The immortal of the Tang Dynasty, but the game starts at Xuanwu Gate?

The following day, heavy rain fell continuously.

Chen Huai'an, accompanied by Liang Bingyi, as well as the memorials from Chang Gui and Ouyang Shu, arrived at Ganlu Hall.

When Li Shimin saw him, his face immediately darkened.

It's not entirely his fault; Chen Huai'an's suggestion last time was a bit difficult to accept, and he hesitated whether to adopt it.

With the locust plague worsening and the other party contacting him privately, Li Shimin found it hard not to suspect that they were there to urge him on.

"You starving devil, why aren't you out in Chang'an eating and drinking? What are you doing here before me?"

Li Shimin's face showed hostility, with an expression that said, "If you dare to mention it, I'll punish you."

Chen Huai'an was genuinely amused and took out a memorial from the Ministry of Works: "Your Majesty, I have come here to discuss an important matter."

"Are you sure you want to get rid of me?"

Li Shimin's expression softened; as long as they weren't there to urge him on, that was fine.

"Since we have important matters to discuss, what else is there to say? Please, my dear minister, have a seat." Li Shimin smiled and gestured for him to sit down.

"Zhang Anan, bring up Minister Chen's memorial."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Anan stepped down, took the memorial from Chen Huai'an, and presented it to Li Shimin.

After looking at it for a while, Li Shimin's spirits lifted: "The canal transport between the Central Plains and Lingnan has been opened?"

"Yes..." Chen Huai'an sighed, "I have urged my subordinates many times and kept in touch with the Feng family. We finally managed to get the canal transport sorted out. I came to Your Majesty with this good news, but all I got in return was a 'starving ghost.' I am truly heartbroken."

Li Shimin glanced at him sideways: "When you made me order the people to kill locusts, and then made me bear the blame alone, how could you not feel disheartened?"

"When you think of my suffering, how can you not feel heartbroken?"

"Now you're feeling disheartened?"

Chen Huai'an laughed heartily and said, "Your Majesty, isn't this asking you to set an example?"

"Locusts are revered by the people as heavenly insects. Superstitious people believe that killing locusts will anger the heavens. Therefore, they would rather watch the locusts run rampant and watch them devour the food on which they depend for survival than dare to kill them."

How tragic!

"As long as you set an example by taking the lead in killing locusts and calling on the world to issue an imperial edict telling everyone that locusts can be killed, you will bear all the blame if there is any guilt."

"Wouldn't that make the common people dare to kill?"

Li Shimin: "..."

"Look at this, look at this!" He turned to Zhang A'na, "Look at what our Mr. Chen is saying, is he even speaking human language?"

"Will I bear all the blame?"

"How could he say that!"

"I treated him as a friend, and this is how he repays me."

"Zhang Anan, tell me, is he even human?"

Zhang Anan lowered his head and remained silent.

He couldn't afford to offend either of these two ancestors, so he might as well keep quiet.

Chen Huai'an raised an eyebrow and said, "Your Majesty, put aside the question of guilt or blame for now. What could be more important than the people?"

"The locust plague is getting worse and worse. If it is not dealt with soon, by May, there will be countless more disaster victims across the country."

Is this what you want to see?

"But!" Li Shimin knew Chen Huai'an had a point, but he was also panicked. "What if the locusts really are celestial insects? If I lead the hunt and call on the people to hunt them all, wouldn't that really anger Heaven?"

With Chen Huai'an by his side, Li Shimin suffered much less hardship. In addition, the national treasury and the work-for-relief program provided a safety net, preventing him from swallowing even the live worms as in the original history.

The rumors spread by Tianchong were not sudden, but have been circulating for countless years.

This idea is so deeply ingrained that unless absolutely necessary, it's best to avoid doing such things.

"What utter nonsense about going to heaven!" Chen Huai'an scoffed. "Have you forgotten what I told you?"

"Know that human determination can overcome nature!"

"Besides, let's not even talk about the fact that there's no such thing as a heaven. Even if there were, would a heaven with nothing better to do than create locust plagues to make life unbearable for the people?"

"If that's really the case, then we'd rather not have a heaven like that!"

Li Shimin had a headache. Wasn't this about the grain transport between the Central Plains and Lingnan?

How did we end up talking about this again?

After a moment of silence, Li Shimin hesitated and asked, "Are we really going to do this?"

"It has to be done this way!" Chen Huai'an said seriously, "If you are worried, then it doesn't matter if I join you. Anyway, I still have some reputation among the people."

"On the surface, this matter is about killing locusts, but in reality, it is about killing the people's belief that locusts are the same as celestial insects. This matter must be done."

"Otherwise, when locusts appear in the future, people will still be afraid to kill them and will just watch them devour the crops. In that case, the locust plague will never stop."

Li Shimin remained silent, knowing that Chen Huai'an was right.

He also knew that the prestige benefits of doing so would be immense.

But... he didn't receive the same modern education as Chen Huai'an, and many of his ideas were already ingrained in his bones.

Even in the original history, Li Shimin said to let locusts devour him, but not to harm the people.

The series of natural disasters really took his toll.

What Li Shimin was really worried about was, what if the natural disasters still occurred next year after the locusts were killed now?

Doesn't this confirm that he is being punished by God?

After all, he was the emperor, and there was a saying that heaven and man interacted.

"Huai'an, please allow me to consider this...?"

Chen Huai'an frowned, his voice turning serious: "Your Majesty, you've become emperor, so why have you become so timid?"

"Where is that person who, in his youth, witnessed the chaos at the end of the Sui Dynasty, the rise of numerous warlords, and the displacement of the people, and vowed to one day control the armies of the world and sweep away the flames of war?"

"What about that King Qin who rescued his father at Yanmen Pass, led an army of ten thousand to save him, raised an army in Jinyang, defeated the enemy at Qianshui, and re-established order in a chaotic world?"

"Where is that spirited and ambitious General Tian Ce?"

Li Shimin gazed at him intently, without uttering a single word.

"Your Majesty," Chen Huai'an sighed, "we men have things we should do and things we shouldn't do."

"Only those who dare to be pioneers can be considered true heroes!"

"When did the King of Qin, who once commanded armies and dominated the world, become so timid and hesitant?"

"Is it because you've taken the throne that you're afraid?"

"Are you afraid of losing it, afraid of taking responsibility, or afraid of so-called divine punishment?"

"But when you raised your army, were you ever afraid?" Chen Huai'an asked one question after another, and Li Shimin's expression became more and more moved.

"When you defeated 100,000 with only 3,000 men at Hulao Pass, were you ever afraid?"

"After the Xuanwu Gate Incident, when faced with widespread criticism at court and the world watching with bated breath, were you ever afraid?"

"You weren't afraid at all."

"Why are you so afraid of a few insects now that the world is at peace and everything needs to be rebuilt?"

"..."