Chapter 342: Earthquake First, Locusts After

In the Eastern Capital, Emperor Liu Chengyou of the Great Han was vexed along with the court officials, for a very simple reason — Heaven was not cooperating.

Another disaster had struck Hebei — an earthquake. The quake's reach was very wide, with You, Ding, Cang, Bei, Shen, and Ji as the main disaster zones, while Heng, Qing, Xing, and Ming were also affected. Though not many people died among the officials and commoners of the various prefectures, property losses were incalculable.

There seems to be a saying that a great earthquake is sure to follow a great drought, but for the Great Han, the frequency of these disasters was truly a bit excessive. Drought, locust plagues, earthquakes — and they were basically all concentrated in Hebei...

Since the founding of the state, among the Hebei prefectures, only a scant few like Heng and Qing could be self-sufficient, and even then only barely.

Places like Cang, Bei, Shen, and Ji that had recovered somewhat over the past two years could still shed tears and lick their wounds, but for places like Youzhou and Dingzhou, life was truly hard.

Dingzhou, under the military governorship of the Yiwu Army, was a frontier outpost of the Great Han. Though surrounded by important places like Hengzhou and Youzhou, it was also a border fortress — externally it could rely on the Taihang Mountains' natural defenses to resist the Khitan, while internally it held the throat of Chengde and Lulong.

Such a vital place, yet like Jinzhou of the Shannan West Circuit (present-day Ankang, Shaanxi), it was almost abandoned territory — left alone and ungoverned in peacetime, allowed to be tossed about by the bandit-natured Military Governor Sun Fangjian. Yet its population did not exceed ten thousand households, the land was remote and the people exhausted, and this time the earthquake finally drove it to voluntarily submit a memorial to the court, striking a very humble posture and requesting allocation of funds and grain.

Youzhou needed no elaboration — military disasters never ceased, and there had never been peace. Production under its administration had never recovered to normal levels. Contradictions among its military, government, and populace were acute, and the population kept draining away. Compared to two years ago, the Han people of the Youyan region were now less than half of what they had been. And under such circumstances, it still had to support nearly twenty thousand infantry and cavalry to guard against the Khitan, ready at all times to respond to contingencies.

The Prince of Yan, Zhao Kuangzan, though lacking the prestige of his father Zhao Yanshou in the Youzhou region, was still a man of considerable ability. He had implemented many policies to pacify the people, coordinated and mediated the contradictions under his rule, and barely maintained his position as "the common master of Youzhou." It could be said that the situation Zhao Kuangzan faced in Youzhou was hardly any better than what Liu Chengyou had faced when he first succeeded to the throne.

And so, when the earthquake struck, Zhao Kuangzan, quite habitually, "filed a report" to the court asking for money and grain — and directly opening his lion's mouth wide, requesting fifty thousand dan each of wheat and millet. The court categorically refused, and after deliberation, gritting its teeth at the bleeding pain, it reduced the amount and allocated a portion of money and grain from the Eastern Capital to be sent north as support. As for the reduction amount — half.

Request money and grain, get refused, deliberate, reduce the shipment... This had been roughly the mode of communication between the Youzhou direction and the court for over a year now.

As for Dingzhou, the court was not so generous. It issued an edict: if the homes of Dingzhou's commoners were destroyed and their crops ruined, they could head south to Hengzhou to seek food.

As for the other prefectures and counties, the court could only sternly urge them all to each rescue themselves from their own disasters and each settle their own people.

The earthquake's effects were still ongoing, far from dissipated. Yanzhou, Yunzhou, and Qizhou reported in succession that locust nymphs had appeared within their borders. Though the prefectures had not reported drought, the climate was quite dry — the locust plague had come again.

Before long, Gao Xingzhou at Yedu reported that in Bozhou, locust nymphs were seen stretching for several li, and overnight they all transformed into butterflies and flew away. The court hastily issued orders for all prefectures to prepare for beating and exterminating the locusts. The winter wheat was already ripe, and it was the height of the summer harvest — they could not afford another excessive reduction in grain output like last year. Liu Chengyou had been wanting to transfer Gao Xingzhou back from Yedu to the Eastern Capital for half a year now — and he abandoned the idea again.

The early Great Han dynasty truly was beset by disasters upon disasters.

Even with state affairs so difficult, upon learning that Tao Gu and Wang Qiwu, who had been sent as envoys to the Southern Tang, had returned, Liu Chengyou still quickly shifted his attention away from the disaster situation for the time being, toward the Southern Tang matters he had been yearning for.

To show the importance he placed on it, Liu Chengyou ordered his maternal uncle, Commissioner of Palace Attendants Li Ye, to personally go outside the city to welcome them. At the same time, after they returned to court, he convened an imperial council meeting in the Chongzheng Hall.

"This mission to the Southern Tang lasted nearly two months — you two have worked hard!" Liu Chengyou first received Tao and Wang, granting them tea and seats, and offered words of encouragement.

"To be loyal to Your Majesty and to serve the Great Han is our honor — how dare we speak of hardship?" Before Liu Chengyou, Tao Gu had once again resumed his submissiveness and solemn respect, laying on the flattery thick.

Hearing this, Wang Qiwu couldn't help but glance at Tao Gu. Seeing that face of utter humility — so completely different, so natural, so astonishing — it was as if he could change faces at will; even pretending couldn't produce such an effect.

"This mission to the Southern Tang, relying on Your Majesty's majesty and the Great Han's might, allowed us two ministers to live up to Your Majesty's trust and successfully negotiate peace with the Tang sovereign. Additionally, we obtained from the Southern Tang an offering of thirty thousand dan of grain and twenty thousand strings of cash..." Tao Gu said, beaming with joy while gazing at Liu Chengyou with eager eyes, like someone showing off a treasure.

The general situation had long since been reported to the Eastern Capital in writing by the two of them in advance.

"That's not a small amount!" But the moment Liu Chengyou opened his mouth, his poverty-stricken nature was immediately exposed. His face was like a flower bud, slightly unfurling, and he raised a hand:

"The prefectures of You and Ding suffered a great earthquake — short on money and grain, and I've been racking my brains over it. This money and grain can just be shipped north. That Zhao Kuangzan — besides asking the court for money and grain, he truly knows how to do nothing else..."

Liu Chengyou casually complained, though his tone was more like a kind of teasing.

"A great earthquake in Hebei?" Wang Qiwu's expression turned somewhat serious as he asked.

"Yes! Last year there was drought, then locust calamity arose; this year, as summer begins, earthquake disaster comes again, and in Yan, Yun, and other places, locusts are rising again!" Liu Chengyou wore an expression of finding joy amidst misery, saying: "Heaven above simply doesn't want me and the Great Han to have a moment of peace. With this earthquake disaster, the little surplus funds the Eastern Capital had managed to save have been consumed again..."

"Your Majesty need only regard this as Heaven's test of the Great Han. Your Majesty once said, 'A sharp sword comes from grinding, plum blossom fragrance comes from bitter cold' — it is roughly so." Tao Gu offered consolation to Liu Chengyou, even citing Liu Chengyou's own "famous saying" as an example.

Liu Chengyou's reaction showed little embarrassment. He said very magnanimously: "Man-made calamities have always been greater than natural ones. How could a mere earthquake shake my resolve?"

"Your Majesty's heroic spirit soars — your minister is truly admiring!" Tao Gu bowed in salute.

Waving his hand, Liu Chengyou was basically immune to Tao Gu's flattery, though the corner of his mouth did twitch slightly.

"How did the trip to Jinling feel?" Liu Chengyou asked.

"We ministers were envoys of a great Central Plains nation; that state is but a corner-dwelling realm — how would they dare be discourteous? The Tang sovereign personally hosted a banquet for us, summoning Southern Tang ministers to keep us company, and in conversation they showed considerable fear and respect toward our dynasty..." Tao Gu answered.

Liu Chengyou couldn't help but look at Tao Gu, suspicion rising in his heart — his instinct told him the words were exaggerated beyond the facts.

Keeping his expression unchanged, Liu Chengyou turned to Wang Qiwu and asked again: "And what of the Tang sovereign, Li Jing?"

Facing Liu Chengyou's question, Wang Qiwu answered without hesitation: "The Tang sovereign has a proper appearance, is gentle and learned in demeanor, quite elegant in bearing. He delights in poetry and rhapsody, and his literary talent is excellent — no ordinary mortal, one who may be called a master!"

"Good! To earn such praise from Minister Wang, he is indeed extraordinary!" Liu Chengyou was delighted to hear this: "In this regard, I fear that even whipping my horse I could hardly catch sight of his dust!"

Tao Gu clearly understood what Liu Chengyou was pleased about. He bowed and said with fawning words: "Poetry and prose are, after all, a minor path. In the arts of governing the state and commanding troops, the Tang sovereign is not one ten-thousandth of Your Majesty's equal. In this age of great contention, for the Tang sovereign to be so weak and cultured is not a blessing for his country's ministers and people!"

"But for the Great Han, it is indeed the best of blessings!" Wang Qiwu also made a salute and echoed.

"It seems your two ministers' trip to Jinling did indeed yield gains!" Liu Chengyou's smile receded, and his tone returned to calm.

"Your Majesty, the ministers have all arrived!" the palace eunuch Zhang Dejun reported.

"Let's go!" Liu Chengyou rose first, heading toward the main hall of the Chongzheng Hall, saying: "Share with the assembled lords what you saw and felt on your mission to the Southern Tang!"