On this morning, a fleet of more than 20 painted boats sailed through Dongshi and directly entered another special waterway. This waterway was equipped with water booms and interrogating soldiers. Its end point was the Jin Palace, so naturally it was not
Ordinary ships are allowed to enter.
The fleet sailed into the waterway and soon slowly entered the Ningcui Lake of the Jin Palace. Ningcui Lake is the Dragon Pond.
Everyone went ashore one after another, and after two months, everyone finally returned to their homes.
Although I usually feel a little bored after living in the palace for a long time, after returning from the two-month trip, I feel the warmth and beauty of home. Everything is so comfortable and free.
Xue Tao took a hot bath and put on a comfortable long dress. As usual, he sat by his window and drank tea and admired jade. Not long after, Dugu Youlan also came over. She sat on a spacious and comfortable wicker chair.
He stepped down and sighed softly: "It's still comfortable at home, at least you have a solid footing."
"You used to travel around, I think you should adapt to life outside."
Dugu Youlan smiled and said: "It was one moment and another! At that time, I didn't want to go home, and felt that my home was a cage. My martial arts skills were pretty good at that time, but it's a pity that they have been completely neglected in these years."
Xue Tao took a sip of hot tea, pursed his lips and smiled: "It was the same when I was young. I always yearned for the outside world. I also joined a poetry club and met many poetry friends. There were also two Japanese monks who wrote poems.
Not bad.”
"Are any of these poetry friends doing well?" Dugu Youlan asked with a smile.
"its me!"
Xue Tao pointed at himself and smiled: "I am doing very well!"
The two couldn't help but giggle. Only when they returned home could they laugh so freely. They had to pay attention to etiquette outside, lest they be laughed at by others.
Xue Tao rubbed a topaz carved ring on his finger, thought for a moment and said: "Actually, there are also people who are doing well, such as Lu You'an, the Minister of Rites, Li Kuan, the governor of Fangzhou, and several long governors, all members of the Poetry Society.
, they were the best at that time, and after the imperial examination was restored, they were the first batch of Jinshi. It seems that I will also let Cheng'er take the Jinshi exam."
"Sister, how is the situation in Jincheng?" Dugu Youlan asked again.
"It should be fine! My husband is very careful about his safety. I heard from Eunuch Li that he came back a few days ago, took a few clothes and left. I will notify him to come back tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
While his wives and daughters were going home to enjoy the comfort, Guo Song also came to the Daming Palace at the same time and returned to his official room. He immediately summoned the right prime minister Pan Liao and the left prime minister Du You.
When the two heard that their lord was back, they rushed to see him. Guo Song asked them to sit down and asked directly: "How is the locust plague in the pass?"
He read the news about the outbreak of locust plague in Wonju and Gyeongju in the newspaper. Guo Song had personal experience. He knew that once the locust plague broke out, it would not be a small disaster. The locust swarm would become larger and larger, and no grass would grow wherever it passed.
.
Pan Liao said quickly: "Your Highness, the locust plague is indeed quite serious. It has affected more than a dozen counties in five prefectures, including Yanzhou, Yuanzhou, Qingzhou, Suizhou and Yanzhou. The most serious ones are Yuanzhou and Qingzhou.
Officials from various states are making every effort to organize the military and civilians to fight the disaster. The imperial court has also allocated 300,000 shi of grain and 50,000 barrels of kerosene to support the disaster-stricken areas. Currently, Wei Yingwu, the Minister of Household Affairs, has been entrusted by the Political Affairs Hall to go to the disaster-stricken areas to inspect the damage.
Du You, who was next to him, also said: "Your Highness, the state governments and the people are still a little short of manpower. I implore Your Highness to send troops to participate in the extermination of locusts!"
Guo Song nodded, "I have sent 10,000 troops to Wonju and Gyeongju to participate in the extermination of locusts on the way. If the situation is serious, I will continue to send troops."
At this time, more than a dozen guards brought the sand table in the Guan Nei area. It was made up of four parts, each two feet long and wide. Guo and Song got up and came to the sand table. Pan Liao understood the situation better and pointed at the sand table with a wooden pole.
: "The locust plague mainly broke out from Huai'an County in Gyeongju, and soon spread to Fangqu County and Luoyuan County, and then spread to Yuanzhou and Yanzhou, and then affected Suizhou and Yanzhou, but it was not too serious there and mainly affected people.
Spread westward.”
"Is there a disaster in Lingzhou?" Guo Song asked.
"There is no news about the disaster in Lingzhou yet, but it is difficult to say. Although the area of the locust plague is not very large and it has not spread over a large area so far, there is no guarantee that it will suddenly expand the scope. I feel like Lingzhou
It’s also very dangerous over there,”
"How long has the locust plague occurred?"
Pan Liao thought for a while and said: "It has been more than twenty days. Because there was a serious drought in Gyeongju before. There was no rain for four months. Everyone was worried that a locust plague would break out. It did happen. It was also because of the foresight. So all places
The government is more or less prepared."
Guo Song was most worried about the locust plague affecting the autumn grain harvest. He asked again: "How is the autumn harvest situation in various places?"
"Your Majesty, today the drought in Kanai is already quite severe. Both wheat and corn production have generally been reduced by 20%. Now there is a locust plague. It is the corn harvest season in Gyeongju and Wonju. The northern areas of these two states have suffered heavy losses. It is estimated that the harvest
At most, it is only about 30% of last year. The southern regions of the two states and other states rushed to harvest food before the locust plague spread, so the losses were not very big."
Du You added: "What the imperial court is most worried about now is Lingzhou. Lingzhou mainly grows wheat. The wheat harvest only starts in mid-October. The wheat is not mature yet, so the imperial court hopes that His Highness will send troops to strictly guard the border of Lingzhou to prevent
Locust swarms spread to Lingzhou."
Lingzhou is not only an important grain base, but also an important producer of fruits and grapes. It happens to be the autumn harvest season. Guo Song immediately mobilized a total of 30,000 troops from Hexi, Longyou, and Shuofang to rush to Xiaoguan to guard against the entry of locusts.
Lingzhou.
Xiaoguan is the strategic pass through Lingzhou in the pass. It is actually a hundred-mile long canyon with endless mountains on both sides. It is not only a military pass, but also the only way for locust swarms to go north to Lingzhou.
Guo Song mobilized 30,000 troops to support Lingzhou in fighting the locusts, mainly in the northern area of Xiaoguan. After the locust swarms flew over a canyon of more than 100 miles, there was a grassland area below. They would inevitably land on the ground to feed. This was the way to eliminate them.
Chance.
The commander-in-chief of Xiaoguan is called Liang Jun, also known as Liang Ju'er in the past. He has been stationed at the border for a long time. Last year, he was promoted to General Yingyang and transferred to the commander-in-chief of Xiaoguan. There are 3,000 troops stationed in Xiaoguan. They are not only guarding the pass, but also a
The strategic material reserve center stores a large amount of grain, grass and military supplies. It has more than 90 warehouses, and soldiers are also responsible for guarding the warehouse groups.
In addition, Xiaoguan Town at the foot of the mountain was upgraded to Xiaoguan County ten years ago and a city wall was built. There are about 2,000 residents, most of whom are soldiers' families. They mainly raise sheep and donkeys for the imperial court to make a living.
There are pastures with a radius of three hundred miles on both sides of the Weiru River, where millions of sheep and more than 200,000 donkeys are raised.
Yuanzhou's Daqing donkeys have a strong physique and docile personality. They have always been an excellent breed of walking donkeys and cart donkeys. They are extremely popular in Guanzhong. Many people have Daqing donkeys from Yuanzhou. At present, the main production area of Daqing donkeys is Xiao
Guanxian County exports tens of thousands of donkeys a year.
The magistrate of Xiaoguan County was Xie Changming, who had only been in office for three days. He had not yet fully understood the situation in the county! He encountered the locust attack.
Early in the morning, Xie Changming led the county magistrate and county lieutenants to the military camp east of the county. This was a temporary military camp. Thirty thousand locust-killing troops mobilized from various places had arrived. They were led by Lingzhou Governor and Cavalry General Liang Wu.
command.
Xie Changming and the other three came to the military camp and reported their identities. Immediately, a sergeant led them to a large tent. Dozens of generals gathered inside the tent. Liang Wu was discussing with the generals how to exterminate the locusts.
"Everyone, His Royal Highness the King of Jin requires us to be on guard and not allow locust swarms to fly to Lingzhou. Locusts are also our enemies. I hope we will not take it lightly and take it seriously. If we fail to stop the locusts this time, it will be equivalent to a defeat for us.
Not only will we be unable to report to His Highness, but we will also be ridiculed by friendly forces from all over the country, and we cannot even defeat the locusts. Therefore, in intercepting the locusts this time, we can only win, not lose!"
At this time, a soldier ran over and whispered to Liang Wu: "The officials from Xiaoguan County are here!"
"Ask them to sit down!"
A sergeant led Xie Changming and the others into the tent and arranged for them to sit down.
Liang Wu continued: "When the locust swarms fly out of the Xiaoguan Canyon, they must land to feed. Therefore, Xiaoguan is the first line of defense, and the grassland to the north is the second line of defense. How to eliminate locusts is a technical task that requires brainstorming.
Let’s all talk about it!”
Liang Jun raised his hand and asked: "Captain, Xiao Guan is going to set fire to it!"
Liang Wu nodded, "To deal with locusts, you must use fire and smoke. I had experience in Fengzhou back then. Spreading sulfur powder in the fire is the most effective way to drive away locusts. This time the court approved 30,000 kilograms of sulfur, and I want to get 8,000 kilograms.
It will probably arrive tomorrow and the day after tomorrow.”
"Captain, there are warehouses in Xiaoguan. You cannot use fire. It is too dangerous. When the wind blows, the sparks will go to the warehouses."
Liang Wu was immediately stumped. Xiao Guanli was indeed jealous of fire, so he actually forgot about this incident.
"Everyone, let's talk! Don't let me rack my brains here alone."