Great Tang Idyll Volume 01 Chapter 101
Shout out to Dan for commissioning chapters 99-108!
Chapter 101: The Prime Minister Finally Made A Move Because Of The Locust Plague
At the San’shui County, many places had water coming out of their wells, while some wells have collapsed and some well did not change. The drought was still continuing, and has not been completely resolved yet. The only concern was that the people would die from thirst due to the lack of water.
Magistrate Cheng originally wanted to create a longevity tablet for the two masterminds of the Zhang Manor, but his idea was shot down by the Manor, so he could only tuck this matter away in his heart.
Some rich people heard that many wells had more water, so they went to take a look at it and when they did, they noticed a familiar smell. They thought it was the smell of firecrackers, so they bought a couple dozen of them, and tossed the ignited firecrackers into a dry well. There was a short continuous series of popping noise, but there were no other responses.
The person looked at the smoke wafting from the well, and he was certain that firecrackers could not be used to blast the well. After smelling the smell, he felt that it was different smelling, so he had to give up. Originally, he wanted to find out how it was done so that he can help people from other locations get water and make money out of this.
The wharf that Song Jing’gong was responsible for was still under construction. From the looks of it, it would not be fully completed until late autumn.
The weather was getting hotter and hotter. Shan’nan East Division, He’nan Division, He’dong Division, and Guan’nei Division were all suffering from different severities of drought. Guan’nei Division was a little worse, and Shan’nan East Division and He’nan Division suffered the most. He’dong Division was only slightly affected. There were several main rivers in the crucial areas in He’dong Division and Guan’nei Division, so they will be able to last until the rain season.
If there was only a drought, then there was nothing for He’nan Division to be afraid of. Crop failure was inevitable even though they were able to take water from the Yellow River. It was because since the beginning of spring, there were more locusts in these two areas compared to other places. At the beginning, the people didn't notice since there were grasshoppers jumping around every year, and it shouldn’t have been any different this year.
Who would have thought that as the drought progressed, more and more grasshoppers would appear. The big ones grew to two inches long, and when it flapped its wings to fly by, it seemed like a chicken had flown past.
Seeing these locusts eating crops, the people lit incense burners outside the field and kept bowing on their knees. However, no one tried to get rid of the locusts or let their houses’ chickens eat them. Later, the swarm of locusts filled the fields and covered the skies.
The people in the Prefecture Office not only ignored the matter, but they sent in a report asking the emperor to build locust temples. Li Long’ji knew about the dangers of the locust plague, but it was difficult to manage and other ministers did not try to stop it. The only exception was Yao Chong, who was really keen; he promised the Emperor that he would take the responsibility and he also threatened other ministers, and the final verdict was that no one supported him and no one opposed him.
He personally went there to check the disaster and eradicate the locusts.
At this time, the Zhang Manor in the San’shui County also started getting into action. The 10,000 picul of grain were divided into two parts. Xu’si was told to stop working at the market, and he was told to secretly transport one part of the grain to He’nan. The remaining part was given to Er’niu to be carried by carts to the County Seat.
Zhang Xiao’bao and Wang Juan were going to visit the town in person, and it could have been a mini vacation for the two childhood sweethearts, but they were stopped by the their families. Their families usually never interfered with whatever they did, but this time, their family was strongly against them going outside. They were so scared that the two of them would secretly run away so they even arranged ten people to take turns to keep watch of the two of them.
When Magistrate Cheng heard the news, he knew that it was time for him to depart. He arranged the affairs in the county, and brought half of the bailiffs with him. He was getting ready to go to those two places to help out with the disaster, but to be exact, he was delivering grains.
Ying’tao has hatched a lot of chicks, and they were distributed to the residents to raise. She set out with more than 6,000 chickens and all of the ducks and geese Xiao’hong raised. Some of the people from the yard that had nothing to do also joined the journey to help feed the chickens and pick the eggs.
This time, Ying’tao and Xiao’hong brought two-days' worth of fodder for the poultries to eat. They had to pick routes that had a lot of grass or grasshoppers. According to the Young Master’s instructions, as long as eggs were laid, the eggs would be traded with the locals for money or cloth. Even last year’s grain can be given in exchange. Some children caught various insects to feed the birds, and they were also given eggs.
"Everything is up to Er’niu. Whether our family can continue to enjoy this treatment or not will depend on Er’niu's response. There are also a lot of grasshoppers here; some were hiding in the mountains. Let’s deep-fry them. Call Da’niu to come back from the County Seat and get him to try to make cakes. Then he could exchange cake for grasshoppers with the children on the manor.
This thing is good; it's high in protein. After frying it, we can eat it with salt and pepper. Let’s not eat grains anymore, and let’s eat grasshoppers everyday instead. I’m determined to be able to beat a five-year-old child by the time I turn three. "
Zhang Xiao’bao was holding in his anger this entire time because he and Wang Juan were not allowed to go over there in person. He waited for everyone else to leave, and then he began to come up with ideas.
"Eat it everyday? You can eat by yourself. I won't accompany you. No matter how much protein the grasshopper has, can it be compared to rice and white noodles? I don't know how you even became a conman." Wang Juan also wanted to go out and have a look. She wanted to know what other places were like, but she ended up being locked up at home, so she was also depressed.
Zhang Xiao’bao couldn’t come up with any other plans. If he actually wanted to run out, it would be very easy for him and Wang Juan, but if he ran away, his family would be worried. It was not easy for him to have a family, so he would definitely not do this to them.
Seeing that Wang Juan did not want to eat grasshoppers with him, he found a middle-ground. "How about frying grasshoppers in a batter?"
"Are you obsessed with grasshoppers? Why don't you get them to catch more, and then grind them into fine powder after drying them, and then use the powder to make cookies and desserts for the children in the village to eat to add more nutrition to their diet? When we grow up, they can become the most loyal guards, and then go on to expand the borders, no, it would be time for cultivating the culturable wasteland and the Seedling Protection Team needs to be stronger."
In the past few months, Wang Juan heard about four incidents of children dying and felt a little pained about it. One of them was a six year old from the Ge Manor. He died after becoming sick. Life was too fragile. The full time doctors that were working in the yard were all sent there, and one qian1 of ginseng was used, but all this did was keep the child alive for a few extra days.
In addition to medical reasons, the other part of the problem was the children’s daily nutrition. Healthy children are more resistant to diseases. Usually, the children got enough exercise by playing around, but their protein intake was not enough. Things like grasshoppers were not eaten unless there was a famine. If this was a long time ago, then locusts were good items.
Zhang Xiao’bao understood what Wang Juan was thinking of. He paused to think for a while and said, “It’s useless to just eat some grasshoppers. When this matter is over, let’s build the school, and then find some students that didn’t pass the Imperial Examinations to come and teach the children. Their three daily meals will be carefully planned and the children will become healthier.
Let’s also make some grasshopper powder, and then send it along with MSG to some bakery shops so that they can use it as additives in flatbreads and other breads. The taste will be absolutely different. Fish meal can also be added too. Actually, forget about the MSG, just add the other things. "
"Supplying raw materials is the most unprofitable. It's better to sell them in our own store in the San'shui County. It's not a big deal, so we can easily arrange it. It seems that before they come back, the two of us will have nothing to do. We should think about how to help your dad with the Imperial Examination."
"Okay, starting from tomorrow, let's get my dad to look at the scenery outside. You have to cooperate with me. I am not so familiar with many poems. You must have been exposed to a lot of learning when you were a child, so I’ll rely on you in this area." Zhang Xiao’bao wanted his father to become a Xiu’cai2. He could hint at some political and economic ideas, but he had no clue about poetry.
"Okay, tomorrow morning, let’s go find your dad and get him to go out to learn something and then we can give him some hints." Wang Juan agreed.
*
When Er’niu arrived with all of the carts, County Magistrate Cheng Ling’xiang departed on the same night. Recently, he had also been paying attention to the disaster situations in those two places and he knew that he will receive acknowledgement if he goes over there now, and his rank will also be raised.
With such a large team, it will take at least half a month to go from San’shui County to there given that they rush along the way. On the other side, Ying’tao and Xiao’hong also urged their team to move more quickly. The chickens, ducks and geese were not very obedient. In particular, when they encountered water, the ducks and geese would want to go in and play.
Fortunately, Xiao’hong had the clever goose Rong’rong with her and it understood whatever Xiao’hong wanted it to do. They were busy tending the front and back of the group and they herded nearly 10,000 poultries along the road to eat while walking. When the people in the inner courtyard were working, they also had to watch both sides, and the back, otherwise it would be easy to lose a few of them. This was all money.
When encountering roads that had fields on both sides, as long as there are grasshoppers, Xiao’hong and Ying’tao would lead these poultries to eat them. With those meats, the poultries naturally rejected eating millet, so they all ran around with their necks low. They were able to eat all kinds of insects; even the locusts that flew a bit lower will be snatched by the chickens.
After half a month, Magistrate Cheng’s team arrived first, but it can’t be said that all of them arrived. The food carriages were still behind. Magistrate Cheng was planning to get in touch with the Right Prime Minister Yao first.
He already knew the news that the Right Prime Minister had also left the Capital, and he was about to arrive soon too, so Magistrate Cheng was able to meet him. The only thing he worried about was whether the food could be delivered in time.
Xiao’hong and Ying’tao were also a little anxious since they were slower. It was easy for people, but those birds were not very obedient and they always wandered far off to look around before they continued forward with the rest of the group.
They were already going as fast as they could already, and it would take them more than ten days to walk to that place. They didn’t know if they can make it there in time to see the Right Prime Minister.
"Xiao’hong, take your time to lead the team. I have to go ahead first, otherwise the person will be gone by the time we get there. Then, we won’t be able to explain our Young Master when we return. At the very least, we need to let that Yao person know that we put in a lot of effort."
As she walked, Ying’tao became more anxious, and she discussed with Xiao'hong.
Translator’s Notes
One qian
One qian is about 3 grams.
Xiu’cai
Xiu’cai means “distinguished talent”, and this is an entry level degree given to those that passed the Yuan’shi/ college exam.
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