Gai Xun grabbed his only son's shoulders with both hands and looked at him carefully. After nearly a year apart, his son had grown much taller, already over seven feet tall, so he laughed and said, "My son can be called a great husband."
Gai Jun frowned slightly and thought to himself: "It seems that the locust disaster has affected many people. Even the joy of family reunion can't wash away the tired look on his father's face." Along the way, the wildness was full of clouds.
The clouds of insects hanging low in the sky gathered and dispersed, sweeping across the green fields with a buzzing sound. The scene was horrific and heart-wrenching.
"Father." Gai Liao obediently stepped forward and saluted.
Gai Xun smiled, touched his daughter's silky hair, and took her hand.
Ma Zhao approached her husband and said worriedly: "Husband, you look very haggard. You should pay more attention to your health."
Gai Xun said helplessly: "The locust plague is raging in the county. How can I sleep?"
Ma Zhao asked: "How is the situation?"
"Alas... the people are miserable this year. In the face of natural disasters, there is no distinction between Han and Hu." Gai Xun looked sad and led his wife and daughter into the city. As he walked, he said: "Not only Liangzhou, but also half of the Han Dynasty is in danger of flooding."
Ma Zhao asked again: "What countermeasures does the imperial court have?"
"Some people say that the locust plague is a warning from God, and His Majesty is ready to punish a group of cruel and corrupt officials." At this point, Gai Xun shook his head, obviously in his view this was not a top priority.
Gai Jun interjected: "I have a method that can eliminate the locust plague."
"Oh? Seriously?" Gai Xun stopped and stared at his son intently, fearing that he was just kidding.
Don't tell me, he really has a way. What was his last name in his previous life? Yao, his family has always regarded himself as a descendant of Yao Chong, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty. Yao Chong's reputation for controlling locusts has been passed down through the ages, and his method of controlling locusts has been regarded as a classic by later generations. When he was a child, he heard
Yao Chong has told the story of killing locusts eighty times or not a hundred times, and his ears are filled with cocoons.
"Have you ever seen a moth flying into a flame?"
Gai Xun didn't understand what he meant: "It's just a disaster of being burned. Why do you ask this?"
"Moths and migratory locusts are of the same kind. How did I know that the locusts would not follow suit?"
Gai Xun slapped his forehead and said "Ahhhh" at the same time, and said repeatedly: "This simple truth, I never thought of it, I never thought of it..."
"It's amazing that you can think of it. This is a good strategy for the ages." Gai Jun murmured in his heart, and then became more specific, "Father only needs to organize the people to set fires beside the fields at night, dig holes while setting fires, and bury them while burning.
, it will definitely alleviate the locust plague.”
The more Gai Xun thought about it, the more it made sense. He said "I am truly a beautiful son" and rushed to the county government to meet the prefect.
This...even if you are dedicated to serving the people, it is too resolute? Isn't it too late to at least send your family to the official residence?
Mother and son looked at each other and smiled bitterly, and had no choice but to be led into the official residence by the servants.
As the residence of the family members of a county official, the Hanyang official residence is extremely luxurious. Of course, it cannot be compared with the Gai family's ancestral residence in Dunhuang. There is no comparison between a public residence and a private residence.
Gai Xun came to the door of the temple, took a deep breath, slowed down his steps, straightened his clothes, and stepped inside with a solemn expression.
He had just assumed the post of chief historian, and he didn't know much about Zhang Zhao, the prefect of the county. He only knew that he was from the eunuch party. However, listening to the private comments of the people in the county, he seemed to have no other bad deeds except for being greedy for money. He came out these days.
Being an official and not being greedy is the other way around.
The prefect Zhang Zhao came out to welcome him, took Gai Xun's arm and said enthusiastically: "Gai Changshi is here, come in quickly."
"Mingfu." Gai Xun gave a simple greeting and followed the eunuch into the main hall. As soon as he sat down, he immediately repeated his son's words. After that, he discussed ancient and modern times, citing scriptures to strengthen his persuasion. Unfortunately, the eunuch always looked noncommittal.
Xun couldn't help but become anxious, and his words became much more serious unconsciously: "Nowadays, some people say that eunuchs are selling their posts everywhere and causing chaos in the country, so God sends disasters to punish them." That's your backer.
"You..." The prefect stood up and glared at Gai Xun.
Gai Xun turned a blind eye and continued: "Soon, your Majesty will have people operated on in response to God's warning." Don't think you can run away.
"..."
"If the Ming Dynasty can eliminate the locust plague, wouldn't it refute this rumor?" My method will help you tide over the difficulties.
"..."
"Besides, if you attract His Majesty's attention, it will be easy to achieve success." What is the purpose of being an official? It is nothing more than fame and fortune.
"..."
Prefect Zhang Zhao's face turned from red to white, and then from white to normal. He finally sat back calmly and fell into deep thought. He didn't care whether His Majesty paid attention to him or not. What he cared about was Zhao Zhong, the Minister of the Central Military Commission. Now it was his time
In times of difficulty, even though there is no fear of life, we are still very anxious. If Gai Xun's method of killing locusts is effective, wouldn't it be a great help to Chang Shi? Then...
After a moment, he said seriously: "What Gai Changshi said is not unreasonable. You can try it in the evening. If it works, it will be a blessing to the people in the county and the people in the world."
After obtaining the consent of the prefect, Gai Xun immediately organized the manpower and ordered people to call Gai Jun. He came up with this method, and some details were beyond his control.
That night, a raging fire broke out beside the fields, and countless locusts were killed.
Proving that this method was feasible, Gai Xun immediately went to Long County to meet with the Liangzhou governor.
When the Thirteen Prefecture Governors were established in the early Western Han Dynasty, the governors of the prefectures were originally supervisors sent by the imperial court. They had the power to inspect and impeach county officials, but had no power to remove them. The governors usually "toured the prefectures and counties under their command" and "
At the end of the year, he "goes to the capital to perform affairs". Because "there is no permanent governance", there is no place to govern. At the end of the Western Han Dynasty and during the reign of Wang Mang, the name of the governor was changed to Zhou Mu, who actually held the power of life and death in a state. In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, it was changed to the governor again.
, but at this time, the power of the governor was much greater than that of the Western Han Dynasty. As long as there was "an impeachment, he would be dismissed". From then on, the governor "had a fixed place to govern" and was known as "Waitai", becoming the governor of the county and the prime minister of the country.
Although the rank of governor is only 600 shi and that of governor is 2,000 shi.
Gai Xun went around several passes before he saw the person. They were both six hundred stone officials, but their status was as different as the world.
The governor of Liangzhou, whose surname was Liu Mingqian, was in his forties. He was tall and thin, upright, and hated evil. In addition, he was from a clan of the Han Dynasty and had a transcendent status. He had a high reputation and great power in Liangzhou. All the governors were trembling with fear when they saw him.
Seeing Gai Xun standing in front of him without fear, Liu Qian nodded secretly and invited him to take a seat.
After listening to what Gai Xun said, Liu Qian frowned and said, "Is Gai Changshi's method really feasible? This kind of thing should be done more carefully."
"How dare you lie? If you don't hurry up, the eunuchs will take away the first prize."
"We still believe what we hear, and what we see is belief." Liu Qian made up his mind not to let the rabbit out but not the hawk.
Gai Xun was helpless. He dared to resist the prefect Zhang Zhao, sarcastically, sarcastically, and even threatened him, but he had no choice but to deal with the famous clan official Liu Qian.
Late at night, a huge fire broke out in the suburbs of Long County.
The next day, a memorial was sent by horse to Luoyang, Kyoto.