Famine and exile: I brought the Spirit Spring to save the entire Marquis's mansion.

"This isn't my opinion, it's what Madam Sang said! She's knowledgeable in geomancy. Besides, there are definitely more locusts this year than in previous years."

Although Xu Wude said this, deep down he really hoped that Bai Yi would continue to refute him.

Provide strong evidence to refute it.

"Yes, that's what I said, sir. You'll see if you go to the fields. I've asked many people, and this year's locusts are different from those of previous years."

It even exhibits mutations; this is definitely not an ordinary locust.

Sang Ning explained carefully.

Locusts can change color to adapt to changes in their environment, which is deceptive and another characteristic of locust plagues.

However, Bai Yi's stubbornness relapsed.

"There will be no locust plague in Liangzhou! Local chronicles have been written for three hundred years and there has never been any record of this."

Sang Ning'er, I know you know some geomancy and have read many books, but this is different from finding water.

"A truly experienced farmer, working with an astronomer specializing in meteorology, might be able to deduce something. Who would believe what you, someone who's never even set foot in a field, say?"

Sang Ning felt that something was off about Bai Yi.

I know he's a bit conservative, but no matter what she said before, whether she could find water or put out the fire, he always questioned it rather than directly denying it.

But this time, he completely rejected her.

"Are you Bai Yi?" she asked suspiciously.

Looking at his dark skin and anxious face, that's right!

Bai Yi, with an unyielding and stern face, warned: "Don't mention the locust plague again, Sang Shi. Think about the consequences. If, as you say, we harvest the crops now and the locust plague doesn't come, won't the people hate you to death?"

This isn't about finding water; if we can't find it, we'll just be laughed at.

This is going to cost the people dearly; if things go wrong, it's a responsibility that a disgraced official like her cannot bear.

He did it for her own good.

"Does the master intend to push me to the front and not want to bear any consequences himself?" Sang Ning asked coldly.

Bai Yi wasn't a selfish person, and she really couldn't believe he had said those words.

"It's not that I don't care about the lives of the people." Bai Yi lowered his eyes.

Explanation: "Whether the locust plague will actually come, and when it will come, are all unknowns."

If you let the people harvest their grain today, and locusts come tomorrow, then the entire city will worship you like a Bodhisattva.

If you order the harvest today, and the locusts don't arrive until ten days later, the people's gratitude will be halved, and some will even resent you for making them harvest the grain too early.

If you order the grain to be collected today, and the locusts only arrive twenty days later, it will be the same as if no locusts came at all. You will become the target of everyone's criticism and a sinner in the whole city.

When you found the water source, it was exactly when the people needed it most, so everyone is grateful to you.

But can you be as certain about a locust plague as you are about finding a water source?

No!

At least she couldn't be sure when the locusts would arrive!

Alternatively, the locusts might bypass Liangzhou City and go elsewhere.

“But you are the governor of Liangzhou. If the locusts really come, Liangzhou will be finished. Didn’t you say that Liangzhou is very important?”

“Yes, Liangzhou is very important.” Bai Yi said with absolute certainty.

"But it is not Liangzhou that belongs to me alone; it is Liangzhou of the Dongyang Kingdom."

Yangguan, Longcheng, and the imperial court will all be involved.

When locusts afflict, it's a natural disaster, and no one will blame me.

If we harvest the grain early, it will anger the people, which will be a man-made disaster, and everyone will blame me.

"Sang Ning'er, I cannot bear this responsibility."

So, I decided not to take that risk.

The local chronicles of Liangzhou City do not record any locust plagues, but a similar incident was recorded a hundred years ago.

The prefect of a city listened to the advice of a geomancer and predicted that an earthquake would occur in Liangzhou, so he moved all the people to the mountains.

As it turned out, the earthquake didn't happen.

When the people returned home at dawn, all their food had been looted, and then half of the city's population died of poisoning.

It turned out that the Moon Spring water had been poisoned by Liao spies that night.

From beginning to end, it was all a conspiracy by the Liao people.

The people resented the prefect, but the imperial court only cared about the result, not the process.

The prefect made a wrong decision and was sentenced to beheading, which was met with applause from the entire city.

If the prefect does nothing, even if an earthquake really happens, the people will be grateful if he leads the rescue efforts and dies.

Because it was a natural disaster.

What wrong has the Prefect done?

so.

Faced with such a difficult decision, Bai Yi made no choice.

He couldn't afford to gamble.

……

Sang Ning left the prefectural governor's mansion with a troubled mind.

The same applies to Xu Wude.

Everyone understood what Bai Yi meant.

But that was his stance.

Xu Wude is different from him.

You have a peck of rice, and that peck of rice can feed you for a year.

Then one day, the rice was stolen by robbers.

Go to the yamen and cry.

The government might give you half a bushel of rice, and you'd be satisfied. If you saved up, you could get through the year.

But what about Xu Wude? He had tens of thousands of bushels of rice!

It was robbed by bandits.

The government would still only give him half a bushel of rice to sustain him.

No, he won't even give him half a bushel, because he has rice stored up.

Can this be compared to the poor? Can it be compared to the poor?

If he doesn't take action, the losses will be huge!

"Lady Sang, what do you think are the chances of the locusts coming?"

When will you likely arrive?

"Will I have enough time to collect the rice in five days?"

Sang Ning shook her head, feeling down and frustrated.

"I don't know. I've said everything I need to say. You decide for yourself."

Let me make it clear first, your decision is your own choice and has nothing to do with me.

After saying this, Sang Ning was a little stunned.

That's a very irresponsible statement.

She was the one who predicted the locust plague and created panic, but in the end she claimed it had nothing to do with her.

She actually felt a sense of fear!

But what could she do?

What else can we do?

She was still a criminal, and she had the entire Huo family behind her!

"Fatty, you should weigh the pros and cons yourself. If it's a gamble between harvesting 50% of the crops and harvesting nothing, if it were me, I would definitely choose 50% if we didn't lack food."

"That's all."

Sang Ning said nothing more and quickly left.

Xu Wude watched her retreating figure and stood there for a long time.

"It's only 50%! So what if I lose! I'll take the gamble!"

For a moment, Xu Wude felt as if he had returned to his youth.

At that time, he had great ambitions and dared to gamble.

Therefore, in just a few years, the Xu family became the richest family in Liangzhou City.

Even if we lose half of our grain now, it's still better than before. What's there to worry about? We can afford to lose!

However, out of a sense of professional conscience, he also had to inform his other business partners about such an important matter.

Xu Wude immediately summoned more than a dozen prominent merchants from Liangzhou City to his home.

But to everyone's surprise, he was ridiculed by a bunch of people.

"Brother Xu, if you have nothing else to say, we'll be leaving now."

"I don't think he's recovered from the blow he suffered at the hands of the Third Madam. How could he believe such a thing..."

"No wonder I haven't seen him lately, turns out he went to study the laws of heaven and earth..."

"Let's go, let's go..."

Xu Wude shouted angrily, "Anyway, I've told you. Whether you believe me or not is up to you. My family's fifty mu of farmland will be taken away right now!"

"Fifty acres of land, Brother Xu really has guts. I admire you, I admire you!" one person said, but his tone was gloating.

It seems that the position of the richest man in Liangzhou has already changed hands.

"Brother Xu, don't worry. Even if the locusts eat all my grain, I will still remember your reminder today. I'm leaving now. Come to my place for tea sometime."

……

In the end, only three people remained.