In the face of a disaster, the government often did nothing. This was the biggest pain of the ancient dynasties. On one hand, it was because of the limited conditions. Even if they wanted to act, they were often powerless. More importantly, it was because of the official ideology. The officials and the people were seriously out of touch.
Usually, after a disaster, they would rush to help. If they encountered one or two corrupt officials who took bribes and broke the law, starving people everywhere, it would be another disaster.
Even if the disaster in the fourth year of Zhenguan happened right under the Emperor's nose, the loss caused was still a pain that the Tang dynasty could not bear.
Especially when the Xuanwu Gate incident had just passed. The people of Guanzhong still remembered Li Shimin's killing of his brother and forcing his father. Many stubborn elders used the drought in the fourth year of Zhenguan to think that it was a natural disaster that punished Li Shimin. That was why the drought happened. They joined forces to force him to abdicate.
When Li Shimin recalled that feeling of helplessness, he would still wake up from his dreams from time to time. Li Shimin had never been afraid of enemies on the surface, but when it came to the power of ghosts and gods, Li Shimin was helpless against them.
Li Shimin, who could start the Xuanwu Gate coup, was not a rigid person. He calmed down and thought carefully about Meton's idea. The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was feasible.
First of all, Guanzhong was the hinterland. It was impossible for enemies to invade in a short time. Even if it was an emergency, the soldiers of the Sixteen Guards in Guanzhong could put on armor and become qualified soldiers at any time.
Moreover, most of the soldiers of the Sixteen Guards were disciples of Guanzhong. They were helping their hometown. Not only did they not resist, but they were also grateful to Li Shimin.
Therefore, the risk of using the soldiers of the Sixteen Guards was almost zero. Li Shimin had no reason to refuse such a risk-free and profitable plan.
Moreover, this was related to the century-old foundation of Guanzhong. Once the irrigation problem was solved, Li Shimin would win the hearts of the people of Guanzhong. All the people would spontaneously support Li Shimin.
With a bumper harvest every year, the shortage of food in Guanzhong would be solved. They would no longer have to pay a huge price to gather food from all over.
The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more excited he became. From time to time, he discussed the disaster relief plan with Fang Xuanling. Fang Xuanling was also very excited. He found that this method of military disaster relief was very valuable in the face of some huge natural disasters. These organized and disciplined soldiers could play a huge role.
The more the two of them discussed, the more excited they became. One after another, wonderful plans were quickly finalized.
Meton breathed a sigh of relief in his heart. This time, the people of Guanzhong would be saved. Although he didn't dare to say that they would recover their production, at least they would be able to preserve a portion of their food and survive this disaster.
In this way, the Mo Family didn't have to worry about being the only crab that escaped.
"Please forgive me, Dragon King! Please forgive me, Dragon King! The other villagers were just deceived by the Mo's Village. Please forgive them, Dragon King. But I have always been respectful to you. If you want to punish someone, punish the Mo's Village. " On the official road, the village chief was leading a few devout believers to apologize to the Dragon King in fear and trepidation.
"Foolish people!"
Li Shimin snorted coldly. Now that he had a way to deal with the drought, he was very dissatisfied with the old man bowing to the Dragon King for rain.
Isn't this the foolish policy that you have always preached? Meton said in his heart. Of course, he didn't dare to say this out in his heart. Otherwise, he would be beaten again.
"Old man, you don't have to pray for rain anymore. In a few days, the imperial court will organize people to fight the drought and provide disaster relief." Li Shimin couldn't bear to see the old man continue to suffer, so he persuaded him.
"The imperial court provides disaster relief? The imperial court can control people, but it can also control the Dragon King. I saw that you were with the people of the Mo's Village just now. You must be with them. Don't try to lie to me. " The village chief didn't believe Li Shimin at all. If the government could fight the drought and provide disaster relief, there wouldn't have been such a big famine a few years ago.
Li Shimin glared at Meton with hatred and helplessly looked at the stubborn old man. He kindly persuaded the old man, but he didn't expect that he would be regarded as with the people of the Mo's Village.
Meton was speechless. He didn't expect that he would be implicated even if he did nothing.
"Ahem! Old man, there's something you don't know. The people of the Mo's Village have developed a tool for irrigating dry land and they have offered it to the imperial court. In a few days, the imperial court will organize a drought relief. "Meton helped Li Shimin out.
"Really?" The village chief didn't believe him. The people of the Mo's Village were digging wells to irrigate the land. Of course, he knew that the one acre field near the official road was almost irrigated.
But he didn't have so much money to buy tools and hire people. It was more reliable to ask the Dragon King.
"If the imperial court doesn't provide disaster relief, the people of the Mo's Village will dig wells to irrigate your land!" Meton promised, patting his chest.
Under the propaganda of Meton and the people of the Mo's Village, the story of Mo Zi keeping his promise for thousands of years was widely spread. In addition, the people of the Mo's Village had always kept their promise, so the village chief believed most of it. As for the other half, the village chief also believed that the people of the Mo's Village would irrigate his land.
"That's great. Many thanks to Young Master Mo. Young Master Mo is my benefactor. When I return, I will erect a shrine for Young Master. I will thank Young Master for his great kindness during the holidays." The village elder said excitedly.
"Don't. The Mo's Family doesn't believe in superstition!" Meton refused hurriedly and persuaded the excited village chief to leave.
What a joke! The emperor was right next to him. If he wanted to set up a shrine for him, wouldn't it be like roasting him on fire?
"Superstition?" Li Shimin looked at Meton in confusion. Setting up a shrine was the highest honor in the hearts of ordinary people. How could Mo Jiazi turn up his nose at it?
"The people of the Mo's Family call some behaviors that make people blindly believe in ghosts and gods as superstition. Superstition is very harmful. If it's not serious, people will be cheated of their money and if it's serious, people will lose their lives." Meton roughly explained the witches' methods of praying to gods, curing diseases with incense ashes, and catching and releasing ghosts in the market.
"You mean the witches killed ghosts because the paper dolls were smeared with turmeric and blood appeared on the wooden sword?" Fang Xuanling's face suddenly became serious. This was not a trivial matter. It was simply disregarding human life.
Meton nodded and said, "In fact, it's not blood. It's the alkali water on the wooden sword that turned red when it came in contact with turmeric. This was first discovered by Mr. Hua. Turmeric is a kind of traditional Chinese medicine. He knew it when he smelled it. That's why he saved a life in time. "
"The ghost knocked on the door because the eel blood attracted the bats. The blood appeared on the paper because it was smeared with something in advance! These witches are really harmful! " Li Shimin's face was livid. Meton's words were reasonable and all kinds of methods were very detailed. People had to believe it.
These witches were everywhere in the Tang dynasty. It was conceivable how many people were deceived by them.
"These are just individual cases that only harm individuals. According to the records of the School of Mo, in the previous dynasty, there was a god who buried soybeans and the idols together in the soil. He watered them day and night. The bean sprouts swelled and sprouted when they met the water. Little by little, the idols were pushed out of the soil. They absorbed thousands of believers in one night. "
"Hiss!"
Fang Xuanling and Li Shimin gasped. If Meton hadn't said it himself, they would have been deceived by the witches if they had seen the idols growing out of the soil bit by bit.
Fang Jun looked at Meton with admiration. Although following Meton was often seen in the background, it was never boring.
"Some ambitious people buried the stone dolls with the word 'rebellion' in advance. After a period of time, they lured people to dig them out and gather people to rebel." Meton revealed another piece of shocking information.
"Books hidden in the belly of a fish and the sound of a fox over a bonfire!" Li Shimin's face was extremely embarrassed.
This kind of method was not uncommon. The first person to use this method was the first person to rebel, Chen Sheng. He directly stuffed a piece of paper into the belly of the fish and imitated a few fox cries by the bonfire. This method was extremely inferior, but it succeeded and caused the huge Great Qin Empire to fall apart.
"Your Majesty, these superstitions are very harmful. They must be banned." Fang Xuanling was also shocked and broke out in a cold sweat. He didn't expect that such a common superstition would hide such a great danger.
Li Shimin nodded heavily, but those who threatened the rule of the Tang dynasty must be eliminated immediately. Li Shimin was furious when he glanced at the clay statue of the Dragon King. Praying for rain in front of him was also a superstition!
Li Shimin grabbed the long saber worn by Li Junxian. With a flash of the saber, the clay statue's dragon head fell to the ground.
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