When Liu An said this, he had already forgotten the theories of heavenly punishment and the locust god.
If you cull the locusts, you will offend the Locust God. Under the temptation of promotion and wealth, it doesn't matter at all...
As a corrupt official, Liu An has never done many bad things...
He is not even afraid of going to the underworld after his death and enduring the torture of six reincarnations. How could he be afraid of the revenge of a little locust god...
As long as he can get promoted, he can do anything, even sell his mother without hesitation...
He Shen, on his side, became more confident about his plan after agreeing with Liu An, the prefect of Taiyuan.
It has to be said that although Liu An is an out-and-out corrupt official, after all, in the local area, he has served as the prefect for more than ten years, has rich experience, is mature and prudent, and still has some abilities...
Unlike He Shen, although I have some ideas...
However, he had too little experience in handling local affairs and was unable to think carefully like Liu An and unite landlords and squires to work together.
Therefore, although it was clearly a discussion between the two, Liu An even acted like he was asking He Shen for advice due to the rules of the official hierarchy...
However, in reality, most of the time, it is Liu An who makes suggestions and explanations, while He Shen only needs to take responsibility and nod in appreciation...
"Sir, since you have decided to put out the locust plague, it is natural to organize a large number of manpower..."
"Xiaoguan Qianjian, there is a garrison near Taiyuan Mansion. They have been idle all this time. Why don't we call them here to assist in the name of imperial envoy."
"In this way, firstly, we can have more manpower to help fight the locust plague. Secondly, we can also take precautions. If trouble occurs, we can suppress it in time. What do you think, sir?"
When He Shen heard this, he nodded slightly and replied with a hint of appreciation.
"What the prefect said makes sense. This time the emperor sent me to inspect the disaster area, and he has already given me the right to do things expediently."
"In the name of my imperial envoy, I am going to mobilize local troops. No one dares to say anything."
"Hahahaha, Mr. Liu is indeed a seasoned man who seeks the country. After returning to Beijing, I will definitely mention you in front of the emperor..."
"..."
"Your Excellency, I'm sorry. If it weren't for your guidance, I would still be confused about the locust plague..."
"What is money? As long as you can get promoted, it doesn't matter..."
After He Shen and Liu An showed humility to each other, Liu An continued to "suggest".
"In my opinion, if you want to extinguish the locust plague, it is not enough to rely solely on government officials and soldiers. The most important thing for government officials and soldiers is to control the situation, plus command and communication."
"If we really want to put an end to the locust plague, the most important thing is to rely on the people of Taiyuan Prefecture themselves..."
"It's just that the people are ignorant and superstitious about the locust god. If you ask them to cull the locusts, I'm afraid the vast majority of them are unwilling."
"However, all this is not without any solution..."
"These people trust their local clan elders and squires the most. Therefore, if you want to mobilize the people and accomplish this, you need to convince these clan elders and squires first."
"I'm afraid you will have to come forward in person at that time. After all, as an imperial envoy, my lord, you represent the emperor. They must listen to what you say..."
After hearing this, He Shen nodded with satisfaction again and said.
"This is natural. I strongly advocate the culling of locusts. Naturally, I will personally persuade these clan elders and squires."
"..."
Liu An, on his side, has become more active than He Shen himself since he learned that extinguishing the locust plague can be rewarded for his meritorious service.
After all, for a mid-level local official in the Qing Dynasty who was neither above nor below, this opportunity to be promoted was really rare, so it was understandable that he felt anxious.
In this way, under the discussion between the two, it was almost noon before they knew it.
After making a detailed plan, Liu An obviously didn't have much enthusiasm when it came to inspecting the disaster!
He Shen understands Liu An's thoughts. In Liu An's opinion, patrolling the disaster situation is just a matter of honor. It doesn't matter whether he does it or not. As long as he extinguishes the locust plague, makes great achievements, and gets promoted, it doesn't matter...
Several people in plain clothes set out and walked for about an hour. The carriage carrying several people finally arrived at a township in Taiyuan Prefecture.
According to Liu An, this township is one of the better places in Taiyuan.
Because there is still water in this town, even in a year of severe drought, the people can survive...
"..."
As a result, when He Shen went down to take a look, looking at the countryside and fields, his expectant heart suddenly became cold.
In front of He Shen's eyes, green and yellow locusts were overwhelmingly everywhere.
Thousands of locusts flapped their wings and flew all over the sky. The buzzing sound was one, which was both shrill and scary.
In the field in front of He Shen, not a single straw was left, only a piece of bare yellow soil was left.
In fact, not only were the fields full of crops in front of him, He Shen couldn't find anything green as far as he could see.
You must know that this is a place with water sources.
Places with water sources are in such misery, so how can people live in places without water sources...
Although the overwhelming locusts were shocking, for He Shen, what really shocked him was the mental state of the people around him.
Because He Shen, Liu An and others came in plain clothes, they did not attract the attention of the people around them.
In fact, even if He Shen, Liu An and others were wearing official uniforms and coming with great fanfare, the common people would not care about them.
Because, for people who have long been desperate in their hearts, nothing matters...
"…………"
There are actually many common people around the fields...
But their mental state is very wrong...
They were either sitting or standing, just staring at the locusts all over the mountains and plains...
There was a little panic and helplessness on the faces of these people, but more of it was despair and numbness...
They were like wooden men, staring blankly at the yellow land in front of them...
The food they had worked hard to cultivate for a year was instantly reduced to nothing in just a short period of time...
That kind of despair and helplessness is incomprehensible to anyone except those who have experienced it personally...
Faintly, from somewhere in the corner, a tragic cry could be heard.
In short, what is shown in front of Heshen is a human tragedy, with despair everywhere.
It seems that at this moment, the world is all gray, and there seems to be no hope at all.
Although, this place has not yet seen the tragedy of starvation and bones everywhere.
"…………"
However, even so, the deep despair and helplessness on the faces of the people was enough to shock Heshen's nerves...
Seeing the silence on He Shen's face, Liu An also sighed in a fake tone: "Hey, the lives of the common people are really hard..."
In the middle of his words, He Shen immediately glared at Liu An and stopped him from continuing.
Liu An, who had known these inside stories for a long time, had actually planned to ask the Mo Dynasty to send food and grass for disaster relief. This kind of hypocritical behavior of a corrupt official made He Shen feel disgusted.
Although, He Shen asked himself, he was not qualified to criticize others.
Just when He Shen was thinking a lot, suddenly, there was a "bang" sound of falling to the ground, which involuntarily attracted He Shen's attention over there.
"………………"
He Shen looked toward the sound of falling to the ground, and saw that at this moment, a five or six-year-old child fell on the field.
This child is from an ordinary farmer's family.
He should have been at his most innocent and carefree age, but now he has fainted from hunger.
Not far from the child, there was an old man running towards here quickly.
The old man is also dressed as a farmer. He is very old and runs tremblingly. It seems that he is the elder of the child.
Seeing this scene that made people feel sore in their noses, He Shen walked over subconsciously.
When Liu An, He and the others saw this, they quickly followed.
"…………"
"Old man, this junior still knows some medical skills, let me take a look..."
Arriving in front of the old man, He Shen raised his hands and said.
"………………"
The old man turned his head and glanced at He Shen. Seeing that He Shen was wearing a long robe and with many servants behind him, he was slightly startled and quickly got out of the way.
Although I don’t know whether the hairless young man in front of me knows medical skills or whether he is a good person...
However, the rich should not be so submissive as to take advantage of the poor...
"…………"
By making targeted observations of the child's expression, color, tongue, etc., He Shen judged that the child in front of him should be so hungry that he fainted...
Thinking of this, He Shen cupped his hands and said to the old man beside him.
"This child can eat sugar cubes or sugar salt water in time, or eat desserts, including snacks, biscuits, or steamed buns, which can alleviate the current situation..."
"Hungry dizziness is mostly a form of hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia patients can be relieved by adding sugar-containing foods in time!"
As soon as he finished speaking, He Shen regretted it.
Because, he suddenly discovered that although the old man was smiling, it was very forced, and he was just smiling miserably. There was despair and helplessness in his eyes.
“In this year and age, even the landlord’s family has no surplus food, let alone my family...”
The old man's voice was hoarse and he said slowly,
"Last year there was a severe drought, and the government increased the rent by 60%."
"My son was so angry that he asked someone to go to the Taiyuan government to argue with him. However, he was beaten and lame by the government officials without even seeing the prefect..."
"Now, several months later, I still can't get out of bed. In order to treat my son's disease, I sold my house, my land, my daughter-in-law, and everything is gone..."
