Traveling through the millennium: creating a prosperous dynasty with you

In the exile city of Wacheng, Anguo was exiled to one night in the cold winter, a dazzling white light streaked across the sky and fell straight to the place, creating a pit on the ground that was as big as a playground and more than ten feet deep. The fireball kept burning, and the flames from the bottom of the pit actually emerged from the ground, and the fire was soaring to the sky!

The huge noise startled the whole city. The ground shook and everyone thought it was a dragon turning over. People walked out of their houses. The brave ones walked out of the courtyard to check. I don’t know who took the lead to walk out of the city. More people followed the crowd to the deep pit. The fire that could be seen from a distance scared everyone!

Wocheng, located in the northeast, is an isolated island along the coast. It was originally a wild and ownerless land. At the beginning of the establishment of Anguo, the earth dragon turned over, and a narrow road appeared between the isolated island and the mainland. The so-called road is better described as a miniature mountain belt. The first emperor of Anguo listed this island as his own territory by saying that it was God's will. He said that this was a gift from God to congratulate the establishment of Anguo. The people believed it without a doubt, and the founding of Anguo was smoother because of this. However, some officials of the previous dynasty did not believe it, and they were all executed or exiled. There were too many exiles and there was nowhere to go. A court official wrote a letter, suggesting that the emperor send the exiles to the isolated island, let them open mountains and build roads, and build islands. The emperor and many ministers thought this suggestion was very good, so more exiles were sent there.

The exiled people were called Wo Nu, and the isolated island was named after it was used to receive exiles: Wocheng. Because the conditions here were too harsh, people with a little ability didn't want to go there. Later, anyone who committed a serious crime was exiled here, and this place gradually became the darkest, most violent, and most savage place. After dozens or hundreds of years, there were gradually indigenous people. No matter how bad the external environment is, there are always people who are untainted by the mud. Wocheng also gradually had some breath of life. Although theft, robbery and fighting are everywhere, there are always people with good hearts. The landing of the fireball made them panic again. The emperor betrayed us and exiled us here to reform, but we went back to our old ways, which must have angered the gods.

"Goddess of Fire, please spare my life. I will never steal again! I will reform myself" ... Those who were exiled here but still refused to repent knelt down and begged for mercy!

"Dad, is it really the Goddess of Fire? Is she here to catch those bad guys? Many bad guys come every year, and after they come, they rob our things every few days. The Goddess of Fire must be here to catch those bad guys," an eight or nine-year-old girl whispered to the man next to her.

The man nodded and quickly covered the girl's mouth. "Don't let them hear it. We can't afford to offend them!"

……

People say that the deep pit is where the Goddess of Fire in heaven lives, so it should be called a tiankeng.

Some people started to leave: one or two, in groups of two... The fire in the tiankeng made the pit mouth warm, and more homeless people stayed at the pit mouth. The tiankeng brought them hope of survival. "Thank you, Goddess of Fire," they would pray every day, and they would say it every time they prayed.

The fireball burned for 49 days before it went out. During this time, the Japanese city was peaceful. There was no petty theft, verbal abuse, vomiting, burning, killing, and looting... More and more people came to the tiankeng to burn and worship! The villagers closest to the tiankeng found that the snow on the ground had melted, the willow trees by the river had sprouted, and their hands were no longer frozen when they went out. Suddenly, it was like the spring breeze, and everything was reviving and thriving. The brave ones tried to sow seeds in the field. After a few days, they sprouted, so they planted more, and everyone followed suit. As a result, adults and children in every family got busy, and the fields were full of toiling figures.

Under the trees at the entrance of the village, a few old men were holding their pipes, taking a puff from time to time. They didn't look as happy as the people working. Their faces were full of solemnity. "Brother, what's going on? It's the coldest time of the year, how come it's spring already?"

"As the old saying goes: When something is out of the ordinary, there must be something fishy going on! We should make preparations early. You are the clan leader, so you have to talk to everyone!"

"It's neither drought nor flood, it's a perfect time to plant seeds, what are you going to tell the kids? What can you village heads do?"

"Hey! As long as you have food, you won't have to worry. Let's have another meeting and talk about storing as much food as possible."

"Yes, I will also inform everyone to store more food when I return to the village."

……

As the days passed, the "warmed" area expanded from the tiankeng to the ground, getting larger and larger. The warmed areas all followed the example of the people living near the tiankeng and planted crops. The area expanded in circles.

A few months passed, and the temperature near the tiankeng became higher and higher. Although it had not rained, the water from rivers, wells, and streams was still enough for food and watering. The crops were about to mature and be harvested, but people did not pay attention to the temperature changes and abnormal weather. They automatically thought that spring would be followed by summer. However, they did not know that after this round of harvest, the temperature would not drop and there would be no rain. The water in rivers, wells, streams... was also gradually decreasing.

People began to feel uneasy. They went to the village chief and clan leader to ask, "What's going on?"

“The same old saying: store more food”

The same scene was played out over and over again in village after village.

There are fewer and fewer people worshipping at the cemetery of the "Goddess of Fire", and the homeless people who seek warmth have also fled from this place which is getting hotter day by day.

In the court

"Father, that stone is extraordinary. Since the fire was extinguished, the temperature around it has been getting higher and higher, and the range has been expanding. In half a year, it has affected an area of ​​several hundred miles. At this rate, the entire Anguo will become hot in about two years, and the land it passes through can only be used to grow crops for one season."

Li Shangshu of the Ministry of Revenue stepped out and said, "Your Majesty, according to what Prince Chen said, this season's grain may be the last harvest in the disaster. We must make plans early, as we don't know when the disaster will end."

"What Minister Li said is true. The current situation is not optimistic. If the neighboring countries are also affected, they will certainly come to our border towns to plunder food. I ask the emperor to send more troops to garrison the border."

"Duke Wei, how long can the food and fodder stored by the frontier troops last?"

"Return to the Emperor, more than three months"

"The Ministry of Revenue has arranged for all tax grains this season to be collected and stored in granaries in various places. The city garrisons in various places have been notified to send people to guard the city day and night, and no one is allowed to enter without permission. All villages and households have been notified to store more grain. If anyone wants to sell it, they must sell it to the county government offices in various places and store it in local warehouses. No one is allowed to buy or sell it privately. Violators will be executed."

"I accept the decree"

"Chen'er, how big is that stone? Can it be moved?"

"Father, this stone is a spherical ball nearly 1 feet in size. I took some people to look at it. Unless you touch the stone, you can't feel the heat. It looks like an ordinary stone. But when the knife touched the stone, it melted instantly. It's very strange."

"It's really strange," said the emperor, and looked at the Grand Master for the Nth time. The Grand Master, who had been busy calculating, finally stopped.

"Has the Imperial Master finally arrived?" the Emperor asked anxiously, and all the ministers looked at the Imperial Master.

"Your Majesty, according to my calculations, there will be a three-year disaster."

"Can you figure out a turning point?"

"The secret of heaven cannot be revealed. When the time comes, you will know it."