The Red Mansion En Xiaohou

Chapter 20 Kill the chicken to warn the monkey

Jia Shan handed this tasteful ledger to Zhang Zhengyang.

"Jashan, you should take it by yourself."

Remembering that Jia Shan had put this thing in his crotch, Zhang Zhengyang waved his hand and refused, his face full of disgust for the crumpled ledger.

"Hypocritical!"

Jia Shan raised her middle finger towards Zhang Zhengyang.

"Is Mr. Zhang at home?"

"My father went to court and hasn't come back yet."

In the early dynasty, the ministers were divided into northern and southern factions because the emperor wanted to transfer grain from the south.

Northern officials agreed with the emperor's suggestion to expand the warehouse and transport grain from the south to prepare for unexpected needs.

Officials in the south were unwilling, because transferring grain from the south would mean an increase in grain taxes.

Now that there are no disasters and difficulties in the north, why should the grain from the south be transported to the north.

The officials were furious with each other, vaguely reminiscing about the dispute between the North and the South.

In particular, Master Kurong once predicted that Daqian would have good weather in recent years, and southern officials were overwhelmingly scolded by northern officials.

One mouthful of people's livelihood, one mouthful for the people.

However, they only spoke in high-sounding terms, but in reality they were just pretending to be common people and did not want to cut their own flesh.

In the south of Dagan, land mergers were serious. For various reasons, a large number of people’s farmland fell into the hands of landlords, gentry, and salt merchants. They said this because they did not want to increase grain taxes and harm their own interests.

What's more, they are looking forward to a big accident, so that they can make a lot of money from the stored food in their hands.

Sitting high on the dragon chair, the emperor looked at the officials below who were all pregnant with ghosts, and felt sad for this great country in his heart.

Back then, the Taizu established the ancestral system, and the officials should be upright and honest, but now the officials are like leeches lying on Dagan's body to suck blood.

The emperor ordered people to take soil from the Huangzhuang on the outskirts and spread it on the hall.

The ministers were full of doubts.

It was now April, and besides the unhatched eggs, there were some emerald-green locusts with armor and tentacles in the soil.

The locusts bounced on the ground with their bamboo-like limbs.

A locust jumped onto a censor's feet, and the censor suddenly let out a scream, and fell to the ground with a pale face, his face full of horror.

The emperor laughed, his eyes full of sarcasm.

"Look, all my loves, this is what everyone says is good weather. I dug these from the Huangzhuang. Do you know what it is called?"

The ministers were silent.

"This is a locust, everyone knows about locusts, this is the good weather you told me.

Ten years ago, a plague of locusts broke out in Hebei and Henan provinces, and the people had no food to eat, so they fled all the way to the capital. Do you still remember the scene when the people changed their children to eat. "

Feeling the emperor's anger, the ministers lowered their heads.

A plague of locusts in Hebei and Henan destroyed the homes of countless people.

The officials from poor families who had experienced that locust plague all had red eyes. Their families, relatives, and close friends all died in that locust plague.

"Now I want to expand the righteous warehouse, but you are blocking it everywhere. What is your intention?"

The emperor questioned the officials loudly.

"Cui Fenqian, the Minister of Household Affairs, is here to answer."

He danced the most joyfully just now, and Cui Fen walked out of the crowd in fear.

"Your Majesty, I don't mean that. I am from Jiangnan. I grew up under the favor of my parents in Jiangnan since I was a child."

Cui Fen stumbled and said, the emperor snorted coldly.

Cui Fen fell to his knees in fright, with cold sweat breaking out on his forehead.

"I am worried about the people, and in a moment of impatience, I contradict Your Majesty with unscrupulous words, and I ask Your Majesty to forgive me."

"Cui Fen, you can pretend."

The emperor stared at Cui Fen coldly.

"Zhang Cheng!"

"Chen is here!"

Commander Feng Qiwei made Zhang Cheng stand out from the crowd.

"I ordered you to raid his house to see if he is a good official who is dedicated to serving the people."

"Yes!"

Zhang Cheng bowed his fist to the emperor and led people to raid Cui Fen's home.

Feng Qiwei was very fast, Zhang Cheng came back with a booklet in a while, which contained records of Cui Fen accepting bribes and searching for people's fat and anointing.

It’s really a year to clean up the magistrate, with 10,000 snowflakes of silver. Cui Fen served as the magistrate in the south of the Yangtze River and accepted bribes as high as [-]+ taels from the country gentry salt merchants.

The emperor gritted his teeth and read the notes in his hand, and smashed the tea bowl on the table hard on Cui Fen's head.

The teacup shattered and lay on the ground. Cui Fen's head was smashed with blood, and he kept crying and begging for mercy.

"Forgive Your Majesty, Forgive Your Majesty."

"Is it useful for you to ask me? When you did these evil things, did you ever think of letting those people go? They dragged him down and skinned him and stuffed him with grass according to the ancestral customs. Both men and women in the family were exiled to the northwest.

The country gentry who offered bribes, the salt merchants, and their tools were deprived of their property and returned to the common people in exile. "

Cui Fen sat on the ground blankly, none of the officials dared to intercede for him.

Cui Fen went to pull the hem of Hubu Shangshu's skirt, but Hubu Shangshu kicked him away in disgust.

Cui Fen was pulled down.

"There are still doubts about the grain adjustment in the south and the expansion of the warehouse."

"The minister has a question to ask."

The Minister of Industry saluted the emperor.

"Li Aiqing, please tell me."

"How did His Majesty know that a locust plague is about to occur in Dagan?"

The emperor said without concealment: "It was a naughty boy who told me."

The officials were in an uproar, their mouths were hairless, and they couldn't handle their affairs firmly.

No matter how you believe the words of a naughty boy, the emperor may not be crazy.

A group of ministers once again opposed the emperor. The emperor was not angry this time, but explained with a smile: "I didn't believe it at first, but the insect eggs in the soil are right in front of me, so I have to believe it."

The ministers were silent. The insect eggs in the soil and the locusts jumping around trying to fly cannot be faked.

But this does not mean that there will be a locust plague in Dagan.

The emperor continued: "I ordered people to observe, and combined with what the urchin said, I found that the cause of the locust plague is very simple, and it has something to do with the water level."

"How to say Your Majesty."

The interest of the ministers was aroused by the emperor.

The emperor talked eloquently.

"When a drought occurs and the water level drops, a large area of ​​wasteland will be vacated. This wasteland is the best habitat and breeding ground for locusts. Similarly, after a flood, part of the farmland will be washed away, making the farmland uncultivable and turning into wasteland. This is all related to the habits of locusts. .”

After the emperor finished speaking, the ministers who were against the emperor every day, all bowed to the emperor in unison.

"Your Majesty Shengming!"

The emperor's vanity was satisfied, and he smiled and nodded to the ministers.

The court dispersed in the morning, and the officials walked out of the hall.

Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance stayed secretly.

Just now, the household department was dealt with by the emperor as a corrupt official, and lost adults in front of the other five departments.

As the head of the department, Shangshu of the Ministry of Finance cannot absolve himself of the blame.

"Zheng Laochao is gone, I have something to do here."

The emperor's face was full of fatigue, and the Minister of Hubu saluted the emperor.

"Your Majesty is nothing serious. Can you secretly tell me who the naughty boy is? As the Minister of the Household Department, I am in charge of the world's agriculture and mulberry. I want to discuss with him the issue of locusts."

Hubu Shangshu slouched, showing a flattering smile at the emperor.

(End of this chapter)