Northern Zhili, which would be the future Hebei Province.
Because it was not far from the Great Ming Empire's capital, Yingtian Prefecture, it was called the Northern Zhili.
Therefore, when he heard the urgent report from Bei Zhi Li, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately stood up from his throne, his expression instantly dark.
Liu Bowen and Li Shan Chang also frowned, and all the civil and military officials in the court immediately fell silent.
Zhu Biao didn't want to read Journey to the West anymore, but Zhu Xi was still thinking about Yu Shaobao's poem, just in case.
"Ta, ta, ta." There was a series of rapid footsteps outside the Hall of Heaven Tribute.
The soldier in charge of delivering the emergency report quickly entered and came to the Fengtian Palace. Just as he was about to kneel on one knee, Zhu Yuanzhang waved his hand and said,
"Forget it, quickly tell me, what happened in Bei Zhi Li?”
"Yes, sir!"
The soldier quickly nodded and said,
"Your Majesty, five days ago, Bei Zhi Li was attacked by a large number of locusts.”
"In a short five days, these locusts have spread throughout the entire Bei Zhi Li, devouring the crops and the fields, causing the land to become barren.”
"Furthermore, even their families have suffered this disaster. Bei Zhili is already without food. I hope that Your Majesty will quickly give the order. Otherwise, tens of thousands of people will be in dire straits and will starve to death!”
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his eyes were already wide open with anger.
He was born into a poor family, and when he was young, he had personally witnessed the terrifying scene of locusts flying all over the sky. Naturally, he knew how powerful it was.
"It's these damn locusts again.”
Zhu Yuanzhang slammed his hand on the table and gritted his teeth.
Upon seeing this, all the civil and military officials, including Zhu Biao, knelt down and cupped their hands at Zhu Yuanzhang.
"Your Majesty (Imperial Father), please calm down!"
"Calm down?"
Zhu Yuanzhang's face darkened, and the anger in his chest rose to a higher level."
"With the commoners suffering from this calamity, there might be countless refugees in Bei Zhi Li waiting for the Imperial Court to rescue them. How can we appease our anger? Hurry up and open the granaries to relieve the food!"
When Lee Shan Chang heard this, he quickly stood up and said,"
"Your Majesty, you can't. There are doubts about this matter."
"In the past, locust plagues mostly occurred between April and October. It's only March now. How can such a large locust plague occur?”
"In this humble subject's opinion, should we first send people to Bei Zhi Li to investigate the situation? After confirming it, they would open the granaries to provide relief and rescue the refugees!”
When Liu Bowen heard this, he immediately waved his hand and said,
"No, Your Majesty. Natural and man-made disasters cannot be delayed. Even if this matter is false, we should immediately open the granary to provide relief.”
"Otherwise, if the Imperial Court were to delay the disaster relief by a day, wouldn't even more citizens of Bei Zhi Li die for no reason?”
When Zhu Biao saw this, he hurriedly cupped his hands towards Zhu Yuanzhang and said,
"That's right, Imperial Father. Lord Liu's words are reasonable.”
"Moreover, your son has often heard people say that a long drought is bound to lead to locusts. Although it is only April, the weather in Ying Tian Prefecture is indeed hotter than in previous years, so your son believes that this matter should be true.”
As soon as he said this, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately looked at Zhu Biao with relief. Just as he was about to issue an edict to open the granary to relieve the food, Li Shan Chang took another step forward and cupped his hands.
"Your Majesty, please forgive me for being blunt."
"If the locust plague in Northern Zhili is true, then the Imperial Court should be even more careful in the matter of opening the granaries to provide food.”
Zhu Yuanzhang frowned and stared at Li Shan Chang.
"What do you mean?"
Lee Shan Chang's forehead was covered in cold sweat, and his voice began to tremble,"
"Your Majesty, just as the Crown Prince said, it's only March, but the weather is hotter than usual. If this continues, I'm afraid there will be a drought this year!”
"So this humble subject is thinking, what if the locust plague in Bei Zhi Li is not the end, but the beginning?”
As soon as Li Shan Chang said this, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes immediately widened. Liu Bowen and Zhu Biao were also stunned, and their foreheads immediately began to sweat.
All the officials in the court seemed to have thought of something as well. They were all shocked and trembled.
With a series of thuds, Zhu Yuanzhang quickly walked down from the dragon throne and pointed at Li Shan Chang."
"What start and end? Why aren't you telling me all your guesses? We forgive you!"
"Yes, sir!"
Lee Shan Chang quickly cupped his hands, but he did not dare to raise his head to meet Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze. It was as if he could already foresee the expression on his Emperor's face.
"Your Majesty, if what I said is true, if there is really a drought in our dynasty this year, then the locust plague will probably become more and more intense.”
"When the weather gets hotter, the hundreds of millions of locusts in Bei Zhi Li will probably increase again and then invade the entire Great Ming. At that time, not only Bei Zhi Li, but Ying Tian Prefecture will also be affected!”
"Our dynasty has just been founded, and there isn't much food in the national treasury. Just in case, I hope Your Majesty will be careful with the food!”
After hearing Li Shan Chang's words, Zhu Yuanzhang's mind seemed to have exploded with thunder. His entire body began to sway.
"Heavens, if that's really the case, wouldn't those damn locusts be going to devour all the food in our Ming Dynasty?!”
Seeing this, Zhu Biao quickly stood up and held Zhu Yuanzhang's arm. He said worriedly,
"Imperial Father, don't be anxious. Be careful of your dragon body!”
Liu Bowen also quickly cupped his hands towards Zhu Yuanzhang and said,
"Your Highness the Crown Prince is right. The matter has not reached that stage yet. I should immediately think of a way to remedy it.”
When Li Shan Chang saw this, he also cupped his hands towards Zhu Yuanzhang and stood on the same side as Liu Bowen.
"Yes, Your Majesty. While the locusts are still wreaking havoc in the North Zhili region, our dynasty should immediately send people to the North Zhili to eliminate this disaster, lest they allow it to spread and endanger the entire Great Ming!”
When Zhu Yuanzhang heard this, his eyes immediately lit up. He immediately reached out and grabbed Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang's arms.
"If that's the case, do the two beloved ministers have a way to kill the locusts?”
"Yes!"
Liu Bowen and Li Shan Chang looked at each other and immediately nodded."
"Your Majesty, you are wise. From ancient times until now, there have been cases of killing locusts in every dynasty, but there are no more than four methods.”
"Man-made beating, trench burying, bonfire trapping and killing, seizing the insects and removing the eggs!”
Upon hearing this, Zhu Yuanzhang's tightly furrowed brows immediately relaxed. He hurriedly looked at Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang and said,
"The two beloved ministers are really my right-hand men. I wonder if these four methods can cure the root cause? Eliminate this locust plague in one fell swoop?"
"This…"
Liu Bowen and Li Shanchang were stunned. They looked at Zhu Yuanzhang's expectant eyes and their old faces turned red. They cupped their hands helplessly and said,
"Your Majesty, locusts are a natural and man-made disaster. There is no way to eradicate them. We can only spend a lot of manpower, material resources, and financial resources to gradually wear them down.”
"That's right, Your Majesty. There have been large-scale locust plagues in the past dynasties, but no matter what methods we use, we can only treat the symptoms and not the root cause!”
Seeing this, Zhu Yuanzhang frowned again and sighed,
"Ai, could it be that our Great Ming really can't safely pass this calamity?”
The moment Zhu Yuanzhang said this, the hearts of all the civil and military officials in the court, including Li Shan Chang, Liu Bowen, and Zhu Biao, sank. Their faces were filled with melancholy.
As the huge Hall of Heaven Tribute gradually fell into a deathly silence, a loud laugh suddenly sounded.
"Haha…I finally figured it out!”
This book is provided by FunNovel Novel Book | Fan Fiction Novel [Beautiful Free Novel Book]