It was summer, the sun was shining brightly, the heat wave was rolling, and the cicadas were chirping. The trees inside and outside the capital of the Ming Dynasty seemed to be suffocated by the high temperature, and every tree looked downcast.
The climate in recent years has become increasingly weird, with extremely cold winters and extremely hot summers. Last winter, the northern section of the canal was frozen for up to 100 days, and the commercial belt with the canal as a hub was shut down for more than three months. Businesses, farmers, and even
Some factories in the north are complaining endlessly because the rhythm of production and trade has been disrupted.
In the south, there was a snowstorm even in the northern parts of Guangdong and Guangxi. Although it was short-lived, it was shocking enough and undoubtedly brought unprecedented trouble to the local area.
Now that summer has arrived, the whole country has immediately entered a state of scorching heat. In just over ten days, Gao Pragmatic received urgent requests for help from 47 governments and 115 counties at the cabinet, and drought outbreaks were still occurring in some areas.
locust plague.
Floods and droughts are often not something that can be rescued immediately, but rely more on the pre-established water conservancy system for adjustment. However, the Ming Dynasty was lackluster on this point. Large-scale water conservancy projects were basically nothing worth mentioning except for the management of the Yellow River, and the management of the Yellow River
It is nothing more than the norm in China for thousands of years, and it cannot be said to be an achievement.
It was not until more than ten years ago that Gao Pragmatic's status rose and he was able to promote some small and medium-sized water conservancy projects. His method is not difficult to say, and the main thing is to add KPI items to Gao Gong's examination method that year - such as the new exam for officials in a certain place.
Or some aspects of renovation and reinforcement of water conservancy projects may be included in the examination scope.
Of course, the level of construction or renovation and reinforcement must be double-checked by officials dispatched by the Ministry of Industry and local inspections, and the Ministry of Household Affairs may also conduct expenditure audits on some of these projects.
Today's Ming Dynasty's ability to cope with floods and droughts is quite improved compared to ten years ago. However, due to the increasingly serious extreme weather anomalies, objectively speaking, these water conservancy facilities are only a drop in the bucket, and various constructions still have a long way to go.
At the moment, all Gao pragmatism can do is to work on disaster relief, immigration and other issues to avoid famine and civil unrest, especially civil unrest.
Civil uprisings cannot solve any problems, they can only aggravate disasters and famines - people have gone to rebel, who will plant the land, and who will save the disasters? It is nothing more than wiping out a large number of people through war, and "fundamentally" solving the problem of more people, less land, and insufficient output.
Question. But who is the one who deserves to die? Those ordinary people who are innocently involved in the war, especially the old, weak, women and children, do they deserve to die?
Therefore, relief and resettlement of refugees during disasters are regarded as the first priority of the court at the moment. As for the second priority, that is dealing with the locust plague problem.
Gao pragmatically has been busy with these two major events for several months, and even cares less about Japan, southern Xinjiang, and northwest China. In just half a month, Gao pragmatically presided over six disaster relief meetings, including two
It was a royal meeting to discuss disaster relief measures.
There isn't much to say about the drought, it's all a customary system. Gao Pragmatic held a meeting just to put the responsible persons in each region in place, and repeatedly issued orders that their disaster relief tasks would be included in the examination. The emperor seemed to be also because of Gao Pragmatic's
They attached great importance to it and took it seriously. They issued strict orders to the four local officials who failed to provide disaster relief. Two of them were sent to the Liaodong army and the other two were kicked to the end and "never used again."
Next is the issue of the locust plague. The locust plague not only threatens food production, but also poses a great threat to the court. First of all, when locust disasters occur frequently, the court's tax revenue cannot be guaranteed; secondly, locust outbreaks can also easily cause
Therefore, all dynasties have paid great attention to locust control and formulated many policies.
The earliest recorded locust plague in China may have been during the period of King You of Zhou Dynasty. The Book of Songs says, "The ancestors of Tian had gods who sent them fire." It can be seen that at that time, our ancestors already knew how to use fire to eliminate locusts.
However, agricultural society still has great limitations. Due to the low level of social production and limited cognitive ability of the natural world, people have deified locust disasters. For example, Confucius, Dong Zhongshu, Ban Gu and others all believed that locust disasters
The reason is the bad governance of the rulers. They believe that locusts are a punishment from God to the rulers. They also firmly believe that locusts are "divine insects" and cannot be killed.
Under this kind of thinking, many people at that time adopted a negative attitude towards locusts and allowed them to eat their crops. In the early Tang Dynasty, there were few locust eradication campaigns organized by the government.
In the late Tang Dynasty, this idea gradually changed. During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, a locust disaster broke out in Shandong. Prime Minister Yao Chong advocated the eradication of locusts. Although he was opposed by many people, it was eventually implemented. In the end, the locust disaster in Shandong was finally solved.
After that, the imperial court also set up special "locust catchers" to control the locust control work across the country.
Since then, the control of locust disasters in ancient Chinese society has entered a new stage, and rulers of all dynasties have introduced many policies. At this time, Gao Pragmatic held consecutive meetings to summarize various experiences and methods for controlling locust disasters and publish them
, to guide local governments in governance.
According to the results agreed upon at the last Royal Council, the cabinet issued the following guidance in response to the current severe locust plague:
First of all, the reward system was improved to encourage people to catch locusts. For example, the imperial court stipulated that anyone who caught a fight of locusts would be given fifty coins; those who caught more locusts would be rewarded with small Ming Federal Reserve banknotes at a discount.
At the same time, in view of the characteristics of China's clan society since ancient times and the special national conditions of "the imperial power does not extend to the counties", the cabinet has specially stipulated that those who take the initiative to organize private collective locust hunting reaching a certain number will be given a third-class honor in addition to monetary rewards.
Jue - that is, recommended by the local government, inspected by the censor, and then submitted to the cabinet. The cabinet will then vote and submit it to the emperor. Those who pass will be awarded "honor".
Honorable Mention, this is a new system proposed by Gao Pragmatic more than half a year ago. It is a kind of praise for local good gentry. It is mainly honorary, but of course it also has certain benefits. According to Gao Pragmatic's proposal, this system
It's roughly as follows:
The first class is given an honorary title and is called a knight. It is allowed to have superior service, superior door lintels, superior vehicle driving, and is allowed to build a memorial arch of its own. People below the third rank will not be worshiped by officials. If there are lawsuits and other matters, the yamen must
Accept immediately. The honorary title is not a royal title, has no rank, cannot be inherited, transferred, sold, etc., and will be extinguished upon death;
The second level is to confer the name of a wise man in a certain government, such as a certain wise man in Hangzhou, who is allowed to be in the fifth rank or below without being worshiped by an official. If there are lawsuits and other matters, the Yamen must accept them immediately. This honorary title is valid for ten years and cannot be
Transfers, sales, etc. will be eliminated upon death;
The third level is to give the name of a good gentry of a certain county, such as a certain Qiantang good gentry, who is allowed to be of seventh rank or below without being worshiped as an official. If there are lawsuits and other matters, the Yamen must accept them immediately. This name is valid for five years.
It cannot be transferred, sold, etc., and will be extinguished upon death.
Since this honorary system was proposed by Gao Pragmatic, the emperor has agreed, and not many courtiers have objections to it - after all, Gao Yuanfu said that honorary titles are not full titles, nor can they be hereditary, and even second and third-class honors are not allowed.
The title of Jue still has years left. Although some preferential treatments are given, such as clothes, lintels, driving, and refusing to pay homage to officials, they are still within the range that everyone can tolerate.
Of course, the more critical and fundamental reason is that who among these officials are not gentry in their own local area? Even if they can study for the gold medal in high school, there may be support from local celebrities and gentry behind them. So it is an honor to be an official now, but if
Wouldn’t it be nice to also get an honorary title for your relatives and friends?
Although the imperial court requires these people to have recognized "righteous deeds" and will send patrol officials to inspect them, this kind of thing can still be solved easily - for example, I can build a road or dig a canal in my hometown, and it doesn't cost much money.
, maybe you can get an honorary title, why not?
Now, in order to deal with the locust plague, Gao Pragmatic implemented the honorary system for the first time. Unexpectedly, it was praised by the whole court, which surprised him. I can only say that it is really good to be a gentry in the Ming Dynasty. In the hands of these guys
If you really have "spare money", you don't mind spending some spare money to buy an honor. This is a bad idea. If I had known this, I should have suggested it thirty years ago.
Returning to the locust plague issue, in addition to rewards, there are also penalties. Therefore, the cabinet has also formulated relevant locust catching laws to punish local officials who fail to control the locust disaster. For example, if local officials encounter a locust disaster and fail to take measures as early as possible, they will be punished.
Fourth-class punishment: first-class banishment to the frontier fortress; second-class dismissal pending investigation; third-class title and idle residence; fourth-class examination downgrade.
Of course, these are all principles. Specific details have been issued by the cabinet in an official letter, and local governments at all levels must implement them according to the regulations.
As for the third step, it is to carry out publicity and agitation work to control the locust plague. The cabinet printed and distributed many pamphlets on locust plague control as quickly as possible and distributed them widely.
Some of the contents in these pamphlets were summarized by officials based on their experience, and some were added by Gao Pragmatic based on his understanding in later generations.
After all, he worked as a grassroots cadre in his previous life. Although he did not have a deep understanding of the locust problem, he had some knowledge. According to research, there are three main conditions for locust reproduction. First, there must be large areas of wasteland; secondly, the land must be reserved.
There are gaps; finally, there is sparse vegetation coverage.
From these three conditions, it can be seen that whether the water level is stable is a key factor affecting the locust disaster. When the water level is stable, a large number of wastelands will appear, prompting locusts to lay eggs, causing a locust disaster.
Therefore, the most fundamental reason for the locust plague outbreak is the deterioration of the ecological environment. For example, with the development of ancient society, the ecological environment of the Huanghuaihai Plain gradually shrank.
After the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the canyons in the middle reaches of the Yellow River were heavily reclaimed, resulting in serious water and soil erosion, which directly affected the safety of the lower reaches of the Yellow River. As a result, the natural balance in northern my country has been severely damaged, and climate disasters have been frequent.
By the Northern Song Dynasty, the Huanghuaihai Plain had lost its position as the economic center of gravity in the past. At the same time, locust plagues became more and more frequent. After a long period of development and improvement, locust control technology has gradually deepened people's understanding of locust disasters. On this basis, we created
Many technologies for controlling locusts have been developed.
Based on the summary, the cabinet provided the following suggestions in a booklet on locust plague control, for local governments and officials to choose according to the actual local conditions:
First, artificial control methods are adopted. This method is the oldest and most common method. For example, using the laser power of locusts to extinguish them with fire. It is recorded in the Book of Songs that "Set a fire in the middle of the night and dig a pit beside the fire."
It is the oldest method. With the development of the times, this method has gradually been improved. By the Ming and Qing Dynasties, it had become the most important method to control locust plagues across the country. Since locusts were to be controlled at this time, the cabinet of course continued to use
Provide detailed guidance.
Second, control is carried out in stages based on the evolutionary process of locusts. For example, ditches are dug to trap the locust larvae. This insect cannot fly before it emerges, so it is driven into the ditch and buried with soil.
Based on Gao's pragmatic introduction, the cabinet recommended that each locality form a team of fifty people, with one person playing the drum, and the others following closely with brooms, shovels, etc., to drive the locusts into the ditch.
Third, use special instruments to perform beatings. This method is relatively simple and has limited effects. However, with continuous development, various forms were formed in the Taqing period in original history, mainly including the cloth-wrapped type, which uses a piece of cloth to beat each other.
A piece of coarse cloth that is 1.2 feet wide and 1.2 feet wide, with a wooden pole inserted into the soil at each end. When the locusts come, the cloth can be dropped to trap the locusts in the cloth. Now, Gao Pragmatic has announced and implemented it in advance, how many
We can also do something to eliminate locusts.
Fourth, dig out locust eggs. During the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties, people realized that eliminating locust eggs could reduce the occurrence of locust disasters, so this work was promoted and implemented. The main content of this method is to find whether there are any locusts in the fields.
Use a shovel to dig up small holes like honeycombs to see if there are any locust eggs. If there are any, burn them away with a fire.
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Fifth, the agricultural control method is also the most important method. This is a method provided by a Shaanxi official from Beijing, saying that people in his hometown will first
Special treatment of grain seeds, such as mixing horse bones, aconite, silkworm droppings and other weakly toxic things with the seeds, and then cultivating them, can avoid locust disasters.
This method is very pragmatic and I don’t understand it at all. Therefore, when writing the booklet, I emphasized that each place should adapt to local conditions. It is best to have experience in using this method.
In addition to the above, there are many more pragmatic methods that are not clear whether they are useful or not, but they all "provide suggestions" according to the above method, including:
For example, planting at a time when locusts are more likely to occur. Summarizing the experience of growing crops in Henan, some officials believe that by planting rice in winter, the crops will mature during the slight summer in the field, so that locust disasters can be avoided - this is the rule this year
It's too late, so I just wrote it down in the booklet for future reference.
For example, plowing is used to eliminate locust plagues. Some officials believe that plowing the land in autumn can bury the Yang energy in the soil, which can kill locust eggs - in fact, Xu Guangqi later thought so. Of course, Gao Pragmatic thought the problem
It does not depend on "yang energy", this method should be to kill insect eggs in advance by changing the soil temperature.
Another example is to avoid locusts by planting crops that locusts don’t like to eat, such as soybeans, mung beans, black beans, sesame, cotton, buckwheat, etc. This can only be used as a suggestion, because the cultivation of staple crops cannot be changed at will.
Another example is the biological control method, which uses the laws of the natural food chain to suppress and eliminate pests, such as protecting beneficial birds that feed on locusts, and encouraging the raising of domestic chickens, ducks, etc.
In addition, there are some "technical flows". For example, a Hubei official introduced to Gao pragmatic a method of treating locusts with pox poison. This person said that there was a method in Hubei that was to puncture holes in the captured locusts and apply pox pulp on them, and then
Release it, so that the infection will spread among the locusts.
Gao Pragmatic was shocked and relieved after hearing this. This may be a precedent for controlling locusts due to COVID-19. The wisdom of working people is sometimes like a miracle.
Some officials have introduced some chemical methods to remove locusts. Simply put, they use mineral and oily compounds, or poisonous smoke to prevent locusts.
For example, lime and straw ash are used for control, that is, crushing plant ash and lime into fine powder and spreading it on the grain, so that locusts will not eat the crops.
There is also the use of oil to repel locusts. Oil and water are mixed together and sprinkled on the branches and leaves of crops. Locusts will not eat the oily crops.
There is also fumigation to drive away locusts. This method is to use wooden poles, straw poles and other things to light thick smoke, and use harmful substances in the smoke to drive away locusts.
On this day, the Wenhua Conference - that is, after the imperial meeting, Gao Pangshi was very tired and was about to bid farewell to the emperor with other officials, but the emperor kept him behind.
"Officials, please go on your own. Yuan Fu, please stay. I still have something to discuss with Aiqing."
Gao Pingshi didn't know what was going on, but he could only bow slightly and said: "I obey the order."
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Thanks to book friend "Yun Fu Yu Yu" for your monthly ticket support, thank you!
PS: The content before the Japanese war has come to an end for now. There will be one or two chapters inside the imperial court, and then it will turn to the plot of southern Xinjiang.
