Transmigration: From Farmer To Empress-Chapter 1973 - 1981: Millennium Festival (Part 1)
Brother Ying took only one day to clear up the matters between Liu Xi and Juhua.
Upon learning the circumstances leading up to their union, Cai Wei sincerely felt happy for them. Unfortunately, the Capital was thousands of miles away from Tongzhou, and she couldn’t go to meet them right away; she could only send them her blessings from afar...
A month later, Cai Wei summoned Mo Shuya and regretfully said, "I have already investigated thoroughly; Liu Xi met with bandits on his way from the Capital last year and unfortunately has perished..."
Speaking of Liu Xi, Cai Wei also felt deeply guilty, but in order to put an end to Mo Shuya’s notions, she had no choice but to say so. Otherwise, knowing Mo Shuya’s impulsive nature, she might have done something insane.
Upon hearing the ’news of Liu Xi’s death,’ Mo Shuya broke down in tears instantly, almost fainting. In the end, she left Shouxian Palace in utter despair, forgetting even the most basic courtesy of bidding farewell to Cai Wei.
However, Cai Wei wouldn’t blame her for it; she just hoped this little girl could quickly get over the ordeal.
In fact, if Liu Xi hadn’t already married Juhua, Cai Wei would have been glad to fulfill the match between Mo Shuya and Liu Xi. But Juhua’s luck was better than Mo Shuya’s; she took the advantage and fortunately married Liu Xi. Liu Xi was a modern man, with modern thoughts in his head, and wouldn’t behave like the men of this era with their concubines. Once married to Juhua, he would take responsibility for her and the children, treating them well for a lifetime.
Juhua marrying Liu Xi was undoubtedly the best choice of her life, far better than marrying Li Sheng or Mo Zili...
In the blink of an eye, more than two months passed swiftly, and still not a drop of rain fell from the sky. In many places, the ground began to crack, rivers and lakes had their water levels drop significantly, even to the point of drying up; crops naturally suffered greatly. Although most regions planted drought-resistant crops, the areas severely affected showed obvious signs for the future—there would definitely be a significant reduction in yield, possibly even total crop failure.
Luckily, in recent years, people were planting the seeds distributed by the court, resulting in high annual grain yields. Therefore, every household had stored grain, and coupled with the Emperor’s promise to open the granaries when the people had insufficient food, the general public was assured. Everyone knew that in the past years, the Emperor had stored not a small amount of grain, so there was no panic or psychological distress over the disaster.
By August, the drought showed no signs of easing, yet another disaster arrived.
Ancient people said: Extreme drought leads to locusts. Locusts are fond of warm and dry climate; the prolonged drought in the Great Jin Nation indeed triggered a severe locust plague.
In ancient times, locust plagues were one of the three major natural calamities along with floods and droughts. Particularly, locust plagues always followed closely behind droughts, with swarms of locusts devouring vegetation extensively, leading to total crop failure and famine stalking the land, sparking numerous peasant uprisings and countless shifts in imperial power. The word "locust" signified the "king of insects", showing how highly ancient people regarded it.
Locusts are good at flying; when swarming, they can generally migrate 600 kilometers, with some migrating even thousands of kilometers. Once adult locust swarms take flight, feeding everywhere, the consequences are unimaginable.
It has been estimated that a high-density migrating swarm of locusts, numbering up to 40 billion, can devour 80,000 tons of various food in a day, equivalent to the annual rations for 400,000 people. Therefore, it is imperative to eradicate flying locusts before they take off.
Nangong Yi anticipated that drought would trigger a locust plague but didn’t know how to deal with it. Fortunately, having Cai Wei, a modern military advisor, with him, she proposed some methods to exterminate locusts, such as: Driving away locusts by ringing gold technique, intercept and attack, Fire Burning Technique, Deep Trench Burying Method, Digging and Sowing Method, and Sand King Scavenging Technique in early morning when locust wings are wet and difficult to fly etc...
