"Your Majesty, do you really want to exchange three catties of grain for one catty of locust eggs?"

In the palace, Queen Shan Binbin heard the rumors and couldn't help but come over to ask.

Luo Cheng nodded, "Three catties of grain for one catty of locust eggs is not a loss, and some of them are earned, I am willing to exchange as much as I want, absolutely Tong Su is not deceitful." ”

Queen Shan reached out and touched Luo Cheng's forehead, "Your Majesty doesn't have a fever, why is he talking nonsense." ”

"I remember your ignorance, and forgive your boldness." He smiled and slapped the queen's buttocks.

"Why are the concubines ignorant, they really don't know what this locust egg is for!"

"It's useful, it's useful."

Luo Cheng smiled and carefully explained to the queen the doorway inside, in fact, although the royal family does not have many granges in Gyeonggi, there are many farms. The fields are dead, and Gyeonggi has a large population, and the emperor takes the lead in not occupying many fields, so the imperial village in Gyeonggi, which took the initiative early, was changed to the border.

The border land is sparsely populated and wide, one acre of land in Gyeonggi can be exchanged for ten acres of border land, the emperor uses slaves to reclaim the barren tun fields, and the grain produced is sold to the border army and the government on the spot, and then the money obtained goes to the border land to buy many commodities such as cattle, horses, sheep, furs, herbs, etc., and then transports them back to the Central Plains for sale, and then transports salt, wine, tea, porcelain, cloth and other commodities to the border market from the Central Plains, and the benefits are very good.

Of course, the royal estates in the Central Plains have been replaced, but the Central Plains still has a lot to offer, especially in Gyeonggi, which has a large population, even the surrounding counties, and it is also a large population.

Just a Beijing teacher, the consumption of various materials is also huge, not only food, but also non-staple food, especially pigs, sheep, chickens, ducks, eggs, vegetables and so on.

Therefore, the royal family has actually established many farms in Gyeonggi, including chickens, ducks and geese, pigs and rabbits, and so on.

Luo Cheng's royal farms have a large number of strong technology, such as hatching chickens and ducks, all of which use warm kangs, which greatly increase efficiency, and even have special hatcheries to provide chickens, ducklings and goslings for the people of Gyeonggi.

Chickens and ducks are raised, so naturally it is impossible to be completely free-range, ordinary farmers raise a few, and they can find some grass and insects to eat, but they can't raise more.

The royal farm is not the kind of dense closed farming, but also mostly enclosed a large piece of land, or raising chickens and fruit trees in the mountains, or raising ducks and geese in the reservoir pond and grass, there is a little bit of ecological breeding mode.

This kind of semi-free-range breeding can reduce the occurrence of diseases, but the number of ecological farming is too large, and it is impossible to completely rely on their own foraging, and even if they use bran and other supplements, it is not enough.

Therefore, farms have long begun to supplement by raising insects, such as raising maggots in maggot cellars, and then raising earthworms, etc., all through artificial means to raise these insects to feed chickens.

These maggots, earthworms, etc. are high protein, and chickens eat them quickly.

Those chickens and ducks that lay eggs eat them, and they can increase the amount of eggs produced.

"I have ordered new chicken and duck farms to be built in places where locust plagues are likely to occur this year, and a large number of locust eggs and locusts will be purchased to feed chickens and ducks. After the hens and ducks lay eggs, they can sell them for money, and the roosters and ducks can be sold directly, and then the money can be used to purchase grain and transport it, and exchange more locust eggs and locusts from the hands of the people. ”

"Chicken and duck eggs can also be made into preserved eggs, salted eggs and shipped to Gyeonggi or other distant places for sale, chickens, ducks and geese can be sold locally, or sold elsewhere, and can also be slaughtered to make preserved chickens and ducks or smoked chickens and ducks, etc., and transported to other places for sale."

In recent years, there are fewer non-staple foods, and the market demand for non-staple food products is actually very large, especially in large cities such as Luoyang and Chang'an, where the demand is greater, but they are in short supply.

"Three catties of grain for one catty of locust eggs, and feed chickens and ducks, the cost is too high, right?"

"What's high, chickens and ducks are very expensive, and eggs are also expensive."

A simple calculation, is it expensive to eat or eggs and meat? Of course, eggs and meat are expensive, but in fact, in recent years, the Central Plains has been relatively stable and the roads have been smooth, so the grain reserves are still very sufficient, and the price of grain has been relatively low.

When life is stable, consumption will naturally increase, especially in large cities like Luoyang, Chang'an, where the demand for meat and eggs is higher.

"Not only do I have to buy locust eggs, but when the locusts come out, I have to buy jumping bugs and flying locusts."

"Also used to feed chickens and ducks?"

"Not only can it be used to feed chickens and ducks, in fact, this locust can be eaten, and it even tastes very good, and in some places, this locust is even called a pheasant."

"Pheasant?"

"Well, this locust is as delicious as a chicken flying in the sky."

Queen Shan was a little disgusted.

"How is it possible, locusts are insects."

"What's wrong with the bugs, there are many barbarian tribes in the south, and they like to eat all kinds of bugs the most. This locust, soak it in water, soak it, and then it can be steamed, and after steaming, it can be dried and ground into powder, or it can be directly wrapped in flour and fried, and it can even be directly skewered and roasted, adding a little salt, and a little oil is also delicious. ”

The queen didn't believe it.

"Remove the wings and stinging feet, you can make all kinds of delicious food, and when the locusts come out, I must use these locusts to make him a hundred and eight dishes, and I will have a whole locust banquet, on the Wufeng Tower, the banquet will be enjoyed by the civil and military officials, nobles and ministers, and the representatives of the military and civilian businessmen will be invited to the Wufeng Tower Square to taste together."

"Your Majesty wants to eat this locust too?"

"Naturally, if they dare to eat the crops of my people, I will eat locusts."

"Your Majesty, by all means, it is said that locusts are messengers of the locust gods, and eating locusts will anger the locust gods."

"I am the Son of Heaven, what locust gods and insect kings, what ghosts, ghosts, snakes and gods, all must be swept away."

Queen Shan couldn't listen to it anymore.

One hundred and eight locust feasts, thinking about that scene, it is estimated that there will be countless ministers who will not be able to speak at that time.

"Actually, locusts are a good thing, they are steamed and dried, and then ground into powder, and even used in medicine. If you eat this thing, you can also cure things that you can't see clearly at night, you can cure children's night crying, and even have the effect of preventing wind disease. ”

This thing actually contains a lot of protein, and for many people in this era, they are actually short of protein, and eating it is certainly beneficial.

But for the emperor, it is actually a dispensable thing, because the emperor's diet is not lacking in high-quality protein at all. Of course, ordinary people must be lacking, especially many ordinary people, it is difficult to guarantee three full meals a day, not to mention often eating meat and oil, and there is a serious shortage of non-staple foods, so that many people in this era have night blindness.

The intake of fish, meat, poultry and eggs for ordinary people is too small, but this locust meal actually doesn't sound good, but after eating, it can also be used as a nutritional supplement price like fish, meat, poultry and eggs.

Of course, it is not easy to make people accept this kind of insect-eating behavior, after all, in the eyes of the Central Plains people, only those barbarians will eat insects.

Luo Cheng plans to publicize it well, not only to hold a whole locust feast, but also to take the lead in taking locust powder, he is even going to ask Sun Yaowang of the military hospital to write a few advertorials and publish them in the most popular newspapers in Daqin, and publicize it well, and then he will take the lead in serving locust powder, and it is estimated that some people will be willing to eat it.

Well, you can also find a way to package this locust powder, such as infiltrating some flour or adding some sugar and sprinkling some salt, and then adding some packaging to make a health care locust powder with all kinds of miraculous effects, and it tastes very good.