Chapter 92: Highest War Mobilization, The Duck Army Marches Out

Visit Kele Novel easily and read thousands of great books like "The Sickly Weak Sizi Knocks on the Door, I Became the God of Ten Thousand Dynasties."

Living room.

The disaster zone news on the television was still broadcasting.

Lin Xuan threw the marker pen onto the coffee table and took out his Mobile Phone.

"Just drawing pictures might not be concrete enough for you; let me show you some real footage."

He opened the video software and typed "Documentary of Duck Herding Locusts" into the search box.

He clicked play and pushed the Mobile Phone screen in front of Xiao Sizi's eyes.

This was an aerial news report from a local agricultural channel.

The scene unfolded.

On the wasteland at the Xinjiang border, vegetation stripped bare by gnawing covered the mountains and plains.

Black-brown locusts hopped wildly on the ground.

The camera pulled up high.

A long white line appeared at the end of the wasteland.

Accompanied by dense "Quack Quack" sounds, the long line rapidly widened.

One hundred thousand pasture-raised drakes gathered together, forming a white wave surging toward the wasteland.

Several herdsmen rode motorcycles, following on both sides of the duck flock.

They waved long bamboo poles in their hands and blew urgent whistles.

As soon as the whistle sounded, the duck flock's speed increased.

They formed a tight square formation, their flat beaks close to the ground.

Their heads moved frantically up and down.

A duck stretched and retracted its neck, swallowing more than ten locusts in the blink of an eye.

One hundred thousand ducks started moving at the same time.

The wave surged forward.

The wasteland, originally crawling with flying insects, was now completely clean.

Even the insect eggs in the ground cracks could be dug out by the flat beaks and swallowed.

Watching those domestic fowl that usually waddled as they walked, they now looked like Iron Armor elite soldiers who were well-trained and invincible.

Xiao Sizi's mouth opened wide in shock.

"After these ducks are full, collecting the manure they excrete can also fertilize the wasteland."

Xiao Sizi's corners of the mouth couldn't help but turn upward, revealing two small tiger teeth.

"Really... really eaten clean..."

Xiao Sizi pointed at those drakes with big bellies in the screen.

"These little ducks look so fat!"

This documentary was also transmitted to the Great Tang via the Sky Screen.

Originally, all the civil and military officials were unconvinced by Li Shimin's method and couldn't imagine how to control the ducks to hunt those damn locusts.

Now, seeing is believing, and their horizons were broadened.

The sight of one hundred thousand Duck Armies marching out was right before their eyes.

Li Ji, the Minister of War, suddenly stood up.

His pair of tiger eyes shone brightly, fixedly locking onto the formation of the advancing duck flock.

"This Wild Goose Formation extends and transforms into a Long Snake Formation."

"There are no gaps. The head and tail respond to each other, and the advancing speed is uniform."

The great general Li Jing agreed:

"That's right, this is a Carpet Search, leaving no survivors."

"Where is this the feeding of flat-feathered beasts? It is clearly the most tightly-knit military strangulation formation."

"Using beasts to form a formation, people of later generations, what a unique and brilliant idea!"

This also gave Li Shimin a reassurance, bringing him great confidence.

After all, the answer was right before his eyes, and it didn't require any high technology.

If he couldn't even copy, then his position as emperor would have been in vain.

And Li Erlang hated it most when people thought he was incapable.

"Wang De!" Li Shimin shouted in a deep, angry voice.

The eunuch Wang De ran all the way, climbing up the steps.

"Transmit my imperial decree: in all disaster-stricken prefectures and counties, stop all rain-praying sacrifices immediately, and by the way, tear down the useless Dragon King Temples."

"Open the National Treasury and allocate the inner treasury funds."

"If it's not enough, sell the palace's precious treasures and calligraphy and paintings!"

Li Shimin's eyes were ruthless and determined. "Take the money and conscript domestic fowl from the people."

"Chickens, ducks, and geese, regardless of breed, buy them forcibly at a price twenty percent higher than the market price!"

Hearing this imperial decree, the Minister of Revenue sweated profusely and nodded repeatedly.

Li Shimin bypassed him and walked toward the line of military generals.

He unfastened half of the Tiger Tally from his waist and weighed it in his palm.

"Cheng Yaojin! Yuchi Gong!" Li Shimin shouted to call the generals.

The two Tang state dukes perked up.

They stepped forward, clasped fists in salute.

"Your servant is here!"

Li Shimin shoved the Tiger Tally into Cheng Yaojin's hand.

"This battle, I entrust to you to lead the charge."

"This Commander Seal, you shall hold."

"Organize the conscripted poultry into battle formations, then cut some green bamboo and fashion them into whips like the Sky Screen."

"Beat drums and ring bells, drive these feathered beasts into Guanzhong's wheat fields."

Cheng Yaojin gripped the Tiger Tally, stunned.

He had fought his entire life, slashed through Dou Jiande, captured Wang Shichong alive.

Now, the Emperor wanted him to be a duck herder?

"Your Majesty," Cheng Yaojin swallowed hard, "these feathered beasts… don't understand military orders. Perhaps you'd rather…"

Li Shimin cut him off bluntly, "They understand rations!"

"Starve them for two days—when the gong rings, they'll be fiercer than your Modao Troop!"

"If you two can't even command these feathered beasts, then in my view, you shouldn't lead troops anymore!"

Hearing this, Yuchi Gong's dark face flushed red.

He roared, clasped fists, and accepted the order.

"Your servant will go cut bamboo right away!"

Cheng Yaojin could say no more, and could only agree.

"Your servant… accepts the order!"

Li Shimin did not pause, turning toward the towers of Chang'an.

The highest war mobilization required mobilizing the entire realm.

One reason was to accelerate the extermination of the locusts.

Another was that everyone was working toward a single goal.

When success came, it would greatly increase cohesion and a sense of accomplishment.

Unity between soldiers and civilians—this was something the Sky Screen had mentioned.

Li Shimin remembered it well.

It would also show the world Li Shimin's heroic decisiveness!

"Post edicts to pacify the people—set up imperial collection points to buy locusts by weight!"

At these words, the ministers erupted in shock.

"Your Majesty, why collect this filthy matter?" Fang Xuanling stepped forward, urgently asking.

"The Sky Screen said it's high-value."

Li Shimin couldn't recall the word "protein," so he substituted directly: "It's premium feed! The people catch them, roast them dry over fire, grind them into powder with stone mills."

Li Shimin cast a glance at the Minister of War, Li Ji.

"Mix it into fodder—feed it to Tang's warhorses, feed it to the remaining poultry."

"Heaven has sent us this grain—not a single grain shall be wasted!"

…

Three days later.

Outside Chang'an, north bank of Weishui.

The sun blazed as before.

The farmland was parched and yellow, insects flitting wildly.

At the edge of the field stood a black banner embroidered with the character "Cheng."

Cheng Yaojin had shed his usual armor.

He wore coarse linen shorts, his pant legs rolled to his knees.

In hand, he held a slender green bamboo pole over three zhang long.

Behind him stood five thousand imperial soldiers, similarly dressed, all holding bamboo poles.

Beyond them stretched an endless expanse of white.

The Ministry of Revenue had emptied every village within fifty li of Chang'an, rushing in one hundred fifty thousand ducks and geese—starved for two days, the poultry now eyed the land with green hunger.

Their "ga-ga" cries merged into a deafening din.

Cheng Yaojin raised a battered bronze gong, lifted a wooden mallet.

"Break open the barriers!"

Soldiers immediately pulled back the wooden fences.

Gong!

One gong struck.

Cheng Yaojin led the charge, swinging his long bamboo pole to strike the ground, bellowing:

"Charge! Eat every last damn one!"

Tens of thousands of ducks and geese surged into the dry farmland—scene both magnificent and absurd.

The spiky locusts had barely taken flight when duck beaks snatched them midair and swallowed them whole.

The large-headed geese, massive in size, charged into the insect swarms, flapping wings and trampling wildly.

Their flat beaks swept low across the ground.

The duck formation advanced with incredible speed.

Within half an incense stick's time, a field was swept clean.

Outside the field ridges.

Hundreds of emaciated, starving refugees had gathered together.

They had originally come to gnaw on tree bark.

Now, the crowd stared blankly at this mad army of poultry before them.