"I was in a hurry and broke into the Tai Chi Hall without notification. It was really unbecoming of me and I bumped into the Holy One. I hope Your Majesty will forgive me!"
When Li Zexuan first arrived outside the Tai Chi Hall, Zhao Song was about to go in and report. But after Li Zexuan heard the conversation between Mian Yingda and Changsun Wuji inside, he couldn't bear it anymore. He thought to himself that this overwhelming locust plague has come. You guys have discussed this so much. After a long time, we still haven't come up with a countermeasure. Why is the efficiency so low? So he walked directly in!
After taking the lead, Li Zexuan walked up to the officials and bowed to Li Er to apologize.
Seeing that Li Zexuan finally arrived, Li Er breathed a sigh of relief. It's not that the Tang Dynasty could not handle the locust plague without Li Zexuan, but if Li Zexuan was present, he would often be able to check for omissions and make up for the shortcomings, and put forward better and more eye-catching suggestions. This made the final result more perfect. At this time, Li Er could not worry about whether Li Zexuan was rude or not. He waved his hand and said:
"Since I have summoned you to the palace, it is okay for you to enter this Tai Chi Palace. I will pardon your innocence!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
Li Zexuan bowed and said.
At this time, Kong Yingda on the side couldn't help but said: "Marquis Yong'an, what did you mean by 150,000 chickens just now?"
All the officials in the palace couldn't help but turn their attention to Li Zexuan, secretly wondering what kind of surprise this magical young man would bring to Datang this time?
At this time, Li Zexuan turned to look at Kong Yingda, cupped his hands, and said with a smile: "I now have a total of 150,000 chickens under my command. Just before I came to Chang'an, these 150,000 chickens have been used by farmers and children in Hanjiazhuang and Meicun. We rushed to the farmland, presumably by now there are not many locusts left in the farmland of the two villages, right?"
As soon as this statement came out, everyone was shocked!
First, he was surprised by the number of chickens Li Zexuan had at his disposal; second, he was surprised by Li Zexuan’s reaction speed, mobilizing villagers to provide disaster relief so quickly; second, he was surprised that Li Zexuan was so confident in the ability of chickens to exterminate locusts, as Lantian County is only a short distance away from Chang’an. In just half an hour's journey, in such a short period of time, could 150,000 chickens really wipe out all the locusts in the farmlands of two Zhuangzis?
"This...this, Marquis Yong'an, how did you ever have so many chickens?"
Kong Yingda was obviously caught off guard.
Li Zexuan smiled and replied: "Did Kong Jijiu forget that Yuan Shaoqing of Taifu Temple impeached me last year for driving up the price of chickens? Last year, I first bought 80,000 chickens for the farmers in Hanjiazhuang, and then for Meicun. The farmer bought 80,000 chickens, and now there are nearly 150,000 of these chickens alive. Not only that, last year I also found two chicken training masters in Hanjiazhuang. Under their guidance, the two Zhuangzi children are now They all know how to train chickens.
So before coming, I asked these children to take these 150,000 chickens to the farmland that was plagued by locusts. You may not know that an adult chicken can eat up to more than 300 locusts a day. Twenty chickens can almost guarantee that there are no locusts in an acre of field. I have a Tianji brigade composed of 150,000 chickens. It is estimated that locusts can clear 6,000 acres of fertile land in half an hour, and 12,000 acres in one hour!
Lantian County only has more than 100,000 acres of fertile farmland. I can guarantee that within two days, the locust plague in Lantian County will be basically eliminated! And Lantian County will also become the first county in Datang to eliminate locusts! "
Arrogant! Li Zexuan who said these words cannot be said to be arrogant! No one present, including Li Er, dared to say that he could wipe out locusts in a county within two days, but Li Zexuan dared to say it!
But Li Zexuan has the arrogance!
Who made Li Zexuan still ignore it and purchase chickens in large quantities last year when the price of chickens was so high?
Kong Yingda couldn't help but be silent for a while, because what Li Zexuan said was reasonable and well-founded, and he had no way to refute it. This made him sigh in his heart. The Li Zexuan in front of him was no longer the small secretary of the Imperial College. He already had Ability controls the life and death of the people in a county! And this is far from the end of the road for this young man. In a few years, this young man will definitely become a real giant!
However, Kong Yingda still had some doubts in his heart, wondering why Li Zexuan bought so many chickens last year? Did Li Zexuan also anticipate this year's locust plague last year?
Thinking of this, Kong Yingda couldn't help but reveal a hint of fear when she looked at Li Zexuan!
In fact, he is not the only one who has this idea? Ministers like Cheng Yaojin who are familiar with Li Zexuan have suspicions or speculations in this regard. Cheng Yaojin is planning to ask Li Zexuan after he goes to court!
"Marquis Yong'an, is it really possible for your Tianji Brigade to eliminate the locusts in Lantian County within two days?"
Xiao Yu stood up at this time, raised his hands and asked.
Li Zexuan nodded and replied: "Of course it's true! If there were only 150,000 chickens, this kid would never dare to make such wild claims, but now there are not only so many chickens, but also a group of children who are good at training chickens. This is like both With soldiers and generals, the boy is certainly confident that he can clear up the locusts in Lantian County within two days!
And in addition, the boy also set up a department in the county government to purchase locusts, paying one penny and two pounds, in order to encourage the people of Lantian County to catch locusts! With everyone working together, I firmly believe that within two days, the locusts in Lantian County will be basically cleared away! "
After listening to the second half of Li Zexuan's words, everyone couldn't help but be speechless. They secretly thought that someone was really wealthy. At this time of the locust plague, he dared to do the business of purchasing locusts. Aren't he afraid of bankruptcy?
Xiao Yu was also unspeakably surprised, but he was not worried that Li Zexuan would go bankrupt because of this. Qiqu Pavilion, Zuixian Tower and Liquor House were all places where money was made every day. Xiao Yu nodded, then cupped his hands to Li Er and said :
"Your Majesty, the locust control strategy adopted by Marquis Yong'an in Lantian County has great merits. The veteran believes that the top priority of the imperial court is to issue an official document to order county magistrates in various places that have suffered from locust plagues to follow the locust control strategy adopted by Marquis Yong'an in Lantian County and guide them The people hunted and killed the locusts and tried their best to save the crops in the fields!"
Fang Xuanling couldn't help but said at this time: "Xiao Shangshu, the imperial treasury is tight with money. How can we buy locusts like the Marquis of Yong'an?"
"Your Majesty, Xianggong Fang is right. If you buy these locusts all over the sky with money, God knows how much money will be spent? Since the battle of Shuofang in April, the Turks have begun to look at us, the Tang Dynasty. There may be a conflict between the two countries at any time. Starting a war will definitely consume countless amounts of money. How can the imperial court use money to buy some useless locusts at this juncture? Not everyone can be as wealthy as Marquis Yong'an!"
After Fang Xuanling finished speaking, a burly man with a heavy back and a heavy back came out of the military generals' camp and bowed to Li Er.
It's just that his words were mixed with a lot of Ming Dynasty insinuations and yin and yang weirdness!
Li Zexuan couldn't help but narrow his eyes and looked at the sturdy general. He didn't recognize him. He did not know this person, but why was he mocking him in a weird way?
Li Zexuan couldn't help but have a trace of doubt in his heart.
Li Er, who was sitting above him, couldn't help but frown slightly and wanted to scold him, but what the other party said was not completely unreasonable.
"Hey! At the critical moment, Marquis Yong'an was able to call on the people to eliminate the locusts within two days. Not to mention it was a great achievement, but he saved tens of thousands of people in Lantian County, right? What did you Qiu Xinggong do? What's the matter? Are you qualified to be sarcastic here?"
Cheng Yaojin was a master who was fearless. When he saw that there was a "traitor" in the general's camp, he immediately stood up and refuted loudly.
Qiu Xinggong!
This person turned out to be Qiu Xinggong!
Li Zexuan couldn't help but shrink his pupils, feeling surprised in his heart!
After Qiu Xinggong surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, he followed Li Er in the southern and northern campaigns, successively captured Chang'an, eliminated Xue Ju, Liu Wuzhou, Wang Shichong, Dou Jiande and other separatist forces, and was promoted to Zuoyifu Hussar for his military merit.
In addition, Qiu Xinggong can also be regarded as a big figure in history, because among the six horses carved by Li Er in front of the Zhaoling Mausoleum—the Six Horses of the Zhaoling Mausoleum—one horse is different from the others. Because there was a person standing next to it. This person was either a groom or Qiu Xinggong!
In the Battle of Hulao Pass, Dou Jiande actually sent 150,000 troops to assist Wang Shichong. Li Er only had 3,500 Xuanjia troops at that time. Moreover, Li Er at that time was considered a highly skilled man and was bold, so he only brought Qiu Xinggong with him. He and a few soldiers went to explore the enemy camp, but they were discovered. All the soldiers accompanying him were shot to protect him. At this time, his Salu purple horse was also hit by an arrow. Qiu Xinggong dismounted and killed Li Er. He pulled out the arrow from his horse and gave his horse to Li Er to ride. Then he held a long sword, shouted loudly, shocked the enemy formation, killed several enemy soldiers in a row, protected Li Er to break through the encirclement, and returned to the Tang army. camp.
Li Er was so grateful for Qiu Xinggong's achievements that he had Qiu Xinggong painted on the stone carvings of the Six Horses of Zhaoling!
Of course, the biggest characteristic of Qiu Xinggong is ruthlessness. In the 17th year of Zhenguan, Yu Wenzhi, the county lieutenant of Huxian County, reported that Liu Lancheng, the governor of Daizhou, was treason. And eat it!
Moreover, Qiu Xinggong’s son, Qiu Shenji, was also a super ruthless person and the most famous cruel official in Wu Zetian’s dynasty!
Thinking of this, Li Zexuan couldn't help but feel his scalp numb, and thought to himself: How did he get into trouble with such a cruel person?
He was not afraid of what Qiu Xinggong would do to him. Not to mention that he was now a prince, as long as Qiu Xinggong still wanted to hang out in the Tang Dynasty, he would not be able to do anything to him. Taking a step back, he would be there with all his martial arts skills. After all, there is no reason to be afraid of Qiu Xinggong! But when he thought that this guy was a ruthless person who could eat people's hearts and minds, he felt a little worried and panicked in his heart!
"Qiu just discussed the matter, why did Lu Guogong become so angry?"
Qiu Xinggong's eyes flickered, but he didn't flinch.
Cheng Yaojin was so angry that he jumped to his feet and cursed: "Hey! Am I so angry? Bah! I think it's you, Qiu Xinggong, who is so angry, right? You just don't like people from the younger generation who are more capable than you. You have pink eye!" "
As soon as these words came out, many courtiers looked at Qiu Xinggong with strange eyes!
"Cheng Zhijie, you..."
Qiu Xinggong was furious and planned to fight Cheng Yaojin.
At this moment, Li Eryi slapped Long An and shouted sternly: "Shut up, everyone! At such a critical juncture, with countless people in dire straits, you and the other two are making noises here, what's wrong with that? Get out of here!" I will make you two shut up for three days and think about your past, and you will be fined half a year's salary as punishment!"
Cheng Yaojin and Qiu Xinggong were both shocked. They quickly stopped arguing and bowed to Li Er: "I obey your order!"
At this time, Li Er looked at Fang Xuanling and Xiao Yu again and said: "As for the purchase of locusts, there is no need for the Ministry of Household Affairs to pay. I use the money from the palace treasury to purchase locusts from the people. As long as the locust plague can be eliminated, , What’s the harm to me, the Queen, and others even if we live frugally?”
The civil and military officials could not help but be moved by Li Er again, and shouted: "Your Majesty's dragon body is related to our Tang Dynasty. I am willing to donate my salary to help the imperial court purchase locusts!"
"I am also willing!"
"I am also willing!"
When Li Er saw this, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Others thought that he was making a loss-making deal by purchasing the locusts, but only he and Li Zexuan knew that for one penny and two kilograms of locusts, not only did he not lose money, but he made a profit! The rapid rise of Zuixianlou and Sun Simiao personally said that locusts can be used as medicine, which proves that locusts have a certain value!
"I appreciate the kindness of all my dear friends! However, my decision has been made, and there is no need to discuss this matter further!"
Li Er waved his hand and said "righteously".
"Your Majesty! I am willing to spend 20,000 yuan to help your majesty purchase locusts. I hope your majesty can do it!"
Li Zexuan cupped his hands and said.
Everyone couldn't help but widen their eyes, thinking that Li Zexuan was really willing to spend a lot of money to please His Majesty!
Just when other ministers with low incomes wanted to imitate Li Zexuan, Li Er's face darkened obviously and he shouted: "Get out! I can still afford this small amount of money!"
One penny and two catties, ten thousand guan can buy 16 million catties. Is Li Zexuan planning to "eat" locusts in more than a dozen states?
All the officials were stunned. Li Zexuan touched his nose nonchalantly, cupped his hands and said, "Your Majesty is generous! Er, no, your Majesty is wise!"
Having said that, this guy couldn't help but murmur in his heart, well, this trip to the palace actually "cultivated" a competitor. Could it be that Lao Li also wants to do the locust business?
Li Er realized that he had just lost his composure and said sternly: "Fang Aiqing, you come and draw up the edict! Order the magistrates of the affected counties to immediately lead the people in the county to drive the chickens into the farmland to eliminate the locusts, and all counties The county government buys locusts from the people for a fee. Counties within three hundred miles of Chang'an can send fresh locusts to Chang'an; counties three hundred miles away must dry the locusts before sending them to Chang'an. I will send people at that time Buy by the pound at different prices!
In addition, county governments in various places need to prevent grain merchants from taking the opportunity to drive up grain prices. Anyone who violates this rule will be severely punished! If grain prices get out of control, a report needs to be made to the court as soon as possible, and nearby state capitals should immediately open warehouses to release grain! "
Fang Xuanling bowed and said, "I will prepare an edict immediately!"
Li Er nodded, then stood up and said: "Okay! While it's still early, all my dear friends will go with me to Lantian County to see if Hanjiazhuang and Meicun have basically eliminated the locusts as Marquis Yong'an said!"
"I obey the order!"
After all the officials heard this, they all cheered up. After all, some things cannot be said beautifully, they are only true when they are seen with one's own eyes!
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