Chapter 339 The Power of the Emperor
"Pitch it to his liking."
Gu Xixi said these four words.
Mu Nanzhao showed a look of realization, and then chuckled, "You really never let anyone down."
“It just depends on how it’s done.”
The four guests sitting in the hall were all smart, and the other two soon understood as well.
He Jinglan smiled and said, "Then we can use everyone's favorite method, such as sending down an oracle or something, and have them cooperate with the court to eliminate the locusts together!"
An Qinghe rolled his eyes slyly and laughed, "I know how to do it."
"We can perform a real miracle in public."
But after listening to An Qinghe say a few words like this.
Gu Xixi looked at Mu Nanzhao and He Jinglan, "So what should we do?"
He Jinglan raised her hand, "I'm always on call and can do anything."
Mu Nanzhao nodded and glanced at An Qinghe. Although his eyes were still not very friendly, they did show a bit of approval.
An Qinghe put his hands on his hips proudly, "Humph, get it clear, I'm not trying to help you gain merit!"
"First of all, I have to share Xixi's worries. I have to support her in whatever she wants to do."
"Secondly, a famine would be detrimental to our future business."
He turned to Gu Xixi and grinned, "Xixi, don't you agree?"
There was still a faint smile on Mu Nanzhao's lips, but a hint of murderous intent flashed in his eyes.
He Jinglan raised her foot and kicked An Qinghe, "You will die if you don't provoke me at this time!"
There are still seven days until the announcement of the results of the Spring Examination, and the flower-viewing banquet at Xiao He Mansion will be held in nine days.
If the first phase of locust eradication goes smoothly, it will not affect the holding of the flower viewing banquet at all.
On that day, the newly appointed Minister of Revenue led a group of officials to Xianguo Village to inspect the wheat fields on the spot.
After measurements by a special person and comparison with the records kept by the Ministry of Households, it was estimated that the locust eggs in Xianguo Village had indeed reached the level of a locust plague.
Immediately afterwards, the Ministry of Revenue sent an expedited official document to all surrounding prefectures and county governments.
Local agricultural officials are required to conduct in-depth field investigations within one day.
The reports from various places afterwards were not optimistic.
Locust eggs have been found in greater or lesser quantities throughout the capital.
Given the current situation, if a locust plague breaks out in June, not to mention the capital, the region will be doomed to a total failure in harvest.
Even places further west and south were inevitably affected.
He Jinghui already had the corresponding evidence, and he publicly presented the plan for preventive locust extermination during the morning court session on the third day.
Naturally, there were many voices of opposition among the court officials.
However, the Regent had already revealed the situation to the Emperor in person.
The emperor attached great importance to people's livelihood and was mentally prepared. After listening to what He Jinghui said, which was all reasonable and well-founded, he immediately issued an edict, ordering the Ministry of Revenue to handle the matter with full authority.
After receiving the order, He Jinghui said respectfully, "It will be auspicious tomorrow morning at the first hour of the si hour. I have set up a platform at the east city gate to announce the locust-killing act to the people."
"But I am afraid that I alone cannot control the situation, so I dare to ask Your Majesty to move forward. When your subjects see Your Majesty in person, their confidence will surely increase!"
Before the emperor opened his mouth, Fan Ge Lao's eldest son stood up to object.
Other ministers related to the Fan family also followed suit.
At this time, Mu Nanzhao, who was standing at the front of the ministers, stepped out and looked back coldly.
Wherever he looked, all the ministers avoided his gaze, fearing that they would meet his gaze.
Mu Nanzhao faced the emperor and bowed, saying, "Apart from the true gods and true Buddhas that have been passed down since ancient times, the locust god is nothing more than an evil god that the people imagined out of fear."
"Your Majesty values people's livelihood, exterminates locusts, protects food, and takes care of the people's livelihood. He is the only true god in the secular world of the Daye Dynasty. With such righteousness, why should he be afraid of the Locust God?"
"Instead of trying to change the customs of the people, all of you have jumped out and kept talking about the locust god."
"Could it be!" Mu Nanzhao suddenly emphasized, "You all don't believe in His Majesty, but believe in the Locust God?"
The emperor cooperated very well and looked down calmly, with an awe-inspiring look without even getting angry.
All the officials knelt down immediately, shouting: "We dare not."
After a moment, the emperor spoke, "My dear ministers, please stand up."
Although he had a smile on his face, his tone left no room for doubt.
"Anyway, I haven't left the palace for a long time. I'll just follow what Mr. He says."
"This is a battle between the people of Daye and the locusts. As the Son of Heaven, it is only natural for me to personally supervise the battle."
"My dear ministers, please come with me and pray for the people."
At this point, although the ministers still had their own thoughts, no one dared to oppose.
This afternoon.
Gu Xixi sprinkled the medicine on the locust eggs, waited for an hour, and then cut open the eggs one by one.
The larvae that are about to hatch are already alive, so it is very easy to observe the effects of drugs on them.
In order to minimize the error, a total of eighty strings of insect egg samples were collected, which is a lot.
The maids in Yuzhuyuan each held an embroidery needle and followed Gu Xixi's instructions to carefully cut open the skin without damaging the insect inside.
Each stroke counts as one number, using the method of drawing the correct characters.
There is no other way. In a world without other tools and computers, we can only use this stupid method.
After everyone worked hard for a long time, they finally dissected out the worms, and found that more than 50% were dead, about 10% died after a while, and less than 40% were alive.
He Jinglan said happily, "Great, it's just as you expected!"
Gu Xixi sighed regretfully, "I thought I could reach 60%."
But there is no time to optimize the formula, so this is the only way for now.
He Jinghui has been very busy these days and has not been home.
He Jinglan could only send the guards to hand the prescription to He Jinghui as soon as possible.
The amount of this thing required is not small, and it can only be supplied if the court produces it day by day.
After finishing all this, the afternoon was already halfway through.
He Jinglan forced Gu Xixi to drink a bowl of calming soup, "You have hardly slept these past two days, you must listen to me, get a good night's sleep first, there are important things to do tomorrow morning."
Gu Xixi was dragged to the bedside and lay down obediently, "An Qinghe hasn't come back yet?"
He Jinglan said, "No, I guess he will go directly to my brother's place after he finishes it."
"Just trust him and don't worry too much."
Gu Xixi hummed, "He looks like a cheerful guy, but he never fails to deliver on his promises."
The next day at 9:00 p.m.
The young emperor ascended the high platform, accompanied by his personal eunuchs and the regent, and followed by the ministers.
The Jinwu Guards are responsible for guarding.
The East City Gate had already been surrounded by the people and no one could get in or out.
When the audience saw the bright yellow dragon robe with their own eyes, there was an uproar.
No one noticed the woman in Hu clothing who was following the Regent.
She wore no makeup or jewelry, and her face was covered with a thin veil.
Even though it looks beautiful, it is not stunningly eye-catching.
Even if some court officials saw her behind her, they would just think she was the regent's maid.
After all, the Regent has always been arrogant and never takes anyone other than Your Majesty seriously.
Even in such a public occasion, it was not surprising that he insisted on bringing a maid with him, unlike others.
Outside the human wall formed by the Jinwu Guards, An Qinghe and He Jinglan were also standing in the crowd.
Even though He Jinglan had seen many big scenes, she still couldn't help being nervous at this moment.
"You said that Xixi wanted to do something like that to His Majesty for the first time she met him. Is that okay?"
An Qinghe stared upwards and gritted his teeth, "I don't know either."
"...Damn Mu Nanzhao!!"
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