Chapter 1: The Miserable Transmigration

  Goodbyes are never easy for anyone. Although it hadn't been many days since Jiang Xia got to know Yang Jingjing, her simple and lovely personality, as well as her spoiled and stubborn temper, made him find her quite lovable.

  Many times thinking of Yang Jing, Jiang Xia felt that this girl was like a spirit, living in her own simple world, unable to hide any little thoughts in her heart.

  See off Yang Jingjing, walking out of Yongding Gate all the way.

  Yang Yiqing stood beside the carriage, bowed to Jiang Xia and said: "Thanks to Mr. Jiang's guidance this time, I was able to persuade the emperor, great kindness and virtue, if there is a chance in the future, I will surely repay heavily."

  Jiang Xia nodded and said, "What Yang Daren has done is all for the sake of the common people. Such noble character makes me admire him deeply. My humble efforts are not worth mentioning, Yang Daren's words are too kind."

  Yang nodded and said, "Goodbye."

  Jiang Xia also made a fist and returned the courtesy: "I bid you farewell."

  Yang Yiqing got on the horse cart, and as it moved forward, Yang Jingjing suddenly stuck her head out of the window and said to Jiang Xia: "Brother Jiang, don't forget our agreement, remember to come visit me in Gansu."

  "Definitely!" Jiang Xia said.

  Yang Jingjing suddenly said another sentence: "I know how big the big meat buns in Manfulou are, I will work hard..."

  The smile on Jiang Xia's face froze instantly.

  Henan, where the four major river systems of Haihe, Yellow River, Huaihe and Yangtze River intersect, with more than 1,500 rivers crisscrossing the territory. The thoughts of Taoism, Mohism, Legalism, Nominalism, and Vertical and Horizontal House originated from here. But it is such a place that should be mountainous, watery, and culturally prosperous, but has been plagued by natural disasters since ancient times, with droughts and floods occurring alternately.

  Later generations have often maligned Henan, but in fact this place is located in the central part of China, so it is also called "Zhongyuan". The ancient phrase "zhū lù zhōng yuán" shows its importance in geography. "Occupying Zhongyuan and radiating to all directions" has become the starting point for politicians in ancient times and businessmen today to establish themselves and dominate the world.

  The monarchs of the Shang and Zhou dynasties often sighed "Tian Bao Wei Ding" after setting their capitals in Henan, which also proved that people at that time thought this place was the center of the universe.

  Under so many disasters, Henan people have cultivated a kind of essential self-strengthening, a kind of tenacity that exists in their bones.

  In the fifth year of Zhengde, another drought occurred here. After a period of time, the relief grain and grass from the imperial court finally arrived, and for a while, porridge sheds were set up in all parts of Henan, and various counties began to issue a series of measures to restore production. The people of Henan finally saw a glimmer of hope again.

  After several months, the people were finally able to hold back the appearance of famine everywhere under the relief of the porridge sheds. Immediately afterwards, various county governments designed water conservancy plans and distributed grain seeds, and the people resumed production.

  Unfortunately, it was on this hottest of summer days. In the morning, the sun was still shining brightly, and its rays were becoming increasingly scorching. At noon, the sky suddenly darkened, and the whole world seemed to be filled with a humming noise.

  At first, everyone didn't think there was anything, some people even thought it was going to rain and were excited.

  Suddenly, someone shouted loudly: "Heavens! A giant locust!"

  A swarm of locusts suddenly flew down, and the dense mass made people's scalps numb. The villagers covered their heads and scurried around, some using objects to swat at them a few times before they couldn't bear the feeling of the locusts coming one after another, and ran away in a flurry of screams.

  "Heaven is taking away our way of living!" An elderly teacher in his seventies cried out after witnessing the scene, and then fell to the ground dead.

  The locust disaster came like a burst of the Yellow River, and once it started, it couldn't be stopped. Before long, Henan was overrun with locusts everywhere.

  Such a major event was naturally sent to the capital by the fastest horse in the first time, and even faster than that were the flying pigeons of the Brocade Guard and the Eastern Depot. Compared to before, the flying pigeons of the Eastern Depot were even faster, and Liu Jin received the news a whole day earlier than the Brocade Guard in the capital.

  A small note with just seven words written on it: "Locust disaster, a hundred years rare."

  The meaning is very simple, the scale of this locust disaster is so large that it's a rare occurrence in a hundred years. Liu Jin crumpled up the note and immediately entered the imperial palace. Zhu Houzhao was playing with Gao Feng and Gu Dajun in the Qianqing Palace.

  Liu Jin hastily walked into the Qianqing Palace, and upon seeing Zhu Houzhao, he knelt down on the ground and hurriedly said: "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened. A locust plague has occurred in Henan."

  The originally playful Zhu Houzhao immediately stood up and looked at Liu Jin, saying in a low voice: "Is the news true? Is it big or small?"

  "It's absolutely true, an opportunity that comes once in a hundred years." Liu Jin said.

  Zhu Houzhao took a deep breath and muttered, "In the end, it still came. I thought my brother had miscalculated, but in the end, he was right." Zhu Houzhao threw the specially made dandelion greens that had been steamed to perfection on the ground, then waved his hand at Gao Feng and Gu Dajiu, saying, "You two go out first."

  Gao Feng and Gu Dajun immediately put away the cricket and ceramic basin, made a bow and retreated. Zhu Houzhao walked to the dragon chair, sat down and said in a deep voice: "Liu Jin, immediately summon the seven ministers of the Grand Secretariat to enter the palace and see me."

  "Yes, your humble servant obeys." Liu Jin bowed and retreated.

  At this moment, Li Dongyang had just finished teaching Jiang Xia the book "Zhongyong" and was resting in the study of Mr. Shang's private room in Xiangyang Mountain Villa.

  The more Li Dongyang came into contact with Jiang Xia, the more he felt that Jiang Xia was a talented person. This man is extremely intelligent, often able to learn things by analogy, and has an extraordinary memory, almost reaching the point of being able to memorize everything at a glance. This made Li Dongyang very happy, and he believed that it wouldn't be long before Jiang Xia would have the qualifications to participate in the imperial examination.

  Of course, compared to Jiang Xia's intelligence, what made Li Dongyang more pleased was Jiang Xia's character. In these nearly two months of contact, Li Dongyang could confirm that Jiang Xia was not a deceitful person. On the contrary, he felt that Jiang Xia was very sentimental, and although his words and actions were often unconventional, he had good intentions in his heart. To sum it up, Li Dongyang was very satisfied with Jiang Xia, and this satisfaction made Li Dongyang wholeheartedly regard Jiang Xia as his only true disciple and carefully instruct him.

  For Li Dongyang's meticulous teaching and care, Jiang Xia was also very clear and could feel it. When he entered Qianmen, he was already an orphan, and his master taught him various knowledge every day. If he didn't remember, he would be locked in a small black room for three days without food or water. Under such extreme pressure, Jiang Xia grew up extremely quickly.

  However, there were also many who did not grow up. After all, among the more than 100 orphans who started with him at the same time, only three successfully entered Qianmen. The vast majority of the rest were thrown back onto the streets to continue being orphans, and some mysteriously disappeared...

  Jiang Xia had never felt such care from his elders before, but Li Dongyang made him feel it.

  At this time, Jiang Xia was strolling outside and found that Li Dongyang liked to drink tea very much, so he specially went to Fengbao Zhai to pick a set of high-quality white jade tea sets for him.

  Just then, Jun Yang suddenly entered Li Dongyang's study and knelt down on one knee, saying: "Your Excellency, the Emperor has summoned you to enter the palace for an audience."

  Li Dongyang's eyebrows furrowed slightly. Normally, Zhu Houzhao wouldn't summon him to the palace without a special reason. He asked Jun Yang, "Is it just me being summoned?"

  "There are six more seniors in the cabinet." Jun Yang said.

  Li Dongyang's eyes drooped, he tapped his hand on the table and shook his head: "When things go against the norm, there must be a demon at work. I hope nothing has really happened in Henan."

  Having said that, Li Dongyang immediately stood up and said: "Let's go, into the palace."

  At the back door of Xiangyang Mountain Villa, Li Dongyang changed into court attire in the carriage after getting on. Entering the imperial palace, at Zuo Xie Men, Li Dongyang met six other Grand Secretaries. These six people were waiting for him and rushed to greet him after seeing Li Dongyang, then asked: "Lord Li, do you know why His Majesty summoned us so urgently?"

  Li Dongyang shook his head and walked towards the Qianqing Palace, saying: "I don't know either, but whether it's good or bad fortune, misfortune can't be avoided. Since we've come this far, let's just go with it. After entering the Qianqing Palace to pay respects, everything will become clear."

  "Good." The six followed Li Dongyang to the Qianqing Palace.

  Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, the seven men hastily paid their respects to Zhu Houzhao. After they rose to their feet, however, Zhu Houzhao did not offer seats to Li Dongyang and Jin Gui as he usually would. Instead, his gaze swept across the seven men before he spoke in a detached tone: "Two months ago, I told you that my late father appeared to me in a dream and warned me of an impending locust plague in Henan. You did not believe me."

  Upon hearing this, the seven cabinet ministers' faces changed drastically, with Li Dongyang being the only exception. However, he closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh. Although still standing, his body was no longer as straight as before. Li Dongyang muttered to himself: "It's come."

  As if to confirm what Li Dongyang had said, Zhu Houzhao spoke up and said: "The Dongchang messenger from Henan sent a letter by carrier pigeon into the capital. When he entered the capital, Henan had already suffered a locust disaster on an unprecedented scale in a hundred years. If there is no mistake in the urgent document of 800 li from Henan, it will arrive in the capital three days later. Now I ask you, how should we respond?"

  In the Ming Dynasty, what were some good ways to deal with locust disasters. Even when New China was just established, encountering a locust disaster also resulted in heavy losses.

  Zhu Houzhao saw that none of the seven people spoke, and he himself did not speak again. The Qianqing Palace was silent for more than half a day.

  Zhu Houzhao looked at Li Dongyang and asked: "Taifu, what do you think? How should we respond to this matter?"

  Zhu Houzhao's pointed inquiry revealed a piece of information. This information was also understood by the other six adults, namely that the emperor was dissatisfied with Li Dongyang.

  Li Dongyang looked up at Zhu Houzhao, who was also one of his disciples. However, Li Dongyang had only taught him for three years before someone else took over. Kneeling on the ground, Li Dongyang said in a steady voice, "Your Majesty, I... have no solution to offer."