"When he came, Yao Ge Lao confessed that the local officials who performed well in this locust extermination should be promoted to the imperial court first. Officials who resist the extermination of locusts will not hesitate to be dismissed on the spot. ”

Li Tao's words made Ni Ruoshui shake a lot, and there was a reason for this.

In the second year of Kaiyuan, Li Longji issued a book to select erudite and capable people to serve in the Beijing officials, and awarded the posts of governor and assassin history; Similarly, among the local officials, those with outstanding political achievements are promoted to Beijing officials. As soon as this book was issued, many well-equipped Beijing officials took up their posts, and Ni Ruoshui, who was the right man of Shangshu, was sent to Bianzhou to serve as the assassin because of this book. Shang Shu Youcheng is a fourth-grade official, while Bianzhou Thorn Shi is a third-grade official, which can be regarded as a promotion. However, for a long time, officialdom has had the concept of valuing Beijing officials and ignoring foreign officials, so Ni Ruoshui is still sullen.

When Ni Ruoshui arrived in Bianzhou, it happened that a magistrate named Ban Jing was also transferred from Yangzhou to Chang'an to serve as the Shaoqing of Dali because of this edict. Passing by Bianzhou, Ni Ruoshui gave him a farewell, and his eyes were red with envy. After drinking the farewell wine, seeing Banjing's horse disappear, Ni Ruoshui stood in the dust, motionless, his eyes straightened.

He said to his subordinates: "Ban Sheng is here, how strange is it to become an immortal!" ”

His subordinates persuaded him: "People have gone away, there is a lot of dust here, let's go back." ”

Ni Ruoshui was still reluctant to leave: "Where is this dust, it's clearly fairy dust!" Let me get a little more immortal. ”

Although Ni Ruoshui is reluctant to be a magistrate, he still has talent, and he wants to return to Chang'an as soon as possible. I worked very hard in Bianzhou.

It is precisely because of this that Li Tao will earnestly induce Ni Ruoshui, if he is replaced by someone else. Why does he need so much nonsense?

Under Li Tao's coercion and temptation, Ni Ruoshui's attitude finally relaxed. He snorted: "King Lantian, I understand, but now that the extermination of locusts in Bianzhou has been delayed, how can this be good?" ”

Li Tao waved his hand and said: "This is not necessarily, maybe the locusts will commit suicide, let's go to the city first!" ”

"Locusts kill themselves?" Ni Ruoshui's eyes almost popped out. He still had to ask carefully, but he saw that Li Tao had already mounted his horse and went to the city.

The second day of arrival in Bianzhou. The retinue sent by Li Tao also returned.

"Master, the locust extermination envoy arrived in Bianzhou two days ago, and among the six counties under Bianzhou, two county orders that did not cooperate with the locust extermination were dismissed. Represented by the exterminator of locusts. Locust eradication has now begun in all six counties. A total of 13,000 locusts were destroyed in two days. ”

Listening to the report of Li Tao's entourage, Ni Ruoshui was stunned. Three days ago, the locust extermination envoys sent by the imperial court did arrive in Bianzhou in six groups of twenty people, and they asked Ni Ruoshui to cooperate in the extermination of locusts, but Ni Ruoshui insisted on waiting for the Qin mission to come. Later, the post house officials came to report that these people had left Bianzhou City and were missing. Dare these people crossed Ni Ruoshui and went directly to the counties to exterminate locusts.

"Thirteen thousand quintals. Yes, it seems to be working well. Li Tao nodded with satisfaction.

"Are these locusts really committing suicide?" Ni Ruoshui still didn't believe it.

"Lord Ni doesn't believe it, you can personally send someone to investigate." Li Tao said with a smile.

Another day passed, and the official sent by Ni Ruoshui to investigate returned.

"Lord Thorn Shi, I took someone to Xiaolizhuang outside Bianzhou City to investigate, and I also came back with the dead locusts to report to the lord."

"Oh? How many to bring back? Ni Ruoshui hurriedly asked.

The official said, "My lord, you better go and see for yourself!" ”

Ni Ruoshui hurriedly walked outside to take a look, only to see seven or eight carriages stopped along the road, there were several officials moving baskets down from the carriages, not much effort, there were fifty or sixty baskets on the ground, Ni Ruoshui looked forward, the baskets were full of dead locusts.

The official who went to inquire came over and said, "Please inspect the goods, this is just a locust that Xiao Li Zhuang killed overnight." ”

Ni Ruoshui asked the officer: "Did you see with your own eyes that he killed him overnight?" ”

The official replied, "Yes, my lord, Li Zheng had dozens of fires burned in the ground, and then sprinkled some medicine into the fire, and soon a large swarm of locusts flew in, and some of them flew into the fire and burned to death, and many of them were piled up on the ground and killed with a broom. ”

Ni Ruoshui was convinced, and he sighed: "I didn't expect this locust to really commit suicide." ”

Li Tao laughed and said: "Actually, it was not suicide, it was a special medicine put in the fire, and the medicine gas floated into the air, luring the locusts to come and throw themselves into the fire and take the opportunity to extinguish them." ”

"In this way, it will not be difficult to destroy the locusts." Ni Ruoshui also felt relieved.

"It's not so easy, it's just the beginning!" Li Tao poured cold water on Ni Ruoshui: "From tomorrow, I will inspect the counties to exterminate locusts, and I ask Ni Tingshi to send me someone who is familiar with the situation." ”

"King Lantian, why don't you go with you!" Ni Ruoshui asked Li Tao for advice.

"You are in Bianzhou, coordinating and supervising the extermination of locusts in various places, counting the disaster situation, and making preparations for disaster relief. You don't have to go down. ”

……

On the cold food festival in the third year of Kaiyuan, on the outskirts of Chenliu County, more than a dozen people looked around with their hands in their hands.

"It seems that the locust plague in Bianzhou is really not light!" Li Tao said to Yang Xuangui beside him with a solemn expression.

Yang Xuangui was a Sihu in Bianzhou to join the army, and because he was familiar with the situation in various parts of Bianzhou, he was sent by Ni Ruoshui to Li Tao as a guide.

"Yes!"

As soon as Yang Xuangui's words fell, he heard Pei Yue shouting: "Look! ”

Li Tao looked up, only to see that the mountains in the distance were still covered with a layer of clouds, and the locusts had begun to migrate in their direction. For a while, the locusts flew sideways, and the black pressed a large area, flying and whirring.

As the locusts flew by, the locusts in the ground suddenly increased, and they tumbled in the southwest direction like flowing water, forming gray and yellow lumps, wriggling like rolling balls, and stepping on a foot, the locust liquid splashed all over the feet and legs, and the timid people were suddenly frightened. Locusts have an excellent "appetite" and are never picky when eating. In short, wherever the locusts rolled, the ground was immediately white.

Not far from Li Tao, I saw a woman with two teenagers, running with a bamboo pole to fight locusts, wherever the bamboo pole went, the locusts rose and fell, in the air and on the ground, up and down, and the whole valley was shrouded in locusts. I don't know if the locusts are too hungry, or if they are extraordinarily bold, regardless of the beating, they scream vigorously, and while eating, only listening to the rumbling sound of chewing in the valley, the sound of falling, they have nothing to do, and they look worriedly at the green seedlings crawling with locusts.

"Let's go, go up and help!" As he spoke, Li Tao rushed forward.

After working for a long time, the woman invited Li Tao and others to rest at home, and when she returned home, the woman lifted the lid of the pot, and the locusts went to the soup and put themselves in the pot. The "locust army" not only gnawed away the household utensils, but also gnawed the god of wealth, the family hall, and the stove painting shaft to the hole, and the wooden ancestral box was also full, making people panic and at a loss. (To be continued......)