Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 1208 Seeking advantages and avoiding disadvantages

Shen Zheng finished a hard biscuit on the bumpy horseback, and Hua Duo, worried that she wouldn't have enough, handed her another one from behind.

Shen Zheng felt a tightness in her throat as soon as she saw the pancake, and refused it without thinking.

Hua Duo then handed her her water bottle from behind.

It must be said that Hua Duo's riding skills are indeed very good. He can not only protect her steadily from behind, but also take things out of the baggage on his back.

As Shen Zheng sipped water, she brainstormed, pondering something that seemed impossible but was actually very much in line with biology—locusts probably don't like high-yield rice.

Why do you say that?

Shen Zheng squeezed the locust in her purse.

There's a saying that goes, "survival of the fittest."

As we all know, the habits of living organisms are inextricably linked to their environment.

For example, a dog eating poop.

Did dogs eat feces before they were domesticated by humans?

Obviously not.

What is the behavior of a dog eating feces called?

Coprophagia.

What were the ancestors of dogs?

Wild gray wolf.

From the perspective of animal behavior and ecology, gray wolves do not like to eat feces because the energy gain from eating feces is low and it contains a large number of germs, which does not conform to the animal's instinct to "seek benefit and avoid harm".

But why do dogs these days seem to love eating poop?

Because wild gray wolves have been domesticated by humans, but humans are unable to provide them with a stable food source, they are forced to choose human feces as food in order to survive.

When they are under long-term survival pressure, their gene sequences gradually change, leading to one of the biggest misconceptions about dogs—that a dog can't change its nature of eating feces.

It's not that they can't change, but their genes are driving them. Deep down, they believe that if they change their habit of eating feces, they might starve to death.

So, in order to survive, dogs had no choice but to eat human feces, thus becoming creatures with coprophagia.

Therefore, Shen Zheng derived the conjecture from this evolutionary biology perspective that "locusts do not like to eat high-yield rice".

From an evolutionary biology perspective, the locusts native to the Great Zhou Dynasty and the rice native to the Great Zhou Dynasty have formed a "co-evolutionary" relationship that has lasted for thousands of years.

Today, the locusts native to the Great Zhou Dynasty have evolved through long-term consumption of native plants, resulting in improvements in their olfactory receptors, mouthpart structure, and digestive system.

In other words, today's locusts are pests that specifically breed to damage native rice paddies.

Their olfactory receptors can effectively identify the scent of native rice, their mouthparts can quickly cut and chew native rice ears, and their digestive system is designed for native rice, providing them with energy by eating it.

And what about high-yield rice?

High-yield rice is a product of the system; for Da Zhou, it is an "exotic mutated species," and the same is true for locusts.

Its gene sequence, nutrient composition, and volatile substances are all unfamiliar to native locusts.

Combining this with the animal's instinct to "seek advantage and avoid harm," Shen Zheng boldly speculated that grasshoppers, as "herbivorous insects," would adopt a conservative feeding strategy to avoid the risks brought by unknown food, thus subconsciously rejecting high-yield rice.

Of course, this condition is based on the premise that there is enough food, after all, there is a saying that "a hungry man will eat anything".

Previously, Shen Zheng had been considering how to use two different types of food to disrupt the locusts' migration route and successfully lead them into the Wangyue Mountain Pass.

If she could confirm this conjecture, her confusion would be resolved.

Thinking it over, Shen Zheng turned to look at Jiang Zhiming behind her by the dim light of the torch: "Lord Jiang, where are the public fields in Fuzhou for growing high-yield rice?"

"Public fields?" Jiang Zhiming rode up on horseback. "They're on the outskirts of the city, guarded by special personnel. Lord Shen, rest assured, the government has already ordered that high-yield rice be harvested first. Even if our plan fails this time, the government will do its best to preserve the high-yield rice, leaving a glimmer of hope for next year..."

Shen Zheng nodded, but did not reveal his guess. Instead, he said, "After arriving at the government office, I need one pound of high-yield rice and one pound of ordinary rice."

Jiang Zhiming was slightly taken aback, but still agreed: "Okay, I'll remember that."

"Let's hurry on our way, time waits for no one." Shen Zheng sat up straight, her fingers tightening around the tassel on her purse.

Horse hooves pounded the night dew, splashing up tiny specks of mud, and the group's robes were filled with the night wind, fluttering loudly.

The road ahead was hidden in darkness, winding and twisting.

......

The situation in the suburbs of Fuzhou was not good; the atmosphere was tense and sticky, and scattered rice grains could be faintly seen in the mud.

Shen Zheng and the others arrived at the city gate around dawn. The gate was not yet open, but the torches on both sides were about to burn out.

Xin Ji dismounted and pounded on the city gate: "Open the gate! Your prefect is back, hurry up!"

There was a rustling sound inside the gate, and the heavy city gate opened a crack from the inside.

The cold glint of the soldiers' armor reflected from the cracks in the door. Moments later, the city gates swung open, and the soldiers, trembling, stared at Jiang Zhiming: "Prefect, you've finally..."

came back.

The helplessness in their eyes pierced Jiang Zhiming's heart. He took a deep breath and raised his right hand: "Issue my order: immediately procure at least one hundred each of bamboo woven nets and reed curtains from all bamboo workshops in the prefectural city and surrounding areas! Also, purchase as many bamboo tall shelves as possible! In addition, order one thousand bronze mirrors and one thousand catties of wood ash..."

Jiang Zhiming ordered the collection of the supplies Shen Zheng had mentioned earlier: "Get everything to the western pass of Wangyue Mountain before midnight tonight. No delays! Now, immediately! Whether we can stop the locusts at the border of Fuzhou depends on this battle!"

At first, the soldiers thought it was an impossible task.

After all, Wangyue Mountain is not close to the prefectural city. It takes two or three hours to ride a horse, not to mention that supplies need to be collected in advance and then transported there by carriage.

But when the soldiers heard Jiang Zhiming's last words, they felt that perhaps nothing in this world is impossible.

The livelihoods of all the people in the prefecture were entrusted to them.

"Yes! This humble officer will do his utmost to reach Wangyue Mountain before midnight!" The soldier's roar shook the heavens.

As soon as Shen Zheng and her companions arrived at the Fuzhou government office, the officials came to greet them.

They were extremely anxious, but when their gazes fell on Shen Zheng, they all paused in surprise: "Lord Shen?"

Lord Shen's arrival means that Fuzhou... is saved.

Their newly arrived prefect seems to have some real skills; he even managed to invite Lord Shen...

Shen Zheng nodded, repeated the required supplies, wiped her face with her sleeve, and said, "Bronze mirrors are not something every household has. Collecting a thousand bronze mirrors at once is extremely difficult. I hope you gentlemen will assist the garrison soldiers and appeal to the people to lend them out. Also..."

"I have a few noodles at home!" an official immediately replied. "I will send someone back to the manor to fetch them right away!"