Chapter 340: Harmful to the Harmony of Heaven and Earth
"Water comes first and then drought?" Su Ziji casually grabbed a handful of soil and crushed it into pieces. After looking at it carefully, Su Ziji sighed secretly.
As expected, it is only May and the sun is so fierce. It has not rained in Thuan An Province all this way. If the weather continues like this, there will be another severe drought.
He stared at the ground again and saw farm tools nearby. He took it in his hand and turned over the soil in the ground. He found that there were countless small holes in the ground like honeycombs. The moment he saw it clearly, he was stunned.
The pimple appeared instantly.
This densely packed feeling was really instinctively disgusting, but in order to take a closer look, he had to endure the uncomfortable feeling and continued to turn over the ground.
"This land is full of these things!" There were so many locust eggs hidden under the land, which really surprised Su Ziji, who had been mentally prepared for it.
"Nonsense!" At this moment, a man yelled not far behind him. Su Ziji came back to his senses, but did not immediately look to see who it was, but just listened.
"Do you know what this is? If you don't even know this, how did you become an official and who did you work for? You stay in the yamen every day and only know how to drink tea and read books. What do you call this? You call it dawdling!"
"If we are just muddle along like this, there is no need to stay in the yamen and have to put on a show. Are you tired? It is better to go home directly! It will be more leisurely and free!"
The voice seemed to be that of a middle-aged man, and he was also an official. Su Ziji stood up and turned around to look, and saw not far away. It must have been that when he was digging up the soil just now, a group of people came one step behind him.
The surrounding circle is obviously filled with local officials, all of whom are wearing official uniforms. Judging from the style, they should all be in the sixth, seventh or eighth grade.
But no matter whether it is the sixth grade or the eighth grade, these grades are all being trained by one person at this moment, and they can't hold their heads up, and they have the same look of disgrace.
Until someone moved, the figure of the speaker who had been blocked before was revealed, and was seen by Su Ziji from a distance of more than ten meters.
It has to be said that Su Ziji was surprised again when this person appeared.
But unlike the horror of seeing the ground covered with locust eggs, when I saw this person, I had mixed feelings.
His eyes fell on his obviously dark and thin face. This posture was obviously tanned by the sun, which formed a sharp contrast with the official.
Not to mention, the man surrounded in the middle is about fifty years old. His robe is lifted up and pinned to his belt, and his trouser legs are rolled up high. Matching his skin color, he looks more like an official than an official.
old farmer.
I saw this man actually broke off a piece of soil with his hands, pointed at it, and showed it to the people around him: "These are locust eggs! You have all seen it, there are countless locust eggs all over the ground!"
"No matter what you do now, it won't be long before they hatch again and eat up all the replanted crops!"
"What? What are you doing standing still? Since you know what this is, why don't you quickly send someone to extinguish it?"
He glared at one of the officials angrily: "Once there is a locust plague in Wu'an County, it will be your dereliction of duty as the county magistrate!"
The magistrate of Wu'an County is in his thirties, slightly chubby, and because he is fair enough, he is considered a fat man. At this moment, he was angrily criticized by this dark and thin boss in public, and he had something to say in his heart.
He replied aggrievedly: "Sir, it's not that I don't do my best, it's just that there is no one in the county!"
"All the available manpower has been organized to repair water conservancy projects. Wu'an County is located next to a river. When it was flooded before, it suffered great losses..."
He probably knew that if he didn't tell his pain, after this gentleman had finished slandering the magistrate of Wu'an County, it would be someone else's turn.
Another official also chimed in: "What Mr. Liu said is true. Sir, almost all parts of Shun'an Prefecture have been affected by disasters before. Water conservancy projects are being repaired everywhere. There is really no room for manpower!"
"What's more, there is a leak in the mansion, and it is also being repaired..."
"Then remove the people from the government school first!" The thin black man frowned before the official could finish his words: "Arrange manpower to the farmland in each county first to get rid of the locust eggs!"
The previous official smiled bitterly: "Sir, aren't you making it difficult for me to wait? Even if we evacuate all the people from the government school, there are only hundreds of people, which seems to be a lot. If they are spread out to a government, what can they do?
thing?"
"Besides, if we want to organize migrant workers to work, we have to delay the farming work. Now that March and April have passed, how can they be willing to transfer people to do other things due to waterlogging, replanting, and preparing?"
"
"Yes, sir, now is the busy time of farming. We all have to plant crops." The official also agreed.
Another official took a step forward and said sincerely: "Besides, even if we recruit people, we must have money and food to get things done. Even if we don't pay wages, we still have to give two bowls of rice every day, right? Just these flowers
Sales, for today's Shun'an Mansion, are already..."
The official didn't say anything else, but the officials around him, including the thin dark man who had frowned before, all knew what it was about.
It is true that a penny can defeat a hero.
At present, Shun'an Mansion is not only out of money, but also in deficit of 700,000 taels of silver.
If such a large deficit is not resolved, then the money collected will be basically thrown into a black hole, without even the slightest sound being heard.
The thin, dark middle-aged man swallowed helplessly and was silent for a moment. He gritted his teeth and said, "I will ask the province for help. You don't have to worry about this."
"What you have to do is to exterminate the locusts as soon as possible. This is no small matter. Once it takes hold, it will be serious."
However, locust extermination is not only a problem of manpower, but also a problem caused by the fear of locusts themselves since ancient times.
Not to mention the ordinary people, even the officials who were familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics and passed the imperial examination, some looked embarrassed.
One of them even hesitated and asked directly: "Sir, these locusts are not ordinary insects. If we kill too many locusts, will it..."
Under the gaze of the thin black man, he bravely said the following words: "Will it harm the harmony of heaven and earth?"
The thin, dark man was obviously furious. Su Ziji was more than ten meters away and could see veins popping up on the man's forehead.
But in the end, when everyone else showed approval, he finally suppressed his anger and said coldly: "If you are guilty, I will bear the responsibility alone! I gave the order and it has nothing to do with you and others!"
After saying that, he waved his sleeves and left directly, not wanting to waste any more words with these people.
He strode over and saw a young master looking at him. Although he was angry, he just glanced at him and secretly praised him: "What a handsome master!"
Even though he himself got tanned by running around, but again, most civil servants who came from the imperial examination have requirements for temperament and appearance, but the degree is different.
Even this is a rule of the imperial court. There is a special requirement that "the official body must be dignified." Su Ziji's appearance is very good, especially when he is not dressed in a luxurious and high-profile manner at this moment. He has looked at the land before, and this person is
If a scholar can do this kind of thing, he will first win his favor. Now that he is closer, his eyes will naturally shine even more.