allonlinenovel Chapter 1313 News of the Locust Plague Arrives in Beijing
Chapter 1313 News of the Locust Plague Arrives in Beijing
Watching Xiang He and his group walk further and further away, Yu Zhengqing sighed inwardly.
Shen Zheng is in Liuyang Prefecture with her parents and daughter, and her son is in Hunyuan. She will be leaving the capital soon to go to a local area.
They don't know when their family will be able to reunite.
He stamped his foot and stepped onto the carriage.
"Go to the Vermilion Bird Gate."
Just do what you're told.
During his stay in the capital, he still had to attend court assemblies to prevent some treacherous individuals from secretly impeaching him and Shen Zheng.
The wheels rumbled, pressing down the newly formed morning dew as they headed towards the imperial city.
"drive--!"
A loud shout rang out from behind the carriage, followed by the rapid sound of hooves as the carriage sped forward.
The coachman, gazing at the blurry figure on horseback, said uncertainly, "Sir, it seems to be a messenger from one of the surrounding prefectures of Liuyang, heading towards the capital..."
Yu Zhengqing frowned slightly.
By the time he lifted the carriage curtain, the horse carrying the messenger had already disappeared.
......
At dawn, in the Golden Palace.
As soon as the officials entered the hall, they noticed that the emperor did not look well.
Do not......
That's no longer just "not very good," it's very bad, extremely bad.
"Snapped--"
The emperor threw a letter at Eunuch Hong.
"Let Ji Qing take a good look."
As he watched Eunuch Hong approach with small, quick steps, his face clearly saying, "Your Ministry of Revenue is in big trouble," Ji Benchang felt a chill run from his head to his feet.
I took the envelope and opened the letter.
After reading only the first few words, Ji Benchang knelt down: "This old minister has failed in his duty to govern and has neglected his duties. I beg Your Majesty for punishment!"
Beside him, Guo Bizheng just wanted to laugh out loud three hundred times.
What did that sentence say?
Fortune turns like a wheel, prosperity and decline are not without reason, the way of heaven is cyclical, and no one can escape the wrath of heaven.
In the ever-flowing undercurrents of the imperial court, those who have the last laugh have been few and far between throughout history.
"Lord Ji, what exactly happened?" Guo Bizheng asked, his face full of worry, adding insult to injury. "Is there a problem with the Ministry of Revenue's accounts?"
Upon seeing the word "locust plague" on the letter, Ji Benchang couldn't have been happier that there was a problem with the accounts.
Accounting errors can be corrected.
But once locusts take flight, they can no longer turn back into eggs!
"Your Majesty..." Ji Benchang held the letter and looked up: "Once the locusts are eradicated, this old minister is willing to accept any punishment! But the most urgent task is to capture and kill the locusts, exterminate the locust nymphs, prepare grain for disaster relief, and suppress grain prices. I urge Your Majesty to issue an order immediately to open the granaries and release grain!"
"Boom-"
Ji Benchang slammed his forehead heavily against the gold brick.
The hall was silent for a moment, then a thunderous roar seemed to explode.
"A locust plague?!" The officials were shocked. After regaining their composure, they asked urgently, "Lord Ji, where is the locust plague? And which way is the wind blowing?!"
Many places are currently in the midst of autumn harvest. If locusts swarm and cause a plague, the scale will be enormous. If the disaster gets out of control, at best people will be displaced, and at worst...
Shake the foundation of the country.
An official wiped the cold sweat from his brow and tentatively asked, "Lord Ji, it's not Liuyang Prefecture, is it? As long as the high-yield rice in Liuyang Prefecture is alright, then the problem isn't too serious..."
Ji Benchang's eyes were glued to the letter.
The good news is that the prefecture affected by the disaster is Yanzhou, not Liuyang.
The bad news is...
“Yanzhou and Liuyang are only separated by Fuzhou…” He barely had the strength to speak.
"Yanzhou?!" Yu Zhengqing pushed Guo Bizheng aside, squatted down and snatched the letter.
"A locust plague has broken out in the swamp west of Yanzhou City, darkening the sky and obscuring the sun, caused by a southwest wind...?" Looking at the words "southwest wind" on the letter, Yu Zhengqing's face turned deathly pale, seemingly in disbelief: "When I left, Liuyang Prefecture was perfectly fine. How... how could it just happen to be a southwest wind..."
The officials' expressions froze, and even Guo Bizheng, who had been kicking someone when they were down, couldn't help but change his expression: "Isn't Liuyang Prefecture just located in the southwest of Yanzhou?"
stunned.
I was filled with fear and unease.
Worry.
collapse.
Several negative emotions intertwined within the hall.
An official murmured, "It takes at least half a month for a fast horse to travel from Yanzhou to the capital. Now, it seems Liuyang Prefecture is..."
It has already fallen.
"Stop making wild guesses!" Ji Benchang's eyes were bloodshot as he uttered words he himself didn't believe: "Lord Shen is in Liuyang Prefecture. She... she can definitely protect the rice paddies and ensure next year's rice crops..."
Yu Zhengqing pursed his lips, unusually not agreeing with the statement.
I cannot agree with this.
Yu Zhengqing knew very well what was going on.
If everyone believes that Shen Zheng should, must, and definitely can protect the rice paddies of Liuyang Prefecture, then once Liuyang Prefecture falls, Shen Zheng will become the target of public criticism, burdened with a fabricated crime that does not belong to her.
"Your Majesty!" Yu Zhengqing knelt down: "I believe that it is not appropriate to pursue accountability at the moment. Sending people to investigate the disaster situation, issuing orders for disaster prevention, and opening granaries to distribute grain for disaster relief are the most urgent tasks!"
The Emperor's face was ashen, and he spoke slowly and deliberately: "Order all officials and civilians in the prefectures along the way to work together to catch locusts and prevent the disaster from spreading; the officials of the Ministry of Revenue shall travel lightly with a small entourage to Liuyang to investigate whether Liuyang Prefecture has fallen; prepare disaster relief grain immediately, and everyone must not fail to do so!"
"Your Majesty, we obey!"
Ji Benchang was the first to rush out of the Golden Palace, but because he was too eager, he fell directly from the first step of the Heavenly Ladder to the eighth step.
"Lord Ji!"
Before the vice minister could help him up, he had already limped down three more steps.
In the blink of an eye, the Golden Palace fell silent.
Except for Eunuch Hong, all the palace servants were dismissed by the emperor.
"Hong Banban." The Emperor stared out of the palace, his back no longer as straight as before, and a hint of bewilderment appeared in his expression: "Do you think... Shen Qing can hold out?"
Eunuch Hong moved his lips, but before he could speak, the Emperor continued, "I hope Minister Shen can hold out, but I also know that for a swarm of locusts, devouring the crops of three or four prefectures is an easy task..."
"His Majesty......"
As soon as Eunuch Hong called out, the Emperor continued, "If Shen Zheng fails to defend Liuyang, I will not blame her. After all, mortals are inherently difficult to contend with natural disasters, and locust plagues are no ordinary natural disasters. I just find it ironic that our Great Zhou has a vast territory and many prefectures, yet this locust plague... just happened to occur near Liuyang Prefecture."
He never intended to belittle the people of other prefectures.
I just feel that if the Great Zhou Dynasty is destined to suffer a locust plague this year, then...
"Ugh."
Sighs echoed within the Golden Palace.
......
After receiving news of the locust plague in Yanzhou, Ji Benchang has not closed his eyes again.
Even the emperor.
Two days have passed, and rumors are starting to circulate in the capital.
Some say that the locust plague is divine retribution, a sign that Heaven is displeased with the people of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Some say that the Ministry of Revenue's ineffective supervision means the Minister of Revenue's good days are over.
Some people also said that grain prices are about to rise, so they should hurry up and stock up on grain.
These rumors, some true and some false, some worrying and some calculating, are like a fine net, silently covering the sky above Beijing.
On the third day of the court assembly, a messenger entered the palace and delivered a second urgent report.
Urgent report: Three days after the locust plague in Yanzhou, Shen Zheng, the prefect of Liuyang, personally went to Fuzhou to work with Jiang Zhiming, the prefect of Fuzhou, to drive away the locusts. The outcome of the locust control efforts is still unknown.