Chapter 168: Preventing the Locust Plague

Xu Qing secretly hid the stump of the little jumping beetle, and absentmindedly completed the entire process of inspecting birds in the Golden Palace. I don't know if Li Yuan saw his strange appearance, and after the ceremony, he asked the eunuch to summon him into the imperial study to discuss matters.

---- Imperial Study

Xu Qing took out the things in his pocket, took a deep breath and entered the imperial study. Since ancient times, there have been courtiers who report good news but not bad news, but there is no monarch who is happy or worried, although Xu Qing's move is loyal, but there is no guarantee that Li Yuan loves to listen so much.

My feet have already stepped into the imperial study, and it is not now to retreat. Xu Qing bowed down and said: "Minister Xu Qing, meet my emperor, long live my emperor." ”

Li Yuan smiled and said, "Here, what's the Qiankun mirror you made for me, the ones you sent over yesterday are really not good." ”

Xu Qing relieved his heart slightly, what Li Yuan wanted to ask was not about the Taimiao, Xu Qing took out a magnifying glass in his arms, handed it over and said: "Your Majesty, the Qiankun Mirror is here, this is made by the minister with the high-grade medicinal jade in the palace, which is much better than the others." ”

Li Yuan took it and took a look: "That's true, not bad, by the way, I see that you are a little uneasy in today's Golden Palace bird inspection, what's going on?" If you are not in good health, do you want the medical department to take a look at you? ”

Xu Qing was embarrassed, if other courtiers were asked a few words by Li Yuan, maybe they would have already sworn with gratitude, but Xu Qing shook his head and said, "Your Majesty, today the Golden Palace inspected the birds, and the ministers found something." But this discovery is not good, and if you don't say it, you are afraid that you will be unprepared, and the people will suffer another disaster. Therefore, he hesitated and was restless......"

Li Yuan's puzzled look surfaced, and he thought about it again, and then asked, "Hmm...... Okay, now there are only you and me, the two of you and the monarch and the ministers in this imperial study, you can just say it. ”

Xu Qing sighed, took out the jumping fly he found, put it on Li Yuan's table and said, "Your Majesty, this is the thing in the belly of the bird caught today, can Your Majesty recognize it?" ”

Li Yuan solemnly looked at the stump on the table, and couldn't help asking, "Isn't this thing a common bug?" Could it be that there is a pest plague? ”

Xu Qing nodded seriously and said, "The emperor is wise, this insect is called a jumping bug, and it is a larva of a locust." There are a lot of birds in their stomachs, which means that there are a lot of jumping bugs, and if you don't take precautions, there will be a locust plague. ”

Li Yuan stood up suddenly, picked up the stump and pondered it carefully, as if he realized the seriousness of this matter. But this bird flew from afar, in all directions, and who knows where the hopper is? Unable to think of a way, Li Yuan looked at Xu Qing.

Seeing this, Xu Qing thought for a while and said, "Since yesterday, there has been a blizzard around Chang'an. Moreover, there were no sunny days before the blizzard, and there were very few days of snowmelt. The hopper needs food, and it certainly can't live in the snow anymore. Your Majesty, you can send soldiers and horses to Chang'an in all directions, find a place where there is no snow or very little snow, and then see where green seedlings grow, which is where jumping flies gather. The sparrow's esophagus is very short, and there is still residual food when it flies to Chang'an, and this place should not be very far. ”

After Xu Qing finished speaking in one breath, Li Yuan was still stunned, and after a while, he said, "This matter is a little troublesome." Sending soldiers and horses, it is difficult to ensure that the news leaks out. Once this news is leaked, you know what will happen. ”

Xu Qing nodded, once this kind of thing is leaked, it will not only lose the harvest of a county and a state, but will also be used by people with a heart to make a fuss. In ancient times, karma was emphasized, and the Son of Heaven was immoral, and God would punish the people, so there were several emperors who confessed their mistakes such as Chongzhen.

However, this will not work if you don't investigate, judging from the stump in the bird's belly, this jumping fly may have become a disaster, and when spring begins, the winter wheat in many places will be green seedlings, and if it is stirred up by locusts, you will have to wait for autumn grain, and many people will have to starve to death. This time, there will still be people who will make a fuss, this is the time when the former wolf is the tiger.

"Your Majesty," Xu Qing's eyes lit up and said: "Today's Golden Palace inspects the birds, and the birds we have inspected are all medium, so it is better to send a few governors to inspect the prefectures and counties around Chang'an, and persuade the farmers on the bright side, and care about the summer grain that is coming soon." In this way, you can ask about the snow. But on the ground, it is better to send henchmen to check on it, even if it is leaked, it is better than a disaster in the future. ”

Li Yuan patted his head and said, "I'm confused." Come! Li Yuan shouted, and a eunuch came in outside, and he commanded again: "Go and call General Long Wei." ”

When Xu Qing saw this, he arched his hand and said, "Your Majesty, the minister retires." Li Yuan opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything more, Xu Qing thought to himself, this dragon guard is probably Li Yuan's henchman guard, otherwise, Li Yuan should have left him here.

---- Xuanwu Gate

"What, this is charcoal?" Zhuge Yan looked at the few cars of black things in front of him in disbelief, and said to the person who came: "This, isn't this charcoal?" ”

"Coal, charcoal, isn't it all charcoal?" The little official who sent charcoal said: "Your general's letter is only about charcoal, and I didn't name whether you want charcoal or charcoal, and our Shangguan is afraid that it will be wasted, so he sent someone to send this charcoal." ”

Zhuge Yan was furious: "You are obviously quibbling, charcoal is more expensive than charcoal, how can you give charcoal and not charcoal?" ”

The little official smiled and said: "Don't be angry, it's good that charcoal is more expensive than charcoal, but our company has too much charcoal, so we send charcoal,"

Zhuge Yan's anger did not decrease: "We are going to come here to make a fire for cooking and roasting a fire for warmth, you, don't you treasurer know that this charcoal is poisonous?" I think you're clearly trying to make money and kill you! ”

The little official was also furious, crossed his waist and scolded in a sharp voice: "You spew blood!" You soldier, how much money can you have, seek your wealth, kill you, how many taels of oil can you scrape? ”

Zhuge Yan is surprised, in front of this Xuanwu Gate, he has been a guard for many years, and today he saw someone rushing into him. couldn't help sneering: "Do you know what kind of place this Xuanwu Gate is, and you deserve to shout?" ”

"What? Xuanwu Gate is not under the sun and moon, and Xuanwu Gate can be unreasonable? The little official didn't know who gave him the courage, but he was not timid in the face of Zhuge Yan, and returned confidently: "Today's charcoal, I was sent to the place, whether you want it or not, say goodbye!" ”

"Stop!" Zhuge Yan roared: "If you don't pull this charcoal back today, you will send us good charcoal in the car, hum...... Come! ”

At this moment, Xu Qing appeared, he looked at this side and said, "General Zhuge , what's the matter?" ”

The little official was shocked, Xu Qing actually came back, how is it good? The previous person told him that as long as Xu Qing was not there, everyone else was a scumbag, and he could be bluffed casually, and no matter what he did, those people didn't dare to really do anything with him.

But Xu Qing is different, Xu Qing even dared to lead troops to kill him, and Wan Guifei's face could not be sold, this is a fierce man.