I, Liu Bian, Sanxing Han Dynasty

Chapter 415: Locust Eating
In the fifth year of Guangxi, there was drought in the three prefectures and locusts swarmed.

The emperor went into the garden to inspect the wheat and saw locusts. He picked up a few and cursed, "People depend on grain for their lives, and you eat it, harming the people. The people have committed a sin, and it is my fault. If you have a spirit, just eat my heart and don't harm the people."

When he was about to swallow it, his attendants advised him not to do so, saying, "It may cause illness. Don't do it."

The emperor said, "I hope to avert the disaster from myself, so why should I avoid the disease?" Then he swallowed it.

……

Outside Luoyang City, Pingle Temple is in front.

The high platform that was once used for military parades is now surrounded by many civilians.

Locusts have now appeared in Luoyang, and the people have heard that the emperor will eat locusts with his court officials today!
This was the second time Yu Jin met the emperor.

He was in charge of the outer garrison and watched from afar as the emperor took the lead in putting the roasted locusts into his mouth and swallowing them in front of everyone. The onlookers shouted "Long live the emperor" and the sound did not subside for a long time.

He swore that he would remember this scene for the rest of his life.

Just like when he first met the emperor——

At that time, he had just been transferred from Taishan County to the Northern Army. The emperor personally visited the Northern Army camp, tested his military tactics, and made a decision on the spot, appointing him as the military commander of the newly established infantry and cavalry battalion of the Northern Army.

Yu Jin looked at the soldiers around him and asked, "Now, do you dare to eat locusts?"

Just yesterday, this soldier still thought that locusts were magical insects. Not to mention eating them, even if he accidentally killed one, it would be a huge sin.

But now——"Sima, it seems that His Majesty is eating something delicious. I wonder what locusts taste like?"

After hearing this, Yu Jin knew that the emperor’s efforts were not in vain.

If the people were still concerned that the emperor was eating locusts in his private garden, they would have considered it false. Now the people should all know that it is true.

Locusts are nothing more than that. If the emperor can eat them, then they can eat them too!

On the high platform, Liu Bian looked at the people around him, listening to their shouts that reached the sky, and felt a sense of satisfaction in his heart.

After performing the locust-eating show in public, Liu Bian did not leave, but instead sent out people who had been prepared long ago to distribute the roasted locusts everywhere and sprinkled them with seasonings.

Followers gathered.

There was also a rush of people, and if it weren't for the soldiers arranged in advance to maintain order, there might have been a stampede.

If that were the case, Liu Bian would not have the face to publicize what he had done today.

After locusts gather in groups, their appearance will change and they will emit pheromones that their natural enemies do not like. If their natural enemies still want to eat them, the locusts will also produce a toxic substance.

But for humans, it seems that this toxic substance disappears under high temperature heating.

Anyway, the poison testers arranged in advance by the palace did not have any reaction after eating it.

Liu Bian was already accustomed to this kind of situation, and he could not say that the lives of slaves are also lives.

All Liu Bian could do was to reward the slaves who tested the poison, knowing that ripe locusts could be eaten.

When the locusts prepared in advance were almost distributed, Liu Bian held the locusts on the bamboo sticks in his hand on the high platform.

The soldiers from various armies around him spread his words everywhere.

"Today, I will eat with the people of the world! If God has a punishment, I will take it on behalf of the people of the world!"

After that, Liu Bian ate the locusts again. To be honest, the locusts carefully cooked by the palace chef tasted good occasionally, and the chicken tasted fragrant and crispy.

In the audience, Yu Jin also took the lead and ate a locust. After he finished eating, he saw the soldier who had not dared to eat locusts earlier showing a look of aftertaste on his face, and he couldn't help laughing.

……

After Liu Bian and a group of court officials performed a show of eating locusts in public, the next day, some people in Luoyang began to study various ways of eating locusts.

At the same time, with the help of some mysterious power, the news that the emperor and all the officials were eating locusts spread quickly everywhere.

Especially in the Sanfu area where the locust plague was the most serious.

Combined with the court envoys who had arrived in various places, and the various methods summarized by Liu Bian and the court officials.

It is impossible to completely solve the problem of locusts, but at least the scale of the locusts can be limited to prevent them from continuing to spread.

And because of the drought, after the wheat in various places was harvested one after another, some people planted soybeans with hope - what if it rained after planting!
But regardless of whether the people will continue to farm after harvesting wheat, one thing is clear: at this time of year, it is difficult for locusts to find crops to eat in the north of the Yellow River where most of the land is planted with wheat.

It looks like we can just ignore the locusts.

But even in the north, there are still paddy fields for growing rice in places with convenient water conservancy.

The rice, which has grown green leaves at this time, is a great delicacy in the eyes of locusts.

The drought has already greatly affected grain production in the north this year, and the south must not be affected by the locust plague.

Hanzhong County, located south of Youfufeng, was one of the second batch of counties hit by the locust plague.

Because of the Han River and the terrain, Hanzhong is not very dry this year, but it cannot withstand the swarms of locusts from Youfufeng.

After gathering, locusts will fly in one direction, eating everything edible they meet along the way.

Adult locusts can easily fly tens or hundreds of meters high after living in groups, and are difficult to stop by mountains, rivers and trees.

In this context, in order to deal with the locusts, the prefect Su Gu first thought of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect.

Although the facts are somewhat hurtful, the reality is that in Hanzhong, the Five Pecks of Rice Sect can better organize the people than the government, and the Five Pecks of Rice Sect can also help break the people's fear of locusts.

However, after Zhang Lu left, Zhang Lu's younger brother Zhang Wei, who took over Zhang Lu's management of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect affairs, did not seem to be as smooth as his brother.

——You can help, but locusts are also worshipped in temples, and they are all in the way of gods, so...if you want the Five Pecks of Rice Sect to help deal with the locusts, you have to pay extra money.

Zhang Wei's meaning was very clear. He wanted to take this opportunity to continue to expand the influence of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect in Hanzhong.

Considering that Zhang Lu had already entered the court as an official, facing the current threat of locust plague, the prefect Su Gu agreed to Zhang Wei's request despite the persuasion of the chief clerk Zhao Song.

Controlling the locust plague is the key to everything.

Under the mobilization of the Five Pecks of Rice Sect, the locust plague was restricted from the very beginning. The locusts that flew from Youfufeng to Hanzhong were rootless duckweed, and even if they laid eggs, it would take at least more than a month for them to grow.

Afterwards, news came one after another about the imperial envoys and the emperor himself eating locusts, and the people of Hanzhong became more and more enthusiastic and motivated to deal with the locusts.

In particular, the news that the emperor ate locusts himself was just as effective as the Five Pecks of Rice Sect in destroying the "sacredness" of locusts in the hearts of the people.

Although it is difficult to eradicate the locust plague with modern manpower, the hidden danger of locust eggs left in Hanzhong has not been completely eliminated.

However, the people were no longer afraid of locusts.

(End of this chapter)