Bi Goo left. After breakfast, he led the team back. He didn't want to stay in the evening.
He was anxious. The more Li Yi and the other villagers of Li Yi's Manor behaved, the more he was afraid.
How could His Majesty be willing to send such a powerful young man and a villager? If it were him, he would want to take them with him every day.
Bi Goo believed that if this team was sent to the border between the Tang dynasty and Tubo, it would definitely bring confidence to the people of the Tang dynasty and cause great losses to Tubo.
Judging from the way the villager treated the children, he knew that they couldn't do heavy work, but he didn't persuade them to leave.
Obviously, his family asked him to leave. If he could earn more money, he would. Would his parents beat him when he returned?
Last night, when the well was filled, the villager said that he still had work to do. It sounded impolite, but in fact, it was another kind of subsidy.
When helping his own people, the villager was so meticulous. When scheming against the enemy, he wouldn't be bad.
This was clearly a team that could be sent out safely if there was a problem.
The more such a team was, the more reluctant it was to be sent out. The strongest force should be kept by his side.
If he cooperated too slowly, he would feel uneasy if one more person starved to death.
Henan was not the only prefecture south of Taihang Mountains. The young man Li Yi clearly wanted to use the transportation of Henan to complete his layout.
"Old Bi is quite easy to talk to. No wonder he was called the best administrative officer in the Jinglong era and the Kaiyuan era."
Watching Bi Goo run away, Li Yi commented.
Bi Goo knew that the situation was serious and he had a way to deal with it, so he acted immediately.
Li Yi approved of his ability to execute. An old man, a second-rank official, and the magistrate of Henan, was willing to cooperate without any orders.
What if he was wrong? Who would take the blame?
"Increase the amount of bone powder. Hire people to feed the chickens, ducks, and pigs. At the same time, pay attention to spraying lime water for disinfection."
Bi Goo went to work, but Li Yi couldn't stay idle.
He decided to increase the manpower. The two rivers at the foot of the mountain were suitable for ducks.
Ducks didn't lay eggs like chickens. When they were by the river, they would lay eggs whenever they were happy and needed someone to pick them up.
Chickens were laid in their nests. When there were enough chickens, the old hens would lie down and incubate the eggs. In some regions, this was called hugging the nest.
Nowadays, there was no need for old hens to incubate the eggs. Instead, the eggs were placed on the stove to be incubated artificially.
As for the other methods, such as not being able to control the temperature, it was fine to teach them to the commoners and let them operate on their own.
Four months later, the little hen grew up and could lay eggs again.
They could reach a level where they could hatch one batch per day. In less than five months, there would be more than two million chickens and ducks.
Perhaps there would be another outbreak before the winter snow.
In winter, it was more difficult for the common people to raise chickens. They could not raise them outside, so they could only keep them in the house for a month. The chickens could also go out, but they were not resistant to the cold.
You can build a chicken rack and cover it with grass.
Ducks won't do, ducks won't enter the frame. There's a saying that goes, "Put a duck on the frame."
The duck's claws could grab the bars on the frame, but the duck had webbed feet and could not stand.
Li Yi calculated the number of chickens and the degree to which the common people would accept artificial incubation. The main thing was the temperature. The common people did not have thermometers, so they had to use their hands to feel the temperature.
Generally, a person's body temperature was slightly higher.
The farmers took action. They rode their horses and went outside to hire people. Now, it was not a problem of making money. They would not lose money anyway.
When Bi Goo returned to the manor, he personally wrote a notice. He tried to be as straightforward and simple as possible.
He told the common people that in the mountains 25 miles west of Luoyang, they could exchange grasshoppers for chickens and ducks. They could also learn how to hatch the eggs themselves.
In addition, there were eggs and duck eggs that could not be hatched. They could be exchanged with locusts. It was very cost-effective.
He also wrote the method of lighting a fire in the wilderness at night to lure locusts over and use nets to catch them.
After he finished writing, a group of people copied it. They immediately pasted a few copies in Luoyang and sent them to other places in Henan.
The common people in Luoyang almost all knew about the news that afternoon.
"There are still about ten days before the chickens are hatched. Now, they are using grasshoppers to exchange for eggs."
"It's that wastrel."
"I heard that he brought over tens of thousands of chickens and ducks."
"If he catches too many locusts, won't he offend the heavens?"
"Didn't the person who read the notice read it? We don't eat it and give it to the chickens and ducks. If the heavens want to punish us, they will find the chickens and ducks. "
"That's right. Whoever eats it will find."
"Find a place to light a fire tonight."
"Don't let it catch fire. Burn a large area."
Just as Li Yi said, the common people easily chose the side that was beneficial to them. They only needed an excuse.
The sky was not completely dark yet, but the common people of Luoyang had already set out with their families or neighbors. They went outside to light a fire where there were many grasshoppers during the day.
Bi Goo disguised himself and stood on the street. He shook his head and said, "As expected, wealth moves people's hearts. What heavenly power? When there are benefits in front of them, they are all acting."
His younger brother, Bi Xu, was also an official in Luoyang. After hearing about the situation, he came to find him.
"Brother, why did Li Yi come?" Bi Xu felt uneasy.
"You don't need to know. If you know more, there will be more trouble." Bi Goo did not say anything. The locust plague had not broken out yet, so how could he say it? To disturb the people's hearts?
Bi Xu had an anxious expression on his face. "Brother, there are rumors that Li Yi on the mountain is Li Dongzhu from the Li Family Zhuangzi by the Ba River in the east of Chang 'an."
"Yes, a youth. His reputation is not based on poetry or literary talent." Bi Goo was most satisfied with Li Yi.
In the Tang dynasty, there were many children or youths with literary talent who would always participate in various poetry gatherings and visit other people's residences.
Of course, Li Yi also spread out many songs. Whatever was sung in Chang 'an and Pyong Kang Square, Luoyang would rise.
Luoyang's brothels and flower boats were more interested in these songs.
The common people who were farming were thinking about the divine tools for harvesting wheat, threshing, and shelling.
The merchants were thinking about soap, toilet water, glycerin, lighters, fermented bean curd, and other things.
It could be said that he was famous, but they did not know what he looked like.
Not to mention that he was an official, even if he was a commoner, if he committed a crime in Luoyang, no one would dare to punish him. They would have to ask the palace for instructions.
Bi Xu did not know what his brother was thinking. He was still worried. "What if he comes to deceive people?"
"What can he deceive people about? Grasshopper eggs, one catty for one egg. Can't the common people tell the difference between real and fake eggs? "Bi Goo waved his hand.
Bi Xu was just about to continue speaking when a group of children ran over while jumping and shouting.
"Catch grasshopper, exchange grasshopper, catch grasshopper, get eggs. One catty of grasshopper, one catty of eggs, a cart of grasshopper's worth of hemp. Catch grasshopper, give grasshopper, give grasshopper's eggs … "
The children shouted as they ran away.
Bi Goo and his brother were stunned.
"Hahahaha ~ ~" After a while, Bi Goo laughed. He did not need to guess to know who made up the nursery rhyme.
"Who made it up? It's too vulgar. There's no literary talent at all. "Bi Xu frowned.
When Bi Goo heard this, he took out three books from his sleeve pocket and handed them over. "Make a copy. Send the original back to me. It's for your nephew."
Bi Xu was about to belittle the person who made up the nursery rhyme when he saw the book and took it.
He looked at the words first and said, "Good writing. I've never seen it before, but it gives me the feeling of a plum blossom branch."
After flipping it open and reading a few pages, he was shocked.
"Brother, who made this? You got such a family heirloom? It's elementary knowledge. An adult can still read it. "Bi Xu carefully observed his surroundings.
"The person who made up the nursery rhyme just now did it," Bi Goo said with a smile.
"Ah?" Bi Xu widened his eyes and opened his mouth.
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