Wentang

Chapter 478: Locust Plague!

"Actually, locust plagues occur almost every year in the Tang Dynasty, but some are mild and some are serious. I didn't expect it to be the turn of Yongzhou this year." Sun Fucai sighed.

"Locust plagues happen every year? You didn't lie to me, did you?" Yue Shan said in disbelief.

This is a plague of locusts. It would be great if it happened once every ten or eight years. How could it happen every year?

"Hehe...why do you think my family sent me to the palace?" Sun Fucai mocked.

I don't know whether to laugh at my own tragic experience or Yue Shan's ignorance.

"..." Yue Shan couldn't believe his ears, turned his gaze to other people, only to find that they all nodded with serious faces.

"The common people are suffering." After a long while, Yue Shan squeezed out a word from between his teeth.

"It's more bitter than you imagined, so I will definitely get back the good seeds you mentioned, even if it's Yu Wo, I will bring them back." Sun Fucai said firmly.

"Then how will the people deal with the locust plague?" Yue Shan asked again.

"There is no other way, either flee or wait for relief from the court." Sun Fucai said sadly.

"This..." Yue Shan opened his mouth but did not utter a word.

Yes, there is really no other way but to wait for death.By grasping?How to catch the overwhelming locusts.There is only large-scale spraying of pesticides, but where did the Tang Dynasty get the pesticides.

Not to mention the Tang Dynasty, even in the 21st century, Africa does not have a sufficient amount of pesticides, otherwise the locust plague in Africa would not be so severe.

Some people are going to raise the bar, saying that African locusts are highly resistant to pesticides, that is pure nonsense.The African locusts reached India and were wiped out in just a few days with little damage.

what is the reason?It's not because India's political situation is relatively stable, it has a relatively complete light industry system, and it can independently develop and produce pesticides.

As for Africa, which has been in turmoil year after year, not to mention that the light industry and even the handicraft industry are relatively backward, they simply cannot produce so many pesticides, and can only let the locusts wreak havoc.

And during the Tang Dynasty... there was no industry at all, and there were no pesticides.

Not to mention locusts, any kind of disease and pest disaster can only be left alone and there is no way to do it.So it is really not easy for human beings to develop and continue.

Well, it's getting farther, Tang really has no way to deal with the locust plague, and Yue Shan is also at a loss.

Exterminate locusts?Relying on manual labor can only be said to be doing everything human and obeying the destiny.Raise chickens and ducks?hehe……

Let everyone eat locusts together?Don't think that the ancient people were really that ignorant, let alone think that the ancient people didn't dare to eat locusts.

People are so hungry that they can change their seeds to eat, so there is nothing that locusts dare not eat.

What?You said that common people think that locusts are gods punishing sinners, and eating locusts offends gods?Haha again...

Looking through the history books, there are countless examples of eating locusts to satisfy hunger.Not to mention, during the reign of Tang Dezong, a large-scale locust plague occurred in the Tang Dynasty, and the whole country was starving. The country could not provide relief, and the people caught locusts to satisfy their hunger.

This is clearly recorded in history, and both ancient and modern times have fully affirmed the idea of ​​catching locusts to satisfy hunger.

It shows that the ancient people were not ignorant at all, and few people regarded locusts as toys of gods, and thought that eating locusts offended gods and the like.

Therefore, the saying that ancient people did not eat locusts is purely a fantasy of modern people.

But still the same sentence, what do you use to catch locusts? Besides, it’s okay to eat a little of this thing when you’re hungry, and it can’t be eaten as a staple food.

Someone else wants to say, isn’t the locust made in the night market delicious, I don’t get tired of eating it every day.

Are you kidding me, did people in the Tang Dynasty have so many cooking styles?Common people can't even eat, so where can they get so much oil and seasoning?If there is no seasoning, try eating locusts.

"So the locust plague can only be alleviated but not eliminated?" Yue Shan said with an ugly face.

"Yes, we can only find ways to kill the locusts to reduce the locust plague, but there is no way to eliminate it." Sun Fucai's face was also not good-looking: "The most feared thing is not the locust plague, but man-made disasters."

"In every disaster year, there will be people spreading rumors, saying that the locust plague is a warning from the court's immorality, which can easily lead to civil uprisings."

"There are also some people who deliberately spread rumors that killing locusts offends the heavens in order to embezzle people's wealth, so that the people dare not kill the locusts, and in the end they can only sell their property or even sell their children and daughters."

"Such beasts should be killed." Yue Shan said bitterly.

"It is indeed necessary to kill, but the bad guys can't be killed." Sun Fucai shook his head, then looked at Yue Shan and said:
"A locust plague is very likely to occur in Yongzhou. Can you tell the saint about it? The locust plague is not very severe now. Early prevention can minimize the harm of the locust plague and save countless lives."

"What about the officials in Yongzhou? Wouldn't they report such important information?" Yue Shan asked puzzled.

"If they report it, what if the locust plague does not occur by then? Bullying the king is a serious crime. So they will not report until the locust plague breaks out." Sun Fucai said.

Yue Shan felt depressed, he knew what Sun Fucai meant and why those officials did this, but he just felt uncomfortable.

Falsely reporting the disaster is the crime of beheading, even if you don't behead your official career in this life, you will basically come to an end, no one dares to take this risk.

Moreover, the imperial court also stipulated that natural disasters cannot be controlled by humans, and local officials will not be held accountable as long as they are handled properly afterwards.Under such circumstances, who dares to gamble with their own future?
Besides, all the officials are rich and powerful, no matter how severe the locust plague is, they will not be short of food and clothing, let alone care if they have no personal pain.

"Let's go to the capital." Yue Shan didn't say anything, and he galloped his horse towards the imperial palace.

When I arrived at the palace, I soon saw Li Shimin, but this time Yue Shan didn't go in with him. This was Sun Fucai's exam and he had to pass it alone.

In fact, this exam was just a formality. Li Shimin had never even seen the sea a few times, let alone sailed.What he really assessed was Sun Fucai's degree of loyalty and whether he really had the ability to stand alone.

Is there any problem with Sun Fucai's loyalty and ability?Of course there is not, otherwise Yue Shan would not have told him about the globe and the good breed in advance.

Sure enough, about half an hour later, Sun Fucai came out of the imperial study room, and gave Yue Shan a pass gesture.

"I'm leaving for Dizhou tomorrow, and I'll leave when I'm ready," Sun Fucai said.

Yue Shan didn't ask about the assessment process, but said, "Aren't you going home?"

Sun Fucai was silent for a while and said: "I won't go back. It's not too late if I can come back and meet them with honor. If I can't come back... Well, you can take care of them for me."

"You don't need to give them great wealth, just don't let them be bullied."

"Don't worry at home, I will take good care of you." Yue Shan said solemnly.

"Then I'm relieved. I won't say goodbye to you alone, let's just say goodbye." Sun Fucai said with reddened eyes, pretending to be free and easy.

"Okay, I'll wait to wash you off." Yue Shan waved his hands and bid farewell.

It was not until Sun Fucai's figure disappeared that he sighed, then calmed down and walked into the imperial study.

It is necessary to talk about the locust plague.

(End of this chapter)