It has just passed June, and the replanted crops are about to mature. God is very cooperative and stops the rain. This crop of crops is growing very well. Experienced farmers estimate that the yield is at least eight dan. This is unprecedented.
The number increased by more than 10% compared with last year.
Everything looked so good, so worry-free. Both Pei Songnian and Liu Che breathed a sigh of relief. Sanfu is the capital of the country, and the food of Sanfu is related to the lifeblood of the capital. Chang'an City has a population of more than 200,000, and then
Including the two armies of the North and the South, the total number is no less than 300,000. These people are all fed by the food of the Third Assistant. Once there is a problem with the Third Assistant, what will the Kanto princes think if they cannot protect the situation.
Liu Che was still so busy in the ordinary days for others. He also enjoyed the busyness. Tian Fu resigned and the queen was placed under house arrest. Su Ren was happy both in the court and in the harem. At this time, he could pat his chest and say that he was
He is an emperor, a real emperor, a busy but fulfilling emperor.
"Report...! A locust plague broke out in Huayin, covering the sky and blocking out the sun, and not even a blade of grass grew in its path!"
"Report...! There is a locust plague in Chiyang, eating hundreds of crops, and there is nothing the Chiyang Order can do!"
"Report...! A locust plague broke out in Chencang and spread to Yong County within a few days. Du Yang is out of control!"
…
It seemed that everyone had agreed upon it. Within one day, Liu Che received more than a dozen disaster reports. At a glance, almost every county in Sanfu was covered with locusts, which could eat everything clean within three days.
.The locust plague came so quickly that people were caught off guard. They could only sit on the ground and cry as they watched the crops that were about to be harvested being eaten clean.
Taichang knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, a natural disaster has occurred. I sincerely request your Majesty to go and offer sacrifices to the Locust God in person, and pray that the Locust God will leave as soon as possible to save me, a big man, from suffering!"
Liu Che glared: "The locusts destroyed Sanfu, and the crops that were about to be harvested were all gone, but you still let me worship them?"
"Your Majesty, this is a natural disaster. There is no other way but to worship!"
Dou Ying coughed and interjected: "Isn't it too common to exaggerate? Although the locust plague is fierce, it is not impossible to deal with it. Several counties that have not been affected by the locusts are already harvesting them, and the counties that are less affected are also sending people to drive them away.
, that is, Huayin, Chiyang, Chencang, Yongxian, Duyang and other places are the most serious. As long as they are handled properly, they can still receive some food. I am afraid that blind worship cannot stop this locust plague?"
"The Prime Minister is surprised. The Locust God is God punishing me. You must not drive him away. What if you offend the Locust God and cause a big disaster? I am in charge of sacrifices. Such important matters must not be careless. I sincerely request your Majesty to go to sacrifice and pray to the Locust God.
Calm down your anger to protect the great Han Dynasty, and I will serve the country loyally. I hope your Majesty will think twice!"
Taichang said it with tears streaming down his face and a heartbroken look that made people unable to bear to refuse.
Ji An said: "If we follow what Tai Chang said, after the sacrifice to the Locust God, what will happen if the Locust God still doesn't calm down?"
"As far as I know, the Locust God is angry this time because of your Majesty's confinement of the Queen, which led to this disaster. I beg your Majesty to correct it immediately!" Taichang said cautiously, "I cannot guarantee what Jing Zhaoyin said.
We mortals can only guess what the Locust God means. We must not drive them away, lest they cause greater trouble. I beg your Majesty to think twice!"
"Your Majesty, please think twice!" After Taichang finished speaking, several more people came out to agree.
"Bah!" Liu Che slapped a few cases with his palm and became angry: "Locust God, Locust God, that god in the world specializes in harming people? Even if I have shortcomings in virtue, just blame it on me alone, why bother the people of Sanfu?
?It’s so disrespectful to be so disrespectful to the gods!”
"Also, let me tell you, what is the God of Locusts? Don't think that I don't know. There was too little rain and snow last year, and the roots of last year's pests were not frozen to death. This year, there was another severe drought in the spring, which just provided those locusts.
The opportunity for growth took three or four months to hatch, and this is what caused the current locust plague! You bunch of bastards always blame gods and ghosts for things you don’t understand, what else will you do besides this? "
Liu Che's words made everyone in Taichang panic and uneasy. They knelt on the ground silently and sweated like rain. No one knew whether Liu Che was right or not, but it sounded reasonable. A smart person would understand that this was definitely not something Liu Che could have imagined.
Understand, there is someone behind the emperor, who is it? The name is about to come out. No one dares to say anything anymore. The emperor already believes what that person said. No matter how much they say, not only will it be useless, but the emperor will become angry and the blood will flow into a river.
.
"Prime Minister, from today onwards, the severely affected counties will open Changpingcang to help the people." After scolding Tai Chang, Liu Che began to issue an order: "And organize manpower to hunt and kill locusts. Anyone who kills more will be rewarded, and those who fail to do anything will be dismissed from office."
They will be dispatched to Lingnan, and soldiers from the Southern Army will be mobilized to participate in disaster relief. Anyone who dares to say anything about the Locust God will be killed without mercy!"
Dou Ying immediately stood up and agreed. Liu Che calmed down and glared at those kneeling on the ground: "Sacrifice is not impossible, but it is not about sacrificing to some bullshit locust god. I want to personally sacrifice to the Locust Destroyer of Heaven and Earth!"
Although the current emperor does not have monopoly power, his words are still very weighty. Not to mention that the advice of Taichang and others did not work, and he almost lost his official position. In order to minimize his guilt in front of the emperor, this
Ichi Taichang was extremely thoughtful in arranging the ritual matters. It only took three days to arrange everything for the suburban ritual.
Under the locusts flying all over the sky, the emperor's chariot left Chang'an City in a mighty manner. The civil and military officials and the sacrificial ceremonial guards were two miles long. The people of Chang'an gathered to watch. Since the emperor wanted to sacrifice, how could he miss this excitement?
Although the locust plague in the suburbs of Chang'an was not too serious, there were still many locusts as numerous as stars. Liu Che got off the carriage, and all the civil and military officials and onlookers knelt down to greet them. Suburban sacrifices were a big event, and the level of this kind of sacrifice was even higher than that of the royal family.
The ancestor worship was also grand, and in addition to hundreds of officials, the harem also had to participate. Empress Chen Ajiao was imprisoned in Changmen Palace, so Wei Zifu took Chen Ajiao's place and stood beside the emperor.
The ceremony was carried out in an orderly manner. When a dozen black-armored warriors walked onto the altar carrying copper basins containing locusts, the people's eyes were straightened. For thousands of years, locust plagues, floods and droughts have been regarded as the most serious disasters in the world.
The three natural disasters. For these, human beings always feel unable to deal with them. They can only pray to God and worship Buddha, hoping that it will not happen again in the coming year.
"I have been ordered by Heaven. Today, locusts are raging and disturbing the peace of our great people. I have to be warned by Heaven that the locust plague is caused by bad weather. Today I swear to Heaven that I and the locusts are at odds with each other. I intend to peel off their skin and eat their flesh and return it to me.
The people of the Han Dynasty are fair." Liu Che took out a locust from the copper basin and swallowed hard. Although he followed Su Ren's advice, he couldn't help but feel lingering fear when he really wanted to eat it.
When Princess Li took two steps quickly and prostrated herself under the altar, her little face flushed red: "Father, my son is willing to swear an oath with my father to seek justice for our Han people. I want to eat it. I ask my father for your permission."
"
"Uh! Hahaha, you have all heard that my eldest princess has grown up and has taken over the worries of her father. Today we, father and daughter, will fight against the locusts together."
Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Princess Dangli took a locust from the copper plate in the hands of the black-armored guard beside her, and stuffed it into her mouth without any hesitation. The officials and concubines in the harem were stunned. Dangli was only six years old, or
A frail princess. Even a little girl ate it, and Liu Che was embarrassed to hesitate any longer. When the hard locust shells were bitten into pieces in his mouth, the light salty taste covered up the grassy smell of the locusts themselves. It was crispy and full of flavor.
Tao, to be honest it's not that bad.
The mountains shouted "Long Live the Mountain" one after another, and the people's admiration for the emperor reached a very high level. Some fools even lowered their heads to catch one and stuffed it into their mouths. After eating, their faces were filled with tears, their mouths were full of green water, and their heads were heavy.
Knocked to the ground.
The emperor led the people of Chang'an to eat locusts, and Su Ren also bought locusts in the academy. In terms of price alone, ten pounds of locusts were extremely cheap. However, the locusts in Sanfu were covering the sky and the sun. It is estimated that there are not more than a million locusts.
The pound will not be much less. Some people discussed with Su Ren whether they could compensate with food, and Su Ren readily agreed.
Carloads of locusts were sent to Louguan Academy, and carloads of grain and money were taken away. Dong Zhongshu rarely patted Su Ren on the shoulder: "I am very pleased that Ziheng can think about the people."
Before Su Ren could say any kind words, Chun Yuyi snorted coldly: "Humph! How can he have such good intentions? He is doing this entirely to make money! Others don't know, but I understand that this locust, commonly known as grasshopper, can be used as medicine and has a wide range of uses.
This guy wants to dry these locusts, grind them into powder, and sell them! Now they cost ten kilograms each, but when they sell them, they will cost ten yuan a kilogram!"
"Ah!" Dong Zhongshu, the talkative boss, looked at Su Ren and then at Chunyu Yi. He was very reluctant to believe that Su Ren was in trouble for his country's fortune.
Su Ren chuckled: "Isn't this just for the academy? With so many mouths waiting for food, we can't just sit back and have nothing! Besides, it's also a good thing for these people, it can be said to be a win-win, a win-win!"
Dong Zhongshu didn't know what to say anymore, and his face turned black again. Wen Dang frowned: "Although it can be used as medicine, are you sure that so many Ziheng can be sold?"
Su Ren smiled again: "Teacher, don't worry. I have already thought about it. This locust powder is a good medicinal material. Regular consumption has the effect of prolonging life. I have already told your Majesty about this. His Majesty has decided to include himself."
The middle-aged concubine will have to eat some every day."
"In the palace? You are really good at it!" Dong Zhongshu wanted to hit someone, but Su Ren's eyes were filled with anger: "Your Majesty and the ladies in the palace eat first, how can the royal family and officials sit back and watch? These people will definitely follow suit.
So anyone with some money will follow suit, your business is guaranteed to make a profit!"
Su Rengong cupped his hands with a wretched look on his face: "This is the way of business. This kid is robbing the rich and giving to the poor. He takes money from the pockets of the rich and gives it to the common people, just to make a small profit!"
"Is that a small price difference? A return of a hundred times the profit! The sage is indeed right, merchants are all treacherous villains!" Dong Zhongshu still couldn't hold back, and slapped Su Ren on the back of the head, beating Su Ren to the point of shrinking.