Royal road

Chapter 343

Originally thought that this year would be a tough one, but unexpectedly it went much smoother than expected.The severe drought did not hurt the foundation of Yangzhou, and the rebel Shi Le who was entrenched in Henan and Yan was beheaded again.As the emperor's throne became more and more stable, even the commercial tax of Lianhang was charged a lot more.Seeing that Yuan's Day was approaching, Sima Rui also let go of his worries, and smiled a little more on his face.

"I don't know if Bingzhou will offer congratulatory gifts this year." Sima Rui said to Dao Wang with a smile, "The makeup powder and flower essences offered last year are really useful, and even the princess is looking forward to it."

Now there are many Bingzhou goods on the market in Jianye, but the price is really high.Some of them couldn't even enter the market, and were directly collected by high-ranking families.Although Sima Rui is a grand tutor, his wealth is not comparable to Jiang Zuo's family, so it would be great if he could continue to receive offerings from Bingzhou.

Unexpectedly, Director Wang's face became serious after hearing this: "The drought in the east of the Yangtze River is slowing down now, how can Your Majesty not think about the suffering of the people, but instead indulge in pleasure?"

Hearing this, Sima Rui was taken aback, and quickly said: "What Maohong said is that Gu is rash."

For more than a year, thanks to Wang's leadership of the interior and Wang Dun's leadership of the exterior, the situation in Yangzhou has gradually stabilized.The ruling and opposition parties still have countless affairs, and they have to rely on the Wang family of Langya, so he naturally has to humbly listen to Wang Dao's advice.

Seeing Sima Rui's straightforward apology, Director Wang's expression softened a bit: "The value of the gift is not important, it's just the attitude of Liang Gong. However, no matter how expensive the gift is, it can't be worth the tax. When the famine is over, we should try to collect three more. State land tax, control of salt and iron."

There was a severe drought this year, and Bingzhou reported to the imperial court early to ask for relief.Where is the extra money and food in Yangzhou?But tax relief is still possible.I heard that Bingzhou's large-scale construction is probably also to consume the influx of refugees as much as possible.He was able to keep Si and Ji stable during the severe drought, kill Shi Le, and take back Hedong.Such a feat, even Wang Dao thought he couldn't do it.

However, the more capable Liang Feng was, the greater the threat to the imperial court.How can small favors and small benefits compare to threats, Director Wang naturally wants to persuade them.

Sima Rui nodded repeatedly.But in the bottom of my heart, there is also some disbelief.The imperial court threw the entire northern land to Liang Feng, asking for money but no money, and food but no food, let alone sending troops to support it.The situation in Bingzhou is so difficult and dangerous, how can there be surplus food handed over?It's better to count on Wang Dun, who went north, to stabilize Yuzhou.

Of course, it would be even better if both Bingzhou and the puppet Han were hurt, and then Wang Shi went north.

In short, it is still necessary to draw it slowly.Sima Rui suppressed the troubles of Beidi back to the bottom of his heart, and discussed with Wang Dao about setting up the prefectures and counties and settling the Beiren.

■

Upon waking up, Liang Feng felt strangely cold, even the silk quilt on his body could not withstand the chill.Is it cooling down again?He rubbed his eyes, and wanted to turn over and sleep for a while, but Yiyan who was at the side let out a surprise: "It's snowing."

What?Liang Feng turned over with a groan and got down on the bed, and walked quickly to the window.I saw a vast expanse of whiteness outside, more than an inch of snow had already been laid on the ground, and there were still snowflakes floating in the sky. It really was snowing!

"Auspicious snow heralds a good year!" Liang Feng couldn't help beaming with joy.This winter, the three states have generally carried out deep plowing and planted winter wheat. This snow is more precious than any treasure.

A fox fur cloak was draped over his shoulders, and Yi Yan clasped his hands tightly, wrapping him up: "My lord has worked hard for a year, and God will have mercy on me."

"It's good to have snow, but we can't relax. We must do a good job of preventing insects..."

Halfway through speaking, he stopped suddenly.These can wait until the office to say.Relaxing his shoulders, Liang Feng leaned into Yiyan's arms.The warm fur and the same warm body temperature drive away the coldness on his body.

■

Day after day, the unbearable winter gradually receded.Beginning of spring arrives.

"I'm back, I'm back at last!" Leaning on the door and looking into the distance, a woman with a thorn hairpin skirt and a weathered face shouted loudly.

This voice attracted the whole family to rush to the door.Not far away, a man in a coarse cloth jacket was walking towards this side quickly.Although his body was covered with dust and half of his jacket was torn, the man's face was full of joy.

"Can you come?!" Before the man entered the room, the woman rushed up and grabbed his sleeve.

"Come on! Thanks to Lu Er's help!" The man laughed loudly, and took out a cloth bag from his pocket.The woman screamed and wanted to snatch it, but he dodged, "This time it will be placed on the field!"

"The silkworm seeds will hatch next month, so it's natural to raise silkworms!" The woman's brows were erected, and she refused to budge.

Seeing the two arguing, the old man standing next to them interrupted them: "Don't fight, don't fight. It's such a big bag, just divide it into two halves."

Seeing what their father said, the two of them couldn't take it anymore.The old man smiled and said, "Open it and have a look!"

The man then flattened his palm, and carefully removed the square cloth.I saw a piece of mud lying on the inside, not very big, but round, the front end was stepped on by someone, and there were still shoe marks.

However, this piece of mud made the old man and the woman exclaim at the same time: "But the horns?"

"Exactly!" The man beamed, "I snatched it from Liu Wu's feet, half a horn!"

This "cow" naturally refers to the clay cow used to whip the spring, which was specially placed by the county lord in the south of the city to meet the God of Mang.And the mud on the spring cattle is a treasure to farmers.Putting it in the field can help a good harvest, and covering it with silkworm eggs can protect spring silkworms.Which whip spring, is not the world turned upside down?

It is a great auspicious omen to be able to snatch the horns!

"Good! Good! Good!" After shouting three good times, the old man's voice changed with joy, "This spring, we will work hard on farming and raising silkworms, and we will live up to the blessings of gods and Buddhas!"

That's right, the five members of their family survived the disaster year of the Great Famine!In the past, who would dare to think?With such gods and Buddhas here, we must work hard to cultivate and raise silkworms this year, so as to live up to the blessings of the Buddha!

From Yanmen in the north to Leling in the east, Bing, Si and Ji prefectures, counties and counties of all sizes, all began a year of farming amidst the sound of gongs and drums in whip spring.

Digging, weeding, sowing, and even opening up wasteland, everyone is extremely busy.And the big and small commanders should not be idle.Assigned to them, there is another important task.

A loud gong sounded in the field, and a group of people rushed up immediately, using shovels, picks, and rakes. After a while, they dug a big hole, exposing the white eggs inside.

Such things, in the usual way, I am afraid that some people will hate them, and even can't bear to look at them carefully.Today, however, all the surrounding farmers widened their eyes with surprise.

"Quick! Pack it up!" Without the urging of the yamen servant, someone started first and shoveled all the soil clods with insect eggs into the basket.I checked it again carefully and made sure that there was nothing missing, so I stopped.

Without resting, the man rushed forward immediately.Among this group of people, there are not many young and old people, most of them are old people and children. They turned over the stones one by one to check the cracks in the soil.Once the eggs are found, they will swarm them again.

Working from sunrise to noon, the team finally stopped.The yamen servants who led the team brought out a cauldron and an incense table and placed them on the open space.The incense table is lit and the firewood is burning.The little official ordered someone to pick out the eggs and pour them into the pot, then poured a bag of noodles and a pinch of salt, and stir-fried them together.

After a while, a strong aroma floated out of the pot, causing those who had worked for half a day to gulp down their mouths.

Seeing that the frying was almost done, the official shouted: "Pick up the pot and serve!"

Immediately, someone placed the pot in front of the incense table. As the officiant, the official first stood in front of the table and bowed deeply three times, and then recited the prayer aloud.This passage is extremely simple, it is nothing more than welcoming the God of Yacha and giving food and drink.After saying the prayer, he took a few steps back and signaled that dinner could be served.

I have seen it many times before, and the group of farmers immediately formed a long line and came to the incense table one by one.Someone took out a wooden bowl, someone took a plate, and the yamen servant took a spoonful of food for each of them.The fried noodles in the bowl were golden, exuding a strange aroma like meat and wheat.No one would waste such a good thing. After receiving the fried noodles, everyone immediately gobbled it up.

This taste is even better than the chicken pancakes I ate during the Chinese New Year!

It is worthy of offering to the Buddha!I am afraid that only the disciples of the Buddha can turn that terrible pest into a delicious meal!

From old to young, no one was willing to waste a little bit. Some people even took the water bag they carried on their bodies, and even rinsed the bowl twice.

These are just insect eggs. If locusts grow up and eat grains and green grass, wouldn't it be more delicious than chickens turning into hens?Many people are secretly thinking about it, and some are smart enough to memorize those few prayers by heart early on. If they find bug eggs when they go home, they will surely turn locusts into meat and benefit their families!

In less than half a moment, a pot of noodles was cleaned up.

After having a full meal and resting for a while, the group beat drums and gongs again, looking for new pests.

In this era when everyone has no oil in their mouths and no meat all day long, there is nothing more tempting than eating.The extermination of locusts in various counties and counties has been carried out vigorously and smoothly.However, Sanzhou has the blessing of the Buddha, so it dares to move this disaster star.The neighboring states and counties did not have such good luck.

With the end of the spring cold, the little bugs got out of the soil, flapped their wings, and rushed towards the fields that had just emerged.

The author has something to say: In May of the fourth year of Yongjia Emperor Huai, the locusts, from You, Bing, Si, and Ji to Qin Yong, all the plants, trees, cattle, horses, and manes were all gone.

This was another straw that broke the back of the Western Jin Dynasty in the original history.