Chapter 488
Although its host had grown quickly enough, she wasn't like those cultivators in the immortal cultivation world; her foundation was built on incense-fire "sainthood," which was vastly different from someone who relied entirely on their own cultivation.
No wonder its host looked down on the path of incense and faith. Indeed, power cultivated through one's own efforts was far more reliable to wield.
"Wait."
[Wait for what?]
"For the heavy rain you mentioned to arrive, and the flood to come." If these people weren't made to truly suffer, how could they ever cherish the hard-won peace and stability?
She was human too, and she understood humanity's flaws well. Most people didn't cherish things that came too easily, and after enough times, they might even come to take them for granted.
"If they don't beg, and I go out of my way to help uninvited, wouldn't that make me look cheap!"
The system processed the data and understood Yue Fuguang's meaning at once. [Feng City, Wei City, and that Yu City too—when the time comes, whoever shows the most sincerity, we'll help them first!
Host, speaking of your warning today, do you think the people and the courts of Nan Shao and Nan Yue will believe it?]
Believe it or not?
This question didn't keep Yue Fuguang and the system waiting long. Just as she began to pour rain freely across Lianzhou, the system relayed the latest news it had received.
[Host, your warning has caused an uproar in both Nan Yue and Nan Shao. The citizens of both countries are scrambling to pack their belongings and flee to Da Yan.
Fortunately, the Da Yan army received your message in advance and has already sealed the border.]
"Aren't spies and soldiers from the Nan Yue and Nan Shao armies mixed in among these people?"
[Host, you're right. Of the civilians rushing to the border trying to force their way into Da Yan, a full seventy percent are disguised soldiers from the two armies.
The real civilians are locked inside their cities, and even the roads out of the villages are sealed off. Without real strength, moving an inch is nearly impossible.]
"Isn't this all standard procedure!" Yue Fuguang wasn't particularly surprised by this outcome. The importance of population to a country didn't need explaining—especially in an agrarian civilization, where people weren't just labor but also potential soldiers. A massive loss of population was no different from bleeding the nation dry.
The emperors and high officials sitting loftily above didn't care about the life or death of one or two commoners, but when two hundred thousand people started to flee, they'd feel the pain too. Preventing the people from escaping was definitely something they'd do.
[Host, guess what happened with that rain you sent down over Feng City and Wei City five days ago?]
"What do you mean 'what happened'? Didn't it already relieve the famine for the people within those two cities? Is there more to this?"
That made sense—news must have spread to other citizens of Nan Yue, and perhaps, for the sake of that rain, their hearts would lean a little toward Da Yan.
After all, for most common folk, who sat on the throne mattered less to them than reaping a few extra bushels of grain from the fields.
You could put a dog on the throne, and as long as it filled their bellies and gave them a stable life, they probably wouldn't care.
They might even praise the emperor for being so wise.
[The people across all of Nan Yue heard about this—who wouldn't envy the citizens of Feng City and Wei City? Even the people on the Nan Shao border secretly hoped Da Yan would take them in too.]
Not long ago, quite a few Nan Shao citizens had fled to Da Yan just like the Nan Yue people. The rumors about the drought demon had come in around that time.
After the tragedy of ordinary people being burned alive as suspected drought demons, and following its host's spectacular display of divine power in Huacheng, Da Yan had shut down the border crossing with Nan Shao. That was why those slow-moving Nan Shao citizens were now slapping their thighs in regret.
[But as for who's most gutted about all this—host, want to take a guess?]
Yue Fuguang heard the system's "time to guess" game again, and the hand that was tugging at Caramel's ear paused. She said in a deadpan tone, "Well, it's definitely not my Caramel."
[Host, it's Yu City! The citizens of Yu City, which Da Yan just conquered, are the most shattered! Five days ago, the Da Yan army just marched into the city.
At the time, there were still small groups of Nan Yue soldiers hiding among the civilians, sneaking attacks on lone Da Yan troops. Because of that, Da Yan lost over a hundred men.
Two days later, news that the Divine Maiden had brought sweet rain to the people of Feng City and Wei City reached the ears of Yu City's residents—the closest city to them. You should have seen the looks on their faces.]
With that, the system thoughtfully showed Yue Fuguang a video.
Yu City's land was cracked open like a turtle's shell. Whether in the town or the countryside, the wells were bone-dry, leaving only mud at the bottom. Every day, the people knelt at the City God Temple praying for rain, their knees bleeding, yet the sky still blazed an aching blue, not a cloud in sight.
News of the Divine Maiden sending blessed dew to Feng City and Wei City arrived precisely under these circumstances, at noon two days later.
At that time, the bloodstains left from the battle between the Nan Yue army and the Da Yan army had still not been fully cleaned up. The Nan Yue soldiers trapped inside the city had mixed in with the civilians, launching sneak attacks on Da Yan soldiers everywhere.
The two countries were at war, yet with Da Yan having successfully taken Yu City, daily trade was unaffected, so merchants continued to move freely between the various towns and cities.
That day, a traveling merchant who had just returned from the neighboring city of Fengcheng entered Yucheng through the northern gate. His water skins were all filled to the brim, and this time, the goods in the cart behind him were not needles and threads, nor herbs and grain, but the thing the people of Yucheng needed most—water.
"Old Fei, you've got a grin a mile wide. Did you rake in a good profit on this trip?"
Traveling merchant Fei had barely set foot in the city when he ran into two familiar faces.
"Shopkeeper Liu, Shopkeeper Qian." He smiled and clasped his hands in greeting to both men. "Your humble servant here runs but a small trade, earning only a bit of honest sweat. I can't compare to you two, with your grand businesses and vast estates."
Shopkeeper Liu, a man of about forty with a goatee, wore a gray silk robe that, due to the water shortage, had grown rather crumpled. He waved a hand dismissively. "Yucheng's dry spell, on top of the war between the two kingdoms—my little shop hasn't opened its doors in three days straight."
He glanced cautiously at the Dayan soldiers patrolling nearby, men who were disciplined and showed not the slightest inclination to plunder the common folk. "If these fellows truly won't rob the people, I plan to reopen tomorrow."
Just from these past few days alone, these Dayan troops were far better than the Southern Yue soldiers of their own.
Standing beside him, Shopkeeper Qian was of a similar age, though he was stouter, his dark blue silk clothing stretched taut over his plump frame. He nodded as well. "Old Liu and I have the same plan. If today passes peacefully, we'll open our doors tomorrow."
With that, he cast a glance at Old Fei across from him. His round, fleshy face showed a look of surprise, and a sharp glint flashed through his small eyes.
He stepped forward, drew close to Old Fei, and looked him over carefully from head to toe several times. "Old Fei, you... you—what's this?" He pointed at Old Fei's clothes, then at his own and Shopkeeper Liu's crumpled, days-unwashed robes. "Water—where did you get water?"
Without enough water, a man couldn't possibly be this clean all over. Even if he'd just come back from a trade run outside the city, he was still far cleaner than the two of them.
Shopkeeper Qian even leaned in and sniffed at him. If it weren't for the fact that they were all men, all acquaintances, and that Old Fei looked a bit older than his years—which is to say, appeared haggard—one might have mistaken Shopkeeper Qian for flirting with a respectable middle-aged man!