Chapter 1102 - 352 Snow Disaster_3
The festive and cozy atmosphere of Small Year’s Eve was spent amidst hustle and anxiety. Not only did Liu Yang Village not have a good Small Year celebration, but Emperor Huian, Chu Heng, and the Minister of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, who had been urgently summoned to the palace, were also restless.
After reading Mo Yan’s letter, Xiao Ruiyuan took the snow disaster mentioned very seriously. Naturally, Mo Yan did not mention in her letter that she had a Xuetuan which knew of the future. Instead, she only wrote about the several houses in the village that had been crushed and the several greenhouses that had collapsed, and also mentioned the snow disaster from the year before last, which had left many people dead from cold and hunger, skillfully conveying her concern about the heavy snowfall.
Xiao Ruiyuan, who had endless official duties every day and was still busy despite the holidays, had seen prolonged snowfalls in past years, so he had not considered the possibility of a disaster. However, upon learning that houses in Liu Yang Village had collapsed, he immediately became vigilant and carefully observed the sky from under the eaves.
Those who are involved in military campaigns generally have some understanding of astronomical phenomena. Seeing the low and dense clouds on the horizon and the even darker skies overhead, with no trace of light to be seen, they knew the snow wouldn’t stop anytime soon.
If it continued to snow for another three to five days, the snow on the ground would reach knee height. Even if the houses in the city were sturdy and wouldn’t collapse, there were plenty of commoners outside the city living in earthen and thatched cottages. Now that there were signs of houses collapsing in Liu Yang Village, how could there not be signs elsewhere?
Xiao Ruiyuan was uncertain if anyone else in the court had noticed the abnormal weather like he had. Considering the current festival period, he feared that even if some had noticed, they might not dare to report and disturb the Emperor’s peace. Who knew if the Emperor, upon learning of the situation, would hold a naïve hope and not take it seriously?
Although it might not result in a snow disaster, taking precautions in advance could never be wrong. Otherwise, if it really happened, who knew how many people would be displaced, starve, or freeze to death.
Without delay, Xiao Ruiyuan changed his clothes and hurried to the Prince’s Mansion. Combining the content of Mo Yan’s letter with his own conjectures, he relayed his thoughts to Chu Heng.