Great Zhou, the imperial city.

People have good and bad luck, and the sky has unpredictable storms and clouds.

Su Yuzhe accompanied Chen Yunhuang back to Dachen, and after dealing with some government affairs, he happily led Yunhuang back to Da Zhou, preparing to hold a wedding banquet and marry a wife, but he didn't expect the imperial city to be desolate and gloomy.

The mountains and wilderness are all scorched, and everywhere you look, there are dense locusts!

They gnaw and chew on all green plants, including flowers, trees, crops and vegetables......

At the beginning of summer, the golden season for crops to grow, suffered from this catastrophe, and almost "wiped out"!

The locusts are dancing wildly, like a dark cloud covering the sky and the sun, which is shocking and unbearable.

The people complained of misery, and their families were closed, and they could not live in fear.

As if they were facing a great enemy, the officers and men mobilized their troops and hurriedly hunted and killed locusts, but with little success......

Su Yuzhen settled Yunhuang first, let her rest well, and hurried to Mingrui Hall to gather the ministers to ask for details.

"Your Majesty, this is a natural disaster, and it is beyond the control of man!" Zhou Ziheng sighed, "Just the night before yesterday, overnight, thousands of locusts flew in from nowhere, they plagued people day and night, looted the people's rations, plundered the farmers' belongings, the crops were reduced to nothing, and the livestock were only white bones, so they couldn't prevent it at all!" ”

"What is even more annoying is that hundreds of thousands of hungry displaced people have followed the locusts." Pang Rui said, "The last general has been busy leading troops around to catch locusts all day long, preventing the displaced people from entering the imperial city. There are many locusts and many displaced people, which is simply exhausting. ”

Lu Dongchen, the head of the household department, said, "These homeless people traveled thousands of miles to the mountains and rivers, and after arriving in the imperial city, they had nothing to do, and gathered at the gate of the city and all the streets and alleys all day to meditate, and some people starved to death every day. The household department sent more people to help the victims, but I didn't expect that the more relief was given to the victims...... Weichen was really a little flustered. ”

"Your Majesty, there is one more thing, Wei Chen thinks about it, I don't know whether to talk about it or not."

The Imperial Historian Saike is frugal.

"What?"

"Recently, it has been rumored in the palace that the queen is the head of the harem, and if the person who ascends to the throne loses his virtue, he will definitely bring disaster to the Great Zhou......"

"Oh? Is the queen virtuous? Why? ”

Su Yuzhe looked at Sai Kejian with a smile, and his heart was already full of anger, someone actually made a big fuss about natural and man-made disasters.

"The seventh princess of Da Chen, Chen Yunhuang, gave birth to a child out of wedlock......"

As soon as Sai Kejian started, he was interrupted by Su Yuzhe's angry shout.

"Your Majesty is angry. Originally, His Majesty's wedding was all ready, and I didn't want to suffer such a catastrophe, I am afraid it would be a bad omen! ”

Sai Kejian was so frightened that he quickly knelt down and kowtowed, and had the courage to finish his words.

"Nonsense! That child is the adopted son of the widow and Yunhuang, how can he say that he has a child out of wedlock? If she doesn't marry a widow in this life, even if she gives birth to a child out of wedlock, she will also give birth to a widow's dragon, why not? Su Yuzhe looked around at the ministers, "Empress Chen Yunhuang of Dachen is willing to deign to marry a widow, and the widow is grateful for the grace of heaven, and is proud of it, which is regarded as good luck." After that, anyone who dares to spread rumors and slander in vain will blame the ruthlessness of the widows! ”

The ministers said yes.

Looking at the military generals who were kneeling on the ground, Su Yuzhen couldn't help but feel upset.

He walked out of the Mingrui Hall and looked in the direction of the city gate, his face was unprecedentedly solemn.

As far as the eye can see, a huge number of locusts envelop the imperial city like a cloud of mist, exerting their might everywhere; Groups of displaced people gather in the streets and alleys, and from time to time there will be tragic incidents of robbery and stampede......

When he and Yunhuang passed by the city gate together, they looked down from the sky, so many homeless people crowded the city gate, and the number was staggering.

These exiles are all the people of the Great Zhou!

They left their homeland and came to the imperial city through hardships, pinning their hopes for survival on the court and the emperor.

If the emperor rewarded them with food, they could continue to live; If the emperor refuses to reward them, they will fall in the imperial city and die at the feet of the Son of Heaven.

They are silently and resolutely resisting with a meek death.

They want to wake up the powerful and let them witness the most tragic scene in the world, when their people are starving, tormented by hunger, misery and despair, and their wives are separated and their families are ruined!

Coupled with the rampant locust plague, the imperial city of the Great Zhou Dynasty is suffering from the largest natural and man-made disasters in history, such as the crossing of the army, and the people are struggling and devastated.

If they are ignored, they will be followed by plagues and riots, and bandits from all over the country will also take the opportunity to gather and secretly collude with officials who have disobedience to the DPRK and China, and commit rebellion and usurp power like Zhen Hong, Liu Delin, and Zhou Daomei in the past.

Then, the internal strife will lead to external troubles, and the enemy country will take advantage of the weakness to enter, and then the army will be overwhelmed, and the Great Zhou will inevitably fall into dire straits......

When the time comes, he and Yunhuang will have to deal with the war again, gathering less and leaving more......

Without further ado, you need to make a decision now.

Su Yuzhen adjusted his emotions and returned to the hall, and said calmly, "Lord Lu, the incident of the displaced people will happen every few years, and the household department has a variety of response plans. Moreover, at the beginning of the new dynasty, a series of new policies were announced to stabilize grain prices, why did local grain prices only rise but not fall, and the people had no rice to cook? ”

"This ......"

Lu Dongchen wanted to speak and stopped.

"If you hide it, you have the responsibility to cover it up!"

Su Yuzhen said in a deep voice.

"Your Majesty, Weichen does have something to do, but it's just ......"

Lu Dongchen glanced at Su Yuzhe.

Su Yuzhen looked around, "Retreat!" ”

The ministers saw that Su Yuzhe was in a bad mood, and they all retreated in panic.

"Your Majesty, Weichen knows everything, but there are many inconveniences, and I am afraid that people will hear and leak." Lu Dongchen was cautious, and when he saw Su Yuzhe nodding, he continued, "Last year's big drought and the autumn harvest failed, and now it is the time when the grass is not harvested, and the price of rice has soared to 5,000 yuan per stone in just two months, which has skyrocketed dozens of times, and it is still in short supply......

"Why?"

"Originally, the household department opened a warehouse to release grain to help the displaced people, and the area around Pingqi and Xunyang, where there was a famine, had achieved remarkable results, but I didn't want to, but the local official Lu Ye found that it was profitable, so he teamed up with his subordinates to deduct public grain, raise grain prices, fill their private pockets, and make a lot of money in the country......."

When Lu Dongchen said this, he raised his eyes to look at Su Yuzhe, as if there was something unspeakable.

"How audacious! Knowing that this person is making a hindrance, the Ministry of Officials will cut their posts and deal with them after they have copied and corrupted the ink! ”

"Your Majesty, this Lu Ye is none other than the nephew of the eunuch Lu Chen, who is in charge of your daily life." Lu Dongchen reminded, "No one dares to touch him." ”

"How can this be true? summoned this Lu Ye into the palace, and the widow asked him face to face, who gave him the courage to dare to be so arrogant. If it is really Lu Chen, he will be sent to the frontier to fill the army at the same time! ”

Su Yuzhe was furious.

Lu Dongchen received the order to leave, Su Yuzhe closed his eyes and breathed for a moment, got up and went back to the palace to find Yunhuang.

Yunhuang was talking to Sai Xi Shi, and when he saw Su Yuzhen coming back, Sai Xi Shi retired with interest.

Yun Huang looked at Su Yuzhe, the corners of his lips curled slightly seemed to be smiling, and he looked delicate and lovely.

"What are you looking at me like that?"

Su Yuzhen couldn't help but take her over and kiss her.