My Ming Dynasty, I have the final say

Chapter 192 Encountering locusts during an outing

In the staff department, Zhou Yingqiu was holding a roster and looking at the names of people one by one.

Suddenly, Sun Ruyou, who was counting names beside him, turned around and said.

"I heard that someone was assigned to be the mayor of the township. Are you very unhappy?"

"So what if you don't like it?"

Hearing this, Zhou Yingqiu pointed at the imperial edict on the table angrily.

"If you are not happy, then you have no respect at all. The court will deprive you of all your honors."

Hearing the word "respect" in Sun Ruyou's words, Sun Ruyou nodded in a daze.

"Yes, yes, be respectful, be respectful."

After reciting a few words from Zhou Yingqiu, Sun Ruyou finally understood why this governor could suddenly become a heavenly official.

Thinking of this, Sun Ruyou suddenly changed the topic.

“In the past, during the early Tang Dynasty, the imperial examinations included many subjects such as Mingfa, Mingzi, Mingsuan, First History, Three Histories, Kaiyuan Rites, and Taoist Examinations.”

As he spoke, Sun Ruyou observed Zhou Yingqiu's expression and then said.

"I wonder what Zhou Shangshu thinks?"

"It's just that your Majesty has some insights from reading ancient history and borrowed them for his own use."

Hearing this, Zhou Yingqiu waved his hands and said.

"In today's Ming Dynasty, you and I know very well that His Majesty selects talents based on the three subjects of law, arithmetic, and administration. He just wants to revive the Ming Dynasty as soon as possible."

"But."

Hearing this, Sun Ruyou paused and said.

"The Ming Dynasty has used eight-legged writing to select scholars for more than 200 years. This sudden change has caused a lot of criticism among the people."

"They are just people who can't eat grapes and say sour grapes. These reference scholars are all well-known, and most importantly, they are also scholars, and they are not idiots who can't do stereotypes or write articles."

After waving his hand, Zhou Yingqiu clicked on the roster in his hand.

"Besides, His Majesty didn't say he wanted to abolish the eight-legged essay, so why are you worried?"

"However, since Emperor Shun of the Yuan Dynasty, the Four Books and Five Classics annotated by Zhu Xi have been used as imperial examination books, and Neo-Confucianism has become popular. Now that His Majesty selects talents based on practical learning, some scholars are quite dissatisfied."

After hearing Zhou Yingqiu say that he was worried blindly, Sun Ruyou thought about it and said.

"Haha, if you don't accept it, why don't you accept it?"

Zhou Yingqiu said lightly after waving his hand.

"After all, there are so many scholars in the world who admire scriptures and seek meaning. How can there be any reason to specialize in miscellaneous subjects? It's not like you and I have never done the questions in the official examination. It is very simple. You only need to read the Suan Jing and the Instructions for Taking the Job. ” and “Da Ming Law” can do it.”

"And these three books are all used in daily affairs in the yamen. Using these books to select talents can meet the urgent needs of the court."

"As for the Neo-Confucianism thing you talked about."

As he spoke, Zhou Yingqiu stroked his beard.

"Firstly, His Majesty did not cancel the imperial examination. Secondly, he did not change the books, they are still outstanding studies."

"What Zhou Shangshu said makes sense."

Listening to Zhou Yingqiu's words, Sun Ruyou nodded thoughtfully.

As the two chatted, the allocation of students was quickly decided.

A total of 500 celebrities were selected, and the top 100 with a total score were assigned to the six yamen in central Beijing.

The remaining students are divided into subjects.

Law students can only go to places like the Criminal Division.

People in the arithmetic department go to places like the tax department that need accounting offices.

As for the administrative department, he was sent to be the mayor of the township.

After the fruits were divided, it was time to report to the emperor again. After receiving the imperial approval, the appointment was announced.

So, the two of them personally headed towards Xiyuan with a joint memorial.

Then, before the two of them arrived at Xiyuan, they followed the emperor's carriage and left the city together - for an outing.

Looking at the lively streets on both sides, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but sigh.

There is no city in the world that can match the huge population of Shangshun Tianfu.

No shop in Chufang Market can match the dazzling array of shops in Chaoyangmen East Market.

If so, that city must be called Yingtianfu, another capital of the Ming Dynasty.

All nations worship her, and the power of God exalts foreign nations.

The mountains and rivers preserve their character and soothe the frontiers.

However, that was a grand event many years ago.

In the Ming Dynasty, there were barbarians around Diaohui, and treasure ships roamed the sea.

Now the Ming Dynasty is entering its twilight years from its prime. Seeing the decline of the Ming Dynasty, some young people dare to jump out and challenge the dignity of this country.

At this time, the Ming Dynasty was only slightly in decline, and was far from the point of subjugation.

Looking at the rosy-faced pedestrians on the road, Zhu Youxiao was a little confused.

This is no sign of national subjugation at all.

With their equipment lagging behind, Xi Yi was defeated.

When it was difficult to pay taxes, the rebels were chasing him everywhere.

The commander-in-chief at the border can kill whenever he says, the ministers in the cabinet can be replaced whenever he says, and the Minister of War can chop down whenever he says.

The majesty of the imperial court remained unchanged, and local governments did not dare to defy the central government.

If you put such a king bomb in the hands of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty Liu Xie and Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty Li Zhu, the other party will probably laugh out loud.

How did Zhu Youjian bring about the subjugation of the country?

Seeing the emperor looking at the scenery outside the window, Xu Huier tentatively called her Queen Sister.

"elder sister."

"nothing."

Xu Huier gently pulled her to prevent her from disturbing the emperor's thoughts.

After half a month of getting along, Xu Waner had basically figured out the emperor's temperament.

His emperor husband's mood was very unstable.

When he is active, he is very out-of-the-box. When he is not active, he is just like a dork.

Looking at the emperor who was in a fugue state, it was a good thing that Xu Waner was not a descendant, otherwise she would have doubted whether the emperor had a split personality.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Mansion has arrived."

Just when Xu Waner was looking at the emperor, wondering what she was thinking, and her face began to turn crimson, Liu Shimin's voice sounded outside the carriage.

"understood."

With a long sigh, Zhu Youxiao looked away from the outside and turned to Xu Waner.

"I've been watching it all the way. When I look at it again, I can't help but blush."

"ah!"

Awakened by the emperor's voice, Xu Waner screamed, then reached out and pushed the emperor.

"My husband is making fun of me!"

"You're obviously dumbfounded by what I'm looking at, so why am I teasing you?"

Shaking his head, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but pinch Xu Waner's face.

"I just know today that what Kong Lao Er said is that it is difficult to raise women and villains. How can I explain it?"

With that said, Zhu Youxiao stood up from the carpet with Liu Shimin's support.

"You can't argue without reason, but you won't forgive others if you are justified."

"His Majesty!"

Hearing the emperor saying that she was making trouble unreasonably, Xu Waner's face immediately became solemn and she looked at the emperor angrily.

"It's my fault, it's my fault."

Seeing Xu Wan'er angry, Zhu Youxiao shook his head helplessly, stretched out his hand and pulled her out of the carriage.

"Humph."

Turning her head and snorting coldly, Xu Waner did not withdraw her hand. Instead, she pulled her sister and followed the emperor outside.

"The ice on the river has disappeared and the grass on the bank is green, and we go outing in groups."

Getting out of the carriage and looking at the green fields in front of him, Zhu Youxiao couldn't help but read out a poem by Su Shi that he had recently read.

"The pontoon bridge will not be able to bear the weight without water, and the wild store will be too damaged to be repaired."

After hearing the emperor read out the first two sentences, Xu Waner, who was following Zhu Youxiao, continued not to be outdone.

"The cold flowers in the pine tree have just broken their calyx, and the birds in the valley are beginning to sing." "My wife is really a talented woman."

Hearing Xu Waner reciting poems angrily, Zhu Youxiao rolled his eyes in a direction she couldn't see and praised.

"Humph."

Hearing the emperor's words, Xu Waner snorted arrogantly again.

"Humph."

Seeing her sister's appearance, Xu Huier, who was following her, also imitated her sister's appearance and snorted.

"..."

Helplessly covering his forehead with one hand, Zhu Youxiao wondered if he was too indulgent towards this loli.

It looks like I'm going to make this loli cry again after I go back today.

Looking at the emperor and the queen who were exchanging poems with the emperor.

Zhou Yingqiu and Sun Ruyou looked at each other and chose to ignore it.

The customs of the Ming Dynasty were not as strict as later generations thought.

On the contrary, since the group of golden and blue-eyed things from the west came in with that Raushizi God, their thoughts have become more and more open.

A few years ago, a seventy-five-year-old thinker named Li Zhi died. It can be said that he did all kinds of shocking things.

As a disciple of Wang Yangming, he criticized Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, opposed the empty talk of Neo-Confucianism, advocated utilitarianism, respected women, and advocated freedom of marriage.

This dear friend changed the previous Confucian evaluation of Qin Shihuang as an eternal tyrant, praising Qin Shihuang as the only emperor throughout the ages, and Wu Zetian as a "holy queen" who "determined politics by her own initiative and was clear-sighted and good at making decisions."

When this old gentleman gave lectures, monks, woodcutters, farmers, and even women came to listen to his lectures, no matter which temple they were in or deep in the mountains and forests.

Sweep the three religions of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, and be yourself.

With Li Zhi taking the lead, Ming Dynasty will enter an era of speculation in the coming years.

To a certain extent, this speculation was the main culprit that led to the country’s collapse.

Of course, Zhou Yingqiu and Sun Ruyou didn't know about these things.

Seeing the emperor holding the queen's hand, the relationship was at least harmonious on the surface.

Presumably, there should be no situation like Shenzong and Queen Wang, where after the Queen's gold seal was burned, the Queen's gold seal was not replaced for more than ten or twenty years. . . Bar.

Zhu Youxiao didn't know the thoughts of the various ministers in the coming year after his death.

If he knew about it, he would definitely beat these two people up.

Damn, I want to take care of everything.

After letting go of Xu Waner's hand, Zhu Youxiao suddenly seemed to see something and pointed to the ground.

"dig up that piece of soil and take a look."

"Yes."

After hearing this, several eunuchs immediately came forward and started searching in the direction pointed by the emperor.

Soon, a eunuch who had found something came to the emperor holding a lump of earth.

Instructing the other party to throw things on the ground, Zhu Youxiao looked at the two ministers behind him and asked.

"Do you know what this is?"

"This is?"

Looking at the clods of soil that the eunuch brought back from the fields, Zhou Yingqiu and Sun Ruyou couldn't help but feel pimples on their bodies.

Trypophobia.

In this clod of soil, there are more than a dozen yellow, long-shaped insect eggs neatly arranged, so densely packed that it makes people very uncomfortable.

"Husband."

Seeing this insect egg, the two girls, one big and one small, couldn't help but lean against the emperor.

Feeling the pressure on his body, Zhu Youxiao reached out and patted the two women's waists.

Although Zhou Yingqiu and Sun Ruyou were not from mud-legged backgrounds, they were still from poor families and had never worked in the fields themselves.

"Sun Shangshu is a scholar of five chariots, but he doesn't know what these are?"

"this."

Hearing the emperor's words, Sun Ruyou couldn't help but have cold sweat on his face.

But he had to answer the emperor's question and said tentatively.

"This thing should be an insect egg."

"Not just eggs."

After hearing Sun Ruyou's words, Zhu Youxiao shook his head and said calmly.

When he was very young, his family farmed, and he played in the fields and dug them out.

"And it's the eggs of locusts."

"locust?"

"The ancients said that rotten grasses are fireflies, but there is no mention of those that lay eggs."

Shaking his head, although he still felt horrified when looking at the insect eggs in front of him, Sun Ruyou still said.

"I have heard that locusts will breed in large swamps, such as those in Beizhili and Shandong. Once the rivers and ponds dry up due to drought, locusts will definitely grow."

"Lake Marsh."

Listening to Sun Ruyou's words, Zhu Youxiao shook his head.

Sun Ruyou's words are not bad and can be regarded as a summary.

In drought years, the lake water area is reduced and the depressions are exposed, providing a suitable breeding place for locusts.

Therefore, people often see locusts appearing around dry swamps, thinking that locusts are transformed by dried fish and shrimps.

After locusts swarm as adults, they often spontaneously move to low-lying areas prone to waterlogging to seek new places to lay their eggs.

Once the weather improves and the water surface recovers, the locust eggs that lay their eggs in the dry areas of the lake are drowned, and the fish and shrimp reappear, it will feel like the locusts have turned into fish and shrimp again.

In ancient China, it was not that there was a lack of inventions, but that there was a lack of a scientific summary method.

For many things, we know what they are and why they are so, but we cannot summarize them and lack a scientific methodology.

"If you don't believe it, take this piece of soil back and you will know after it hatches."

Zhu Youxiao was not angry because Sun Ruyou doubted his words. Instead, he said to the eunuch beside him.

"Find a box, pack it up, and take it back to Xiyuan."

"The slaves obey the order."

When they heard that the emperor wanted to raise this thing and prove to Sun Ruyou that locusts lay eggs, everyone present felt that their hairs stood on end.

"Your Majesty, is there something wrong with this?"

Seeing that the emperor wanted to raise locusts, a harmful thing, Sun Ruyou immediately warned him.

"Locusts are pests. How can we raise them if we don't neglect them if we destroy them?"

"That's what I said."

After hearing Sun Ruyou's words, Zhu Youxiao waved his hand and said.

"Wherever the locusts pass, there are no roosters crowing for hundreds of miles, and not a single blade of grass grows. They are a great harm to farmers, and we must call them enemies of the country."

"As the saying goes, if you know yourself and the enemy, you can fight a hundred battles without danger. If you don't know why it came into being, how can you talk about destroying it?"

"I just took a quick look and saw these locust eggs. You can ask these farmers to check if there are any more in the fields, but we must not cause a locust plague."

With that said, Zhu Youxiao didn't want to talk about this topic anymore, but looked at Liu Shimin and said.

"My slave takes orders."

After hearing the emperor's words, Liu Shimin quickly sent someone to give instructions.

This land is imperial land and belongs to the emperor's private property. If there is a locust plague, the palace will suffer the damage.

"Your Majesty, since locusts are born in dry swamps and disappear in dry swamps, it means that these things cannot withstand flooding."

Seeing the eunuch leaving, Zhou Yingqiu, who was standing beside Sun Ruyou, suddenly spoke.

"I think that your Majesty should issue an order to order the people to plow the fields deeply and expose them to the sky. When the rain comes to cover the fields or the rivers irrigate them, the locusts will be wiped out."

ps: When I was looking for information, I accidentally discovered in the entries related to Xiong Tingbi that after Xiong Tingbi's death, Jiangxia County Magistrate Wang Eryu framed him for pursuing stolen goods and forced Xiong Tingbi's son Xiong Zhaogui to death.

Out of curiosity, Wang Eryu became the 1625th Jinshi in the Yichou Branch (the fifth year of Tianqi ()) and was appointed as the magistrate of Jiangxia County.

Of course, this is not the most eye-catching.

What caught my eye the most was that in the gender column of Wang Eryu, there was a female.

I don’t like biographical history books, so I didn’t read Ming History. However, there is no record of this person in the records of Xizong. If the person who edited the Baidu entry did not write it blindly, I am afraid that the Ming Dynasty may have been the first dynasty in Chinese history where a woman served as a county magistrate.

(End of this chapter)