158. Drought and locusts

When Zhu Cheng said that Yuanzhou and other places were not only in serious drought, but also infested with locusts, thinking of locusts and drought, this made Li Pojun suddenly recall a very serious matter, that is, a major natural disaster in the early years of Zhenguan.

History only has a few strokes on this - "In the first year, Guanzhong was hungry, and the rice bucket was straight and silky; In two years, the locusts of the world; Three years, big water. ”

In the first year of Zhenguan, there was a famine in Guanzhong, the price of grain rose rapidly, and a bucket of rice was worth a piece of silk.

And in the second year of Zhenguan, because of the long-term drought in Guanzhong, locusts appeared, which spread excessively and multiplied rapidly, and soon became "popular" throughout the country, but in the third year of Zhenguan in the Tang Dynasty, God seemed to have played a huge joke with the great people of the Tang Dynasty.

These three years can be said to be the most difficult three years for the people of the Tang Dynasty, drought, locust plagues, floods, and the abuse of the working people one after another, may also be pitiful, after surviving the three years of suffering, it is the prosperity of Zhenguan, to Zhenguan five years, after four years of Zhenguan and one year of cultivation, the pacification of the country, the people of the Tang Dynasty have survived the three disasters, the price of grain has fallen again, and the rice is only four or five yuan, the people are finally living and working in peace and contentment, and His Majesty Li Er can be regarded as a complete merit, after all, the history books record the three disasters after a sentence" Diligence and caress them, although the people eat things, they do not complain. It is an affirmation of his political achievements, and the people have been reduced to begging for food in all directions, without blaming him for the monarch, and it can be seen that he has won the hearts of the people to this point.

Li Pojun thought of the locust plague from this, so he suddenly shot the case and shouted in horror: "Locust plague."

Su Dingfang and Zhao Yan looked stunned, what is wrong with this highness, they were shocked, it was not crazy, but Hanwa did not react, cut, what is this, I have seen it more ruthless than this, it is rare and strange.

Su Dingfang also lost his temper with this King of Jiangling who had no royal manners, his face was full of black lines, I will go, what are you talking about, where is the Confucian demeanor, it is really out of place, you are like this, don't the old masters in the court scold you.

It was still Zhu Cheng who was intimate, interrupting Li Pojun's careful thinking and thinking about it in great fear, and asked suspiciously: "Your Highness, what did Your Highness say, what kind of locust plague?"

"Ahh What do you say".

“………… I said that Your Highness only said that there was a plague of locusts? ”

"Oh, locust plague, locust plague, locust plague, buy Ka" Li Pojun was not calm again.

And then I found out...... Well, it's a gaffe, in fact, since Li Pojun found Yu Wenshi and after, he always felt that he had forgotten something, but when he wanted to remember it, he had no clue, and now, Li Pojun finally understood, that is, the disaster, in his previous life, he didn't know where he had seen the relevant post, that is, the natural disaster in the early years of Zhenguan, and he was quite impressed.

It is also quite mysterious, after Li Shimin ascended the throne, he changed the Yuan Zhenguan, but after entering the Zhenguan, the first year was drought, the second year was a locust plague, and the third year was flooded...... Why is it that when you Li Er sits in the world, there are so many disasters.

I don't know if it was karma for killing his brother and killing his brother and forcing his father to seize the throne, or what, rumors suddenly spread, and even the remnants of the former Sui were ready to move, but our wise and martial His Majesty Li Er reversed the situation in the fourth year, and under the diligent and benevolent government, the Tang Dynasty entered the rule of Zhenguan, cut off some people's tongues, and cut off some people's thoughts.

After Li Pojun reminded Zhu Cheng of the locusts, he thought of the locust plague, after all, it was a drought now, which made him think of four words - locusts due to drought.

Because locusts are warm, dry insects, an arid environment has many benefits for their reproduction, growth, development, and survival. Because locusts lay their eggs in the soil, which is relatively solid, drought causes locusts to multiply and grow rapidly, and there are two reasons for disasters.

On the one hand, in dry years, the number of eggs laid by locusts increases dramatically as water levels drop, soils become firmer, water content decreases, and ground vegetation is sparse. At the same time, in dry years, the water surface of rivers and lakes shrinks, and the low-lying land is exposed, which also provides more suitable places for locusts to lay eggs. On the other hand, plants grown in arid environments have a lower water content, and locusts feed on them, growing faster and having higher fertility.

On the contrary, rainy and humid conditions have many adverse effects on locust reproduction. The high water content of the plants that the locusts feed on will delay the growth of locusts and reduce their fertility, and the rainy and humid environment will also make locust epidemics, and rain and snow can also directly kill locust eggs. In addition, the increase in natural predators such as frogs will also increase the mortality rate of locusts.

Therefore, whenever there is a drought, it is necessary to strengthen the prevention of locusts, which the ancients also experienced, but the people of the Tang Guanzhong in the ninth year of Wude have not realized it at this time, and only think that it is just a drought, after all, the loess (plateau) is also a rainless area, and there is usually a drought, but it is not so heavy.

Moreover, there are no signs of locusts in Guanzhong now, and people did not expect that there would be a locust plague at all, but farther away in the western cool land, the drought is even more severe, and locusts have already appeared in Yuanzhou, indicating that this will soon spread.

The more Li Pojun thought about it, the more he felt that he should do something, and Su Dingfang and the others also looked at this delirious Li Pojun with a look at each other, and suddenly, Su Dingfang also raised the corners of his mouth, I don't know if he wanted to take revenge on Li Pojun for trapping him into the prince's dragon dispute, or whether he wanted to test the temptation.

Directly picked up a cup under the tray, weighed it in his hand, and threw it at Li Pojun, whether it was thrown instead of smashing, the two of them were only separated by a table, according to Su Dingfang's hand strength and speed, if he smashed it hard, Li Pojun would definitely finish playing.

Although Li Pojun was thinking deeply about how to deal with the locust plague, he was not completely without six senses, although he had been pampered for many years, but the agility back then had not been lost.

Suddenly, Li Pojun felt a gust of "strong wind" coming, and when he raised his eyes, he only saw a porcelain attack, and even pinched it.

Then he looked at the source, only to see Su Dingfang looking at him with a funny face, and only said: "Your Highness is very concentrated, and one person is contemplating deeply, but I am going to drink herbal tea here and sit on a cold stool."

As soon as Su Dingfang finished speaking, Zhu Cheng had a cautious expression on his face, and asked directly: "Your Highness just exclaimed the locust plague, what do you mean?"

Su Dingfang didn't think about it that much, but when he heard the locust plague, his face changed.

Zhu Cheng was silent when he saw Li Pojun throwing it, and his expression suddenly changed, and he asked directly: "Your Highness, will there be a locust plague?"

In the surprise and uneasiness on the faces of Su Dingfang and Zhao Yan, Li Pojun said eight words, which made several people's faces change abruptly.

Li Pojun also rubbed his face, and then looked cautious, and said in a low voice: "The drought is extremely locust, and hunger is everywhere."