In Feng'an County, a large group of soldiers were cutting down pine branches in the pine forest in the northwest of Feng'an County. Large bundles of pine branches were dragged by horse-drawn carriages and sent to the county seat.
At this time, thousands of large tents were set up in the wilderness to the west of the county. People and soldiers from the entire Jiuyuan County were mobilized and came to Feng'an County to build the first line of defense against the locust plague.
The second line of defense is located east of Jiuyuan County and is mainly prepared by accumulating pine branches and other materials.
The women mobilized and used cloth to sew various nets for catching locusts, as well as various tools for destroying locusts, such as wooden rollers. Several soldiers pulled huge wooden rollers to walk, and all the locusts on the ground were crushed to death by the wooden rollers.
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There are also hundreds of large vats, with a fire and a barbecue underneath and a lid on top. All the captured locusts are poured into the vat and smouldered to death.
All kinds of advance preparations are in full swing.
Guo Song led all the officials and generals to Feng'an County, leaving only a few hundred old and young people in Jiuyuan County to guard the county.
The officials also divided their work, some took care of the people, and some directed the locust extermination. They were well prepared and the progress of the locust extermination was proceeding in an orderly manner.
As people from Yulin County and Hebin County arrived one after another, the entire Feng'an County camp became extremely lively, and Li Ji began to organize young people from the two counties to conduct locust driving drills.
On the second day of September, the originally cool weather suddenly increased in temperature, and the blue sky in the south turned grayish-yellow. Directly to the south were the Daqing Mountains and hundreds of miles of Gobi desert. Locust swarms could not cross the desert, but would
Follow the green channel on the west bank of the Yellow River to the north, first to Hebin County, then to Yulin County, and then turn west to invade the Zhongtao Plain.
Guo Song stood on the top of the city and stared at the gray-yellow sky in the distance. At this time, Xue Changshou stepped forward and said with a somewhat solemn expression: "I just got the news that locusts have also appeared in Lingzhou."
Guo Song was startled and asked: "Is the disaster serious?"
"It's not very serious. It is said that there are only a small number of locusts. The entire Shuofang Army was mobilized urgently to focus on killing locusts in Huile County."
After saying that, he handed an urgent Eagle Letter to Guo Song. Guo Song read the Eagle Letter and said with a faint smile: "This should be a good thing. It has dispersed some locusts for us."
Xue Changshou pondered for a moment and said: "Will the locust plague stop coming to Fengzhou?"
"Of course it would be best not to come, but even if there is only a 50% chance that it will come, we must be 100% prepared."
"Your Majesty is right, you must not take it lightly."
At this moment, a soldier suddenly pointed to the east and shouted: "Wolf smoke, a column of wolf smoke!"
In order to call the police in time, Guo Song rebuilt the abandoned beacon towers along the way, one every forty miles, extending all the way to Shengzhou in the south. There were a total of thirty beacon towers. If a column of smoke appeared, it meant that locusts were swarming along the way.
The green channel on the west bank of the Yellow River goes north. If there are two pillars of smoke, it means the locusts have arrived in Yulin County. If there are three pillars of smoke, it means the locusts are marching along the Yellow River to Fengzhou.
The locusts still moved north, and Guo Song immediately ordered: "Sound the alarm!"
‘Dang! Dang! Dang!’ The alarm bells sounded loudly.
There were soldiers running in the camp shouting: "Latest news, locusts have begun to move north!"
The situation suddenly became tense. Once the locusts moved north, they would spread extremely quickly and would reach Fengzhou in just a few days.
In the court hall of Qinzheng Hall in Chang'an, hundreds of officials were discussing the locust plague in the northwest. Not only was the locust plague occurring in Shuofang Prefecture, but also in Yinzhou, Suizhou and Yanzhou within the Pass. This time, the locust plague was fierce and affected a wide range of areas.
It has attracted great attention from both the government and the public.
Shangshu Zuopu Sheyan Zhenqing, who had just been promoted to the prime minister, reported: "Your Majesty, this locust plague has started to appear in the summer. Some states are better prepared and may not suffer much loss, but most states and counties are not prepared, and it happens to be again in the summer.
On the eve of the autumn harvest, the locust plague will severely reduce production, which will inevitably lead to an influx of hungry people. Weichen suggests transporting grain northward immediately and trying to provide local relief. If hungry people flock to Chang'an, firstly, it will affect the order of Chang'an, and secondly, it will affect next spring plowing. Be sure to provide local relief
Please give your Majesty a clear lesson in dealing with the victims!"
Emperor Li Yu nodded and said loudly: "What Yan Xiangguo said is reasonable. Dear ladies, do you have anything to add?"
At this time, Prime Minister Chang Gun came out and said: "Your Majesty, I would like to add a few words!"
"Chang Xiangguo, please tell me!"
Chang Gun said calmly: "Disaster relief has always been a major matter for the country, especially for such a wide-ranging disaster. The minister suggested that firstly, important ministers should inspect various places to understand the specific disaster situation, and secondly, send out supervisory censors to supervise disaster relief in various places.
Prevent a few local officials from using disaster relief to line their own pockets."
Li Yu said happily: "Chang Xiangguo has considered it carefully. I wonder who Chang Xiangguo recommends as the pacification inspector?"
Chang Gun bowed again and said: "Wei Chen suggested that the Crown Prince should come and recommend the appeasement inspector."
Li Yu turned his eyes to Prince Li Shi, who was sitting below. He was still observing the court meeting. He could not speak or participate in court affairs without the emperor's permission.
"Can the emperor recommend a suitable candidate?"
Li Shi pondered for a moment and said: "Father, I think it is best for a prime minister to patrol the disaster area on behalf of the emperor and arrange timely relief. I recommend Yan Xiangguo as the pacification inspector."
Yan Zhenqing has an upright personality, loves the people like a son, and considers problems thoroughly. It is indeed more appropriate for him to inspect the disaster area on behalf of the emperor.
Li Yu smiled and asked Yan Zhenqing: "The prince recommended Aiqing to be the pacification inspector. Will Yan Aiqing be willing to go to the disaster area on my behalf to inspect the disaster area and pacify the people?"
Yan Zhenqing said without hesitation: "Wei Chen is willing to go!"
In the morning of the same day, the emperor Li Yu issued an edict, appointing Yan Zhenqing, the prime minister, as the pacification and inspection envoy. He was the imperial envoy and the official, and was given the emperor a sword to inspect the disaster situation in Guan Nei and Shuofang prefectures on behalf of the emperor.
At the same time, Taicang urgently transported 300,000 dan of grain to Yanzhou, Lingzhou and other places to prepare for relief to the victims.
At this time, the locust plague in Shuofang and other places had caused serious losses. Shengzhou, Xiazhou, Yanzhou and other places were devastated. The locust swarms did not subside, but flew north.
It has been the sixth day that the people of Fengzhou gathered in Feng'an County. Two warnings of smoke had appeared the day before yesterday. Nearly 30,000 people and 6,000 soldiers were ready.
In the early morning of this day, three beacons were lit from a beacon thirty miles away, and black smoke shot straight into the sky. This meant that the locust swarm had appeared thirty miles away.
'Dang! Dang! Dang!' The alarm bell rang urgently, and men, women, old and young rushed out of the big tent. From children aged seven or eight to old men in their sixties, they all mobilized and rushed to their homes.
Six thousand soldiers stood on the front line of the post, which stretched for more than ten miles from south to north, and more than 300,000 loads of pine branches were prepared.
Both soldiers and civilians had practiced more than twenty times and were able to skillfully operate various locust-killing tools. But when the locusts were about to arrive, everyone was very nervous, even Guo Song.
The locust eradication front is located 20 miles east of Feng'an County. Behind it is the military and civilian camp, and a few miles further back is the endless wheat field.
At this time, Guo Song was standing on a high platform. The locust extermination required overall dispatch and command. The soldiers built a five-foot-high wooden building with an observation deck at the top. In addition to Guo Song, there were three observers and five
A flag bearer and two bell and drummers are responsible for commanding the locust extermination army below.
At this time, a strange sound came from the east, like a plane passing by in the distance. Then the dazzling sunlight in the morning disappeared, the sky became dim, and the sky in the distance turned yellow.
"Oh my God!" Guo Song couldn't help but exclaimed.
It's not just patches of dark clouds, but countless dark clouds that join together to cover the sky and the sun.
"Beat the drums and light the pine branches!"
Guo Song gave an order, drums beat, and thousands of soldiers threw their torches into the pile of pine branches. The first pile of pine branches was more than twenty feet wide and fifteen or sixteen miles long, and the pile of pine paper was ignited.
Rolling black smoke ignited, forming a black smoke wall.
Six thousand soldiers and six thousand young men are the main force in driving away the locusts. They stand on the first and last lines, each with six thousand people. Their weapons are not nets, but long pine branches, and they are beaten with pine branches to blow the air into the air.
The migratory locusts were shot down and then crushed to death with rolling logs, or left behind for capture by women, the elderly and children.
The locust swarm finally arrived. The first batch of locust swarms roared towards them like raindrops in a storm. When they passed through the thick smoke, they fell from the sky with crackling crackles. The pine smoke was indeed very effective, intercepting at least half of the locusts.
, even if it passes through thick smoke, the flight altitude will be significantly reduced, or it will fall directly to the ground.
The soldiers and young men shouted and waved their branches to swat the locusts in the air, and a spectacular human-insect war began.