Start from Wusheng

Chapter 1168 The Ten-Day Agreement
"Gentlemen, the opportunity has arrived!"

Feiyun Prefecture, the governor's residence.

Dongfang Daqian is indomitable and becomes more courageous with each setback. Now that the blood locust plague has struck, he has seized the opportunity once again.

He summoned his advisors and generals overnight and decided to seize the opportunity to launch a counterattack. He did not expect to occupy the capital, but taking a few directly governed prefectures would be fine.

He was in high spirits and pointed out, "Lian Feihong is extremely busy. He has to mobilize troops to suppress the locusts, collect grain and supplies from other areas, and prepare for post-disaster reconstruction."

"This great disaster has severely damaged his vitality and shaken his lie of being destined for greatness!"

"As the saying goes, a strong wind reveals the strength of the grass, and those who still follow him to this day are his loyal and devoted core group."

"I knew it! He relies on petty, wandering men; how could he possibly govern the whole country well?"

Immediately, many supporters echoed his sentiments, as if Lian Feihong were in a precarious situation and could be forced to step down at any moment.

Suddenly, Dongfang Daqian stopped and asked, "Does anyone know what Zhou You has been busy with lately?"

After a long while, someone finally spoke up, "I don't know. The news from our spies in the capital is that we haven't been able to see him these past few days. They say he's in seclusion doing something?"

"Seclusion? Why are you still in seclusion?"

Dongfang Daqian thought it was strange. The blood locust plague was so serious. As Lian Feihong's right-hand man, Zhou You should be paying close attention to it. It was unreasonable for him to be in seclusion at this time!

……

Imperial Palace for Sacrificing to Heaven...

The morning assembly lasted for a day and a night, and more than ten tons of candles and oil lamps used for lighting were burned.

However, the argument in the main hall did not end; instead, it escalated.

Lian Feihong's forehead veins throbbed as he watched the ministers representing various factions arguing, the core of which boiled down to one word: interests.

The affected prefectures demanded money and grain allocations, as well as tax reductions, while other prefectures complained of poverty, saying they couldn't afford it.

He wanted to mobilize a large army to exterminate the locusts, but some people said that it was inauspicious for someone who had just ascended the throne to start a war, and that it might damage his foundation.

After becoming a feudal lord, he finally understood that too many people can cause trouble. It's one thing to just eat and do nothing, as it's just supporting idle people, but everyone has their own thoughts, and it's too difficult to get anything done.

Lian Feihong always felt that wasting time watching these old men argue was not as good as watching beautiful women dance when he was a playboy.

He exhaled and turned to ask the attendant beside him, "The governor of Qingchu Prefecture hasn't come today either?"

"Reporting to the Lord, the Governor of Qingchu Prefecture has requested leave for ten consecutive days."

Ten days?

Lian Feihong counted on her fingers hidden in her sleeve. It had been seven or eight days since she last saw him. Hmm, only two days left.

What has he been busy with these days?

The locust plague not only caused immense suffering to people in all directions, but also plunged the capital into chaos.

The debate at the sacrificial palace continued unabated, yet they could not decide on how to provide disaster relief and help the people.

"Hey!"

Lian Feihong sighed. Being a feudal lord is really not easy; in a word, it's exhausting.

Suddenly, someone came to report that Zhou Ding, the son of Zhou Daqian and now the young heir of the Western Branch of the Zhou Clan, had come to pay homage.

The hall fell silent. Although Zhou Daqian did not come, he sent his son.

Lian Feihong was immediately relieved and hurriedly beckoned, "Bring them in quickly."

A moment later, Zhou Ding strode into the main hall with an imposing air and bowed deeply to Lian Feihong, saying, "Greetings, Lord." "Please rise quickly. What message did your father send you with?"

Zhou Ding said, "My lord, my father, before leaving, timed it perfectly and instructed me to come to court on the ninth day. He told you that he could resolve the locust plague by around the tenth day, or at the latest before sunset."

"What? He has a solution? Hmm, he came up with a plan in ten days. He truly deserves to be my trusted advisor!"

Lian Feihong felt completely relaxed. "Everyone, stop arguing. Listen to the governor of Qingchu Prefecture. What's wrong with waiting another day?"

The ministers who had been arguing with Chen also breathed a sigh of relief. Since someone was taking the blame, why shouldn't they take a break?

However, Zhou Daqian was too arrogant. He thought they were useless, coming up with a solution to the locust plague in just ten days.
It's likely that this will all end in a farce, causing the lord to lose face.

"Uncles, why have we been walking for so long? There are still blood locusts by the roadside?"

On the boat, Zhou Xin was shocked by what he saw. The extent of the locust plague on the prefectures and cities was beyond his imagination. The boat traveled thousands of miles a day on the river, passing countless hills and mountains, and the climate gradually changed.

Even so, the blood locusts continue to ravage the world, turning into a blood-red torrent that sweeps across the earth and devours everything.

Ordinary people, and even martial arts practitioners, are faced with a swarm of locusts numbering in the hundreds of billions, neither able to kill them all nor escape them.

This swarm of locusts first ate wheat seedlings, then tree bark and grass roots, and finally devoured livestock and people, even mud bricks and wall bricks.

Once it appears on the land, springs dry up, wells run dry, and all life vanishes.

"If Father came, could he wipe out the pests?"

Zhou Xin asked Qi Qingdi and Lian Zixiu with hope, because in his mind, his father was the most powerful.

The two remained silent. They were powerful warriors and estimated that if they stormed into the Blood Cloud and fought the Blood Locusts, they could at most eliminate a hundred billion Blood Locusts. However, the number of locusts was not fixed; however many were lost, they could be replenished and multiplied.

If this continues, the body's vital energy and essence will be depleted, while the blood locusts will continue to swarm endlessly, leading only to defeat and death.

In the places we passed through, we had seen powerful warriors fall into the blood clouds, and despite their best efforts, they were still gnawed into bones.

"Young master, rest assured, even if it costs us our lives, we will escort you to safety!"

Qi Qingdi patted his chest and solemnly guaranteed, "Once we reach the eight prefectures of Zhili, there will be many powerful people there, and the Blood Locusts will not be a threat. Let's go to Bury Mirror Prefecture first, which is Master's territory."

Zhou Xin's eyes lit up as he listened. The most important person he had ever met in his life was the governor of Beixuan Prefecture. His father was also a governor, and the governor of a directly governed prefecture of the highest rank in the world.

My mind was filled with countless thoughts, and I couldn't resist reaching out to grab some snacks.

"..."

The maidservant, holding the empty plate with only crumbs left, moved her mouth and swallowed the pastry with difficulty before asking, "Is the young master hungry too?"

Zhou Xin was amused by her and shook his head. "I'm not hungry, you can go now!"

But in the other's pupils, he saw terror, and the large swarm of blood locusts had shrunk to red dots.

Disaster struck the boat. It turned out that the blood locusts in the vicinity had been washed away by the water while they were still eggs, and a large number of them died, but a small number survived. The blood locusts that hatched were no longer afraid of the water vapor and swam across the river.

The surrounding area had been devoured into wasteland, leaving only the speedboats gliding across the river as targets for the numerous blood locusts.

The water-fearing blood locusts dared not approach, but the mutated blood locusts were not afraid, and a large, dark swarm pressed onto the river surface, their reflections turning the river water bright red.

"Not good." Qi Qingdi's hair stood on end, and he subconsciously said to Lian Zixiu, "Take the young master and leave first, I'll hold off the blood locusts."

Reiko Xiu raised her eyebrows in anger. "What do you mean? You want me to leave first?"

Time was of the essence, and before the two could argue, a large swarm of blood locusts had already arrived above the bow of the ship and plummeted straight down.

(End of this chapter)