Three Kingdoms: Domination of the World

In the forest, a portal appeared as promised. Runes swirled on the gateposts, radiating a brilliant light. Suo Chao walked through the portal with ease. Endless historical scenes flashed before his eyes.

"The Battle of Red Cliffs!" Flames shot up into the sky on the river, warships burned in flames, and the shouts of killing were deafening.

"The Rebellion of the Eight Kings!" The Western Jin Dynasty court was filled with the flashing of swords and the shadow of sabers. Various forces fought fiercely for power, and the smell of blood filled the air.

"Anshi Rebellion!" The battlefield was filled with smoke, soldiers fought desperately, the people were displaced, and the painful wails echoed in my ears.

"The Shame of Jingkang!" The royal family of the Northern Song Dynasty was abducted by the Jin soldiers, and the capital was in ruins. Suo Chao frowned, and a trace of grief and anger flashed in his eyes.

"Battle of Poyang Lake!" The lake was covered with warships, and the armies of both sides clashed fiercely, with arrows raining down and water splashing everywhere.

……

The land of Qin and Jin lay devastated, with corpses of starving people everywhere. Suo Chao walked out of the light gate with a solemn expression. Bones lay exposed in the wilderness, glaring under the scorching sun and emitting a sickening odor.

"What a tragedy!" Suo Chao wiped the sweat from his forehead and said in a deep voice.

It was the beginning of the 1639th year of the Chongzhen reign ( AD), and drought had persisted for over a year in Qin and Jin, and indeed throughout North China. Crops had long since vanished from the once fertile land, leaving only barren expanses.

Everywhere there were pale and skinny people, their eyes were empty, their steps were unsteady, and there were only a few leaves on their backpacks.

The people had already eaten all the food they had left in their homes, and most of them huddled in corners, exhausted. To survive, they could only search for food everywhere.

The wild vegetables in the fields had been dug up clean, and the bark on the trees had been stripped clean, leaving only bare trunks. People were eating anything edible. Some were even eating Guanyin soil, which looked white and fine, like flour.

People mixed Guanyin soil with other things and made it look like food, but Suo Chao knew that this thing could not be digested at all and would only make people more painful.

Some people were catching locusts to eat. The locusts were flying in dense swarms, and people were desperately trying to catch them with nets. Although locusts could temporarily alleviate hunger, they could not meet people's needs at all.

The Ming court's disaster relief efforts were woefully inadequate. Officials were plagued by corruption, and relief supplies were embezzled at every level, leaving very little reaching the people. In many places, people resorted to cannibalism, with some forced to make such heartbreaking choices in order to survive.

Suo Chao was filled with grief, as he knew that the drought would continue for another three years, and the Ming Dynasty's 3 million population would be reduced by half.

This remote place is called Chenjiawa. When the villagers saw a well-dressed stranger slowly approaching, their eyes lit up instantly, as if they had seen a life-saving straw.

A group of people used all their strength, supporting each other, and stumbled over. In the crowd, a villager stretched out his skinny hand and uttered a weak voice:

"Sir, please be kind and give us some food." Their faces were full of sorrow, and their eyes were full of expectation.

Suo Chao had just taken out a roasted sweet potato when a dirty boy quickly snatched it away. The boy, having taken the food, took off running. Other people rushed towards the boy like hungry wolves, trying to grab the rare sweet potato.

Suo Chao was a little angry. It was unkind to snatch food like this. But they were really starving, and many of them had lost their basic moral bottom line.

The dirty young man's two fists were no match for the four hands, and the roasted sweet potato was snatched away by another gray-clothed man. Seeing that their attempt to grab the food was fruitless, the people gathered around Suo Chao again.

There were three layers of people inside and outside, with Suo Chao as the center, and it was packed like a hole. A thin little girl in yellow clothes was also squeezed in the crowd. Her face was as pale as paper, and she cried out:

"Uncles, please stop stepping on me. It hurts."

Suo Chao also sensed the danger. If things continued like this, a stampede would occur. He summoned his sword energy to intimidate the gathered people.

The sword's aura was so strong that the hungry people stopped gathering around him and dispersed automatically. Suo Chao successfully rescued the injured little girl.

"Brother, do you have anything to eat?" She looked about 8 years old, with a bright light in her eyes, which showed her extreme desire for food.

Suo Chao said nothing, unleashing a precise sword strike, sending the little girl into Dimension A. He wasn't worried about the girl's safety; all seven wives were in Dimension A. This was her chance to defy fate and change her destiny.

......

The sun was blazing high in the Qin and Jin lands, and the air was filled with a stifling heat, as if a single spark could trigger a disaster.

"If we continue to let this go, there will be civil unrest." Suo Chao frowned and said to himself.

"Officials are corrupt, the people are living in poverty, and uprisings and foreign invasions will follow. It's no wonder that Zhu Youjian couldn't withstand this hellish challenge." He shook his head slightly, knowing that he could not stand idly by.

"Fellow villagers!" Suo Chao flew to a high ground, raised his hands high and shouted loudly.

"Quiet!" Suo Chao raised his voice again, an anxious look on his face. This time, he wanted to emulate Zhang Jue and do his best to absorb the people of the Ming Dynasty.

At this time, the people around stopped what they were doing. They either sat on the ground tiredly or leaned weakly against the wall. When they heard Suo Chao's call, they slowly raised their heads, their eyes full of confusion and expectation.

"Please ask the village elders to come over. I have something important to tell you." Suo Chao's eyes swept through the crowd, his tone firm and serious.

A thin young man in the crowd slowly stood up, his face full of signs of fatigue and hunger. He frowned slightly and asked in a hoarse voice:

"Sir, what do you want to see the village elder for?"

Suo Chao looked at the thin young man, his eyes revealing a hint of mystery and solemnity. Years of drought and famine had plagued Qin and Jin. The elderly and sick had long since died, and the young and middle-aged had also been tortured.