With complicated thoughts, the rest of the day was spent visiting Zhao Junchen. (Please use the pinyin domain name of this site to visit us.)
Under the locust plague, there was an atmosphere of helplessness and despair everywhere, which made Zhao Junchen feel a little depressed.
The locust plague occurred only a month ago, and most of the people still had a little of last year's food reserves, so Zhao Junchen did not see the victims everywhere. However, the locust plague happened at an unlucky time. It had just entered autumn, and Qing Huang was confused. See The food in hand gradually bottomed out and could no longer hold on for a few more days. The food for the second year was no longer available. The unrest among the people had reached its extreme. In Zhao Junchen's view, the large-scale chaos and the emergence of refugees, I'm afraid it will be in the not too distant future.
In fact, Zhao Junchen saw many people fleeing the famine along the way.
Sitting on the carriage driving back, Zhao Junchen was silent, frowning and thinking about what he had seen and heard this day.
After this day's inspection, Zhao Junchen discovered two serious problems.
First of all, the food gap in Lu'an Mansion is larger than Zhao Junchen imagined. The disaster relief food and grass distributed by the court are far from insufficient. However, Zhao Junchen has long been mentally prepared for this problem and has found a solution, so he does not Worry.
What really worries Zhao Junchen is another issue - after visiting the people, Zhao Junchen found that the people of Lu'an Prefecture were far more superstitious about the locust god's punishment than Zhao Junchen imagined. No wonder even Liu Changan Deeply affected by this, after making up his mind to cull the locusts, he even had to mobilize nearby local garrison troops to prepare for emergencies. I thought it was just Liu Changan who was worried, but now it seems that Zhao Junchen thought things too simply and underestimated the ignorance of the people in this era.
During this day, Zhao Junchen talked to many people, and also vaguely tested their opinions on exterminating locusts. As a result, as long as Zhao Junchen showed any intention, the people who talked would cause a strong backlash, or accuse Zhao Junchen of offending the locust god. , or simply fled far away, not daring to talk to Zhao Junchen again.
Originally, when Zhao Junchen thought about it, although the people were afraid of the locust god, when it was a matter of life and death for their own children, as long as they made a little announcement, they would follow the trend and follow the government officials to cull the locusts. But now it seems that, The actual situation is not that simple. Instead of culling locusts, the people are more inclined to wait for relief from the court, and even seek a way to survive by fleeing from famine. They would rather leave their fate to the unknown than fight with their own hands. .
In fact, in the eyes of many people, most of the plant food in Lu'an Prefecture has been eaten by locusts anyway, so what's the use of further culling them? As for whether the locust plague will spread to other places as a result, or whether it will recur repeatedly, the people don't want to think about it that much.
The ignorance and stubbornness of the people in ancient times made Zhao Junchen find it unimaginable.
Regarding this point, Liu Changan has his own unique understanding.
Lu'an Prefecture is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization. Various legends about gods and witches have been circulated since ancient times, such as Emperor Yan and Yellow Emperor, Kuafu chasing the sun, Cowherd and Weaver Girl, and Jingwei filling the sea, all originated from this place. Witchcraft and Shintoism have spread far and wide, and because of this, the people in this area are more awe-inspiring and more convinced of various superstitions than in other places.
After the locust plague occurred, the magic stick witches in Lu'an Prefecture took advantage of the situation to spread the word, which not only made people panic, but also made the people's fear of the locust god and heavenly punishment even stronger.
According to Liu Changan's plan, if the government wants to mobilize the people, it must first convince the gentry and elders from all over the country. Zhao Junchen originally thought that this plan was feasible and thought that it would be easy to convince these people as long as he stepped forward. But after understanding the actual situation, Zhao Junchen Junchen lost his confidence.
Because both Liu Changan and Zhao Junchen ignored the power and influence of religion when planning.
In fact, even without the trouble caused by those witches and magicians, after Zhao Junchen understood the actual thoughts of the people, he was still no longer optimistic about using the help of the squires and elders to mobilize the people.
Country squires and elders are often representatives of pedantic and outdated forces. Zhao Junchen has a hard time convincing even ordinary people. How easy is it to convince them? Even if these people are in awe of Zhao Junchen's official authority and agree on the surface, when they return to other places, they may still be more willing to obey and disobey.
In fact, it was only a trivial matter to persuade the gentry and elders from all over the country to assist the government in culling the locusts, but Liu Changan actually wanted to ask Zhao Junchen to come forward in person, which in itself speaks volumes.
I am afraid that the reason why Liu Changan asked Zhao Junchen to come forward was precisely because he did not have the confidence to convince these people.
Zhao Junchen didn't think much about it before and readily agreed to Liu Changan's request, but now that he thinks about it, it was Liu Changan who threw the most troublesome hot potato to Zhao Junchen.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen glared at Liu Changan fiercely.
Liu Changan was sitting not far from Zhao Junchen at this time, peeking at Zhao Junchen from time to time, showing a timid look of respect and caution. Along the way, he and Zhao Junchen conducted undercover visits in plainclothes, but they heard many people's dissatisfaction and complaints about his excessive taxation, which made him extremely embarrassed. Although he didn't think that a corrupt official like Zhao Junchen would treat him like this because of such a thing. He was a little corrupt official, but seeing Zhao Junchen's gloomy expression still made Liu Changan feel a little uneasy and uneasy.
Seeing Zhao Junchen looking at him with a somewhat unkind expression, Liu Changan felt suddenly and asked quickly: "What are your orders, sir?"
Seeing the flattery and humility in Liu Changan's expression, Zhao Junchen sighed in his heart, and finally suppressed the thoughts of "doing justice for heaven" deep in his heart. After all, no matter now or in the future, he can't do without corrupt officials like Liu Changan. support.
Therefore, Zhao Junchen just asked softly: "Master Liu, which temple and Taoist temple has the greatest influence in Lu'an Prefecture?"
Liu Changan didn't understand why Zhao Junchen asked this question, but he still replied respectfully: "Sir, this Lu'an Mansion is different from other places. Various legends of gods and witches are widely circulated, and the people are deeply affected by them. It is precisely because of this that few people in Lu'an Prefecture believe in Buddhism and Taoism since ancient times. Instead, they are quite respectful of the more primitive ways of magic and magic. Although the influence of the ancient Qinglian Temple and Yuanqi Temple is gradually increasing, they are still It is not popular, so there are no influential Taoist temples. On the contrary, the Nainai Temple in Nanshan is the leader of the two sects of gods and witches in Lu'an Prefecture. It has great influence, constant incense and many believers."
Zhao Junchen nodded, thoughtfully.
After thinking for a moment, Zhao Junchen suddenly turned his head and looked at Xu Qingyan.
Zhao Junchen couldn't help but smile when he saw Xu Qingyan's careless look.
Zhao Junchen knows very well what Shinto witchcraft is. They are the most primitive religion in China. They take advantage of the ignorance and ignorance of believers. They do not have strict theories and doctrines like Buddhism and Taoism, and the gods they believe in are also messy. , even among the many gods they believed in, the most famous one in later generations was Wong Tai Sin. The doctrines and ideas they promoted had little connotation. Most of the people in charge were magicians and witches. Apart from using their words to confuse people's hearts, there was basically nothing. Other skills. In the final analysis, Shinto witchcraft is just something used by a group of magic witches to deceive and bewitch the common people.
Although they looked down upon this kind of primitive religion, the situation in front of them seemed to be unavoidable.
In fact, most of the theory of the Locust God was propagated by these witches from the Shinto sect. Nowadays, the people's fear of the Locust God is mostly because of the witches who spread it everywhere.
If you want to deal with these witches and magic sticks, people like Xu Qingyan are the most suitable.
Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen said to Xu Qingyan: "Qingyan, don't go back with me today, help me do something..."
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ps: I have caught a cold these past few days, which is very uncomfortable, especially my head is feeling dizzy. Please pay more attention to your health during this period. It is really difficult to get rid of a cold in summer. Also, please continue to ask for favorites and recommendations, thank you all! !
