“Our Sizhou border is currently engaged in battle with the Great Xia, and the war is at a stalemate. The 100,000 Sizhou soldiers are still waiting for the imperial court’s provisions. If the provisions of Sizhou are used for this disaster relief, the loss of troops and territory in our great battle will be a minor matter. What I fear more is that it will provoke a mutiny at the front line!”

Minister of Revenue Mi Zhu retorted, "Lord Wei, if grain is not transported from Sizhou, the other prefectures are all struggling to survive. How can they possibly squeeze out grain and funds for this disaster relief effort?"

"Locust plagues have been common throughout history, and they all eventually passed. As long as we do a good job of eliminating the eggs, I, your old minister, believe that this locust plague is not so terrible!"

Wei Xian remained stubbornly opinionated.

On the surface, what he said made sense; the morale of the troops at the front should not be disturbed. But little did people know that Wei Xian had his own selfish motives.

"Oh……"

Sun Jian sneered and glared at Wei Xian, the Minister of War.

That old bastard is just unbelievable.

If the locust eggs were killed well, wouldn't the locust plague be terrible?

He's just dreaming!

This locust plague could very well become the most terrifying locust plague in history, but he just glossed over it.

With such officials in office, how can a great undertaking not fail?

Wei Xian heard Sun Jian's cold snort and glanced at him with a dark expression.

"I wonder if Lord Sun has a plan to avert disaster?"

As soon as Wei Xian said this, everyone turned their attention to Sun Jian.

Apart from Mr. Zhuang, who was quite familiar with Sun Jian, the others only had a brief encounter with him in court.

Although they had only met once, Sun Jian's name was already widely known, and everyone had heard about him so often that they were practically tired of it lately.

Even the maids and servants in their respective households have recently heard a lot about Sun Jian's deeds and talk about them all the time.

For this reason, apart from Mr. Zhuang, the others did not have much affection for Sun Jian.

So what if Sun Jian was a genius of unparalleled talent?

What business is it of theirs?

They were all in high positions of power, wielding the power of life and death, and had long been accustomed to being looked up to by others.

They valued the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children more than their own lives. In their eyes, no matter how extraordinary Sun Jian was, he was still a commoner with a lowly fate.

I'm just lucky to have His Majesty's favor; I'm just a young upstart, nothing special.

With all eyes on him, Sun Jian chuckled and said to Wei Xian, "Let's put aside whether I have a plan to quell the disaster for now, but as one of the six ministers, how can you keep claiming that locust plagues are not terrible? Aren't you just spouting nonsense?"

"you!"

Wei Xian was instantly enraged, his face turning red with anger, and his eyes were filled with hatred as he looked at Sun Jian.

As a high-ranking official, being attacked in this way by a junior, or even a commoner, in front of the emperor, the crown prince, and many ministers, who wouldn't be angry?

Sun Jian was relentless and didn't care that the emperor was still present; he continued to argue back.

"What do you mean, 'me'?"

"To say you're just making things up is too lenient; it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say you're spouting complete nonsense!"

"you!"

Wei Xian was speechless after being rebuked, and the words he wanted to say just wouldn't come out.

Sun Jian didn't give him a chance to argue; his mouth spewed out like a machine gun.

"There are both witnesses and physical evidence. There are thousands or even tens of thousands of insect eggs inside a single straw root."

"The imperial estates outside the eastern city of Kyoto stretch along Mount Li, with vegetation covering hundreds of miles. Just from the geographical location alone, it is clear that the scale of this locust plague is unprecedented and a once-in-a-century disaster."

"Hundreds of billions or even trillions of locusts will sweep in like a destructive force, leaving the land barren and devoid of vegetation wherever they go. Hundreds of millions of our people may lose their lives as a result. At that time, the world will collapse, the social order will be lost, and the country will cease to exist."

"It's so serious, yet you say it's not terrible? Your words are so contemptuous, treating hundreds of millions of ordinary people as nothing, treating our Daqian as nothing. Isn't it an exaggeration to say you're blatantly lying?"

Sun Jian's barrage of attacks enraged Wei Xian, causing his eyes to bleed.

With two such heavy accusations pinned on him, even the Minister of War couldn't bear it.

Although Sun Jian's words were a bit rough, every sentence was reasonable and well-founded. Wei Xian could not refute him at this moment, because the more he explained, the worse it would become.

With all the courtiers watching, he could only swallow his anger and resentment.

You little brat, how dare you attack me like this in front of the Emperor! You just wait!

I'll make you wish you were dead!

Wei Xian glared fiercely at Sun Jian, then hurriedly bowed to Emperor Ganwu and explained, "Your Majesty, this old minister had no such intention! I hope Your Majesty will investigate."

Sun Jian was overjoyed and chimed in, "I can testify that Lord Wei is at most talking nonsense and rambling; he would never abandon us for our great cause."

"you!"

Wei Xian was almost driven to the point of vomiting blood by Sun Jian.

However, this time it wasn't his turn to speak; Emperor Ganwu spoke first.

"Alright, is this the place for the two of you to argue?"

"Your Majesty, please forgive me! This old minister begs Your Majesty to punish me."

"Your subject admits his guilt!"

Wei Xian and Sun Jian both kowtowed to the ground, pleading guilty.

"Alright, alright, get up, everyone."

Emperor Ganwu's expression did not change much; he simply raised his hand and did not blame anyone.

This scene left everyone stunned.

If someone else had argued about this in court, Emperor Ganwu would have punished them without hesitation.

But to everyone's surprise, Emperor Ganwu not only let it go with a single sentence, but didn't even show any anger.

This clearly demonstrates the extent of the emperor's affection and favor towards Sun Jian...

"Minister Sun, what measures do you have in place to deal with this locust plague?"

Emperor Ganwu's gaze sharpened as he questioned Sun Jian.

In the current situation, only a clever strategy can provide a breakthrough.

Faced with the locust plague, Emperor Qianwu was at his wit's end and placed his bets on Sun Jian.

Sun Jian was a prodigy in his eyes, and who knew what brilliant ideas he might come up with this time.

"this……"

Sun Jian was at a loss for words.

He had previously shared his thoughts with Li Gancheng and Yao Tianzheng in the carriage.

However, the two of them overreacted and even reminded themselves that they should not have said those words in front of His Majesty.

But now that the emperor has asked, Sun Jian is in a dilemma.

He looked at Yao Tianzheng and Li Gancheng standing to the side.

Li Gancheng and Yao Tianzheng both glanced sideways, deliberately avoiding Sun Jian's gaze.

Holy crap!

These two old men.

Why do they act like this at such a crucial moment?

Should I speak or not?

"Minister Sun, I have another question for you!"

Emperor Ganwu's voice turned colder, and even his expression became extremely serious.

Sun Jian steeled his resolve, cupped his hands, and said, "Your Majesty, I do have a solution. If you follow my method, the locust plague can be eradicated."

"oh?"

Upon hearing that Sun Jian had a solution and could even eradicate the locust plague, they were immediately intrigued.

Emperor Ganwu's expression changed drastically, and he stood up abruptly from his dragon throne.

This news was like a bolt from the blue!

It was like a thunderclap from a clear sky, exploding in everyone's hearts.

Even the ministers were shocked and stared at Sun Jian in astonishment.

How to eradicate locust plagues?

Isn't this the most ridiculous thing imaginable?