Chapter 12

"Is it really impossible to control this locust plague? If we send more people to exterminate them, the plague will spread more slowly, and the people might be able to recover some of the crops they have worked on for a whole year."

Zhao Junchen had only said this casually to show his concern for the locust plague. After all, in his view, organizing people to exterminate locusts was something Liu Chang'an, as the prefect, would definitely have already done. The plague had just come too quickly and fiercely, so the results were minimal.

However, the reality was far from what Zhao Junchen had imagined.

Hearing Zhao Junchen's words, Liu Chang'an looked utterly shocked and stammered, "S-Sir, how can we exterminate locusts? The locust plague is a heavenly punishment sent by the Locust God. If we exterminate them, we will offend the Locust God. What will we do then?"

On the other side, Xu Qingyan had the same expression and said repeatedly, "Young Master, we cannot exterminate locusts. Otherwise, it would be defying the will of heaven, and we will be punished by the gods!"

Seeing Liu Chang'an and Xu Qingyan's reactions, Zhao Junchen was taken aback.

The locust plague is a heavenly punishment? Locusts cannot be exterminated? Otherwise, we will offend the Locust God?

The idea of viewing a natural disaster like the locust plague as a heavenly punishment might seem ridiculous to people in later generations, but seeing Liu Chang'an and Xu Qingyan's serious and earnest expressions, Zhao Junchen realized that this belief was deeply ingrained in people's minds during this era.

Zhao Junchen had read a lot in his previous life and had some understanding of how people in ancient times viewed natural disasters. He knew that the ancients generally saw natural disasters as "heavenly punishments" and held them in great awe. A large-scale natural disaster could even force the emperor to issue a "self-censure edict," admitting his moral shortcomings to seek forgiveness from heaven, regardless of whether he was a wise or foolish ruler.

Although he understood this, Zhao Junchen never imagined that this belief would be so deeply rooted in ancient times. Just because the locust plague was seen as a heavenly punishment, officials could allow locusts to ravage their territories, leaving everything barren and causing widespread famine, while the people could only watch helplessly as the locusts devoured the crops they had worked hard to grow for a whole year—crops that were their means of survival for the next year!

Then, Zhao Junchen suddenly thought of Yao Chong, a famous prime minister of the Tang Dynasty.

Yao Chong was probably the first official in ancient times to oppose the "heavenly punishment theory." Around the fourth year of the Kaiyuan era, a locust plague ravaged Shandong. While everyone was focused on "praying to heaven for blessings to eliminate the disaster," Yao Chong alone insisted on exterminating the locusts and burning their corpses. The then-emperor, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, was quite enlightened and ultimately agreed with Yao Chong's proposal. Following Yao Chong's advice, the locust plague was quickly suppressed, saving countless lives. For a time, Yao Chong was revered as a savior by the people of Shandong, who were immensely grateful.

However, the situation soon took a dramatic turn. The following year, a large-scale locust plague struck Shandong again. The "heavenly punishment theory" once again gained momentum, and almost everyone believed that the recurrence of the plague was due to Yao Chong defying the will of heaven and offending the gods. The people of Shandong, who had previously revered Yao Chong as a savior, suddenly changed their views, blaming him for their misfortunes. Public resentment boiled over, and officials at all levels impeached Yao Chong. Although Emperor Xuanzong, who had always relied on Yao Chong, again followed his advice to exterminate the locusts, he had no choice but to demote Yao Chong to appease the public.

Yao Chong's career had been generally stable, but those few years were marked by ups and downs. Although various factors contributed to this, the Shandong locust plague was undoubtedly the most direct cause and the strongest excuse for his political enemies to attack him.

Since Yao Chong, although several hundred years had passed and society had developed, people's views on natural disasters had not changed much.

In fact, due to Yao Chong's precedent, few people dared to openly advocate exterminating locusts during a plague.

In reality, not only for locust plagues, but for droughts, floods, fires, and earthquakes, people's first thought was not to help themselves but to seek help from the vague and intangible Locust God, City God, Dragon King, Kitchen God, and Earth God.

...

While Zhao Junchen was deep in thought, Liu Chang'an felt it necessary to teach Zhao Junchen some "common sense." In Liu Chang'an's view, Zhao Junchen's suggestion to "exterminate locusts" was entirely due to his lack of experience and youthful ignorance.

After all, in the eyes of the people, Zhao Junchen's high position was not due to his virtue and talent but solely because of the favor of the current Emperor Deqing. Liu Chang'an undoubtedly shared this view.

Therefore, Liu Chang'an explained to Zhao Junchen in a helpless tone, "Sir, you may not know, although the sage once said, 'The Master did not talk about strange phenomena, violence, or disorder,' the people are ignorant and cannot understand the sage's teachings. Even the late Mr. Xu Guangqi (Note 1) had his views on the locust plague, which were praised by the previous emperor, but they have not yet taken root in people's hearts. To the ignorant masses, the locust plague is a punishment from the Locust God, and it can only be accepted, not resisted. The only way is to cultivate virtue to avoid disaster. In such a situation, if we rashly organize people to exterminate locusts, we may not only fail to gain the people's understanding and support but also cause panic and unrest, which could lead to chaos. Therefore, as local officials, we rarely organize people to exterminate locusts during a plague. Of course, if the people voluntarily exterminate locusts, the government will not stop them."

Seeing Liu Chang'an's expression of regret and disappointment at the people's ignorance, Zhao Junchen suddenly felt that locusts and corrupt officials had many similarities.

Both lie in wait, both arise in chaos, both are insatiable, and both have great destructive power, yet they are mysteriously revered by the people.

Perhaps the only difference was that the locusts' patron was the vague and intangible "Locust God," cloaked in the guise of "heavenly punishment," while the corrupt officials' patron was the court and the emperor, cloaked in the guise of "ruling on behalf of the emperor."

Actually, Zhao Junchen had no right to comment on these matters, as he himself was now a thoroughly corrupt official.

However, hearing Liu Chang'an's explanation, Zhao Junchen felt that this ignorance of the people might be an opportunity for him.

An opportunity to improve his tarnished reputation in the court and among the people.

If he seized this opportunity well, the effect would undoubtedly be much better than simply overseeing disaster relief.

Therefore, Zhao Junchen did not accept Liu Chang'an's explanation but instead looked at him sternly, his previous gentle demeanor gone. He coldly stared at Liu Chang'an and said, "The sage said, 'The Master did not talk about strange phenomena, violence, or disorder.' It seems you, Prefect Liu, still remember this. From your earlier reaction, talking about heavenly punishment and the Locust God, I thought you were a priest at the Locust God Temple. In my view, you may not be a competent prefect, but you would be perfect for the Locust God Temple."

Seeing Zhao Junchen's unfriendly expression, Liu Chang'an was thrown into a panic. Ignoring the cramped space in the carriage, he hurriedly knelt before Zhao Junchen and said, "Sir, please forgive me. Your subordinate..."

Before Liu Chang'an could explain, Zhao Junchen continued, "Prefect Liu, I have a question for you. Do you really believe in the talk of heavenly punishment and the Locust God?"

Hearing Zhao Junchen's question, Liu Chang'an was at a loss for words.

From his earlier reaction, it seemed that Liu Chang'an, if not deeply believing in the Locust God and heavenly punishment, at least preferred to err on the side of belief.

But now, he was afraid of offending Zhao Junchen and dared not speak the truth. He wanted to lie to get by, but he was also afraid of making Zhao Junchen even angrier.

After much hesitation, Liu Chang'an finally said, "Sir, the talk of heavenly punishment and the Locust God has been around for a long time and has a profound impact. In my view, it's better to believe in it rather than not, and we must be cautious..."

Zhao Junchen smiled and asked, "Good. Since you believe in it and think this locust plague is a punishment from heaven for our great Ming Dynasty, I ask you, why did heaven send this punishment to your Lu'an Prefecture? Did you, as the prefect, do something unforgivable? Or is it because the current emperor lacks virtue?"

Hearing Zhao Junchen's pointed question, Liu Chang'an was so frightened that he trembled all over and dared not answer rashly.

...

Note 1: Xu Guangqi, with the courtesy name Xuanhu, wrote "Agricultural Administration," the first book in Chinese history to statistically study and research locust plagues. It was from "Agricultural Administration" that feudal rulers gradually began to have a correct understanding of locust plagues.

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