“Sir truly plans without omission and possesses the bearing of a state preceptor!”
The Ninth Princess sighed in admiration, then an idea struck her. She asked, “Would you be willing, sir, to go to the capital and assume the position of state preceptor?”
The state preceptor was a very special post.
It was generally a title bestowed by the emperor upon high religious figures or people of great ability.
The scope of its authority was also extremely vague.
In history, many capable and ambitious state preceptors could influence the emperor and control the court.
For those lacking ability or desire for power, it was merely a sinecure. They simply collected their stipend each month.
But such state preceptors were rare.
Most were keen on political affairs, or they would not have emerged from seclusion.
Some truly helped the emperor govern the realm well. Others bewitched the emperor and brought chaos to the court.
This position did not exist in every era. In Dakang, for instance, it had been vacant for over a century.
The main reason was an incident more than a hundred years ago, when a state preceptor led the emperor at the time into madly consuming alchemical pills.
Not only did this exhaust the people and drain the treasury, but the pills produced were all fierce and harmful drugs. The emperor became vigorously energetic, indulging in nightly revelry from dusk to dawn without feeling fatigue.
Thus, the emperor revered the state preceptor highly, truly believing he had met an immortal.
Unfortunately, after only a few years, the emperor died from severe bodily depletion in his early thirties.
The state preceptor, deeply trusted by the emperor, had formed his own faction in the court. When that emperor died, the preceptor installed a new one.
The new emperor also lasted only a few years before passing away.
With these two precedents, the third emperor installed by the preceptor grew wary. He feigned compliance on the surface while secretly rallying ministers, then eliminated the preceptor.
This event became known as “the state preceptor’s chaotic rule”.
Though the preceptor was eliminated, during more than a decade of chaos, he had plundered the realm wildly under the pretext of refining pills for the emperor.
Dakang began its decline from that time.
Also from then on, Dakang emperors no longer trusted state preceptors. The position remained vacant for over a century.
If it were anyone else seeking the role, Chen Ji would certainly refuse.
But the Ninth Princess knew that Chen Ji idolised Jin Feng. Combined with her own familiarity with Chen Ji, there was a high chance of making it happen.
Moreover, she was certain that Jin Feng genuinely cared for the common people. If he became state preceptor, he would only benefit the populace and never bring chaos to the court.
Her real concern was whether Jin Feng would agree.
“If you are willing, sir, the Qing family will surely lend full support!”
Qing Xinyao quickly declared his stance.
Qing Muluan, lying on a soft couch, also raised her head.
Then all three saw Jin Feng shake his head. “Many thanks for the kindness of Your Highness and Lord Qing, but I fear I am not qualified for the role.”
“You predicted early snow this year, sir, and it came exactly as you said. If even such accuracy does not qualify you for state preceptor, I cannot think of anyone who could.”
Qing Muluan said, “Sir, please do not decline.”
“It is not that my calculations are accurate, but that most natural phenomena follow traceable patterns.”
Jin Feng explained, “If the court assigned people to record annual rainfall across the country, along with temperature changes in each season, and compared data over decades, the patterns would emerge.
This year, Chuanshu suffered a midsummer drought, followed by persistent autumn rains. This is a typical manifestation of the La Niña phenomenon. Another characteristic of La Niña is that the winter of that year will be particularly cold.”
“What seemed profoundly mysterious becomes clear at once when explained this way by you, sir.”
The Ninth Princess sighed. “You truly have penetrating insight. It is a pity you will not become state preceptor.”
“In truth, with careful observation, all things in the world follow laws. It is no great difficulty.”
Jin Feng said, “Let us speak no more of the state preceptor matter. Instead, we should discuss how to cope with the impending cold disaster.”
Seeing Jin Feng’s firm attitude, the Ninth Princess could only give up persuasion.
She exchanged a glance with Qing Xinyao, then asked, “Do you have any methods for disaster relief, sir?”
“Aside from buying some grain, what methods could I have?”
Jin Feng said helplessly, “I came to you only to remind you. From the data I have collected, this disaster will hit Chuanshu quite hard. You have little time left and should prepare early.”
Upon realising a cold wave was coming, Jin Feng had not only stockpiled grain but also instructed escorts and the Jinchuan Chamber of Commerce to gather livelihood data from various regions.
From the survey results, the most severely affected area would be the Xichuan Basin.
The three then discussed specific relief details until midnight, when Jin Feng finally left the Qing residence.
Subsequent developments proved even more severe than Jin Feng had anticipated.
In previous years, the first snow usually did not last long. This year, however, it fell for a full day and night.
Snow on flat ground reached knee-deep.
Temperatures continued to drop.
The sudden cold wave caught the common people unprepared.
They had not yet gathered firewood for warmth.
Charcoal in Xichuan City more than doubled in price within days.
At night, one could often hear children crying loudly from cold, unable to sleep.
City residents fared better. Most households were well-off and at least had shelter.
Those outside the city suffered greatly.
Especially people around Xichuan City. They had recently been plundered by cavalry, their homes burned.
Before the snow, they lived in large tents left by Danzhu. Now many tents collapsed under the weight of snow.
Even uncollapsed tents leaked wind everywhere and could not withstand the cold wave.
Though Zhou Youda and Han Feng took timely rescue measures, after the first snowfall, more than a dozen frail people still froze to death.
Over a hundred caught colds or fevers.
In the end, with no other choice, Jin Feng went out of the city. He ordered workers to work overtime covering the unfinished textile workshop with a roof, then concentrated the refugees inside.
The textile workshop had been built for thousands working simultaneously. It was vast in area.
With dry grass spread on the floor and people packed tightly together, it could shelter over ten thousand.
Jin Feng also had dozens of large and small stoves built inside.
The heat from tens of thousands of bodies was already considerable. Combined with central heating, it finally barely held off the cold wave.
“Sir, you truly have many solutions.”
Zhou Youda wiped his forehead. “If not for your help, Old Han and I really would not have known what to do.”
“This is only a temporary measure. The workshop has poor air circulation and holds so many people. Disease could easily breed. With such dense population, if infection spreads, the consequences would be unthinkable.”
Jin Feng warned, “You must arrange for people to open all doors and windows twice daily, morning and evening, for ventilation. Also monitor the stoves constantly. If smoke leaks, handle it immediately to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning.”
What he called smoke poisoning was carbon monoxide poisoning.
With so many people in the textile workshop, a single case of carbon monoxide poisoning would not kill just dozens.
It could doom everyone in the entire workshop.
