Wang Pu and Ye Hua, two important officials, accompanied the prince out of the capital and headed straight for Hebei.

They left the capital and walked out of less than two hundred miles to see the fragile side of the empire... The wide road was originally built for the soldiers who fought against the Khitan, but now it was filled with refugees, helping the elderly and young, and ragged clothes, winding towards the capital. In fact, most people don’t know where the capital is. They just instinctively advanced until they have food or die!

Spring is warm and cold, and there are frosts in the morning and evening. Every morning when you wake up, someone will never get up again. Every dead person has a strange smile on his face. At least they are happy and satisfied before they die, just like the little match girl...

Wang Pu only felt that his heart was poked. As the prime minister, he could not assist the Holy Lord and appease the people. He was guilty of watching so many people starve to death!

Someone wants to ask, why can’t the people survive if they have already divided the fields?

Take Hebei as an example. Due to its relatively dense population, Mei Yiding can only get about 30 acres.

If it is a good year, these lands will certainly be enough to support the family. But if it is two or three consecutive years of waste, it will be enough to defeat any small peasant family.

Moreover, due to the war, the warehouses in Hebei were empty. When they encountered disasters, they were unable to provide relief. They could only throw the people to the capital. The emperor always had a solution. Officials thought so, and the people also thought so, so there were groups of victims.

As he walked along the way, the more Guo Zongxun looked, the more uneasy he became. His heart kept sinking and almost fell to the bottom.

If Hebei is like this, what will happen to Yecheng?

Those cooperatives of my own have just been founded. Can they withstand the test of locust plague?

Or, it will be even more miserable?

The little guy closed his mouth tightly and his heart was in a mess.

"Your Highness, don't worry, I have asked someone to ask you that there are no victims from Yecheng. Maybe the situation in Yecheng is not bad!"

Guo Zongxun naturally believed the teacher's words, but he couldn't let go without witnessing them with his own eyes. He kept urging the war horses, running faster and faster, wishing he could fly to Yecheng.

Finally, five days later, they appeared in the territory of Yecheng.

As soon as they arrived, they encountered dozens of slaughtered men and patrolled everywhere with hoes and wooden sticks. When they saw Ye Hua and his group, they immediately stepped forward to stop and interrogate.

Guo Zongxun jumped off his horse and glared at them.

"Magang, if you don't work in the field, why are you playing with a gun again?"

When the man in the lead saw Guo Zongxun, he immediately tickled one knee and was ecstatic, "Mr., you're here. We all think you don't care about everyone!"

Guo Zongxun came to Yecheng to promote the cooperative and did not reveal the identity of the prince. Therefore, ordinary people were not aware of it, but it did not hinder their joy.

Soon everyone surrounded Guo Zongxun and started talking...

Guo Zongxun was very excited by the enthusiasm of the people. He introduced Wang Pu and Ye Hua to everyone. He did not report his official position, but only said that these two were his senior teachers and that his abilities were taught by teachers.

The villagers surrounded Ye Hua at once, "My lord, did you teach the little master the way to deal with locusts?"

Ye Hua nodded slightly, "I mentioned some things in class... How did you do it, but it works?"

"Yes, of course there is!"

They happily introduced that before Guo Zongxun returned to Beijing last year, he mentioned that if the spring drought continues, a locust plague may occur again. If the locusts take off, it will be too late.

By the time the Chinese New Year was over this year, locusts were indeed found, and there were still quite a few!

All the cooperatives immediately mobilized, men, women, young and old, to catch locusts. Last year, each cooperative bought some chickens and ducks, and lay eggs and couldn't bear to eat them. They were all used to hatch. By spring, roosters, big and small, roosters, hens, all rushed to the field to prey on the locusts.

Every chicken has a bulging stomach.

The children did not let the news of chickens, and rushed around, empty their stomachs, and continued to eat more locusts.

As the locusts grew up day by day, many women joined the army to catch locusts. They roasted the locusts and crushed them to feed cattle, sheep and livestock.

It’s true that after adding locust powder, livestock like to eat it even more. Before spring plowing, they fattened a lot.

The people are overjoyed.

In the blink of an eye, it was late March, and the locusts were about to take off. All the people in Yecheng were dispatched to dig trenches by the fields, filled with hay.

When the locusts flew over, they lit the bonfire.

The locusts are temporal. When they fly towards the light, the people keep driving them away, adding firewood, and burning them to death... The people are all cruel. They are these damn insects, eating their food. Some old people even throw the locusts in their mouths, screaming and squeaking.

Many people say that fighting locusts is more tiring than fighting a real war.

But when checking the results of the battle, the people of Yecheng laughed, it was worth it!

"The counties next to us were at least half eaten, but Yecheng alone saved 90% of the seedlings!"

Ma Gang told Ye Hua excitedly, "The wheat this year is better than last year's. In short, one person can get 100 kilograms of wheat. Adults come early. If they are two months later, they can invite adults to eat white flour steamed buns!"

When talking about the white flour steamed buns, Ye Hua seemed to hear the sound of many people swallowing.

Last year, the people of Yecheng were begging everywhere, but in less than a year, they changed.

When harvesting summer grain, you will basically not be hungry. When the autumn grain is harvested for another season, take out some money for it. During the Chinese New Year, you may be able to buy some pork and buy it for Jiaozi.

"Mr., you said you wanted to run a school. I thought it makes sense. You should do it quickly!"

Guo Zongxun smiled, "Ma Gang, aren't you saying that studying is the most useless? Why did you change your tone?"

"Ah?" Ma Gang shook his head quickly, "I didn't say anything, I didn't say anything!"

Everyone else laughed, "You didn't say it?" The joke is, you kid is the most fierce, opposing building a school, saying that studying is worse than herding sheep!

Facing the ridicule of everyone, Ma Gang couldn't resist it, so he had to honestly say, "Aren't I ignorant? I used to think that I was shaking my head and swaying my mouth, and I couldn't even say anything. Who knew that the school also taught to deal with locusts, and if the school could teach how to farm, I was still thinking about going to school!"

"Hahaha!" Ye Hua smiled and said, "It's true that there is a school of agriculture... Farming is a major subject, such as breeding of good varieties, how to compost, field management, hoe the ground to catch insects, harvest and preservation... These are all big things and cannot be careless. Also, how to sell agricultural products, how to price, how to negotiate with merchants, and how to trade... This is also a very important knowledge. In short, you need to produce more and sell at a suitable price, so that you can make your wallet bulge!"

...

After talking for a while, everyone realized that this seemingly young person is worthy of being the master of the young master. Many things are all pointed and make people suddenly understand.

The big guys surrounded Ye Hua and kept asking questions. Ye Hua was also more happy. For example, he suggested that everyone dig some big pits by the mountain. In autumn, they would pour the feces of livestock, dead branches and leaves, and mud and sand in the river together to make fertilizer. After a winter, they would scatter the things in the pit into the fields, which could increase the yield to more or less.

Also, during the slack farming period, you need to dig more wells. One acre of irrigated land often produces 30 to 50% more than one acre of irrigated land.

Although it will be harder, are the farmers still afraid of putting their efforts?

Ye Hua also suggested that all these labors are included in the cooperative's accounts, and when the benefits are distributed in the autumn, the additional parts will be distributed according to each person's contribution, in addition to the basic output.

We must not only ensure the food for everyone, but also allow those who pay more to get the benefits they deserve!

Ye Hua's words simply reached everyone's hearts. At this moment, a young man suddenly ran over and said breathlessly: "Uncle Ma, it's not good, someone is running towards our farmland!"

"What a big courage!"

Ma Gang immediately raised his shovel, greeted his brothers, rushed over and shone Ye Hua and the others aside.

Someone else ran over and explained to Ye Hua.

It turned out that the surrounding prefectures and counties were hit by disasters, and the people had no food, so they ran to the fields of Yecheng to grab wheat to eat.

The wheat is not yet mature and cannot be eaten at all, but the hungry people don’t care about anything, grassroots and tree bark, or even Guanyin soil. When they are hungry, there is nothing that cannot be eaten.

The young and strong in Yecheng had to organize, patrol day and night to protect their crops... Magang took his people there, and it took him more than half a day before he came back. Two more red and swollen faces were added to his face and one arm was injured.

"Do you beat you away, you beat you away! If you dare to come here again, I will discount their bad legs! The poor and innocent ghosts who are not promising will know how to steal, and they will be starved to death!"

Ye Hua and the other two looked at each other. They could not blame Ma Gang for defending the fruits of their labor. It was understandable.

Wang Pu took a deep breath, "Your Highness, Marquis, I have been thinking about whether to promote the cooperative at these times. After all, the big fight has had too much impact, but after this trip, I figured it out. Mencius said that the people are the most important, and the country is the second most important, and the king is the least. After all, people's livelihood is difficult, and the flood, drought and locust plagues are difficult to resist risks by relying on one household alone. This is the general trend of forming a cooperative!"

When I heard Wang Pu’s words, the one who was most excited was Guo Zongxun. Even Wang Xianggong agreed, so it would be not difficult to convince his father!

At this moment, someone suddenly came again. The imperial censor arrived. Now the government office in Yecheng. I heard that Hebei was suffering from disasters, Yecheng was the lightest, so the censor wanted to collect a batch of food in Yecheng to help the victims.

Spread to each cooperative and produce 100 stones of grain!
Chapter completed!