This year, it seemed that not only was it unfriendly to Wei, but also showed no kindness to other countries. In Zhao, Qin, Han and other countries, locust plagues broke out. This locust plague was no small matter. In just a short period of time, locust plagues broke out.
Within a short period of time, most of the Qin Kingdom was quickly swept across, and locusts were raging. In this era, there was really no way to resist the locusts. We could only watch the locusts pass by and eat up all the crops.
"The seedlings began to show off their ears and entered the grain-filling stage, and soon the grains became hard and matured. There was no grass or weeds in the field. Farmers got rid of heartworms, leaf-eaters, and root-gnawing insects, not to mention the harm caused by pests.
My tender seedlings! Pray to Tianzu Farm God to show mercy and burn the pests in a fire!" This is a sentence in the Book of Songs, and only those who have truly witnessed such a disaster can only feel the helplessness.
Prayer for help.
When the densely packed locusts quickly landed on the crops like a scene from a horror movie, they gnawed so unscrupulously. The farmers fled the farmland in fear, and some locusts even landed directly on people. This made these farmers
They were even more frightened, and even cried and rolled on the ground. Just a moment later, the original crops became bare, and the locusts flew up again, like dark clouds, quickly looking for other food.
The sky was full of locusts, just like raindrops. To be honest, Zhao Kuo had lived for so many years, and he had never seen such a terrifying scene. He looked at the locusts all over the sky, with almost no gaps, and the sounds of locusts flapping their wings could be heard in his ears.
There was a buzzing sound, and everywhere he could see were those hateful bugs. Zhao Kuo had been afraid of these little bugs since he was a child, but at this moment, he still overcame the fear in his heart.
He stood on the edge of the cultivated land and looked at the crying old farmers kneeling on the edge of the cultivated land. The eyes of the people were full of helplessness. They kept praying loudly, praying to the God of Agriculture Tian Zu to burn these pests to death with flames.
.
Because there are no pesticides against locusts, people can only pray through witchcraft, hoping that the god of agriculture can take back these locusts and stop them from eating crops. Even, because they don’t know where these insects come from,
Where they thrive, these pests are covered with a veil of mystery, and many mythical creatures even appeared based on them, such as flying snakes and locusts, which originally meant locusts.
Therefore, the common people believed that the locusts were sent by the gods, and they were reprimanded by the gods for not offering enough sacrifices. In fact, this idea was spread to later times, and even in the Song Dynasty a thousand years later, some people believed that the locusts were sent by the gods.
Angry, they turned fish and shrimp into locusts to punish mortals. It was not until the Ming Dynasty that scholars began to really study the situation of locusts, summarizing their outbreak time, sources, harm, natural enemies, etc.
And that was far, far away.
In today's era, when the country encounters such a disaster, the monarch must offer sacrifices in person to make the gods forgive him for his previous neglect. In addition, the people from all over the country must organize themselves to perform strange sacrifices and expel
The ritual of locusts. The Qin and Chu people are probably the most superstitious countries among all the countries, and they also attach great importance to ghosts and gods. Ying Zheng originally wanted to ask Wu Chengjun to go to the sacrifice together, but Zhao Kuo did not agree.
Zhao Kuo knew very well that locusts were not messengers of gods at all, and there was no way to improve this through sacrifice!
Zhao Kuo rushed to various places to observe the situation of locusts, including the plants they liked to eat, their work and rest times, their place of origin, and the outbreak time in history. He was observing and recording while everyone in the country was at this moment.
They were performing sacrifices, and when an official from the Yushi Mansion reported to Lu Buwei that Zhao Kuo was rude to ghosts and gods by not participating in the sacrifices, Lu Buwei then noticed that Zhao Kuo had been in the wild all the time.
Of course, the official who impeached Zhao Kuo was almost killed by the King of Qin. If Lu Buwei hadn't repeatedly persuaded him, he might not have been able to save his head. But even so, the King of Qin was still very angry, and he even decided that he would never do it again.
King Qin's behavior of not participating in these sacrificial activities frightened Lu Buwei. Lu Buwei persuaded King Qin that the most important role of sacrifice was not to drive away locusts, but to convince the people that doing so could drive away locusts.
But the King of Qin was extremely stubborn, and Lu Buwei could not persuade him. The prime minister hurriedly sent warriors to find Zhao Kuo, hoping that Zhao Kuo would come back soon and persuade this stubborn young man.
When Zhao Kuo returned to Xianyang again, he looked a little tired, and the accompanying carriage was filled with papers. Zhao Kuo returned home just like that. After meeting his family, he hurriedly took out all the papers he had
The papers for recording began to be sorted. Halfway through, he fell asleep on the desk. Yi couldn't bear to disturb him, so he stayed with him. It was not until the next day that Zhao Kuo woke up.
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After eating the food prepared by Yi, Zhao Kuo continued to write, while Shan sat in his arms and watched his father write obediently. Shan could now move around, but she and her husband
Different from her elder brother, she is very clingy. She clings to her parents all day long, coquettishly and coquettishly. She is the darling of the family. Mother Zhao knitted a lot of clothes for her, and she is also very good, accompanying her
My father didn't say a word, he just stared with his eyes wide open, eating, and watching his father sort out his writing.
"I heard that stupid people place their hopes in ghosts and gods, hoping to rely on ghosts and gods to solve their problems. Xunzi once said: The way of heaven will not change because of people's emotions or will, and is completely indifferent to people's distinction between good and evil.
After all...the borer is not a messenger of ghosts and gods, it is just a hateful pest that lives in the lowlands and overwinters with eggs in the soil...the egg masses are yellow-brown, long and cylindrical, with a slight center.
Curved, the upper part is slightly thinner..."
"They usually breed near swamps...and then grow into nymphs...When droughts and floods occur, when large areas of wasteland appear, it is the period when they frequently come out to harm one party...They are afraid of birds and poultry.
, these can hunt them... They will not bring disaster when they fall on people, and killing them will not kill the messengers of the gods."
“The way to resist the locust plague is to build water conservancy projects so that there are no droughts or floods, to reclaim wasteland for planting, to change the habitat of locusts, to raise more poultry, and to care for birds... You can raise fish and shrimps in swamps to eat locust eggs.
.”
When Zhao Kuo was busy in the inner room, Lu Buwei's warriors finally learned the news that Wu Chengjun had returned to Xianyang. The warriors hurriedly came to Zhao Kuo and wanted to invite him to the palace. However, Zhao Kuo walked into the inner room.
Previously, he had told Fu Zhao that no one was allowed to disturb him, so these warriors did not go in. Instead, Ying Zheng came here one time, and he did not know the news of his father's return.
Sitting in the courtyard, King Qin looked at the uneasy warriors in the distance, and then asked: "What on earth is father busy with?"
Yi said: "It must be something about the locust. He has been very tired recently and hasn't had a good rest for several days..."
Ying Zheng sighed helplessly and just said: "I'm afraid the locust problem cannot be solved. The Prime Minister said: We need to collect food to relieve the people everywhere... Because of the previous construction of channels, there is insufficient food in the country, and we need to contact the people
Let’s go gather them. However, anyone who pays food can get a first-class title and pay voluntarily. In this way, it should not be considered a violation of the benevolent government mentioned by father.”
While they were chatting, they saw Zhao Kuo holding his daughter and walking out of the inner room. Zhao Kuo looked very tired, with dark circles under his eyes and a pale face. He said to Ying Zheng: "Put the papers I put in the inner room."
Move it to the carriage!" Ying Zheng immediately stood up and walked into the inner room. Then he struggled to hold the paper and walked out. When he saw the warriors standing aside, he said displeasedly: "You still won't help?
!”
The warriors quickly followed him to carry the paper. Zhao Kuo knelt on the ground, drinking water, while Yi squeezed his shoulders distressedly.
Ying Zheng sat panting in front of Zhao Kuo and asked: "Father, what are these things?" Zhao Kuo said in a daze: "The way to resist the locust plague... is not possible, I have to go see the prime minister."
, he said and stood up in a hurry. Ying Zheng naturally followed him. The father and son were sitting in the carriage. Ying Zheng looked at his tired father and said, "Father, you should rest at home for a few days, Prime Minister.
We have found a way to help the people..."
"Rescuing the people? This is of course a good thing, but the problem is that relieving the people is only post-disaster relief, not a way to resist disasters... What's more, although the disaster in Qin is over, the disaster in Zhao and South Korea is still continuing.
...Besides, who can ensure that such a disaster will not happen again in the future?" Zhao Kuo said, he looked at Ying Zheng again, and then asked: "Are you hiding something from me?"
Ying Zheng lowered his head and said in a panic: "Of course not...I..."
"Tell me, what happened?"
Ying Zheng hesitated, speechless.
"What did you do wrong?"
"no.."
"Then something bad happened, but you took care of me and refused to tell me? Is it Zhao Guo? Did something happen to Zhao Guo?"
"No, father... Lord Xinling... Lord Xinling passed away." Ying Zheng said in a low voice. He originally didn't want to tell his father such bad news at this time, but he didn't dare to hide it.
, after all, this is not a trivial matter. Zhao Kuo was stunned for a moment, and then asked: "What did you say?"
"Mr. Xinling passed away...Father, please don't be sad, I..."
"Well...I understand." Zhao Kuo said, and then fell silent. Ying Zheng looked at him worriedly and said, "Father...are you okay?" Zhao Kuo nodded, but
Still didn't say anything. When the carriage arrived at the Prime Minister's Mansion, warriors had already come out to greet him. Zhao Kuo looked a little dazed. Only after Ying Zheng called out did he realize what he was doing. He asked the warriors to take the papers into the mansion.
Naturally, the prime minister came out to greet him in person. Among the people accompanying him, Ying Zheng even saw Di. Di was very happy to see them. However, Zhao Kuo just nodded to him blankly but did not speak.
Sitting in front of Lu Buwei, Zhao Kuo took out the things he had recorded, and then talked about his opinions, from the habits of locusts, his understanding of locusts, to how to resist locusts. Lu Buwei's eyes widened.
He said that this was the first time to introduce locusts in detail like this. No one had ever done this before. Lu Buwei looked at the information carefully and couldn't help but nodded. He smiled and said: "Great, I will do it tomorrow."
Let all places copy..."
"Including what you mentioned about raising poultry, I will also implement it...Wu Chengjun? Wu Chengjun?" Lu Buwei called twice, and Zhao Kuo finally realized. He nodded and said: "Of course it is.
The best." Lu Buwei frowned. He felt that Zhao Kuo was a little absent-minded, or in other words, he was in a daze and didn't know what he was thinking. He looked at Ying Zheng beside him and then said: "Your Majesty, please
Please help Wu Chengjun go back, he is probably too tired, let him rest for a while."
Zhao Kuo then stood up and said: "No, I'm fine. I hope you can stop the sacrifices in various places and let the officials organize the local people to drive away the locusts. The locusts are definitely not messengers of gods... Even if they are killed, it doesn't matter."
It must be promoted in time. By the way, if possible, please copy these papers and send them to South Korea and Zhao. Their disasters have not stopped yet..."
"I see..."
After explaining the matter about the locusts, Zhao Kuo was about to go back. Di stopped him with some worry, and then asked: "Master, what happened?" Zhao Kuo looked at him and pondered for a moment.
Just now he said: "Mr. Xinling died of illness..."
"You just found out today??" Di asked back, but just then he felt that this sentence was a bit inappropriate. He just sighed and said: "I still like Lord Xinling very much. When I was in Zhao State, he pestered me.
Look at me and let me drink with him... It's a pity, the head of the house... It's okay, we can meet sooner or later." Zhao Kuo didn't say anything. He left Lu Buwei's mansion, then got on the carriage and headed towards
Rush to your own home.
Zhao Kuo probably didn't know how he got home. When he woke up, his family was sitting next to him, and everyone was eating.
Zhao Kuo didn't say a word, he just lowered his head and ate his meal.
Everyone in the family probably knew that he was in a bad mood. Shan and Kang stayed by his side, trying to make Zhao Kuo happy. Looking at Shan who kept making faces, Zhao Kuo smiled and then picked her up.
Then he asked Kang to sit on his knees and then told them a story.
At night, Yi coaxed the children, and when she walked into the inner room, she saw Zhao Kuo sitting by the bed, covering his head with his hands, sobbing softly.
Yi squatted in front of him, wiping the tears from his face.
Zhao Kuo lowered his head and said nothing, just crying.