Chapter 324: Hunger is everywhere, comprehending the way of agriculture, seeking new food, and monks seeking merit
Upon hearing this, all the civil and military officials in the court agreed to solve the problem first and deal with the remaining matters later.

Li Shimin finally came to his senses: "Well, let's do as Zhangsun Wuji said!"

Then countless orders were issued and countless decrees spread throughout the nine provinces.

Emperor Xiao also received the news quickly. Seeing the imperial edict in his hand, he was secretly solemn: "The drought is true. This is really troublesome."

The previous speculation was true, and Emperor Xiao had a vague sense of foreboding. After all, the drought was true, which meant that what happened in the historical Tang Dynasty was now reflected in the Tang Dynasty in Journey to the West.

In the history of the Tang Dynasty, this drought was followed by a locust plague. When Emperor Xiao looked through the history books of the human race, he found nothing about this locust plague.

In the history of the human race in Kyushu, there have been many dynasties, and there have been many droughts, wind disasters, land disasters, floods... but there has never been a locust plague.

I don’t know whether there will really be a locust plague in the Tang Dynasty during Journey to the West, and how this locust plague will appear.

Emperor Xiao pondered in his heart, but also handed the imperial edict to Wu Meiniang, very cautiously: "Meiniang, the drought is really coming. We in Yuhang County must be prepared. Secondly, order Xilin to reorganize the army and be ready to go to war at any time!"

"This..." Mei Niang hesitated for a moment, looked at her husband, and murmured softly: "Husband, drought matters certainly require the army to maintain order. But there is no need to start a war, right? Although droughts can cause some civil unrest, it won't lead to war."

"I have a bad feeling, so I'm making some preparations in advance to be on the safe side." Di Xiao didn't know whether the locust plague in his memory would come, but he had to be prepared.

After all, there really was a locust plague in the Tang Dynasty during Journey to the West, and this locust plague was certainly not an ordinary one.

Mei Niang nodded carefully, knowing that this was Di Xiao's intention, and she was prepared.

The entire Kyushu and the entire Tang Dynasty were frantically preparing to deal with the coming drought.

As time went by, drought finally came.

An elusive but real aura swept across the entire Kyushu like a violent storm.

Then, he clearly felt that the human race's Nine Provinces were shrouded in an inexplicable aura, which was the rumored calamity aura.

Then the rivers dried up, the lakes dropped, the earth became dry and cracked, the weather became scorching, the rain stopped, and the crops withered...

Under such circumstances, no matter whether it is a Golden Immortal or a Daluo Golden Immortal, the power of bringing rain would be affected by the calamity energy covering the Nine Provinces, turning into nothingness and becoming difficult to use.

The divine power of rainmaking was not enough, and the various spiritual treasures were also useless. Only by evolving merit could rain fall. But in the face of the catastrophe that swept across the entire Kyushu, a little merit was simply a drop in the bucket.

Therefore, countless fields dried up, countless crops withered, and food was in short supply. Under such circumstances, even if one went outside of Kyushu to seek food elsewhere, it would not work. Because the moment these foreign foods entered Kyushu, they would turn into decay due to the calamity energy.

Therefore, if the people of Kyushu want to survive the drought, they can only rely on themselves.

Tang Dynasty, Yuhang County.

Emperor Xiao had many complicated feelings about the drought that had already arrived. "How is the drought now?" Emperor Xiao originally came to Yuhang County to practice peacefully, but he did not expect to encounter a drought. Thinking of the tragic situation of the human race in ancient times due to drought, his heart was also extremely uneasy. Especially when he thought of the corpses everywhere and cannibalism during the drought, how could Emperor Xiao calm down and practice?

In his position, he should do his job. After all, Emperor Xiao was not a heartless person, so he didn't care about the plight of the human race.

Therefore, Di Xiao stopped practicing, but paid attention to the changes inside and outside Yuhang County, seeking solutions.

Wu Meiniang promptly brought out the current intelligence: "My husband, there has not been a drop of rain in September, and the weather is hot, the rivers are dry, and even the West Lake has dropped by 30%. Even if my husband orders the army of Yuhang County to use magic to extract water from the West Lake to irrigate the fields, it is only a drop in the bucket. It is estimated that the overall yield of the fields in Yuhang County will drop by 30% this year."

"As much as 30%!" Although 30% may not seem like much, you have to know that this is the entire Yuhang County. This 30% added up is a huge number. This means that many people will not have enough food to eat.

Food is the most important thing for people. Lack of food means death.

Di Xiao clenched his fists, feeling unhappy. Wu Meiniang was also bitter: "My husband, this time it is only reduced by 30%, thanks to the fact that our Yuhang County is built around the West Lake and has the water from the West Lake to irrigate the fields. If it were other places, it is estimated that the production would be reduced by at least 50% in a few years."

"Give the army the order to hunt and collect all edible things in Yuhang County. Try to make up for the food shortage in Yuhang County. Secondly, the food in the granary should also be distributed in a limited manner. After all, each drought in Kyushu lasts for at least several decades. We must have some reserves in our hands during these decades." Although Di Xiao handed over many government affairs to Wu Meiniang, it does not mean that Di Xiao does not understand these things.

Moreover, Emperor Xiao also looked through the human race's nine states' past droughts, and found that all human droughts would last at least several decades, or even a hundred years. In such a situation, if some food could be preserved, it would also allow the human race to survive longer.

Of course, Emperor Xiao was also taking precautions against future locust plagues. Although he didn't know if this locust plague would come, Emperor Xiao still had to take precautions.

After making many arrangements, Wu Meiniang also asked and obeyed. However, Emperor Xiao said again: "By the way, collect all the agricultural books and grain seeds that can be collected."

Although Wu Meiniang was curious about why Emperor Xiao wanted to collect these things, she naturally obeyed since it was Emperor Xiao's arrangement.

In the blink of an eye, several years passed.

Di Xiao looked at the constantly updated changes in the drought in his hands, and felt indescribably complicated.

A few years ago, when drought struck, Yuhang County's overall grain production dropped by 30%, which gradually dropped to 40%, 50%, and now 70%.

In Yuhang County today, countless fertile fields have become extremely dry, and the crops planted have also withered. Even many plots of land have become barren.

Originally, we could rely on the water from West Lake for irrigation, but now the water level of West Lake has dropped by as much as 70%, making it impossible to irrigate the land.

During these years, not a drop of water has fallen from the sky, and even the clouds are hard to see. Only the light of the sun shines on the earth.

This situation cannot be changed by human power. Even if the Golden Immortal came to the human world now, it would be difficult to reverse it. Because the drought disaster energy floating in the nine states will destroy all laws.

At this time, Di Xiao used his extraordinary understanding to ignite his wisdom. He read countless agricultural books and looked at many kinds of grains.

"My extraordinary wisdom and understanding, I hope you can help me solve the current drought for the human race, help me open a new chapter in agriculture, help me create new types of crops, so that the human race will no longer suffer from famine, and the world will not be shaken by drought." Emperor Xiao shouted in his heart and carefully read through many classics.

(End of this chapter)