I Can Control My Ancestors-Chapter 93 - 35: Combating the Locust Plague, Rivaling Heaven
But for the current Great Han, stopping the locust plague is the top priority.
——The fifth year of Yongchu, during the spring plowing.
Gu Xi and accompanying officials inspected the entire region of Jizhou State.
Watching the people who are toiling in the fields, the officials felt somewhat heavy-hearted.
Their appearances and expressions were completely different.
Years of natural disasters had already pushed them to the brink, their bodies appeared somewhat frail.
The tenant farmers of large families were the same.
But their faces were all filled with deep hope.
Clearly, they were all hoping for this year’s harvest.
The Gu Clan’s efforts to control the locust plague gave them great hope.
This was the purest form of hope.
It was also the power that faith brought to them.
"Grand Tutor..." Following behind Gu Xi, Yuan Chang couldn’t help but sigh deeply, "If there is still a locust plague this year, what should we do?"
Yuan Chang was the third son of Yuan An and the current Minister of Works, with a steadfast and incorruptible character, highly valued by Gu Xi.
Actually, in the original history, he had died long ago by this time.
The reason was because he did not get along with Deng Sui.
But now, because of Gu Xi’s presence,
He perfectly became the buffer between these ministers and Deng Sui, which is why he was still alive.
"What can we do?" Gu Xi’s expression was calm, and he said indifferently, "We can only try other methods and continue disaster management."
Hearing this, Yuan Chang fell silent, and after a deep sigh, he said again:
"Who knows how long heaven intends to test our Great Han."
No matter how talented a person may be, they cannot escape the limitations of their era.
Yuan Chang was clearly no exception.
Hearing this, Gu Xi gradually came to a stop.
Looking at the farmers busily working in the fields, seeing the hopeful expressions on their faces, he then looked up at the sky.
How could he not feel the pressure?
It could be said that he was shouldering almost all the burdens.
But for Gu Xi, he just had his own resolve.
He absolutely could not let the Great Han fail in his hands!
After a moment of silence, Gu Xi suddenly spoke, as if muttering to himself, "If we are indeed playing a game of chess with heaven..."
"Then I must win at least half the game."
His tone paused, and looking at the stunned officials, he continued with firm determination:
"I definitely cannot allow the Great Han to fall in my hands."
"Absolutely cannot!"
With that, Gu Xi once again stepped forward.
Looking at Gu Xi’s back, the officials were all in shock.
The eyes of the world were all on this.
The reaction of the common people to the Gu Clan’s efforts in controlling the locust plague was almost universally the same.
——They all had great expectations.
As spring plowing ended, crops sprouted one after another.
The news they least wanted to hear still came.
In thirteen provinces of the Great Han, nine states experienced locust plagues.
And Jizhou State was among them.
However, compared to the locust plagues in other states and Jizhou State’s last year, this year’s in Jizhou State was much smaller.
Gu Xi simply had the people follow the old methods to catch and kill...
And managed to suppress the locust plague!
Although there were still remnants that caused damage to the crops, it did not reach the level of a disaster.
This event caused shock throughout the land!.....
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"The fourth year of Yongchu, during severe famine in Bingzhou and Liangzhou, the roads were filled with starved corpses.
Grand Tutor Gu Xi pacified the rebellion and returned, without reporting his victory in Luoyang, directly led a hundred Tiger Guards to Bingzhou to oversee the relief.
That summer, in the territories of Ji, Yan, Yu, Qing, and Xu, locusts rose covering the skies, their wings thunderous, and for three days, day and night were bleak and dim.
Xi recalled the old principles left by Marquis Wencheng, and thus organized the people of Jizhou State to dig the ground, sealing the locust larvae beneath.
He personally wielded the plowshare on the outskirts of Julu, his back blistered and bleeding, seeping onto the plow handle.
The people, seeing his purple robe stained with dust, wept and worked with all their might.
The following year, locusts swarmed across Kyushu, but in the fields of Jizhou borders, only a few were seen flying, one in ten compared to other counties.
The Emperor once sighed, "Minister Gu tore his back to save the people, this is the auspicious sign for the land."
——"Han Book. Biography of Gu Xi"
