Chapter 1523: Imperial Master Pudu Cihang

Jiang Hao won the first place in the provincial examination of Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Many people came to congratulate him and even came to establish a relationship with him. The next day, after attending the hairpin banquet, Jiang Hao took Lizhi and several girls on the boat back to Jinhua.

The scenery on both sides of the river was beautiful and the boat was safe. A few days later, they returned to Lanxi. After the boat docked, the Hu family's convoy was waiting here. The little fox came to pick her up in person and smiled happily when she saw her husband.

"Do you miss your husband?"

In the carriage, Jiang Hao pinched the little fox's face and asked.

"My husband has been gone for three or four months, and I miss him every day." The little fox said coquettishly.

"My husband will love you well that night."

Jiang Hao leaned close to the little fox's ear and whispered.

He stayed in the Hu family villa for a few more days. After packing up, he said goodbye to the old fox and sailed again. He soon arrived at the Jinhua Villa. As soon as he came back, Zhuge Wulong came up with several thick registration books in his hand.

"In the past few months, the city gods of various places have reported that there are a large number of people who can be summoned to the city god's mansion, as city gods, judges, underworld generals, and land gods. There are also some monsters who have cultivated successfully and surrendered, who can be mountain gods and river gods. I have detailed registrations here, waiting for you to come back and decide." Old man Zhuge said.

Taking a few books, Jiang Hao flipped through them one by one, almost covering all the prefectures in the country, with a number of four or five thousand people. If all these people are accepted, it can greatly alleviate the current shortage of manpower.

However, Jiang Hao will not be careless in the matter of recruiting people. A good official is a blessing for the local people, but a bad official is a disaster for the people.

"Okay, after a few days, I will personally inspect the states and prefectures, and use the power of the city god to investigate the situation of these people, and grant the right people the position of god." Jiang Hao said.

Beijing.

Huguo Temple.

A man in a yellow robe stepped over the high threshold and entered the main hall. In the center of the main hall was a statue of Tathagata Buddha. The statue was five meters tall, solemn and golden. The man in the yellow robe looked at the statue and couldn't help swallowing his saliva. It was said that the gold foil on the body of the statue was worth a million taels of gold.

This was not gold foil at all, it was simply made of gold plates.

Under the golden Buddha, an old monk sat on a cushion, wearing a robe, a string of thick prayer beads around his neck, a monk's hat on his head, and two ribbons on his shoulders. He looked solemn.

Just as the man in the yellow robe showed a greedy look at the big golden Buddha, the old monk suddenly opened his eyes, a golden light flashed in his eyes, and there was a sharp look in his eyes.

"Namo Amitabha, you are greedy for the golden Buddha!" ​​said the old monk.

The man in yellow robe was startled, and immediately collected his mind. He bowed slightly to the monk on the cushion, and said with a smile: "I have met the national teacher. I just felt that the statue of Tathagata Buddha was majestic and solemn, so I took a few more glances."

The national teacher naturally knew what this guy was thinking, and did not bother with him. He said in a deep voice: "Henan Governor Xue Ji did not respect Buddhist principles and did not obey orders. He even wrote a letter to the emperor, asking the emperor to stay away from me, the national teacher, so as not to make mistakes in the country. Humph, he really doesn't know how to live or die."

"Now you go to Henan and start a locust plague. I want to make Henan harvest nothing and make people's livelihood wither. At that time, someone will naturally deal with Xue Ji and make him dismissed and lose his life!"

"I am the locust god. Creating locust plagues is my specialty. It's just right to have a good meal!" The man in yellow robe smiled, bowed to the national teacher, shook his cloak, and his whole body turned into a pile of locusts. These locusts spread their wings and quickly flew out of the hall, flew out of the capital, and flew towards Henan.

The Imperial Master looked at the disappearing locust swarms and smiled. "Henan is plagued by locusts, and victims are everywhere. The emperor held Xue Ji accountable, either demoting or killing him. Then I can take action to solve the locust plague, and I will surely gain countless believers and increase my willpower."

"People are always greedy, and giving is not enough. Only suffering can make them know the value of happiness and know how to be grateful. Amitabha."

The Locust God arrived in Henan. It was midsummer, and the grass and trees were lush. Looking at the bright moon in the sky, the Locust God smiled.

"The time is right. When those people wake up and see the bare fields, I don't know how they will cry."

After speaking, he shook his cloak violently, and countless locusts rushed out of his cloak in an instant. The Locust God looked at the locusts rushing out, and felt that it was still not enough. He took the cloak and threw it into the sky. The cloak instantly became larger, dozens of feet long.

"Buzz buzz buzz~~!"

The cloak in the sky was like a dam that had been opened, and locusts swarmed out like a flood. It didn't take long for the sky to be covered with rain. I'm afraid there were hundreds of millions of them.

The locust god laughed loudly, "My sons, there are delicious meals everywhere. It's a good time to eat them. The more you eat, the stronger I will be. Go ahead, hahahaha!"

The army of locusts in the air automatically divided into more than a dozen groups and flew in all directions.

It was still summer, and wheat, millet, rice, beans and other crops were planted in the fields. These locusts pounced on the crops and immediately ate them. There were sounds of nibbling crops all around, and the crops in the fields disappeared at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The locust god flew twice in the air and nodded with satisfaction, "There is a locust plague. I'm afraid these guys will burn incense for me again. They can raise sons and get incense. Hahaha."

The locust god laughed three times, shook his cloak and disappeared.

There was a village called Dujia under the jurisdiction of Kaifeng Prefecture. Almost everyone in the village had the surname Du. Before daybreak, the hardworking people got up, packed up their things and prepared to go to the fields. But when they walked to the end of the field carrying their hoes, everyone was stunned.

The crops in the fields in front of them were all bare. The people were dumbfounded. This was the food they depended on for survival. People ran forward like crazy and found that the only remaining stalks were all bitten. Old Man Du had lived for fifty or sixty years. When he saw this situation, his face turned pale and his voice trembled.

"It's locusts, it's locusts!"

Others looked at the crops that had been eaten clean, and many people knelt on the ground and cried loudly, "The harvest is all gone, how can we live!"

They were counting on harvesting some food so that they could have a winter that was not too cold and hungry, but now the situation is absolutely nothing. Their rent, their food, everything is gone.

No one stopped them, and everyone was crying.

Famine followed the locust plague. I don't know how many people will die. Everyone cried for their future fate.

This matter was reported at a very fast speed. The head of the village reported it to the mayor. The mayor found that it was not only Dujia Village, but the whole town that was affected by the disaster.

The mayor quickly reported to the county magistrate, who found that the situation was even more serious. Most towns in the county were hit by locust plagues, so he immediately reported to the prefect.

The prefect also found that it was not just one county, but many counties in Kaifeng Prefecture were hit by the plague, so he quickly reported to the governor's office.

Henan Governor Xue Ji looked at the reports on his desk. Since the locusts were discovered, it took only two days for the locusts to sweep across Kaifeng Prefecture, and then the locust swarms dispersed. Now locust swarms have also been found in Henan Prefecture, Guide Prefecture, Runing Prefecture, Nanyang Prefecture, Huaiqing Prefecture, and Weihui Prefecture, and the locust swarms are wreaking havoc here.

Xue Ji immediately wrote a memorial and sent it to the capital at an urgent speed of 500 miles.

The memorial arrived in the capital on a fast horse and was sent to the cabinet.

In the morning,

the Forbidden City,

the emperor sat in the main seat, wearing a golden dragon robe, about thirty years old, with a sighing beard, and a slightly tired look in his eyes.

Not far from the throne, the national master Pu Du Ci Hang, dressed in a monk's robe, stood there with a calm face.

And below were the civil and military officials kneeling on the ground.

When the civil and military officials knelt and kowtowed, they would naturally emit a breath of luck, but when this luck floated towards the emperor, it was intercepted by Pudu Cihang standing in front of the emperor and absorbed into his body.

These officials did not know that they were actually not worshipping the emperor, but the national teacher, who absorbed the national luck in this way.

After the ministers stood up, the chief minister Cheng Guoxiang took the lead and took out a memorial and said quickly: "Your Majesty, Henan Governor Xue Ji sent an urgent report from 500 miles away. There was a locust plague in Henan. The locusts were overwhelming and ravaged Kaifeng Prefecture. More than a dozen counties in Kaifeng were severely affected. After eating up the crops in Kaifeng Prefecture, they have invaded seven prefectures in Henan, including Runing Prefecture, Guide Prefecture, and Nanyang Prefecture."

When the officials in the hall heard the news, many people were shocked. A locust plague is a big deal. This is going to be a disaster.

Once a disaster occurs, the people will flee, and the court and the country may be unstable.

After hearing this, the emperor sitting on the dragon throne frowned slightly, "Henan locust plague, Henan didn't have a severe drought last year, why is there a locust plague this year, and it's so fierce."

"No one can really figure out the ins and outs of the locust plague, maybe~~" Prime Minister Cheng Guoxiang glanced at the national teacher standing in front.

The emperor also looked at the national teacher and asked, "National teacher, can you figure out why Henan is suffering from a locust plague?"

Pudu Cihang turned around, raised his hand and bowed slightly to the emperor, and then recited the scriptures. Everyone in the court stared at the national teacher reciting the scriptures. Only the sound of reciting scriptures remained in the hall. After about a cup of tea, the national teacher opened his eyes.

"Your Majesty, this is a punishment from heaven. Someone must have made a mistake, so the natural disaster punishment was sent down." Pudu Cihang said.

"Heavenly punishment, who made a mistake." The emperor asked.

Pudu Cihang bowed slightly to the emperor, "Henan is suffering from a disaster. It must be that someone in Henan has angered the heaven."

The emperor thought for a while, "Say loudly, Xue Ji has been the governor of Henan for more than a year, but has made no achievements. This locust plague must be because he is not doing his job well. Order him to return to Beijing."

As soon as the emperor finished speaking, someone below hurriedly stood up. It was Chen Yan, the deputy government official. He bowed to the emperor and said, "Your Majesty, who can explain the matter of ghosts and gods clearly? Please temporarily withdraw your order. At this time, the locust plague is raging in Henan. It is a critical moment to fight the disaster. Xue Ji has been the governor of Henan for a year and a half and is familiar with the situation in Henan. Temporary replacement may delay the opportunity to fight."

The emperor thought for a while and felt that he was indeed a little hasty just now. After thinking for a while, he said, "Issue an order to reprimand Xue Ji for his poor performance in herding and let him deal with the locust plague with all his strength. If he fails to handle it well, he will be punished for several crimes together!"

"Your Majesty, how should the disaster relief be arranged?" asked the chief minister Cheng Guoxiang.

The emperor looked a little impatient and said, "Now that the treasury is empty, let Xue Ji find a way to save the disaster. I will count it as his meritorious service. If he handles it well, I will take over the matter. If he doesn't handle it well, I will punish him for his incompetence!"