kingnovel Chapter 1225 Eating Locusts?
Chapter 1225 Eating Locusts?
Jiang Zhiming's words were eloquent, but Xin Shunyun could only think of two words upon hearing them—outrageous.
Liuyang Prefecture is good, but Yanzhou Prefecture is not entirely without merit, is it?
Moreover, these farmers' roots are still in Yanzhou. What kind of temptation must it be for them to leave their homes and abandon their families?
wrong......
Xin Shunyun always felt that he had overlooked something.
After careful consideration, he finally saw the light at the end of the tunnel: "Even if Lord Shen refuses to take you in when you go to Liuyang Prefecture, he certainly won't abandon you in the wilderness. And the worst outcome... is that Lord Shen will send you back to Qinghe County, and he might even plead with the authorities on your behalf to spare you from punishment! In this way, you suffer no loss and gamble on your future..."
Clarifying the key points, Xin Shunyun felt ashamed for Wei Shunzhi.
At the same time, he felt very sorry for Shen Zheng.
Who said farmers are simple and honest?
These farmers from Yanzhou are all more cunning than rats!
If the people of the surrounding prefectures all had this mindset, and wanted to try their luck in Liuyang Prefecture at the slightest difficulty, wouldn't the lives of the people of Liuyang be thrown into chaos?
“Well, Lord Shen…” Xin Shunyun coughed heavily to cover up his embarrassment in front of Shen Zheng: “If you find that there are still refugees pouring into Liuyang Prefecture after you return… just send someone to tell me, and I will immediately have Wei Shunzhi send troops to take them away.”
"..."
Shen Zheng was speechless for a moment, unsure whether to praise these farmers for their quick thinking or to lament the helplessness behind it all.
They thought Yanzhou was going to repeat the epidemic crisis of Xingning Prefecture, but it turned out to be just a planned escape by the people.
"My lord, please forgive me, my lord, please forgive me!"
Now that things had come to this, Luo Hou dared not deny their little schemes any longer and could only keep kowtowing and admitting his mistake.
"I know I was wrong, I know I was wrong! The epidemic in town was spreading in great detail, and we were truly terrified, which is why we had such inappropriate thoughts. But, but we absolutely did not intend to wrong Lord Shen..."
Luo Hou couldn't bring himself to say the last two words.
Shen Zheng sighed softly, her voice low: "The grain of my Liuyang Prefecture comes from the hard work of the people day and night, and the land didn't just appear out of thin air. Last year, I was willing to take in those people entirely because they were willing to work hard and persevere. And Tong'an County back then was vastly different from what it is today..."
In other words, when Li Hongmao and his group wandered to Tongan County, she herself was just a lone commander.
To put it bluntly, Li Hongmao and his ilk are the real "dogs don't mind a poor home." As long as they are given a place to stay, they are willing to work hard. Unlike the farmers in Yanzhou, who had "speculative" intentions from the beginning and treated Liuyang Prefecture as a charity.
"Go back now." Shen Zheng looked down at Luo Hou, her words clear and distinct: "I will not take you in. Go back to Yanzhou, get the land under control again, and make a good life for yourselves."
Luo Hou's body stiffened abruptly, and he subconsciously looked up at the menacing guards beside him.
If they go back with these soldiers, how will the government deal with them?
They should simply be ignored and allowed to become true refugees.
Or... should we torture them?
But no matter what the outcome, it is something they cannot bear.
The Yanzhou farmers who had been eavesdropping panicked and rushed over to kneel before Shen Zheng: "Lord Shen! Please have mercy! Please have mercy! We know it's wrong to flee, but at first, we were genuinely terrified by the plague, and we envied the people in your household, envied them for having a benevolent official like you, which is why we had the idea of fleeing to Liuyang Prefecture..."
Seeing their tearful and pleading expressions, Shen Zheng sighed inwardly.
She could understand their grief after the disaster, their fear upon hearing of the plague in the town, and even their desire to try their luck at Liuyang Prefecture, treating it as a charity.
But understanding does not equate to support or acceptance, after all, Yanzhou is not yet in dire straits.
Thinking it over, Shen Zheng looked at Xin Shunyun: "Lord Xin, I believe that Yanzhou is not in dire straits at this time. Although these people have some ulterior motives, they do not deserve to die. Their way out is not in Liuyang Prefecture, but in the fields of Yanzhou. I hope that you and Lord Wei can properly settle them."
Shen Zheng emphasized the word "properly".
Xin Shunyun could easily understand Shen Zheng's implied meaning, and his old face immediately turned red: "Don't worry, Lord Shen, I will never let these people be displaced. As for the rest... leave it to me to deal with."
After saying that, he beckoned the soldiers of Yanzhou Prefecture to the side to learn more about the situation.
Shen Zheng went directly to the incineration pit and began arranging for Gouwa and the others to continue burning insects.
Gouwa looked at the flickering firelight in the pit, pouted, and muttered, "With them stirring things up, the fire's going to go out..."
“Just light another one.” Shen Zheng picked up a torch and laughed, “Didn’t you say you wanted to burn it all before sunrise? Hurry up.”
Gouwa blushed and turned to shout, "Bring all the baskets over here, we need to get ready to restart the fire!"
"Hey! Coming!" The call was met with a huge response.
Before long, basket after basket of insect carcasses were dumped into the pit, and as soon as the torches were thrown in, flames shot into the sky.
The farmers in Yanzhou, who were anxiously awaiting the verdict, were also captivated by this scene: "Th-those are locusts?"
The farmer who had almost jumped into the pit was stunned for a moment, then shouted, "I remember now! That pit was full of charred locusts, at least tens of thousands of them! Those people from Fuzhou actually... actually caught so many locusts?!"
"Tens of thousands?!"
All the farmers in Yanzhou looked over, their eyes wide with shock: "How could they have caught so many?"
"Why burn all those locusts? That's meat! It would have been so delicious! Why waste it like that..."
"Gulp—" Gouwa swallowed hard upon hearing this. The aroma filled his nose, and he even forgot to refute it—they had caught far more than just tens of thousands of locusts.
Actually... he had wondered before why Lord Shen would directly order them to burn these locusts.
After all... roasted grasshoppers smell pretty good, and they're crispy and crunchy with every bite.
"what are you saying?"
While Gouwa was still swallowing his saliva, Shen Zheng looked at the Yanzhou farmers whose faces were contorted in pain: "Eating locusts? You've eaten them?"
The farmers from Yanzhou immediately stood up straight, stopped looking around, and replied in a low voice, "We caught them, we ate them all..."
Upon hearing this, Shen Zheng's heart sank, and she strode toward Xin Shunyun, who was questioning the guards.
"Lord Xin, I have something I'd like to ask them."
"Them?" Xin Shunyun looked at the soldiers of Yanzhou Prefecture and immediately said, "You must answer whatever Lord Shen asks, do you hear me!"
"Yes!"
Shen Zheng looked at the flustered soldiers, pondered for a moment, and asked, "You said earlier that those people with stomach aches had nothing in common? For example... did they all eat the same kind of food?"