Chapter 297: Yuan

Yuan Canghai set down his cup.

"Please report back to General Tokugawa and tell him to rest assured; the iron ore and Saltpeter Mine you requested have already been ordered by me to be piled outside the city. You may send men to haul them away right now."

Tanaka Jiro's eyes lit up, "Is that so? Then I shall order my men to go over immediately."

Having said this, he turned his head and whispered a few words to a Ronin kneeling behind him.

The Ronin knelt on the ground, bowed, and then quickly withdrew.

Yuan Canghai took a sip of water, a flash of ferocity crossing his eyes.

"Xiao Moting, if you oppose me, I will let the entire Beijiang perish along with you."

Tanaka Jiro pondered for a moment, then asked with a probing look.

"General Yuan, Zhou is in your army. He has prejudices against us Fusang People and has always been unwilling to associate with us."

"Does he have any objections to our cooperation this time?"

Yuan Canghai smiled slightly.

"The National Preceptor is currently ailing and hasn't left his home for a long time. I have strictly ordered my subordinates not to leak a single word about our cooperation, so he will not know the inside story."

"What if he finds out the situation and tries to intervene?" Tanaka Jiro frowned, "General Tokugawa went to the Shrine specifically to seek medicine from Shennü Daren to help you deal with Beijiang. Shennü Daren went to great lengths to produce these medicinal powders that attract swarms of insects; we do not want to fall short at the final hurdle."

"It will not fall short, you may rest assured." Yuan Canghai laughed heartily, "The National Preceptor's illness is a chronic one. When it flares up, the headaches are unbearable, and only special medicinal soup can alleviate them."

"One of the herbs in this medicinal soup is very hard to find. With the great drought in Yannan now, this herb can no longer be found. Without the medicinal soup, his illness cannot be cured for the time being. He is currently busy recuperating in the Guoshi Mansion and has no energy to hinder us at all."

Only then did Tanaka Jiro's expression soften slightly, and he nodded.

"That is good. I hope our cooperation this time can wipe out Beijiang in one fell swoop. At that time, according to our agreement, you will take over the Northern Frontier Camp and become its new master. All the mineral deposits in Beijiang will belong to us Fusang People."

"Rest assured, I will certainly abide by the agreement." Yuan Canghai was all smiles; he picked up his cup and toasted Tanaka, "To our cooperation, let us finish this cup."

After speaking, he tilted his head back and drained the wine in his cup in one gulp, then waved his hand at the musicians and dancers in the hall.

"Continue the music, continue the dance."

The music was melodious, with the sound of strings and bamboo pipes echoing.

The dancers danced gracefully, their figures supple and beautiful.

In the flower hall, both host and guest were merry, and bursts of laughter drifted out from time to time.

At this moment, a confidant behind Yuan Canghai leaned in slightly and lowered his voice.

"General Yuan, are these Fusang People reliable? Why do I always feel like they are plotting against us? I think we should notify the National Preceptor."

Yuan Canghai set down his wine cup, a cold, sinister look flashing through his eyes.

"There is no need to notify Zhou Yanli. He is perverse in nature and only wants to destroy the Daliang imperial family. Although our goals are the same, he has the benevolence of a woman and cannot bring himself to be ruthless toward the common people."

"Take the Tiansheng Army incident last time; he wanted to use the medicinal powder on wild beasts, but where are wild beasts as easy to catch as the lowly commoners? I used his medicine on the lowly commoners, turning them into madmen to lead the charge for me. After he learned the truth, he flew into a great rage at me."

"Later, when I wanted to ask him for this medicinal powder again, he actually refused to give it. If only he would give me the medicinal powder, I could create tens of thousands of Tiansheng Army soldiers; wouldn't dealing with Xiao Moting be as easy as turning over one's hand?"

"Do not let Zhou Yanli know about our alliance with the Fusang People; tell everyone to keep it a secret from him. Give orders that no one is allowed to help Zhou Yanli find the medicinal herbs for his headaches; just let him stay in the mansion for this period and not come out to cause me trouble."

After a pause, a flash of intense murderous intent crossed Yuan Canghai's eyes.

"If it weren't for the fact that Zhou Yanli can foresee the will of Heaven and is still of great use to me right now, I would have killed him long ago."

The subordinate hurriedly lowered his head, "Yes, I will certainly follow your orders."

The vanguard of the Beijiang forces had already arrived at Shiya City.

Outside the city, it was already in chaos.

The surrounding farmland was a scene of desolation everywhere, with flames, black smoke, and displaced disaster victims in a state of total disorder.

The garrison general in the city was leading troops to maintain order.

"Tell the people not to panic; everyone line up and settle down outside the city first."

The disaster victims were in rags, and the sound of crying was everywhere.

A woman rushed out of the crowd, knelt before the garrison troops, and sobbed as she complained.

"Officials, please do something about these locusts! Our family finally managed to save a little grain, but as soon as the locusts came, they not only ate our food but also rushed into the village and hurt people everywhere. We don't even dare to return home."

Her sobbing immediately resonated with the other disaster victims.

Everyone crowded forward.

"Please, government, exterminate the locusts; if this continues, we will all die."

"The insect plague is too terrifying; the people of several villages have all fled. The elderly who couldn't run were harmed to death by the locusts; several people have already died."

"The locusts don't just eat grain and leaves; they bite people too! The trees on the mountains, the turf, and the vegetable patches we worked so hard to plant have all been gnawed to nothing by the insects."

The scene was in chaos, and the garrison commander also had a headache.

"Quiet, everyone! We have already sent men out to burn straw everywhere to exterminate the locusts."

As soon as he finished speaking, a strange buzzing sound suddenly came from afar.

Hearing this sound, the surrounding disaster victims instantly fell into a panic.

"Run! The swarm of insects is flying over."

"Everyone, run for your lives! The locusts are flying into the city."

The soldiers looked up and all turned pale with fright.

The distant sky had suddenly darkened.

A massive, grey swarm of locusts blocked the sunlight, flying over rapidly in a dense, black mass.

"The locusts are flying over!" The garrison commander roared immediately, "There are many commoners in the city, and we have taken in tens of thousands of disaster victims; we cannot let the swarm fly into Shiya City! Otherwise, if they fly into the city and bite people, the consequences will be unimaginable."

The massive swarm of locusts had already eaten all the crops, leaves, and turf in the nearby farmland... they had even gnawed on the tree bark.

Everything edible in the vicinity had been eaten clean by the swarm.

The locust swarm was starving mad; they were not only biting animals and poultry, but they had also started to bite people!

As soon as they discovered a crowd, they would swarm forward and tear at them with sharp mouthparts.

Locusts are not fierce beasts and have limited biting power, making it impossible for them to bite a person to death, but their numbers are massive, and they can leave a person covered in wounds and dripping with blood.

The disaster victims lacked clothing and food, and even more so medicine; many who were bitten by the locusts began to run high fevers and lose consciousness before long.

Dozens of people who were bitten have already died from infection.

A large group of remaining disaster victims who were bitten have neither water nor food, and even less medicine, so they can only lie by the roadside and wait for death.