The day after arriving in Henan, Liu Pet lay on the bed and hummed. The two who came with him left one to take care of him in the hotel, and the other only said, "Don't drink if you can't drink?" and left here to go to the Kaifeng Intelligence Bureau. Everyone has made an appointment to meet again today, because Liu Pet's headache and cold are not enough for everyone to stay in the guest house and not go out.

"I think you just fell asleep and the wind blew again, and that's why you fell ill." Said the comrade who stayed in the hotel.

Liu Pet felt a splitting headache, as if something was beating vigorously in his head, and every time he beat, he brought severe pain. Even in such a situation, Liu Pet did not lose his ability to think. In other words, because his ability to think and feel is still normal at this time, he can clearly feel the severe pain.

"I ......, I'll never drink again next time." Liu Pet said in an aggrieved voice. When I was a soldier in the army, there were courses in this area in the army. It is said that the headache after drinking alcohol is that the wine contains a thing named 'methanol' by the Zhao official family, and those special good wines are not there, because the brewing method can make the methanol content very, very low. So low that the human body does not react.

Since he knew this theoretically, the pain made Liu Chong's determination at this moment as solid as stone.

The old man who stayed to take care of Liu Pet nodded, "Hmm." It's actually good not to drink, at least a few less. Drinking is a mistake. ”

Liu Pet recalled some brief contents in the severe headache, such as the basic prohibition of drinking alcohol in the army, and even more prohibiting heavy drinking. For example, the Zhao family ordered officials to prohibit drinking among themselves. In short, he felt that his sin had something to do with drinking.

I lay in the hotel for two days, during which I drank three bowls of very unpalatable medicinal soup, and finally drank a very strong black tea, and the severe pain turned into a slight pain. Liu Pet was finally able to go to the Kaifeng Intelligence Bureau.

Director Li's face was very embarrassed when he saw Liu Pet, and after comforting Liu Pet, the atmosphere fell silent. However, Liu Chong tried to say in a painless voice: "Our side is considering establishing a trading point in Huaxian County specifically for Hebei. This trading point is privately operated, and the Kaifeng Intelligence Bureau will also need to send personnel to it at that time. I don't know if Kaifeng has any opinions. ”

"What about Luoyang. Is there any idea to set up a similar trading point in Luoyang. Director Li asked.

"Isn't Luoyang in charge of the intelligence of Shaanxi in the west? Mongolia also set up government troops in Shaanxi? Liu Pet was very surprised.

"There are no government soldiers." Director Li replied.

"Why is that set up in Luoyang?"

"Shaanxi County, Tongguan, and Chang'an, the farm tools they use are all bought from us."

Hearing this, Liu Chongdeng was stunned. He felt that the trade in Texas was fast enough, but he didn't expect that Luoyang was no worse than Texas. He hurriedly asked: "If that's the case, Huaxian County already has such a trading point?" ”

"Not in Huaxian."

"Why?"

"After we captured Luoyang, the Mongols wanted to send what they had made in Dadu to Shaanxi, so they had to go to Taihang Ba Yan on the Shanxi side. It is said that most of the things made in the capital are not enough for their own use, where are so many things sold to Shaanxi. And Huaxian is a place where we directly border Mongolia, and Mongolia has suffered a big defeat in Huaxian. They are very strict with the Huaxian side, and the locals don't have the courage to come to our side to do business, and our side is also very strict......"

Enduring a slight headache, Liu Pet continued to listen to Director Li's introduction. His first impression was that the situation was more complicated than he had imagined. The second feeling is that he will never drink again in this life. On weekdays, Liu Pet thinks quickly when he thinks about problems, and he doesn't feel the slightest unhappiness because of pain.

After listening to Director Li's words, Liu Pet finally summed it up. At present, the Great Yuan and the Great Song Dynasty, which are bounded by the Yellow River, are in a wonderful balance, and part of the Yellow River freezes in winter, and the Great Yuan can go south through the frozen river, and the Great Song can also go north through the frozen river.

No matter who strikes first, it can cause a lot of casualties to the other party. In the same way, the one who strikes first will encounter great trouble and even danger against the other side who is defending with all their might.

As for the people on both sides of the Yellow River, it was difficult for them to adapt to this sudden change. The situation in Texas is that there are a huge number of people south of the Yellow River at present, who were originally people north of the Yellow River, but only after the river course has changed dramatically, they have become people south of the Yellow River.

The river channel on this side of Henan has always been relatively stable, and because of the change of the river channel, the small population of the place that was enclosed in the Great Song Dynasty is small, and it is far less convenient than Shandong.

The unpleasant feeling caused by the headache made Liu Pet feel uncomfortable, the situation was very different from what he originally imagined, and Liu Pet also felt very uneasy in his heart at this time. Although he didn't think there was anything wrong with the idea of opening a trading point for the soldiers, Liu Chong felt that the stall might be too big this time. In fact, it can be opened in Shandong and Henan.

The matter was almost discussed, and Liu Pet and his colleagues went back together to talk about it first. After talking about it, he couldn't talk about anything new. I drank some black tea that day, and the next day Liu Pet finally felt that his head was completely clear, and the pain was completely gone.

Liu Pet originally wanted to continue to negotiate with everyone, but felt that the guest house was small, and the three of them felt that they would simply run out and walk around Kaifeng City. This walk, I feel that Kaifeng City is indeed quite interesting, and the housing architecture and urban layout are very different from Shandong and the south. The three of them simply walked around Kaifeng City first.

Stopping in front of the old imperial city, Liu Pet pointed to the steps and said: "At that time, the Mongolian army was blocked in the old palace city, and it is said that when the last rush in, the blood of the Mongolian army flowed out along the steps. ”

In this era of bloodshed, when the Song army conquered the city in Shandong, it also stepped on the blood of the Mongolian army and swept all the regions of Shandong step by step. It's just that in the past, it was two brothers who fought in Shandong to tell others about the war of the Song army in Shandong. At this time, it was the turn of Liu Chong, who was fighting in Henan, to tell about the war of the Song army in Kaifeng.

The two of them couldn't help but crouch down and look carefully at the gap below the steps. One of them couldn't help but reach out and touch the more hidden crevices. I probably wanted to see if I could find some dried blood.

The old imperial city also has defenders, and the three of them are pointing at each other, and they are completely fresh. Someone came down and asked in a Jiangnan accent, "What are you guys doing?" ”

Liu Pet smiled: "Our troops'." I've fought here before, so I wanted to see the blood-soaked stairs at that time. ”

Just hearing the same Jiangnan accent, the guards' expressions became enthusiastic at that time. Since the Zhao family moved south, a big way to distinguish between north and south is accent. If you want to speak an authentic Jiangnan accent, you have to grow up locally, and you can't say that kind of charm simply by practicing in the back.

After confirming that Liu Pet was a southerner, and hearing that it was a soldier who had participated in the war before, the guard smiled and said, "This statement has always been there." It is said that it was only after more than half a year that the blood stains on the steps were barely washed away. But the blood stains that soaked into the steps could still be seen. ”

"Where can I see it?" The two old men from Huaixi couldn't help but ask.

Liu Pet hurriedly explained: "These two fought in Shandong back then, and they always bragged to me in Jinan, how they killed the corpses in Jinan all over the place, and the blood flowed like a river. When it came to Kaifeng, it was my turn to blow them up. ”

Hearing this, the guard laughed twice, "These three brothers, I'll accompany the three of them first." Since you're all your own people, please show the proof. Otherwise, I won't be able to explain it when I come down. ”

Liu Pet is not angry, he has been a soldier, and at least vigilance is of course necessary. After all three of them showed their documents, the guard led the three of them up the stairs to a platform in the middle, he pointed to the dark black stone ground, and said to the two Huaixi brothers: "You see, there are still blood stains here. ”

People on the battlefield knew at a glance that it was a bloodstain and not a stain. After a large amount of blood soaked the stone for a long time, the traces on the surface could not be washed away. If you break the surface of the stone, you will find that the blood has actually soaked into the stone. The two brothers fought in Shandong, and they were actually a little unconvinced. They felt that they had conquered the city in Shandong, and they had also fought many tough battles.

At this time, seeing the traces left by the war, they had to admit that the Song army fighting in Henan had indeed experienced some tragic battles. It was not simply completed under the wise leadership of the Zhao official family, so that the Yellow River was diverted to the north.

And Liu Pet couldn't help but ask the guards, "Are there people living in this old imperial city?" ”

"Originally, there was a saying that the official family wanted to return to the old capital. However, after talking about it for so long, there is the latest statement, and the official family will not move the capital to Kaifeng. Therefore, it is planned that the prefect's yamen and other yamen in Kaifeng will move in and work. If it weren't for that, we wouldn't have to check it. ”

Liu Pet said: "If you haven't moved in yet, can you let us go in and have a look." ”

"You're going to go in and have a look, and you'll have to check your documents and identities later."

"No problem." Liu Chong replied happily. After he finished speaking, he looked at the two dudes. The two also knew that if they didn't visit at this time, they were afraid that it would be inconvenient in the future, so they both nodded.

The three followed the guards to the gate, and the person in charge soon came out to inquire. As a result, just as he approached, he stared at Liu Pet. Liu Pet also felt that this face was familiar, they must have met a few times, but it was definitely not from the same army. As soon as the two sides reported the number of the troops to each other, everyone remembered that they had seen it at the repair station when they attacked Luoyang.

If you are sure that it is your own person, it is not a matter at all to visit the empty imperial city. Liu Chongzheng was talking to his former comrades-in-arms, and suddenly slapped his face on the face, took his hand away, and saw a bug with a not too big head in his hand. Several people looked at each other, and the person in charge said, "This is a grasshopper, right?" ”

A small grasshopper couldn't affect everyone's mood to play, and when Liu Pet came out after visiting the empty old palace, they saw a few grasshoppers again. By the end of the evening, the whole city was tense. When I returned to the guest house, I saw two new words 'locust plague' written on the warning sign inside the main entrance of the guest house.

The intelligence department is in charge of war-related information, and locust plagues and other things only come to people's attention after they occur. Before the locust plague occurred, it was the civil affairs department that should pay attention to this matter, and the highest civil affairs chief of Kaifeng at this time was Wen Tianxiang, the prefect of Kaifeng. Originally, Wen Tianxiang and Wen Zhizhou were considering the matter of moving the yamen.

As a result, just halfway through the planning, reports of locust plagues began to rise, and the government of Wenzhizhou and Kaifeng immediately became busy. The locust is capable of flying for eight hours without landing, and has a strong ability to migrate. However, no matter how fast the locusts flew, there was no faster cable telegraph, and the telegrams were sent in one by one, and Wen Zhizhou learned that the locust army was moving north along the old road of the Yellow River.

A group of assembled officials and cadres, you look at me, I look at you, and there is anxiety on their faces. But anxiety is anxiety, how to solve it, everyone is very helpless. Wen Tianxiang also felt very helpless, he looked at the map of the locust path marked by the arrow of the paper pressed with a magnet, and thought about those areas in his heart.

"Wen Zhizhou, how did you deal with locusts when you were in Jiangnan before?" Someone couldn't help but feel the pressure and asked. In the case of drought, water can also be diverted. In the case of floods, the embankment can also be strengthened and the flow can be diverted. There is no very fixed means for locust plagues.

Hearing this question, Wen Tianxiang smiled bitterly: "If we say something over there, we will drive the duck to eat." ”

"Catch the ducks to eat?" This solution surprised everyone.

Wen Tianxiang nodded. A good year means that there are no floods and droughts, and small insects do not come to interfere. One of the small bugs that can have a huge impact on the people is the locust. Every few years, there is an outbreak of insects. Wherever the locust plague went, crops and plants were devoured. The harm is no less than that of floods and droughts.

When he was the prefect of Songjiang, the local government followed the organizational model of the 'First Empire of the Qin and Han Dynasties', and the paddy fields were to be cultivated with rice and fish, which would eat the small insects in the water. In addition to this, ducks are raised. Ducks eat grass and also insects that they can reach.

Although raising ducks has added many problems, Wen Tianxiang has personally seen a locust plague in Songjiang Province, where hundreds of thousands of local ducks were driven into the fields when they were about to make a move on the waterways on which the people depended. The ducks were excited to enjoy the food that fell from the sky in the flat fields.

The locusts came and flailed, and the ducks ate and flicked. By the time the locust plague was over, the crops had been greatly affected, and three percent of the year's harvest had been lost. But during the locust plague, the people only begged the ducks to eat more locusts, so when the ducks were re-gathered, there were also some disputes about the ownership of the ducks. In this kind of disaster-stricken day, everyone is naturally more desperate.