Hengdao Sixteen Kingdoms

Chapter 623 Locust

Although it rained in Luoyang, the drought has not been alleviated.

As the autumn harvest approaches, locust plagues also arise.

Outside Puban City, locusts covered the sky like black clouds, flying in from the west.

Fortunately, there are many people in Puban, and Liang Guo has accumulated a lot of experience in dealing with locust plagues. During the day, there are huge crowds of people, culling locusts, and at night, countless bonfires are lit to attract locusts.

Even the emperor Li Yue personally took part in the battle to exterminate the locusts.

However, the drought lasted too long, and the locusts were boundless. Wherever they flew, there was a mess, and all the green colors turned into earthy yellow.

A group in the north had just wiped out seven or eight, and a larger group flew in from the south.

Locusts lay eggs in Guanzhong and spread everywhere. As long as the drought in Guanzhong does not disappear, the locusts cannot be exterminated.

But it happened that all the people in Guanzhong had fled, and there was not enough manpower to clean up the insect eggs in the fields.

The locust plague became more and more severe.

Hedong is sandwiched between Guanzhong and Guandong. It is surrounded by mountains and rivers. The water flow is sufficient and it is not affected by drought. The plants are lush and attract many surrounding birds and animals to take refuge.

"It is difficult to succeed by relying on manpower alone." Li Yue culled for several days in a row, feeling that the locusts were endless.

There was a layer of insect corpses on the ground, but it was still useless.

The farmland near the Yellow River in the west has been basically eaten away. If this continues, all the crops in the east of the river will not be saved.

Without food, the survival of the hundreds of thousands of troops stationed in Hedong and Guanzhong became a problem.

The key point is that the locusts will spread further south and east and mix with the locust plague in Guandong, then the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River will be very dangerous.

The food supply there will be severely damaged, and a terrible famine will follow.

And there is far from an end in sight for this drought.

Li Yue's scalp felt numb for a while. It was easy to conquer the country, but difficult to sit on it.

"In the current situation, I am afraid that the crops in Hedong cannot be saved. It is better to harvest them in advance and use them as fodder, and then the army will eat in Nanyang." Liu Ying suggested.

Li Yue looked at the miserable scene in front of him, and after thinking for a while, he said: "Nanyang has already suffered hundreds of thousands of Guanzhong people, and it is difficult to support an army of hundreds of thousands. If we retreat to Nanyang, it is better to divide it into two groups, retreat to Luoyang in one step, and set up a bonfire in Luoyang. , guard against the locusts heading east, and another unit will enter the pass to burn the wasteland and eradicate the eggs!"

Hedong and Guanzhong are hopeless, but the food in the lower reaches of the Yellow River and the Huaihe River cannot be lost.

"Your Majesty, please move to Luoyang, and I will lead an army to Guanzhong." Liu Ying cupped his hands and said.

"I still do such important things personally." Li Yue shook his head.

God is watching what people are doing, and so are the people in Guanzhong. This is also an opportunity to appease the people in Guanzhong.

Besides, we are already at the Yellow River. It would be a pity not to visit Chang'an.

The army then tried their best to harvest the immature crops. The wheat straw was exposed to the sun for two days, piled into piles, and ignited at night. The flames rose into the sky and the smoke billowed, attracting locusts all over the sky. They rushed into it and made a crackling sound.

But there are so many locusts that they can suppress the flames...

A few days later, news came from various places.

Bingzhou and Hongnong were also abolished, and the people moved to Youzhou and Luoyang.

However, Youzhou was also affected by the locust plague in Guandong. Some people migrated to Liaodong, and some migrated to the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Many people also crossed Yanshan Mountain directly to seek food in Monan.

Tuoba Shi Yijian sensed an opportunity and led his troops south to plunder the population.

Gao Yun and Lu Guang went north to fight, but Tuoba Shi Yijian was afraid of Xinshan and did not dare to go south.

However, he was timid and did not dare to move, but Fu Luo was so courageous that he sent out troops brazenly and captured the two counties of Dingxiang and Yunzhong, which were empty of troops. His momentum was great, and he also attracted many Xiongnu and Xianbei who fled from Henan. The strength of the various tribes has increased a lot, so they no longer keep a low profile. They killed the white horse in Shengle City to sacrifice to the sky. They called themselves the King of Qin and the Great Chanyu, and preached to the barbarians all over the world to fight against the "violent Liang"...Although this person is arrogant, he does have a few Divide combat power.

"Let him be crazy for a while first." Li Yue was restrained by drought, locust plague and the dog-skin plaster Tuoba Shi Yijian. He had no time to pay attention to him for the time being and led his army into Guanzhong, while Liu Ying stayed in Hedong to continue to resist the endless locust plague.

Guanzhong has become a miserable place thousands of miles away.

There is truly no human habitation for hundreds of miles, and no cockcrow for thousands of miles.

Even the beasts that could be seen everywhere were gone. The cities and villages were all ruins. The forests were dead, the earth was cracked, and the rivers were dry. As far as the eye could see, it was gray and yellow, and a terrifying dark red settled on the horizon.

"The sky shows murderous intent, and the stars change places. The earth shows murderous intent, and dragons and snakes rise from the ground." Lu Qing said with emotion.

"I only believe that there is no unstoppable path for man, and man can defeat God!" Li Yue's fierceness was forced out.

Almost all the founding kings had this momentum.

After experiencing so much suffering and bloody battles, Li Yue did not believe that drought and locusts could really be lawless.

"From today onwards, all the people in Guanzhong will stay here. Starting from Feng Yi County, I will burn them inch by inch and plow them inch by inch."

Locusts mainly lay eggs in sandy soil. They can become adults in half a month and mature in about two months.

Mature locusts are physically strong, but their eggs are very fragile and are afraid of fire, water, and light.

Just dig it out of the sand and expose it to the autumn sun.

Li Yue set an example. During the day, he shoveled sand with grass and grass like the soldiers. At night, he spread dead wood and burned it to kill insect eggs and attract locusts to join the trap.

The soldiers complained at first, but seeing that the emperor took the lead and the generals in the army went to the ground one by one, they followed suit and worked hard.

The drought started in Guanzhong and became the locust's rear base.

The army dug and burned all the way from Feng Yi, and followed the dry Wei River to the west. The defenders and people of Chang'an City also joined in, and even Wang Meng, a sick man, came.

Everything that could be burned in Guanzhong was burned, and there was smoke everywhere.

"There is nothing to worry about in Guanzhong. The only things to worry about now are Lianghuai, Qingqi, Cangyan and other prefectures. If there is another locust plague, I am afraid there will be a big famine next year." Wang Meng looked worried.

"Let's talk about next year's matters next year, and let's get through this year first." Li Yue couldn't care about that much.

Droughts and locust plagues in Guandong were dealt with by monk Chang Wei.

No matter how chaotic the world is, where can it go? Natural disasters are not terrible, but man-made disasters are terrible.

After decades of Shihu's tyranny, people feel at ease.

"Hahaha, what your Majesty said is true." Wang Meng laughed, "Since there are so many people gathered, it is better to dredge the Guanzhong River channel. If there is heavy rain next year, irrigation can be resumed."

Cao Wei opened canals in Guandong, and three or four hundred years ago, the Qin and Han Dynasties also built canals in Guanzhong.

This is how the Kingdom of Abundance came about.

Two hundred years since the end of the Han Dynasty, there have been frequent wars in Guanzhong. Many people committed murder and arson, but few people built bridges and roads. The former canal system was completely abandoned.

"We're all here, let's do it together." Li Yue nodded in agreement.

There are still hundreds of thousands of people in Guanzhong who have not left. Affected by the drought, they are concentrated around Chang'an. They rely on the government to provide porridge every day. These people are also a huge resource.

Relief through work is the right approach.

"Your Majesty, Yao Chang led the Qiang to attack Yongcheng, and Fu Zhong and his troops were trapped and killed!" The scouts came flying from the west.

Yao Chang had been besieging Fu Zhong for more than a month, and finally captured the city.

(End of this chapter)