Chapter 665 Disaster (Additional update for the alliance leader’s night battle with the Hidden Sword Style in the Eight Wastelands)
“Wonderful, God is really helping me!” On the bank of the Fen River, Liu Cong stepped on the muddy loess and looked up to the sky laughing.
Since spring, it has been rainy in Hedong, Pingyang, Xihe, Fengyi, Shangjun and other places.
In summer, the rain becomes heavier.
The once arid sandy land is lush with vegetation.
The river that once stopped flowing is gurgling.
Hedong and Pingyang, which were once rich in water and grass - well, flooded.
Fortunately, the water was not strong. The four counties of Hedong, Pingyang, Hongnong, and Fengyi combined flooded more than a thousand homes and affected thousands of people.
The drought scenes in Bingzhou and Jizhou last spring and summer are still vivid in our minds. Although farmers have tried their best to water it, the grain harvest has still dropped sharply, resulting in a large number of refugees. Hedong and Pingyang have been exhausted, their mansions have been emptied, and the grain reserves in the wealthy manors have been exhausted. In the end, people from Hebei and Henan have Even Shangdang and Taiyuan incorporated a large number of Dingkou.
The rain this year is relatively heavy, which is exactly the same as last year.
However, the rains in the Hedong and Pingyang areas are not heavy enough to flood the counties. Although the grain harvest will be reduced, it is much better than the drought, because the latter has a very terrible collateral disaster-the locust plague.
Drought is conducive to locusts laying eggs, and a locust plague will inevitably occur in the second year. And if there is more rain in the second year, many locust eggs will die directly, and it will be less likely to cause a locust plague.
This year, the Fenshui and Yellow River basins in the southwest of Bingzhou and eastern Guanzhong have been raining for days, so locusts have not appeared in large numbers, but other places have been miserable.
A few days ago, when Liu Cong returned from inspecting Wuling Road, he saw locusts covering the sky and heading east and south.
I heard that there are also large locusts in Taiyuan, Shangdang and other places.
Locusts appeared in Jizhou and Sizhou, gnawing at crops.
There is also a locust plague in the western half of Guanzhong. He has sent people to investigate and have not returned yet.
Chen Yuanda followed Liu Cong, slightly worried.
There was also a locust plague within the territory of the Han Dynasty. Even though it was not as serious as that of Jin, how could your majesty be so happy?
But he didn’t dare to say it.
It is true that he has always shown himself to be loyal and daring to remonstrate, and he has risked his life to remonstrate many times before, but this time the words came to his lips and he swallowed them back.
His Majesty has changed a lot in the past two years.
In the past, he could stay in the harem for a month or three months, indulge in sexual intercourse with women every day, and refuse to listen to his advice. He was so angry that he almost vomited blood and died.
Since the year before last, His Majesty has had fewer clothes, women have played less, the construction of some palaces has also stopped, and he has visited various places many times. His desire to cheer up is very obvious.
Chen Yuanda was extremely satisfied, and sometimes he would say a few words that he liked. Forget about today's matter, if His Majesty refuses to come to power and abandons himself and goes back to the harem to indulge his sexual desires, he won't even be able to cry.
Furthermore, the situation in Pingyang has been unstable and bloody recently. Even if he is as loyal and upright as he is, he still has to avoid giving in.
Liu Can followed closely behind his father.
His return from Guanzhong actually brought great joy: he was already the crown prince of the Han Dynasty.
The emperor's younger brother Yi died, accused of treason.
Yes, Liu Yi, who was under surveillance and under house arrest in the East Palace, "conspired to rebel".
Liu Cong and his son have "evidence".
Wang Ping, a member of Liu Can's party, quietly told Liu Yi that the situation in Pingyang was unstable and there was fear of chaos, so he asked everyone in the East Palace to wear armor under their robes. Liu Yi believed it and ordered to act accordingly.
After Liu Can got the news, he immediately sent someone secretly to report Liu Cong - this is called "fishing law enforcement".
Liu Cong didn't want to believe it, and he wasn't willing to kill Liu Yi. After all, he was his younger brother. He also missed the late Empress Shan.
Seeing his father's hesitation, Liu Can immediately sent people to arrest more than ten Diqiang chiefs who were in Pingyang, and used the "Great Memory Recovery Technique" to imprison the Diqiang chief's head in a high wooden grid with wooden shackles. They kept their feet off the ground and burned the chiefs' eyes with red-hot iron, so the chiefs were forced to hand over Liu Yi's "confession" of rebellion.
The "evidence" was conclusive and there was nothing more to say, so he deposed Liu Yi as the king of the north and then killed him.
After hearing the news, the people of Feng Yi, Qiang and Di were in commotion, and some people directly rebelled.
Liu Can had already prepared and sent troops to quell the chaos. Because most of the Di and Qiang chiefs died in Pingyang, the group was leaderless and the rebellion was out of control, so peace was achieved that month.
Liu Can also took the opportunity to go on a killing spree, purging the officials of the East Palace and those who were usually friends with Liu Yi. He often exterminated the clan and implicated more than 15,000 people.
Now that two months have passed since the incident, everyone in the civil and military dynasties is a little frightened.
Liu Can's reputation for ruthlessness resounded throughout Pingyang, and no one dared to oppose his rise to power.
The dark clouds parted and the scorching sun was in full bloom.
Liu Cong continued to walk along the Fen River and said: "The locusts flew south, causing Shao thief to suffer too. I heard that he just arrived in Qingzhou, is there a locust plague there?"
< br>Liu Can thought for a while and replied: "The giant locusts in Jizhou and Qingzhou are definitely unavoidable. It's a pity that the locust plague is not as severe as seven years ago, otherwise the Shao thief will be unable to move."
Chen Yuanda's eyelids Jumped.
Looking forward to the locust plague, is this what people say?
However, the weather has been really bad in the past ten years or so.
Seven years ago it was called a world-destroying locust plague, and all the hair of cattle and horses was eaten. At that time, Wang's division attacked Henan and was finally forced to withdraw.
This year’s locust plague is slightly less severe, but it is still spectacular.
Yongzhou, Bingzhou, Jizhou, and Sizhou have all been affected, and Henan will probably not be able to escape. At most, the disaster will be slightly lighter.
The reason is actually drought.
Folk proverb goes, "When the drought is extreme, locusts appear." The great locust plague seven years ago corresponded to the drying up of the Luoshui River. This year, it was due to the drought in the previous two years that the seedlings were not good.
It is not easy to live in this world.
He thought again of the more than 10,000 people who died because of Liu Yi's incident, and couldn't help but sigh.
Will so many people die in Jin’s struggle for power? It shouldn't happen.
Last year, a large number of people ran away due to drought. This year, floods and locust plagues have damaged the vitality of the Han Dynasty. As a result, 15,000 people were killed in Pingyang's trap, and more than 10,000 people were killed in Feng Yi's rebellion. The power of the Han Dynasty was really in decline.
Last month, the crown prince defied all opinions and relocated more than 10,000 herdsmen from various tribes to the west of Guanzhong. It seems that he was not wrong.
If this continues, it will be really difficult to merge with the state. It is better to retreat into seclusion to defend ourselves.
However, such self-defense is not easy.
Shao thief pacified Qingzhou, and his power reached Huai River in the south, Youzhou in the north, Hongnong in the west, and the sea in the east. It encompassed the heart of the Central Plains. It was already an unshakable behemoth. Unless he suddenly died suddenly, but so what Possible? He is only thirty years old.
Chen Yuanda sighed again and followed Liu Cong, Liu Can and his son to inspect the counties.
******
In fact, before Qingzhou could wait for the locust army from Jizhou to move south, there was already a locust plague in Qingzhou.
When the locust wings touch, they immediately turn red and warm (turn from green to brown), become ferocious and overwhelming like a swarm of bombers, landing in the fields that are not yet fully mature, feasting on them.
At that time, Shao Xun had just returned to Guanggu. When he heard about the locust plague, he immediately knew something was wrong.
"How is Yanyu?" This is what he cares about most.
The right Sima Yangchen of the shogunate was still in Guanggu and immediately reported: "There is also a disaster."
Shao Xun's face became ugly.
Zhang Bin pulled out an official letter, pushed it in front of Shao Xun, and said: "Don't worry, Ming Gong. The disaster in Sizhou is indeed serious, but only some counties in Yanzhou and Henan were affected by the disaster."
< br>
After Shao Xun heard this, he immediately asked someone to spread out the map, scratched the map with his finger on the official letter that had just been sent, and breathed a sigh of relief.
To put it simply, there are no "native locusts" in Yanzhou and Henan. Most of the affected counties are close to Si, Hebei and Qingzhou, and they are considered external disasters.
A large number of locusts hatched in Jizhou, Qingzhou, and Sizhou. They first caused evil in the local area, and then flew to other places with the wind. Fortunately, it is summer now, and the wind is mostly southeasterly. Even if there are locusts flying over, there will not be too many - of course, the local locusts in Qingzhou may invade eastern Yanzhou and northeastern Yuzhou, but the disaster level will definitely decrease.
As long as the whole army is not wiped out! He breathed a sigh of relief.
With Yuzhou here, he has the ability to provide disaster relief.
Alas, at this point, we still have to rely on Yuzhou!
"Send the order: The construction of Liang Palace is suspended, and the grain and beans of Yu Yandi Pavilion are shipped to Qing, Si, and Hebei."
There are still many slaves in the palace city. , originally a refugee, now joined the Qingzhou prisoners. After the project is suspended, food consumption will be greatly reduced.
“The counties and wealthy families in Yuzhou allocate grain and beans, and the limit is five million dendrobium. That’s it, let’s consider this number again and see how much we can get.”
Yuzhou is considered two years. Areas where the three-crop system has been promoted relatively well.
Thinking back to the super locust plague seven years ago, Shao Xun relied on the winter wheat harvested in May to withstand the wave.
Many counties in Yuzhou planted overwintering wheat after the autumn harvest last year, and the harvests were completed in May. There will be relatively sufficient food, which is suitable for disaster relief.
“The disaster-stricken counties rush to harvest grain, regardless of whether it is ripe or not.”
In places where the two-year and three-crop system is not implemented, spring planting and autumn harvesting are the best. There is still a month before the harvest, and I can't wait any longer, so I can only harvest by force. It would be good to recover some losses.
“Let’s do this first.” Shao Xun glanced at the locusts that could be seen everywhere outside the door and said, “Transmit it immediately without any mistakes.”
“Ming Gong.” Zhang Bin reminded. : "Over in Yuzhou, it's best for Ming Gong to come forward in person, otherwise I'm afraid he won't be able to raise much food."
Shao Xun thought for a moment.
As a political animal, he originally wanted to stay in Qingzhou to provide disaster relief and gain a reputation. Now it seems that Zhang Bin was right. The landlords and wealthy people in Yuzhou will not hand over the grain readily. They still have to go back and argue the case in person. As for sending officials to argue the case, the landlords and wealthy landlords themselves are officials.
"Okay, I'll go back right away." Shao Xun said decisively.
"Ming Gong, if possible, please raise more grain." Zhang Bin said again: "The disaster in Sizhou is serious, and the people of Hu and Han are in dire straits, so it is appropriate to appease them."
Yang Chen couldn't help but glance at Zhang Bin.
How does this person have such a brain? When others received the news, their first reaction was to provide disaster relief, but Zhang Bin was already thinking about how to make use of this locust plague.
Should I say he is calm or cold-blooded? However, such qualities are indeed a good strategy.
Yang Chen remembered this person.
"Meng Sun's strategy is quite impressive." Shao Xun nodded and said, "I will consider it."
Zhang Bin cupped his hands and said nothing.
He doesn't care what other people think.
In the more than three years since he returned to Shun, he has rarely been involved in scholar circles and has always lived in seclusion.
As a counselor, you should do your job well.
On July 13, Shao Xun left most of the military supplies in Guanggu and led his army back west to Bianliang.
(End of chapter)