Imperial Crown.

Chapter 277 News of the Locust Plague

Count Jonah's letter was spread out on the table. The rough paper made of yak skin had a ruggedness unique to the plateau, but the content on it made everyone frown.

In the letter, Count Jonah first exchanged pleasantries, thanked Raven for his generosity in raising grain for him at a low price last year, and asked about the health of Raven and Nancy.

Afterwards, he changed the subject and mentioned that the drought in Molinier Province has not improved since last winter, and a large number of locust eggs have been found on the banks of rivers in many places, which are difficult to destroy completely.

In other words, a locust plague is likely to break out this year.

And a locust plague is never confined to one place. If it breaks out in the province of Molinier, it will definitely spread to the province of Nord.

Raven drummed his fingers on the table. "We can't take the locust plague lightly. I asked you to come here to ask if there is any way to deal with it."

After all, he was the one who sent away three generations of family heads. Old Gordon pushed up his monocle and said, "Since the Griffith family took root in the Eagle Territory, they have encountered locust plagues more than once. They have used quite a few methods."

Raven's eyes lit up. "Oh? Tell me more about it."

Old Gordon coughed lightly, sorted out his thoughts, and began to talk freely, which also opened the eyes of Raven and Bucky next to him.

Even in this era, over thousands of years, people have accumulated a lot of experience in locust control and summarized a set of rules.

Locust plagues usually break out after severe droughts, so in order to contain them, experienced lords would organize their subjects to set fire to the wasteland to burn the insect eggs in the grass; then they would organize people to search for locust eggs in the lowlands near the river and kill them in advance, so as to minimize the number and size of future locusts.

But as Old Gordon spoke and Raven listened, their expressions began to become somewhat serious.

What old Gordon said was all empirical summary. Since the Griffith family has some knowledge of it, Earl Jonah must also know it.

The fact that this letter was sent to us means that preventive measures are no longer effective and that even if we try our best to kill the locusts, we cannot eliminate the possibility of a locust plague outbreak.

"You're talking about prevention, but what about countermeasures?" Raven asked.

"...It's very difficult, almost impossible." Old Gordon swallowed.

Raven frowned and said, "That's impossible. After a thousand years, there is no solution at all?"

"There is a stupid idea." Old Gordon looked a little strange: "That is..."

After listening to old Gordon's description, Raven was also a little amused.

Because this way of dealing with the problem is indeed not reliable - raising birds.

The reason for this method is that the nobles discovered that locust plagues would basically not occur in places with dense forests and abundant bird species.

After a little thought, Raven understood the logic.

Birds are natural enemies of insects. Some birds eat eggs, some eat larvae, and some eat locusts directly, which can indeed kill the locust plague at the root.

But the problem is that this method is not applicable where there are forests, nor is it applicable where there are few forests.

The locust plague broke out so suddenly that we can't destroy all the farmland and plant trees to attract birds.

In that case, when the seedlings grow out, they may not attract birds, but they can provide the locusts with some tender food.

"What about Buggy? Do you have any ideas?" Raven scratched his eyebrows and asked, "For example, make a medicine for locusts. It doesn't mean to kill them, but to drive them away from the territory."

Buggy rubbed his hands and said, "Baron, you think too highly of my alchemy."

"If you want to kill some cockroaches and rats, I can still do something about it. But as for locusts... you may have to go find the legendary Baggins."

Baggins, the teacher of all alchemists and the only alchemist in history to reach the fifth level, was the one who established the norms of alchemy and pioneered alchemy.

Raven rubbed his temple helplessly, knowing that he was overthinking.

That's right. After all, locust plagues are extremely destructive. If they could really be prevented and controlled through alchemy, then after thousands of years, there should have been mature ways to deal with them.

After sorting out his thoughts, Lei Wen said, "We can't prevent and control the locust plague. We can only try to minimize the losses."

"Well, Gordon, from today on, organize people to build wooden fences and palisades along the border of the territory. They don't need to be too high, just enough that ordinary people can't climb over them."

"Then, through the Tianying platform, we purchased poultry on a large scale. Although we cannot raise birds, it is still okay to raise chickens and ducks."

"Finally, please draft three letters for me; one of them is a reply to Count Jonah. I remember that Countess Jonah is still alive and has two daughters, so I will send you three bottles of Angel's Kisses."

"For the remaining two letters, copy Earl Jonah's warning verbatim and send them to Mon'en City and Hovi City respectively, using the Mercenary Guild's route."

Old Gordon nodded and said, "Yes, sir."

At this time, Baki suddenly said, "Wait, since we knew that the locust plague was going to break out, why didn't we purchase some food in advance before notifying them?"

As soon as these words came out, Raven and Old Gordon looked at him at the same time, with an inexplicable smile in their eyes.

Bucky felt a little frightened by being stared at, and felt even more uncomfortable.

Originally, his identity as an alchemist was unique in the Raven territory. He had always been regarded as Raven's personal alchemist and had a very high status. Although he had no title, even knights had to be respectful to him.

But ever since Petty became an alchemist, his position has become increasingly unstable.

Especially after moving into Eagle City, except for the day when Raven invited him to move, today was the only day he invited him to meet.

He suddenly made the suggestion because of a sense of crisis, hoping that he could gain Raven's attention.

Bucky felt uncomfortable being stared at by the two, so he asked, "Why, did I say something wrong?"

"It seems that people really can't be isolated from the world for too long." Raven shook his head and sighed.

"Mr. Bucky, do you know what day it is today?" asked old Gordon.

Bucky was stunned: "Uh... April 4st?"

"Yes, April 4st, spring has just arrived." Seeing that he still didn't react, Old Gordon had to explain patiently: "Right now, last year's grain has been eaten up, and there is no harvest this year. Except for a few productive areas, everyone is buying grain, so we can't get much even if we increase the price."

Raven continued, "Also, Count Jonah's letter seems to be a private letter to me, but in fact he wants to pass the news on through me. And the locust plague is something that cannot be concealed. You don't think that in the entire Nord Province, I am the only one who has a personal relationship with Noble Molinier, right?"

"So, why should I offend the nobles of the entire province just for the grain that I can't harvest?"

Bucky was stunned, blinked, and nodded as if he suddenly realized something.

Raven chuckled: "Well, this is not your major after all, it's normal that you don't understand it."

"Once the locust plague arrives, I estimate that there will be either famine or plague. You should make some preparations in advance. I don't want my territory to lose too many people."

Bucky, who was a little discouraged, suddenly brightened up when he heard this: "Understood, Baron!"

As Old Gordon and Bucky left, Raven looked out the window and sighed.

The Empire has started a war, the Fox family has been destroyed, and a locust plague is imminent. The Nord Province is truly facing a turbulent time.

Regardless of whether there were many things going on this year, Raven had a lot going on today.

Not long after Old Gordon and Bucky left, an old friend came to Eagle City.

In the reception room, Hyde took off his cloak and handed it to the maid, then sat down on a chair and drank a glass of Angel's Tears: "... Oh, I've had a hard time along the way." "I don't know if I'm born to be incompatible with you, why do I always have to come around the rainy season?"

Raven shrugged. "How should I know? I didn't ask you to come. Can't you pick a better time?"

"Besides, it hasn't rained in Nord Province for more than 20 days, right?"

Hyde was choked, rolled his eyes and put down the cup: "You have a nickname of 'Little Bee', but why do you talk like 'Little Stone' and choke people?"

"If you were the little daughter of Earl Tyrone, you would definitely understand the abilities of my little bee. Unfortunately, I'm not interested in men." Raven spread his hands.

"Well, I can't beat you in a quarrel, so I give in." Hyde raised his right hand and rested his hands on his knees: "How is Nancy doing lately?"

If it was someone else asking, Raven would definitely think it was a provocation, but this was Hyde, and he didn't think so much.

Although the relationship between the two cannot be said to be very close, Hyde is one of the few people in the Nord Province who can be considered Raven's "friend".

"She cried for a while at first, but she's been feeling better lately. But she's still a little glum," Raven sighed.

Hyde restrained his expression, nodded, and suddenly lowered his body and asked in a low voice: "Gul'dan is here with you too, right?"

Raven's expression suddenly became extremely interesting. He didn't know whether Hyde was stupid or smart to ask such a sensitive question so naturally.

Unable to figure out Hyde's train of thought for a moment, Raven coughed and said, "I only heard that Gul'dan is missing."

Hyde looked at Raven suspiciously, shook his head, and didn't ask any more questions: "Well, I came here for two things this time."

As he said that, he stretched out his hand and hooked his four fingers together.

Raven was a little confused: "What?"

"Playing dumb is not one of the virtues of a noble." Hyde said, "Last time we agreed that you would help me enchant that set of misty iron armor. Now that half a year has passed, it should be done, right?"

"Oh, about this matter." Raven picked up the wine glass to hide his embarrassment: "We will have to wait for this."

It’s not that Raven intentionally delayed, but after the competition ended, Raven was a little busy. He finally moved into Eagle City, but before he had settled down for long, he was attacked by Imperial.

After that, Raven spent a lot of energy on meditation and increasing magic power, and the matter of enchanting the armor was delayed. At present, the progress is only about 5%.

"Eh..." Hyde sighed and smacked his lips: "Then you have to hurry up. Next, let's talk about the second thing."

"My father asked me to inform you... No, to be exact, he asked me to bring you two words."

As he spoke, he cleared his throat and imitated the tone of Earl Tyrone: "'The Governor's orders cannot be disobeyed, but there is no need to get too close to Marquis Anthony.'"

Raven nodded slowly, savoring the flavor.

These two sentences are very concise, but they express rich meanings.

"The orders of the Governor-General must not be disobeyed" means that as an extension of the power of His Majesty the King, the Governor's orders must be obeyed and carried out well, but this is only limited to the orders of the "Governor-General".

"There's no need to get too close to Marquis Anthony," combined with the first half of the sentence, implicitly expresses two meanings.

First, it is impossible for Anthony to stay in the post of governor of Nord province forever. If he gets too close to him, he will inevitably be purged and excluded when the new governor takes office in the future.

The second is that Antony is untrustworthy and not worth fighting for and sacrificing one's noble status and principles.

In addition to these two sentences, Earl Tyrone was showing goodwill towards Raven, and vaguely regarded Raven as one of his own.

This is the shrewdness of Earl Tyrone, he always knows how to balance the forces within the province.

"No way, you figured it out so quickly?" Hyde sighed deeply and glanced at Raven. "It took me a long time to figure out what these two sentences meant."

"You, do you look at everyone like an idiot?"

Raven smiled slightly, "Not really. For example, you're not an idiot."

In his opinion, Hyde was the kind of person who had been well protected and well educated since childhood. Although he had some bad habits that all aristocrats had, he essentially lacked the psychological basis to do bad things.

When you get along with Hyde, you don't have to worry about him plotting against you, because he has neither the brains nor the heart to do so.

Sure enough, upon hearing Raven's words, Hyde immediately smiled: "Really? In your opinion, what kind of person is my father?"

Raven paused for a moment and said, "Among the nobles of Nord Province, I only admire two and a half people, and Earl Tyrone is one of them."

"He can be said to be a diligent, intelligent and wise lord. Even when my father-in-law was still alive, he was far inferior to him."

Hearing Raven praising his father so highly, Hyde smiled even more broadly, and at the same time, he became more curious: "You said 'two and a half men', so who are the other one and a half besides my father?"

"There is another one, Marquis Anthony." Raven said, "He knows where his authority comes from and what he pursues, so he can act decisively and vigorously."

Hearing this, Hyde felt a little bored. He originally thought that Raven was sincerely praising him, but now it seems that he is just like other nobles, saying nice things and saying nothing special. "Then I know. The remaining half is Archbishop Thomas."

"The reason you only admire him halfway is because he is a member of the Church of Light. As an imperial noble, you need to have some boundaries with him, right?"

Hyde was full of confidence, but after hearing this, Raven shook his head: "You guessed wrong."

"Not him?" Hyde was puzzled. "You didn't say that on purpose to comfort me, did you? Then who do you think this last person is?"

Raven said, "It's Viscount John."

"Viscount John?" Hyde was stunned for a moment before he slowly remembered this person.

He only remembered that Viscount John had exchanged territories with Raven. He was just an elderly nobleman and did not seem to have done anything earth-shattering. How could he be respected by Raven?

"Viscount John is the only noble I have ever met who still adheres to the ancient spirit." Raven said seriously: "No matter what happens in the outside world, no matter how others treat him, he always adheres to the ancient theories and traditions. The key is that he is strict with himself and lenient with others. He is an honest elder."

Hyde also fell silent. Although in this era, the nobles were rushing towards new pursuits and mocking the old generation's old-fashioned conservatism, a person who sticks to principles can always be respected.

"In that case, why is he only half? Just because he is only a viscount?"

"No." Raven shook his head. "That's because I can never be like him."

Hyde was silent for a moment, then suddenly startled, and couldn't help staring into Raven's eyes.

Raven said that he could not become a man like Viscount John, so he only admired half of him. Doesn't that mean...

But Hyde couldn't say anything to refute it, because in his heart, Raven was indeed a person who stood on the same level as his father.

This time Hyde did not stay too long. He only stayed in Eagle Town for 3 days before saying goodbye and leaving. When he left, he still did not get the second-level enchanted plate armor that he had been longing for.

He also told Raven sourly that he would also build a castle like Eagle City in the future.

Just as Hyde left Eagle Territory, Raven's letter was also brought to Hovi City by the mercenaries.

……

(End of this chapter)