause fires."
"But if it's a wasteland, this method is the most efficient and has the best effect."
Empress Liang Zhao nodded her head and ordered: "The Minister of Hubu recorded Zhou Aiqing's method so that various places can learn how to deal with it in advance to prevent locust plagues."
"Yes, Your Majesty," said Jigu, the Minister of Household Affairs.
Zhou Zhenwen looked at the empress Liang Zhao and continued: "Your Majesty, the first strategy is just a temporary solution, the second strategy is a fundamental solution..."
