Allure of a Country Maiden
Chapter 815 - 813_1

Chapter 815: Chapter 813_1

A severe locust plague can be terrifying. Imagine countless locusts flying in the sky, crashing towards people indiscriminately, blotting out the sun, it makes one’s hair stand on end.

The previous dynasty experienced an unprecedented locust plague that struck the entire Central Plains once a few decades ago. The people had no harvest and had to survive by eating tree roots.

That year, the previous dynasty was riddled with crises. The Imperial Court imposed heavy taxes, causing unbearable hardship for the people. Eventually, the officials provoked a revolt, leading to the current Minze Dynasty.

Someone on the street saw the looming dark clouds overhead. The experienced elders recognized it as a locust swarm and cried out, "The locusts are here! A real locust plague!"

The pedestrians looked up and saw the black swarm over them. There must be countless locusts!

"My God! It’s so dark, how many locusts are there? We’re doomed, we won’t get a single grain from this season!"

"This is disastrous! If I had known, I wouldn’t have sold all the grains stored at home. I only kept enough supplies for half a year. If we can’t harvest anything this season, we’ll have to eat tree roots for the next half of the year!"

"Hurry, everyone grab your brooms and kill these pests! Every one of them we kill counts! We can’t let this continue!" The county magistrate had been stationed on the city wall for days, having anticipated a locust plague.

Seeing the actual arrival of the locusts, he hurriedly called for everyone to return home to get their brooms.

When he learned that a neighboring county had been hit by a locust plague, he ordered the bailiffs to beat the gong and drum and issued notice to every household to prepare big brooms to kill the pests.

Killing one counts as one, taking down a few would make profit!

Now, upon the county magistrate’s orders, the city’s residents and the city’s soldiers heed his words, they all hurriedly ran back home to cover their heads with cloth and then came back out, ready to battle with the locusts.

Some old people, who had experienced the locust plague of the previous dynasty, suffered greatly because of the superstitious belief of taking the locusts as ’locust gods’ that should not be killed. Unlike the previous emperor, the current ruler of the Minze Dynasty did not fall into such superstition. After receiving memorials about the plague from many counties, he issued a decree ordering the potentially affected counties to prepare and find ways to exterminate the pests as soon as possible.

The magistrate of Xiangyang County thought of this method.

Xiao’er, listening to the talk of the people, knew they would not release the ducks. It didn’t matter if they did not release them; she would!

She and Shangguan Xuanyi ran around the entire county’s fertile fields for two days and two nights to released tens of thousands of ducks.

These were all raised using the time difference in her space storage. Finally, in the evening, they released the last two thousand ducks onto this field. Xiao’er rubbed her waist and laughingly said to Shangguan Xuanyi, "I feel like a duck farmer! Unfortunately, all this is for others!"

As for these many ducks, Xiao’er didn’t plan to spend another two days and two nights to take them back.

However, if the locusts cannot be eradicated in this county, she’ll have to catch the ducks back and then follow behind the locusts!

Xiao’er got a headache thinking about catching ducks one by one in the field, desperate to eradicate the locusts in Xiangtang county!

Seeing Xiao’er massaging her waist, Shangguan Xuanyi reached out to stroke her back and asked in a worried voice, "Tired?"

"A little." Xiao’er nodded, and then she heard a strange noise coming from the edge of the sky. The two looked up together.

There was a grouping of dark clouds slowly approaching from the north.

Xiao’er thought that insects are attracted to light, and when the locusts arrived, it would be evening when the sky is about to dark. Would it be possible to use fire to catch them?

"Brother Shangguan, hurry, let’s notify the people to use fire to catch these locusts!" Xiao’er wished she could knock on her own head, why hadn’t she thought of this method earlier!

Xiao’er grabbed Shangguan Xuanyi’s hand, and the two quickly ran under the tree, untied the reins, then got on the horse to go and notify the others.

Xiao’er went directly back to the city to notify the county magistrate, asking him to send people to relay the news.

Shangguan Xuanyi rode his horse to notify the villagers in the other villages.

He first arrived at the nearest village to find the village chief and asked him to inform the villagers to make some torches and pile up bonfires to lure and catch the locusts.

The village chief listened and felt burning locusts with torches was better than hitting them with brooms, so he took a copper pot and drummed it to alert the villagers.

"Chief, please send someone to inform the village chiefs of the nearby villages about this method! We are going to notify the villages further away!" Shangguan Xuanyi said to the village chief before getting on his horse.

"Alright, alright, I will." This matter concerned the food supply for the villagers in the second half of the year, so he couldn’t be careless.

Xiao’er arrived at the city gate. It was not yet completely dark, and there were locusts flying in the sky along the way.

The soldiers guarding the city and civilians were endlessly swatting in the air with their brooms at the flying locusts. The scene was quite spectacular.

Xiao’er looked up and saw the county magistrate energetically waving a broom on the city wall, so she jumped straight off her horse to join him. The county magistrate was dumbfounded at her jump.

The martial skills of Princess Rui were so high! If a woman could be this strong, how could he, a weak scholar, live on!

Xiao’er ignored the foolish expression of the county magistrate and directly ordered, "County magistrate, immediately dispatch people to notify the villages. This evening, use torches and bonfires to lure and catch locusts. Pile up as many bonfires as possible! We have to get rid of these locusts in Xiangtang County!"

The county magistrate looked at the locusts flying around and felt like Xiao’er was being foolish after listening to her!

"Your Highness, there are countless locusts... It might be a bit unrealistic to kill all in Xiangtang County?"

"This is an order! You pass my commands down, let the villages in the county use bonfires to lure and catch locusts for the next few days! If these locusts can’t all stay in Xiangtang County, you better get ready to have your head cut off!" Xiao’er coldly looked at him.

She was most annoyed by people who were incompetent, did not listen to other people’s teachings, and thought highly of themselves. And this county magistrate was just one of those people.

"I’ll arrange it right away!" The county magistrate was so scared by Xiao’er’s stare and tone that he felt a chill on his neck! He hurriedly wobbled on his trembling legs, ran down to find the constable to arrange it.

God, where did this ruthless person come from, giving him such an impossible task!

Didn’t she know that locusts can fly? How to catch them all?

God! Send some poisonous rain to kill these locusts! Otherwise, he wouldn’t have a chance to live!

Of course, Xiao’er didn’t know the county magistrate’s thoughts at this moment.

She jumped, landed on the horse, and then returned to the inn to find Yang Liu and Yang Mei, and asked them to ride horses to notify the villagers further away.

The locusts should soon be all over the county.

Yang Liu and Yang Mei quickly took the command and left.

After they left, Xiao’er entered her spatial storage and took out a wooden basin, filled it with spatial water, dropped a few drops of venom in it, then harvested a large pile of grass from the ranch, soaked the grass in the wooden basin, and then left the spatial storage, riding a horse out of the inn once again.