After some simple preparations, Li Er led a group of civil and military officials and rode towards Lantian County.
People in the Tang Dynasty favored martial arts, especially in the early Tang Dynasty. At this time, not only military generals would ride horses, but also among civil servants, there were very few people who could not ride horses. As the emperor, Li Er generally did not choose to ride a dragon chariot when traveling, but to ride a horse, because Riding a horse is much more convenient than riding a dragon chariot!
"Xiao Xuan, tell me the truth. When you bought chickens in Chang'an City last year, did you already anticipate this year's locust plague?"
On the way, Cheng Yaojin deliberately stayed behind and walked side by side with Li Zexuan. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Cheng Yaojin quickly asked in a low voice.
Li Zexuan understood that when he proposed using a Tianji brigade composed of 150,000 chickens to eliminate locusts, many ministers in the court began to doubt his true purpose of purchasing chicken seedlings. When Cheng Yaojin asked him in person, he At that moment, he no longer concealed anything and said in a low voice:
"Uncle Cheng, to be honest, my master predicted two hexagrams for the fortune of the Tang Dynasty during his lifetime. One hexagram accurately predicted the changes in the Xuanwu Gate, and the other predicted that a catastrophe would break out in the Guanzhong area in June of the second year of Zhenguan. The locust plague, when my nephew came down the mountain last year, the Xuanwu Gate incident had already confirmed the master's first prophecy, so he did not dare to despise the master's second prophecy.
In the beginning, my nephew was just a commoner. He just wanted to protect his farmers from the locust plague, so he purchased a large number of chicken seedlings for the farmers. However, he was impeached by Yuan Shaoqing and entered His Majesty's palace because of this. Vision! Later, as my nephew was lucky enough to make a lot of achievements, his official position became bigger and bigger, and he had more and more bankers.
Later, Uncle Qin realized something was wrong and asked his nephew why he bought so many chickens. The nephew was helpless and told the truth. Uncle Qin gave him a warning. The nephew woke up from a dream and realized how brave he was. Seriously, when the locust plague actually comes, even if my nephew is fully prepared, it may be difficult for him to fight against it alone!
So, in the end, Uncle Qin found your majesty and told him everything about my master's locust plague prophecy. Your majesty was frightened and wanted to order his nephew to enter the palace. But that day, Yuxi was kidnapped by bandits, and his nephew went to rescue him despite the order. Your Majesty ordered your nephew to come up with a locust control strategy and presented it to him. After seeing the three strategies proposed by your nephew to control locusts, Your Majesty found the Prime Minister, Prime Minister Du and Duke Zhao. After discussion, he decided to implement the New Deal and send a fleet south. In exchange for grain, we will implement the tax reduction policy for raising chickens in the Guanzhong area!
The prophecy of the locust plague is of great importance. Once it is leaked, it will definitely cause huge panic among the people. Therefore, my nephew did not tell Uncle Cheng about this, and please forgive me! "
Following Li Zexuan's narration, Cheng Yaojin finally figured out the cause and effect. He thought that he had been kept in the dark for the past year, and if he hadn't had a bright idea, he had asked the housekeeper to follow Li Zexuan and buy 30,000 chicks. , it is estimated that his village will be plagued by locusts at this time. Thinking of this, Cheng Yaojin's face darkened and he said:
"Hey! Forgive me! Forgive me! I used to treat you like my own son and nephew, but you even hide this from me. I won't forgive you easily! Unless..."
"Tsk~! Crazy Cheng, don't try to get an advantage and act like a good boy!"
At this moment, Yuchi Jingde's voice came from next to him: "Last year in the entire Chang'an City, apart from Xiaoxuan, you Cheng Zhijie bought the most. You just whispered something to your boy, it should be Instruct him to return to the Cheng family's village and use chickens to kill the locusts, right?"
Cheng Yaojin turned to look at Yuchi Jingde and said angrily: "Hey! Didn't you see, Yuchi Laohei, you are dark but have bright eyes? I said a few words to the slave, but both of them were You looked over!"
Swearing doesn't reveal one's shortcomings. Cheng Yaojin's words almost made Yuchi Jingde violently angry:
"Crazy Cheng, do you want to fight again?"
"Let's fight! Who's afraid of whom? When we come back from Lantian County later, we'll have a fight!"
"Okay! Whoever runs away this time will be the grandson!"
"Okay! If you run away, you are my grandson!"
Seeing the two old boys starting bickering mode, Li Zexuan quietly kicked Dabai's belly and chased Qin Qiong in front of him. Looking at it, Qin Qiong still had to be more mature and stable!
Just now, he thought that Cheng Yaojin would be angry with him, but when he heard the word "unless", he knew that Lao Cheng must not be really angry, but just wanted to use this matter to seek some benefits!
"Marquis Yong'an! His Majesty asks you to accompany him!"
As soon as he reached Qin Qiong's side on horseback, before he could say anything, a forbidden soldier came trotting over on horseback and said to Li Zexuan, cupping his fist.
"Let me drive with you?"
Li Zexuan was stunned, wondering when he had such a new business, but this was not the time to dwell on it. He quickly came to his senses, nodded and said: "Okay! I will go now!"
After that, he spoke to Qin Qiong, then rode towards the front of the team.
"Ha! Your boy is here?"
Li Er was in front of all the officials. Apart from the imperial guards, there were no ministers accompanying him. When Li Zexuan came on horseback, he attracted the envious eyes of many ministers. Li Er spoke out at this time.
"Uh... Your Majesty, does your Majesty have something to do with you?"
Li Zexuan's heart skipped a beat when he heard Li Er call him "your boy" instead of Marquis Yong'an, secretly guessing that Li Er would have nothing nice to say next.
Sure enough, Li Er said with a meaningful smile on his lips: "I heard that you are in great need of locusts, so I was thinking about reselling the locusts purchased by the imperial court from all over the world at twice the price."
When Li Zexuan heard this, his face darkened and he almost vomited blood. What did he mean? Does Lao Li want to be a second-rate dealer?
Earlier in the court, Lao Li claimed that he would spend his own money to buy the locusts in the world, which moved the civil and military officials of the court. However, Li Er suddenly changed hands and wanted to sell the collected locusts exclusively to himself. Li Zexuan was really worried. Thousands of alpacas galloping past...
But having said that, the locusts collected by Li Er could only be handed over to Li Zexuan, because the people under Lao Li would not be successful, let alone Sun Simiao, who could fully use the locusts in medicine!
"What? Do you think you've suffered a loss? I heard that last autumn you bought locusts from farmers, and the price at that time was three cents a catty! I sold you a penny a catty, so you won't suffer a loss no matter what, right?"
Li Er glanced at Li Zexuan lightly, with a strange light shining in his eyes, and said.
Li Zexuan rolled his eyes secretly and thought, could the situation this year be the same as last year? Now that locusts are everywhere, we definitely can’t buy them at last year’s price!
But thinking that Li Er had always taken good care of him, Li Zexuan just wanted to refuse, so he swallowed back his words of refusal. He handed over his hand and said:
"No loss! No loss! I am willing to pay twice the price for the locusts obtained by the imperial court!"
Anyway, the price of one penny per catty is not expensive. Ten thousand guan can get eight million catties. It doesn't matter if I let Lao Li take a small advantage. When the time comes, I can process it casually and sell a plate of fried grasshoppers for a long time. Money is still earned with blood!
Li Zexuan thought in his heart.
"Yeah! Okay! Okay, go down!"
Li Er took a deep look at Li Zexuan, and Long Yan said happily.
Li Zexuan was speechless. Does this count as being kicked away after being used?
"Here~!"
After bowing his hands, Li Zechuan returned to the back of the team.
Seeing Li Zexuan's unhappy expression, Qin Qiong couldn't help but ask: "Xiaoxuan, why does your Majesty want to see you?"
"What else can you do? Are you trying to trick me?"
Li Zexuan rolled his eyes, and seeing Qin Qiong's confused face, he immediately told what had just happened.
Qin Qiong stroked his beard, then looked at Li Zexuan and said, "You, you! Your Majesty is doing this to protect you. Don't be resentful and let down His Majesty's kindness!"
"Protect me? Uncle Qin, why are you protecting me?"
Li Zexuan was stunned for a while when he heard this, and couldn't help but be surprised.
Qin Qiong pointed at Li Zexuan with some hatred, then lowered her voice and said: "Xiaoxuan, think about it for yourself. If His Majesty doesn't pay for the acquisition of Locusts from the World himself, and asks you to pay for it, then the world will lose money." If all the people are grateful to you, your reputation will be at its peak, and you will become the people's favorite.
But as the saying goes, people are afraid of being famous and pigs are afraid of being strong. At such a young age and with such a big reputation, it is inevitable that you will not be criticized by villains! If someone with intentions continues to use this to drive a wedge between you and His Majesty, I am afraid that the glory you have gained today, Xiaoxuan, will disappear in an instant!
Your Majesty sold the purchased locusts to you at double the price. Firstly, the court is indeed unable to deal with such a large number of locusts. Secondly, it is to completely separate you from this matter. This is to protect you! "
Qin Qiong's words shocked Li Zexuan. Indeed, only Li Er can do this kind of thing to win over people's hearts. Looking back at the court, he came up with 20,000 yuan to help Li Er buy locusts. This was really a stupid decision. Fortunately, Li Er rejected him in court, otherwise when this matter spreads out, all the people in the world will really be grateful to him. By then, he has gained so many people's hearts, and he will be really in danger!
After Li Zexuan traveled to the Tang Dynasty, he just wanted to live a good life with his family and lead the people around him to live a good life. He never wanted to win over people's hearts, let alone raise a flag to rebel!
"Thank you, Uncle Qin, for reminding me! You really woke up the dreamer with your words! Only then did my nephew understand your majesty's good intentions. It was indeed my nephew's lack of consideration in this matter!"
Li Zexuan solemnly bowed his hands towards Qin Qiong and couldn't help but sigh.
Qin Qiong nodded and said: "Xiaoxuan, you must be careful when you are in the court. You are now considered to have a big family and a big business. Every step you take is related to the honor and disgrace of many people, so you have to be cautious. !”
Li Zexuan was silent. After a moment, he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you, Uncle Qin, for your teaching!"
It is said that having an elder in the family is like having a treasure, and the same is true in the court. With a reliable elder like Qin Qiong to help and remind him, Li Zexuan can avoid many detours and mistakes!
............................
"Master Han Qi, where are Uncle Hu and the others?"
Half an hour later, the group finally arrived at Hanjiazhuang, Lantian County. Seeing that there were only some old people in the village and all the young women and children were absent, Li Zexuan quickly rode into the village and asked an old man.
"Master, Hu Li is taking the villagers to Wangjiazhuang to kill the locusts!"
When Master Han Qi saw Li Zexuan, he hunched over and replied.
"Going to Wangjiazhuang? Have the locusts been cleared from the fields in Hanjiazhuang and Meicun?"
Li Zexuan asked again.
Master Han Qi immediately beamed and said, "It's cleared up! It's cleared up! Master, our village is the first village in Lantian County to clear away locusts. Now we can only see a few scattered locusts in the fields!"
Li Zexuan was relieved immediately. He said to Master Han Qi, "Okay, Master Han Qi, you are busy, I will leave first." Then he rode his horse to the end of the village, dismounted and raised his hand to Li Er and said: "Your Majesty, Hanjiazhuang's The Tianji Brigade has already gone to other villages, and the fields in Zhuangzi are basically free of locusts now!"
Hearing this, everyone was shocked and couldn't help but whisper.
Li Er couldn't help laughing and said: "Okay! Okay! Dear friends, come with me to the fields! Look at Zhuangzi who was the first to eliminate locusts in the entire Tang Dynasty!"
"I obey the order!"
Naturally, everyone wants it.
Under the leadership of Li Zexuan, everyone came to the farmland south of Hanjiazhuang. It was now mid-June, and some of the wheat in the field had turned yellow. The heavy wheat ears were so heavy that the wheat stalks could not stand straight. Li Er took Baiguan with him. They lined up on the field ridge and went separately to inspect the fields to see if there were any locusts.
"This! There are really no locusts here!"
“It’s not that there are no locusts, it’s just that there are very few!”
"That's right! Compared to the farmlands we saw on the way here, the locusts in Hantianzhuang's fields are completely negligible. Yong'an Hou's Tianji Brigade can really eliminate locusts in thousands of acres of fields in a short period of time. ah!"
After the civil and military officials carefully inspected the farmland, they couldn't help but exclaimed.
Qiu Xinggong's face was a bit ugly. He came here originally intending to see Li Zexuan's jokes, but he didn't expect to see Li Zexuan being so proud!
"Okay! Okay! Okay! The chicken brigade is well established today!"
Li Er's eyes brightened the more he looked at it, and finally he couldn't help laughing loudly.
"Your Majesty, facts have proven that Marquis Yong'an's locust extermination strategy is completely feasible. The locust plague in the Central Plains that has made emperors of all generations helpless can be quickly eliminated this time under the leadership of the Holy One. This is the blessing of the common people!"
Fang Xuanling came over with a happy face and congratulated Li Er.
Li Er smiled and was about to speak, when suddenly a locust flew onto his shoulder in the field. Li Er grabbed it with quick eyes and hands. Looking at the locust struggling desperately between his fingers, Li Er's eyes gradually faded. Becoming a little hateful, he looked at the locusts in his hand and said: "People depend on grain as their livelihood, and you eat it, which is harmful to the people. The people have done something wrong, but I have a spirit, but it will destroy my heart. No harm to the common people, otherwise I would rather eat my lungs and intestines!"
After that, no one had time to react. Li Er directly stuffed the locust in his hand into his mouth, chewed it twice with a frown, and then swallowed it directly!
"Your Majesty! No!"
"Your Majesty! No! Be careful, the dragon body is sick!"
The ministers reacted and tried to dissuade him one after another, but at this time the locust had already entered Li Er's belly!
"Your Majesty is dedicated to the people, and he is indeed a holy king for the ages. The veteran minister, Sun Wuji, is willing to share the joys and sorrows with Your Majesty!"
Changsun Wuji looked distressed and hurriedly went to the ground. After searching for a while, he finally found a locust. Then he closed his eyes and stuffed the locust into his mouth.
"Veteran Fang Xuanling is willing to share the joys and sorrows with His Majesty!"
"Veteran Du Ruhui is willing to share the joys and sorrows with His Majesty!"
Ministers went to the fields one after another to search for locusts to show their loyalty. Li Zexuan suddenly felt bitter in his heart. Although this scene was a famous scene in history books, he did not want to encounter it at all! Is he eating these locusts now? Or eat it?
............................
