In July of the second year of Longwu, the main theme of the entire Guanzhong region was to control the locusts.
The commander-in-chief of the locust control, Xu Guangqi, had the power to command any village chief in the Guanzhong region. As long as it was for the sake of controlling the locusts, everything had to be compromised. Otherwise, when the natural disaster struck and the locusts spread, countless people in Jiangbei would become starving again.
For Xu Guangqi, this was a very difficult task. Since ancient times, he had never succeeded. Instead, the locusts were getting worse and worse. If he could cure them, he could become a saint. If not, he would be a sinner. Not only would he resign, he might even lose his life.
This was the multiple-choice question that Xiao Ruxun gave him.
Cure the locust plague and become the next Prime Minister of the Empire.
Or, fail to cure the locust plague and watch the locusts cover the sky, resign, die of depression, or even kill themselves to thank the people.
Anyway, the Emperor had done his best. The Emperor would not be responsible for the failure of the locust control. He would be responsible.
Moreover, from Xu Guangqi's point of view, the Emperor had already given him a lot of help. Many things were prepared by the Emperor. Whatever he wanted, he had already done the best that the Emperor could do. If the locust control failed, the Emperor would have a reason to not take responsibility.
Of course, he would have to admit that he did not use the right people.
Xu Guangqi was faced with great opportunities and challenges. If he won, he would be … Bah! If he won, he would go home and be buried if he lost.
He did not want to lose. He still had many things he wanted to do. He still had many things he wanted to put into practice. Only when he became the Prime Minister of the Empire could he realize his ideals and ambitions and make Daqin a better place.
Therefore, it was imperative to raise ducks to control the locusts. This was also the tone that the Emperor had set for this locust control.
The Emperor did not intend to find a solution to the endless locusts in the first year. He wanted to make up for it. Even if the locust eggs could not be completely removed, at least when they were still locusts, he could use the ducks to eat all the locusts.
In this way, they could alleviate the plague of locusts, allow the farmers to earn money from selling ducks, and also provide meat for the army. It was killing many birds with one stone.
Guanzhong and Gansu Province were important garrisons and training grounds. The number of troops would be very large. Xiao Ruxun not only wanted to promote the breeding of ducks, but he also wanted to promote the breeding of pigs. He wanted the army to have enough fat and meat to grow fat and become strong.
Coincidentally, a village chief in Fujian sent a memorial to the emperor, saying that a merchant had provided a solution to the locust plague. He hoped that the emperor would pay attention to it. Of course, Xiao Ruxun valued it. He immediately ordered the merchant, Chen Jinglun, to enter the capital and talk about his method of raising ducks and controlling locusts.
Chen Jinglun entered the capital with his son, Chen Zhenlong, and described his method in detail.
With this, Xiao Ruxun had a general idea of how to control the locusts. He knew how to deal with the locusts while also providing meat for the army and allowing the farmers to earn money. It was killing many birds with one stone.
He rewarded the merchant named Chen Jinglun handsomely and asked him and his son if they were willing to be officials. Chen Jinglun and Chen Zhenlong were so happy that they were stunned for a long time before they realized that they were willing to be officials.
Xiao Ruxun immediately appointed the father and son to the newly established Disaster Response Strategy Department of the Cabinet. They were officials of the sixth rank and were responsible for teaching the government and the people of the locust stricken areas in Guanzhong how to use ducks to prevent locusts.
The Emperor gave the order and the cabinet quickly approved the Emperor's appointment. They immediately prepared enough ducks according to the effective experience provided by Chen Jinglun and his son. They were ready to be sent to the Guanzhong locust disaster area and handed over to Xu Guangqi for planning. It was late April.
In the middle of June, Chen Jinglun and his son set off from Beijing with the first batch of 30,000 ducks towards Xi 'an.
Xiao Ruxun appointed the father and son to be Xu Guangqi's helpers. They were to help Xu Guangqi promote the strategy of raising ducks to control locusts in Guanzhong. He specifically ordered them to personally go down to every village and communicate with every household. It was necessary to teach the people how to raise ducks to eat the locusts.
If they succeeded, this valuable promotion experience would be spread to the locust infested areas all over the country. If one day locusts disappeared from the land of Huaxia, Chen Jinglun and Chen Zhenlong's names would go down in history and leave a glorious mark on the history books.
That was how Xiao Ruxun encouraged the father and son. The father and son burst into tears on the spot, saying that even if they had to risk their lives, they would repay His Majesty the Emperor's great kindness. They even gave up their family's small business and told them to close it down. From now on, they would work for His Majesty the Emperor wholeheartedly.
A merchant directly becoming an official with real power was something that hadn't happened in many years. It seemed like it hadn't been heard of since the Confucian School gained full control.
In the past, it wasn't that there weren't merchants who became officials. Often, when the Imperial Court was in trouble, the Imperial Court would take out a batch of official positions and auction them off. Selling official positions was a common occurrence throughout the ages, but the types of positions that were sold were empty. They only had titles and no real power. Some of them didn't even have a salary. They were just bought for show.
The Imperial Court also needed to make a living. However, natural and man-made disasters disturbed the peace of the Imperial Court. When there was no other way, the Imperial Court could only exchange official positions for money. So as long as people with power wanted to, they would never lack money.
However, it had been a long time since a small merchant directly became a government official with real power and needed to do practical things.
Chen Jinglun and Chen Zhenlong were worried that this appointment wouldn't go through. It was unthinkable for a merchant to become an official.
But in the morning, the Emperor had just announced it when the people from the Organization Department sent over all the official's credentials. They even explained the monthly salary and benefits.
Chen Jinglun and his son were stunned for a long time. Only then did they realize that they had inadvertently crossed the seemingly insurmountable barrier from merchant to official.
They thought that they would become famous. Of course, they did become famous. Soon, the capital was filled with the news that the Emperor had appointed two merchants as officials and given them important responsibilities.
When Chen Jinglun and his son set off with the 30,000 duck army, there were many onlookers watching.
They held a handful of fried melon seeds in their hands. As they munched on the seeds, they looked curiously at the two lucky people who had suddenly jumped several ranks to become officials.
Chen Jinglun and his son knew the mission they were shouldering. His Majesty had placed a lot of hope on them. His Majesty had personally said that it had taken some effort to appoint them as officials. They couldn't let the Emperor down. Otherwise, the Emperor would have to bear the responsibility for them.
From this point, it could be seen that Chen Jinglun and his son had done their best.
Accompanying the army escorting the ducks was a group of young officials. They would be able to help Chen Jinglun and his son. They would help Chen Jinglun and his son promote the method of raising ducks to control locusts in Guanzhong. They would also help local government officials build an effective system.
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