Chapter 3: Long-term planning
Su Bucheng finished the porridge in a few mouthfuls. It only quenched his thirst but did not satisfy his hunger. It was not even enough to make him feel full. He sat there enjoying the cool breeze and thinking about the incident.
When I decided to do it, I knew the outcome might be bad, but I didn't expect it to be so serious and involve my two younger brothers.
From last winter to the beginning of this spring, there was very little rain or snow in the capital. As the magistrate of Chang'an County, he was deeply worried, as this meant that there was a high possibility of a locust plague in the future.
In March, there was a severe drought in the capital and a large locust swarm, and the worries came true.
Su Bucheng searched through ancient books for ways to control and eliminate locusts, and submitted a petition to Jingzhao Prefecture to control the locusts, but no one paid attention.
Seeing that the locust plague was getting worse and there was no hope for a harvest in the second half of the year, Su Bucheng had no choice but to call on the villagers to catch and kill locusts.
When the censors learned about this, they collectively submitted a memorial to impeach the group.
In ancient times, there was a traditional idea that "disasters were punishment from heaven", which believed that natural disasters were caused by real political mistakes and were warnings from heaven to the emperor that the country would be defeated due to its misconduct.
Locusts were regarded as divine insects with the duty of warning and were revered by all walks of life.
Taizong was furious. Killing the divine insect was a great disrespect to God!
An imperial decree was immediately issued to strip him of his official position and exile him to Lingnan!
When the officers came to arrest people, Su Bucheng was still catching locusts in the countryside. They caught him red-handed, stripped him of his official uniform, and took him away.
In the Tang Dynasty, the wives, concubines, grandparents and grandchildren of those exiled could all be registered with the exiled area and forced to migrate.
When leaving Chang'an, the Lu family, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Works, sent people to chase after her, return Su Ying's engagement letter, and demand the second son of Lu's, thus dissolving the engagement between the two families.
It was right at the city gate, with many people watching. Su Ying was overwhelmed with shame and anger, and felt depressed.
It was June and the weather was hot. Su Ying fell ill not long after walking.
Su Bucheng begged the escorting officers to be lenient and wait until his daughter recovered before setting off again.
However, the escort had a deadline and the officers refused to make any concessions, so Su Ying had no choice but to follow despite her sick body.
When he arrived in Shangzhou, his whole body was burning hot and he was unconscious. He couldn't even take medicine. It seemed that he would not survive. His family thought he would die in a foreign land.
Unexpectedly, he woke up miraculously the next day, his fever began to subside, his condition gradually improved, and he finally recovered and arrived safely in Lingnan.
But he was so thin that he was just a bag of bones.
Su Bucheng clearly felt that his daughter had changed a lot, especially her personality. She used to be gentle and affectionate, but now she is bold, resolute, and straightforward, with bright eyes, as if she was reborn from the ashes.
"Yeah!" Su Ying sat over.
If this father were in modern society, he would definitely be a good official loved by the people.
In ancient times when everyone revered locusts as sacred insects, breaking through the myth of the gods and actively killing locusts reflected their determination and courage to overcome nature and their dedication to the people.
Unfortunately, the timing was not right, and he was just a fifth-rank official with little influence, so his petition was withheld in Jingzhao Prefecture and could never reach the Heavenly Court.
Not long after the Xuanwu Gate Incident, the locust plague made Taizong believe that it was a warning from God for him to kill his brothers, and he was terrified.
Su Bucheng's locust-killing action happened to bring bad luck, and he became a scapegoat.
The original person was extremely intelligent since childhood, had a photographic memory, was well-read, and was knowledgeable. He was quite famous among the female relatives he interacted with.
When Su Bucheng was worried about the locust plague, his original self searched through ancient books and found precedents for locust extermination as a theoretical basis, and gave his father advice on how to exterminate locusts.
After being exiled, Su He, who always competed with her in everything, blamed the original body for this incident.
The same was true for the snobbish old lady Su. In the past, Su Ying brought honor to the family and even married into the Lu family, a member of the Ministry of Works. She flattered and spoiled her.
He lost his power and blamed all the mistakes on Su Ying. Thinking of the lost wealth and glory, he was so angry that he took out his anger by beating and scolding Su Ying with his cane.
"Aying, what's the matter?" Su Bucheng looked at his beautiful daughter with guilt.
If nothing had happened, maybe we should be discussing marriage now, getting married in a grand ceremony next year, being filial to our parents-in-law, living in harmony with our spouse, and living a happy life.
"Now that we have arrived at the exile site and started a new life, I think some rules need to be changed, otherwise everyone will starve to death here." Su Ying said.
"What Aying meant..."
"Aye, what I mean is that starting tomorrow, regardless of gender, age or status, everyone must work. We have too much to do and cannot afford to keep idle people. Also, there will be no discrimination in distribution."
Su Ying wanted to bring it up while they were eating, but everyone was very hungry at the time, so she held it in for the time being.
Su He and Old Lady Su still thought of themselves as official wives, sitting there quietly waiting for dinner to be served.
Although Old Lady Su was the oldest, she was in the best health among the group, young and old, and was provided with good food and drink along the way.
Not only did he not do any work, he also scooped out all the dry parts of the porridge and gave it to her, filling a big bowl.
The people who worked only drank half a bowl of porridge.
There is nothing wrong with such preferential treatment when conditions are good, as it reflects the traditional virtue of respecting the elderly and loving the young.
But the environment is tough now, and we have to enjoy the best without working hard.
If this continues, within a month, all the young and strong people who support her will starve to death.
"This..." Su Bucheng was confused.
What my daughter said made sense. She had governed the county for many years and provided disaster relief. She knew that this was fair to everyone and would ensure everyone's survival to the greatest extent possible.
But when I look at my old mother, I can't bear it.
He is already old and has been implicated by me, traveling thousands of miles across mountains and rivers and suffering so much. Now he not only has to work, but also has to drink porridge like everyone else. I just can't get over it.
"Yeah! Eliminating the distribution difference won't kill people, but if we don't, they will definitely starve to death!" Su Ying said drastically, "In this situation, survival is the most important thing!"
Su Bucheng looked at the second and third brothers next to him, and the two brothers didn't say anything.
Everyone knew that Su Ying was right, but no one wanted to be the bad guy and be criticized for being unfilial.
In ancient times, filial piety was more important than anything else!
Once you are labeled as unfilial, you will have no chance of survival in this world. You will lose your reputation and career, and you will be despised by others.
"Well, it's not like we don't have food to eat. Everyone eats the same. Is it that difficult?" Su Ying didn't think there was any problem.
"Bang!" The crutch hit his back hard.
"Ouch!" Su Ying was caught off guard and almost fainted from the pain.
"You are a conscienceless thing, how dare you instigate your father to cut my food rations!" Old Mrs. Su leaned on her crutches and glared at Su Ying. Why didn't this evildoer die on the road?
"Mom! Why are you hitting Ying again?" Su Bucheng hurriedly stepped in. The old mother was too cruel.
I never thought that my mother would hate Aying so much. She used to call me her darling and loved me so much.
"Shouldn't you be beaten? You unfilial thing, she wants to make you unfilial! And you still protect her!" Old Mrs. Su cursed.
"We're just discussing how to spend the rest of our lives. Why is it bringing up filial piety?
"Mother, we can't even get enough food. If we don't take a long-term view, no one will survive! Ah Ying is doing this for everyone's good!" Su Bucheng defended his daughter.
"So you are withholding money from me?" Old Mrs. Su asked back.
"It's not about withholding, it's about no longer treating people differently!" Su Ying took over without waiting for her father to speak.
Her father and uncles refused to be the bad guys, so she took on the role.
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