Chapter 60: Locust Extermination

Er Gouzi looked at the 200 newly recruited people. Although they were said to be strong, they were staggering and had to use crutches to walk on empty roads.

In this state, let alone killing locusts, sending them there would be giving the locust swarm extra food.

After the mutant locusts appeared, the locust swarm had begun to eat meat and could chew people to the bone.

"Rest where you are."

"Start cooking!"

Not far from the county town, Er Gouzi simply asked these people to stop and eat first.

He poured out two buckets of food and arranged for them to camp and cook on the spot.

These refugees were originally dying, but now they all became energetic when they heard about cooking.

Er Gouzi didn't need to give detailed instructions, and they didn't use crutches. They spontaneously found firewood, dug earth stoves, and lit fires.

Many people couldn't help but grab raw rice and stuffed it into their mouths.

The arresting police whipped them severely in the crowd with a whip, and these people became honest.

Er Gouzi found a high place and whistled into the distance.

Not long after, he saw two big white geese rushing out of the woods in the distance and flying towards him.

The big white geese had eaten well during this period and had grown a lot. Their wings were one or two feet wide.

When he returned to the camp with the two big white geese, everyone looked at him curiously.

"This goose is so big that it can't be stewed in one pot!"

"This goose must have at least two hundred pounds of meat..."

In the eyes of refugees, everything is food.

Only a few martial arts scholars and constables showed awe when they saw the big geese.

They instinctively felt a sense of danger from the aura of the big white geese, and they should not be able to beat a goose.

As for the owner of the two geese, it was even more mysterious.

"Captain Zhang, the porridge is ready. I brought some meat jerky. Do you want to eat some?"

The constable walked up to Er Gouzi with a bowl of porridge in his left hand and a bag of meat jerky in his right hand and asked enthusiastically.

At the same time, another Wu Xiucai also asked Er Gouzi to taste the dry food he brought with him.

They were all wealthy, and each of them prepared dry food for the journey. Naturally, they would not just eat some grain porridge like the refugees.

Faced with the good intentions of several subordinates, Er Gouzi was embarrassed to refuse and took some of each person's dry food to taste.

"Thank you for your kindness!"

"I was in a hurry to go out this time, and I didn't prepare any food. I only have some persimmon cakes and red dates to eat. Please taste them."

It is not polite to come without returning the favor. Er Gouzi untied a bundle from the goose's back and spread it on a stone. There were indeed only some persimmon cakes and red dates in it.

Because there was a gourd, no other food was prepared. Now I searched all over my body, but I couldn't find even a normal food.

Several team members also stepped forward and took one or two things, which was considered a courtesy.

However, after they took a bite of red dates or persimmon cakes, they regretted that they had taken less just now.

Although they could not sense the spiritual energy, they could clearly feel that this thing was extraordinary and contained amazing energy.

They were not as powerful as Er Gouzi in status, and they were too embarrassed to continue to please him.

As for the refugees, each of them drank two bowls of thick porridge, and finally had strength and spirits, and continued to rush to Daqing Township.

When a group of people arrived in Daqing Township, it was already the next morning.

The constables found the local gentry, the head of the village, and the guard to understand the distribution of locusts.

It was learned that there were five large locust swarms in Daqing Township, and the smaller ones could not be counted, almost covering the entire Daqing Township.

Moreover, the locusts were always on the move, splitting and combining, and changing at any time.

The locusts in the locust plague were different from usual. They became larger in size, moved in groups, and left no grass wherever they passed.

Moreover, the locust swarms were extremely violent, and even people and animals would attack if disturbed, and it was difficult to escape.

A big cow was besieged by a swarm of locusts, and it only took an hour or so for it to be gnawed to a white skeleton.

The local villagers also thought about killing the locusts, but five people were bitten to death by the locust swarm and eaten to death, so no one dared to provoke the locust swarm anymore.

People usually poke a hornet's nest carefully, but now facing a larger and more ferocious locust swarm, they can only stay away from it.

Er Gouzi decided to lead people to start from the south of Daqing Township and sweep all the way north.

Hearing that the government sent a locust extermination team to kill the locusts, the local villagers became much bolder and took out pots and pans to beat them on the ground to help drive away the locusts.

The locust swarm was disturbed by the noise, and instead of running away, they flapped their wings and pounced on the crowd.

The refugees were so scared that they trembled and looked around, trying to find an escape route.

They were summoned to eat and survive, but they didn't have the courage to fight to the death.

"Everyone follow me, charge!"

"Constable, you are the guard at the back, whoever dares to escape will be killed without mercy!"

Er Gouzi has read many military books and strategies these days. Facing this situation, he remembered some discussions about leading troops on the march in military books.

At this moment, he made a prompt decision and issued orders.

"Yes, sir!"

The constable shouted in response, without any ambiguity, and had already drawn his waist knife and stood guard behind the crowd.

There were locusts in front and shining knives behind.

The refugees had no way to retreat, so they could only hold branches and follow Er Gouzi.

When the two big white geese saw the locust swarm, they flew forward without any instructions and rushed directly into the locust swarm.

The big white geese swept their wings in the air, and a large number of locusts fell like rain.

Most of the locust swarms were blocked by the two geese, and the remaining part was no longer in great danger.

Everyone held branches and waved vigorously, wounding and maiming locusts one by one.

Some locusts fell on people, and the serrations on their hind legs cut through people's clothes and skin, and their fangs ate flesh and blood, making people scream in pain.

The first battle of the locust-killing team lasted more than half an hour, and successfully eliminated a small group of locusts.

200 refugees, 92 of whom were slightly injured, and no one died in the battle, which was a great victory.

At this moment, a layer of locust corpses had piled up on the ground.

Er Gouzi took a look and only found a few five-inch-long locusts.

The rest of the locusts were collected by everyone, at least two or three buckets.

"Everyone, rest on the spot!"

Er Gouzi asked people to pick up some dry firewood, light several piles of fire on the spot, and set up a big pot to cook porridge.

But today he only asked people to cook a bucket of food, and there was more water than rice in the pot.

After the porridge was cooked, while the charcoal under the stove was not burned out, all the collected locusts were buried in the fire.

After the locusts were roasted in the fire for a while, they gave off an alluring meaty aroma, which had already made the refugees salivate.

At this time, all the ashes and locusts in the stove were pulled out. The locusts had already been roasted to a crispy outside and tender inside, and the meaty aroma was overflowing.

On this day, the 200 refugees finally had a full meal, and they also had meat to eat, which was more abundant than the New Year.

After eating and drinking, the refugees changed their previous listless state, and they were eager to fight, a little excited, and they were going to find the next group of locusts for a fight.

When everyone couldn't even eat, they could eat meat by following the captain. Where can you find such a good thing!

In the past, when everyone was starving, they even scrambled to eat tree bark and grass roots, and they had also thought about locusts.

The locust swarm was too fierce and could not be provoked. They could only catch some locusts that were alone to eat, but there were not many of them, and it was difficult to fill their stomachs.

Er Gouzi was naturally willing to satisfy everyone's simple wishes. After a short rest, he led the team to continue sweeping northward.

In the next few days, they fought two or three battles almost every day and harvested several buckets to one stone of locusts.

Er Gouzi distributed all these locusts to everyone to eat.

Whether it is people or cattle and horses, they need to have a full stomach. Only when they are full can they have strength and motivation.

In just a few days, the spirit of the locust-killing team has completely changed. No one is afraid of running away anymore, and everyone is fighting bravely.

Especially after eating locust meat, the crowd became more excited and warlike.

The villagers who originally went out to escape famine in Daqing Township have been sent back in the past two days and are not allowed to go out at will.

Everyone was trapped at home without food, and now they see that the locust-killing team has food to eat every day and can also eat meat.

Now, wherever Er Gouzi's team goes, almost all the men, women, and children in the village beg to join the team. Anyway, if the locusts are not killed, the few crops that barely grow in the fields will not survive.

Considering that there were still several large groups of locusts that had not been eliminated, he took them all in.

The old and weak who really had no strength were also taken in, and they were assigned to do some logistical work.

For example, collecting firewood, making fire, fetching water, cooking, etc.

His locust-killing team has grown from the initial 200 people to the current 700 or 800 people.

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