Chapter 1324
Words:1838Update:22/08/18 16:32:51
Chen Jinglun and his son hurried along the way. When they arrived at Xi 'an Prefecture, Xu Guangqi ordered the ducks to reach Xi' an Prefecture as soon as possible.
As soon as Xu Guangqi's messenger set off, Chen Jinglun and his son arrived. They hurried to greet Xu Guangqi.
Xu Guangqi was very interested in this lucky father and son who had completed the transformation from businessmen to officials overnight. He also admired the emperor's courage.
Appointing a small businessman and his son who had no administrative experience and only knew how to raise ducks as officials was something that hadn't happened for many years.
He remembered that the last person who became a businessman in Huaxia was Lu Buwei.
He felt that the emperor was going to do something big again. But that wasn't the most important thing. The most important thing was whether the ducks would come and whether the method was reliable or not.
Eating was the most important thing. How could they fight for politics if they couldn't eat enough? They might as well starve to death.
This needed to be tested, and it required a large group of people to witness it with their own eyes. Only then could they confirm if it was really effective. There was still some time before the ducks arrived in Xi 'an Prefecture and started to spread among the people to hunt for the horseshoe beetles. Hence, time was very tight, and Xu Guangqi was very anxious.
"I won't say much about other things. His Majesty must have his own reasons for letting you and your son become officials. You don't have to worry that I will look down on you. I will only look down on corrupt and incompetent officials. If you and your son can successfully raise ducks and control locusts, I will personally ask His Majesty for merit and guarantee your Chen Family a title of nobility!"
Chen Jinglun and Chen Zhenlong looked at each other and swallowed their saliva at the same time. They made up their minds and decided to throw caution to the wind. Even if they died, they would be beheaded. All in all, they had come this far and there was no turning back.
So Chen Jinglun spoke.
"Minister Xu, is the current situation of the caterpillars serious?"
Xu Guangqi nodded.
"It's definitely not light. Otherwise, I wouldn't have urged you to come quickly. Take Xiyang Village for example. Three of the nine villages have already found horseshoe insects. There are quite a lot of them, and they've spread throughout the entire Sanyuan County. There are probably more of them. The situation is not good."
Chen Jinglun frowned and said, "Then these thirty thousand ducks are just a drop in the bucket. The imperial court will send more duck seedlings. I will be in charge of these thirty thousand ducks for now. First, we will hunt for insects in Xiyang Village! We're in a hurry, so eat as much as you can! "
"How confident are you?"
"It's certain that the ducks will eat horseshoe beetles. It's just a matter of how many horseshoe beetles there are. Moreover, I need enough people to help manage these ducks. Every half an hour, a new batch of ducks must be sent into the field to eat. Otherwise, the ducks will eat themselves to death. The loss outweighs the gain."
Xu Guangqi nodded.
"If that's the case, Chen Jinglun, the entire General Locust Administration and West Sun Village will be under your command. I will also listen to your commands!"
"I dare not!"
Chen Jinglun was taken aback. A second-rank minister wanted him to command? What kind of joke was this?
"There is no minister in front of the great cause of locust control! Only those who do not want to starve to death! Before I left, I swore to His Majesty that I will never let a single citizen of Daqin starve to death because of the locust plague. This time, the locust plague has already begun. If I cannot suppress it, I will have to kill myself to appease my countrymen. "
Seeing Xu Guangqi's serious expression, Chen Jinglun's heart began to pound.
However, he still had to do the same thing. Chen Jinglun was appointed as the commander-in-chief of the front line. The entire General Locust Administration listened to his arrangements and carried out this great battle of ducks eating horseshoe beetles. Many officials found this very novel.
Were they being commanded by a small official with a merchant background?
In Xiyang Village's Liulian Village, Chen Jinglun felt that he was being watched by countless eyes. Some were curious, some were unhappy, and some were judgmental. He felt that these eyes were like knives stabbing into his body.
These eyes were more dangerous than when he faced the raging waves in the sea. They were more dangerous than when he faced the greedy Barbodes rhododendri.
He forced himself to calm down and told himself that what he needed to do now was to instruct the ducks to eat the horseshoe beetles.
This was his job. His job was to teach the local people how to instruct the ducks to eat the horseshoe beetles so that they would not grow into locusts and fly. This was the father and son's biggest mission. After this mission was completed, it would be the father and son's credit.
Whether the Chen family could make a name for themselves depended on this.
Xu Guangqi personally took charge. All the officials and the villagers of Liulian Village listened to his command. They watched as the father and son of the Chen family and a dozen young officials drove the hundred or so ducks to the ground. There were another four hundred ducks that were corralled on the road. It was said that they were going to be rotated.
The first piece of land was Guo Deng's family's land. Horseshoe beetles had been found in the northeast corner of their house. Xu Guangqi was worried that there would be more horseshoe beetles. To ease the worries of the other villagers, he let Guo Deng take the lead. Guo Deng patted his chest and said that he was duty-bound.
The ducks were driven down to the ground and nested together, walking on the ground. Chen Jinglun, his son, and a dozen young officials formed a circle, surrounding the flock of ducks within a certain range. They guided and drove them to move slowly, looking for the horseshoe beetles hiding underground.
The ducklings walked around in the field. Guo Deng was a little scared.
Don't trample on my wheat!
He shouted in his heart.
Suddenly, the flock of ducks began to move. The flock of ducks gathered in one place and pecked at the ground with all their might. They pecked very quickly.
"Aiyo! Look! So many horseshoe beetles! "
A sharp-eyed official pointed. The flock of ducks lowered their heads and pecked at the ground. Many horseshoe beetles were jumping around. The scene was quite spectacular.
Guo Deng's face turned green. He obviously thought that if he did not discover the horseshoe beetles in time, he would not be able to get back a single stalk of wheat in his village.
The rest of the villagers also looked at the hundred or so ducklings gathered together and pecked at the jumping horseshoe beetles with amazement. Every peck was accurate. Every peck was accurate. Every peck was accurate. They raised their heads and quickly swallowed the horseshoe beetles before continuing to peck.
These things that ate human lives were obviously delicious in the eyes of the ducks.
The father and son of the Chen family were overjoyed. When they saw that there were too many horseshoe beetles and too few ducks, they immediately shouted for another hundred ducks to come down.
Another team of ducks quickly rushed to the battlefield. They lowered their heads and pecked. The horseshoe beetles on the ground were pecked everywhere. None of them could escape the fate of being eaten.
As the ducks pecked, Chen Jinglun kept track of the time. When half an hour was up, he saw that the speed of the ducks pecking had slowed down. He decisively ordered the ducklings to go up. Another two hundred ducklings went down to the ground and continued to eat the horseshoe beetles that had not been eaten.
The eyes of the villagers lit up and they clicked their tongues in wonder. Guo Deng was even happier. He immediately asked Xu Guangqi to fully implement the strategy of raising ducks and controlling locusts in Six Alliance Village. All the villagers fully supported Xu Guangqi's strategy of raising ducks and controlling locusts.
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