In Bianliang in June, the sun was like fire, there was no rain for more than half a month, and even the water of the Bianhe River went down. Of course www.biquge.info, such as some high-ranking officials and wealthy households, you don't have to care.

Take Ouyang Xiu as an example, there are two ice basins in the old master's study, and the hot heat is taken away - don't get me wrong, just the money is enough for the old master to enjoy.

It's just that this irritability in my heart can't be solved.

He has been rectifying the Imperial Historical Observatory recently, and Ouyang Xiu has carefully studied the impeachment situation of the Imperial Historical Observatory over the years, and after reading it, the old master kept shaking his head.

The key to maintaining the efficient and honest operation of the bureaucracy is to take charge of the criminal code and to picket the illegal activities of hundreds of officials. At the beginning of the country, Yushitai made many contributions to the rectification of maladministration, the restoration of the economy, and the promotion of the prosperity of the Great Song Dynasty. But over the years, people's hearts have been impetuous, and they can't stand the hardships of the imperial history, and more and more people regard the imperial history as a springboard for promotion.

Peeping at the peak's joy and anger, taking advantage of the innocent privilege of the speaker, they are willing to act as thugs and eagle dogs, and every time the court is turbulent, they rush to the front.

There are those who impeach the emperor, those who impeach the rulers, those who impeach their relatives, and those who impeach the generals, the contents are varied, but they can be summed up as party struggles and infighting!

Very few people can bend down, really care about the people's suffering, and solve the immediate problems of the people.

Ouyang Xiu felt more and more that he should reverse the trend, but with him alone, he was really unable to do it.

The old master, irritable, did not sit in the study, but walked towards the garden. When he arrived in the garden, Ouyang Xiu suddenly found that there was a sound of sizzling at the rockery.

Curious, the old master stepped forward, but found three children squatting on the ground, one of whom was wearing silk clothes, it was his son Ouyang Bian.

Ouyang Xiu sent Ouyang Fa and the other three to the Six Arts Academy, and only one youngest son was left with him at home.

This kid was holding a roast chicken and giving it to two boys in cloth, and he said, "Eat it, don't choke." ”

The two children ate very hard, and one of them was so blocked that his face was red, and Ouyang Wei said helplessly: "Wait, I'll go get water." ”

As soon as he turned around, he found his father Ouyang Xiu, and he was so frightened that he immediately changed color.

Ouyang Xiu sighed, "What are you doing in a daze, your friends are choking." ”

Ouyang Wei ran out with a cigarette, and after a while, a pot of tea was served, and the kid took two sips and finally eased up, but when he found Ouyang's boss, they were all uneasy.

Xu is a mountain chief, Ouyang Xiu has a lot of patience with children, and he didn't immediately speak harshly, but said with a smile: "Tell me about the old man, what's going on, is it greedy?" How about a big dinner for you, uncle? ”

Seeing that the two children didn't speak, just lowered their heads and rubbed the corners of their clothes, Ouyang Xiu took the hands of the two children, went to the pavilion, and asked the family to bring a pot of milk tea.

Where can children resist the temptation of good food, let alone when they are really hungry.

The two children were eating and telling the story.

It turned out that they were all Ouyang Xiu's neighbors, and they usually played with Ouyang Bian. Their parents left home the other day and left their two children to a neighbour to help take care of them.

How do you know that the two children were naughty and beat the neighbor's bowls, and when the neighbor was angry, he punished them for not allowing them to eat. Ouyang Wei saw that the two of them were pitifully hungry, so he stole the roast chicken at home and gave them to eat.

……

After listening to this, Ouyang Xiu nodded, "You are helping children, and you will not be punished for being a father, but if you don't take it as an example, you will have to tell adults if you encounter something in the future." ”

"Hmm!" Ouyang Wei honestly agreed.

Ouyang Xiu was curious again, "Why did your parents leave in a hurry and leave you behind, for what?" ”

"For the sake of ......" the older one tilted his head and thought for a long time, and then said: "My grandfather is going to die, and also, and grandpa, they can't survive." ”

As he spoke, the child began to cry again.

Ouyang Xiu became more and more puzzled, the older child suddenly remembered something, he turned around and ran back to the house, and after a while, he ran over with a letter and delivered it to Ouyang Xiu.

The old master opened it casually, and inside it was an ordinary peasant letter, the handwriting was not beautiful, but only legible.

The letter said that Chenzhou had suffered two years of severe drought, and that this year it was easy to get a little rain, and the crops were growing well, but locusts broke out in May, and overnight, all the crops within a radius of 100 miles were eaten.

The child's father is a jeweler, his hometown is in Chenzhou, and he went to Beijing to work to support his family. Suddenly, he received a letter from home, so he hurried back to Chenzhou to visit his parents and father-in-law's family.

In a hurry, he left the child in the care of a neighbor.

After figuring out the reason, Ouyang Xiu was taken aback, from what the letter said, the famine in Chenzhou should be very serious, and it has reached the point of starving to death.

But a few days ago, there were local officials who played a game, saying that there was only a minor disaster, and the court would send some food to get through.

Ouyang Xiu is not a fool, this family letter will not be faked, as for the local officials, it is difficult to say......

Chenzhou is extraordinary, it is the Central Plains, the southern gate of the capital, if there is chaos, there must be a large number of victims rushing to the capital, the consequences are unimaginable.

Ouyang Xiu thought of this, and immediately asked his family to take good care of the two children, he immediately changed into his official uniform and went directly to the political affairs hall.

As soon as he walked in, Jia Changchao was worried, his old face shrunk into a chrysanthemum, and he couldn't help shaking his head.

"Drunkard, I just got the news that there are locusts in Gyeonggi."

"Is it much?"

Ouyang Xiu said curiously.

"It's not too much, it's not too little, it will affect some harvests." Jia Changchao said worriedly: "A long drought is better than a locust plague, it has been the same since ancient times, and the old man is afraid that the locust plague will expand, and it will be difficult to clean it up when the time comes." ”

Jia Changchao is quite frank, since he praised the emperor as the Son of Heaven, Dong Zhongshu put forward the induction of heaven and man, and the changes of God are closely linked to the emperor.

In particular, locust plagues often strike suddenly, and in one night, they can eat up the crops, and the people are all hated and feared.

As a result, many people regard the plague of locusts as a punishment from God, in other words, his son who did not do well.

If the timing of the locust plague is special, it is easy to be taken advantage of by those who have a good intention.

For example, Li Er, who had just grabbed the throne through the Xuanwumen Revolution, had a large-scale locust plague in the capital the next year. Someone took the opportunity to make a big fuss, which made Li Er very embarrassed.

Fortunately, he was also a ruthless man, and when he was visiting the imperial garden, he actually grabbed a locust and said to him: "People take the grain as their life, and you eat it to harm the people." The people have had, in one person, they have a spirit, but when it erodes my heart, it harms the people! ”

After speaking, Li Er immediately swallowed a locust.

performed so hard, naturally the people were moved, the ministers were impressed, and a crisis was resolved.

In the Great Song Dynasty, people have become much smarter, and God warns that the emperor cannot be wrong, and it is often the prime minister who dismisses the official and the thunder.

Many officials have long been unaccustomed to Jia Changchao, if there is really a large-scale locust plague, maybe Jia Xianggong's black gauze hat will not be guaranteed, no wonder he is worried.

Ouyang Xiu took a deep breath, "Jia Xianggong, I'm afraid it's too late, the locust plague has happened, and it's not small!" ”

"Huh? How does the drunkard know? ”

Ouyang Xiu handed over the letter to Jia Changchao and briefly told him what had happened. Jia Changchao was immediately alert, and hurriedly asked people to check, and got the news on the same day that the locusts that appeared around the capital were not local, but flew from the south. Moreover, locust plagues mostly occur in the capital in July and August, and now it is June, and there is still a month left!

Jia Changchao's face changed suddenly, and he said helplessly: "Drunkard, your drunken eyes are more powerful than me, it looks like something happened to Chen Zhou!" ”

Immediately, Jia Changchao was also angry, "These bastards, such a big thing, they dare to hide it, they are really bold, they don't know whether they are alive or dead!" ”

Jia Changchao immediately arranged for people to investigate, but as soon as the people were sent down, news came, saying that there were Diao people from Xiguan Township, Chenzhou, besieging the government, robbing grain, and gathering thousands of people to rebel!

How shrewd Jia Changchao was, he guessed a lot after a little thought.

Chenzhou continued to have a drought, the imperial court allocated a lot of money and grain to go to the disaster relief, most of the money was greedy by the local officials, as a result of this year's locust plague, they did not dare to report, for fear of bringing out the ugly things of the past years, everyone covered the lid together, pretending to be confused.

The official can pretend, but the problem is that the people's stomachs can't be pretended, they are extremely hungry, and there will definitely be chaos, no, the civil revolt is coming!

The matter could not be suppressed, Jia Changchao immediately went to Zhao Zhen, told the emperor about the situation, and also told his speculation.

"Your Majesty, the top priority is to suppress bandits and provide disaster relief. If you can't let the people fill their stomachs, they will inevitably follow the thieves to make trouble, and the consequences will be unimaginable. ”

Zhao Zhen looked up to the sky and sighed, very indignant, "How difficult the people's livelihood is, I can't bear it." Jia Aiqing, not only do you have to send money and food for disaster relief, but you also have to find out to me who it is, who is hiding it from me, and you must not spare it! ”

"Obey the order!"

Jia Changchao bid farewell to Zhao Zhen, and immediately set about mobilizing food and men from everywhere, and sent Wang Gongchen, the prefect of Zhengzhou, to lead the men and horses to the south immediately.

Wang Gongchen got the order, immediately acted, and went directly to Chenzhou, but the tragic situation along the way made him frightened, and countless homeless people, everywhere, dragged their families with their mouths, all came in the direction of the capital.

Many people fell down on the way, and the hungry people would secretly boil the corpses and eat them.

Wang Gongchen's scalp was numb, and he was covered in cold sweat, this has not yet arrived in Chenzhou, it is so miserable, what will happen to the local area of Chenzhou, I dare not imagine!

Just when Wang Gongchen was rushing to Chenzhou, another news suddenly came that a batch of grain delivered to Chenzhou, as much as 50,000 stones, actually overturned in the canal, and the rice was flooded, and it spoiled in a few days, and it was inedible at all.

This news is undoubtedly another cold water pour, which makes it worse.

The surrounding places are not rich, and if you want to mobilize grain, you are afraid that it will take more than a month, and at this time the summer grain is still being harvested, and when the grain is paid taxes, the daylily is cold.

Jia Chang poured blood into his eyes. Crazy muttering: food, food, where to find food?