I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 92 - 35: Combating the Locust Plague, Rivaling Heaven
Gu Xi personally rushed to the disaster area to observe and had all the books Gu Kang left behind brought over, starting a meticulous study.
There was no need to elaborate on Gu Kang’s talents in agriculture.
Under Gu Yi’s tutelage.
His agricultural prowess for the current era was unmatched.
And Gu Kang naturally left some methods for dealing with locust plagues.
After careful study, Gu Xi.
Decided to implement the strategy of turning the soil!
This was a method left by Gu Kang, different from most of the current era’s strategies.
It involved large-scale soil turning during the locusts’ egg-laying period.
This time, the soil turning needed to be deeper.
All insect eggs were to be buried underground, increasing the difficulty of their hatching, and the crops that were traditionally planted locally were to be changed.
This was the experience Gu Kang had discovered after focusing on agriculture for many years.
Although Gu Xi didn’t know if it would solve such a large locust plague, with the situation at hand, why worry?
And Deng Sui’s greatest trait as a woman was her boldness.
She was not like ordinary women who, when faced with significant events, would be flustered and hesitant.
Upon receiving Gu Xi’s letter.
She did not hesitate at all, immediately agreeing to the matter and entrusting Gu Xi with full authority.
Of course, Gu Xi couldn’t possibly implement this nationwide all at once.
Not to mention whether the Great Han could withstand such a burden.
If this were to fail, it would cause a significant blow to the people’s morale, which had just begun to recover.
He chose to conduct experiments in the provinces and counties worst hit by the locust plague.
— Jizhou State!
Indeed, Jizhou was the area most severely affected by this locust plague.
Jizhou was originally a major grain-producing state, densely populated.
And because of the presence of the Gu Clan, Jizhou’s population was now far greater than in history.
In terms of agricultural development, it far surpassed other states and counties.
Because of this, the locust plague affected the entire Jizhou the most.
And as the longtime stronghold of the Gu Clan.
Conducting it in Jizhou ensured the people would give full support.
This was the most important reason.
This event was destined to be earth-shattering.
Just like when Gu Kang managed the Great River in the past, Gu Xi was determined to combat the natural disaster with manpower.
The national strength left by several generations of ancestors gave Gu Xi ample confidence.
In the autumn of Yongchu Year Four. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢
Gu Xi personally started this grand project, destined to go down in history, in Jizhou.
He ordered the local governments to organize the people.
And personally supervised the work, setting standards.
Locust eggs were generally about an inch underground; in the current feudal era, achieving fully standardized engineering was impossible.
Gu Xi could only try to persuade the people to turn the soil deeper.
The agricultural talents of the Gu Clan’s descendants were well-known throughout the land.
Not to mention, Gu Xi’s reputation had long spread across the entire realm.
The people had suffered from disasters for a long time.
Facing this policy, they had no reason to refuse.
Moreover, Gu Xi led by example in the fields.
The whole Jizhou started moving.
Even the major families in various places began to cooperate with the effort.
Natural disasters did not differentiate among people.
Compared to ordinary people, these large families who owned more land feared disasters even more.
The only difference was they could survive.
While the common people couldn’t.
Gu Yi had been silently observing all this.
In fact, he, too, didn’t know if this move would be effective.
According to history, the Eastern Han suffered from continuous natural disasters during this period.
Not to mention others.
Just the locust plague alone lasted for six whole years.
Which almost drained the foundation left by the previous emperors of the Eastern Han.
Although today’s Great Han was stronger than in history, the increased population also heightened the grain consumption.
Whether Gu Xi could end all this earlier, he wasn’t sure.
.....
Though Gu Xi supervised everything in Jizhou from the outside.
The Great Han court did not come to a halt either.
In October.
News came from the coastal states and counties.
Pirates attacked cities and plundered the people.
Such matters naturally didn’t trouble Gu Xi.
Deng Sui quickly formulated a strategy, sending generals like Wang Zong and Fa Xiong to lead troops to eliminate the pirates, achieving successive victories.
And while Deng Sui was overseeing disaster relief in other provinces and counties.
She did not forsake recruiting talents.
People like Zhang Heng gradually appeared in court.
And Liu Hu now had a change of heart, perhaps due to the removal of ill-intentioned people, or perhaps because of Gu Xi’s previous promise.
As he gradually settled down and observed Deng Sui from another angle.
He genuinely found that Deng Sui was not as he once thought.
Whether from the perspective of governance or otherwise;
Deng Sui was entirely different from Empress Dowager Dou.
And most importantly, as he began to work harder, Deng Sui gradually reduced her lecturing.
This was indeed a significant change.
The emperor might not have power, but he was still the emperor.
When the emperor and the regent empress gradually aligned, it would have a certain impact on the entire court.
The whole Great Han seemed to have changed.
Jizhou’s land was vast, but its farmland was limited.
For someone like Gu Xi, determined to accomplish a task, it didn’t take much time.
Once the soil-turning was completed.
Gu Xi conducted a series of inspections.
He ordered people to plant entirely different crops from previous years.
If millet was planted before, then plant beans!
If beans were planted before, then plant millet!
Though doing so might affect the yield.
