Outside Qingzhou City.

It is dark blue night in the East. The sunset sinks in the West and disappears in the mountains. There is still a red afterglow in the sky near the sunset. As the light disappears on the horizon, the wind rises and cools down.

It's cold.

Suddenly, the soldiers who had been prepared lit the campfire piled up in the field, illuminated its vicinity, and dissipated the cold. Sparks jumped out of the campfire, and straw occasionally made a clatter in the fire.

One bonfire, two bonfires

The soldiers built a campfire where the fire could not shine. They did not build much. They only burned the campfire in one side of the field, and the other half of the field was still immersed in the twilight.

After all this, they returned to Qingzhou City.

"Would such a move be useful?" Someone asked softly.

During the day, they were in a group of ten, wrapped from head to foot, tightly and tightly. Rao was in the cool season after autumn, and he was also stuffy with sweat. They were responsible for facing the locusts directly in front, and others were catching the locusts with a net in the rear. The net they used was small and thick. The locusts could not escape from the net in a short time. Rao was like this, They only wiped out the tip of the iceberg. Faced with a huge swarm of locusts, they could not help but feel desperate.

"Yes, that's the son of the marquis. Since the Marquis left the son in Qingzhou City, his orders will always be useful." Another comforted.

"Put on your cotton padded clothes quickly. It's cold at night. Be careful to catch a cold." Another soldier reminded them, "I heard from the military commander that after the defense change, I can get a bowl of broth to warm up. I have to go out of the city before dawn tomorrow."

The founding Hou left a few days ago. Before leaving, he left Pei Shuo, the legitimate son of the founding Hou, in Qingzhou to share weal and woe with the soldiers and continue to kill locusts. Pei Zhengwen left with 150000 troops.

There are less than 1000 soldiers left in Qingzhou City.

Say more or less, and they don't see enough in front of locusts that far outnumber them; There are a lot of things to say. There are suddenly 1000 more people in Qingzhou City, and the accommodation and food need to be arranged. Fortunately, Pei's army and the soldiers allocated from all over the country brought dry food before the army started. It is not necessary to use the grain stored in Qingzhou City's granary for a while and a half. The magistrate wiped away the sweat on his head. Food and food are not a problem for the time being. It's their turn to arrange the accommodation of these 1000 people. They can't stay outside the city, There are locusts outside. Don't get bitten and hurt yourself before you have a rest.

Pei Shuo was not in charge of the magistrate's headache. He only asked the soldiers temporarily under his command to eat well, have a good rest and have enough energy to kill locusts during the day.

Killing locusts is a long process, and they not only want to kill the locusts in Qingzhou, but also go all the way north to clean up the locust disaster in the States and counties on the way back to Beijing. There are few people, and they have to race against time, which is very stressful.

Pei Shuo stood on the tower. There were flying insects and several locusts flying around the fire on the brazier, and soon fell into the raging fire. The fire shone on his pupils and watched the bonfire in the field go out from a distance. I hope it will be effective.

"Childe, chickens, ducks and geese in Qingzhou City and nearby villages are rented and temporarily kept in captivity in the corner under the city." Pei Zhengwen's own soldiers came to report.

"Well, have you chosen the soldiers responsible for driving away? And poultry should also be separated. Tomorrow morning, see how the plant ash is burned. The places where they have stayed should be boiled with plant ash and hot water and sprayed to prevent the birth of the plague. " Pei Shuo looked back and arranged in an orderly way.

When Pei Zhengwen left, he took the four men of Bobu Chuanyang, but left his two confidants to Pei Shuo so that no one could use them. These two confidants have less prestige in the army than Bobu Chuanyang and can control the soldiers below. The Holy Lord gave Pei Shuo a word, but Pei Zhengwen hasn't listed his acceptance of the Lord, so they call Pei Shuo the childe rather than the son of the world.

Pei Shuo hardly closed his eyes all night. He was deeply exposed. Bangs knocked several times. A rooster stood up and sang the first sound before dawn.

The gate opened slowly.

A soldier hung a lantern at the tip of his gun. Countless chickens, ducks and geese were driven behind by soldiers with grazing experience. They rattled all the way out of the city. Behind them were a thousand soldiers.

"Ah...?" There is a mysterious feeling.

At this time, before dawn, the campfire outside the city had already been extinguished. Pei Shuo first ordered them to rekindle the campfire and arranged for someone to burn plant ash.

"There seems to be burnt meat in it?" The soldiers in charge of lighting the campfire approached and asked for a burning incense. While the fire was not big, they approached and looked, "Oh, God, a lot of locusts!"

There are many locusts in more than one, several campfires.

"My mother said that the locust is delicious, especially its legs, and a little meat. I remember, I tasted it when I was a child, but it's really only minced meat. When I'm greedy, I can make a tooth sacrifice... Well, forget these. The burnt taste is not good. "

“……”

Use the straw stacked on the edge of the ridge to burn plant ash, boil water with plant ash and sprinkle it on the Bank of the river - where they can't reach but have locust eggs, they can disinfect and kill locust eggs; In addition, plant ash is distributed to farmers, and plant ash is sprinkled in the process of ploughing and ploughing. On the one hand, it kills locusts and disinfects, and on the other hand, it plays a role in fertilizing the soil.

The poultry herding in the wild seemed to find themselves free. Huan Tuo ran and pecked around the fields. They didn't find any wheat grains on the straw and slowed down, but they soon targeted a new prey - locusts resting on the leaves.

Locusts with dew on their wings can't fly high. Even if they find themselves in a dangerous situation, it's too late. They bully and harm food for so many days, and finally become a dish for poultry.

At dawn, the lively poultry were full, dozing on the spot, drowsy, and only a few were still clucking.

At this time, the soldiers found that the locusts in the suburbs were more than half less than yesterday!

For example, if there were ten large swarms of locusts yesterday, there are only five or six swarms left today!

The workload suddenly reduced a lot.

The bonfire and poultry in the middle of the night contributed a lot, but Pei Shuo, the general's direct son, proposed all this.

After staying in Qingzhou for two or three days, most of the locusts have been eliminated. He left the way to deal with locusts to the prefect, graze poultry, excavate locust eggs, plough, cultivate and sprinkle grass and tree ash. If he treated them at will, the locust eggs left in the soil will grow into a new batch of locusts next year.

After the explanation, he led the team to continue to push towards the capital.

No matter whether there was anyone else, he was still unconvinced, but on the face of it, no one doubted that Pei Shuo could not be the temporary commander.

Minimize the casualties of soldiers and soldiers, and use a variety of ways to reduce their burden. At night, there is a pot of delicious stewed chicken waiting for them. The fat hen is floating with a layer of yellow chicken oil on the soup surface. The fire army simmers the hen soft and rotten. With a little force, it can tear it apart and sprinkle a little salt. In cold weather, a bowl of hot soup is put into the stomach, which is very comfortable and warm all over. If it is not enough, come and fry some locusts to make a tooth sacrifice.

It's not particularly difficult to kill locusts.

The soldiers were satisfied.