Late Han Zhao Tang

Chapter 176: Revenge for the people, and thus fear and submission

The locusts covered the sky like a dark cloud, and the rustling of their wings was terrifying from a distance. Wherever they went, the crops were eaten into a mess. The sound of the locusts gnawing was buzzing, accompanied by the sound of their droppings.

"Go away!"

In order to preserve the hard-earned crops, women and children held torches to drive away the locusts that were about to fall from the sky; farmers swung sticks to sweep the crops to drive away the locusts that were eating the crops; children caught locusts in the fields and stuffed them into cloth bags in exchange for rewards.

However, the fields are so vast that it is impossible for a family of just a few people to take care of them. As soon as they have swept a field, dense swarms of locusts will fall down and eat the crops. The farmer is very angry and turns around to drive away the locusts while cursing them.

After the farmer turned around and drove away the locusts, perhaps because he was tired, he looked at the vast fields, his expression was dazed for a moment, and then tears came to his eyes.

"Why is God so blind!"

The current situation is not just a matter for one family, but the dilemma faced by tens of thousands of households in Shangdang. Locusts are afraid of people and are easy to drive away, but human power is always limited and it is still difficult to stop locusts from causing harm.

Zhang Yu watched the locusts wreaking havoc while the people struggled to drive them away, and could not help but sigh. In an agricultural society, the damage caused by locusts is so great that it can be ranked on par with drought and flood.

"Sir, there are so many locusts in the county now. I don't know how to deal with them."

Xu Shu came with a bag full of locusts and reported to Zhang Yu.

"Cook the locusts and dry them for food!" said Zhang Yu.

"For food?"

Xu Shu looked embarrassed and said, "Locusts are evil. Eating them may make you sick. How can we eat them?"

"Yes!"

Zhong Yao tried to stop him and said, "The locust plague is a disaster sent by heaven as a warning. Eating it now may make people sick."

Zhang Yu put his hands on his belt and said, "Birds, chickens and ducks can eat locusts, so why can't humans? The people are innocent. If God wanted to punish them, why did he punish the people instead of letting Dong Zhuo die of a sudden disease?"

Zhang Yu then ordered his attendants and said in a deep voice: "Light a fire here and roast the locusts. I will avenge the people. If there is any guilt, I am willing to take the blame for the people."

As soon as these words were spoken, everyone's faces changed, and their expressions varied.

"promise!"

Seeing Zhang Yu's tough attitude, Zhang Feng hesitated for a moment, and immediately ordered his men to light a fire and roast the locusts.

While the locusts were being cooked, Zhong Yao advised: "Your Excellency, please be careful. Locusts are poisonous and eating them will make you sick. Now the soldiers and civilians in Shangdang all rely on you. If you get sick, the soldiers and civilians will have no one to rely on!"

Zhang Yu looked calm and said stubbornly: "Humans eat grains, locusts also eat grains, so why can't we eat them now?"

"Don't worry, Yuan Chang. I know what's going on."

"This~"

Zhong Yao hesitated for a moment, but seeing Zhang Yu was so persistent, he didn't say anything more.

Zhang Yu could not eat locusts as Li Shimin did, so he did not want to follow his example. But now he can still eat cooked locusts.

After a while, Zhang Feng brought up the plate with locusts and said in a deep voice, "Sir, please eat the locusts first."

Guo Tu showed a worried look on his face and said, "It may be poisonous. Your Excellency, why don't you let someone else taste it?"

Guo Tu had been watching the show for a long time and had already figured out that Zhang Yu intended to eat locusts to win the hearts of the people. Now, for Zhang Yu's safety, the best way was to have someone test the poison first.

Seeing Zhang Feng's tragic face, Zhang Yu smiled a few times and said, "I will eat with Maoshan."

Without waiting for the advice of the people around him, Zhang Yu picked out the locusts with only meat, put them into his mouth, and started chewing and eating.

When Zhong Yao, Xu Shu and Guo Tu and their companions saw Zhang Yu eating locusts himself, their eyes widened and they could not believe it.

"My Lord~"

As he savoured the locusts with a crunching sound, Zhang Yu said to his attendants, "Locusts are crispy. If God didn't want us to eat them, He would have made them bitter and poisonous. Now that I have eaten them without any problems, it shows that locusts are not a disaster from heaven."

Zhang Feng recalled the taste and said with a smile: "If the locusts are cooked in water, they may taste as good as chicken."

Encouraged by Zhang Yu's eyes, Zhang Feng plucked up his courage and picked up another locust and put it in his mouth, which made everyone feel surprised and curious. They were amazed that locusts could be eaten and curious about their taste.

"Does Yuanzhi dare?"

Xu Shu was born a knight-errant and was naturally very brave. At Zhang Yu's invitation, he stepped forward and picked up the last locust with meat on its belly.

Seeing Xu Shu eating with gusto, Guo Tu said, "Sir, you can now issue an order to the people, telling them that if food is insufficient, they can eat locusts. If the people are suspicious, the government should use your example of eating locusts to avenge the people."

Zhang Yu looked at Guo Tu approvingly and said, "Let Gongze take charge of this matter."

"Yes!" Guo Tu obviously understood Zhang Yu's intention. He elevated the eating of locusts to revenge for the people, allowing the people to empathize with Zhang Yu in order to win the support of the people in the county.

While Zhang Yu was talking to the others, an attendant came quickly and said, "Sir, there is a military report from Zhan County. General Zhang has defeated the bandits."

Zhang Yu took the document, read through its contents carefully, and said with a smile, "Finally, there is good news. Wenyuan has killed Wang Dang and captured more than 3,000 prisoners. Zhan County will no longer be in danger of thieves."

"Good thing!"

Zhong Yao nodded and said happily: "The king should surrender, and the Jingxing Road will be unblocked. If Shao Ran can obtain food and grass from Youzhou, he will be able to enter the county through Jingxing."

Zhang Yu held the document in his hand, paced back and forth, and said, "It's not that simple. Zhang Yan and the Black Mountain bandits are entrenched in the valleys along the mountains. Now that the locust plague is coming, the people of Black Mountain may also be short of food. If we ask for food and grass from Youzhou, 300,000 stones of grain will pass through the border. The Black Mountain bandits will not remain indifferent."

"Your Majesty, do you mean that Zhang Yan will plunder Youzhou's food supplies?" Zhong Yao said.

"It's not impossible!"

Zhang Yu hesitated for a moment and said, "Come here, have Zhang Liao march north to Jingxing, a dangerous place, to investigate the movements of Zhang Yan's troops. Let's first check on Shao Ran's news, and then discuss the transportation of food and grass."

"promise!"

Let's not talk about Zhang Yu using the locust plague to win the hearts of the people. Previously, Zhang Yu's collection of taxes and borrowing of grain from the big families was progressing in full swing.

Lu County, Feng’s Fortress.

Inside the fort, the Feng family's sons and daughters drew their bows and arrows, held their spears and weapons, and defended the fort. Outside the city, five hundred soldiers had surrounded the fort, with the leading flag reading "Man".

"Mr. Man, the Feng family has lived in Lu County for hundreds of years. Their ancestors can be traced back to Feng Ting, the governor of Shangdang County in Han Dynasty. Even in the Western Han Dynasty, there were ministers like Feng Wuzhe and Feng Tang. Now they are a prominent family in Shangdang. I hope that Mr. Man will not use force to damage your reputation." Lu County Magistrate Chang Lin was afraid that Man Chong would use force, so he advised.

Man Chong, wearing leather armor, said in a deep voice: "The Feng family relies on the strength of their fortress, and their children often violate the law. I am leading the troops here not only to collect taxes and borrow food from them, but also to deter the Feng family."

The Feng family of Shangdang has a long history. As Chang Lin said, Feng Ting, who caused the Battle of Changping between Qin and Zhao, was from Shangdang.

During the Qin Dynasty, Feng Quji and Feng Jie, two of Feng's descendants, became prime ministers and generals. During the Western Han Dynasty, Feng Wuzhe was a founding general, and Feng Tang, a famous minister, was also born. Therefore, it is not an exaggeration to describe the Feng family of Lu County as a century-old dynasty and a thousand-year-old family.

If it weren't for the locust plague, Zhang Yu would not have targeted the Feng family of Lu County for the sake of maintaining stability. But now because of the locust plague, considering the livelihood of the people, Zhang Yu had to be ruthless and sent Man Chong to intimidate the Feng family.

Chang Lin put his hands down, signaling Man Chong not to worry, and said: "Don't worry, Man Jun, I will go to the fort first and explain the pros and cons to Feng. If Feng refuses to comply, it won't be too late for Man Jun to order an attack on the fort."

Man Chong pointed his whip at the fort and said in a cold voice: "Mr. Chang, go into the fort and tell Feng that if he refuses to hand over the people and has no intention of handing over the grain, our army will gather the people of Lu County here. The Feng family has lasted for 500 years. If you don't want to decline in his hands, you should let him understand the current situation."

"it is good!"

Seeing Man Chong's swift and decisive actions, Chang Lin couldn't help but sigh inwardly. He had never expected that there would be such a person under the Lord. But fortunately, there was such a person. If it was someone with a gentle personality, I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to accomplish this.

With Man Chong as the bad guy, Chang Lin naturally played the good guy. After entering the fort, Chang Lin discussed the pros and cons with Feng and used Man Chong as a threat.

While Chang Lin was entering the dock, Man Chong immediately ordered his soldiers to be on alert and prepare to attack the dock at any time.

After an unknown amount of time, Chang Lin happily came out of the dock and saw Man Chong waiting outside. He bowed and said, "Mr. Man, the Feng family is willing to offer food and a list of names to the government. As for the children who have committed crimes, we are willing to hand them over as well. But please withdraw your troops."

"good!"

Man Chong's expression eased and he said, "It's good that Feng can borrow the grain. Remember to sign the contract. The children and the list are for Lu County. Chang Jun should take care of himself according to the law!"

Although Zhang Yu asked the powerful and noble families to pay grain on the pretext of borrowing grain, the powerful and noble families had already tacitly understood that Zhang Yu's borrowing grain was actually a donation, and he just did it to make it sound good, calling it borrowing grain and signing a contract.

However, when asked about Zhang Yu's original intention, he did have the intention to return the grain. As for when he would return the grain, that was probably an unknown number.

After that, Man Chong ordered his attendants, "Tell Captain Yu Xu that Feng wants to borrow grain, and have him put pressure on Chen."

"Yes!" The attendant bowed and accepted the order, then rode away on his horse.

The Chen family that Man Chong mentioned was none other than the family of Chen Yan, the former Xiang of Hejian. Lu County was headed by the Chen and Feng clans, and if the two clans could submit, the rest of the powerful and wealthy clans would not dare to resist.

Seeing this, Chang Lin was delighted. Man Chong and Xu Huang led their troops to help him deal with the Chen and Feng clans, so that Lu County would be easier to govern.

"Mr. Man has led his army to besiege the fortress for many days. I would like to thank you very much!" Chang Lin bowed and said with a smile.

"Serving you, my lord, and worrying about the livelihood of the people today, can't be called hard work!"

Man Chong pointed at the Feng family's fortress and said, "If the Feng family goes back on their word, Lord Chang can report it to your superiors."

"good!"

"Jiangzuo Yice": Shanyang Man Chong followed Emperor Shenwu to raise an army. At that time, Shangdang was hit by a locust plague and the people had nothing to eat. However, the Feng family in Lu County was wealthy and was the leader of the old clans. Chong coveted their money and goods, and forced them to exchange one stone of locusts for one stone of rice. The Feng family refused to defend, and Chong led 500 soldiers to surround them, saying, "The Feng family has lived in Lu for 500 years. If you don't obey, you will perish." The Feng family was afraid and submitted.

(End of this chapter)