Chapter 15

Amidst his complex thoughts, the rest of the day passed as Zhao Junchen visited the affected areas.

Under the locust plague, a sense of helplessness and despair permeated everywhere, which made Zhao Junchen feel somewhat depressed.

The locust plague had only occurred a month ago, and most of the people still had some grain left from last year, so Zhao Junchen did not see widespread famine. However, the timing of the plague was unfortunate, just as autumn began, when the crops were not yet ripe. With their grain supplies dwindling and unable to last much longer, and no assurance of next year's harvest, the people's anxiety had reached its peak. In Zhao Junchen's view, large-scale chaos and the emergence of refugees were not far off.

In fact, Zhao Junchen had already seen many people fleeing the disaster on his journey.

Sitting in the carriage on his way back, Zhao Junchen remained silent, frowning as he pondered the events of the day.

After a day of inspection, Zhao Junchen discovered two very serious problems.

First, the grain shortage in Luan'an Prefecture was even greater than he had imagined, and the disaster relief grain provided by the court was far from sufficient. However, Zhao Junchen had already anticipated this issue and had a solution, so he was not worried.

What truly concerned Zhao Junchen was another problem—after visiting the people, he found that the superstition of the locust god's punishment among the people of Luan'an Prefecture was even more profound than he had imagined. No wonder even Liu Chang'an was deeply influenced, to the point of mobilizing local troops after deciding to exterminate the locusts, just in case. Zhao Junchen had thought Liu Chang'an was being overly cautious, but now he realized he had underestimated the situation and the ignorance of the people of that era.

Throughout the day, Zhao Junchen had spoken to many people and subtly probed their views on exterminating the locusts. Whenever he hinted at the idea, the people reacted strongly, either accusing Zhao Junchen of offending the locust god or fleeing far away, refusing to speak to him.

Originally, Zhao Junchen thought that although the people feared the locust god, when it came to the survival of their families, a little encouragement would be enough to get them to join the officials in exterminating the locusts. However, the reality was more complicated. Compared to exterminating the locusts, the people preferred to wait for government relief or even flee to seek survival, preferring to leave their fate to the unknown rather than fight for it themselves.

Moreover, many people believed that since the crops and grain in Luan'an Prefecture had already been mostly consumed by the locusts, what was the point of exterminating them now? They did not consider whether the plague might spread to other areas or recur.

The ignorance and stubbornness of the people in ancient times were so profound that Zhao Junchen found it unimaginable.

Liu Chang'an, however, had a unique understanding of this.

Luan'an Prefecture was one of the cradles of Chinese civilization, and countless legends of shamans and deities had been passed down since ancient times. Stories like those of the Yellow Emperor, the Red Emperor, Kua Fu chasing the sun, the Cowherd and the Weaver Girl, and Jingwei filling the sea all originated from this region. The influence of shamanism and deity worship was widespread and deep-rooted, making the people of this region more reverent and deeply believing in various superstitions than those in other places.

After the locust plague, the shamans and fortune-tellers in Luan'an Prefecture took advantage of the situation, spreading fear and making the people even more reverent of the locust god and the divine punishment.

According to Liu Chang'an's plan, the government needed to persuade the local gentry and elders to mobilize the people. Initially, Zhao Junchen thought this plan was feasible and believed he could easily convince these people. However, after understanding the actual situation, he lost confidence.

Both Liu Chang'an and Zhao Junchen had overlooked the power and influence of religion in their planning.

In fact, even without the interference of the shamans and fortune-tellers, after understanding the people's actual thoughts, Zhao Junchen was no longer optimistic about mobilizing the people through the gentry and elders.

The gentry and elders often represented conservative and outdated forces. Zhao Junchen found it difficult to persuade even ordinary people, let alone these gentry and elders. Even if they outwardly agreed due to respect for his authority, they would likely act insincerely once they returned to their respective areas.

In fact, persuading the gentry and elders to assist the government in exterminating the locusts was a minor matter, but Liu Chang'an's request for Zhao Junchen to personally handle it was significant.

Liu Chang'an must have asked Zhao Junchen to intervene because he lacked confidence in persuading these people himself.

Zhao Junchen had not thought much about it at the time and had readily agreed to Liu Chang'an's request, but now he realized that Liu Chang'an had passed the most troublesome and difficult task to him.

Thinking of this, Zhao Junchen glared at Liu Chang'an.

Liu Chang'an, sitting not far from Zhao Junchen, occasionally glanced at him with a timid and cautious expression. During their undercover investigation, he had heard many complaints and cries of injustice from the people about his excessive taxation, which made him extremely uncomfortable. Although he did not think a high-ranking official like Zhao Junchen would take action against a minor official like him, the dark expression on Zhao Junchen's face still made Liu Chang'an uneasy.

Seeing Zhao Junchen look at him with a somewhat unfriendly expression, Liu Chang'an's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly asked, "Sir, do you have any instructions?"

Seeing the flattering and humble expression on Liu Chang'an's face, Zhao Junchen sighed inwardly. He ultimately suppressed his deep-seated thoughts of "enforcing justice on behalf of heaven," as he knew he could not do without the support of corrupt officials like Liu Chang'an, both now and in the future.

So, Zhao Junchen only asked softly, "Sir Liu, which temple or Taoist observatory has the greatest influence in Luan'an Prefecture?"

Liu Chang'an did not understand why Zhao Junchen was asking this, but he still respectfully answered, "Sir, Luan'an Prefecture is different from other places. Various shamanic and deity legends are widely spread, and the people are deeply influenced by them. As a result, few people in Luan'an Prefecture have traditionally believed in Buddhism or Taoism. Although the ancient Qinglian Temple and the Yuanqi Temple have gained some influence, they are still not significant. The most influential place is the Nainai Temple on Tangnan Mountain, which is the leading center of shamanism and deity worship in Luan'an Prefecture, with a steady stream of believers."

Zhao Junchen nodded thoughtfully.

After a moment of contemplation, Zhao Junchen suddenly turned to look at Xu Qingyan.

Seeing Xu Qingyan's carefree and restless demeanor, Zhao Junchen couldn't help but smile.

Zhao Junchen was well aware of what shamanism and deity worship were. They were the most primitive religions in China, exploiting the ignorance and naivety of believers. Unlike Buddhism and Taoism, which had rigorous doctrines and teachings, the deities worshipped in shamanism and deity worship were a chaotic mix. Among the many deities they worshipped, the most famous in later generations was the Yellow Great Immortal. The teachings and ideas they promoted lacked depth, and the leaders were mostly charlatans and fortune-tellers, skilled only in manipulating people with their eloquence. In essence, shamanism and deity worship were tools used by charlatans and fortune-tellers to deceive and manipulate the people.

Although he looked down on these primitive religions, the current situation seemed to require dealing with them.

In fact, the belief in the locust god was largely propagated by the charlatans and fortune-tellers of shamanism and deity worship. The people's fear of the locust god was largely due to their widespread propaganda.

To deal with these charlatans and fortune-tellers, someone like Xu Qingyan might be the most suitable.

With this in mind, Zhao Junchen said to Xu Qingyan, "Qingyan, don't come back with me today. I have a task for you..."

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PS: I've had a fever and a cold these past few days, and I feel very uncomfortable, especially with a foggy head. Please take care of your health during this time, as summer colds are hard to get rid of. Also, I continue to seek your support and recommendations. Thank you all!!

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