Yao Chong Eliminates Locusts

After the restoration of Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, he put his wife Queen Wei in power and reused Wu Sansi, making the imperial government chaotic. In 710 A.D., after the death of King Zhongzong, Li Longji, the son of Emperor Rui Zong of Tang, rose to kill Queen Wei and restored Emperor Rui Zong. After two years, Rui Zong gave the throne to Li Longji. This was Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

In his twenties, when he first took the throne, Emperor Xuanzong was determined to restore the career of Emperor Taizong of Tang. He appointed Yao Chong as the prime minister, reorganized the dynasty, and turned around the chaotic situation during the reign of Emperor Zhongzong. The Tang dynasty regained its prosperity.

While Emperor Xuanzong was trying to make good use of his power, a huge locust plague occurred in Henan province. Swarms of locusts appeared all over the vast land of the Central Plains. When the locust swarm flew by, it was so black that even the sun was lost. Wherever the locust swarm landed, the crops were gnawed away.

In those days, people did not have scientific knowledge and thought that the locust plague was a disaster sent down from heaven. In addition, some people were interested in superstitious propaganda, so they burned incense and begged the gods to eliminate the disaster and seek blessings. The locusts were so bad that people could not do anything about it.

The disaster became more and more serious, and the area affected by the locusts grew bigger and bigger. The local officials had to report the disaster to the court.

Yao Chong, the chancellor, submitted a memorial to Emperor Xuanzong, arguing that the locusts were just a pest and could not be cured. The locust plague could be extinguished as long as the officials and the people worked together to drive out the locusts.

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang trusted Yao Chong and immediately approved Yao Chong's medal. Yao Chong gave an order to the people to light fires in the fields at night. When the locusts saw the fire, they would focus on killing them; at the same time, they dug a big pit at the edge of the field and burned it while fighting.

When this order was issued, Ni Ruoshui, the governor of Bianzhou (now Kaifeng, Henan Province), refused to carry out the order. He also wrote a zheng, saying that locusts were natural disasters, which could not be resisted by human power, and that the only way to eliminate locusts was to accumulate virtue and cultivate.

When Yao Chong saw Ni Ruoshui's memorial, he was so angry that he sent a letter to reprimand Ni Ruoshui and warned him that he would be responsible for the future famine if he did not take measures to save the locusts given the locust epidemic.

Ni Ruoshui saw that the chancellor was very tough and did not dare to disobey. He mobilized the officials and people in different places to exterminate locusts by the method prescribed by Yao Chong, and it was effective. In Bianzhou alone, he extinguished 140,000 tons of locusts, and the disaster was eased.

However, there was still a group of officials in the court of Chang'an who thought that Yao Chong's method of exterminating locusts had never been done before, so if he implemented it now, he was afraid that it would cause some chaos.

When Tang Xuanzong heard that there were many opponents, he was also a bit shaken up. He asked Yao Chong to ask, and Yao Chong calmly replied: "As long as things are reasonable, we can not talk about the old rules. Besides, the years of a locust plague in history, because they are not well extinguished, resulting in a serious disaster. If there is no harvest this year because of the locust plague, the people will have no food to eat and will be displaced in the future, and the country will be in danger."

When Tang Xuanzong heard that the locust plague would threaten the security of the country, he also became afraid and said.

"What should we do, according to you?"