Faced with Liu Ji's move, the important ministers present were immediately stunned.

It is said that Liu Ji is the closest person to the emperor, so he should naturally be more aware of the emperor's temperament, and the emperor has no reason to accept the plan of Zhou Jing.

However, this Shoufu actually stood up at this time and took the lead in supporting Zhou Jing's plan, which made people suddenly confused.

Liu Ji was not surprised by everyone's reaction, but explained with a smile: "The reason why the old man supports this plan is because the Ming Dynasty started with the locust plague, so he also thought that he should follow the way of heaven. ”

When Yin Zhi and the others heard this explanation, they also felt relieved.

According to the history books: In the fourth year of Zhengzheng, there was a drought and locusts, and there was a great famine. Taizu was seventeen years old, and his parents and brothers died one after another, and he was too poor to be buried. ……。 Taizu was lonely, but entered the Huangjue Temple as a monk.

If there was no locust plague, Taizu would probably still be an honest farmer in his hometown, but it would be impossible for him to leave home at a young age, and naturally he would not have achieved a great cause later.

Combined with the current situation, no one can be 100% sure that the method of extermination will be effective, and fasting and opening a warehouse to release grain is a safe way.

Zhu Youzhu was a little surprised by Liu Ji's actions, but when he heard Liu Ji throw out this statement, he also understood that this first assistant chose to be biased towards metaphysics.

The problem this time was not only the locusts themselves, but the courtiers present who were able to break the original fixed metaphysical thinking and adopt a more positive way to solve the problem.

Throughout the ages, there have been too many problems that have been pushed to the heavens irreversibly, resulting in the stagnation of the entire society, causing the dynasty to fall into the cycle of the beginning of the week.

Zhu Youzhu silently sipped the tea, and with his vision, he could naturally see through the fog ahead, but he didn't plan to do everything himself, but to wait and see the changes here.

Han Youying looked at the mature man in front of her, and felt more and more that this man was so charming.

The imperial study room is very quiet at this time.

"What is the way of heaven, it should be people-oriented! Now that the locusts are raging, there is no reason for them to be indestructible, so it is natural that the whole people should be mobilized to exterminate the locusts together. Even if there are thousands of locusts, we will kill thousands of them! Liu Xuan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, was unmoved and insisted on his own position.

Since seeing the cruelty of the battlefield in Liaodong, and seeing that the Ming Dynasty killed Jianyu to the point of almost extermination, he decided that there was no so-called Heavenly Dao.

As long as they stick to one direction and work hard, no matter how big the difficulties are, they will be able to overcome them and win, and they will pray to God and Buddha for everything.

What's more, now that the Ming Dynasty has a Ming monarch in charge, the government and the opposition are unprecedentedly united, why do you want to blindly kneel to the gods to petition, and not actively hunt locusts to avoid greater harm?

"Not bad! We must not rest on our laurels or allow the disaster to spread. If the whole people are to kill the locusts together, how can the locusts be killed? "Hubu Shangshu Li Si is well aware of the harm of the locust plague, and he also takes a clear stand.

Liu Ji saw that Li Yu and Yin Zhi looked impatient, and realized that his first assistant did not have much appeal at all, and his old face suddenly felt hot.

But without waiting for others to continue to express their positions, they hurriedly asked everyone to start voting: "Let's talk too much, let's start voting now!" ”

Zhu Youzhu immediately captured Liu Ji's careful thoughts, but this Shoufu was inevitably a little competitive, and he was also happy with the final voting result of this matter next to him.

The new imperial court that he has painstakingly built is also implementing his pragmatic governing philosophy, and he only hopes not to let himself down too much.

The voting soon began, with one side being the Protector faction headed by Liu Ji, the first assistant, and Zhou Jing, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, and on the other hand, the extermination faction headed by officials such as Liu Xuan, the secretary of the Ministry of War, and Li Si, the secretary of the household department.

Liu Ji actually played a small trick and proposed that the important ministers who supported Zhou Jing raise their hands.

Zhou Jing, the left attendant of the Ministry of Rites, and Li Dongyang, the right attendant of the Ministry of Rites, did not hesitate at all, and raised their hands high.

Wu Yu, the left waiter of the household department, went to Shandong a few years ago as the head of the household department, and he knew the difficulties of the people at the bottom, but he watched the performance of Liu Ji and others coldly.

Liu Zhong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, has seen too many people's sufferings in Huguang over the years, which in their eyes is a trivial matter of a little less harvest, but it can often cost the life of a family, and his heart has not wavered at all.

Although Wang Yue could not speak here because he concurrently served as the supervisor of the Imperial History of the Left Capital of the Metropolitan Procuratorate, as one of the cabinet ministers, he also had the right to vote, and his failure to raise his hand was also a kind of voting.

Jia Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Works, and Li Yu, the secretary of the Ministry of Officials, are authentic imperial parties, so naturally there is no reason to raise their hands.

Since most of the six squires present were directly promoted from the divisional staff, they lacked the previous squire of the six squires who had the same seniority, and were more thinking about how to do practical things for the people, so they were naturally more inclined to hunt and kill locusts for the whole people.

One second, two seconds, three seconds!

Liu Ji saw that the person who raised his hand could count it with one hand, and immediately knew the final result.

Although the dignified Shoufu stood in line, the current imperial court was obviously more energetic and had a strong adventurous spirit, so it advocated that the whole people should win the locust extermination by an absolute advantage.

Zhou Jing and Li Dongyang looked at each other silently, although they expected this result, they still sighed secretly when they saw such a big disparity.

Liu Ji felt like he had been slapped in the face, although he was a dignified first assistant, his influence was much lower than he wanted.

It's just that after all, it's an old fritter in officialdom, and it's impossible to be ashamed of yourself because of this one-sided defeat.

Liu Ji quickly adjusted his mentality, and there was no trace of frustration on his face: "Your Majesty, today the proposal to exterminate locusts by the whole people has been passed with a high vote, please make it clear!" ”

Although the important ministers present are the most important participants, the final decision has always been in the hands of the emperor above, and it needs the nod of the above person to implement it.

The corners of Zhu Youji's mouth rose slightly, and he was quite satisfied with the results of this vote, proving that his cultivation over the years had not been in vain, and many important ministers had slowly focused on working hard to rejuvenate the country.

Of course, the reason for such a good effect is also due to the fact that he has reshaped the promotion system of officials, so that officials know that only by doing things can they be reused.

People are inert, and officials are no exception.

If the emperor fasts, the local government is responsible for opening warehouses and releasing grain, and not only do they not need to do things and take responsibility, but they can even benefit from it, so they naturally do not bother to hunt and kill locusts for the whole people.

If promotion is based on personal performance, it is necessary to examine the management ability of officials, and the qualifications that officials are proud of become worthless, then there will naturally be more officials who do things.

In the final analysis, the rulers of the world are governed first, and now after Zhu Youzhi abolished the court push system, a promotion system that measures merit and debt is being adopted to stimulate the enthusiasm of officials.

The way of heaven will eventually be defeated by greed.

Zhu Youzhu took a sip of tea lightly, and said quietly: "Since the plan for the whole people to exterminate locusts has been passed, then you Aiqing will discuss how to organize the whole people to exterminate locusts!" ”

"Yes!" Liu Ji and other important ministers received instructions from the emperor, and they also responded respectfully.

The imperial study has become a place for decision-making on major national affairs, causing the eunuchs to tiptoe in and out.

"Since we want to organize the people to exterminate locusts, we need organizers, and we also need to set up institutions for statistical rewards. The official thought that the prefect would organize the extermination of locusts, and that the general judge at the higher level would be responsible for verifying and distributing the rewards, while the prefect would supervise it. The key to the elimination of locusts in the whole people is that everyone should actively eradicate locusts, and this county cannot actively eradicate locusts, but neighboring counties are perfunctory. Based on this, the responsibility for controlling locusts should also be shared at all levels, and if lower-level officials fail to control locusts, they will be punished by higher-level officials, forming a vertical joint and several responsibility system! Li Yu, the secretary of the ministry, took the lead in throwing out the plan.

Jia Jun, the secretary of the Ministry of Industry, and others heard Li Yu say so thoroughly, especially the responsibility system, which won everyone's recognition, so they also expressed their approval.

"Eliminating locusts is not limited to manpower, ducks eat hundreds of locusts every day. Locust plagues are usually two or three years in a row, and now we must not only treat the current locust plague, but also prevent next year's plague, so we can encourage people to raise ducks! Limited to next year, all duck breeding homes can be counted to kill thousands of locusts for rewards! "Li Si, the head of the household, has been concerned about the control of locusts for a long time, and he has also found his own plan.

"When this official was in Huguang, he also encountered a plague of locusts! In fact, locusts do not eat legumes and cotton, in order to prevent the destruction of locust plague next year, people can also be encouraged to grow cotton and legumes next year! Liu Zhong, the secretary of the Criminal Department, immediately expressed his support.

The three Shangshu took turns to speak, and a plan that seemed very mature and comprehensive had been released, and the wisdom of the elites of this era should not be underestimated.

The corners of Zhu Youji's mouth rose slightly, and he already knew about the wisdom of these ancients, so he didn't feel too surprised.

Practice has revealed the truth, and some biological habits have long been made clear to the people at the bottom, and they can even use their experience to eliminate locusts and prevent locusts.

It's just that the thought of praising the elites of these three eras just now flashed by, but he was almost choked by the next words.

"I came from a poor background, and when I was a child, I used to play with people in the wilderness, catching locusts and roasting them with fire, so why not encourage everyone to hunt and kill locusts and eat them?" Xu Qiong also wanted to work hard to express herself, and immediately put forward her own ideas.

When these words came out, although some important ministers thought that Xu Ge Lao's words were reasonable, more people immediately showed a bitter smile.

The locust family is very large, with more than 8,000 species in total.

The locusts seen in the field are indeed edible, but the locusts in the locust plague are social locust species, which not only have stronger destructive power, but also often carry toxins in their bodies.

Although eating this kind of plague locust may not necessarily die, the toxin of locusts is objective, so there is a certain probability of causing disease, and some people even die because of it.

If the imperial court mobilizes the people to eat locusts, they can indeed get protein, but it is not much different from the lives of grass and people, and only a cabinet minister like Xu Qiong, who knows little about agriculture, can propose such an unreliable plan.

In fact, the people did not think about catching this kind of locust, burning and frying, but the toxins obtained after eating it remained in the body, which made them more awe-inspiring and even agreed that this locust plague was indeed a warning from God to the Son of Heaven.

As for the dignified cabinet ministers throwing out this plan, it also reflects that the important ministers are too far away from the people at the bottom, even Xu Qiong, who was born poor, has already left the people at the bottom.

"Ridiculous, plague locusts are not the same as ordinary locusts, and eating them is life-threatening!" Yin Zhi knew that the plague locusts were not edible at all, so he reprimanded unceremoniously.

He and Xu Qiong are both cabinet ministers, so it is said that his attitude should be polite, but Yin Zhi is a person who is not right about things. Now, when I hear such a proposal that harms the people, I have relentlessly jumped out to accuse it.

Xu Qiong has always been angry that Yin Zhi grabbed the position of his second assistant, and now seeing Yin Zhi counting himself down so ruthlessly, he is also ready to argue.

For a moment, the air was filled with the smell of gunpowder.

Liu Ji saw that the signs were wrong, but he was the first to comfort them: "The locusts in this field are very similar to the plague locusts, and misidentification is also a common thing!" I'm not afraid of your jokes, the old man thought it was the same thing earlier, and he didn't want it to be very different, hehe......"

As the dignified cabinet head suke jumped out, and he was so self-deprecating to himself, the atmosphere around him eased a little.

Hum!

Xu Qiong realized that she had made a mistake, but Yin Zhi's words were like a thorn in her heart, but she was secretly determined to find a place in the future.

Li Yu, the secretary of the ministry, smelled a hint of gunpowder, so he secretly exchanged a look with Li Si, the secretary of the household department.

Officialdom is actually like this, not to mention the hostile camp, even if it is the same camp, it is easy to have contradictions. This matter can only be said that Yin Zhi is too straightforward, and this has offended Xu Qiong, who has a small belly.

However, the current court battles are becoming more and more rare, and they are more likely to use hidden arrows to hurt people.

"If it's locust prevention, there is an ancient way to prevent locusts!"

It was at this time that Zhu Youzhu suddenly showed his face in the attic above.

Today's Zhu Youzhu is very much like the great leaders of later generations, once he stands up to speak, the important ministers below are all obedient and obedient.

Not to mention that Zhu Youzhu is an emperor with great talents, even if he is a mediocre monarch, there are not many people who dare to challenge Zhu Youji's authority.

Zhu Youzhu faced everyone's eyes and said in an astonishing voice: "I usually study here, and I once saw in an ancient book that if the grass ash and lime are crushed into fine dust and sprinkled on the grain, the locusts will not eat the crops. In locust plagues, you can try this method to prevent locusts and protect your own food and crops! ”

"Your Majesty Shengming!" When Li Yu and the others heard the ancient method obtained by Zhu Youji, they seemed to believe in the authenticity unconditionally.

At the end of the meeting, the important ministers dispersed.

They walked out of Xiyuan Gate one after another, which was actually very close to Jiangmi Lane, and some officials who had no major health problems even chose to walk back to their yamen.

Although there is a consensus on locust control and locust prevention, it is inevitable that some people will have concerns about the situation.

Wu Yu, the left attendant of the household department, left with Li Si, and said worriedly: "Lord Zhengtang, what do you think of the method that His Majesty proposed just now?" ”

"Whether it's feasible or not, let's try it and find out! It's just that Your Majesty has always been steady, and since it has been proposed, this method must be feasible! Although Li Si was not sure, he still cast a vote of confidence.

Although the emperor's words are becoming fewer and fewer now, they give people a more unfathomable feeling, and the words spoken now are simply every word.

Since ducks eat locusts, and locusts do not eat cotton and leguminous seedlings, it is not surprising that they are afraid of a mixture of lime and plant ash.

Wu Yu, the left attendant of the household department, found that this was indeed the reason, but when he saw that there was no one around, he couldn't help but say: "Liu Ge Lao behaves abnormally today, I don't know what the reason is?" ”

"It's either the emperor's temptation, or Liu Ge's temptation, and now the old man can't say it well! It's just that you really think that Liu Ge would dare to break hands with the emperor? Li Si came to his sedan chair, but asked rhetorically.

Wu Yu, the left attendant of the household department, knew that the current court was essentially a hall of words, and shook his head very firmly: "Liu Ge Lao is not stupid, how can he do such a self-defeating thing!" ”

"Shao Situ, the struggle of the imperial court has always existed, and you still do your duty and do your part. If you really want the gods to fight, you just have to watch from the sidelines, this kind of thing is not something you can participate in, and it's best not to get involved! Li Si walked into the sedan chair and admonished in a serious voice.

Wu Yu, the left attendant of the household department, regarded the other party as his guiding light, and respectfully bowed his hand and said: "Thank you Lord Zhengtang for your guidance, please go slowly!" ”

As soon as Li Si's sedan chair left, Wu Yu turned around and saw Zhou Jing and Li Dongyang walking out together.

Unlike him, who needs to transition to a local governor, Zhou Jing and Li Dongyang are both ministers and emperors, but they can completely step into the position of the six Shangshu in one step.

He knew that the two of them had just been called to the cabinet by Xu Qiong, and when he saw the appearance of these two people, he faintly felt that someone was about to fall under the Six Shangshu.

A court battle without gunpowder smoke is probably about to start quietly. (End of chapter)