Father Han Gaozu

Chapter 871 Courage

Tu Gong and Chen Mai sat in front of Liu Chang with serious expressions.

Han Xin had already left, and only Luan Bu and the two of them were left in the Houde Hall. Luan Bu frowned. He had experienced the locust plague eight years ago. The endless, cloud-like scene is unforgettable to him, and it is still unforgettable to this day.Throughout the Western Han Dynasty, there were two biggest natural challenges encountered. The first was the disaster of the river. The Yellow River flooded year after year, which caused headaches for the temples of the Western Han Dynasty. The other was the plague of locusts every eight years.

All human experience in dealing with locusts has been summed up and extracted from the long history of confrontation. Although locust plagues have become more frequent as time goes on, after the Song and Song Dynasties, temples used a lot of methods to deal with locust plagues. In Ming and Qing Dynasties In the Qin and Han dynasties, the majority of working people faced the locust plague and could only look at them in despair as they harmed the cultivated land, helpless.

The history of fighting against locusts in ancient China was a long and difficult one.

Don't look at Liu Chang's fighting spirit at the moment, in fact, he also knows in his heart how difficult it will be, but as the supreme leader of the empire, no matter how he deals with anything, he can't show his worries, he must have enough self-confidence , To show disdain for locusts, the courage to overcome, so as to lead others to fight together.Because of desperation, the people of the Han Dynasty have a deep fear of locusts, and this fear has even turned into some kind of strange worship, just as Luan Bu said.

The Han Dynasty has a special sacrifice, which is to pray for the locusts to let go of their cultivated land. In many areas, the locusts are regarded as messengers sent by the heavens, and they are respected as gods, and they are believed to be incapable of confronting them.

What Luan Bu said earlier is that all places require sacrifices. It is not that Luan Bu wants to sacrifice, but he just mentioned the past situation and the fluctuation of people's hearts. Confucianism later found a solution to the problem. Whenever there is a plague of locusts, kill them first. A Sangong said that the plague of locusts was caused by the Sangong's lack of morality and had nothing to do with other people. The culprit has already been killed, so don't worry about this method of finding a scapegoat, Liu Chang will naturally not adopt it.

At this moment, looking at his confidants sitting on both sides of him, Liu Chang slowly talked about his thoughts.

"Then what kind of sacrificial sacrifices, I will never engage in them. I will also order the abolition of these sacrifices. There must be no fear of locusts. As for the locusts themselves, I will go to Lu Jia later and ask him to make the right decision." Popular science, let everyone in the world know what is going on. The most important thing now is how to prevent it. Let me tell you the truth, once this thing becomes popular, it is almost impossible to kill them. Intervene when they are not yet formed."

"There are many ways to intervene. The first is to destroy their eggs. Artificially, organize people to dig and destroy. This is one of them. The people on both sides of the river should be mobilized. This is a huge battle. It cannot be underestimated. Then it is governed by various birds. I know that some birds specialize in eating locusts and their eggs. Tugong, I need you to find these birds and transport them to both sides of the river. Including chickens and ducks, these poultry can also play a certain preventive role before the locusts have become a climate, but they are useless in the face of fully formed locusts."

"In addition to digging eggs and using birds and poultry to control them, there is also the use of bonfires to attract these locusts and cull them. But these are not what I want to talk about. What I want to say is to buy. I need Shangfang to develop an energy Drugs to kill locusts, I heard that in South Vietnam and other places, local people will use several kinds of herbs to smear on their bodies, so that those pests will not dare to approach them. In the past, Chen Tao once told me that there are several farms in Shangfang Yes, I got these herbs from South Vietnam, and I want to try whether using these things can prevent pests from infesting people and livestock."

Among the many prevention and treatment methods, many people think that drug prevention and treatment only appeared in modern times. When he went to the south, he already used medicine to drive away insects and prevent being bitten, and Liu Chang still had great expectations for Shangfang. After all, the temple has invested a lot in Shangfang over the years. , They have tried in all fields, this thing is much simpler than building a steam engine, right? ?

Chen Mai frowned. Speaking of which, he was really not so clear about this kind of technical problem, but since the emperor gave the order, he naturally had to rush to prepare.

Liu Chang continued: "All we can do is preventive work. We use all methods to prevent it. As long as we can defeat it once, the people will no longer be afraid of these locusts. Things will be easier to handle in the future. It’s worth being afraid, you should go find the talented people in your mansion to do this right now, absolutely don’t waste time, the sooner the better!! Prevent it in time! If the locust plague officially appears and becomes a group, even the poultry will be killed. Don’t dare to speak anymore! Hurry up!!”

"only!!!"

The two stood up and quickly left Houde Hall.

Liu Chang looked at Luan Bu on the side, and looked at the worried face of the Prime Minister. Liu Chang actually understood very well. Luan Bu has always been a person who worries about the country and the people. He must have panicked in the face of this kind of disaster. The ghost knows how anxious he is now. Of course, this is where he is inferior to Zhang Cang. If Zhang Cang were here, he would have started to prepare early, and there would be no time to worry at all. The previous few locust plagues , Zhang Xiang solved it alone, and he didn't even inform Liu Chang, so he dealt with it by himself.

Liu Chang gently took Luan Bu's hand, and said seriously: "Luan Bu, you don't have to worry, this matter can naturally be handled properly, and you have done a good job. In the past, we all died after the locusts appeared. I just knew about the disaster, and now you can find it in time. This is a huge credit. There is still a chance to prevent and control it. If they have already appeared, what can we do? Don't worry, I am not a messy person. Through these methods, I dare not say that the locust plague can be completely eliminated, but it will definitely be weakened a lot, anyway, it will not be as terrible as it was eight years ago."

Luan Bu also realized at this moment that as a prime minister, what he has to do now is not to complain here, but to take active actions. He stood up and bowed to Liu Chang, "The minister will go and handle this matter." Already!"

"it is good."

Luan Bu hurriedly left Houde Hall, Liu Chang was the only one left here, and Liu Chang began to think about it. This locust plague is not so easy to deal with. In the future, many large countries that have entered industrialization will encounter locust plagues. They are all helpless. It is almost impossible to completely solve the locust plague in this era, but prevention is still possible. To reduce the harm, the main thing is to first break the powerlessness and fear of the locusts.

The rest can only be handed over to Shangfang, hoping that Shangfang can develop a better drug treatment method. Among the many treatment methods, only this treatment through medicine is probably the most direct and most effective.

In these years, the development of Dahan has become more and more rapid, and it is time for the locusts to take a look at Dahan's extremely powerful organizational and action capabilities.

Not long after the two ministers returned to their respective residences, some envoys left Chang'an on fast horses and galloped towards the places on both sides of the river. They brought the latest orders, and all the places were ready to go. Looking forward, this will be a war that reflects the overall national strength of the Han Dynasty. Liu Chang also came to the Ministry of Rites at this moment.

Lu Jia from the Ministry of Rites led many officials out to greet him.

Lu Jia is already very old, and he looks haggard and tired, without the energy of his youth, even standing here, he is drowsy.

Seeing his appearance, Liu Chang couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

It seems that this Minister of Rites should go home and rest, not because he is old and unable to do things, but because Liu Chang can't bear to see such an old man running around for the affairs of the temple. In some respects, Liu Chang still respects the old and loves the young very much. There is no shortage of officials in the big man. You can't say that a person is used to death. They should be replaced or have to be replaced. They can't be exhausted in their posts. It's not good, it will appear Like a tyrant himself.

Liu Chang and Lu Jia walked into the inner room and sat down.

As soon as Liu Chang sat down, he hurriedly talked about the locusts.

"I want to mobilize the whole world to fight against the locusts. First of all, I want to break the people's fear of locusts and let them know that locusts are not invincible. In recent years, the voice of the Ministry of Rites has become more and more loud. I can hear you, I need your help."

Lu Jia likes such an emperor who gets straight to the point. This is different from the previous Emperor Gao. Emperor Gao didn't like to speak out, and always beat around the bush. At Lu Jia's age, he didn't know what he had experienced just because of the locust plague. How many times, and Liu Chang's meaning, he can also understand.As the chief official in charge of ceremonial sacrifices, he is most familiar with folk sacrifices. This locust sacrifice was very common in the pre-Qin period, and of course it also existed in the Han Dynasty. It has only subsided since the Wu Zui incident, at least I dare not have any officials blatantly lead the people to perform sacrifices.

But this kind of thinking has not been interrupted. Some people in various places often propose to restart this kind of sacrifice, because they are afraid that not offering sacrifices will anger the locust god and lead to more serious disasters.

Lu Jia pondered for a moment and said, "I can handle this matter. However, I am not familiar with locusts."

"It's no problem. I'll find someone who is familiar with the habits. You can write it when the time comes. Anyway, it is to eliminate the fear in everyone's heart and let them know that locusts are actually a kind of insect. There is no need to be afraid. There is a way to It’s okay to deal with it.”

"only."

Lu Jia immediately began to order his subordinates to handle the matter, and the entire etiquette department became busy immediately. Liu Changqu did not leave in a hurry. He held Lu Jia's hand and seriously asked about his physical condition.

"Your Majesty is worried. I'm fine. I'm a little tired on weekdays. Don't delay my work. If Your Majesty has something to do, just order it. Don't worry too much."

Liu Chang nodded, and asked again: "If you want someone to replace you, who do you think can take your place?"

Lu Jia was silent for a while, and then said: "The Ministry of Rites has a lot to do. It must find a person with outstanding knowledge and enough moral character. I think anyone from Xiting Kingdom can take the job."

"Um???"

Liu Chang's eyes widened. This answer was something he had never thought of. Does it have anything to do with etiquette? ?It's more reliable for this guy to be a court lieutenant or something, and be a minister of the Ministry of Rites? ?

Lu Jia saw Liu Chang's surprise, and he said calmly: "The Ministry of Rites is actually the tongue of the temple. There are many people who can talk, but not many people can make others sit and listen to him."

"I understand."

Liu Chang probably had a candidate in mind, and when Liu Chang returned to Houde Hall, the mansions were already busy.

For the first time, the Han Empire demonstrated its extremely powerful national power. The entire empire seemed to wake up in an instant. All the machines were launched together and entered a tense wartime state. .

The first is the attack of public opinion. Newspapers from all over the world began to talk about locusts and locust plagues over the years, and made a lot of popular science explanations, such as the appearance of locusts, their habits, what they fear, how to prevent them, etc. After bringing this knowledge to various places, the officials at the grassroots level started propaganda and mobilization, and the people of all places were mobilized to destroy the locust eggs, and the two sides of the river suddenly became lively.

Under the organization of the officials, hundreds of thousands of people were mobilized in a mighty manner. They began to control the places where locust eggs were found, and in areas such as Tang State, they began to urgently transport them to both sides of the river. All kinds of poultry, such as chickens and ducks, almost all the roads are full. Looking around, there are chariots and horses everywhere, mighty and terrifying. They are about to start investing in the prevention and control of locusts.

In the south, people caught spiders and put them in large quantities on the cultivated land. Because newspapers mentioned that many spiders feed on locusts, many places began to build bird gathering points and build suitable nests for birds. And decided to breed those birds that specialize in eating locusts, and the people set up bonfires in various places, ready to attack the locusts.The Ministry of Industry also quickly provided them with various tools, especially medicines. Shang Fang took out the medicines used by the South Vietnamese to kill and prevent insects, and began to manufacture them with all his strength. A large amount of raw materials were shipped from the south to the Central Plains. It is produced and then sent to various places for backup.

Liu Chang treated the response to the locust plague directly as a war. The whole Han Dynasty began to mobilize urgently for this locust plague. There were busy crowds everywhere, and even some county schools organized children to go to To exterminate locusts by the river, the North and South armies dispatched. The large-scale locust extermination campaign organized by the army was the most effective. They started prevention and control work along both sides of the river, while many border areas in the north began to move towards the two rivers. The region transports food and other materials, and prepares for relief work after the locust disaster.

When Liu Chang gave the order, the big man who was working at full capacity frightened many people. For the first time, the officials in the temple realized that the big man was really different from the past. The powerful empire of the empire, when millions or even tens of millions of people in the empire were devoted to the extermination of locusts, the situation suddenly became a little different.Many places began to publicize the magical effect of locusts, thinking that locusts are edible. The newspapers were so frightened that they hurriedly explained that locusts that live in groups are inedible and poisonous. Of course, eggs and those that have not lived in groups are edible.

The general mobilization of the big Han is very terrifying, much more terrifying than the Qin State who wanted to conquer South Vietnam at the beginning. The roads everywhere are densely packed with people, and all the roads have come in handy. Even the navy began to help transport , the people everywhere are responsible for exterminating the locusts in their vicinity. Under the leadership of the officials, they are in full swing, vowing to wipe out these hateful pests! !
The big man with full firepower made even Zhang Cang feel quite emotional.

Zhang Cang naturally knew about the locust plague very early on. Luan Bu has been to him many times, and he only taught him his own prevention and aftermath work, but Liu Chang is obviously not acceptable, he would rather Pay a higher price, and don't want to bow your head and accept it.Such a crazy situation appeared in the big man, Zhang Cang couldn't help but feel that the big man is so strong today, such a national power, it was really unthinkable in the past, if Emperor Gao saw this scene, he would have to go back to Changling in fright.

"Zhang Xiang"

Luan Bu looked at Zhang Cang who was lost in thought, and couldn't help reminding him.

Zhang Cang just woke up, looked at Luan Bu in front of him with a smile, lowered his head, picked up the watch, glanced at it casually, gave instructions, and threw it aside. The headache is the prime minister. Where has Luan Bu seen such a battle? The work to be dealt with on weekdays has been multiplied countless times. Whether it is Zhang Buyi, Luan Bu, or even Liu Heng, they have all been reported by all the people. The watch is overwhelmed, especially here in Luan Bu, who has to coordinate the work of all parts of the country, which is really not something that ordinary people can do. help.

Zhang Cang didn't refuse either, he had never done such a big thing before, this was the first time, such a big challenge made Zhang Cang a bit interested.

Zhang Cang flipped through it very quickly, and he could still remember the original memorabilia, combining reports from different mansions and different regions to determine the next move. Luan Bu and he came to do business together, so they couldn't keep up at all. His speed can be seen together at first, but in the end he can only be used by Zhang Cang, and he has no chance to show himself at all, but Luan Bu is not depressed, Zhang Cang is not envious of this ability, and he needs more tempered.

"Your Majesty's character is really enviable. He will do what he says, and he is not afraid at all. After this time, no matter what happens to the Han people, they will never bow their heads again."

(End of this chapter)