Chapter 338 What's the trick?

Gu Xixi never meddles in other people's business.

But locusts are the common enemy of all farmers.

Now that she had discovered the insect eggs, she couldn't just stand by and do nothing.

Gu Xixi said solemnly, "It's almost April now. From what I've seen, the eggs will hatch into larvae in seven or eight days at the earliest, and grow into nymphs in another month. During this period, they can only harm the crops near them."

"Around June, they emerge and grow wings, and can go wherever they want, migrating with food groups, which is what you know as locust plagues."

"So to curb the locust plague, we must act in advance. Killing them at the egg stage is the simplest, most effective and least costly method."

He Jinglan said anxiously, "There are only seven or eight days left, brother, we don't have much time left, you have to make a decision immediately!"

He Jinghui pondered, "But what can we do? According to previous records, the method is to burn the fields where locusts were first discovered, but according to the records I have read, the effect is very limited."

"In the end, not only did it fail to stop the locust plague, but it also caused public resentment early on because of the burning of fields."

He Jinghui was not completely unprepared for taking up the post of the Ministry of Revenue.

He started to dabble in this field at a very early stage, borrowing various records from the Transfer Department over the years.

To sum up the method of dealing with locusts, "doing it is the same as not doing it."

Gu Xixi looked at He Jinghui, her eyes selfless and fearless, "I have a way, as long as Lord He agrees to kill the locusts."

He Jinghui smiled bitterly and waved his hands, saying subconsciously, "This is not a matter of agreeing or not."

"If I could kill these evils, I would definitely be the first one to run away, but..."

He suddenly realized something and said in disbelief, "Boss Gu said this... Could it be that there is already a solution?"

He Jinglan couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"Brother, what happened to you today? I don't need to think about it to know. Xixi mentioned it, so she must have a solution!"

"You are the only one who is dithering. Everyone thinks you are afraid of taking responsibility and are unwilling to do it."

Mu Nanzhao also glanced at He Jinghui teasingly.

He Jinghui smiled awkwardly, "I thought...Boss Gu's ability to farm was already amazing enough, but I didn't expect you to also know how to kill locusts."

"I just... didn't think about it at all."

No wonder Mu Nanzhao asked him to ask Boss Gu, as everyone present was more familiar with Gu Xixi than he was.

But he was so anxious that he couldn't think of this.

He Jinghui frowned and said solemnly, "Food is the foundation for the prosperity and decline of the country and the peace of the people. How could I be afraid of taking responsibility? As long as there is a way, I will do anything!"

Gu Xixi wasted no time, "Dispatch personnel in the name of the Ministry of Revenue, and then issue a public notice to mobilize all farmers to cooperate with the court to save themselves and eliminate the locusts."

“This method may be worth a try.”

He Jinghui listened carefully and nodded, "Before reporting this matter to His Majesty, it needs to be verified. I have to take the agricultural officials of the Ministry of Revenue to the Xianguo Village you mentioned to take a look."

"Boss Gu, would you mind telling me a little bit about what you are going to do?"

Gu Xixi nodded, "First, spray the insects with pesticides to kill them so that the eggs cannot hatch successfully, while not harming the seedlings."

"However, due to limited conditions and tight time, the medicine I prepared may only kill 50% to 60% of the people."

"So there is a second step. The remaining eggs are hatched into larvae. We can collect various poultry and release them into the fields."

"Birds are good at eating insects, and locusts are their favorite food. Chickens, ducks, geese, whatever they have will do. There are also frogs, which can be released artificially."

"Step three. There is still plenty of time before the locusts emerge in large numbers in June. People can catch the locusts and birds can eat them at the same time. Use all the resources you can."

He Jinghui was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, "Great! Advance step by step and eliminate loopholes!"

"I'll take a few people out of town right now."

He stood up and bowed to Gu Xixi, saying solemnly, "Please take care of the prescription matters, Boss Gu!"

The situation finally improved, and He Jinghui left as he spoke.

Mu Nanzhao stopped him, "Wait."

"The locust extermination plan will not be a problem with me and He Jinghui in the court."

“But if we want to mobilize the people to participate, I’m afraid it won’t be that smooth.”

He Jinghui stopped and thought about this key problem, his expression became heavy.

Gu Xixi asked directly, "Are you afraid that the farmers won't cooperate?"

She had known before that some places in ancient times were superstitious about the "locust god".

When a locust plague breaks out, they would think that they have offended the "Locust God" in some way, so they would not dare to kill the insects but would worship the Locust God instead.

After Gu Xixi entered the book, she had never heard such a statement in the northwest.

She thought that the history of the world in the book was somewhat different from the real world she had lived in before.

Could it be that the customs in the capital are different in a different place?

Sure enough, He Jinghui sighed and said, "How could I not have thought of this, but time is tight now, so I'd better make arrangements first and then consider how to explain it to the people."

"We can't just wait for them to agree and do nothing."

Mu Nanzhao was silent.

He Jinghui knew that he agreed, so he left quickly.

The people in the hall fell silent again.

Folk superstitions have always been the most difficult to deal with.

After all, sometimes even the emperors who are high above others would take advantage of the people's psychology and create some "miracles" or "divine decrees" and so on.

An Qinghe said in annoyance, "It's a bug that eats crops. I don't know how many people have starved to death because of it. Some people actually worship it as a god. It's really ridiculous!"

Gu Xixi sighed, "Perhaps it is precisely because they have suffered greatly from it, but were powerless to resist, that they have turned from fear to worship."

An Qinghe said, "We are still in the Northwest, at least we don't make a bastard a god."

He Jinglan looked around and asked, "So how do we convince the people now?"

After a moment of silence, Mu Nanzhao spoke in a cold voice, "It's not difficult."

"Inside and outside the capital, all counties and villages issued notices to kill locusts. If any household did not cooperate, the fields would be burned to prevent future troubles."

"If anyone dares to stop us and fight against the imperial court, we only need to kill a few of them in public, and the others will naturally know what to do."

He Jinglan was startled and hesitated, "But wouldn't this be too violent?"

"If it causes another big mess..."

Mu Nanzhao said calmly, "I will take care of it myself."

“No!”

Gu Xixi and He Jinglan said in unison.

He Jinglan said, "There are so many people like the Fan family waiting to find fault with you and drag you down."

"After all, the locust plague has not yet become a reality. If you do this in advance, you will be impeached. If something happens again, I'm afraid even His Majesty won't be able to protect you."

Gu Xixi and Mu Nanzhao looked at each other and said, "Jinglan is right. It will take more than three or five days to kill the locusts. You must protect yourself first before you can plan for the future. Mr. He's Ministry of Revenue will bear the brunt of the impact and cannot do without your support and assistance."

"Besides, the farmers are the victims and we shouldn't treat them violently from the beginning."

"Even if some people are stubborn and unyielding, if you suppress them this time, they will not obey in their hearts and will pretend to obey in the locust eradication. How can the effect be good?"

Mu Nanzhao paused and asked, "Do you have any ideas?"

He never doubted Gu Xixi's ability, she always had unexpected abilities.

The corners of Gu Xixi's lips rose slightly, a confident smile.

“We must make them truly convinced and actively participate.”