Emperor of the Tang Dynasty

This is not because he was intimidated by the locust plague. There is also a very important reason. If he has just returned to the throne, if there is a sudden drought, it will be a huge blow to Li Shimin's rule!

Since ancient times, emperors have liked to do something auspicious things from heaven to represent their divine authority, which can be seen from the emperor's self-proclaimed "son of heaven".

When Li Shimin was in power before, the smallpox epidemic broke out. This time, Li Shimin has just returned to the throne, and if there is another big locust plague, wouldn't it be like saying that the gods are angry because of this, this is the emperor's dereliction of duty! ?

Once it spreads to the people, rumors are bound to spread. Coupled with the hard years caused by the locust plague, the people will not be able to afford food, and there will be turmoil, which may eventually evolve into a rebellion!

"My son is saying that after the Yellow River is seriously cut off, there will inevitably be a plague of locusts." Li You sighed, "Although no one wants to encounter a catastrophe, it is a pity that this is the case."

"Wait a minute, why is His Royal Highness the King of Chu so sure?"

At this moment, Wei Zheng suddenly asked suspiciously.

Because the ancient people did not have scientific knowledge, they have always been unclear about the cause of the locust plague, let alone the law. Many people firmly believe that this is the punishment of God. Therefore, many temples and Taoist temples are dedicated to the gods of locusts. .

"Mr. Wei doesn't know anything, it's already in the second half of the year, and this period happens to be the breeding season of locusts." Li You explained, "As pests, locusts have a strong reproductive ability, especially in drought conditions. Down, it will only make them lay more eggs!"

"The locusts like the soil with less water and denser, and now the cut off of the Yellow River will cause the water level to drop, and there will be more such soil. On the contrary, the plants will become sparser and drier, which is more convenient for locusts to eat. Completely (bbeb) conducive to locust spawning!"

Li You's words made everyone horrified.

They all know how terrifying the great locust plague caused by locusts will be.

Almost every time a locust swarm arrives at a certain place, that place will be swept away, and everything will be eaten up by the locusts, and the most terrifying thing is the famine that will inevitably come after the locust plague!

"What's worse, the drought will also force the locusts to migrate, so that the locusts will form larger swarms, causing the locust plague to become bigger and bigger! Those who say that locusts are mutual transformation, locusts are fish eggs. It's all bullshit, or the argument that locusts fly into the sea and turn into fish and shrimp!"

In fact, Li You didn't want to be too alarmist, but the problem was that Li You remembered a set of data he had seen before.

According to the historical records of the Tang Dynasty, the great locust plague in the Tang Dynasty broke out on average every [-], and the last most serious locust plague broke out in the first year of Zhenguan, that is, when Li Shimin first ascended the throne, so Li Shimin heard it again. When the plague of locusts is about to break out, his face is extremely ugly.

And now it is the ninth year of Zhenguan. From the perspective of time, it just happens to be a periodic cycle of super-large locust plagues!

And the place where the locust plague is most likely to break out is near the Yellow River Basin, especially in the dry-flow drought after the flooding, so Li You is only the most probable deduction based on facts.

"is this real……"

All the officials and officials were stunned by Li You, and everyone muttered in fear.

"If you are not sure, you may wish to recall," Li You said, "According to what this king just said, the floodplains of the Yellow River are the largest spawning places for locusts, so you just need to think about the outbreak of small locust plagues in the past. The characteristics will be clear.”

"If the water level of the Yellow River frequently covers the flooded land during the year, then will there be almost no locust plagues that year? Conversely, if the water level drops during the extremely hot summer, then the locusts will It's going to be very ferocious and prolific!"

After Li You said word by word, everyone fell into deep thought, and the more they recalled, the more distorted their expressions became, and in the end, their collective body was shaking!

Because the records in the history books are exactly the same as what Li You said!

Chapter 545 Sure enough, he won't let anyone down!

In other words, what His Royal Highness the King of Chu said was probably right, a cataclysm visible to the naked eye was coming!

The most terrifying thing at present is not the drought, nor the locust plague, but the great famine that followed!

"How could this happen... Could it be that I really provoke~ anger to God?"

Even Li Shimin shook his body a few times, his face pale.

The most terrifying thing in the world is not that a catastrophe is imminent, but that you know that a catastrophe is imminent, but there is no way to avoid it!

"It was obviously at the moment of celebration of the triumph of the Tang army, but such things happened. Could it be that God wants to kill me, Tang?"

Li Shimin thought in a daze, he was most fortunate now, only because he was at the gate of the palace to greet the army, so the people of Chang'an were far away, and they didn't hear what Li You was saying at all.

Otherwise, don't wait for a locust plague or famine, and now the entire Chang'an will have to be in chaos immediately!

But Li Shimin is worthy of being Li Shimin. After taking a few deep breaths, he calmed down.

He raised his eyes and looked around, and saw that every minister had a look of fear and anxiety on his face. At this time, it was urgent to be able to calm down the scene and appease everyone's heart.

"All the Aiqings will immediately move to Taiji Palace to discuss this matter with me!" Li Shimin immediately said solemnly, "Even if this is a natural disaster, this time I will fight against the heavens for the people of the Tang Dynasty!"

Sure enough, everyone calmed down when they heard the words, and soon everyone came to the Tai Chi Palace and started their second pilgrimage today.

And Li You, who proposed that the big locust plague was about to break out, was of course also dragged by Li Shimin, and Li You had always been in the regent to supervise the country before, so the civil and military officials were also very familiar with Li You.

"Reporting to Your Majesty, this minister proposes that from now on, the state officials should be ordered to stockpile food in order to deal with the upcoming catastrophe!"

Fang Xuanling was the first to write a letter, which was also the most conventional way to prepare.

Of course, the more food, the better. As long as the people are not hungry, the number of people who want to rebel will also be greatly reduced, and it will not kill countless Tang people because of the great famine.

"Good, I immediately decreed to convey to the state officials, but this is not enough!"

Li Shimin's face was gloomy, and this year's grain harvest was not a particularly bumper crop. Although Li You's curved plough and composting method helped the total grain output get rid of the previous smallpox epidemic, it was definitely not enough to deal with the famine. of.

"Yeah, the total amount of food is just enough for the people to be self-sufficient, how can there be any excess to fill the famine?"

Wei Zheng also frowned and said, making Li Shimin extremely irritable.

"Then, dear gentlemen, are there any other good methods? You might as well bring them up and let's brainstorm."

This time, however, what greeted Li Shimin was a long silence.

All the civil and military people of the dynasty looked at each other, you look at me, I look at you, but no one came out to speak, even Wei Zheng and Xiao Yu, who liked advice very much, this time, they were quiet like chickens.

It's not that they dare not speak, it's that they really have nothing to say!

After all, in the face of the triple disasters of drought, locust plague and famine, apart from hoarding food, what more effective and good way can there be?