Chapter 35: Luoyang Locust Extermination (2)

In the summer and May of the sixth year of Xiping, there was a great drought in the world, and locusts were plagued. Pen, fun, pavilion www. biquge。 info

On this day, the court discussed, and there was a speaker who played the Son of Heaven, saying that the world was full of drought locusts, and the heavens were angry, and asked the Son of Heaven to pardon the party, punish the eunuchs, and be diligent in government and lenient in punishment.

There was also a counselor to the doctor to play the Son of Heaven, saying that this year's harvest in the world should be halved, so that the Son of Heaven would have mercy on the people and be exempted from the rent of the world's fields.

There is also a servant playing, saying that there is a vision in the sky, please dismiss the three princes, in order to eliminate the anger of the emperor......

There was a lot of arguing, but none of them said how to take the initiative to exterminate locusts.

Lu Zhi and Cai Yong and the others glanced at each other, and bowed to each other: "Your Majesty, the minister has a previous notebook that locusts are born in the mud, please ask Your Majesty to issue an edict to order the counties and counties of the world to send people to destroy locusts." ”

As soon as Lu Zhi's words came out, there were many discussions. When the Son of Heaven heard this, his closed eyes opened again, the court was a difficult job, he had to get up early, and he had to face all kinds of noises from the ministers, he really couldn't stand it. Now only Lu Zhi didn't say how to do it to him, the son of heaven, so he couldn't help but mention a trace of interest, and said to the left and right: "Take Lu Yilang to play the original!" ”

The emperor looked at Lu Zhi's recital, and smiled in his heart, yo, Lu Yilang was virtuous and did not avoid his relatives, saying that it was discovered by his disciple Liu Beigewu. Well, this Liu Bei, it seems to be quite interesting, I didn't see it last time, do you want to see it this time?

Sitting in this position for ten years, no matter how stupid a person is, he knows which ideas are good and which are bad, not to mention that he Liu Hong is not stupid, so he passed on the chapter, let the ministers pass it on one by one, and then discuss whether it is feasible to remove locusts.

These courtiers, all of them nobles, have never heard that locusts come out of the soil. Locusts have wings, and when Emperor Wu was in power, locusts actually flew to Dunhuang from the east. How can it be said that it is produced in the soil?

In this era, there was a locust plague, and from top to bottom, I didn't think about manpower to hunt and kill locusts. The common people below just went to worship various temples and pray. Wang Chong, an atheist, also said in "On Balance" that insects eat grains and are caused by ministers. Even Cai Yong once said that locusts are caused by greed and cruelty. It can be seen that the general view of officials at this time is that the locust plague is caused by corrupt officials and political insecurity. This time, Lu Zhi was still persuaded by Cai Yong and others.

When everyone saw it, they shook their heads one by one to express disbelief, but this Liu Bei in the book is conclusive, and when it comes to digging outside the city, you can know the end at a glance, but I am afraid that this is indeed the case. Considering that Liu Bei is not an unknown person, Lu Zhi is not a reckless person. The balance in his heart is gradually tilting in favor of Liu Bei.

When he was still discussing, Luoyang ordered Zhou Zhong to come out and worship: "Your Majesty, the courtier Junji once met Liu Bei and discussed locusts with him, and then the courtier and his friends went out of Luoyang City and dug soil in the ditch in the suburbs to watch it, confirming that what Liu Beizhi said was true. The minister implores His Majesty to issue a decree, and the minister is willing to use Luoyang County to test Liu Bei's strategy to exterminate locusts! ”

It turned out that Zhou Hui and Zhou Junji were the sons of Luoyang Ling Zhou Zhong. Zhou Junji went home and told Zhou Zhongyi about Liu Bei, although Zhou Zhong was silent on the surface, he firmly remembered it in his heart. He also had a headache for the locust plague around Luoyang, and when he saw an opportunity today, he didn't have a foot in it. So he immediately played the emperor and wanted to use Liu Bei's strategy to catch locusts in Luoyang.

Luoyang Ling is not an ordinary county order, he has always enjoyed special political treatment, because he is the county order of the capital, and he has the qualifications to invite the court, not only to manage the Beijing division, but also to participate in the court meeting, and major ceremonial activities and political struggles are indispensable to the Luoyang order. But the Luoyang order is also difficult to do. How to strike a balance between maintaining the autocratic authority of the imperial court and the privileges of the powerful eunuchs is a great test of the political wisdom and skill of the chief official. The Luoyang Order is particularly strict in cracking down on criminal activities, and even if you are a third prince and nine kings, you will be brought to justice. When Emperor Guangwu was in power, Dong Xuan had a strong point, and the emperor had no way to take him, so his reputation spread to future generations.

As soon as Zhou Zhong spoke, everyone began to think. However, the ministers of the Han Dynasty were still very pragmatic, and after a while, they all agreed with Zhou Zhong's theory. Anyway, Liu Bei's method is not very bad, if it works in Luoyang, it will be promulgated all over the world and let other counties and counties follow suit. The ministers all agreed, and the emperor had no opinion. There is no room for it.

Then there was another Sikong Zhang Hao, saying that the locust plague was raging, and His Majesty asked the government to evaluate the county magistrates of the world last time, and all those who were harsh and corrupt were dismissed, so as to appease the anger of the heavens and calm the people's grievances. Now that the four mansions have a list, do you want Your Majesty to take a look? Well, this is a practice in previous years, and it will not be interrupted by Liu Bei's strategy of catching locusts. The emperor ordered Xiao Huangmen to take a list and look at it.

The emperor took a look at the list, and there was a long list of names, with the reasons for the dismissal indicated behind the names, and some of them not only wanted to be dismissed, but also had to be asked to the court lieutenant for questioning. The emperor also knows in his heart, those who are indeed guilty of crimes will not be cared for, the victims of the officials' party and political disputes, or the honest people without a background will be singled out later. Can't do everything as the minister wants, otherwise why do you want him to be the emperor?

The Son of Heaven's eyes were blazing, and he suddenly jumped to a name, Yang Qiu. Well, the crime is that the government is too harsh, the officials are dissatisfied, the county is angry, and the opinion of the four governments is to accept the court captain and judge the crime.

Yang ball, the word is square. It is Liu Bei's fellow townsman in Youzhou, born in a family, able to fencing, learn bow horses, and insult his mother with the words and deeds of county officials. Strict personality, good Shen Han Zhixue, a typical representative of Legalism. When he was Gao Tang Ling before, he was convicted by the county guard because he was too harsh, and finally encountered an amnesty to the world before he was exempted. Later, it was opened up by Situ Liu Pet, and the thieves in Jiujiang had an incident, and they were puzzled for a month, so they worshiped Yangqiu as the Taishou of Jiujiang, and Yangqiu went to Jiujiang and killed all the thieves and traitors in the county. Everywhere he went, everyone was afraid. Now it is the plain phase.

As soon as Yang Qiu arrived, he explained the matter very clearly to everyone: "Before the Tang Dynasty, Zhi Si was treacherous, so it was seen in vain by your county." Xihuan released Guan Zhong's revenge for shooting the hook, and Gaozu pardoned Ji Bu's crime of fleeing. Although he is not virtuous, he dares to forget the previous righteousness. In addition, the names of the monarchs and ministers are determined, and they can stay in the past! Today, I will be sorrowful, and I hope that everything will take effect. If you do not change your treacherous attitude after being taught, you will not be tolerated! "I did the Gao Tang Order before, everyone knows what I have done, today I came here, I will not pursue the previous things, but the words are clear, in the future, I will do according to my rules, if you don't change your adultery, don't blame me for not being able to tolerate people. As soon as these words came out, the county was afraid of submission.

But this guy is very miserable, this time he hit the wind again, the rule was too strict, and he was sued, so he was included in the list of the four governments.

The emperor thought about it, well, this person is also what I need. Everyone doesn't love the cool officials and ministers, but the emperor likes it. This man must be saved. So the emperor said: "Yang Fang Zheng used to be the Taishou of Jiujiang, and he had meritorious service in quelling chaos, although he sat hard, but he was not a gift to the meritorious heroes, and he could be exempted from the plain and worship as a councilor!" ”

As soon as Emperor Chrysostom opened, the matter was settled. Yang Qiu is considered to have escaped death. This guy is still dead, and he has caused countless incidents in the future, causing many families to be ruined, which is a later story.

At this time, Luoyang ordered Zhou Zhong to play again: "Liu Bei is famous, quick-witted, and profound. ”

The emperor was a little tired at this time, so he waved his hand and said, "This is your business, and you don't need to ask me." ”

After the important matters were discussed, the emperor dispersed and drove to the inner court.

Liu Bei was at home, and he was taking a pen to sketch on the paper kite, and Lu Heng next to him saw it with a taste, so a slave of the Lu family came to report, saying that there was a public outside the door who took the worship sticker, and said that the county order was invited.

Liu Bei put down the pen in his hand, got up and thought suspiciously, I don't know who the county order is, why are you looking for me?

When I went out to see the public, I took the sticker and said, "Please let me change my clothes." "I took a shower, changed into clean clothes, and looked more and more energetic. Then he went out with this person and went all the way to the county office.

Liu Bei went to Yazhong to see the county order, and saw Zhou Hui standing behind the county order and squeezing his eyebrows, but he didn't understand. Zhou Zhong's face was thin, his eyes were shining, and he was not angry. Seeing Liu Bei bowing, he got up to help him, with a smile on his face, and said, "This invitation is really presumptuous." Then he told Liu Bei about today's palace events, anyway, Liu Bei will be able to hear it sooner or later at Lu Zhi's place.

Liu Bei was a little dizzy, he just refused Zhuojun's Taishou Expedition, why couldn't he escape the life of being requisitioned when he arrived in Luoyang? Just as he was about to open his mouth to refuse, Zhou Zhong said: "Wulang doesn't have to refuse, your master Lu Zigan also knows about this matter." "What you said, your teacher Lu Zigan also acquiesced.

Well, Liu Bei shut up immediately. When the imperial court appoints ministers, there are those who praise it, and there are those who specially award the ribbon seal, and the emperor has to talk to him and encourage him to work hard. Liu Bei was dismissed as engaged, but Zhou Zhong touched his lips up and down, and he settled down like this.

Well, it's better to accept the use of Zhuojun Taishou, so that he can be mixed with a hundred stone officials, but here, he has become a sesame clerk. On the way back, Liu Bei thought.

However, things still have to be done, Zhou Zhong explained just now, and he is preparing a specific implementation plan for locust control for him to choose. Well, I'll write a copy when I go back. Liu Bei is very accustomed to doing this.

Well, locust control should start from two aspects, one is prevention, and the other is culling. There are two types of culling, one is for adults and the other is for eggs.

For adults, it is best to do so in the early morning when the dew is heavy or in the evening when there is no moon. In the early morning, the dew is heavy, the insect wings are soaked, and it is not easy to fly, and in the moonless night, you can burn the fire and trap it with the light of the fire......

As for the eggs, dig up the soil, and then boil the fire and boil the water, as many as you can kill......

Just when Liu Bei was thinking hard about biting the tip of the pen, Xianbei and Kou were on three sides. The world shook. In this catastrophe, Zhao Bao, the Taishou of Liaoxi, tragically vomited blood and died.

Zhao Bao is a powerful man, a native of Ganling, and often serves Zhao Zhong from his brother, Zhao Bao is deeply ashamed and never interacts with Zhao Zhong. Zhao Bao Chushizhou County, after being promoted to filial piety, was promoted to Guangling Order, three years of affairs, political and religious clear, was allowed to be a capable official, moved to Liaoxi Taishou. In office, he resisted and was majestic, and his reputation shocked the customs. As an official this year, just over the year old, he sent someone to welcome his mother and wife to his side, but when he arrived in Liucheng, he happened to meet more than 10,000 Xianbei thieves into the Kou, Xianbei captured Zhao Bao's family and was overjoyed, thinking that Zhao Bao could be forced to surrender with this as a hostage. When Zhao Bao heard that the thief was coming, he led the border army to confront Xianbei with more than 20,000 foot horses, and Xianbei pushed Zhao Bao's family out.

As a result, Zhao Bao cried and said to his mother: "There is no form for the son, I want to support the day and night with Weilu, and I don't want to make trouble for the mother. ”

Zhao's mother said: "Weihao, everyone has their own life, how can they take care of each other, and lose loyalty!" In the past, the king and the mother of the tomb made a sword to the Han Dynasty to consolidate his ambition and reluctantly. ”

So Zhao Bao immediately entered the battle, broke the thief army, and Xianbei scattered and fled. Unfortunately, his mother and wife were both victimized by thieves. The imperial court later learned about this and was very shocked, and the emperor sent an envoy to comfort him, and named Zhao Bao as the Marquis of Juan. After Zhao Bao's funeral, he said to his neighbors: "Eating Lu and taking refuge is not loyal; Killing one's mother is not filial piety. If so, what face stands in the world? He vomited blood and died.

It's a pity that a generation of good ministers fell after this disaster.