Chapter 219: Weather Manipulation Attack
As soon as these words were spoken, the court buzzed with murmurs. A single cloud covering the entire territory of Yankang Kingdom—this was almost impossible, yet it had happened!
Yankang Kingdom’s territory was vast, stretching ninety thousand li from north to south and eighty thousand li from east to west. Now, snow was falling across the entire land, and it had been snowing heavily for six or seven days—this, too, was impossible!
Cultivators possessed the power to summon wind and rain, but such abilities only affected small areas. There was no spell that could blanket the whole of Yankang Kingdom.
Yet this was not a natural disaster either. South of the Gold River rarely saw snow, and south of the Surge River, rain or snow was even more unlikely. By the Li River, the climate was summer-like all year round, making snowfall utterly impossible. Snow across the entire nation was beyond belief!
Emperor Yanfeng coughed once, silencing the court officials. “Minister of Agriculture, many of my beloved ministers may not understand how terrifying this snowfall truly is. Please explain it to them.”
An elderly minister stepped forward. He was the Minister of Agriculture of the Yankang court, in charge of the nation’s farming. He bowed and said, “Your Majesty, esteemed officials, this snow disaster: the northern crops are naturally cold-resistant, so next year’s harvest there should not be affected. The key issue is the south. The southern crops, after this heavy snow, will likely freeze to death entirely. Come next year, the south may yield nothing at all.”
The Minister of Revenue quickly asked, “Minister of Agriculture, which area do you mean by ‘the south’?”
“South of the Gold River.”
The assembled officials gasped in shock. Qin Mu was startled as well.
He possessed a map of Yankang Kingdom’s mountains and rivers. The Gold River also originated from the Great Ruins, flowing eastward for tens of thousands of li before emptying into the sea. The land south of the Gold River accounted for two-thirds of Yankang’s territory!
In other words, two-thirds of the nation would yield no harvest!
“This… Your Majesty, I believe we should first transfer grain from various regions to the south to prepare for disaster relief!”
The Minister of the Imperial Stud stepped forward, bowing. “Your Majesty, the south has just experienced war. Many prefectures and counties need disaster relief, and their granaries are likely empty. I implore Your Majesty to mobilize the northern granaries to save the people from this crisis!”
The Minister of Agriculture sighed. “We cannot transfer grain now. Esteemed officials may not know this, but the war consumed a great deal of supplies. Sending grain to the south now will only be eaten by the starving masses. Once it’s gone, there will be no seed grain for next year. Without planting, there will be no harvest in autumn. Minister of the Imperial Stud, when the starving have nothing to eat, they will turn to eating people.”
“So we just let the southern people starve to death?”
The Minister of Agriculture replied, “Grain must be sent south, but it must be rationed—just enough to keep the disaster victims alive. In truth, there are still granaries in the south, but they are all controlled by powerful clans and landlords. If we try to take their grain, they will likely incite the victims to rebel. Your Majesty…”
Emperor Yanfeng’s face darkened. “I will find a way to deal with the grain of the powerful clans and landlords. Continue.”
“Yes. Besides the south, there is another major disaster in the north.”
The Minister of Agriculture continued, “The north is already cold in winter, but this year it is even colder. I visited several northern prefectures and found that farmers have already begun cutting down trees for firewood. Many forests in the mountains have been stripped bare. If the northerners, who are used to the cold, are suffering like this, the south will be even worse. If the southern forests are completely felled, landslides, mudslides, and great floods will inevitably follow. Natural disasters will breed man-made calamities, and man-made calamities will breed more natural disasters. If we forbid the victims from cutting wood for warmth, countless more will freeze to death. By then, nine out of ten households may be empty…”
Emperor Yanfeng exhaled a heavy breath. The court fell silent, so quiet that even the sound of breathing felt oppressive. If the farmers didn’t cut wood for fire, they would freeze to death. If they did, more disasters would follow.
A single snow disaster had plunged the vast empire of Yankang into a dilemma.
The Minister of Agriculture continued, “The key is that we don’t know how long this cloud will last. If the overcast clears in a few days, we can minimize the losses. If it doesn’t, the nation is in peril, the state is in peril!”
“I… understand.”
Emperor Yanfeng sat down, looking somewhat weary. “Do my beloved ministers now understand how dire the situation is? A few days ago, when those rebels rose up, I remained calm and unconcerned. I knew they couldn’t succeed; they would eventually be destroyed by the National Teacher and you all. But this snow disaster and this cloud threaten to sever Yankang’s national fortune! My beloved ministers, do you have any solutions?”
The civil and military officials fell into silence.
Even with their vast powers, they could not blow away this cloud or melt this snow.
Emperor Yanfeng looked at the officials below, feeling both angry and anxious. Was a single snow and a single cloud enough to shatter this empire and undo centuries of effort?
A civil official said, “I believe this is the National Teacher’s reforms angering Heaven…”
Emperor Yanfeng flew into a rage. “Drag him out and behead him!”
The official fell to his knees, wailing and crying hoarsely, “Your Majesty, Heaven has its Way! The National Teacher’s reforms seek to change the Way of Heaven, thus Heaven’s wrath! Heaven’s wrath leads to people’s resentment, and the people cannot survive! Your Majesty!”
“Guards!”
Emperor Yanfeng was furious. “At a time of national crisis, he spreads lies and sows discord! If I don’t behead him, must I do it myself?”
The palace guards hurried over and dragged the official away. His cries gradually faded into the distance.
Emperor Yanfeng paced back and forth, suppressing his anger. “I need capable ministers who can get things done, not sycophants who only slander! These reforms are what I wanted, not what the National Teacher wanted! If Heaven is angry and the people resentful, let them be angry at me and resent me! The National Teacher is a capable minister—rare not just in five hundred years, but in a thousand or two thousand! You all think of a solution! If you can’t, don’t go home, and don’t celebrate the New Year!”
“Your Majesty, why not collect this cloud?”
Suddenly, a voice spoke from below the court. “Since we can’t disperse the cloud, we can gather its energy.”
The civil and military officials all turned to look. Emperor Yanfeng’s gaze also shifted. “Ah, it’s the Central Scattered Grand Master. Central Scattered Grand Master, do you have any insights? Please share them.”
Qin Mu said, “I have seen treasures like fire gourds in the military. Soldiers store their true fire in these gourds and release it during battle. When the Imperial Medical Academy failed in alchemy and knocked out the Imperial Academy, the former Grand Sacrificial Officer used a gourd to collect the anesthetic and save the academy. I wonder if we could also use gourds or similar spiritual treasures to collect this overcast cloud?”
Emperor Yanfeng looked at the Grand General of the Heavenly Strategy. “General Qin, do you think this is feasible?”
The Grand General of the Heavenly Strategy, whose surname was Qin and given name Jian, was the leader of the military officials and the patriarch of the powerful Qin clan in the capital. He stepped forward and said, “Your Majesty, the Central Scattered Grand Master’s suggestion is feasible. However, the military does not have enough fire gourds. The military’s fire gourds are made from purple vine gourds and distributed to the Vermilion Bird Armies across the country. There are a total of one million fire gourds nationwide. One million gourds could collect the overcast cloud over one province, but with so many provinces across the country, the military’s gourds alone cannot do it.”
Qin Mu said, “Although the military’s gourds are few, there are officials skilled in spells in every region, as well as powerful clans. The court officials themselves are a forest of experts. Your Majesty could issue a decree, ordering cultivators across the land to create treasures and collect the overcast clouds above their areas. With so many cultivators nationwide—county magistrates, deputy governors, and prefectural governors all being experts—each responsible for their own jurisdiction, and with military experts deployed to assist in various places, I believe we can clear seven or eight-tenths of the clouds.”
Emperor Yanfeng pondered. “Mobilizing the nation’s cultivators to remove the clouds is somewhat difficult. Some wandering cultivators in the martial world do not heed the court’s commands…”
“Then Your Majesty must lead by example.”
Qin Mu said, “If Your Majesty leaves the capital and personally goes to each province to collect the overcast clouds, the people will naturally follow.”
The civil and military officials exchanged glances. The emperor leaving the capital to personally collect clouds across the provinces? The rebellion had just been quelled, and remnants of various sects and schools might take the opportunity to assassinate him.
The National Teacher of Yankang had been ambushed on his way back from the Great Ruins after a failed campaign. If the emperor left the capital, he would surely face even more assassination attempts!
Just as everyone was about to speak, Emperor Yanfeng’s eyes lit up, and he laughed. “Agreed. Minister Qin, do you have any other strategies to deal with this snow disaster?”
“The snow disaster has already occurred. I am powerless to change it.”
Qin Mu said, “However, I have heard a saying: The Way of the sage is no different from the daily needs of the people. There are so many cultivators in the world. Once the sun comes out and the snow melts, let these cultivators personally go to the fields, remove the frozen crops for the people in each region, and replant. Next year, there might still be some harvest. If the rice ears need wind, ask the cultivators to send wind. If weeds overgrow, ask them to weed. If insect plagues break out, ask them to eliminate the insects. If frost falls, ask them to use fire to remove the frost.”
“Your Majesty, these are demonic words!”
A civil official trembled with anger as he stepped forward. “Your Majesty, the Central Scattered Grand Master speaks demonic words that harm the nation and the people. He deserves death!”
Emperor Yanfeng laughed. “This statement is perfectly correct. Why would it be demonic words? It is not harming the nation or the people; it is good governance and saving the people. Your official position is revoked. Go home and reflect carefully. Minister Qin, do you have any other good strategies?”
Qin Mu thought for a moment and said, “Your Majesty could also have the Astronomical Bureau monitor weather across the country. In flood years, collect rain clouds into gourds or similar spiritual treasures. In years of hurricanes, collect the hurricanes into spiritual treasures. Tornadoes, hailstorms, lightning—all can be collected and stored for later use. If drought strikes, release the heavy rain. If war breaks out with foreign nations, release hail, snow, lightning, and tornadoes to manipulate the weather and attack the enemy. This year’s snow disaster nearly destroyed the national fortune of a glorious empire like Yankang. If such weather manipulation techniques were used against an enemy nation, which country could withstand them?”
“Your Majesty, manipulating the weather violates the Way of Heaven! These are demonic words!”
Another civil official stepped forward, kowtowing repeatedly until his head bled, and shouted harshly, “Truly demonic words! This will destroy our nation’s mandate! Your Majesty, please quickly execute this demonic heretic!”
“You are dismissed from office.”
Emperor Yanfeng waved his hand and laughed. “You can’t come up with any ideas, yet you spout nonsense and attack the Central Scattered Grand Master. I pay you a generous salary every month—what use are you? This snow and this cloud are what truly threaten to destroy our nation’s mandate! Guards, drag him away. Central Scattered Grand Master, knowing is easy, but doing is hard. For this disaster relief, you will accompany me.”
Qin Mu hesitated, looking troubled. “I still need to go home for the New Year… I recommend a few people who might be able to help Your Majesty.”
Emperor Yanfeng laughed heartily, feeling as if the dark cloud over his heart had also dispersed. He waved his hand and said, “Approved. I am in need of talent right now. If the people you recommend are truly useful, I will not treat you poorly.”
Duke Weiguo’s heart trembled slightly. “The Heavenly Demon Cult is about to enter the court… But then again, I am the cult’s Guardian Heavenly King, and I’ve been in the court for a long time. This young cult leader is truly a schemer. The National Teacher hasn’t been in court these past few days, and he’s already taking the opportunity to place his people. If the National Teacher were gone for a few years, even the emperor might become a member of his Heavenly Demon Cult! Where exactly has the National Teacher gone? He’s been traveling with his wife for so long, and such a big disaster has happened, yet he still hasn’t returned…”