The Locust God

While the officials of Shunan Prefecture were inwardly lamenting their plight, Qi Hongxin, who had to move to a new commandery or prefecture every three to five years, was hardly pleased either.

Every transfer meant not only a journey of a thousand miles, but another troubled commandery or prefecture full of thorny problems. Even Qi Hongxin found himself utterly exhausted.

I work this hard, and you still dare to slack off?

But for the sake of eradicating the locusts, he could only suppress his displeasure. Sweeping his gaze over them, he said, "The locust plague concerns the people's livelihoods. Even if you say something wrong, it doesn't matter. This meeting is meant to find a good way to eradicate the locusts. Most of you are Presented Scholars, so I trust your heads aren't so empty that you can't come up with a single idea? Whether it proves usable or not, speak freely."

He casually singled one of them out. "Magistrate Liu, since you've just returned from Wuan County, you can speak first."

Although the previous prefect had been dismissed and taken into custody over civil unrest, he had always been smooth in his dealings. Qi Hongxin's blunt mockery made even the officials of Shunan Prefecture, who had intended to meet him with silence, uneasy. As for Wuan County's pale, plump magistrate, being singled out in public again brought sweat to his forehead and endless inward complaints.

Still, Magistrate Liu had done some reading. Thinking back carefully, he actually managed to dredge up something useful.

"My lord, I once read the county gazetteer on locust eradication. One method used in the past was to gather the villagers and have them use bamboo poles to hold up eight-foot lengths of white cloth. They would drive the locusts into one place, then concentrate