Many years later, people would still vividly remember this calamity in the sixth year of Gaia.
On the tenth day of the tenth month, on the northern border of the Mongolian steppe.
On the autumn steppe, the knee-high grass gradually turned yellow. The white-clothed herdsmen were busy harvesting the grass so that their cattle, sheep, and horses could survive the long winter.
The haystacks, which were as thick as millstones, were scattered on the vast prairie like guards, silently guarding the prairie that had existed since ancient times, protecting the holy land of the herdsmen.
To the Mongolian herdsmen, this was a year of harvest.
The floods that had affected the Central Plains in the first half of the year had no effect on the northern steppe. The grass was lush and the cattle and sheep were healthy. The flocks of sheep were like clouds embedded in the steppe, a delightful sight to behold.
Soon after, the empire had won a war in the west and annexed the Western Turkic Khaganate. In his delight, the Khagan had exempted the herdsmen from taxes for the next half of the year. This was truly a heavenly grace.
With this double blessing, the herdsmen were sure to have a good new year.
The herdsmen's faces were ruddy and they were full of energy. They finished harvesting the grass before winter arrived.
At this moment, a buzzing sound came from the distant horizon. Some herdsmen straightened their backs and looked into the distance, only to see a black cloud appear on the horizon.
The black cloud seemed to stretch on both sides with no end in sight. The buzzing sound was coming from the black cloud.
"Strange, why is the cloud making a sound? Is it about to rain?"
The weather of the steppe was unpredictable, and it was common for it to suddenly rain.
As the herdsmen were perplexed, they saw the black cloud approaching them at a visible speed. The closer it got, the louder the sound became. When it gathered together, it made one's scalp go numb.
At this moment, all the herdsmen were attracted by the black cloud and looked into the distance.
It was getting closer, even closer.
"That, that's not a black cloud."
A sharp-eyed herdsman said in a trembling voice as he stared at the cloud sweeping toward them.
"Uncle Wu Le, if it's not a black cloud, what could it be ~ ~ ~" a young herdsman joked. He did not think much of it, clearly unaware of the impending danger.
In the blink of an eye, the black cloud had arrived.
"Locusts, it's locusts. The plague of locusts has arrived ~ ~"
Uncle Wu Le muttered to himself as he recalled the plague of locusts he had encountered as a child. His wrinkled face began to pale, clearly recalling some unpleasant memories.
The grassland was a place where locust plagues frequently occurred.
The young herdsmen could no longer laugh, because they could see clearly that the black cloud was actually a swarm of locusts flying in the sky.
Wherever the swarm passed, not a single blade of grass was left.
The Ming Dynasty poet Guo Dun, in Ode to the Flying Locusts, described the locust plague as follows: "The flying locusts cover the sky, the sun is colorless, the wild old fields shed tears of blood."
The scene in front of him was even more horrifying than the description in the poem.
The swarm of locusts was simply too large. As far as the eye could see, the sky, earth, north, south, east, west, front, back, left and right were all densely packed with locusts. It was as if they had entered a nest of locusts.
No one knew how many locusts there were. Could it be a hundred million, a billion, or even ten billion?
Uncle Wu Le knelt on the ground, piously worshipping the god of the grassland, praying for his protection. Locusts covered the sky around him, flying up and down in a terrifying manner.
The young herdsman was at a loss of what to do.
In the vast grassland, there was no place to hide. He could only let himself be devoured by the locusts.
"Quick, form a circle around the haystacks and hide in it."
Some people reacted, unwilling to be captured without a fight. They called out to their companions, driving away the rain of locusts while doing their best to form a circle around the haystacks.
Only Uncle Wu Le was still praying, ignoring the locusts around him.
The swarm of locusts had flown over from Siberia. They had just hatched from their eggs, and this was the hungriest time of their lives. They ate whatever they saw.
The black cloud that the herdsmen saw at the beginning was just the vanguard of the swarm.
The further they went, the denser the swarm became. It was no longer a black cloud, but a wall of insects. They were so densely packed that not a single gap could be seen. It was terrifying.
Just as the herdsmen formed a circle around the haystacks, Uncle Wu Le was already drowned by the swarm of locusts.
A brave young man took the risk and rushed to Uncle Wu Le's side, wanting to drag him into the circle of haystacks. Uncle Wu Le did not budge, he only prayed.
Seeing that the swarm was getting denser, the young man had no choice but to retreat.
To the herdsmen living on the grasslands, using haystacks to build a temporary residence was not a difficult task. Not only were there haystacks in all directions, even the roof was covered with haystacks.
Hundreds of haystacks formed an enclosed space.
The herdsmen hid inside, using their clothes to cover their bodies, shivering.
The swarm of locusts that covered the sky whizzed past. The grassland that was covered with grass a moment ago was instantly barren. Nothing was left.
Even the huge haystacks were being eaten by the locusts at a speed visible to the naked eye.
After a full two hours, the herdsmen hiding in the haystacks could no longer hear the hair-raising buzzing sound. Only then did they fearfully open the haystacks and walked out.
In front of them, was a scene of doomsday.
The grass that everyone had painstakingly harvested was gone. Even the haystack houses that formed a circle were only left with a thin layer. As far as the eye could see, all that was left was the barren land.
Not far away, Uncle Wu Le lay on the ground. It was unknown whether he was dead or alive.
Everything was like a dream.
"Woo woo ~ ~ ~"
Suddenly, the sound of crying came from the crowd, getting louder and louder.
"It's over, it's all over …"
The herdsmen cried. They cried for the grass, for the livestock, and for themselves. Without the grass, the livestock would starve, and they would not survive the winter.
To the herdsmen, the livestock was the life of their family.
Thinking of this, the cries were everywhere.
The crying was just the tip of the iceberg. It was not enough to describe the disaster.
That day, billions of locusts crossed the border from Siberia and entered the Mongolian grasslands. It was the largest and most tragic locust disaster in history.
From the westernmost Ogedei Khaganate to the easternmost Liaojin Province, no one was spared.
The scale of the disaster was so large that it was rarely seen in the world.
The entire Mongolian grasslands were covered by the locusts. From the north to the south, the locusts were unstoppable. Wherever they passed, not a single blade of grass was left. The herdsmen wailed in pain.
The Mongolian Empire was plunged into unprecedented panic.
Genghis Khan ordered the entire army to prepare for war. They were to cooperate with the herdsmen to kill the locusts and minimize their losses.
The million-strong army roared on the grasslands.
… …
The disaster caused by Gaia was not limited to the Mongolian grasslands.
Almost at the same time as the locust disaster in Mongolia, the Central Plains, especially the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, also experienced a locust disaster of unprecedented scale.
The middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River, where the locust disaster was high, suffered the most.
In an instant, killing the locusts became the norm.
For the entire October, China started a massive campaign to exterminate the locusts. In order to preserve the grass and the crops that were about to ripen, the people went crazy.
They used nets to kill the locusts, burned them with fire, and even cooked them.
But it was useless.
The locusts came and went like the wind, whistling past like a hurricane. The people's efforts were like a drop in the bucket. Food production in the affected areas decreased, or even no harvest. It was a foregone conclusion.
In ancient times, there were no pesticides like in modern society. There was no way to use airplanes to spread pesticides.
The coming winter was bound to be a harsh one.
It was not just China. In October, natural disasters occurred all over the world. The African continent was also ravaged by locusts. It was even worse than China.
There was a saying among the people, "Locusts appear in extreme drought" and "Locusts appear after prolonged drought". The drier the area, the easier it was for locusts to strike. The arid African continent was naturally the first to bear the brunt.
Other than locusts, there were typhoons, tornadoes, tornadoes, earthquakes, tsunamis, diseases …
In human history, all the natural disasters that could be imagined were like Pandora's Box that was opened. They were released by Gaia and spread across the world.
The game world was plunged into an unprecedented disaster.
The people were crying, and the feudal lords were worried.
No one had expected Gaia to be so ruthless and decisive. He had taught the various feudal lords and the common people a good lesson — the weather was unpredictable.
The good weather of the past was no more.
After October, the situation became slightly better. The exhausted people began to inspect the damage and fill in the gaps under the organization of the local officials.
The reports from various places made every king frown.
This natural disaster would have a profound impact on the global situation. The first to bear the brunt was the price of food. From mid-October, the price of food in China began to soar …
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