Chapter 277 News of the Locust Plague
Earl Jonah’s letter was spread out on the table. The rough paper made of yak hide had a rough feeling unique to the plateau, but the content on it made everyone excited. Unable to show off.
In the letter, Earl Jonah first exchanged greetings for a while, thanked Raven for his charity work in raising food for him at a low price last year, and asked about the health of Raven and Nancy.
Afterwards, the conversation changed and he mentioned that the drought situation in Molinier Province has not improved since last winter, and a large number of locust eggs have been found along the rivers in many places, making it difficult to destroy them all.
In other words, a locust plague is likely to break out this year.
The locust plague is never limited to one place. If it breaks out in the Molinier Province, it will definitely affect the Nord Province.
Lei Wen tapped his fingers on the table: "The locust plague should not be taken lightly. I asked you to come here because I wanted to ask if there is any way to deal with it."
After all, we are sending him away. As a person who has been the head of the family for three generations, Old Gordon pushed up his monocle and said: "Since the Griffith family has The Eagle Territory has taken root and has encountered locust plagues more than once, and there are actually many methods."
Lei Wen's eyes lit up: "Oh? Tell me in detail."
Lao Ge. Den coughed lightly, and after sorting out his thoughts, he began to talk, which also opened the eyes of Raven and Bucky next to him.
Even in this era, over thousands of years, people have accumulated a lot of experience in killing locusts and summed up a set of rules.
Locust plagues usually break out after severe droughts, so in order to contain it, experienced lords will organize their people to set fire to the wilderness and burn the eggs in the grass; then they will organize manpower to search in the lowlands by the river. Locust eggs should be killed in advance to minimize the number and size of future locusts.
But as Old Gordon spoke and Raven listened, his expressions began to become a little solemn.
What Old Gordon said is an empirical summary. Since the Griffith family knows something, Earl Jonah must also know it.
The fact that this letter has been sent shows that preventive measures are no longer effective. Even if we try our best to kill them, we cannot prevent the possibility of a locust plague.
"You are talking about prevention, but what about countermeasures?" Raven asked.
"...It's difficult, it can be said to be almost impossible." Old Gordon swallowed.
Leaven frowned and said: "Isn't it possible? After thousands of years, there is no way at all?"
"There is a stupid way." Old Gordon looked a little weird: "That is ..."
After listening to Old Gordon's description, Raven was a little bit dumbfounded.
Because this way of coping is indeed unreliable - raising birds.
The reason for this method is that the nobles discovered that locust plagues rarely break out in places with dense forests and numerous birds.
After thinking about it for a while, Lei Wen understood the logic.
Birds are the natural enemies of insects. Some eat eggs, some eat larvae, and some eat locusts directly. They can indeed kill the locust plague at the root.
But the problem is that this method is not useful in places with forests, nor in places with few forests.
The locust plague breaks out in a hurry. You can't destroy all the farmland and plant trees to attract birds.
In that case, when the saplings grow up, they may not be able to attract birds, but they will be able to provide tender food for the locusts.
"What about Bucky? Is there anything you can do?" Raven scratched his eyebrows and asked, "For example, make a pesticide against locusts. You can drive them away from the territory without killing them. "
Bucky rubbed his hands. : "Lord Baron, you think too highly of my alchemy."
"If you say to kill some cockroaches and rats, I can still find some way to deal with locusts... I'm afraid you have to find the legendary It’s just Baggins.”
Baggins, the teacher of all alchemists, was the only alchemist to reach the fifth level in history. It was he who formulated the specifications of alchemy and pioneered alchemy.
Leaven rubbed his temples helplessly, knowing that he was thinking too much.
That’s right. After all, the locust plague is extremely destructive. If it can be prevented and cured through alchemy, then in a thousand years, there should be a mature way to deal with it.
After sorting out his thoughts, Lei Wen said: "We can't prevent the locust plague. We can only reduce the losses as much as possible."
"In this way, Gordon, start organizing manpower from today. Build wooden fences and fences along the border of the territory. They don’t need to be too high for ordinary people to climb over.”
"Then we will purchase poultry on a large scale through the Tianying platform. Although we cannot raise birds, it is still no problem to raise chickens and ducks."
"Finally, draft three letters for me; one of them is to the appointment Get the count's reply. I remember that Countess Jonah is still alive and has two daughters, so I'll send you 3 bottles of Angel's Kiss."
"There are two letters left, make an appointment. Take the earl's warning and copy it intact, and send it to Munn City and Hovey City respectively, using the Mercenary Guild's route."
Old Gordon nodded: "Yes, sir."
Baki suddenly said at this time: "Wait a minute, since we know that a locust plague is about to break out, why not purchase a batch of grain in advance before notifying them?"
After these words came out, Raven and Old Gordon looked at him at the same time, with an inexplicable smile in their eyes.
Bucky was a little hairy and felt even more uncomfortable.
Originally, his status as an alchemist was unique in Raven's territory. He was always regarded as Raven's personal alchemist. His status was very high. Although he did not have a title, even a knight had to Be respectful to him.
But ever since Petty became an alchemist, his position has become even more unstable.
Especially after moving to Eagle City, apart from Raven inviting him on the day of moving, the only time he was invited to meet him was today.
The sudden suggestion was out of a sense of crisis, hoping that he could gain Raven's attention.
Feeling uncomfortable after being watched by the two, Bucky asked: "What, did I say something wrong?"
"It seems that people really can't be isolated from the world for too long. "Raven shook his head and sighed.
"Mr. Bucky, do you know what day it is today?" Old Gordon asked.
Bucky was stunned: "Um...April 1st?"
"Yes, April 1st, spring has just arrived." Seeing that he still didn't react, Old Gordon had to explain patiently: "At this point in time, last year's grain has been exhausted, and this year's grain has not been harvested. Except for A few production areas away, everyone is buying grain, and we can’t get much even if we increase the price.”
Leaven continued: “And this letter from Count Jonah seems to be for me. private The letter actually wants to convey this news through me, and the locust plague cannot be hidden. You don’t think that in the entire Nord province, I am the only one who has a personal relationship with Noble Molinier?”
"So, why should I offend the nobles of the entire province just because I can't harvest much food?"
Bucky was stunned, blinked, and nodded as if he suddenly understood.
Lei Wen chuckled: "Okay, this is not your major after all, so it's normal if you don't understand it."
"When the locust plague arrives, it will probably be not only famine but also a plague. Make some preparations in advance. I don't want to lose too many people in my territory."
Baki, who was a little discouraged, suddenly lit up when he heard this: "Understood, Lord Baron!"
As Old Gordon and Bucky left, Raven looked out the window and sighed.
The empire begins a war, the Fox family is destroyed, and the locust plague is just around the corner. The province of Nord is really facing a troubled period.
No matter whether there are many things going on this year, Raven has a lot going on today.
Not long after old Gordon and Bucky left, an old friend came to Eagle City.
In the reception room, Hyde took off his cloak and handed it to the maid. He sat on the chair and picked up a glass of Angel Tears and drank it: "... Phew, this journey has been hard for me. "I don't know if it's because I can't get along with you. Why do I have to rush before the rainy season every time I come here?" Later? "
Raven shrugged: "Then how do I know? I didn't ask you to come, so you couldn't have chosen a better time?"
< br>“Besides, it must have been more than 20 days without rain in Nordland, right?”
Hyde choked, rolled his eyes and put down the cup: "Thankfully you have the nickname 'Little Bee', why do you choke like a 'little stone' when you speak?"
"What if you are? The youngest daughter of Earl Tyrone, she can definitely understand the abilities of my little bee, but unfortunately, I am not interested in men." Raven spread his hands.
"Okay, I can't fight with you, so I admit defeat." Hyde raised his right hand and put his hands on his knees: "How is Nancy doing lately?"
If it were someone else who asked , Raven will definitely think this is a provocation, but this is Hyde, he doesn't have that much thought.
Although the relationship between the two cannot be said to be very close, Hyde can be regarded as one of the few people in the Nord province who can be regarded as Raven's "friend".
"I cried for a while at first, but I've gotten a lot better recently, but I'm still a little depressed." Raven sighed.
Hyde calmed down his expression, nodded, suddenly lowered his body, and asked in a low voice: "Is Gul'dan here with you too?"
Raven's expression suddenly became extremely wonderful. , and he didn't know whether Hyde was stupid or smart, to be able to ask such a sensitive question so naturally.
For a moment, Hyde's brain was unclear. Raven coughed and said, "I only heard that Gul'dan was missing."
Hyde looked at Raven suspiciously. He glanced twice, shook his head, and didn't delve deeper: "Okay, I'm here for two things this time."
As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and hooked four fingers side by side.
Leaven was a little confused: "What?"
"Pretending to be stupid is not one of the virtues of a nobleman." Hyde said: "We agreed last time that you have to give me that set It’s been half a year since the foggy iron armor enchantment was completed, right? ”
“ Oh, this is about it." Raven raised his glass to cover his embarrassment: "This has to wait."
It's not that Raven meant to delay, it's just that Raven was busy with things after the competition. It was a bit much, and I finally moved into Eagle City. Not long after I settled down, I was attacked by Imperial.
After that, Raven spent a lot of energy on meditation and increasing his magic power, and the matter of enchanting the armor was delayed. Currently, the progress is only about 50%.
"Eh..." Hyde sighed and smacked his lips: "Then you have to hurry up. Next, let's talk about the second thing."
"My father wants me The notice...no, to be precise, I asked you to bring you two sentences."
As he spoke, he cleared his throat and imitated Count Tyrone's tone and said: "'You cannot disobey the orders of the Governor, but you do not need to get too close to Marquis Anthony.'"
Raven nodded slowly, taking a sip of the taste.
These two sentences are very concise, but the meaning they express is very rich.
"The Governor's orders cannot be disobeyed" means that the Governor, as an extension of His Majesty the King's power, must obey and carry out his orders, but this is only limited to the orders of the "Governor".
“You don’t have to get too close to Marquis Anthony”, combined with the first half of the sentence, implicitly expresses two meanings.
First, it is impossible for Anthony to stay as governor of the province of Nord. If he is too close to him, he will inevitably be liquidated and excluded when the new governor takes office in the future.
Secondly, Anthony cannot be trusted, and it is not worth charging into battle for him, thus throwing away his aristocratic identity and principles.
In addition to these two sentences, Earl Tyrone was expressing a kind of kindness to Raven, and he vaguely regarded Raven as one of his own.
This is the shrewdness of Earl Tyrone, he always knows how to balance the forces in the province.
"No, you figured it out so quickly?" Hyde sighed deeply, glanced at Raven and said, "Thanks to me, I thought about it for a long time along the way before I figured out what these two sentences were. Meaning."
"You guys, do you look at everyone as if they are idiots?"
Leaven smiled slightly: "Not really, for example, you are not an idiot. .”
In his opinion, Hyde is the kind of person who has been well protected and well-educated since childhood. Although he also has some bad habits common to nobles, he essentially lacks the psychological foundation to do bad things.
When you get along with Hyde, you don’t have to worry about him plotting against you, because he has neither such a brain nor such a mind.
Sure enough, after hearing Raven's words, Hyde immediately smiled: "Really? In your opinion, what kind of person is my father?"
Lei Wenlue He mused: "Among the nobles of the Nord province, I I only admire two and a half people, and Earl Tyrone is one of them."
"He can be said to be a conscientious, smart and wise lord. Even when my father-in-law was still alive, he was far inferior to him. .”
Hearing that Raven praised his father so much, Hyde's smile grew stronger and he became more and more curious: "You said 'two and a half people', then besides my father, who are those one and a half?"
“There is another one, Marquis Anthony " Lei Wen said: "He knows where his authority comes from and what he is pursuing, so he can act decisively and swiftly. "
Hearing this, Hyde felt a little bored. Yes, I originally thought Raven was Sincere praise, now it seems, is just like other nobles, holding a bowl of water and saying nice words that are neither salty nor bland: "Then I know, the remaining half is Archbishop Thomas."
"The reason why you only admire half of it, It's because he is from the Church of Light. As an imperial noble, you need to have some boundaries with him, right?"
Hyde was full of confidence. After hearing this, Raven shook his head: "You guessed it wrong."
"It's not him?" Hyde was puzzled: "You don't mean to say it to make me feel at ease. Then who do you think this last half of the person is?"
Leaven said: "It's John. Viscount."
"Viscount John?" Hyde was stunned for a moment, and then he slowly remembered this person.
He only remembered that Viscount John had exchanged territories with Raven. He was just an old nobleman. He didn't seem to have done any earth-shattering things. How could he be respected by Raven?
"Viscount John is the only nobleman I have ever seen who still follows the ancient spirit." Raven said seriously: "No matter what happens in the outside world, no matter how others treat him, he always adheres to that spirit out of time. According to ancient theories and traditions, the key is that he is strict with himself and lenient towards others, and is a kind-hearted elder. ”
Hyde also fell silent. Although in this era, nobles are rushing towards new pursuits and laughing at the old-fashioned conservativeness of the older generation, a person who adheres to principles can always be respected.
"In that case, why is he only half a viscount?"
"No." Raven shook his head and said: "That's because I can never be like him. People."
Hide was silent for a moment, and was suddenly startled. He couldn't help but stare at Raven's eyes.
Leaven said that he couldn’t be a person like Viscount John, so he only admired half of him. Doesn’t that mean...
But Hyde couldn't say anything to refute, because in his heart, Raven was indeed on the same level as his father.
This time, Hyde did not stay too long. He only stayed in Eagle Town for 3 days before saying goodbye and leaving. When he left, he still did not get the second-level enchanted plate armor that he had longed for.
He also said to Raven sourly that he would also build a castle like Eagle City in the future.
Just when Hyde left the Eagle Territory, Raven's letter was also brought to Hovey City by the mercenaries.
……
(End of this chapter)