The second year of Qianyou in the Han Dynasty can be described as smooth at first and then difficult. It started with a calm spring. The surrounding areas are stable and the weather is smooth. The spring plowing that Liu Chengyou attaches great importance to is proceeding smoothly, and the government has further entered a stable situation. There were pregnancies in the harem one after another, the emperor welcomed new people, and the royal family blossomed. Grain taxes were successfully brought to Beijing, the princes expressed their surrender, and "Xingtong" was re-edited and published...
It was really a good start, but after summer, bad news followed one after another. In April, a major earthquake occurred in Hebei, affecting more than ten states; in May, a locust plague was imminent, covering both north and south of the river.
Compared with the earthquake, Liu Chengyou and the court paid more attention to the locust plague. After all, at the critical moment of the summer harvest, if we were not careful, the hard work of the "poor people" of the Han Dynasty would be in vain, and there would be famine and chaos again. . When it comes to food issues, the monarchs and ministers of the Han Dynasty cannot help but worry.
Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, it has been suffering from food shortages. However, Liu Chengyou issued a strict order urging all prefectures and counties in the world to prepare for locust plagues. However, given the execution capabilities of the current Han bureaucracy and generals, problems cannot be avoided at all.
Moreover, the severity of this locust plague and its widespread impact far exceeded the expectations of Liu Chengyou and the Han Dynasty monarchs and ministers. After entering June, locusts were reported one after another in Hebei and the Central Plains states. Hua, Pu, Chan, Cao, Yan, Yun, Zi, Qing, Qi, Su, Huai, Xiang, Wei, Bo, Chen and other prefectures, the essence of the Central Plains and Hebei, are almost everywhere affected by locusts, causing suffering for officials and people.
What caught Liu Chengyou even more unprepared was that dozens of counties under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture were also not spared, and it was very serious. The locusts were overwhelming, and their sound was widely heard. There were even insects flying over the imperial city of Bian Palace.
Under this catastrophe, Liu Chengyou and the princes of the Han Dynasty reacted quickly, and drafted an edict to be issued to the world, ordering officials and people everywhere to hunt locusts. They even stopped the river work and sent out the Imperial Guard to Tokyo to catch locusts.
In this case, it is no longer a matter of worrying about the reduction of summer grain production, but it is also good to stop the loss in time to reduce the loss of one wheat.
"Locust catching envoys" were also set up to go to various places to supervise the hunting of locusts and fight against disasters. At the same time, censors and Langguan were dispatched from Tokyo to monitor the locust hunting situation in various places. If there was any inaction or ineffective control of locusts, all those who were reported were reported to the police. Zhongshu disposal.
Some local generals, faced with the locust scourge, only wanted to obey God's will and pray to the gods of the mountains, forests and rivers where they were located. That was all. They also strictly prohibited the people under their control from destroying the locusts, causing heavy losses to those who farmed in the territory. For such generals, it is no surprise that they were not only dismissed from office, but also driven to Tokyo, jailed and sentenced, and dealt with severely.
Even though the "Han Xingtong" has been much gentler and abolished many cruel and harsh laws, the strictness of Han law is still vividly reflected in this matter. To his great joy, Liu Chengyou discovered that the central government of the Han Dynasty had restored some of the most basic administrative control over local areas. Of course, the central and local governments have a common understanding and appeal when it comes to eradicating locusts and saving food. After all, no one wants to go hungry.
In fact, based on the experience of the locust eradication in Hebei last year, the court and even the local government were not too busy at the beginning this time. However, this time, the trouble was too big and serious, and some of the Han monarchs and ministers were caught off guard.
Not surprisingly, summer grain production has been reduced, and spring seedlings have also suffered considerable damage, which predictably makes it difficult to harvest autumn grain.
Fortunately, Liu Chengyou and his ministers had a firm attitude and resolute actions during this large-scale locust plague, and saved a lot of losses. Liu Chengyou also personally went to the countryside to inspect, encouraged officials and people, reassured people, and gained a wave of prestige.
In just half a month, the locust plague was greatly contained in Gyeonggi and the Central Plains states that were heavily radiated by the imperial majesty. Festivals, defenses, regiment training, and governorships in various places were reported one after another, and the results of locust hunting were reported.
For example, Liu Chengyou's father-in-law, Gao Xingzhou of Yedu, Fu Yanqing of Yanzhou, and Zhecong Ruan of Yunzhou, together hunted nearly 100,000 dendrobium locusts. Adding in the locust hunting data from other states, a rough calculation shows that there are more than 500,000 dendrobiums.
After hearing this, Liu Chengyou also mocked himself and said that God had given me 500,000 dendrobium of grain, so I should go to the Taoist Palace to pay tribute in person. Doing whatever he says is probably one of Liu Chengyou's few "superstitious" behaviors. Of course, this can be regarded as joy in suffering. After all, locusts are not so delicious, and one can imagine the extent of damage to crops with so many insects.
Due to the locusts, this year's summer harvest has been greatly delayed, and the collection of summer taxes has also been delayed until autumn. We will not have a rough report until the autumnal equinox on the disaster situation and taxation situation in various places.
The result is of course unpleasant. The subjects of the Han Dynasty will be hungry again.
The hungry people were rising, and Liu Chengyou wanted to order the opening of granaries to release grain, but in the end he remained silent... He only issued a euphemistic and ambiguous edict, instructing the local governments to try their best to rescue and resettle the victims and prevent them from being dispersed. Traveling to other states.
Then, there were many civil unrests in various places. In this regard, the court's attitude was much more resolute. Anyone who caused trouble would be suppressed with all their strength. It's very cold, but it has to be done in order to ensure order and avoid greater turmoil.
Of course, for Kaifeng Kinki, Liu Chengyou still squeezed out some food from his teeth to provide relief. He also issued an imperial edict to inform the world, calling on the Han subjects to tide over the difficulties. Liu Chengyou also wore linen clothes in the palace and put away all the few bright ornaments in the Han Palace. All officials and generals who are extravagant and wasteful in the capital should be punished and punished.
At the same time, in anticipation of the rise in food prices, we will take action against those who hoard food and make a huge fortune out of the country.
Fortunately, after the peace negotiations with the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Huaihe River was lifted, merchants from the two countries could communicate with each other, the old and new foraging fields were opened, and the transportation of grain from the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers to the north was not hindered. During the Southern Tang Dynasty, merchants traveled north to sell grain to the Central Plains, which also alleviated the grain shortage in the Central Plains to a certain extent. At the same time, it also caused the outflow of money and goods from the Han Dynasty.
Although Liu Chengyou suffered from it, compared with the hunger in his belly, the possessions outside his body were nothing. It was just that the scholars and people of the Han Dynasty were poorer.
From the national level, Liu Chengyou also took the initiative to purchase grain from the Southern Tang Dynasty, showing a lot of sincerity, exchanging cattle, horses, donkeys and sheep from the north, and even gave a thousand war horses. You must know that even in the north, war horses are a very important and scarce strategic material for the Han Dynasty due to the lack of sources of horses.
Sure enough, in the Southern Tang Dynasty, Li Jing was very generous and the courtiers were very happy...On the other hand, Han Xizai made a last-ditch effort and proposed that the Lord of Tang Dynasty send troops to the Northern Expedition, but was rejected without hesitation. After all, the two countries just had diplomatic relations. It's been less than a few months, and peace is hard-won. How can we lightly activate our weapons?
If the Han army is pushed into a hurry and a hundred thousand hungry wolves go south to feed, it will be too late to regret it. Coupled with Liu Chengyou's casual alienation strategy, Li Jing still had some thoughts about Han Xizai, and coupled with the politically correct opposition from the enemy party, Han Xizai, who did not hold real power, had no chance to realize his ambitions.
It is said that after the proposal failed, Han Xizai got drunk in his mansion and bluntly said that the Tang Dynasty would never have a chance to invade the Central Plains and return to the old capital...
As for the Han Dynasty, although the locust plague was violent, they tried their best to control it. It's just that dealing with the sequelae is a bit of a headache.
However, almost at the same time as the locust plague, there was a drought. Also in June, at the end of June, the scope of the impact was also not small. The prefectures of Yi, Ning, Ze, Lu, Jing, Yan, Fu, Fang, Jin, Jiang, etc., almost covered the entire Guanzhong, and the Hedong area was also slightly affected. ....
In the context of constant disasters, it is inevitable that people's hearts will fluctuate. There are rumors in Beijing that the emperor is immoral and Liu Chengyou is not good at governing. Liu Chengyou's behavior towards those who caused trouble by gossiping was not excessive. However, agents from the Wude Division were everywhere, and Kaifeng Mansion arrested a large number of people and sentenced them quickly. At the same time, several officials in the court also lost control of their mouths. , was captured, imprisoned and exiled, and then died in exile.
Under severe punishment measures, and Liu Chengyou continued to send people to publicize his meritorious actions and change public opinion, Beijing was safe.
Under the attack of almost nationwide natural disasters such as earthquakes, locust plagues, and droughts, the Han Dynasty, a new political power, was like an old traveler, undergoing the most severe test, walking with difficulty.
Fortunately, in the past two years, Liu Chengyou took many measures to consolidate his regime so that it would not collapse, and he could even manage to face the difficulties. It is conceivable that in the original history, there were natural disasters, military disasters, and corrupt generals. How sad the Han Dynasty was at that time, and how miserable the people of the Central Plains were.
Liu Chengyou felt very deeply that the original owner's death was not unjust.
Of course, the road ahead is difficult, but for Liu Chengyou, whose will has been tempered as hard as stone, nothing can shake him in the slightest.
