Chapter 142 141. Suddenly sitting up from the bed
"There should also be officials who are honest and serve the people, right?"
"Of course there is."
Meng Luo thought about his brother's letter and what he had learned, and couldn't help but shake his head and sigh. "Most local officials have used some methods to curb the disaster. If they can't be credited, then they've worked hard. If they can't solve the problem, the court can only accuse them of incompetence."
"But drought is a natural disaster. Last year we suffered floods. The local area was already recovering from the damage. This severe drought is like the last straw that broke the camel's back."
"In peaceful times, selling children at least ensured a stable life for their parents. But these days, even the wealthy and powerful can barely take care of themselves, so how can they afford to hire servants?"
"They couldn't fill their stomachs. In many places, people were starving everywhere. Some even... some even exchanged their own children for cannibalism."
Swapping children for food...
Zhou Yi's heart suddenly sank.
"Is there no action from the imperial court?"
Lei Li frowned and glared, a hint of condemnation in his eyes. "Wasn't the Fifth Prince very meritorious in flood control last year? Didn't the Emperor send him to help with the drought?"
"I went."
Meng Luo paused and shook his head again, "It's just that the situation... is not optimistic."
"The court is suffering from drought, with Nanjiang being the worst hit, and Dongyuan not much worse. There hasn't been a locust plague, but the nomadic tribes are rebelling again, so we'll have to send more troops to the area and transport food and fodder to prepare for emergencies."
Zhou Yi already knew what he hadn't said. "Songyong is already a mountainous area that is prone to disasters. It's a place with poor mountains, bad waters, and unruly people. Bandits are rampant in this area, so disputes are inevitable."
"Xiling was less affected by the disaster and is a major grain-producing region. If we send grain there, we must first transfer it from Xiling. So should we send it to Nanjiang or Dongyuan first? Should we rescue the victims first or reassure the army? What if the bandits from Songyong come and rob the grain? What if we send the grain to Dongyuan first but it doesn't work out?"
"No matter how wise and resourceful the Fifth Prince is, he's still only one person. Although there's no shortage of talented people in the court, these matters are all hot potatoes. If they're handled well, they'll get promoted and make money, but if they're not, their children and family might be implicated."
What Zhou Yi didn’t say was—
There is not only the fifth prince in the court. The second prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince are not necessarily as simple as they seem. Whether they become kings or losers, the people supporting them will not easily let other families get the credit.
Although the eldest prince is dead, his in-laws can still disrupt the situation. Maybe they have already changed sides in private.
Isn't that how it's portrayed in history books and on TV? Nine princes vying for the throne, which one is easy to deal with?
"Why are there so many things?"
Lei Li was completely overwhelmed by what he heard. "Regardless of whether there's a war or not, isn't there one yet? So, of course, we should be saving the victims and controlling the locusts and drought first!"
Meng Luo looked at him dimly. "The problem is how to save them. The rivers have dried up, and the locusts fly faster than a person. They'll run away before you can catch a few."
Lei Li turned his head to look at Zhou Yi with an expression that said, "You've read a lot of books and know a lot about this, right? You should think of a solution quickly."
“…Let me think about it.”
Zhou Yi searched through the miscellaneous books and popular science videos he had read, but most of what he watched were recipes and food videos, as well as some historical biographies and poetry collections. He had some knowledge of insect pest control, but they were all modern and applicable methods.
"Aren't grasshoppers edible?"
Lei Li suddenly thought, "If I catch locusts with a net and roast them and eat them, they'll still be meat, right?"
"no."
Zhou Yi shook his head. "If they were green, they could be eaten, but the locusts that cause a locust plague are yellow and poisonous."
"As long as three or more locusts gather together, they will release a toxic pheromone to attract other locusts to join. That's why locust plagues form so quickly and catch people off guard."
"Then eat it with duck?"
Lei Li rejected the idea the moment he said it, "We don't have that many ducks, and the locusts can fly, so we can't eat them all."
There was silence for a moment.
Although they were not the ones who suffered from the locust disaster, they were still living lives and real people. They would feel sad when they saw them die, so they naturally felt heavy in their hearts.
Mengluo left without having lunch.
This matter weighed on his mind, and he had no appetite to eat. He just said that if anyone needed food, gold or silver, his Meng family would be the first to donate.
Zhou Yi is still worried about how to control the locust plague.
This would be easy in modern times.
The first is biological control, which uses locust pheromone analogues to attract locusts and kill them, or controls the number of locusts by protecting and utilizing their natural enemies, such as birds, frogs, spiders, etc.
At the same time, the number of natural enemies can be further increased through artificial breeding and release of natural enemy insects, thereby more effectively controlling locusts.
This is a very simple thing for modern technology, and it can be done with the national strength of our motherland, but it was very difficult in the Dayou Dynasty.
The only relatively effective method is to protect the natural enemies of locusts, birds, but it is not practical when a locust plague breaks out, because yellow locusts are so unpalatable that even birds won't eat them, and if they try to eat them, they may be poisoned to death.
It is possible to use ducks to eat locust larvae, which is to remove the fire from the source and solve the problem at its root. It is not difficult for Dayouchao to adjust the ducks.
Modern chemical methods are simpler. Chemical agents can be used to control locusts, such as organophosphorus pesticides and pyrethroid pesticides.
There is also agricultural prevention and control.
This is a method of controlling locusts by changing the farmland environment.
Measures such as adjusting crop layout, strengthening field management, and improving farmland's resilience to disasters can be used to reduce locust reproduction and spread. However, this requires considerable skill and expertise, and if not handled properly, crops could die before the locusts.
However, the number of locusts can be further reduced by planting some plants that have locust-repellent effects, such as cattail, chinaberry, etc.
This is useful before a locust plague forms and can be used as a preventive measure, but it is ineffective for a locust plague that has already formed. These massive and crazy locusts would even eat stones, so they don't care about smelly plants.
Physical methods can also be used to prevent and control locust plagues.
Such as light trapping, color plate trapping, etc., to reduce the number of locusts. At the same time, measures such as manual capture and mechanical weeding can be used to further reduce the number of locusts.
etc.
Light trap?
Zhou Yi suddenly sat up in bed, startling Lei Li, who was already fast asleep. Lei Li drowsily hugged his waist and said, "...Why are you awake? Did you have a nightmare?"
"I've figured out how to deal with the locust plague!"
"How to treat..."
"Use lights to trap and kill!"
Zhou Yi was overjoyed and kept talking. "Most insects are attracted to light, and locusts are no exception. As long as we set up lights along the roads where locusts are densely populated, we can take advantage of the locusts' light-attraction habit and attract large numbers of locusts."
"Locusts are not only afraid of their natural enemies, but also of fire. Fire is not afraid of their toxins. When a certain number of locusts are attracted, they are burned with fire. After the fire, the locust corpses are directly buried in a pit on the spot."
After hearing his words, Lei Li sobered up a bit. He was delighted at first, then frowned and said, "But when you burn locusts with torches, they have wings and can fly away. Wouldn't that burn less?"
"I'll think about it."
Zhou Yi felt his brain was spinning faster than ever. In a moment, he came up with a plan. "First, dig a trench and put some hay and firewood in it. Then, smear the trench walls with oil. After dark, use lights to attract the locusts. Once the locusts arrive, shoot rockets into the trench. The flames will surely kill the locusts on a large scale."
"It requires oil, which is expensive, and lighting a fire carelessly can cause an accident."
“But it feels useful!”
Lei Li felt refreshed when he thought of the crackling scene. "The black locusts in the trenches would all die once the fire started. After they burned up, they could be buried with soil. There was no need to dig a new pit."
Zhou Yi thought about it and agreed that it was okay, as long as the person lighting the lamp was careful.
"Then I'll tell Meng Luo tomorrow to write a letter to his father. His father will definitely have a way to get through to the officials in the court."
—
Zhou Yi not only wrote about the methods to control locust plagues, but also wrote about how to prevent them.
Although burning and landfilling are very effective, locusts have an amazing reproductive capacity. If we are not careful, they will come back again the next year. Even if we clean up all the land this time, we cannot avoid the possibility of suffering from another locust plague.
Therefore, prevention is very necessary, just like in modern times we do not separate prevention and treatment, but call it prevention and treatment, which is both prevention and treatment.
Mengluo's movements were also very fast.
He was overjoyed with Zhou Yi's good idea, so he immediately sent someone to deliver the letter, adding money and expediting the delivery. In five days, fifteen good horses were worn out, and the letter finally arrived at the Meng family.
The Meng family is related to the prefect of Zhongchuan City. No one knows who the prefect of Zhongchuan is related to. In any case, this method was finally delivered to the hands of the Fourth Prince.
The fourth prince's biological mother is the queen, and his grandfather is the prime minister of the current dynasty, and he is at the peak of his power.
Although the Fourth Prince almost massacred everyone in the city during the flood disaster last year, he was still a prince, the flesh and blood of the emperor and empress. He was only reprimanded and symbolically imprisoned for a period of time, temporarily losing the trust of his father, the emperor.
But if the locust plague is properly controlled this time, the Fourth Prince will be able to make up for his mistake, and with some further operations later, he will be able to compete with the Fifth Prince on equal terms.
"But the Emperor couldn't fully trust the Fourth Prince. He appointed the Third Prince as the Imperial Commissioner, with the Fourth Prince as his deputy, and ordered a group of officials to deal with the locust plague."
Meng Luo was also a little confused and speculated, "The Third Prince, aside from his good looks, has no talent at all. He suddenly became prominent this time. Perhaps because he's always been loyal, humble and honest, the Emperor doesn't think he'll cause any trouble, so he asked him to keep an eye on the Fourth Prince."
"Fortunately, someone is here to control the locust plague. The Fifth Prince has been transferred from Nanjiang to the Dongyuan border, and a general and elite troops have been sent to transport food and fodder. I think the bandits in Songyong won't dare to act rashly."
"That's good."
Lei Li nodded, and then smiled and said to Meng Luo, "How come the news came so quickly this time? There was news in more than half a month."
"Isn't it the last time you asked me to keep an eye on the drought in Nanjiang? I forgot. I didn't expect that in just two months, the people of Nanjiang have suffered so much."
Meng Luo sighed and blamed himself, "I was thinking, if I had kept a closer eye on them, Zhou Yi might have figured out a way to deal with the locust plague earlier, and Nanjiang could have received rescue a few days earlier."
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