"Yang Dui, you misunderstood. I actually ordered Chef Liu to prepare this!" Seeing Yang Dui scold Chef Liu, Li Xiu said with a smile. Then he walked to Chef Liu with a plate, and then served himself a plate full of fried locusts.

"Mr. Concubine, you... are you..." Yang Dui couldn't help but say in surprise when he saw that Li Xiu had actually served a plate of locusts.

"Du'er, today the prince-consort told me that locusts are actually a very delicious food. I didn't believe it at first, but after tasting it, I found that the prince-consort did not lie to me!" Before Li Xiu could explain, Yang Nong stood up and smiled, and said as he also came over to serve himself a plate of locusts.

Seeing that Li Xiu and Yang Nong actually took the lead in eating locusts, Yang Dui and others were all in an uproar. They didn’t know how to react for a while, but at this time Li Xiu smiled and said again: “Everyone, locusts are indeed very delicious, but everyone has different tastes, so if you really don’t like them, there is no need to force them!”

After saying that, Li Xiu returned to his seat with Yang Nong, and then ate the fried locusts in front of him with a look of enjoyment. Although he said he would not force it, the first and second leaders in the Ministry of Agriculture took the lead in eating locusts. If the people below did not eat it, it would be too disrespectful. So Yang Dui took the lead and served himself a plate of locusts with a bitter face. As a result, the others also followed suit.

Looking at the plate of locusts in front of him, although it smelled quite fragrant, Yang Dui felt that he had no idea how to start. However, seeing that Li Xiu was not only eating very fragrant, but even his uncle also ate with relish. This made him finally make him cruel and pick up a locust and look at it viciously for a while. Thinking that it was all because of this small locust that he didn't even have time to eat. He couldn't help but feel angry in his heart. He opened his mouth and threw the locust in, and then chewed it hard for a few times, hoping that this method could be used to calm his anger.

"Huh?" However, as soon as the locust entered his mouth, Yang Dui was surprised to find that the locust was not only not as unpalatable as he thought, but was quite delicious. Especially after frying, it was crisp and fragrant when chewed, but he couldn't help but eat a few more.

When others saw Yang Dui eating, they naturally didn't dare not to eat it. As a result, they all went from disgust just now to surprise, and then fell in love with the taste. Of course, not everyone liked it. A few people still couldn't accept it, but this did not prevent most people from accepting the delicious food of locusts.

A large bucket of fried locusts was finally wiped out by the officials of the Ministry of Agriculture. Some of the yamen guarding the gate had dinner late, but they didn't eat it. When they heard others say that the locusts were very delicious, they begged Chef Liu to make some more. As a result, in the afternoon, the Ministry of Agriculture changed the removal of locusts to catching locusts.

Although the officials in the Agriculture Department are all scholars, some people are worried that eating locusts like this will cause the anger of the locust god. After all, even scholars are sometimes very superstitious. However, Li Xiu's words, "Can't people eat chickens and ducks?", were spread, and Yang Dui even automatically helped to make this explanation self-justify.

According to Yang Dui, the reason why people killed locusts in the past caused the wrath of the locust god was mainly because people killed the locusts and threw them away. This was really a waste of resources, which attracted the wrath of the gods. But now they destroyed the locusts and ate them. This is just like people hunting other animals, all for their own needs, so even if there are really gods, they will not blame them for this.

Of course, there are many loopholes in Yang Dui's statement, and even some places cannot be explained. However, he did not believe in the locust god very much. The reason why he said this was actually to find an explanation for himself eating locusts. In this way, he would feel at ease when eating locusts in the future.

"Mr. Yang, I see that so many people in the yamen like to eat locusts, so why not submit a memorial to the court and ask the court to come forward to encourage the people to eat locusts. In this way, it can also speed up the elimination of locusts and reduce some losses!" After lunch, Li Xiu immediately smiled and suggested to Yang Nong.

"The prince consort may be disappointed. From my perspective, Your Majesty will never agree to this suggestion!" What Li Xiu did not expect was that Yang Nong sighed when he heard his words.

"Why?" Li Xiu was stunned when he heard Yang Nong's answer. He felt that his method was quite good. Although it was a bit late, as long as the people of the Tang Dynasty developed the habit of eating locusts, they would not dare to say that they would eat all the locusts, but in the future, they could also reduce some losses when locust plagues occur.

"Why is the prince consort confused? You see, the court has been quarreling about the crime of the self-criticism. Your Majesty is also under pressure from the court and the people, and will not issue a crime of the self-criticism. If the people are called on to eat locusts at this time, it is likely that some people with ulterior motives will catch a new handle, and even attack Your Majesty in the name of the Locust God. So I am sure that Your Majesty will definitely not agree to this matter!" Yang Gong analyzed in a deep voice. Although he is now focusing on managing the affairs of the Ministry of Agriculture, he also has a very clear understanding of the struggles in the court.

"This..." Li Xiu frowned after hearing this, pondered for a while, and finally couldn't help but smile bitterly, "It's really like Mr. Yang analyzed. If I were His Majesty, I wouldn't agree to this matter. However, since I can't use the power of the court, I will promote this matter myself. If there is one more person who is willing to eat locusts, it will reduce the harm caused by the locust plague in the future."

"Mr. Concubine, you have to think clearly. If you publicly encourage others to eat locusts, people will likely find excuses to attack you in the future. For example, it is all because of your encouragement of others to eat locust plague, which triggers a larger locust plague. Even if Your Majesty ignores this matter, it may cause a blow to your reputation!" Yang Nong persuaded earnestly at this time. As a friend, he really doesn't want Li Xiu to take such a risk.

"Haha~, why did you forget, Mr. Yang? I don't care about reputation or anything, and I'm not a soft persimmon. If someone really wants to attack me with this, then he must be prepared to face my revenge!" Li Xiu laughed indifferently. At the end of the conversation, a little coldness appeared on his face.

Seeing that Li Xiu had made up his mind, Yang Nong knew that it would be useless to persuade him, so he could only remind him to be careful. Li Xiu also smiled and thanked him. When he left in the afternoon, he saw Yang Duizheng with his hands to catch locusts, and a few pots of hot water had been boiled in the yamen. The locusts caught were thrown into the pot and burned to death. After drying, they became the ingredients in Chef Liu's hands.

Li Xiu could not help but feel relieved when he saw the changes in the Ministry of Agriculture. He only took one morning to change the attitude of most people in the Ministry of Agriculture. Although this was only a small progress, the people in the Ministry of Agriculture may affect the people around them, so that more people will not reject eating locusts. In addition, he can continue to work hard to promote the eating of locusts. I believe that one day it will change most people's fear of locusts.

Li Xiu returned home and was planning to plan how to encourage others to eat locusts. However, just before he arrived at the gate of his home, he found a carriage in front of the door. When he approached, he immediately saw Xu Jingzong running off the carriage with a smile on his face and saluted: "Please pay homage to the Duke!"

"There is no need to be too polite to write the book. Are you still used to it during this period?" When Li Xiu saw Xu Jingzong, he couldn't help but smile and said. Some time ago, Li Shimin took the opportunity to meet Li Shimin and specially recommended Xu Jingzong. As a few days ago, Xu Jingzong was indeed appointed as the bookmaker in the Book Bureau. Although he was still an official position without much power, he was in charge of writing steles, prayers, and tributes. It was a very noble position and there was a great possibility of promotion in the future.

"Thank you for your recommendation to the Xiaguan. Speaking of this, Xiaguan is busy taking over the Works Bureau during this period, and he really can't get out of it. Fortunately, he was able to escape temporarily today, so he came to thank the State!" Xu Jingzong said at the end, bowed to Li Xiu again and said that it was really difficult for him to be able to come to thank Li Xiu when he was in the sky.

"You are a polite writer. You are the old man around Your Majesty. Sooner or later, you will be valued by Your Majesty. This time I just pushed it." Li Xiu smiled and said modestly. When he said this, he hurriedly asked Xu Jingzong to come in and talk. After all, there were locusts around, and he might be accidentally caught in the clothes by locusts.

As soon as he entered the yard, he saw Yuechan commanding his servants to drive away the locusts. This made Li Xiu feel a little regretful, so he hurriedly told Yuechan not to drive away, but to catch the locusts directly. He would also make some fried locusts for Ping Anlang and some little guys to eat.

Yuechan didn't know what Li Xiu was going to do, but since Li Xiu had given the order, she immediately changed her method and asked someone to find some gauze, which easily caused a lot of locusts to be caught. Li Xiu smiled when he saw this, and then took Xu Jingzong to the living room to sit down.

After entering the living room, Xu Jingzong thanked Li Xiu again. Li Xiu encouraged him a few words, just to let him do a good job in the works bureau. In the future, if he has the chance, he will definitely recommend him. Whenever he hears Li Xiu's words, Xu Jingzong is even more grateful and even regards Li Xiu as a noble person in his life.

However, Li Xiu knew that Xu Jingzong was an absolute villain. Now that he could decide Xu Jingzong's career, he would naturally be in a hurry to curry favor with him. But if he encountered trouble in the future, Xu Jingzong would probably be the first to take the blame, so such a person must not believe it deeply.
Chapter completed!