Chapter 2218 - The Damage of the Cold Wave! (1/2)
Translated by: Hypersheep325
Edited by: Michyrr
The massive Imperial Palace had become like an icehouse. Li Heng had lived in the palace since he was a child, but this was his first time seeing it like this.
The Imperial Palace was an important place, and its location was specifically chosen as a place where Dragon Qi coalesced. Moreover, the Imperial Palace had the protection of the Three Emperors Formation, which had formidable anti-cold abilities.
If even the Imperial Palace was this cold, then the people…
Upon thinking this, Li Heng became deeply worried.
The country and people were the first priority while the gods and sovereign were secondary. But in the face of this unprecedented cold, even he, the Emperor of the Great Tang, was very limited in what he could do.
“Your Majesty!” A concerned voice came from behind him.
“The weather is cold. Your Majesty, please rest and leave everything to this old slave.”
A thin figure swiftly came up and closed the window.
A few moments later, fwoosh! A fire was lit in the room. Li Jingzhong had ignited the coal in the large bronze cauldron in the bedroom, and the fierce flames swiftly began to warm the room.
Li Jingzhong stood behind Li Heng and respectfully said, “Seeing that Your Majesty was sound asleep, this old slave did not dare to light too fierce a fire and disturb Your Majesty’s slumber.”
Li Heng stood as motionless as a tree, not at all surprised by Li Jingzhong’s appearance and actions.
“What of the cabinet’s arrangements?” Li Heng asked.
After the arrival of Wang Chong’s letter, the Board of Imperial Astronomy had estimated the time of the Great Ice Age’s arrival. The cabinet, led by the Grand Preceptor and Grand Tutor, had convened the officials and had discussed through the night the plans to resist this ice age.
Li Jingzhong bowed and sincerely said, “The announcements have been posted. In this period of time, all doors and windows were ordered to be shut, and the common people were ordered to enter their cellars and prepare to resist the cold.
“In addition, after our long and strenuous preparations, all families should have enough food. Even those people who were too impoverished to appropriately prepare, after an investigation by the Imperial Court, were supplied with food to pass the winter.”
Li Heng nodded, his expression relaxing. He paused a moment before continuing.
“In addition, pass on Our order. All soldiers of the Imperial Army are to return to their residences to avoid the wind and cold!”
“This old slave will obey!”
Though taken aback, Li Jingzhong replied quickly.
The Imperial Army had a duty to stand guard, and they needed to man their posts outside. In an ordinary snowstorm, this would be no problem, but not even the Imperial Army could stand outside in the middle of this cold wave.
With that brief glance, Li Heng had seen that thick layers of frost had appeared on the armor of the Imperial Army soldiers, and the men were on the verge of turning into ice statues.
Li Jingzhong quickly turned around to relay the orders.
Within his bedroom, Li Heng fell quiet, leaving only the sound of the crackling flames in the bronze cauldron.
“I hope that everything will go well!”
Li Heng placed his hands behind his back and deeply frowned as he muttered to himself.
……
Whoosh!
The winds howled as the cold wave surged southward. In the space of a few hours, all of the Central Plains had been engulfed. Even those regions which were clear and sunny throughout the year were now engulfed in snow and ice.
The snowy mist was so thick that it was impossible to make out anything.
From as far north as the north pole all the way to Jiaozhi in south, and from the Bohai in the east to the Arabian Empire in the west, the cold wave had swept over all.
After several thousand years, the continent finally welcomed a Great Ice Age.
At this time, countless people were awakened from their dreams by the cold.
“Daddy, I’m cold.”
Deep in the night, a boy shivered as he peeked his head out from the blankets and hugged his father tightly.
The boy’s body was cold. Not even the cotton blankets were able to keep out this cold.
In front of this cold wave, everyone felt like they were naked.
“It’s fine. It will pass soon.”
On the bed, the father comforted his son, then he got off the bed and fumbled around in the darkness. Fwoosh! With the sound of striking flint, a ball of flame lit up the crude and simple room, driving away some of the chill.
The family cuddled together around the slowly burning coal basin, trying to draw heat from each other.
The boy raised his head and innocently asked his father, “Daddy, they all say the end of days is coming, and the world will be destroyed. Is that true?”
“Nonsense! Who told you that?”