Just after June, the replanted crops were about to ripen, and God was very cooperative to stop his rain. This crop is growing very well, and experienced old farmers estimate that the yield of one dump is at least eight stones. That's an unprecedented number, more than 10 percent more than last year.

Everything looks so good and so worry-free. Whether it is Pei Songnian or Liu Chequan, Sanfu is the national capital, and Sanfu's food is related to the lifeblood of the national capital. Chang'an City has a population of more than 200,000, plus the two armies of the north and south, the total number is not less than 300,000, and these people are all fed by food in the land of Sanfu. Once there is a problem with Sansuke, what ideas will come up to the Kanto princes.

On the dull days of others, Liu Che is still so busy. He also enjoyed these busyness, Tian Wei resigned, the queen was imprisoned, and Su Ren was happy both in the court and in the harem. At this time, he can pat his chest and say that he is the emperor, the real emperor, the busy but full emperor.

"Report ......! There was a locust plague in Huayin, covering the sky and the sun, and there was no grass growing everywhere it passed! ”

"Report ......! There was a locust plague in Chiyang, gnawing on hundreds of crops, and Chiyang Ling couldn't do anything! ”

"Report ......! A locust plague occurred in Chencang, which spread to Yongxian and Duyang within a few days! ”

……

As if everyone had discussed it, Liu Che received more than a dozen letters reporting the disaster in one day, and at a glance, almost every county in the land of Sanfu was full of locusts, and everything could be eaten within three days. The plague of locusts came so quickly that people were caught off guard, and they could only sit on the ground and cry as they watched the crops that were about to be harvested being eaten clean.

Tai Chang knelt down and said: "Your Majesty, the natural disaster has been completed, and the minister implores Your Majesty to go and worship the locust god in person, and pray that the locust god will leave as soon as possible to save my Han from suffering!" ”

Liu Che glared: "The locusts destroyed Sanfu, and seeing that the crops that were about to be harvested were not harvested, you still let me worship it?" ”

"Your Majesty, this is a natural disaster, and there is no other way than to worship!"

Dou Ying coughed and interjected: "It's too often exaggerated, right?" Although the locust plague is fierce, it is not impossible to deal with it, several counties that have not been affected by the disaster are already rushing to harvest, and the counties that have suffered less damage are also sending people to drive them away, and Huayin, Chiyang, Chencang, Yongxian, Duyang and other places are the most serious. ”

"The prime minister is surprised, the locust god is the heavens punishing my great man, and I must not drive it away, if I anger the locust god, how about causing a great disaster? The subordinates are in charge of the sacrifice, such a major event can not be sloppy, I implore Your Majesty to go to the sacrifice, pray for the locust god to calm the wrath, in order to protect the Han, the minister is loyal to the country, and I hope Your Majesty will think twice! ”

Too often said tears, a heartbroken look, people can't bear to refuse when they see it.

Ji Di said: "If, as is often said, after sacrificing to the locust god, what if the locust god is still angry? ”

"As far as the minister knows, the wrath of the locust god this time is all because His Majesty imprisoned the queen, which is why this disaster happened, and the minister implores Your Majesty to correct it immediately!" Too often lie down and say carefully, "Jing Zhaoyin's words are not guaranteed, how can I and other mortals be able to speculate on the meaning of the locust god, and we must not drive it away, so as not to cause greater trouble, I implore Your Majesty to think twice!" ”

"I beg your majesty to think twice!" After saying it too often, a few more people came out to echo it.

"Smack!" Liu Che slapped his palm on several cases and was angry: "Locust God, Locust God, that immortal in the world is specially harming people?" Even if I have a loss in virtue, I am to blame it alone, so why bother with the people of Sanfu? It's okay if such an immortal is disrespectful! ”

"Also, I tell you, what is the locust god? Don't think I don't know, there was too little rain and snow a year ago, and the bane of last year's pests was not frozen to death, and this year's spring is another big drought, which just provides a chance for those locusts to grow, and it takes three or four months to hatch, which has caused today's locust plague! You bastards, you don't understand things are always pushed on the gods and ghosts, what else are you going to do besides these? ”

Liu Che's words made the people who were too often panicked, and they knelt on the ground without saying a word, sweating like rain. No one knows if Liu Che is right, but it sounds very reasonable. As soon as a smart person heard it, he understood that this was definitely not something that Liu Che could figure out, there was someone behind the emperor's back, who was it? The name is coming out. No one dared to say more, the emperor already believed the man's words, no matter how much they said, not only would it be good, but if the emperor was angry, he would be bleeding.

"Prime Minister, from today onwards, the hard-hit counties will open long liquidations to help the people," after scolding Taichang, Liu Che began to issue an order: "And organize people to hunt and kill locusts, and those who kill more will be rewarded, and those who do not act will be immediately dismissed from the official position and assigned to Lingnan, and then send soldiers from the southern army to participate in disaster relief, and no one dares to say that the locust god will be killed!" ”

Dou Ying immediately stood up and promised. Liu Che calmed down and glared at those kneeling on the ground: "It's not impossible to sacrifice, but it's not a sacrifice to some bullshit locust god, I want to personally sacrifice heaven and earth to exterminate locusts!" ”

Although the current emperor does not have a monopoly on power, his words still carry a lot of weight. The exhortation of Taichang and others did not work, not to mention, and they almost did not even keep their official positions. In order to minimize his guilt in front of the emperor, this time Taichang arranged the sacrifice very thoughtfully, and it only took three days for all the matters of the suburban sacrifice to be arranged.

Under the locusts flying in the sky, the emperor's chariot left Chang'an City. The civil and military officials plus the sacrificial guard of honor are two miles long. The people of Chang'an have been watching, since the emperor wants to sacrifice, how can this kind of excitement be missed?

Although the locust plague in the suburbs of Chang'an is not too serious, there are still many locusts like stars. Liu Che got out of the carriage, and the civil and military officials and onlookers knelt down to greet him. The suburban sacrifice is a major event, and this degree of sacrifice is even more grand than the royal ancestor sacrifice, in addition to the hundred officials, the harem also has to participate. Empress Chen Ajiao was imprisoned in Changmen Palace, and Wei Zifu replaced Chen Ajiao and stood beside the emperor.

The ritual was carried out in an orderly manner. When a dozen black-armored warriors walked up to the altar carrying a copper basin containing locusts, the eyes of the people straightened. For thousands of years, locust plagues and floods and droughts have been called the three most serious natural disasters in the world. For these, human beings always feel powerless to deal with them, so they can only pray to God and worship Buddha, hoping that it will not happen again in the coming year.

"I was ordered by the heavens, and now there are locusts wreaking havoc to disturb the peace of my Han Dynasty, and I have to be warned by heaven that the locust plague is caused by the bad weather, and today I swear to the heavens that I am inseparable from the locusts, and I intend to peel off their skin and eat their flesh, and return justice to the people of my Han Dynasty." Liu Che took out a locust from the copper basin and swallowed vigorously. Although he followed Su Ren's advice, he couldn't help but feel palpitations when he really wanted to eat.

When Princess Li took two steps quickly, bowed down under the altar, and her little face turned red: "Father, the child is willing to swear with his father to seek justice for the people of my Han Dynasty. ”

"Ugh! Hahaha, you have all heard, my eldest princess has grown up, but she can share her father's worries, and today our father and daughter will fight locusts together. ”

In front of everyone's eyes, Princess Dangli took a locust from the copper plate in the hands of the black-armored guard beside her, and stuffed it into her mouth without any hesitation, shocking the hundred officials and the concubines of the harem were stunned. Dangli was only six years old, and she was still a weak princess. A little girl ate it, and Liu Che was embarrassed to hesitate any longer. When the hard shells of the locusts are bitten in the mouth, the faint salty smell masks the grassy smell of the locusts themselves. It's crispy and firm, and to be honest, it's not that unpalatable.

The voices of the mountains shouted long live one after another, and the people's admiration for the emperor reached a very high height. Some fools even lowered their heads and grabbed one casually and stuffed it into their mouths, and they burst into tears when they ate it, and their mouths were full of green water, and their heads fell to the ground heavily.

The emperor took the people of Chang'an to eat locusts, and Su Ren also bought locusts in the academy. In terms of price alone, ten catties of locusts can be regarded as extremely cheap. How can the locusts of the entire Sanfu cover the sky and the sun, and it is roughly estimated that there will not be much less if there is no million catties. Some people discussed with Su Ren whether they could use food to compensate, and Su Ren readily agreed.

Truckloads of locusts were sent to Louguan Academy, and truckloads of grain and money were taken away. Dong Zhongshu rarely patted Su Ren on the shoulder: "Ziheng can think about the people, and the old man is very pleased." ”

Without waiting for Su Ren to say kind words, Chun Yuyi snorted coldly: "Hmph! How can he have such a good intention, he does it all to make money! Others don't know, but the old man understands that this locust is commonly known as grasshopper, which can be used in medicine and has a wide range of uses, and this kid wants to dry and grind these locusts into powder and sell them! Now it's ten pounds for a dollar, and when it's sold, it's ten dollars a pound! ”

"Ahh Dong Zhongshu's mouth was long, looking at Su Ren and Chun Yuyi, he was very reluctant to believe that Su Ren was making a fortune.

Su Ren smiled: "Isn't this for the academy?" With so many mouths waiting to eat, you can't sit back and eat! Besides, it's also a good thing for these people, it's a win-win, a win-win! ”

Dong Zhongshu didn't know what to say anymore, and his face turned black again. Wen Dang frowned: "Although it can be used in medicine, so many Ziheng are sure that they can be sold?" ”

Su Ren smiled again: "Don't worry, teacher, the kid has already thought about it, this locust powder is a good medicinal material, and eating it often has the effect of prolonging life, the kid has already told His Majesty about this, and His Majesty has decided to include himself, and the palace will give a concubine some to eat every day." ”

"In the palace? You're a great tool! Dong Zhongshu wanted to hit someone, but Su Ren's eyes were on fire: "Your Majesty and the ladies in the palace will eat first, how can the imperial family and the hundred officials sit idly by?" These people will inevitably follow suit, so anyone who has some money will follow suit, and your business will not lose money! ”

Su Ren arched his hand, with a lewd face: "This is the way of business, the kid is robbing the rich and helping the poor, taking money from the pockets of the rich and giving it to the people, just to make a little difference!" ”

"Is that a bit of a difference? A hundredfold profit back and forth! The sage was right, the merchants were all treacherous villains all the way! Dong Zhongshu still couldn't hold back, slapped Su Ren on the back of the head, and shrank Su Ren's neck.