Chapter 112 Hurricane

On the day the city fell, the Goguryeo king originally planned to escape through a secret passage with Jo Myeong-sim.

After all, the local wealthy people in the village all had a cellar to protect themselves from robbers.

After considering the options, Zhao Mingxin decided that instead of letting the Goguryeo king take her away, she should pack up her valuables and run away herself. The old man was fat, with big ears, short legs, and a thick waist, so he was too slow.

She pondered that if she returned to Jinyang now, her elder brother would be the emperor and she would still be a princess—a sure-fire deal, much better than being a queen of a fallen kingdom.

She did not travel by land, but by water, first crossing the Whale Sea to reach Japan, and then planning to travel through the East China Sea to reach Kuaiji County.

Since she couldn't speak the Japanese language, she spent a lot of money just hiring translators. Finally, in mid-October, she boarded a merchant ship bound for Kuaiji County.

On October 20th, it started to drizzle in southeastern Pingzhou. The rain was light, but it didn't stop all day and even seemed to be getting heavier.

The washed clothes couldn't be dried by air drying, so they had to be dried in a stove.

At midnight on the 23rd, thunder rumbled and purple lightning struck straight down from the sky.

"Boom!!!" The earth trembled.

Zhizhi let out a soft "ah-woo" sound, about to cry, but Wei Li rolled over and covered her ears. She kicked her little legs, whimpering and whimpering.

As the two of them became more and more adept at taking care of the child, Zhizhi no longer needed the nannies to look after her, and she slept in the cradle next to the bed at night.

Zhao Xiheng was awakened by the thunder and sat up groggily.

"It's none of your business, go to sleep," Wei Li said softly, glancing at her.

Zhao Xiheng rubbed her eyes, slipped on her shoes and got out of bed. Just as she was about to speak, the maid on night watch came in from outside, "My lord, Vice Minister Chen has arrived."

"Give it to me. Chen Ruojiang must have something to say to you so late." The thunder had stopped, leaving only the sound of the rain pouring down outside, like a leak in the sky.

Wei Li draped a coat over her shoulders. This damned weather was getting colder every day. He wondered if they would still be able to go hunting in the mountains in November if things continued like this.

Chen Ruojiang walked through the covered walkway. It was raining heavily outside, and his straw hat and raincoat were drizzling. Water trickled down his way through the rain, which was too heavy for an umbrella to help.

He took off the raincoat he was wearing and threw it on the ground.

"My lord, a hurricane has arrived this year."

Hurricanes occur almost every year, creating towering waves on the coast. Most of them originate from the southeast, and they cause more damage to Japan.

Wei Li frowned and thought for a moment. He seemed to rarely see a hurricane have such a big impact on Pingzhou. Most of the time, the hurricane would blow to Japan and bring some rain. "Did the hurricane cross the East China Sea this year?"

"I've come to discuss this matter." Chen Ruojiang took out the still-dry secret letter from his pocket.

Wei Li opened it and quickly scanned it by the candlelight.

This year's hurricane has shown no signs of abating as it reached the East China Sea, and is currently heading towards the Yellow Sea. Along its path, Kuaiji, Wuxing, Guangling, Linhai, and southern Japan have all suffered damage. If it continues north, it will likely affect Qingzhou and southern Goguryeo.

Moving further north, you enter the Bohai Sea, where Dandong, Changli, and Beiping in Pingzhou are affected by the disaster.

It's really... rare to see a situation this critical.

"If the rain is still this heavy tomorrow night, you take men to evacuate the residents from the foot of the mountain to the top. Tonight, send messages to the prefects of Dandong, Changli, and Beiping. The people of Dandong should be evacuated towards Ji'an, and the people of Changli and Beiping should be evacuated towards Youzhou." Zhao Xiheng's insistence on him reading had been effective. Although he couldn't read ten lines at a glance, the documents no longer seemed as sluggish as before.

Chen Ruojiang took Wei Li's token and went to deploy manpower. He moved with lightning speed and soon only a blurry figure remained. Wei Li called out to him from afar, "Take Yang Zeli with you."

A cold wind blew through the rainy night, and Wei Li was completely sober.

He went back wearing his clothes and saw Zhao Xiheng still holding the half-asleep Zhizhi in her arms, her face still drowsy.

"Give it to me, go to sleep."

Zhizhi is an easy little girl to coax. She doesn't cry no matter who holds her, and she doesn't get annoyed when she's being turned around and switched.

What did Chen Ruojiang say to you?

He said that a hurricane is coming this year and may affect Pingzhou.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Xiheng suddenly sobered up. She had never experienced a hurricane, but she knew the dangers of hurricanes, as many people lost their lives every year because of them.

She didn't know what to say. They could build dikes to block the floods of rivers, but the ocean was a mysterious, unknown, and terrifying place. All they could do was try their best to move people to a safe place.

Seeing her furrowed brows, Wei Li smoothed them out for her, saying, "Pingzhou will most likely be fine."

Hopefully.

The torrential rain continued the next day, and the water at the foot of the mountain was already above people's ankles. By the afternoon, it was almost up to people's calves.

Chen Ruojiang and Yang Zeli went to Dandong, Changli and other places. General Song led his soldiers to gradually relocate the people from the foot of the mountain to the forest farms, deer farms and mink farms on the mountainside of Changbai Mountain. The deer farms were mostly empty because Goguryeo killed the fawns last year, which was just the right amount of people to settle there.

They also distributed naan bread, pickled vegetables, and clean drinking water to each household based on the number of people.

The sheds in deer farms, mink farms, and forest farms are all located far from trees to prevent lightning strikes from damaging trees and causing fires.

With a place to settle down, the people's anxious and fearful hearts were finally somewhat relieved.

Their impression of Wei Li gradually changed over the past year, from initial hatred and loathing to now thinking he was alright.

The people's wishes are simple: to have enough to eat and wear, to have their lives safe and secure, and not to be displaced. That is what makes a good ruler.

If even the saltiness is this severe, one can only imagine how bad it is in places closer to the sea.

Fortunately, places like Qingzhou are large, so even if the coastal areas are hit by disasters, people can still escape to the inland areas.

However, the sons of King Zhiyao of Qingzhou were still fighting fiercely for the throne, and due to their lack of experience, they failed to properly resettle the displaced people. As a result, public resentment rose up, and petty theft and other misdeeds became rampant.

But compared to Qingzhou, the situation in Southern Goguryeo was even worse. Their territory was small, surrounded by the sea on three sides, and hurricanes constantly swirled around the Yellow Sea, causing immense suffering to the people.

Even though the crown prince of Goguryeo had done everything he could to prevent the disaster, he could not withstand the natural disaster. Northern Goguryeo rarely suffered such a disaster. Even though he worked tirelessly for three days and three nights, he could only watch helplessly as the water level in the streets rose higher and higher.

Food and vegetable prices skyrocketed, and even clean drinking water became scarce. Many people cried out in despair as they fled north, gathering in Pyongyang, which borders Pyongyang, in an attempt to break through the defenses and find a way to survive in Pyongyang.

"Your Highness, bring them all back," a trusted advisor urged.

Gao Xi knelt on the ground and bowed repeatedly to all the gods.

The altar enshrines not only Buddha and the Three Pure Ones, but also the shamans of the Mohe people, as well as the totems of various ethnic groups.

"Why bring them back? To starve them to death?" Gao Xi opened his eyes, only to find them bloodshot. He hadn't closed his eyes for a long time, and was doing his best to stay awake.

One problem after another has arisen. He hasn't even managed to bring his father back yet, and now he's been hit by a hurricane. All he can do is pray to the gods for protection, hoping that the hurricane will pass soon.

Unfortunately, the hurricane continued to linger in the Yellow Sea, and although it was getting smaller, it was still not to be underestimated.

Grains and vegetables became increasingly expensive, almost impossible to find, leading more people to head towards the border of Pingzhou.

Although it was an enemy country, the people were innocent, and seeing them crying and wailing all over the place made many people feel bad.

The Goguryeo Kingdom and Pyeongju were originally of the same origin, and the ethnic groups they included were almost identical. They had similar faces, but due to different monarchs, their cultures and customs gradually diverged.

Wei Li finally arrived in Pyongyang. He braved the rain, with truckloads of supplies and food behind him. The people on the other side of Pyongyang were almost driven mad by the sight, and they tried even harder to squeeze through the door and into the city.

Wei Li threw down a bag of naan bread, which caused them to scramble for it.

With so many people, one bag of bread was hardly enough. It only fueled their craving for food.

Wei Li and his men shouted in the Fuyu language, “I am not heartless. The Mohe, Huimo, Fuyu, and Han people have always lived together on this land. Pingzhou will not refuse to accept you. When disaster strikes and lives are lost, I originally wanted to help, but you are not citizens of Pingzhou. I do not wish to raise a tiger to cause trouble…”

Whether his claims of being "not heartless" and "intending to help" were genuine or not remains to be seen.

The crowd below stirred, and one of them stared at him intently, asking, "You mean, if we were from Pingzhou, you would care about us?"

Wei Li remained silent. His bamboo hat couldn't completely block out the downpour; some of the rainwater seeped through it, flowing down his hair, over his slightly protruding brow bone and high nose bridge, finally pooling and dripping from his sharp chin, making him appear even paler and colder.

After a moment of silence, the person in the crowd said with tears in their eyes, "Since we're going to starve to death anyway, we might as well give it a try. But please keep your word. We just want to live."

He staggered, supporting himself on the person beside him, "Let's go and bring the prince here!"

Wei Li watched as they walked back in a string, leaving only the women and children staring longingly at the food.

The woman against the wall was holding a baby girl in her arms. The baby was not very old, not even half a year old. She was a little girl with braids and was crying loudly because she was hungry. Her face was red.

If the cold rain continues to wash over her, she might not starve to death, but she might catch a fever from the rain and die.

The woman bit her finger and fed the blood to her child.

Wei Li stared at the commotion, unable to look away for a long time.

Zhizhi is a few months younger than her...

"Let's bring all the children over first, and give them something to eat." Wei Li gritted her teeth, suddenly realizing that she was becoming increasingly sentimental.

The surrounding soldiers were all dumbfounded, feeling that this was not something Wei Li could do.

Could Wei Li, so cruel and bloodthirsty, possibly have any pity for young lives?

Not long after, Gao Xi arrived, bound and half-pushed.

His expression wasn't exactly hateful, but rather one of bitterness, helplessness, despair, and bewilderment. This ending wasn't unexpected.

Wei Li had him hoisted up with ropes and then had his hair cut off.

Gao Xi closed his eyes, his heart pounding like a drum, and all he could hear was the sound of the rain and the lonely howl of the wilderness in his heart.