The grass in the factory should be plucked

The same scene happened in the home of a poor scholar.

He looked at the peerless beauty Qinglian Fairy in the mirror with eyes full of fascination.

The fairy's face was so holy and inviolable, but under the translucent gauze dress, there was an extremely graceful body...

Fairy Qinglian said the same thing.

"Seeing your piety, I will give you a piece of advice."

"Cassava is poisonous, do not eat it."

This matter spread from one person to ten people, and from ten to a hundred, and soon it spread secretly.

Nangong Qinghe, who was still on his way back to Beijing, had no idea that an unprecedented crisis was gradually brewing.

Winter has arrived in the northern region. There are howling winds every day, but no snow. The people who were hoping for a good harvest would be blessed by snow have become even more desperate.

The government's relief grain has been distributed, and the river dredging project has been suspended. Everyone is anxiously waiting for new relief grain to be shipped from the south.

The head of Liujia Village braved the strong wind and came to the county government office again.

"Master Gao, when will the relief grain from the imperial court arrive? People are starting to die in our village!"

Village chief Liu was extremely anxious. Without food, the elderly, the weak and the sick in the village might not survive the winter!

County Magistrate Gao swept away his sorrow and said excitedly: "Don't worry, it will arrive tomorrow! This batch of food is the cassava that His Majesty has praised for eating!"

Village Chief Liu asked happily, "How many are there?"

"Enough!" County Magistrate Gao laughed. "Send the young and strong people in the village to collect the relief food tomorrow!"

"Got it!"

Village chief Liu also returned to the village happily, and couldn't wait to tell the villagers the good news.

When Lady Liu heard the news, she was shocked: "The government is really going to distribute cassava! Fortunately, our ancestors gave us a warning in advance!"

The next day, after the first batch of cassava arrived, County Magistrate Gao ordered the warehouses to be opened and the grain released.

A yamen runner came hurriedly to report: "Sir, it's bad, they don't want cassava!"

County Magistrate Gao was surprised: "Why?"

“They say cassava is poisonous, don’t eat it!”

County Magistrate Gao was in a dilemma: "Cook a pot on the spot and catch a few dogs!"

The yamen runner said with a bitter face: "Where can we find a dog?"

It has all turned into a dog meat pot, right?

County Magistrate Gao was helpless: "Bring the guard dog from the granary here."

When he walked out of the county government office, he saw that the captain of the police who was in charge of distributing grain was surrounded by a group of villagers who were very angry.

"The government is distributing these poisonous cassavas. Are they trying to poison us?"

"We don't want cassava, we want rice! We want flour!"

The veins on County Magistrate Gao's forehead were throbbing. He was still picking it up? It was good enough to have something to eat!

He tried his best to suppress his anger and said, "My fellow villagers, please be patient. We will know whether cassava is poisonous or not and whether it can be eaten after a try."

The yamen runners brought out a large pot, peeled and washed the cassava in public, put it into the pot, and boiled it for half an hour. They took out a few pieces and threw them to the watchdog to eat.

The dog was also very hungry, and he ate voraciously, finishing all the cassava pieces in a short while.

Another half hour later, the dog was still alive and kicking, with no signs of poisoning.

"Did you see it?"

County Magistrate Gao was also sweating coldly, and only heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that the dog was fine.

The villagers were all hesitant.

Another villager shouted, "The dog is fine, but who knows if it would be harmful to humans if they ate it?"

"Yes, yes. No one has ever seen this thing. Who knows if it is edible?"

County Magistrate Gao gave it his all. The emperor and so many civil and military officials had all eaten it, but no one was hurt.

He took a piece with gritted teeth and put it in his mouth.

The bailiffs were surprised: "Sir!"

County Magistrate Gao took a bite. Hmm? It tasted pretty good.

He said, "It tastes a bit like yam, you guys should try it too."

When the yamen runners saw that the county magistrate had eaten, they also took a piece and started eating.

After their stored food is eaten up, they will have to eat cassava sooner or later.

Each person had one piece, and soon half of the big pot of cassava was gone.

The villagers couldn't help drooling when they saw them eating happily.

A few villagers were so hungry that they made up their minds that they would rather die of fullness than die of hunger!

He also walked forward, picked up a piece and started eating it in big mouthfuls.

In a flash, the big pot of cassava was divided up completely.

Half an hour later, everyone who had eaten the cassava was safe and sound.

"Niu Wazi, are you okay? Do you feel any stomach pain?"

An elderly villager was worried and whispered to the boy who had eaten the cassava.

Niu Wazi smiled innocently: "Nothing's wrong, I just didn't eat enough!"

He deeply regretted not grabbing a few more pieces.

County Magistrate Gao said unhappily, "How is it? I have personally tested it. Do you all believe it?"

The villagers then smiled and bowed to him one after another.

"Your Excellency is wise!"

"Long live the Holy One!"

County Magistrate Gao then asked the yamen runners to register each village one by one and open the granaries to distribute grain to each village.

He reminded again and again: "The superiors have instructed that you must peel and wash it, and cook it before eating. Remember, remember!"

Although local officials kept in mind how to eat cassava and gave numerous instructions when opening warehouses to release grain, accidents still happened.

They all overlooked one problem. In those areas where the drought is most severe, the people have long been out of food and are so hungry that their eyes are turning green. When they see something edible, how can they have the patience to wait for it to be cooked?

After peeling the skin, they put it directly into their mouths without even washing it.

Overnight, many people died in every village!

Madam Liu secretly felt lucky. After the head of the household brought back the cassava yesterday, she threatened to commit suicide, and only then did the family not eat the cassava.

I heard that many people died from eating cassava, and Madam Liu was very proud.

"Luckily, I was enlightened by the Qinglian Patriarch, otherwise everyone in my family would have died!"

This was like stirring up a hornet's nest. The angry people rushed to the government office, smashed the government offices, and even robbed granaries.

The predictions of Patriarch Qinglian became more and more serious. Everyone said that cassava was poisonous. Even those who had eaten cassava and had nothing wrong with it dared not eat it again.

Nangong Xihe took the opportunity to have the disciples and followers of the Qinglian Sect fan the flames and spread more terrible rumors:

"The witch has taken away the destiny of heaven and earth. Heaven is furious and has sent down disasters. A blood sacrifice is needed to appease the wrath of Heaven."

"The emperor was reluctant to sacrifice that evil woman to the gods, so he deliberately distributed poisonous cassava to everyone, attempting to sacrifice the blood of hundreds of thousands of disaster victims to the gods and pray for rain!"

These rumors finally ignited the anger of the people. The disciples of the Qinglian Sect took the opportunity to rise up and, in the name of "Qinglian Fairy", called on the victims to rebel.

They shouted the slogan "Kill the evil woman and clear the court", quickly gathered tens of thousands of disaster victims, started an uprising in Henan, and captured Luoyang city in one fell swoop.

Although Dongchang received the news first, Yinjiu also responded quickly. On the one hand, he reported the news to the emperor who was still on the way at an urgent speed of 800 miles; on the other hand, he dispatched Dongchang and Jinyiwei to rush to Henan to arrest those who instigated the rebellion.

Elder Shen, who stayed behind in the capital, also quickly organized the imperial guards to guard the capital, and made decisions first and report later, asking the Ministry of War to order the Zhenbei Army to come and quell the rebellion.

Unfortunately, Nangong Xihe had the "evil magic in the mirror" and had already bewitched many people. The Qinglian rebels responded quickly and the people opened the city walls to welcome them wherever they went.

By the time Nangong Qinghe received the urgent report, half of Henan had fallen.