"Hurry, hurry, hurry! The young master has ordered that everyone in Zhuangzi go to the chicken farm to drive out the chickens! Those children who passed the exam last year quickly gathered at the head of the village and went to the chicken farm to catch the chickens together! Hurry, hurry, hurry! Han Xiaodong , you go and inform the people on the west side of the village, Lao Niu, you go and inform the people on the west side of the village, Daniu and Erniu, you two go and inform the people on the north side of the village, and I'll inform the people on the south side of the village!"
Not long after Li Zexuan left Yunshan, Meicun and Hanjiazhuang at the foot of Yunshan all took action. While other places were still immersed in the panic caused by the locust plague, hundreds of households in these two villages had already followed Li Zexuan's instructions. Launched a self-rescue operation!
"Lao Hu, why are you going to the chicken farm to catch the chickens at this time? Where are you going to catch them?"
"Run into the fields to eat grasshoppers! The young master said that there are nearly 150,000 chickens raised in Hanjiazhuang and Meicun. It only takes more than half an hour for these chickens to eat grasshoppers in tens of thousands of acres of fertile land. The locusts will eat them all! Everyone, hurry up! If we gather a quarter of an hour earlier, the crops in the field will be less harmed by locusts for a quarter of an hour!"
"Good boy! How can it still be like this? Our village only has three to four thousand acres of farmland. Will the locusts be cleared away in no time? Lao Hu, wait a minute! I'm going to the chicken farm right now!"
Hu Hanyun brought up Li Zexuan's name, and Jing Cong responded immediately, mainly because compared to other Zhuangzi outside, the people of Hanjiazhuang and Meicun were much less awe of locusts. After all, in the autumn of last year, the people of the two Zhuangzi were Some autumn locusts were caught and brought to Yanhuang Academy for sale, so when the locust plague came today, the people of these two Zhuangzi were relatively calm. They only had anxiety in their hearts, but no panic!
Almost at the same time, hundreds of government officials from Lantian County came out to take notices brought back by County Magistrate He and began to post them at various intersections in the city and on Zhuangzi outside the city. The title of the notice was "United as one, fight together." Locust plague"!
The content of the notice is also very simple and clear. It probably means: "Yong'an Houling: There is no so-called locust god in the world, and the locust plague is not terrible. It can be destroyed;
From now on, the county government of Lantian County will begin purchasing locusts from the public for one penny or two pounds, with no limit;
In addition, the Tianji Brigade consisting of 150,000 chickens from Hanjiazhuang and Meicun is about to sweep across the farmland of Lantian County from north to south. It is hoped that each village will drive out the chickens raised in the farm to cooperate and work together to eliminate the chickens in the farmland as soon as possible. locust! "
After seeing this locust extermination notice from Li Zexuan, the anxiety and fear of the people in Lantian County finally calmed down. Especially after seeing the news that the Lantian County government was preparing to purchase locusts, the people could no longer sit still. .
"Let's go! What are you waiting for? The Marquis has already said that there is no locust god in this world. Let's all catch the locusts. We can not only sell them for money, but also kill the locusts in the fields!"
"Yes, yes! Invite the children at home to catch locusts together!"
"The Marquis said, drive the chickens at home into the ground! Let's go, let's go!"
Under Li Zexuan's several rectifications, the entire county government in Lantian County has become very efficient. People in Zhuangzi took action after hearing the news, chasing chickens, catching locusts in the fields, and tens of thousands of people in Lantian County. , gradually embarked on the road of self-rescue and disaster relief.
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At this time, the court hall was also very lively.
"As far as the news I have received so far, there are 14 prefectures: Qizhou, Qingzhou, Bianzhou, Huazhou, Zhengzhou, Jinzhou, Luozhou, Chenzhou, Xuzhou, Shangzhou, Yongzhou, Bingzhou, Luzhou, Chang'an, More than 300 counties have all suffered from locust plagues, and the overwhelming locusts are spreading towards Fengzhou and Qizhou. This locust plague is so massive that it was extremely rare even in previous dynasties. Today, I I have summoned all my dear friends here to discuss the plan to control the locusts! If you have any good plans, please feel free to speak out!"
Inside the Tai Chi Hall.
The civil and military officials who had just finished attending the morning court a few hours ago were once again summoned back by Li Er. Li Er sat on the head and looked at everyone with a serious expression.
"Your Majesty, since ancient times, people have believed that the plague of locusts represents the wrath of God. Rumors will spread among the people for this reason. The most urgent task now is to stabilize people's hearts. The Holy Spirit should go to the fields in person, kill livestock, place incense cases, and offer sacrifices to heaven. Pray and grant a general pardon to the world to calm the people’s hearts!”
Confucian leader Kong Yingda stood up at this time and cupped his hands towards Li Er.
From the perspective of the ancients, there is nothing wrong with Kong Yingda's advice. Looking at the previous kings of all dynasties, most of them reacted like this when encountering locust plagues!
Because people in ancient times did not have perfect scientific knowledge, many people had a panic mentality about the emergence of locust plagues. The ancient concept of the unity of man and nature naturally made people think that this was God's anger and sent people to the world. warning.
There is a saying that goes well, thinking determines the way out! With the above-mentioned ideas, the next thing to do is definitely not to think about how to adopt effective methods to control the locust plague, but to pray in the fields and pray for mercy from these locusts. But obviously, the locust army will not go as the emperor and the people want. After the locusts eat up all the food in the people's fields, those rulers with a little more foresight will open warehouses and release food to the people, so that the people can Don’t be desperate and rebel!
As soon as Kong Yingda finished speaking, many ministers echoed in the court room.
"Your Majesty, what Kong Jijiu said is absolutely true! The top priority of the imperial court is to stabilize the people's hearts!"
"That's right! Please also ask the Holy One to set up an altar to pray and grant amnesty to the world!"
Li Er, who was sitting at the top, couldn't help but frown when he heard this, because he didn't think praying to the sky could make the locusts in the sky disappear.
Seeing Li Er's frown, Changsun Wuji stood up and said: "Your Majesty, although what Kong Jijiu said has some truth, the veteran believes that the most urgent task now is to issue an imperial edict, inform the world, and call on the people to immediately Take action to fight against the locust plague!"
When Kong Yingda heard this, he couldn't help but said: "May I ask Duke Zhao, the locust plague is a disaster from heaven, how can the people resist it?"
Changsun Wuji said: "We have tens of millions of people in the Tang Dynasty. If everyone goes to the fields to catch locusts, why worry about the locust plague? Anyway, I think it will be better than praying to the sky!"
Kong Yingda was a little angry and said: "Nonsense! Not to mention that the locusts cover the sky and are endless, but there are countless people who regard locusts as sacred insects. Duke Zhao asked them to catch locusts. How can they be willing?"
Changsun Wuji said with a serious face: "Kong Jijiu, you are also a person who has read poetry and books. You should know better than anyone else that the theory of divine insects is pure nonsense. Locusts eat crops and harm the people. What's more, they should be They are pests. I believe that the Holy One should immediately issue an imperial edict to label locusts as pests and encourage the people of the world to kill them in anger!"
"That's right! How can a mere grasshopper be a divine insect? Just kill it. Can God still send down divine punishment for this?"
Cheng Yaojin couldn't help but speak at this time.
His village, Zhuangzi, is currently suffering from locusts, and he doesn't have any good impressions of locusts! Besides, Lao Cheng has killed countless people in his life, so how could he be afraid of killing locusts?
Fang Xuanling and Du Ruhui also expressed their opinions at this time: "Old minister agrees with Zhao Guogong's suggestion!"
In fact, there are many ministers who understand that locusts are mythical insects and it is nonsense. There are still many rational people. They just lack a big brother to take the lead and stand up! Now that we see that Sun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Du Ruhui all stand clearly on the side of "killing locusts," there are many voices of agreement.
"Your Majesty should issue an imperial edict calling on the people to hunt and kill locusts!"
"Locusts are not divine insects, but pests and should be hunted and killed!"
Li Er's frown finally relaxed at this moment. He nodded and said solemnly: "Since ancient times, people have regarded food as their top priority, but locusts feed on grains and harm the common people. How can they be called divine insects today? Locust plagues broke out in dozens of states in the Tang Dynasty, and the people were in dire straits. Today, as the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, I issued an edict to hunt down locusts for all people in the world. If God is angry because of this, I am willing to shoulder the responsibility of God as the emperor. Punishment, no regrets!"
Li Er's loud voice was like an oath to heaven and earth. It sounded like a loud bell and resounded in every corner of the Taiji Hall. All the officials were moved when they heard it. Although they did not believe that the locusts were divine insects, but today the people in the hall were moved. There is no one who disrespects heaven and earth, let alone ghosts and gods! When Li Er said these words, in their eyes, he was definitely an eternal benevolent gentleman who sacrificed his life to save the common people!
"Father! You must not do it! If there is a divine punishment from God, then let it fall on my son!"
Li Chengqian, who was standing next to Li Er, was very anxious after hearing this and quickly bowed.
"Old minister, I ask your majesty to take back what you just said. If there is divine punishment from heaven, my eldest son, Sun Wuji, is willing to bear the divine punishment for your majesty with his old, weak, sick and disabled body!"
Changsun Wuji bowed deeply and said in a deep voice.
All the officials followed suit and saluted: "Your Majesty, please take back what you just said. If there is a divine punishment from heaven, I am willing to accept the divine punishment for Your Majesty!"
The king loves the people, the ministers love the king, and the ministers are willing to die for the king. This harmonious scene between the king and his ministers can be regarded as a good story from the early Tang Dynasty!
Li Er breathed a sigh of relief, then shook his head and said: "I am the king of a country. I am doing it for the people of the world and the country. I have a clear conscience and I don't believe that God will punish me for this! Zhao Song, I will be punished immediately. What I just said is a decree to be announced to the world!"
Zhao Song said with a serious face: "Old slave, I obey the order!"
Kong Yingda held up his hands and said: "Your Majesty is dedicated to the people, and he will surely move heaven! But now there are endless locusts in various states and counties. If we rely on human power to catch them, when will we be able to catch them all? At that time, the crops in the fields may be It has been completely destroyed a long time ago! Therefore, I hope that your majesty can make plans in advance and order the various state governments to prepare to open warehouses and release grain to appease the people!"
There was no sign of panic on Li Er's face, but he smiled confidently and said, "Does Kong Aiqing still remember the decree on raising chickens and reducing taxes issued by the imperial court last year?"
Last summer, under the pressure of Li Er, Li Zexuan proposed three strategies to control locusts. One of them was to use the decree to reduce taxes on raising chickens to attract people to raise a large number of chickens, and then use chickens to kill locusts when the locust plague arrives. Part of the locust!
However, because the prophecy of the locust plague could not be leaked, only the three important officials of the empire, Changsun Wuji and Fang Xuanling, knew about the three locust control strategies at that time. Moreover, these ministers were ordered by Li Ersan to keep it strictly confidential, so the officials generally did not know about it. The profound meaning behind the decree of reducing the chicken tax!
Hearing this, Kong Yingda nodded and said: "Of course I remember it! It's just that your Majesty mentioned the decree on raising chickens and reducing taxes at this time. What's the use of controlling locusts?"
Li Er smiled, then nodded to Changsun Wuji and said: "Auxiliary machine, you tell me!"
Changsun Wuji cupped his hand, and then said to Kong Yingda: "Kong Jiujiu, last year, with the implementation of the imperial decree to reduce taxes on raising chickens, the number of chickens raised by people in all states and counties in the world increased sharply, and these chickens love to eat locusts. If Let the people drive all the chickens they raise into the farmland, and they will surely be able to eliminate a lot of locusts! Moreover, last year the imperial court sent a fleet south to exchange for food. Now the granaries all over the Tang Dynasty are full of food. Even if the people lose part of their crops, The imperial court is also capable of saving all people from fire and water!"
Not only Kong Yingda, but also other ministers in the court were shocked when they heard this. What surprised them was not the strategy of using chickens to eliminate locusts, but the thought that last year the court launched a tax reduction policy for raising chickens, and this year the locust plague is coming. Li Er and Changsun Wuji happened to come up with the strategy of using chickens to kill locusts. Why are there so many coincidences?
Did Li Er already expect a locust plague to occur this year when he proposed the decree to "reduce taxes on raising chickens" last year?
Thinking back to last year when the imperial court sent a fleet south to exchange for food, all of this seemed to have been planned by Li Er. Kong Yingda and other ministers couldn't help but reveal a hint of horror in their eyes when they looked at Li Er!
Our Majesty can actually know the future? It's so scary, it's really so scary!
This is the same idea among the ministers who don’t know the truth at this moment!
After a long silence, Kong Yingda felt that something was wrong. He raised his hand to Changsun Wuji and said: "Of course chickens can eat locusts, but last year, people all over the country were buying chickens, which caused the price of chickens to skyrocket. In the end, every household A household can only raise twenty or thirty chickens at most, but each household has at least three to forty acres of land. These twenty or thirty chickens are nothing more than a drop in the bucket!"
When Changsun Wuji heard this, he couldn't help but be silent for a while, because what Changsun Wuji said was indeed the truth. The price of chickens in Chang'an City last year was definitely the most expensive in the past ten years. Even though the imperial court introduced a policy of reducing taxes for raising chickens, the people Our family can’t support much!
It’s not that I don’t want to raise it, it’s that I can’t afford it!
Li Er, who was sitting at the top, could not help but darken his face.
"Twenty or thirty is not enough. Is 150,000 enough?"
At this moment, a loud voice came from outside the Tai Chi Hall, and then, a young man with an impressive appearance strode in. Although this young man did not wear official uniform, he had an extraordinary aura. If not Li Zexuan, he could still who is it?
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