Chapter 162: Misfortune and fortune depend on each other
In early July, a disaster broke out in Sanfu. Locusts flew to Sili and grew like a snowball. It took only a few days for the swarm to fly to Jizhou.
When Liu Xiang received the report of the locust plague, it was the sixth day of the seventh month and the swarms invaded Wei County in Jizhou.
The grain in Youzhou is not yet mature, and when you pinch it with your hands, there will be a stream of white pulp. Now that the harvest is all rotten, he is ready to take the risk and wait.
Tiqi reports three times a day and always pays attention to the progress of the locust plague.
The next day, the locust plague spread to the southern counties of Julu County, flying two hundred miles in one day. Fortunately, it was blocked by Dalu Ze, and most of them went eastward.
Guo Dian went crazy and led his people to exterminate the insects day and night, trying desperately to prevent the insects from moving northward, trying to save the crops in the northern part of Julu County, where harvesting had already begun.
Liu Xiang was frightened and mobilized his manpower, ready to harvest grain at any time. The people who had moved to Beiping County and Liaoxi County were reorganized, led by the left and right armies, to support Yuyang County, Guangping County, and Zhuo County.
Hundreds of thousands of people began to gather towards the south of Youzhou.
The blazing sun in July is like fire, but it can't compare with the anxiety in my heart.
On the third day, the insect swarm continued eastward and arrived at Qinghe Country. Guo Dian was still killing the insects, and the counties north of Julu were still harvesting.
Wei Jun has been gnawed away, and a locust plague has begun in Zhao State at the eastern foot of the Taihang Mountains.
The Black Mountain Army captured more than 100,000 people in Wei County and joined Guo Dian all the way north to help exterminate the insects.
On the fourth day, the insect swarm rushed to Qingzhou Pingyuan County.
The Qinghe State in Jizhou was gnawed away, and the Anping State was plagued by locusts and was blocked by Hengshui Lake.
The Black Mountain Army captured more than 80,000 civilians in Qinghe and retreated to the shores of Hengshui Lake in Anping State, where they began to assist in pest control at Fuliu.
Liu Xiang sent more than 100,000 civilians and transported 500,000 shi of grain southward to support.
On the fifth day, the locust plague in Jizhou did not move northward, and Qingzhou was completely affected.
Yanzhou and Yuzhou were severely affected.
To the south, there are no sources of information.
Liu Xiang keeps chanting every day, a little slower, a little slower.
On the sixth day, the swarms continued to stay in Julu, Anping, and Zhao, and more and more people participated in culling the locusts.
The Black Mountain Army was divided into four groups with more than 60,000 troops. In five counties, they held a total of more than 300,000 people captive, exterminating insects all the way to the north.
On the seventh day, Julu and Anping continued to cull locusts. A disaster broke out in Changshan Kingdom. There were nearly one million people participating in the pest control, and the Black Mountain Army accounted for half.
Jizhou has a population of six million, but less than one-sixth of them took action. Liu Xiang was angry that he would not fight, but there was nothing he could do.
Some people began to sacrifice boys and girls.
On the eighth day, the exterminators were exterminating the insects, the people waiting and watching were watching, and the people fleeing were fleeing.
The Black Mountain Army coerced nearly one million people to help fight the locust plague in Jizhou.
Guo Dian led 160,000 people to provide disaster relief, but still could not stop the insect swarm from moving north.
On the ninth day, the locust plague continued in Jizhou, affecting Daijun and Shanggujun in Youzhou, and Guangyang, Yuyang, and Zhuojun were in serious danger.
Unable to wait any longer, Liu Xiang ordered the sickles to be harvested.
The moisture content of the grain is still very high, and this batch of grain cannot be stored.
On the tenth day, Julu was lost, Anping was lost, Changshan was seriously affected by locust plague, Hejian Kingdom was in disaster, Bohai County was in disaster, and Zhongshan Kingdom was in disaster.
Jizhou was completely affected by the disaster.
The 1.1 million troops of the Black Mountain Army retreated, preparing to retreat into Youzhou.
Guo Dian gave up and stood blankly among the locusts, like a frail scarecrow.
Liu Xiang ordered a team of ten thousand people to be reorganized into a formation.
The central army, with more than 30,000 people from the left and right armies, more than 80,000 people from the Black Mountain Army, more than one million people from Jizhou, and more than 2 million people from Youzhou, worked hard to collect grain.
On the eleventh day, it was the third day of grain harvesting. Taihang Mountain and Jundu Mountain protected Youzhou for one day. The locusts from the south had not arrived yet, so we were very lucky.
On July 18th, the twelfth day of the locust plague in Jizhou, the disaster broke out in Youzhou.
More than three million people harvested for four days and three nights. In the five counties under Liu Xiang's command, all the grain was harvested and all the straw was put into the houses. As long as the doors and windows were sealed, there was no need to worry about starvation.
He still has 6 million stones of grain stored in various grain depots, so he doesn't have to worry about food problems for at least a year and a half.
In previous years, new grains replaced old grains. This year, we have to eat new grains quickly and eat them freely, otherwise they will rot.
Looking at the locusts flying in the sky, Liu Xiang was no longer anxious. The outcome was decided, everything he could do had been done, what should be harvested had been harvested, and what should have been reduced had been reduced.
Now, accept this result calmly. There is no need to blame others, it will only increase your worries.
The people under his command were not very sad. They didn't have to worry about starving to death during the disaster. They felt like they were dreaming.
There is food in hand and no panic in mind.
Looking at those Jizhou refugees, they felt a sense of superiority.
The swarms of migratory locusts are spreading, but the five counties of Youzhou are sleeping soundly. The sound of gnawing kacha kacha can be heard outside the door, and the sound of snoring in the house is loud.
Eerie yet peaceful.
Liu Xiang didn't sleep, he had a bad idea again.
In war, there are fire attacks, floods, and plagues. Isn't it too much to take advantage of the locust plague?
Under the natural disaster, people are in panic. Can they still stop his army with the strong barrier?
Shanggu Gaoyan and Liaodong Gongsun Zan, what are they doing?
"I will follow the locusts to see how good you are." Liu Xiang cooed softly in the dark room.
In days when everything is stable, anyone can tell a great truth, and anyone can appear to be a hero. But when disaster strikes, people panic and are no longer able to take into account the so-called correctness, who is the hero, and who is the hero.
It's a bear, it's obvious at a glance.
The first step is to organize the army.
The day after the locust plague arrived in Youzhou, the Black Mountain Army eliminated the old and the weak, leaving only 60,000 young men. The middle and high-level officers were selected by various departments of the Chinese Army.
The laid-off personnel and their families were divided into fields for farming in Guangyang County, where there was still a large amount of reserved land, which was enough for them to have food and clothing without having to go to the bottom of the mountains to starve and freeze.
In the past six months, the number of people in Jizhou gathered through various means was 1.4 million, far exceeding Liu Xiang's estimate. He only planned to get 500,000 at the beginning, but as a result, nearly a quarter of Jizhou's population was
Pull back to Youzhou.
This is something I never dreamed of.
The most gratifying thing is that he has a large amount of grain in his hands to feed them, and the new grain does not have to worry about rotting in vain.
After the insect swarm crosses the border, he plans to replace a group of new grains in the hands of the people with old grains that can be stored. The ratio must be increased. Part of the value of grains is that they can be stored.
How can this be justified when the people still have to be grateful to such a profiteer for his behavior?
After settling this group of people, he had more than three million people under his command. He suddenly thought of Liu Yu. According to official history, Liu Yu would become the shepherd of Youzhou in a few years.
This was a good official who recruited millions of refugees to open up wasteland and farm fields, and lowered the price of grain in Youzhou from 400 yuan per stone to 30 yuan. If Gongsun Zan hadn't killed him later, the people of Youzhou would have lived a pretty good life.
At that time, in Jizhou, known as the granary, food prices remained high and people could not survive, so they fled to Youzhou in droves.
It's a pity that Liu Yu didn't know how to fight. He raised an army of 100,000 men, but was defeated by Gongsun Zan with more than 10,000 men. This man was not suitable for troubled times.
Liu Xiang felt that he was becoming more and more accustomed to the chaotic world of the late Han Dynasty.