One wave barely settled, another rose. Qin Liuxi originally planned to summon the Ghost King to hand over the task of finding the Stone Beast, thinking it would be settled. However, unexpectedly, he learned from the Eastern Ghost King about the two Ghost Kings in Xinan falling into Si Luo’s hands.

Now a major battle is about to erupt in the northwest, and there’s also a Ghost Tower causing havoc by hooking souls. This wave is estimated to cause many deaths.

Qin Liuxi immediately cast a spell, transforming a Paper Crane to send a message to the capital. He quickly returned to the temple to swallow a handful of Blood Nourishing Pills, grabbed some yellow paper, and amidst the resentful gazes of the people in the temple, hurriedly left to follow the Eastern Ghost King to the northwest.

The Time Gate was nearing November. This year, disasters were frequent, with abnormal weather patterns. Not to mention the continuous heavy rain during the autumn harvest in the south in October. In Lingnan, mountain floods erupted. Outsiders, unaware of the reasons, could only attribute it to unusual weather. Consequently, the north seemed to have entered early winter. People in Shengjing were already wearing thin jackets, and needed to wrap themselves in cloaks for warmth in the morning and evening.

Ordinary people were anxious and worried. Since last year’s snow disaster, life had not been easy. It got cold so early this year; could it be that a more severe snow disaster than last year is coming?

With such concerns, they didn’t dare waste food. Some prudently thought of hoarding some grain, only to find out that the prices were beyond reach. This was due to the frequent natural disasters this year—droughts killed crops, floods drowned them, and numerous diseases arose from mishandling the disasters. The number of beggars and refugees in Shengjing was higher than in previous years.

All these factors caused a sharp decline in grain production, leading to a rise in grain prices. Not just grain; the prices of cloth, salt, and oil also increased.

No matter how ignorant, people could see that this year wouldn’t be a good one. Seeing the early cold weather, they eagerly hoarded grain and warm clothing.

If the common people already had these concerns, the court officials were even more troubled. Among the six departments, everyone shared similar woes.

This year, due to natural disasters and epidemics, grain production decreased, prices rose, and tax collections weren’t as they were before. Yet they had to continuously spend, on disaster relief, irrigation projects by the Ministry of Industry, and military pay and supplies by the Ministry of War.

It could be said that in the Ministry of Revenue, every official’s hair was thinning day by day, and the dark circles under their eyes were deepening due to worries over silver. Without money and grain, they were in a panic.

Similarly, the Ministry of War was stressed. Funds and supplies were needed everywhere, but there wasn’t enough money in the national treasury. As winter approached, and with unusual weather changes, officials from the Observatory warned it would be a cold winter. Shouldn’t the soldiers stationed at the borders quickly receive winter clothing and pay?

What? No money? Not paying soldiers would force them to revolt; who could take responsibility for that?

The Ministry of War constantly argued with the Ministry of Revenue, asking them to organize charity auctions to gather funds. However, such events, when repeated, lost their novelty. Everyone knew it was a sign of empty coffers, and no one wanted to be the fool bearing the cost in tough times!

As for the Ministry of Justice, they too were troubled. A strong treasury meant a strong nation; when people lived peacefully with houses to live in, food to eat, and fields to farm, who would become bandits detested by all?

But with frequent natural disasters, many refugees were driven to become bandits. Some violent individuals committed heinous crimes, and the Ministry of Justice’s prisons were nearly full.

The Ministry of Industry also had complaints: managing water resources and building infrastructure also required silver. Without it, nothing could be built.

The Ministry of Personnel was busy dealing with corrupt officials, setting examples, and assessing and reassigning the hundred officials. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝙚𝔀𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The Ministry of Rites was probably the most idle. This year, with the passing of the Empress Dowager, the abolishment of the Crown Prince, and the Saint holding no grand festivals, the imperial concubines dared not hold any grand celebrations. Even the rituals were simplified.

But who could tell them why the Saint suddenly decided to perform rituals to heaven? Didn’t such rituals cost money? At this juncture, the bigger the show, the more it drained resources and upset the people.

Yet, as rituals to heaaven affect all living things, who would dare say it wasn’t appropriate?

Thus, every day in court was noisy like a marketplace, with every memorial’s discussion inevitably returning to the topic of money. For this damned commodity, those scholarly officials who usually spoke in lofty terms and scorned money as dung were just shy of rolling up their sleeves and pulling each other’s hair.

By now, as winter was about to set in, with prices soaring outside, and the threat of a cold winter, should another severe snowstorm arrive, it would be disastrous, especially for those involved in warfare. Everyone would have to tighten their belts, wouldn’t they?

However, there’s a saying that what you fear will come to pass. During the morning court, Lin Xiang actually reported frequent skirmishes on the northwest border. The barbarians and alien races, having made several probes, might invade to seize food and goods for winter. After all, the disasters had affected not just the Central Plains. The grasslands too suffered from drought, with mice and insects severely damaging the vegetation, hindering livestock farming. With nothing to eat, they could only raid within the pass.