Looking at the Yan Emperor's pathetic state, Yu Luo shook her head, feeling both amused and exasperated.
The fact that a sovereign of a nation could be bought off by a few glass ornaments is enough to make the whole world laugh.
However, this is for the best, at least for the time being, the Yan Emperor will not have the mind to cause any trouble.
With the desolate mountains temporarily at peace, Yu Luo turned his attention to the vast lands of the Liang Kingdom.
at the same time.
Liang State, a remote small county town called Anping.
Under the blazing sun, it hadn't rained a single decent drop for three whole months.
Liu Mingyuan, the magistrate of Anping County, stood on the cracked ridges of the field, looking at the vast expanse of withered and dying rice seedlings before him, his heart filled with despair.
He had just taken office a few months ago, hoping to achieve some political success, but unexpectedly, he encountered a once-in-a-century drought as soon as he took office.
"It's over, it's all over..."
Liu Mingyuan muttered to himself, his voice hoarse and dry, his lips cracked and bleeding from dehydration.
The ground beneath my feet was as hard and dry as stone, with jagged cracks that resembled the earth's gaping mouth of despair.
In the fields not far away, several farmers squatted listlessly, staring blankly at the withered crops.
"Heavens above! This is not giving us a way to survive!" An old farmer pounded his chest, tears streaming down his face.
“We’re almost starving at home. If this continues, we’ll all starve to death!” another man said hoarsely.
A sense of despair, like the scorching air, permeated the fields.
Liu Mingyuan also felt a bitter taste in his mouth.
He did try to find solutions, such as organizing the people to dig wells and drawing water from a dried-up river several miles away, but these were all insufficient.
The memorials submitted to the imperial court were like stones sinking into the sea. Now that the power in the court has fallen into the hands of others, how could the General Who Protects the Country and the Left Prime Minister have time to care about the life and death of their remote little county?
Just then, a woman dressed in simple cloth came running from a distance, panting.
"Lord Liu! Folks! There's hope! There's hope!"
The woman ran and shouted, her voice filled with urgency and excitement.
Liu Mingyuan on the ridge and the farmers in the field all looked at her.
"Aunt Zhang, what are you yelling about? What's the hope?" a farmer asked weakly.
The woman, known as Aunt Zhang, ran over, catching her breath while supporting her knees, and hurriedly said, "My family is from Qinghe County. They also suffered a severe drought there recently, just like us!"
"But! But they prayed to the mountain goddess of the barren mountain for rain, and the mountain goddess appeared to them! It really rained! The crops all came back to life!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Mingyuan frowned deeply, a hint of displeasure appearing on his face.
"nonsense!"
He sneered, "I have said long ago that praying to gods and Buddhas is a foolish act! In the face of natural disasters, we should think about human self-rescue, how can we place our hopes on illusory gods?"
His county magistrate's position was in a remote area, where information was scarce. He had only vaguely heard about the floods and hadn't taken it to heart. He had only heard of the mountain goddess but didn't know the specifics of what had happened.
"Have faith in science! Relying on ourselves is worse than praying to God! The disaster relief funds from the imperial court should already be on their way. Let's all hang in there!"
However, the people in the fields reacted as if they had grasped at a lifeline, and an uproar broke out.
"Aunt Zhang, is what you're saying true? Can that mountain goddess really bring rain?"
"Yes, yes, how do we ask? Tell us quickly!"
"We'll do anything as long as it rains!"
The people surrounded Aunt Zhang, their faces filled with eagerness and longing.
Surrounded by the crowd, Aunt Zhang exclaimed, "It's true! Absolutely true! My nephew from my mother's side sent a message saying that the whole village is kneeling and worshipping the Mountain Goddess, and that sincerity brings results!"
"However," she changed the subject, "if we want the Mountain Goddess to hear our prayers, we must first build a temple for her and offer incense to show our piety!"
"Repairing a temple?"
“Yes! As long as we sincerely build the mountain god temple and pray day and night, the mountain god will definitely hear us!” Aunt Zhang said confidently.
"We'll fix it! We'll fix it!"
"We'll sell everything we own to fix it!"
"Yes! As long as we can live, what's a temple!"
The crowd of people immediately became excited, as if they could already see the rain falling from the sky.
Standing on the edge of the field, Liu Mingyuan's brows furrowed even deeper.
He is actually a time traveler from a technologically advanced modern society.
In his view, the people's so-called prayers for rain were utterly foolish!
"This is utterly absurd!"
Liu Mingyuan cursed inwardly, "If this method of rainmaking works, what will be the point of artificial rainmaking in later generations? What will be the point of weather satellites?"
He could not tolerate the spread of such feudal superstitions under his rule.
"Someone come here!"
Liu Mingyuan's face darkened, and he shouted at the constables behind him.
"Arrest that woman who spreads rumors and those troublemakers!"
"Let's see who dares to spread superstition and disturb the peace of the people here!"
The constables looked at each other in bewilderment, but since the magistrate had given the order, they dared not disobey and immediately stepped forward to arrest the man.
Aunt Zhang and the few villagers who were the first to respond panicked.
"My lord! We have not spread any rumors or misleading the public!"
"My lord, spare our lives! We just want to beg for a way to live!"
However, Liu Mingyuan was determined to stop this unhealthy trend and refused to listen to their explanations.
The constables quickly tied up Granny Zhang and several other people.
Seeing this, the remaining people dared not make any more noise, but their eyes were filled with disappointment as they looked at Liu Mingyuan.
An old man spoke tremblingly, "Lord Liu, it's been several months, and we haven't even seen a trace of the imperial relief grain..."
"Yes, sir, if we wait any longer, all the crops in the fields will be ruined. How will we survive?"
"Please, Goddess of the Mountain, this is at least a glimmer of hope, how could you do this..."
The people's voices grew softer, but their despair and discontent with the county magistrate were clearly conveyed.
Looking at their numb yet resentful eyes, Liu Mingyuan felt a lump in his throat.
He knew the people were suffering, but he firmly believed in his ideals.
"Hmph, a bunch of fools!" he sneered inwardly, then turned and left. "I'm saving you! To prevent you from being swindled out of your money by charlatans and from delaying your business!"
However, he did not see that after he turned and left, a strange flame quietly ignited in the eyes of those people who were originally in despair.
Since the government forbids them from making requests openly, they will do so secretly!
Mountain Goddess, please save us!
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