When Li Tao and his entourage entered Chenliu County, it was already evening. They did not live in a post house in the county seat, but in an inn.

After dinner, Li Tao was chatting with Yang Xuangui about the locust extermination, when there was a knock on the door.

When I opened the door, I saw Pei Yue leading two people into the house.

"Little master!" One of them, as soon as he entered the house, said to Li Tao.

"It's Li San! Are you in charge of exterminating locusts in Chenliu? Li Tao recognized at a glance that the person in front of him was Li San, the leader of the three hundred child slaves in Qixingzhuang.

"Yes, little master!"

"Chen Liuxian ordered Zheng Huaren to meet Lord Qincha!" The other person also gave a salute to Li Tao.

Zheng Huaren and Li Tao exchanged a few polite words, then got up and said goodbye.

"Li San, tell me about the situation of locust extermination!" Li Tao asked.

"When we first came, the people saw that the locusts were eating the seedlings, but they did not dare to catch them, and the seedlings were all gone wherever the locusts passed. Seeing that there were so many locusts that there were so many that the people were afraid, they thought that this was the blame from heaven. The villagers beat gongs and drums and knelt down to worship the "grasshopper master", praying that they could leave some last life-saving rations under their mouths. "Grasshopper Master" really left something to eat, and that is mung beans. ”

"Why is that?" Li Tao was puzzled.

"Locusts eat everything, but not mung beans!"

Li Tao suddenly realized.

"The master taught us the method of exterminating locusts is very effective, especially lighting locusts in the middle of the night, the effect is particularly good, digging deep trenches, lighting fires in the trenches at night, sprinkling medicine into the fire, locusts come when they see the light, and the effect of concentrating manpower to kill is very good."

"What about the day?"

"During the day, we mainly rely on manpower to kill locusts, and tens of thousands of people have to face tens of millions of locusts. The result of a day of fighting is often that the number of locusts has not decreased, and the crops have been eaten. The locusts spread their wings and flew away from here for the next field, leaving behind only a field full of locust eggs. ”

Li Tao lowered his head and pondered.

"We have also come up with a lot of ideas, and we have asked all villages to set up sentry posts to observe and closely monitor them. When they found that the locusts were coming, they waited with their tools. Concentrate manpower and divide points and shards. Hold high red flags or strips of cloth of various colors, waving them in the air, and big drums and gongs are matched by beating. It caused a situation in which the red flag was displayed and the gongs and drums were noisy, and the locusts were so frightened that they did not dare to land. If the locusts have already landed, they go all out and fight them with brooms and other tools. Take advantage of the dew in the morning when the locusts can't fly. Works best. Sometimes, if you can find out where the locusts are entrenched, dig a deep ditch, and if there is a water source, you can release water into the ditch, drive the locusts into the ditch and drown, and if there is no water, fill the ditch with firewood and grass, and set fire to death. ”

Li Tao remembered the scene when he helped the woman drive away the locusts during the day, and felt that the use of bamboo poles was not effective, so he asked, "What do you use to catch locusts?" ”

Li San said: "Tie the bamboo branches into a broom-shape. The sweeping surface is widened and the handle is lengthened, so that. A sturdy punching tool was produced. ”

Li Tao instructed Pei Yue: "Let Yang Sihu ask someone to draw and shape the tools that Li San said, and send officials to distribute the patterns to the counties for imitation, and there must be no mistakes." ”

"Yes, little master! I'll arrange it! Pei Yue said yes and turned to leave.

"Li San, do you still have any difficulties here?" Li Tao asked again.

Li San thought for a while and said, "The locust treatment potion brought by the merchant is very effective, but the amount is too small!" Can you give out more? ”

"Is this potion really good?" Li Tao was pleasantly surprised.

The locust cure potion that Li San mentioned was found by Li Tao when he asked Hua Yunfeng and Song Lin to consult ancient books.

"Yes, just set up a cauldron on the edge of the field to boil the medicine, and when the medicine has cooled, take the basin with one hand and dip the medicine with a sorghum broom with the other hand and spray it on the corn leaves. Not to mention, this locust cure potion is really a big deal, as long as the corn that has been sprinkled with the potion has never been eaten by locusts. Instead, one by one, the locusts died in the cornfields. ”

In fact, the locust cure potion is very simple, made with mandala, heavenly fairy, aconitum aconitum, poison hemlock, hyacinth and other multi-flavored herbs. The point is that the demand is too great to raise for the time being.

Li Tao said: "I will try my best to arrange for the merchant to transport it for you, but it mainly depends on manpower, and the locust plague has not been completely eliminated, so it cannot relax for a moment." ”

On the second day, Li Tao went to the branch of Fan's firm in Chenliu. Chen Liu's semicolon was not set up in the city, but a few wooden houses were temporarily built on the outskirts of the city. It was very lively, and many people turned in locusts here.

"How much can this locust sell for?" Li Tao asked a man who had come to hand over the locusts.

"Locusts are ten taels of consistent money, locusts are more expensive, and five taels of consistent money!" The man said with a smile.

Originally, when the locust plague came, everyone thought they were going to be unlucky, but who knew that this Fan's firm actually bought a large number of locusts, and the locusts all over the mountains and fields became money, which attracted hundreds of people to start hunting locusts, and even the people who had no land in the city put down their work and participated in this locust hunting army.

"A pound and a penny, it's still quite cost-effective!" Li Tao asked casually: "What does this Fan's firm do to collect locusts?" ”

"They didn't say it, but rumors say that they collected it to make horse feed, and it is said that the horse feed made from locusts was supplied to the border army, and the horses did not lose fat after eating this thing, which was very popular."

Li Tao was dumbfounded when he heard this, who came out of this, and he even had a nose and eyes.

When the man saw Li Tao's appearance, he looked left and right, and said: "Some people also say that these locusts are collected and transported into the palace, and the emperor and his concubines like to eat these locusts." ”

Li Tao almost didn't laugh out loud when he heard it, this rumor is really getting more and more mysterious.

"Have you eaten this locust?" Li Tao couldn't help but smile and asked.

"I've secretly tasted it twice, and it doesn't seem to be delicious." Speaking of this, the man said: "It doesn't matter what it's used for, as long as they collect it, we will catch it and give it to them, and it is the most real thing to be able to exchange it for money." ”

Li Tao nodded, stopped talking, and turned to leave.

The shopkeeper of the semicolon is surnamed Zeng, who was temporarily transferred by Fan Changfeng from the Chang'an General Account, and he has seen Li Tao, so he is extremely respectful to Li Tao.

"Zeng shopkeeper, how many people are there now?" Li Tao asked.

"Twenty-six!"

"So much?" Li Tao was taken aback.

"Originally, there were only three people in the Chen Liuzi branch, but after the locust plague, the manpower was increased one after another, most of them were drawn from the Chang'an branch and other semicolons, and after the locust plague, they had to go back!"

"Are there enough people now?" Li Tao asked again.

"The semicolon is not doing anything else right now, and specializes in buying locusts. For the convenience of acquisition, the semicolon was also moved here from the city. Now all the manpower is used to collect locusts, and it is enough. ”

"How many acquisitions?"

"Forty-one thousand quintals of locusts and thirty-two thousand quintals of locusts have been purchased! It costs 10,000 and 1,000! The shopkeeper replied very neatly. (To be continued......)