I am not an ant thief in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 533, Internal Disputes

"Organize experts from the Department of Agriculture to let them observe the growth habits of locusts, and find out how to deal with locusts based on the habits of these locusts. At the same time, we call on the world to let everyone work together to study anti-locust strategies. As long as there is an effective strategy, you can reward a thousand gold , and then we compiled these strategies into a book against locusts! Distributed to officials everywhere!"

It was this locust plague that made Xu Wei realize that the locust plague is even more harmful than drought and flood!Although it may not be necessary this time, but if you encounter such a plague of locusts in the future, you won't just watch them grow like this!

Jia Xu nodded and said, "No!"

Following the various orders and policies issued by Xu Wei, the entire Dagan [-] million people focused on covering the locusts.

Among them, Xu Wei's policy of unlimited purchase of locusts is the most popular among everyone. Originally, there were no crops in the fields, and many people in Hebei were worried about the lack of harvest this year!
But now the locusts have become everyone’s harvest. The whole family of the people in Dagan went out to hunt and kill locusts in the fields with gauze covers. They could pack a sack a day, and then dried these locusts into dried locusts and sold them to the government. One dry stone locust can be caught a day.Many people simply make a living by catching locusts. Wherever there are many locusts, they will go there!The income of these people catching locusts is not worse than farming!
With the joint efforts of the 6 million people in Hebei, the number of locusts on the Dagan land has been greatly reduced, and many places have begun to return to normal. It is a pity that the drought is not over yet. This year, the land in Hebei has been plagued by locusts and droughts alternately, and the grain harvest is not good. It is said that the production is extinct, but it has also plummeted by 7-[-]%, especially in Yuzhou and Yanzhou in the Central Plains, and some areas near Yongzhou, Luoyang City. These places can be said to have no harvest.

Now Xu Wei understands why Cao Cao likes to cut off people's food supply. Just God's temper, if Cao Cao fights for a little longer, he will run out of food. The climate in the Central Plains forces Cao Cao to win by surprise!

In July of the second year of Jian'an (AD 197), Qingzhou!
In this battle of Yuzhou, Lei Gong's offensive was destructive and invincible. He occupied Sili and Yuzhou in less than 3 months. Although Cao Cao was shocked by Lei Gong's troops, it was a pity that he had no time to pay attention to the situation in Yuzhou.

In this battle, Lei Gong deployed nearly 30 soldiers and horses in the land of Qingxu, and Cao Cao, who was suppressed, did not dare to move. After June, the soldiers and horses in Jizhou were finally disbanded.Although Cao Cao and the others were surprised by the actions of the Jizhou Army, they were relieved. Unfortunately, within three days of their relief, overwhelming locusts rushed from Yanzhou to Qingzhou!Now Cao Cao's people were dumbfounded.

"Has the locust plague spread to Xuzhou?" Cao Cao led Guo Jia and others to check the locust problem in the outskirts of Qingzhou, but the result was not very good. The number of locusts doubled from a few days ago. If this continues, the food in Qingzhou will be reduced. It's going to be eaten up by this swarm of locusts!The only thing they can rely on is Xuzhou!
Man Chong shook his head helplessly and said: "My lord, Xuzhou is also in a hurry. The cavalry of the Dagan Army attacked Xuzhou two months ago, which has seriously injured Xuzhou's vitality, and this time the locust plague also entered Xuzhou from Yanzhou, Langya Kingdom, and Donghai County. , Pengcheng State, Xiapi State, and Guangling County were not spared. It is said that even Yangzhou had a locust plague, that is, the Jiangnan was blocked by the Yangtze River, so it was not affected by the locust plague!

Guo Jia was stunned and said: "The scale of this locust plague is really once in a hundred years. Could it be that God is going to destroy me!"

Guo Jia is an aborigine in this world. Naturally, he has seen many locust plagues. In the Han Dynasty, the locust plague basically broke out every 5-6, but there has never been such a large-scale locust plague. The areas along the Yellow River and the Yangtze River are all affected. It can be said that These sites are the most elite areas of the Han Dynasty.For Guo Jia, a locust plague of this scale is simply the end of the world!
Cheng Yu laughed bitterly: "Feng Xiao was wrong. Now these lands belong to Lei Gong. It should be Lei Gong who should be anxious. A drought of this scale has affected tens of millions of people. At least in the next 2-3 years, it is impossible for Lei Gong to use weapons again, and this is also a blessing in misfortune!"

At the end of June, locusts began to be found in Langya Kingdom, and then these locusts quickly spread throughout Xuzhou, Xuzhou and other county officials. They tried every means to grab food and prevent the spread of the locust plague, but the results were minimal, and now they have to report To Cao Cao.

But Guo Jia shook his head and said: "It doesn't make sense. It will be difficult for our army to undergo a qualitative change in 2-3 years. We are still no match for Lei Gong. This is just a dying struggle for us. It just depends on how Lei Gong will deal with it this time. Xuzhou, in the next battle, Lei Gong's hundreds of thousands of troops will surround us from three sides, Mount Tai alone is not enough for us to stop Lei Gong's attack!"

Cao Cao also looked dejected. This time, he only sent [-] cavalry to fight Xuzhou's [-] troops who dare not leave the city. When Lei Gong really wants to annex him, he only needs to send tens of thousands of cavalry to Xuzhou. Contact, and it is impossible to defeat Lei Gong with his strength!
Seeing the solemn atmosphere, Xun You immediately said: "My lord, now is not the time to think about this. If we can't survive this locust plague, I'm afraid there will be nothing in 2-3 years! According to the experience of previous locust plague outbreaks, those who came to Qingzhou and Xuzhou The locusts must have flown from both sides of the Yellow River in Ji and Yan. Now this wave is the vanguard of the locusts. I am afraid that more locusts will enter Qingzhou in the future. If we can’t find a way to deal with the locusts, I’m afraid this year There will be no crops in Qingxu and Xuzhou."

Guo Jia immediately said: "Inquire about how Lei Gong dealt with the locusts. The locusts flew over from Yanzhou. I am afraid that the locust plague in Yanzhou and Jizhou is worse than ours. Lei Gong will definitely find a way to eliminate these locusts!"

Cao Cao and others looked at Man Chong.

Man Chong said: "Because of the locust plague, Lei Gong has stopped the battle in Yuzhou and led the army back to the Central Plains. Then Lei Gong organized hundreds of thousands of poultry to Yanzhou, intending to use poultry to cull these locusts!"

Cao Cao nodded and said: "Poultry are born to eat locusts, this is a good way!"

But Xun You smiled bitterly and said: "We can't learn this method. There are hundreds of thousands of poultry in Hebei, but we don't know if there are tens of thousands of poultry in Qingzhou. Facing so many locusts, our poultry is useless at all!"

Man Chong continued: "Lei Gong also issued an order to let the counties and counties in Hebei purchase an unlimited amount of dried locusts, and a catty of dried locusts can be sold for one yuan! It is said that within a month of this order, Hebei spent 5 million yuan to purchase these dried locusts." !"

Cao Cao said with bitterness on his face: "As expected of Lei Gong, he is indeed rich and powerful, and we in Qingzhou can't compare with it!"

Cao Cao and the others found that they could not learn this policy. Lei Gong could spend 5 million yuan to buy dry locusts, but Qingzhou could not afford so much money!

Cao Cao, Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, Xun You and other Qingzhou officials, although they do not have the financial resources to buy locusts, it is imperative to organize the people to cull the locusts in Qingzhou. The grain is not mature yet, but if it is not harvested now, it will only be devoured by locusts. Harvesting now can at least reduce some losses and minimize the loss of this disaster.If the plague of locusts can end after the autumn harvest, they can replant a season of winter wheat in the green land to reduce some losses.

Cao Cao dispatched Cheng Yu, Man Chong and other officials to rush to the affected counties and counties in Qingxu. While directing the people to collect food, they began to direct the people to hunt and kill locusts.At the same time, Cheng Yu also quietly did a very embarrassing thing, that is, they dried the locusts they hunted in the land of Qingxu, and then sold them to merchants in Dagan at half the price of the Dagan court, because these locusts were dried. What they received but did not pay, Cao Cao and the others actually made tens of millions of dollars, which can be regarded as a windfall.

And the land of Qingxu suffered such a severe disaster, Cao Cao naturally thought of the Xiangyang court, and he asked the Xiangyang court for help in a low voice, and the main material for the help was food.As long as the people of Qingxu can eat enough, Cao Cao will be ashamed.

And Liu Bei in Jingzhou was not completely unaffected. Although the main force of these locust plagues was in the Central Plains, Jiujiang County had no crops due to the drought and outbreak of locust plagues. Liu Bei is now trying to actively rescue the people in Yangzhou!
A plague of locusts interrupted the Great War in the Central Plains, and the powers of all the princes in the world had to target the enemy locusts!

Liu Bei, Cao Cao, and Xu Wei are people with very strong execution ability, and Liu Bei and Cao Cao can also copy Xu Wei's homework. After spending 30 billion yuan, tens of billions of locusts were culled, and Xu Wei arranged hundreds of thousands of people to kill them. Around the beach of the Yellow River, all the locust eggs buried in the ground were dug out and exposed to the sun, and the larvae of the locusts were eliminated from the source. This wave of locust plagues was finally wiped out quickly. Yanzhou, Yuzhou, Jizhou and others finally could not see the locusts flying all over the sky. The whole world will soon calm down!
Mid-September, Youzhou, Jixian!
Xu Wei led hundreds of personal guards, and led the army to Ji County.

The entire senior cadres went out of the city gate to meet Xu Wei in person.

Seeing Niu Gui and the others, Xu Wei laughed and said, "Thank you for your hard work!"

But Niu Gui said: "If you want to talk about hard work, it is the hardest thing to be in power. Not to mention the South and North Wars, but also to find a way to cull the locusts in the Central Plains. It is because we did not make good logistical preparations that the outbreak of the locust plague in Yanzhou became a catastrophe. So much so that it affects the ruling frontline battle!"

After finishing speaking, Niu Gui abruptly knelt down and pleaded guilty to Xu Wei!
But Xu Wei pulled him up and said: "What kind of guilt is this? Our original strategic goal was only Sili. Now that even Yuzhou has been conquered, it is already a surprise. It is too much to still want to occupy Jingzhou in the first battle." Greedy, Liu Bei is not so easy to fight."

Then Xu Wei continued: "What you have to do now is to re-open the imperial examination. This time we occupy the land of two states, at least 2 officials are needed, and more than a dozen experienced prefects are arranged. These things Not easy!"

Niu Gui said with a smile: "Arrangements for officials have been prepared a long time ago. After the Battle of Yuzhou, Ji County held an imperial examination and recruited 2000 officials. Now they are all arranged to study and handle government affairs in various places. , at most one month, the officials of Sili and Yuzhou can make arrangements!"

Xu Wei smiled and said: "That's good! Now Sili and Yuzhou are a piece of white land, and there are no powerful gentry and powerful gentry to hinder us from governing. It is time to establish my law."

Then Xu Wei went to the old man Wang and thanked him: "Thanks to the old man for helping me guard the house! I can fight on the front line with peace of mind!"

Old man Wang said with a smile: "The old man can only help the ruling house to look after the house!"

Then he whispered to Xu Wei: "In power, Xiangkai is a man with great ambitions. He has bought people's hearts everywhere these years, and now he actually wants to change our national policy! You have to be careful of him!"

Xu Wei asked strangely: "Did Master Xiangkai do something that disgusted the old man?"

Jia Xu, who was following Xu Wei, was also shocked when he heard this. Xiang Kai had offended the senior executives of Daqian. He immediately began to wonder if this would affect him. After all, he was also recommended by Xiangkai. He can be regarded as Xiangkai's protégé and old official, if Xiangkai is attacked by the Tengjia family, he will definitely be affected.

The old man Wang said: "Xiangkai has been helping the merchants like Zhen An to speak for these years, it's fine if he wants to win over the merchants, but now he is deeply convinced that I am a peasant and herdsman, and I am invincible It is relying on the two classes of farmers and herdsmen! His current behavior can be said to be rebellious!"

"Rebellion! Is it so serious?" Xu Wei's face became serious!

At this time, the old man Niu also said: "This year, there is no locust plague in the Central Plains, and there is also a drought in the desert. The entire Dagan tribe is not doing very well this year, and this Xiangkai proposed to improve the land in the hands of our tribe. In the past, 1000 mu will be changed to 1 mu, and the grassland will also be changed from [-] mu per household to [-] mu per household! Xiangkai is not trying to win people's hearts, what is he doing! "

According to Old Man Wang and the others, even if it is necessary to expand the fields and pastures in the hands of the people, such a proposal should be made by Xu Wei, the ruler, not Xiang Kai, an outsider. He is not trying to use him to do it. Land and pastures are used to buy people's hearts, this is not what rebellion is!
Niu Gui also said: "Master Xiangkai really doesn't care about the overall situation of the imperial court at all, he just wants to please the people. This year, because of the Battle of Yuzhou, and because of the locust plague and drought, to help the people in the Central Plains, the financial expenditure has already exceeded 200 yuan. [-] million yuan, if it comes to the end of the year, I am afraid that the excess will be even more, the court is so difficult, and he actually wants to reduce the court's income!"

The current territory of Xu Wei’s Daqian court is twice as large as that of the Han Dynasty. If the Western Regions are added, even in modern times, it will be the top two countries. Such a large area of ​​​​land is naturally boundless, and the desert has 500-600 million With a population of 50, the pastures occupied are only 60-[-] billion mu, which is not even [-]% of the desert pastures. There are still a large number of pastures in the hands of Dagan, and the land is the same. Half of the state's land is Dagan's farms. Relying on these pastures and farms, Dagan has tens of billions of fiscal revenue, which means that only with these materials can Dagan's prices be stabilized in troubled times.

And now Xiangkai's proposal is to distribute the most important assets of Daqian to his followers, which naturally arouses the dissatisfaction of the entire Dagan senior management!
　Since Zhongping, the world has been in chaos, the people have abandoned agriculture, all armies have risen together, the rate is short of food and grain, and there is no plan to live forever.When Yuan Shao was in Hebei, the soldiers ate mulberries, while Yuan Shu was in Jianghuai, taking them for Puying.

　　This is the words in Zizhi Tongjian. It can be seen that all the princes at that time were having a hard time. Even the land of paradise in the south of the Yangtze River was constantly breaking out of typhoid fever. The people in the south of the Yangtze River died six out of ten. The troubled times at the end of Han Dynasty were a combination of natural disasters and man-made killings , it can be said that the people of the entire Han Dynasty cannot escape, and no place is a paradise!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)