The second year of Qianyou in the Han Dynasty can be described as smooth first and then difficult. It started with a calm spring. The surrounding environment was stable and the weather was smooth. The spring plowing that Liu Chengyou attached great importance to was carried out smoothly, and the court further entered a stable situation. The harem was pregnant one after another, and the emperor New people were recruited, and the royal family flourished. Grain taxes were smoothly transferred to Beijing, the princes expressed their submission, and "Xingtong" was re-edited and published...
It was really a good start, but after summer, bad news came one after another. In April, a major earthquake in Hebei affected more than ten states; in May, a locust plague was about to come, covering the north and south of the Hebei Province.
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. Yes. When it comes to food issues, the emperors and ministers of the Han Dynasty cannot help but worry.
Since the founding of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty has been suffering from food shortages. Although Liu Chengyou issued strict orders and urged all prefectures and counties to prepare for locust plagues. However, given the execution ability of the current Han Dynasty bureaucrats and generals, problems could not be avoided at all.
Moreover, the seriousness of this locust plague and its widespread impact far exceeded the expectations of Liu Chengyou and the Han Dynasty monarchs. After entering June, Hebei and the Central Plains states successively reported locusts. Hua, Pu, Chan, Cao, Yan, Yun, and Zi , Qing, Qi, Su, Huai, Xiang, Wei, Bo, Chen and other prefectures, the Central Plains, and the essence of Hebei, locusts are almost everywhere, causing suffering to the officials and the people.
What caught Liu Chengyou even more unprepared was that the dozen counties under the Kaifeng Prefecture were also not spared and were very serious. The locusts were overwhelming and widely heard, and even some insects flew over the imperial city of Bian Palace.
Under this catastrophic disaster, Liu Chengyou and the other princes of the Han Dynasty reacted quickly. They drafted an edict and issued it to the world, ordering officials and people in various places to hunt for locusts. They even stopped the river work and sent out the imperial army to Tokyo to catch the locusts.
In this case, it is no longer a matter of worrying about the reduction of summer grain production, but it is good to stop the loss in time to reduce the loss of a grain of wheat.
"Locust catching envoys" were also set up to go to various places to supervise the catching of locusts and fight against disasters. At the same time, censors and Langguan were dispatched from Tokyo to monitor the locust catching situation in various places. If there were any inactive actions or ineffective control of locusts, they would be reported to the police. Zhongshu Disposal.
There are local generals who, faced with the locust plague, only want to comply with God's will and offer sacrifices to the gods of the mountains, forests and rivers where they are located. That's all. They also strictly prohibit the people under their control from destroying the locusts, causing heavy losses to those who work in the territory. For such generals, Not surprisingly, not only were they dismissed from office, they were all driven to Tokyo, imprisoned and sentenced, and dealt with severely.
Even though the "Han Xingtong" has been much milder and has abolished many cruel laws, the strictness of Han law is still vividly reflected in this matter. What is sad and joyful is that Liu Chengyou discovered that the central government of the Han Dynasty had no control over the local governments. Some of the most basic administrative controls have been restored. 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 in the early stage 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, the emperor and his ministers, had a firm attitude and resolute actions during this large-scale locust plague, which saved a lot of losses. Liu Chengyou also personally went to the countryside to inspect, encourage officials and people, appease people, and gain a wave of prestige.
In just half a month, the locust plague in Gyeonggi and the Central Plains states that were heavily radiated by the imperial majesty was greatly curbed. Local festivals, defenses, regiment training, and governors successively reported the results of locust hunting.
For example, Liu Chengyou's father-in-law, Gao Xingzhou of Yedu, Fu Yanqing of Yanzhou, and Zhe Congruan of Yunzhou, the three families harvested nearly 100,000 dendrobium locusts in total. Adding the locust harvesting data of other states, a rough calculation showed that the number was more than 500,000 dendrobium. .
After hearing this, Liu Chengyou also mocked himself and said that God had given me 500,000 hu of dendrobium, so I should go to the Taoist palace to pay tribute in person. He also did what he said. This was 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 slowed down, and the collection of summer taxes has also been delayed until autumn. It will not be until the autumnal equinox that a rough report on the disaster situation and taxation situation in various places will be made.
The result is of course unpleasant, as the subjects of the Han Dynasty will be hungry again.
The hungry people were rising, and Liu Chengyou wanted to order the opening of warehouses to release grain, but in the end he remained silent... He only issued a euphemistic and ambiguous edict, asking the local governments to do their best to provide relief, 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 imperial court's attitude was much more resolute. Anyone who caused trouble would be suppressed with all their strength. It was very ruthless, but it had to be so in order to ensure order and avoid greater unrest.
Of course, for Kaifeng Kinki, Liu Chengyou still squeezed out some food from his teeth to provide relief. He also issued an edict to inform the world, calling on the Han subjects to tide over the difficulties. And Liu Chengyou also wore sackcloth in the palace, The few bright decorations in the Han Palace were put away. All officials and generals in the capital who were extravagant and wasteful were given warnings and investigated.
At the same time, as the price of food is expected to rise, we will take action against those who are hoarding food and making a huge fortune out of the country.
Fortunately, after the peace talks with the Southern Tang Dynasty, the Huaihe River was lifted, merchants from the two countries communicated 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 an obstacle. The merchants of the Southern Tang Dynasty traveled northward to sell grain to the Central Plains. To a certain extent, it alleviated the grain shortage in the Central Plains. 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 things he had outside him 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 and showed a lot of sincerity. He exchanged cattle, horses, donkeys and sheep from the north, and even gave a thousand war horses. You know, even in the north, the source of horses is difficult. War horses are also very important and scarce strategic materials for the Han Dynasty.
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 Tang Lord send troops to the Northern Expedition, but was rejected without hesitation. After all, the two countries had just had diplomatic relations. It lasted only a few months, and peace was hard-won. How could we lightly use our weapons?
If the Han army was pushed into a hurry and a hundred thousand hungry wolves went south to feed, it would be too late. Coupled with Liu Chengyou's casual alienation strategy, Li Jing still had some ideas about Han Xizai and joined the enemy party. Due to political correctness-like opposition, Han Xizai, who did not hold real power, had no chance of realizing 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. However, dealing with the sequelae was a bit of a headache.
However, drought occurred almost simultaneously with the locust plague. Also in June and the end of June, the affected area was also not small, covering almost all the prefectures of Yi, Ning, Ze, Lu, Jing, Yan, Fu, Fang, Shanxi, and Jiang. The entire Guanzhong and Hedong areas are also slightly affected...
In the context of constant disasters, it is inevitable that people's hearts will fluctuate. There are rumors in the capital that the emperor is immoral and Liu Chengyou is not good at governing. For those who make trouble with such nonsense, Liu Chengyou does not show excessive fluctuations. He is just a secret agent of the Wude Department. On the fourth day, Kaifeng Prefecture arrested a large number of people and sentenced them quickly. At the same time, several officials in the court were also arrested and exiled because they could not control their mouths, and then died in exile.
Under severe punishment measures, and Liu Chengyou continued to send people to publicize his meritorious actions to change public opinion, Beijing was at peace.
Under the attack of earthquakes, locust plagues, droughts, and almost nationwide natural disasters, the Han Dynasty, this new regime, 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 the original history was full of natural disasters and wars. What a disaster, the generals and officials were corrupt, how miserable 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 will be difficult, but for Liu Chengyou, whose will has been tempered as hard as stone, nothing can shake him in the slightest.