My Favorite Manly Husband

Lord Wang, the sheriff of Shangrao County, has been unable to eat and sleep for several days.When he learned that there were a large number of migratory locusts in Guanyang County under his jurisdiction, he immediately arranged for people to catch them, but the locusts flew extremely fast and were not big, so they couldn't be caught easily!

A few days later, the number of migratory locusts gradually increased and spread towards nearby villages, causing damage to hundreds of acres of corn in several villages under Guanyang County. The yield of more than 500 acres of corn per mu was reduced by 300%, and the yield of more than [-] acres was reduced by [-]%.

The ranks of locusts are growing day by day, and they are moving forward. Now the plague of locusts has spread to six counties including Luoshui County, Yunlai County, near Guanyang County, and has a tendency to spread further!

Thinking of the massive famine caused by the locust plague in the last years of the previous dynasty, which led to the catastrophe and the destruction of the country, how to prevent the disaster from worsening was stuck in his mind like a brick, and he couldn't breathe heavily.

I don't know how the emperor plans to deal with his memorial after reading it, will he send someone down?

"Your Excellency!" Suddenly a yamen servant shouted loudly, the voice was as excited as the cicadas singing on the tree, which was annoying.

In the past, he would have scolded the yamen servant for being reckless, but now...

Sighing, Master Wang raised his eyelids, and glanced at him listlessly: "Why are you so flustered?"

"My lord! The imperial envoy sent by the imperial court has arrived!" The yamen servant's flushed face was full of excitement.

What?Master Wang was startled, stood up abruptly, grabbed the servant eagerly, and asked in a trembling voice, "Where is he?"

"Just waiting outside the door! It's a young official, escorted by the Imperial Army." The yamen servant said happily.

When Mr. Wang heard it, the ecstasy in his heart was immediately reduced.young officer?Can young people have experience in controlling locusts?

Although he hesitated in his heart, the other party was sent by the emperor no matter how young he was, so he couldn't neglect it, so he hurried to meet him.

There was a group of dusty people outside the yamen, and a young man in a red official uniform was particularly conspicuous.

Master Wang quickly sized up the young man, and his suspicions became even worse.This imperial envoy is really too young!And it's still a new face that I haven't seen before!

"I've met Mr. Wang! In Shen Yan, I came to Shangrao County to control the locust plague." Shen Yanbei took out the imperial edict for the other party to look at.

Master Wang's eyes brightened.Is this person Shen Yan?Isn't Shen Yan the champion of the new division, the celebrity in front of the emperor?Was he sent to Liuyang County for disaster relief before?This is from Liuyang County?

Mr. Wang immediately had some confidence in his heart, and after confirming that the imperial decree was correct, he politely cupped his hands: "If you are far away, welcome! If you are far away, welcome!"

Shen Yanbei didn't talk nonsense with him, and went straight to the point, asking him to take him to the counties and townships that were infested by locusts.

In the vast cornfield, the leaves of the corn have been eaten by locusts, leaving only bare corn stalks and corn cobs that have not yet grown full.Shen Yanbei frowned, and after asking about the expansion range of the locusts, he rushed over without stopping.

Shangrao County is one of the poorer counties in Daqi. Because Shangrao County has less rainfall and surface water resources are not abundant, it is difficult for crops to grow. All the crops are drought-tolerant, and people's life is not easy.It is conceivable how heavy the economic losses caused by the locust plague to the local people are!

Before arriving at Shen Yanbei, Donglin County, he heard the sound of "Woooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo" locusts in the sky.The army of locusts was migrating to the next green plant at an extremely fast speed.

The locusts are about to come, and the faces of the people in Donglin County, where many crops such as corn and sorghum are planted, are full of despair.Corn and sorghum can be harvested in more than a month. Once the locusts come, the leaves of the crops in the field will be eaten up, and the yield will definitely drop significantly!The hope of this year is gone!

Despite the bitterness of the people, the army of locusts landed!

When Shen Yanbei arrived, he happened to witness the scene of locusts crossing the border - countless migratory locusts about two knuckles long landed in the cornfield, densely covering the plants, making one's scalp tingle and goosebumps falling. land.In particular, the original barely audible sound of gnawing leaves was amplified by thousands of locusts and gathered into a rustling sound, which made people feel chilly.

Some people angrily waved away the locusts in their cornfields, but there were too many locusts, which were useless and covered his head and face. He could only watch the locusts eat up the leaves of the corn and cry bitterly.

Lord Wang looked at this miserable scene with frowning frowns. He and the magistrate of Guanyang County, the governor of Pennsylvania, and others thought of many ways, but to no avail.Turning his eyes to Shen Yanbei who was beside him, he found that the young imperial envoy had a calm expression and was catching a locust and studying it.

"Does Mr. Shen have a way to deal with it?" Mr. Wang asked with the mentality of giving it a try.

Shen Yanbei asked back: "Master Wang, has someone arranged to monitor the movements of these locusts?"

Master Wang nodded hurriedly and asked for the observation records to be submitted.It recorded in detail when the locusts took off, which direction they were going, when they landed, and the time for eating and resting, etc.

Shen Yanbei thought about how to deal with this matter while on the road. Seeing that the sun was setting behind the mountain and the sky was getting dark, he proposed one of the solutions—using the phototaxis of insects, using light to attract locusts, and then setting them on fire. !

People placed dense torches along the way as a guide, piled up high firewood on an open sandy field ahead, and lit a bonfire as soon as it got dark.Attracted by the light from the torches, the migratory locusts swarmed, and were lured by the torches all the way to the bonfire, just like moths rushing to the fire, and there were bursts of "cracking" sounds in an instant.The migratory locusts ran amok in the fire like headless flies, and the locusts whose wings were kissed by the tongue of fire were unable to fly and fell into the fire one after another, with another crackling sound.

The scene of burning migratory locusts was very spectacular, attracting many villagers to watch.

"Good! Burn them well!" "Burn them all to death!" "Burn them to death!!" Seeing those nasty locusts struggling in the sea of ​​fire, and then being reduced to ashes in the fire, everyone felt very relieved and couldn't help shouting Applause.

The smell of burnt meat wafted from afar, Shen Yanbei touched his nose, feeling a little regretful.

When he was in high school, he once traveled to a certain province with his mother and grandmother. It happened that a locust plague occurred in a certain province. The dramatic thing is that although the locust plague caused great damage to the local crops, the farmers were not sad at all, but happy You can't keep your mouth shut!Because the local farmers sold the captured locusts at a price of 34 yuan per catty, they actually earned thousands of yuan a day, which was much better than growing corn.Many people are still looking forward to having such a good situation next year!

It turns out that locusts have high nutritional value, and can also relieve cough and asthma, nourish and strengthen, etc. The fried locusts are fragrant and crispy, making people unable to stop eating them. It is a delicacy that can make people cry!

When the nearby residents heard about this, they flocked to catch the locusts, and they also went to join in the fun. As a result, the locusts covered the sky on the first day, and people cast nets and pockets to catch the locusts on the second day. On the fourth day, both those who jumped together were strung on thin bamboo sticks. On the fifth day, there were more people in the locust-stricken area than worms!

The power of foodies is simply appalling!A massive locust plague ended so comically, making people dumbfounded.His grandmother also lamented that the times have changed, and the locust plague, which was discolored in the past, is now being manipulated in the palm of one's hands.Then grandma told him about her personal experience - how people managed the locust plague in the backward age.

There is no doubt that the most effective way to deal with the locust plague is to use medicine, but due to limited conditions, he can only use physical methods.

Shen Yanbei sighed, if his wife was here, he would have prepared a locust feast for him.Pity.

Thinking that the things prepared by the people would be delivered soon, Shen Yanbei organized the villagers to take the opportunity to hunt and kill the locusts, so baskets of locusts were buried in the soil.

Mr. Wang was so excited that his hands trembled a little: "Mr. Shen..." He also thought about using fire to drive away the locusts, but the locusts in broad daylight were not afraid at all, at most they burned to death.

It turns out that this method is not useless, but that it is not used properly!

Shen Yanbei smiled and directed the villagers to continue adding firewood.

The migratory locusts rushed over one after another. Everyone was so busy that their feet didn't touch the ground. Their faces under the firelight were covered with beads of sweat, but no one was tired and no one stopped to rest.

The fire didn't go out until midnight, Shen Yanbei comforted the agitated villagers and asked everyone to go back and have a good rest.

So many locusts cannot be burned up with a few fires. The next day, swarms of locusts still flew to another place to eat crops.The villagers who got the news of the burning locusts last night eagerly hoped that night would come and light another fire, but Shen Yanbei had someone lay a fine and large net on the road where the locusts were about to pass.

On the way to Shangrao County, he wrote a letter asking a brother of the Forbidden Army to go to Qinghe County to take it to Su Qingze's father, Su Jingheng, the governor of Qinghe County, and asked him to help find fishermen with a fine mesh suitable for catching locusts. Today Finally delivered.Along with him is his chef Shen Laifu.

Master Wang looked at the net with complicated emotions.They also thought about using nets to catch locusts before. Firstly, the net bag is too small to catch many locusts, and secondly, it takes too much energy.But the net Shen Yanbei had prepared was so small that the locusts couldn't get through it, and the net was suspended in mid-air, so it could definitely intercept the locusts!

but……

"The number of migratory locusts is huge, and the net may be overwhelmed." Lord Wang reminded.

"It's okay, let the villagers take down the locusts from the Internet." Shen Yanbei introduced Shen Laifu to him: "This is the chef of Tongfu Restaurant in Qingzhou. He heard that there was a locust plague in Shangrao County, and his boss ordered him to come and buy locusts. "

Master Wang was shocked, and after looking at Shen Laifu several times, he carefully asked: "Is this true?"

Shen Laifu forced a smile, and after repeated urging by Shen Yanbei, he reluctantly said: "Master Shen is right, we buy locusts at Tongfu Restaurant, and the price is based on the catty. Sir, you can let the villagers If the locusts are caught, I will collect as much as I have."

Surprise surged in Mr. Wang's eyes, and he repeatedly confirmed that this was not a joke before he asked the government servants to go to each village to ring the gong.

"Shen..." Shen Laifu was in a hurry, "I said Master Shen, you called me all the way here just to buy these locusts? What else can these locusts do other than feed chickens and ducks?"

Shen Laifu was so distressed that he spent money to buy feed for chickens and ducks.There is no need to find such a lame reason for doing charity!

"Brother Laifu, this is a good thing, it's not easy to eat." Shen Yanbei caught a small basket of locusts and went back.

Starve the locusts for an hour and a half, clean them and scald them with boiling water, cut off the wings and drain the water, then put oil in the pot.When the oil temperature rises, put it in the pan to fry, fry thoroughly, remove and drain, then sprinkle some pepper and salt, a delicious and invincible fried locust is out of the oven!

"Hiss—" Shen Laifu sucked in his saliva, fixed his eyes on the plate of fried locusts that were golden and slightly reddish, and hesitated. "This stuff...is it really edible?"

Shen Yanbei's answer was to eat.

Shen Laifu stared straight at his squinting eyes enjoying himself, and without thinking about other things, he suddenly stuffed a chopstick into his mouth.

After chewing twice, Shen Laifu's eyes suddenly widened.

"Is it okay?" Shen Yanbei raised his eyebrows.

Shen Laifu nodded his head, Shen Yanbei laughed: "Then tomorrow?"

"I'll take it! I'll take as much as you want!" Shen Laifu hastily promised.

"Live insects cannot be kept for too long. You can ask the villagers to dry the locust wax before harvesting."

"Yes, boss!"

Hearing that someone bought locusts at a price of ten cents per catty, everyone in Shangrao County was overwhelmed.

The locusts were burned last night. Although the villagers relieved their hatred for a while, the losses have already been caused. Go to the big net and catch the locusts.

The overwhelming locusts were caught by the nets. The villagers beat them with bamboo poles, swept them with brooms, and eagerly packed the locusts into their bags.

At night, just like last night, I lit torches to attract locusts as soon as it got dark.But this time, the villagers didn't want to kill the locusts, but took the locusts that flew over in one pot.

Seeing the swarms of locusts being looted all at once, Mr. Wang wiped the fine sweat from his forehead.

It's terrible, even a locust will not be spared, these people are locusts, right?

In the next few days, the people carrying cloth bags all stared at the locust swarms, catching them whenever they had the chance, and the number of migratory locusts decreased visibly with the naked eye.

Later, the children in the village strolled in pairs in the cornfield, and when they saw locusts that were alone, they grabbed them and took them home.Shen Yanbei asked Shen Laifu to come forward and teach everyone how to eat locusts. The fried grasshoppers were crunchy, but the farmers were not willing to waste the oil. Instead, they processed the locusts and roasted them for a year. The children who have meat a few times satisfy their hunger.

A disaster was resolved in this way, and the gloom on the faces of the villagers who exchanged locusts for money was swept away, and Shen Laifu set off back to Qingzhou with the dried locusts he bought.Shen Yanbei has already drawn up the names of dishes related to locusts as raw materials, and told him how to sell the locust feast, and he has to implement it as soon as possible.

Most of the locusts have been wiped out, and the rest are of little concern.But weeds must be eradicated, and the locust plague must be eradicated from the source. Shen Yanbei gave some advice on Guanyang County and other places where the locust plague occurred.Agricultural control is carried out by changing the structure of crops, planting less corn, wheat, and sorghum that locusts like to eat, and a variety of beans and fruit trees.It is recommended that the villagers raise more poultry and not hunt birds, so that the natural enemies of locusts will grow stronger...

Half a month later, under the grateful eyes of the people in Pennsylvania, Shen Yanbei embarked on the road back to Beijing.

Raising the whip in his hand, Shen Yanbei whipped the horse eagerly.

The barbarians invaded the country, and his wife led the army to set off!