Tiger Guards

Chapter 209 Crazy Locust Attack
There is basically no time difference of a few days between the maturity of locusts.

Zhao Ji had predicted the locusts would swarm over Yecheng through the expenditure data of the three locust purchasing points in Anyi, Pingyang and Zhongdu.

The nine lakes surrounding the nine counties of Zhongdu have not dried up yet, and the surrounding water is moist, so locusts do not like this place.

In Pingyang, the locust vanguard troops from Taihang Mountains have arrived.

However, the Han and Hu people and slaves in Pingyang had already begun to set up nets and wait for the money to fly into the prepared net walls.

Even the children prepared landing nets.

Zhao Ji was really willing to give out money. He would collect as many locusts as possible at the Pingyang purchasing point.

It was just because the locusts nearby had grown bigger that the Han and Hu people caught a lot of them, so the locusts needed at the purchasing points had to be compacted.

That is to say, the three and a half stones in the past, after being compacted a little, can be equivalent to the two stones now.

The purchased locusts were transported back to Anyi and either mixed with mud and compacted to form the foundation of the locust temple; or mixed with other things, compacted and dried in the shade to make bricks.

Zhao Yan only sent people to supervise the vault that Fude abandoned, and it has never been opened to date.

The spoils from Taiyuan alone on the front line were enough to support the army, and there was even more money and food to be transported to Pingyang and Anyi.

The actual cost of purchasing locusts is not much. After the people exchange the coins for money, they will buy expensive grain, which further reduces the cost of purchasing locusts.

A dou of grain cost one hundred coins, which was five times higher than the price of grain before the Yellow Turban Rebellion; but since the chaos in the world, money could not necessarily buy food.

Last year, when there was chaos in the Three Prefectures, a ration of grain cost hundreds of thousands of coins.

Zhao Ji and the government had no obligation to distribute food for free; Zhao Ji did not have enough manpower to organize locust catching as a relief measure for the victims.

Catching locusts to provide relief to disaster victims is efficient.

But if we use money to buy locusts and then let them use the money to buy food, there will be some surplus, and we can also exploit the local people in other ways... This is really efficient.

During this period, a collaborative locust-catching team has been developed. As long as the grain from Taiyuan can be transported to Hedong steadily, and as long as the locusts they capture can be exchanged for money, this locust-catching team can not only survive, but also have a surplus.

Moreover, because the grain transportation in Taiyuan was stable, the people had calmed down after the initial panic buying and mostly purchased grain on demand, and stored as much five-zhu coins as possible so that they could use them to buy tools or other things after grain production stabilized.

In the northwest of Pingyang City, in a manor near the Mausoleum of Emperor Yao.

Fu Shou was weaving, and only by concentrating on weaving could she divert her attention.

Concubine Dong was sitting at the loom next to her when she suddenly started to retch, causing Concubine Zhao and Concubine Song to stop.

Several palace maids who were reeling and spinning silk on the spinning wheel also noticed something was wrong and immediately got up and went to the corridor outside the door.

Concubine Dong looked embarrassed and didn't know how to explain.

Fu Shouqi's face turned pale, he bit his lower lip tightly, and his eyes were misty.

Concubine Zhao also observed Concubine Dong's expression from time to time, and she didn't think there was anything to be angry about.

Only they knew that they were innocent, so the baby Concubine Dong was pregnant with was naturally the emperor's.

But since they entered the palace, they have been restraining themselves in many things.

Giving birth to a prince would threaten the emperor's life.

So Fu Shou was very restrained, and she also asked other palace maids serving the emperor to be restrained.

Even the emperor himself was very restrained in front of Fu Shou.

Fu Shou really didn't expect that after just a few days of eating, the emperor and Concubine Dong got pregnant behind her back.

In such a world, Dong Cheng controls the army. If he is the eldest prince, what role will she have in the future?

At this moment, Fu Shou wished she could tear Concubine Dong to pieces.

Secretly getting pregnant before her is no different in essence from murdering or betraying her.

In a dozen or so breaths, Concubine Dong's initial embarrassment and awkwardness became stronger, and she glared back at Fu Shou.

They all entered the palace together. Fu Shou was not the legitimate daughter of the family, so why did she become the principal wife after entering the palace?
Concubine Zhao and Lady Song also stood on either side of Fu Shou. Fu Shou suppressed her anger and said, "Hidden maid, wait for me to report to the emperor!"

Hearing this, Concubine Dong was relieved. She was afraid that she would be beaten and seriously injured.

Seeing the relief and relief on Concubine Dong's round, oval face, Fu Shou turned to look at Concubine Zhao and said, "Hold her. If she resists, beat her."

"only."

Concubine Zhao stepped forward and after a little hesitation, she handcuffed Concubine Dong's hands behind her back, even though she did not resist.

Fu Shou picked up the loom and stepped forward. She saw Concubine Dong stepping back in fear, but she was held back by the taller Concubine Zhao and could not move.

"Queen, please spare my life. This is not my fault!"

Concubine Dong pleaded for mercy: "It was Your Majesty who did it. How dare I disobey Your Majesty? Please, Queen, for the sake of my royal blood, spare me!"

At this moment, Fu Shou wanted to pull out her tongue, poke Dong Guifei's belly with a stick, or at the very least, tear Dong Guifei's hair and slap her face with the soles of her shoes.

But she still controlled her anger, holding the loom against Concubine Dong's forehead, her voice trembling with anger and cold and stern: "Let's see how Your Majesty responds."

"Lock her up in the silkworm room and only give her water to drink." After making the decision, Fu Shou watched two palace maids come in and drag away Concubine Dong. She took a few steps back, leaned against a pillar and sat down on the ground, throwing the loom aside.

Concubine Zhao followed the palace maid out and only returned to the weaving room after seeing that the door where Dong was imprisoned was locked.

With Zhao Ji's support, Concubine Zhao took the initiative to ask, "What should we do if Your Majesty sends someone to protect Dong?"

"Let her go. I don't want to see her again."

Fu Shou was in no mood to talk, so she said to Concubine Zhao, "Bring me a jar of wine."

"only."

Concubine Zhao stood up to leave when Fu Shou beckoned her. She stopped and listened as Fu Shou said, "Dong is so bold and reckless. After returning to Luodu, she had her father's support. You should also think long-term and make early preparations."

Zhao's face turned pale and she nodded slightly.

She had more or less guessed what the Queen wanted to do, but she was still hesitant and unable to let go of her feelings for the Emperor.

Now, keeping Dong and the unborn child is the greatest tolerance for the emperor.

The emperor can only choose one between this child and the queen.

Keeping the queen would cost not only a child, but also the lives of Dong Cheng and Concubine Dong.

After threatening Zhao, Fu Shou turned to look at Song, who was also terrified and gloomy. "Our lives depend on her decision. Go and help her."

No matter how she changes, she is still the queen, and Dong has to consider the impact.

As for Concubine Song, after leaving Hedong, she probably died on the way to Luoyang.

Lady Song even forgot to greet him and quickly chased after him.

As the sky gradually darkened, Fu Shou, half drunk, stood at the attic window and looked towards the east bank.

From time to time, locusts would fly across the Fen River, enter the city, fly through the windows and land in the attic.

There is no sound of wind tonight, but there is the dense sound of locusts flapping their wings everywhere.

On both sides of the Fen River, especially in Xintian, Jiangyi, nets were set up everywhere to catch locusts.

Between the ridges of the fields, the firewood piles that had been placed long ago were set on fire. The locusts that came towards the light fell into the fire, and the smell of burning filled the air.

Even for many men and women who were redeemed and rescued from the Xiongnu tribe, this burnt smell was fragrant and stimulated their appetite.

But these are migratory locusts, and no one dares to eat them.

The brown and yellow spotted migratory locust and the small green locust and green locust are almost two different things.

In the western city of Jiangyi, Jia Kui, wearing a bamboo hat with hanging gauze, watched the people in the city waving scoop nets on the ridges of the new fields and on the small roads, scrambling to catch the locusts caught by the net walls.

The figures of fanatical men and women illuminated by the fires everywhere made him feel unfamiliar and frightened.

It was as if Zhao Ji was standing in front of him, with a look of resentment, disdain and madness on his face, grabbing the locusts and eating them.

"Sir, I believe that the locust stone should be purchased at a discount."

An official bowed and said, "The Marquis of Zhao had already prepared for the locust invasion. Now the people have been able to harvest several stone-sized locusts in one night. How can we let the people take all the benefits?"

Several other officials also agreed that Zhao Ji had repeatedly ordered the establishment of bonfires in various places, and that the scoop nets were also arranged by the government. In order to protect the scoop nets from being stolen by the people, the government also had to arrange personnel to patrol and inspect.

How to say it, seeing the people getting huge amounts of locusts as if they were picking them up for free, and then exchanging them for huge amounts of five-zhu coins... they felt very uncomfortable.

Jia Kui raised his hand to interrupt another person who was trying to speak up, saying, "You all have good intentions in saving money for the government and the Marquis of Zhao. But the Marquis of Zhao is determined to kill the locust god. How can he be stingy and disappoint the people? Tomorrow, send envoys to all the villages and announce everywhere that the price of flying locusts will remain the same!"

Food prices will definitely rise, this is market behavior.

Although the people who sold the grain were "Taiyuan merchants", the money they earned from the grain would be used to buy locusts from the people.

Food, money, and locusts are three kinds of materials that can be exchanged, and adjustments can be made through food.

The exchange standard set by Zhao Ji cannot be discounted, and Jia Kui does not want to offend Zhao Ji over such a small matter.

Food consumption is fixed. Even after the summer grain harvest, there are still a large number of newly relocated people near Pingyang who have no grain storage.

It is very convenient to use money and food to drive these people to obey the government's orders.

As people can eat enough and save some money for emergencies, Pingyang will naturally develop very rapidly.

As a serious person, Jia Kui prefers low-cost labor.

Therefore, public security is strictly monitored, and as long as they are caught, they can obtain cheap and more worry-free labor.

Jia Kui had some belief in the connection between heaven and man. Under the leadership of Zhao Ji, he killed hundreds of millions of locusts in Hedong and used them to build a locust temple.

I think next year when the locusts start to spread, the migratory locusts will avoid this place.

Perhaps, by killing locusts, we can make the migrating locusts afraid and avoid the east of the river.

Thinking about this, Jia Kui turned his head to the right and looked towards the north, missing Zhao Ji a little.

(End of this chapter)