Chapter 135 Catching locusts, one family is better than one family!
"Sir, this stunt is good, but it hurts your mouth too much!"
Xi Zhicai grimaced in pain, and while gently touching his lips, he explained inarticulately: "I am weak, and the wine cannot be sprayed too far. If a strong man like Dian Wei is allowed to operate it, it will
The flames can at least rush out a few more feet!"
"Of course, this thing really tests your lung capacity!"
Zhu Han saw the secret of Xi Zhicai's trick at a casual glance. He quickly called Dian Wei and prepared to let him try it.
Dian Wei followed suit and picked up the wine bag and poured it in. However, Zhu Han watched for a long time and didn't see Dian Wei put down the wine bag. Only then did he realize that this idiot was drinking.
He quickly grabbed the wine bag from Dian Wei's hand and cursed: "Damn it, Dian Wei, we are risking our lives, and you still have the nerve to drink!"
"I..."
Dian Wei touched his bald head in embarrassment and replied sheepishly: "I didn't take a sip subconsciously, didn't pay attention, didn't pay attention!"
"Half the bag is just gone!"
Zhu Han weighed the wine bag in his hand, gave Dian Wei a vicious look, threw the wine bag back to him again, and said angrily: "Hurry up, now is not the time to drink! If you delay for a quarter of an hour, you won't be able to save everything."
Someone will die from this!"
"Okay, okay, I won't dare anymore!"
Dian Wei nodded repeatedly. He first took a big gulp of wine and held it in his mouth. Then he picked up the torch and sprayed it towards the locust swarm on the side. He saw a flame rushing out dozens of feet like a red dragon. The power was even more powerful than that of Xi Zhi.
I don’t know how many times it was stronger, but not many locusts were burned to death, but the nature of insects to seek good luck and avoid harm was fully demonstrated at this moment. Dian Wei walked forward with the torch, and as long as a flame was sprayed out, the locust swarm would be destroyed.
They will naturally separate and run away.
"Good guy! This is simply a moving fire-breathing machine!"
Zhu Han was stunned. When he came to his senses, he quickly urged the people around him, "Hurry up and catch the bugs! When the bag is full, tie it up and throw it on the ground. Catch it quickly!"
Zhu Han took the lead in picking up the net bag and pulled it casually. There were dozens or even hundreds of locusts in the bag. He only had to swing it left and right a few times to put hundreds of locusts in. Then he tied the mouth of the bag tightly and threw it on the ground.
He took out a new net bag from the bag on his back and tied it to the stick.
When the others saw it, they quickly followed suit, and soon they cleared a large open space. At this time, Dian Wei also appeared to be exhausted.
"Okay, Dian Wei, stop first and catch the bugs quickly!"
After Zhu Han made an explanation, he led the people in the direction of Old Man Liu and the others.
As soon as he walked out of a swarm of locusts, he saw masses of fire. He looked attentively and saw a group of people not far away. They were gathered in a group of three or five people, with circles of fire burning around them. People were in the circles.
, locusts dare not enter when encountering fire, and can only scatter in all directions. At this time, people will raise their nets to catch those locusts that try to fly away from each fire ring, let alone their
This method is both practical and convenient. As long as someone adds firewood to the fire ring from time to time, it can ensure that the fire does not go out.
“I didn’t expect that we, the working people, have so many solutions!”
The locust swarms that almost wiped out Zhu Han's team were like driven sheep to the common people. They took the initiative to get into the net bags as if they were obedient, and let the common people fill bags one after another.
"Sir, why are you here?"
When Old Man Liu, who was organizing manpower to catch insects, saw Zhu Han and the others arriving, he was first surprised, and then asked with concern.
"This swarm of locusts is too terrifying. I don't worry about your safety. No, they are coming! Old man Liu, since there is nothing wrong with you here, I will lead my people and continue to move forward to rescue the people who are in danger!"
Zhu Han's expression was a little uneasy. He glared at Xi Zhicai next to him with disgust, and then laughed at Old Man Liu.
"Oh, that's it. Thank you for your concern, sir. The folks in our village are all fine. Look, we caught a lot of locusts!"
Old Man Liu pointed at the bag that was almost as tall as a person pushed into the fire ring and said with a smile.
"Okay, you continue! But you must be careful!"
Zhu Han was really embarrassed to stay any longer, so he quickly led his people and continued heading north.
When they came to a locust swarm again, they saw that the people in charge of this area were extremely tough. If Old Man Liu and the others were fighting positional warfare, then they were more like fighting hand-to-hand combat. There were roughly six people in this group of people.
There were seven hundred people, men, women, old and young. Dozens of men stood in a row, with a distance of two feet between each person. When locusts came, they pounced on them ferociously. In a short time, they caught a bag full of locusts, and then
Quickly retreating, the other row of people waiting behind saw this and rushed forward to take their place. The terrifying locust swarm was as simple as cutting wheat in front of them. The women, old people and children were handling the bags in the back.
of locusts.
Seeing this, Zhu Han became even more resentful towards Xi Zhicai. He looked at Xi Zhicai with a resentful face, pointed at the people who were catching locusts not far away and said, "Zhicai, you have to be more careful in the future.
Come on! Look, I’m embarrassed to say it!”
Xi Zhicai lowered his head in shame and wanted to defend himself, but felt that his words seemed so weak, so he simply lowered his head and let Zhu Han scold him.
"Master Zhu is here!"
When a man in charge of commanding the people saw Zhu Han and the others, he quickly ran to Zhu Han and saluted.
"Well done! You are not afraid of locust bites. You are all good men!"
Zhu Han encouraged the man and asked with a smile: "Which village are you from? Why did you disobey the instructions and come to catch locusts in single clothes?"
"Xie Yonggui, a grassroots citizen, has met the county magistrate. We people in Xiejia Village are not afraid of death!"
Xie Yonggui patted his chest and smiled.
"It's not a question of whether you are afraid of death or not. What if an accident occurs? You all have wives, children, parents and relatives, and you are also the backbone of the family. If something happens, how can I see your relatives?"
Zhu Han shook his head slightly and said.
"To be honest, sir, we all wore thick clothes at first, but wearing too much clothes was not only tiring, but also hindered the folks in the village from displaying their skills. Anyway, we have also mastered the trick of catching insects, so I asked the folks to take off their coats.
Going into battle! Sir, don't worry, when it comes to fighting fiercely, we people in Xiejia Village have never been afraid of anyone. We have been able to drive even wolves up the mountain, let alone these mere locusts! With us here,
Locusts cannot cross this area!"
Xie Yonggui touched the back of his head and replied honestly.
"Okay, I see you have a good harvest, so hurry up and catch more, and then send them to the Yamen to exchange for money to improve the food for the family and the children! Buy some new clothes!"
Zhu Han glanced at the pile of bags behind the villagers and encouraged them.
"Okay, sir, just watch it!"
After hearing this, Xie Yonggui grinned, then returned to the team and continued to direct.
"Awesome! The young men of Xiejia Village are all heroes who dare to charge into battle!"
Seeing that the men in Xiejia Village are all very strong, and they have not shown any timidity in the face of the dense swarm of locusts, their charging momentum is unwavering, and their steps are quite organized, it seems that Xie Yonggui is extraordinary.
! At that moment, Chao Xi Zhicai explained: "Zhicai, remember this Xie Yonggui. After the locust plague is over, you can come personally and find out about his origins. This kind of person is not like the common people in the countryside!"
"My lord, do you suspect that he has been a soldier?"
Xi Zhicai figured it out for a while and then replied.
"Well, look at the people in Xiejia Village. How do their charges in each row compare to Wenyuan's people?"
Seeing such a strange scene, Zhu Han became more cautious.
"If we just talk about fighting on the battlefield, both sides can't make too much concessions! However, the people in Xiejiacun have not reached the level of prohibition! They look like a group of stragglers, and the people under Wen Yuan are more like an army!"
Xi Zhicai replied truthfully.
"Let's go, let's go to the next area!"
Zhu Han nodded in agreement and led the people towards the next area.
The scale of this locust plague is too great. The number of locusts is at least hundreds of thousands. However, in the hands of the common people with endless tricks, the frightening locust plague has always been unfavorable, but it has been stifled by the Zhangshui River, and it has become a problem for the common people.
For the captured targets, only a few locusts crossed their defense line until the evening, and the rest were put into bags and became the raw materials for Zhu Han's preparation to expand the food market.
"Sir, this insect will eat the net bag! Look!"
On the way back to the Yamen, a guard pointed to the bag of locusts on the bullock cart and exclaimed.
"What?"
Zhu Han and others felt nervous, and quickly turned around to look, only to see some living locusts chewing on twine in the bag. When he saw this, he slapped his forehead and said anxiously: "Oh, how could I forget this?"
Come on! Zhicai, please quickly send someone to inform the people and ask them to float the locusts with fire or twist their heads off, otherwise we will catch them in vain!"
"Sir, I have sent people to inform the people a long time ago, but guess what?"
Xi Zhicai seemed to have been hit again and replied angrily.
"What's wrong? Say it quickly!"
Zhu Han asked anxiously.
"The common people have thought of it a long time ago, and they have also taken protective measures. In some villages, the people asked women to tie up the locusts one by one; in some villages, they simply burned them with fire to kill the locusts directly; in some villages,
The common people have more time to spare. They use knives to dig out the teeth on the locusts' mouths and smooth them! Sir, can't you see the difference between the locusts in our bags?"
Xi Zhicai pointed at the bag and said with a wry smile: "These are toothless locusts. It is at least seventy or eighty miles from the Zhang River to the county seat. They have bitten all the way. Have you seen any of the bags that are broken?"
?”
Zhu Han was also greedy. Before leaving, he bought a few bags from the people and took them home to fry and eat to satisfy his greed. At first, he didn't pay much attention to it, but now after hearing Xi Zhicai's words, he lay down and came closer.
I looked carefully in front of the bag. I didn’t know it. I was shocked when I saw that the locusts in the bag were all very active, crawling here and there. Many locusts were biting the bag non-stop. But if you look carefully,
You will find that all these locusts really have no teeth.
"My dear, the power of the people cannot be underestimated!"
Zhu Han was amazed and said with admiration.
In the following days, countless people came to the Yamen to exchange money with locusts. Xi Zhicai organized a manpower count and asked people to free up some empty rooms to contain locusts.