Celestial Attack

Chapter 219 Celestial Attack

As soon as these words were spoken, the court was filled with a buzz of discussion, and a cloud covered the entire territory of Yankang State. This was almost impossible to happen, but it happened!

Yankang State has a vast territory, 90,000 miles from north to south and 80,000 miles from east to west. Now it is snowing all over the country, and the heavy snow has been continuing for six or seven days. This is impossible!

The supernatural being has the ability to call the wind and rain, but calling the wind and rain can only cause rainfall in a small area. It is impossible for such a spell to cover the entire territory of Yankang Kingdom.

But this is not a natural disaster. There is rarely any snowfall south of the Jinjiang River, and it is even less likely to have rain or snow south of the Yongjiang River. When it comes to the Lijiang River, it is summer all year round, and it is even less likely to snow.

Snowfall across the country is incredible!

Emperor Yanfeng coughed to quiet the court officials, and said, "Si Nong, perhaps many of you do not understand how terrible this snowfall is. Please explain it to you."

An old minister stepped out. He was the Minister of Agriculture of the Yankang court, who was in charge of the national agriculture. He bowed and said, "Your Majesty, gentlemen, the crops in the north are cold-resistant and will not lack a harvest next year. The key is the south. After this heavy snow, the crops in the south will probably be frozen to death. By next year, there will be no harvest in the south."

The Minister of Revenue asked hurriedly, "Which south is the Minister of Agriculture referring to?"

"South of the Jin River."

All the officials in the court gasped, and Qin Mu was also shocked.

He had a geographical map of the mountains and rivers of Yankang State. The Jinjiang River also started from Daxu, ran eastward for tens of thousands of miles, and then flowed into the sea.

The land south of the Jinjiang River occupies two-thirds of Yankang’s territory!

In other words, two-thirds of the country will be barren!

"This... Your Majesty, I think we should first allocate food and grass from all over the country to the south to prepare for disaster relief!"

The Minister of the Imperial Household stepped out and bowed, saying, "The south has just experienced war, and many counties are in need of disaster relief. I'm afraid the granaries in the counties are empty. Your Majesty, please mobilize the granaries in the north to save the people from the disaster!"

Minister of Agriculture sighed and said, "We can't transfer it now. You all don't know that the war has consumed a lot of food and grass. If we transfer the grain to the south now, it will be eaten up by the hungry people. After they eat it up, there will be no grain seeds next year, and we won't be able to grow food, and there will be nothing to eat in the fall. Master Taifu, if the hungry people can't eat, they will eat people."

"Are we just going to let the people in the south starve to death?"

Minister of Agriculture said: "Food must be transported to the south, but the supply must be limited, and only enough food must be provided to keep the victims alive. In fact, there are still granaries in the south, but they are all in the hands of the wealthy families and landlords. If their food is taken, I am afraid they will incite the victims to rebel. Your Majesty..."

Emperor Yanfeng's face darkened, and he said, "I will find a way to get the food for the noble families and landlords. Please continue."

"Yes. In addition to the south, there is also a great disaster in the north and south."

Minister of Agriculture said: "The north is cold in winter, and it is even colder this year. I have visited several northern counties and found that farmers have already cut down trees and burned fires to keep warm. Many trees in the mountains have been cut down, leaving them bare. The people in the north are cold-resistant, but it is still like this, so you can imagine the situation in the south. If all the trees in the south are cut down, mountain torrents, mudslides, and floods will inevitably continue. Natural disasters will lead to man-made disasters, and man-made disasters will lead to more natural disasters. If the victims are not allowed to cut down trees for heating, I am afraid that many people will freeze to death. By then, I am afraid that nine out of ten houses will be empty..."

Emperor Yanfeng exhaled a breath of foul air, and the court officials also quieted down, so quiet that even their breathing sounded heavy and harsh. If they did not cut down trees for firewood, the farmers would freeze to death, and cutting down trees for firewood would cause more disasters.

A snowstorm put the huge empire of Yankang into a dilemma.

Minister Si Nong continued: "The key is that we don't know how long this cloud will last. If the dark cloud dissipates in the next few days, the losses can be minimized. If it does not dissipate, the country and the society will be in danger!"

"I... understand."

Emperor Yanfeng sat down, feeling somewhat powerless, and said, "My dear ministers, now you understand how critical the situation is, right? A few days ago, when those traitors rebelled, I was still at ease and didn't care. I knew they couldn't succeed, and would be destroyed by the Imperial Master and my dear ministers sooner or later. But this snowstorm and this cloud will end the fate of my Yankang! My dear ministers, do you have a solution?"

All the civil and military officials in the court fell silent.

Even if they had great magical powers, they could not blow away the clouds or melt the snow.

Emperor Yanfeng looked at his ministers in the hall, feeling angry and anxious. Would a snowflake or a cloud cause the empire to fall apart and hundreds of years of hard work to vanish into thin air?

A civil servant said: "I think this is the reform of the imperial teacher, which has angered the heavens..."

Emperor Yanfeng was furious: "Drag him out and chop him off!"

The civil servant fell to his knees, weeping and shouting at the top of his lungs: "Your Majesty, Heaven has its own way. The Imperial Master's reform is to change Heaven's way. Therefore, Heaven is angry, and when Heaven is angry, people will resent it. The people will suffer, Your Majesty!"

"Someone come!"

Emperor Yanfeng was furious: "When the country is in crisis, he still spreads lies to confuse the people. If I don't kill him, do you want me to kill him myself?"

The guards in the Golden Palace came hurriedly and dragged the civil servant away, only to hear his cries gradually fading away.

Emperor Yanfeng took two quick steps and suppressed his anger: "I want capable ministers who can get things done, not flatterers who can only open their mouths to slander! This reform is what I want, not the Imperial Master! The wrath of heaven and people is also against me! The Imperial Master is a capable minister, not to mention five hundred years, even a thousand or two thousand years is rare! You can think of a solution for me, if you can't, don't go home, and don't celebrate the New Year!"

"Your Majesty, why don't you take this cloud away?"

Suddenly, a voice from the court said, "Since the clouds cannot be dispersed, then just collect them."

The officials in charge of cultural relics all looked in the direction of the voice. Emperor Yanfeng also looked over and said, "It turned out to be Doctor Zhongsan. Doctor Zhongsan, what insights do you have? Feel free to share them."

Qin Mu said, "I have seen treasures like fire gourds in the army. Soldiers usually store their true fire in fire gourds, and release the fire in the gourds when a war breaks out. The Imperial Hospital failed to refine medicine and paralyzed the Imperial Academy. It was the former chief priest who used a gourd to take away the anesthetic and saved the Imperial Academy. I wonder if this dark cloud can also be stored in a spiritual treasure like a gourd?"

Emperor Yanfeng looked at General Tiance and asked, "General Qin, do you think this is feasible?"

General Tiance's surname was Qin Jian, and he was the leader of the military commanders and the patriarch of the Qin family, a powerful family in the capital. He stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, what Zhongsan Doctor said is feasible. However, the army does not have so many fire gourds. The fire gourds used in the army are purple wisteria gourds, which are given to the Suzaku Army in various places. There are a total of one million fire gourds across the country. One million fire gourds can take away the dark clouds in a province, but with so many provinces in the country, it is impossible to do it with only the fire gourds in the army."

Qin Mu said: "Although there are few gourds in the army, there are officials who practice magic in various places. There are even more powerful people in the noble families and the court officials. Your Majesty has issued an order to order the magicians in various places to make treasures to take away the dark clouds in the sky. There are so many magicians in various parts of the country. The county magistrates, junior officials, and prefectural officials in various places are all powerful. They are each responsible for the area under their jurisdiction. In addition, the strong men in the army will go to various places to make repairs. It is expected that the dark clouds can be removed for the most part."

Emperor Yanfeng pondered, "It is somewhat difficult to mobilize all the supernatural powers in the country to remove the clouds. Some of the idle supernatural powers in the rivers and lakes do not listen to the court..."

"So your majesty needs to do it personally and set an example for the world."

Qin Mu said: "Your Majesty, if you leave the capital and personally go to the provinces to dispel the dark clouds, the people will naturally follow your lead."

Many civil and military officials looked at each other in bewilderment. The emperor was leaving the capital to personally go to various places to dispel the dark clouds? Now that the chaos had just been quelled, I was afraid that the remnants of the sects and clans would take the opportunity to assassinate him.

Imperial Master Yankang returned in defeat at the Daxu expedition and was ambushed on the way. If the emperor leaves the capital, he will probably be subject to various assassination attempts!

Just as everyone was about to speak, Emperor Yanfeng's eyes lit up and he said with a smile, "Yes. Lord Qin, do you have any other way to deal with this snowstorm?"

"The snowstorm has already happened, and there is nothing I can do about it."

Qin Mu said, "But I heard a saying that the way of the saints is no different from the daily life of the people. There are so many supernatural powers in the world. If the sun comes out and the snow melts, we can ask these supernatural powers to go to the fields and remove the frozen crops for the people everywhere and replant the crops. Maybe there will be some harvest next year. When the rice ears are in place and there is no wind, we can ask the supernatural powers to send wind. If weeds are growing, we can ask the supernatural powers to weed them. If insects break out, we can ask the supernatural powers to remove the insects. If frost falls from the sky, we can ask the supernatural powers to remove the frost with fire."

"Your Majesty, these are the words of the devil!"

A civil official was so angry that he was shaking all over. He stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, the Zhongsan doctor has spoken evil words, bringing disaster to the country and the people. He should be executed!"

Emperor Yanfeng smiled and said, "This sentence is correct. Why is it a demonic saying? This is not a disaster for the country and the people, but a good saying for governing the country and saving the people. You have been dismissed from your post. Go home and reflect on yourself. Qin Aiqing, do you have any other good ideas?"

Qin Mu pondered, "Your Majesty can also ask the Heavenly Monitoring Department to monitor the weather in various places. In years of floods, the rain clouds can be stored in spiritual treasures such as gourds. In years of hurricanes, the hurricanes can be stored in spiritual treasures. Tornadoes, hail, and lightning can all be stored for use. If there is a drought, heavy rain can be released. If there is a war with a foreign country, hail, ice and snow, lightning, and tornadoes can be released to control the sky and attack the enemy country. This year's snow disaster almost destroyed the national destiny of such a glorious country as Yankang. Which country can afford to use this kind of celestial power on the enemy country?"

"Your Majesty, controlling the celestial phenomena is against the way of heaven. This is the words of the devil!"

Another civil servant stepped out of the line, kowtowed repeatedly, knocking his head until it was bleeding, and said in a stern voice: "This is truly the words of the devil, it is to destroy our country! Your Majesty, please kill this devil quickly!"

"You are fired."

Emperor Yanfeng waved his hand and said with a smile, "You can't come up with any ideas, and you're still talking nonsense, attacking Doctor Zhongsan. I give you a lot of salary every month, what's the point of keeping you? This snow and this cloud are the ones that are going to destroy our country! Come, drag him away. Doctor Zhongsan, it's easier said than done. This time, you should follow me to provide disaster relief."

Qin Mu hesitated and said with embarrassment: "I still have to go home for the New Year... I recommend a few people who may be able to help Your Majesty."

Emperor Yanfeng laughed heartily, and felt the dark cloud in his heart dissipate. He waved his hand and said, "Alright. I am in need of talents right now. If the person you recommend is really useful, I will not treat you unfairly."

Duke Weiguo was slightly shocked: "The Heavenly Demon Sect is about to enter the court... But then again, I am the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and I have entered the court a long time ago. This little leader is really a man of opportunism. The Imperial Master was not in the court these few days, so he took the opportunity to insert people. If the Imperial Master is not seen for a few years, I am afraid that even the emperor is a member of his Heavenly Demon Sect! Where did the Imperial Master go? He traveled with his wife for so long, and he didn't come back even after such a big thing happened..."