Bringing the Railway to Daming

Chapter 206: Defeat the locust plague depends on the people! Lao Shi, did you watch the video in vain? [Please subscribe]

Zhu Chong and Zhu Xing never expected that Old Zhu would bypass them and ask Zhu Di directly.

Zhu Chong was not unhappy at all - he was still a commoner, and being able to enter the palace and participate in the banquet was a pleasant surprise. Naturally, he did not expect Old Zhu to be very optimistic about him.

But Zhu Ying couldn't help showing a resentful look.

I thought to myself: I have been in the capital for the past one or two years, studying in the main hall in an orderly manner. I have also made some progress in training military and police dogs. Why are they not as important as the fourth brother in the eyes of my father?
Zhu Di was also slightly surprised, but then he was delighted. He said, "Your Majesty, I think this is true: if a country lags behind in national strength and technology, it will be difficult for it to reach the top military level. Ultimately, it will be controlled by countries with stronger national strength and technology."

"Now that the Ming Dynasty knows this, we should vigorously develop science and technology and enhance our national strength. Only then can our military might be taken to a higher level!"

Old Zhu nodded again with satisfaction and said, "It's great that you have such thoughts."

What Zhu Yuanzhang meant was that Zhu Di in later history was a bit warmongering when he launched five expeditions to Mongolia and neglected domestic affairs. It is a good thing that he now realizes that the premise of a strong military is sufficient national strength and technology.

But except Zhu Biao, the other princes did not know the meaning of Zhu's words, and could not help but show expressions of jealousy or envy towards Zhu Di.

Zhu Yuanzhang then asked several other princes who were over ten years old.

Unfortunately, with the answers of Zhu Biao and Zhu Di being so good, it was difficult for the answers of other princes to impress Zhu. Even the usually smart Zhu Tan did not give much originality in his answers.

But speaking of it, this second video is mainly intended to highlight the difficulties of the later Xin Dynasty in developing nuclear bombs and the glory of creating miracles. There is indeed not much inspiration that the Ming Dynasty can get from it.

"Play the third video." Zhu Yuanzhang said.

"Yes." Liu Kuan responded and played the third video.

Lao Zhu asked with a smile: "This time, why don't you first introduce the general content of the video?"

Liu Kuan also smiled, "Your Majesty will understand this video as soon as you see it. There is no need for me to introduce it."

Just at this moment, the video started, and the name of the video was displayed in red letters on a black background - How China defeated the locust plague!
Just seeing the name, Zhu Yuanzhang's eyes lit up.

Empress Ma, Zhu Biao, Zhu Di and others who knew about the harm caused by the locust plague also stared at the tablet, looking forward to the video content.

The video begins with a terrifying scene of locusts covering the sky, accompanied by a man's commentary.

"In June 1942, in Gong County, Henan Province, locusts arrived from the southeast. When they flew, they blocked out the sky and sun. When they landed, they covered the ground without a gap. When they gathered, they broke tree branches and made a rustling sound when they fed."

"They can even roll into a ball and cross the Luo River. Their ferocity is truly rare. They do this for six days and six nights, devouring all the crops, leaves, and weeds..."

As the commentary continued, more scenes of locust plagues appeared one after another.

Some locusts weighed down branches and crops, some covered the ground, and some left the fields barren after the locusts passed by.

The young princes, princesses, and grandchildren, who had only heard of the tragic locust plague but had never actually seen it, were all shocked and even a little scared.

Zhu Zhi, Zhu Yunwen and other younger ones were so frightened that their faces turned pale.

Only a few people, such as Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma, looked serious but still calm.

For example, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma not only witnessed locust plagues many times, but even experienced them personally. When Zhu Yuanzhang's family was destroyed, in addition to the oppression of the Yuan court, a major reason was that Fengyang and other places had experienced floods, droughts, locust plagues, and plagues in the past one or two years!
Even though Zhu Yuanzhang has become the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty and is extremely powerful now, he was also dominated by the fear of locusts covering the sky when he was a child, and the impression was extremely deep!

Although the imperial court and government did much more after the establishment of the Ming Dynasty than during the Yuan Dynasty, they still could not say that they could defeat the locust plague.

There is no other way except for local governments to be on guard against locust plagues, do their best to control them after they break out, and finally provide relief to the people after they suffer from the disaster.

At this moment, he really wanted to know what the Xin Dynasty did in the future and what results it achieved to dare to claim that it had defeated the locust plague.

The video starts with the severe locust plague that broke out after the drought in Henan in 1942, and begins to tell the history of China's continuous struggle with locusts for more than two thousand years.

"Locusts are the biggest pest in our country's history. For two to three thousand years, they have severely damaged agricultural production."

"What's even more dangerous is that locust plagues often occur after severe droughts. Farmers often just survive the drought and rush to plant some life-saving crops, and then the locust plague arrives, shattering the people's just-ignited hope of survival."

"This endless suffering and misery was ultimately recorded in history books with only six bloody characters: famine, cannibalism!"

The video continues, telling the story of the many locust plagues recorded in history books since the Han Dynasty, and how people in successive dynasties responded to them.

Faced with the locust plague, some people, out of ignorance and weakness, chose to surrender and called upon the Locust Queen and General Liu Meng, thinking that as long as they devoutly worshipped these clay and golden idols, they could appease the heaven's condemnation and disperse the locusts.

But there are also people who are self-reliant and unyielding. They pick up weapons, use various methods, and vow to fight the locusts to the end!
"Historical records show that as early as the Han Dynasty, the imperial court issued a decree encouraging the people to catch and kill locusts, and also allocated a large amount of money to reward the people..."

"Yao Chong, the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty, invented the 'fire method' to kill locusts. This method used the locusts' attraction to light and burned bonfires in the fields at night..."

"During the Ming Dynasty, when Fujian native Chen Jinglun was promoting sweet potatoes in Southern Zhili, he experienced the terrifying effects of locusts. He also discovered that egrets loved to devour locusts. Thinking of egrets, he invented the 'raising ducks to control locusts' method..."

As the video revealed the methods of controlling locusts devised by the "ancients", Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao and others felt their horizons broadened, and they thought, "It turns out that locusts can be controlled in this way."

In fact, after Zhu Yuanzhang became the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he naturally knew much more information about locust control than ordinary people.

For example, mobilizing the people to catch and kill locusts, using fire to control locusts, and detecting the outbreak of locust plagues in advance by looking for insect eggs, but that was all.

Zhu Yuanzhang also knew that after a locust plague broke out, many local officials would pray to God to eliminate the plague, as shown in the video, and he tacitly agreed to this.

Although he tacitly agreed to such things, on the one hand it was out of respect for God, and on the other hand it was to comfort the people in the disaster-stricken areas, but when he thought about it now, his face still turned red.

Only after watching the video about the "raising ducks to control locusts" method did Lao Zhu look better.

Seeing the subtitles begin with "Ming Dynasty," both Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Di felt a sense of pride. However, Zhu Yuanzhang and Zhu Biao were more knowledgeable about later history. Seeing that Chen Jinglun discovered this method while promoting sweet potatoes, they realized that it was probably the late Ming Dynasty, and the Ming Dynasty probably did not benefit from the "raising ducks to control locusts" method.

Then, the video talked about the example of using biotechnology to control locusts in modern China.

For example, setting up an insect bureau or research institute, spreading kerosene to kill insects, researching the use of parasitic wasps to kill insects, and so on.

Then the highlight of the video came, which was how the locust plague was prevented and controlled after the establishment of the Xin Dynasty...
This video is much shorter than the previous two, only about ten minutes long. Lao Zhu, Zhu Biao and others watched it attentively, so it felt like they finished watching it in no time.

Afterwards, Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't help but say, "Liu Kuan, this video of yours is much more useful to our Ming Dynasty than the previous two. Why didn't you show it to us earlier?"

Liu Kuan explained, "Your Majesty, I downloaded this video on the third day of August. Didn't I show it to you not long ago?"

Zhu Yuanzhang was just saying it casually and had no intention of pursuing the matter. After hearing Liu Kuan's answer, he stopped asking and started discussing the method of controlling locusts in the video.

He sighed and said, "Looking at the methods used to control locusts in the future, the most important thing is to mobilize the people and unite them."

"When the Xin Dynasty of China began to combat locusts, they mobilized the people to detect insect eggs in advance and then hunted and killed the eggs and nymphs in large numbers, eliminating them before they became migratory locusts."

"As for building various water conservancy projects, transforming locust areas, and completely eliminating locust breeding grounds, we will have to rely even more on the people."

"Of course, it's also important to research better ways to control locusts, such as spreading pesticides, raising ducks in water-rich areas, and chickens in water-scarce areas, or even using starlings. These are all very good ways to control locusts, and we can all use them in the Ming Dynasty."

After Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, Zhu Tan's cleverness came to his head. He stood up and bowed, saying, "Congratulations, father! With this method of controlling locusts, in just ten years, our Ming Dynasty will no longer be afraid of locust plagues!"

Zhu Tanman thought that this flattery would make Zhu Yuanzhang happy.

Unexpectedly, Zhu Yuanzhang's smile faded after hearing this, and he glared at him and said, "Old Ten, we just watched your video for nothing!"

Zhu Tan was frightened at first, and then he couldn't help feeling aggrieved, thinking: Am I wrong to flatter you?

Zhu Yuanzhang said solemnly, "Even in later dynasties, with their advanced technology and strong ability to mobilize the people, it still took decades to eliminate large-scale locust plagues in the country."

"But locust plagues are still raging abroad, and there's a clear possibility they could spread to China. Therefore, as the video ends, it says that the people of the Xin Dynasty must remain vigilant against locust plagues and be prepared to fight them at any time."

"You actually said that the Ming Dynasty could eliminate the locust plague in ten years and no longer fear it. If you were to oversee this matter, even if you had a complete set of locust control methods from later generations, you wouldn't be able to do it well!"

Zhu Tan was smart and immediately understood where he was wrong.

Although he still felt aggrieved, he bowed and said decisively, "I know I was wrong. I will remember your teachings and always be vigilant against the locust plague. I will never take it lightly!"

Zhu Yuanzhang looked better when he saw Zhu Tan's sincere attitude.

But he also said to the other princes, Zhu Zhen, Zhu Di, etc.: "You should not only look at the superficial things such as the various methods used by later generations to control locusts. You must learn the most profound and more useful things."

"On the one hand, we need to mobilize the masses; on the other hand, we must not underestimate the enemy or let our guard down after grasping the winning strategy, but must always be vigilant against danger."

"Do you remember everything?"

All the princes, both young and old, and even a few grandchildren who were attending the banquet, whether they understood or not, all bowed and responded, "Your sons (grandsons) will remember this!"

Finally, Zhu Yuanzhang said to Zhu Biao, "Biao'er, go back and sort out the methods of controlling locusts mentioned in this video. If you can't remember anything, ask Liu Kuan."

"Once it's sorted out, it will be sent to local government offices in locust-prone areas, asking them to implement it accordingly."

"We're not asking for 'eliminating the locust plague in ten years,' but we must see significant results in locust control within three years. Do you understand?"

Zhu Biao nodded solemnly, "Son, I understand."

Zhu Di beside him thought of something and laughed, "Brother, don't forget to give me a portion later."

Zhu Biao laughed when he heard this. "Why, are you considering the vassal state already?"

Zhu Di said, "As the video just said, locust plagues are spreading all over the world, and some places are even worse than the Ming Dynasty. I will establish a vassal state overseas in the future, so naturally I will also have to prevent and control locust plagues."

After hearing what Zhu Di said, Zhu Ying and others finally came to their senses and immediately greeted Zhu Biao.

"Brother, we want one too."

"Brother Prince, I want one too!"

"···"

Zhu Biao smiled and said, "Okay, okay, once I've sorted it out, I'll print a few dozen more copies and give them to you guys."

Seeing this scene of true brotherly love and respect, Old Zhu standing next to them couldn't help but stroke his beard and smile heartily.

Then he said to Liu Kuan, "Get ready and start the movie. By the way, what's the name of this movie? What's it about?"

Liu Kuan knew that Lao Zhu asked in advance because he was afraid that he might not understand.

He smiled and said, "Your Majesty, this film tells the story of the birth of hybrid rice. The title is the name of the father of hybrid rice—Yuan Longping!"

　First update.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)