After some simple preparations, Li Er led a group of civil and military officials to Lantian County on horseback.
The Tangs worshipped martial arts, especially in the early Tang Dynasty. At this time, not only did the generals know how to ride horses, but also the civil officials. As the Emperor, Li Er would not choose to travel in the dragon carriage, but on horseback, because riding a horse was much more convenient than sitting in the dragon carriage!
"Xiaoxuan, tell me the truth. When you bought chicken seedlings in Chang 'an last year, did you already predict this year's locust plague?"
On the way, Cheng Yaojin purposely followed behind Li Zexuan. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, Cheng Yaojin hurriedly asked in a low voice.
Li Zexuan knew that when he proposed to use the Sky Chicken Brigade of 150,000 chickens to eliminate the locusts, many officials in the court began to suspect the real purpose of his purchase of chicken seedlings. Since Cheng Yaojin asked him personally, he did not hide it anymore and said in a low voice, "Uncle Cheng, Cheng Yaojin, I have told you about my fortune.
"Uncle Cheng, to tell you the truth, my master once made two divinations for the fate of the Great Tang. One of them accurately predicted the change of the Xuanwu Gate, and the other predicted that a plague of locusts would break out in the Guanzhong area in the sixth month of the second year of Zhenguan. When I left the mountain last year, the change of the Xuanwu Gate had already confirmed my master's first prophecy. Therefore, I dare not underestimate my master's second prophecy.
At the beginning, I was just a commoner. I only wanted to help my family avoid the locust plague, so I bought a large number of chicken seedlings for them. However, because of this, I was impeached by Yuan Shaoqing and entered His Majesty's field of vision! Later, I was lucky enough to make a lot of contributions and became an official. The number of farmers under me also increased, so I had to buy more chicken seedlings.
Finally, Uncle Qin realized that something was wrong. He asked me why I bought so many chicken seedlings. I had no choice but to tell him the truth. Uncle Qin exhorted me, and I woke up from my dream. Only then did I realize how heavy the burden on my shoulders was. When the locust plague really came, no matter how well prepared I was, I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to fight against it all by myself!
"Therefore, in the end, Uncle Qin found His Majesty and told him about my master's prophecy of the locust plague. His Majesty was shocked and wanted to summon me to the palace. However, that day, Yuxi was kidnapped by the bandits. I disobeyed the imperial order and went to save her. After that, His Majesty ordered me to think of a plan to cure the locusts and submit it to him. After seeing the three plans that I proposed, His Majesty found Prime Minister Fang, Prime Minister Du, and Duke Zhao. After discussing, he decided to implement new policies.
The prophecy of the locust plague is very important. Once it is leaked, it will cause a huge panic among the people. Therefore, I did not tell Uncle Cheng about this. Please forgive me! "
After listening to Li Zexuan's explanation, Cheng Yaojin finally understood the cause and effect. He thought about how he had been kept in the dark for the past year. If he had not been smart enough to ask his housekeeper to buy 30,000 chicken seedlings with Li Zexuan, his family's farm would have been plagued by the locust plague. Thinking of this, Cheng Yaojin's face darkened.
"Hey! Forgive me? Forgive my ass! In the past, this old man treated you as if you were his own nephew, yet you hid such a small matter from this old man. This old man will not forgive you easily! Unless … "
"Pfft! Madman Cheng, don't take it for granted! "
Just then, Yuchi Jingde's voice came from the side. "Last year, in the entire Chang 'an City, other than Little Xuan, you, Cheng Zhijie, bought the most chicken seedlings. You just muttered a few words to your servant. You must have ordered him to go back to the Cheng family's farm and use those chickens to eliminate the locust plague, right?"
Cheng Yaojin turned to look at Yuchi Jingde and said unhappily, "Hey! I couldn't tell that Old Black Yuchi, your eyes are quite bright despite your dark appearance. I only said a few words to my servant, and you saw it all! "
Cursing people without exposing their shortcomings, Cheng Yaojin's words almost made Yuchi Jingde explode:
"Madman Cheng, do you want to fight again?"
"Let's fight! Who's afraid of who? When we come back from Lantian County, let's fight! "
"Okay! Whoever runs this time is a grandson! "
"Okay! You're a grandson if you run! "
Seeing that these two old fellows had started bickering, Li Zexuan quietly kicked Big White's stomach and chased after Qin Qiong. It seemed that Qin Qiong was more mature and steady!
Just now, he thought that Cheng Yaojin would be angry at him, but when he heard the word "unless," he knew that Old Cheng wasn't really angry. He just wanted to use this matter to get some benefits!
"Marquis Yong 'an! His Majesty wants you to accompany him! "
Before he could say anything, an imperial guard trotted over and cupped his fists to Li Zexuan.
"He wants me to accompany him?"
Li Zexuan was stunned. When did he have such a job? But now wasn't the time to dwell on this. He quickly came back to his senses and nodded. "Okay! This Marquis will go now! "
Then, he said something to Qin Qiong and galloped to the front of the group.
"Heh! You're here? "
Li Zexuan was at the front of the group of officials. Other than the imperial guards, there were no other officials accompanying him. When Li Zexuan rode over, he attracted the envious gazes of many officials.
"Uh … Your Majesty is looking for me?"
Li Zexuan's heart skipped a beat when he heard Li Zexuan call him "you" instead of Marquis Yong 'an. He guessed that Li Zexuan wouldn't have anything nice to say.
Sure enough, Li Zexuan had a meaningful smile on his face. "I heard that you need locusts very much. I was thinking of selling you the locusts that the imperial court will buy from all over the world at twice the price. How about that?"
Li Zexuan's face darkened when he heard this. He almost vomited blood. What did he mean? Old Li wanted to be a middleman?
In the imperial court, Old Li had said that he would use his own money to buy all the locusts in the world. He had even touched the hearts of all the officials. But who would have thought that Li Zexuan would want to sell the locusts to him at a high price? Li Zexuan felt like ten thousand alpacas were galloping across his heart.
But then again, the locusts that Li Zexuan collected could only be given to Li Zexuan. Old Li's subordinates wouldn't be able to achieve meteoric success. They wouldn't be like Sun Simiao, who could use the locusts in medicine!
"What? You feel like you're losing out? I heard that last autumn, when you bought the locusts from the farmers, the price was three copper coins per catty! I'm selling them to you for one copper coin per catty. You won't lose out, right? "
Li Zexuan looked at Li Zexuan indifferently. His eyes shone with a strange light as he spoke.
Li Zexuan rolled his eyes inwardly. How could the situation be the same as last year? Locusts were everywhere now. He definitely couldn't buy them at last year's price!
But when he thought about how Li Zexuan had always taken good care of him, Li Zexuan wanted to reject him, but he swallowed his words. He cupped his hands and said,
"I won't lose out! I won't lose out! I'm willing to buy the locusts from the imperial court at twice the price! "
One copper coin per catty wasn't expensive anyway. Ten thousand strings of cash could buy eight million catties. So what if Old Li took a small advantage? When the time comes, I'll just casually process it and a plate of fried locusts can be sold for ten thousand strings of cash. It's still a huge profit!
Li Zexuan thought in his heart.
"Mm! Good! Alright, you can leave now! "
Li Er took a deep look at Li Zexuan and said with a joyful expression.
Li Zexuan was speechless. Did this count as being kicked away after being used?
"Understood!"
After cupping his hands, Li Zexuan patted his horse and returned to the back of the group.
Qin Qiong saw Li Zexuan's unhappy expression and couldn't help but ask, "Xiaoxuan, why did His Majesty look for you?"
"What else could it be? He's thinking of ways to trick me? "
Li Zexuan rolled his eyes. Seeing Qin Qiong's puzzled expression, he immediately told him what had just happened.
Qin Qiong stroked his beard, then looked at Li Zexuan and said, "You, you! His Majesty is doing this to protect you. Don't be resentful and let down His Majesty's good intentions! "
"Protect me? Uncle Qin, how is this protecting me? "
Li Zexuan was stunned when he heard this and couldn't help but say angrily.
Qin Qiong pointed at Li Zexuan with disappointment. Then, he lowered his voice and said, "Xiaoxuan, think about it carefully. This time, if His Majesty doesn't personally pay for the purchase of locusts from the various provinces and counties in the world and lets you pay for it, all the people in the world will be grateful to you. Your reputation will be like the sun in the sky, and you will also become the center of the people's hearts. However, as the saying goes, people are afraid of fame and pigs are afraid of being fat. You're so young and bear such a big reputation. It's inevitable that you won't be attacked by villains!
If someone with intentions uses this to sow discord between you and His Majesty, Xiaoxuan, the glory you have today will probably disappear in an instant!
His Majesty sold the locusts to you at twice the price for two reasons. First, the imperial court really couldn't handle such a large number of locusts. Second, he wanted to completely remove you from this matter. Isn't this to protect you? "
Qin Qiong's words made Li Zexuan's heart tremble. Indeed, in this world, only Li Er could buy the people's hearts. Thinking back to the imperial court, he wanted to buy the locusts for Li Er with twenty thousand coins. This was really a stupid decision. Fortunately, Li Er rejected him. Otherwise, when this matter spread out, all the people in the world would really be grateful to him. At that time, he, who had won so many people's hearts, would really be in danger!
After Li Zexuan transmigrated to the Tang Dynasty, he only wanted to live a good life with his family. He only wanted to lead the people around him to live a good life. He never wanted to buy the people's hearts, let alone raise the flag of rebellion!
"Thank you for your reminder, Uncle Qin! You really woke me up from my dream with your words! Only now do I understand His Majesty's good intentions. I really didn't think about this matter properly! "
Li Zexuan solemnly saluted Qin Qiong and couldn't help but sigh.
Qin Qiong nodded and said, "Xiao Xuan, as a person in the imperial court, you have to be careful. You can be considered to have a big family now. Every step you take is related to the rise and fall of many people. You have to be careful!"
Li Zexuan was silent for a moment. After a while, he saluted and said, "I understand. Thank you for your teachings, Uncle Qin!"
It was said that having an elder at home was like having a treasure. It was the same in the imperial court. With a reliable elder like Qin Qiong by his side to help and remind him, Li Zexuan could avoid many detours and wrong paths!
…
"Seventh Grandfather Han, where are Uncle Hu and the others?"
An hour later, the group of people finally arrived at the Han Village in Lantian County. Seeing that there were only a few elderly people in the village, and none of the young women and children were present, Li Zexuan hurriedly urged his horse into the village and asked an old man.
"Young master, Hu Li is leading the villagers to the Wang Village to kill the locusts!"
When Seventh Grandfather Han saw Li Zexuan, he quickly bowed and answered.
"They went to the Wang Village? Then have the locusts in the Han Village and Plum Village been cleared? "
Li Zexuan asked again.
Seventh Grandfather Han instantly beamed and said, "It's done! It's done! Young master, our village is the first village in Lantian County to have cleared the locusts. Now, only a few locusts can be seen in the fields! "
Li Zexuan was instantly relieved. He said to Seventh Grandfather Han, "Alright, Seventh Grandfather Han, I'll leave you to it." Then, he rode to the entrance of the village and dismounted. He saluted Li Er and said, "Your Majesty, the Sky Pheasant Brigade of the Han Village has already gone to another village. The fields in the village are basically free of locusts now!"
Hearing this, everyone was shocked and couldn't help but whisper among themselves.
Li Er couldn't help but laugh and said, "Good! Good! Everyone, follow me to the fields to take a look! Take a look at the first village in the Tang Empire to have cleared the locusts! "
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Naturally, everyone couldn't ask for more.
Under Li Zexuan's lead, everyone came to the fields in the south of the Han Village. It was already the middle of the sixth month, and some of the wheat in the fields had already turned yellow. The heavy wheat ears weighed down the wheat stalks so heavily that they couldn't straighten their backs. Li Er led the officials to line up on the ridge of the fields and split up to inspect the fields for locusts.
"This! There really aren't any locusts here! "
"It's not that there aren't any locusts, it's just that there are very few of them!"
"That's right! Compared to the fields we saw on the way here, the locusts in the fields of the Han Village are completely negligible. The Marquis of Yong 'an's Sky Pheasant Brigade actually managed to clear out thousands of locusts in a short period of time! "
The officials couldn't help but exclaim after inspecting the fields seriously.
Qiu Xinggong's face was a little ugly. He originally planned to see Li Zexuan make a fool of himself, but he didn't expect to see Li Zexuan so proud of himself!
"Good! Good! Good! This Sky Pheasant Brigade was established well! "
Li Er's eyes grew brighter and brighter, and he finally couldn't help but laugh out loud.
"Your Majesty, the facts have proven that the Marquis of Yong 'an's strategy of eliminating locusts is completely feasible. The plague of locusts in the Central Plains that all the previous emperors were helpless against can be quickly eliminated under His Majesty's leadership. This is a blessing for the common people!"
Fang Xuanling walked over with a face full of joy and congratulated Li Er.
Li Er smiled. Just as he was about to speak, a locust suddenly flew onto his shoulder. Li Er quickly grabbed it. Looking at the locust that was desperately struggling between his fingers, Li Er's gaze gradually became somewhat hateful. He looked at the locust in his hand and said, "Man's life is the grain. If you eat it, you will harm the common people. The common people have sinned, and I give you, your spirit, but do not eat my heart and harm the common people. Otherwise, you would rather eat my lungs and intestines! "
Before anyone could react, Li Er directly stuffed the locust in his hand into his mouth, frowned, and chewed twice before swallowing!
"Your Majesty! You can't! "
"Your Majesty! You can't! Be careful of the dragon's body! "
The officials reacted and tried to dissuade him, but at this moment, the locust had already entered Li Er's stomach!
"Your Majesty is devoted to the common people and is truly a saint. I, Zhangsun Wuji, am willing to share weal and woe with Your Majesty!"
Zhangsun Wuji's face was filled with pain. He quickly went to the ground and searched for a while before finally finding a locust. Then, he closed his eyes and stuffed the locust into his mouth.
"I, Fang Xuanling, am willing to share weal and woe with Your Majesty!"
"I, Du Ruhui, am willing to share weal and woe with Your Majesty!"
One by one, the officials went to the field to search for locusts, wanting to use this as an excuse to show their loyalty. Li Zexuan's heart was filled with bitterness. "Emperor Taizong swallowing locusts", this was a famous scene in the history books, but he didn't want to encounter it at all! Now, should he eat the locusts? Or should he eat them?
.....
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
