Rise of a Lonely City: From Exiled Prince to Ruler of the Nine Provinces

The smoke of the "Wrath of Black Gold" had barely cleared when the "black gold" of the Black Mountain Coal Mine once again transformed into raging furnaces, propelling the industrial behemoth of the Cold Abyss forward.

However, a silent disaster from the south, carrying suffocating despair, is crashing like a gray wave onto the newly solidified northern defenses of the Cold Abyss.

The Central Plains are experiencing a severe drought.

For three consecutive months, the land was parched, rivers and lakes dried up, and crops withered.

The imperial court's relief efforts were ineffective, and corrupt officials exploited the people at every level, making cannibalism a common occurrence.

Hundreds of thousands of emaciated and vacant-eyed refugees, like a flock of sheep being driven, dragged their families along, and stumbled northward toward the rumored territory of the "Prince of Jingbei," where "there is food to eat and land to cultivate."

Zhenbei City, the Household Affairs Office.

Before Han Lie lay a mountain of urgent reports from various border passes, each one heavy with weight, making it almost impossible for the old minister to breathe.

"Urgent report from Panshibao: Over 30,000 refugees have blocked the main road, and the soup kitchens are about to run out of food!"

"Urgent report from Qinghe Town: 50,000 displaced people, initial signs of disease appear, fearing a major epidemic!"

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"Urgent report from Black Mountain Town: Migrants are storming the checkpoint; the garrison requests instructions on whether to... kill them?"

The last three words made Han Lie's hand tremble violently. He raised his head and looked at Xiao Chen, who was sitting upright in the main seat, quietly wiping the Zhenyue Sword. The young prince's expression was calm, as if the impending flood of refugees outside the window was nothing more than a ripple in a teacup.

"Your Highness," Han Lie's voice was hoarse, "within ten days, nearly one hundred thousand refugees have flooded into our territory. And... the number is still increasing. Although the official granaries are full, if all of it is used for relief, it may not be enough to sustain us for long, and it may even breed lazy people, shaking the foundation of the country. Should we... temporarily close the passes and strictly screen them, or... expel the old and weak?"

"Expel them?"

Xiao Chen stopped wiping the sword; its blade reflected a cold light under the lamplight. "Old Han, do you know why these refugees risk their lives to come to my Cold Abyss?"

"Because... to survive."

"Yes, to survive."

Xiao Chen stood up and walked to the huge map of the Cold Abyss's territory on the wall. He traced the long border with his finger. "They came because they trusted me, Xiao Chen, and believed I could give them a way out. If I close the pass today and drive them away, the Cold Road will be blocked, and the people's hearts will be lost. If they kneel outside the pass and starve to death today, tomorrow, this name of 'unrighteousness and injustice' will become an indelible stain on me and on the Cold Abyss! At that time, who in the world will trust us again? Who will come to us again?"

"But Your Highness, what about the food..."

"food?"

Xiao Chen turned around, a confident smile curving his lips. "Come on, come with me somewhere."

Xiao Chen did not go to the Prince's Mansion or the archives of the Household Department. Instead, he led Han Lie and a group of core civil and military officials directly to the "Yonggu Granary," built against the mountain in the western suburbs of Zhenbei City.

This is the largest official granary in Hanyuan, and also one of its top secrets. The massive granary city is heavily fortified with high walls and strong defenses, with visible and hidden sentries operating day and night.

Upon seeing Xiao Chen's arrival, the granary official hurriedly opened the heavy iron-clad granary door.

"Squeak—"

The moment the door opened, a unique aroma, a blend of grain and aged wood, wafted out. Then, everyone was speechless, stunned by the sight before them.

Before me were not rows of granaries as I had imagined, but mountains!

Inside the enormous warehouse, dozens of cylindrical "permanent granaries," each three zhang high and five zhang in diameter, constructed of "cement," stood like silent giants, arranged in neat rows, stretching as far as the eye could see. The roofs of the silos had ventilation openings, and the bottoms had moisture-proof layers and drainage systems.

"Open Warehouse No. 3 (Class A)," Xiao Chen ordered.

The granary official activated the mechanism, opening the grain outlet at the bottom of the granary.

"Whoosh—"

Golden millet cascaded out like a waterfall, instantly forming a small mound below the grain outlet. The millet grains were plump, dry, and clean, shimmering with an alluring, vibrant glow in the beam of light streaming in from the ventilation window in the silo roof.

"This is... last year's new millet?" Han Lie grabbed a handful, incredulous.

"Yes, and not entirely."

Xiao Chen walked to the granary and patted the cold, solid walls. "Since I took up my post, I have ordered the Ministry of Revenue to stockpile grain and build high walls. All taxes, income from military farms, and even some trade surpluses, except for necessary expenses, have been used to purchase grain to replenish the official granaries. At the same time, new agricultural methods have been implemented and water conservancy projects have been built, resulting in bumper harvests year after year."

He pointed to the endless granaries: "This Yonggu Granary holds three million shi of grain. The granaries in Zhenbei City, Panshi Fort, Qinghe Town, Heishan Town, and various military garrisons hold two million shi of grain. The total is five million shi."

"Five...five million koku?"

Han Lie gasped. One shi (石) weighs approximately 120 jin (斤), so five million shi would be six hundred million jin (斤) of grain! Based on the current population of Hanyuan consuming one jin (斤) of grain per day, this would be enough to feed the entire military and civilian population for over four years!

"This doesn't even include private grain reserves and the new grain that will soon be stored."

Xiao Chen said calmly, "Old Han, do you still think we're short of food?"

"Your Highness...this old minister...this old minister..."

Han Lie was so excited that his beard trembled. Only then did he realize that the prince had quietly amassed such a substantial fortune over the years!

This is no ordinary granary; it is a vast and indestructible empire built with grain!

"But Your Highness," Wang Dashan still had doubts, "there are 100,000 refugees, and the number is still increasing. Even if we have grain, it is not a long-term solution to simply sit and eat it all up, and it is easy to cause unrest."

"Who says we have to sit around and live off our savings?"

Xiao Chen's eyes gleamed. "Issue my decree!"

"First, open the granaries and distribute food, and set up soup kitchens!"

"At each pass and key road, 'refugee reception points' were set up, and soup kitchens were erected. The soup was so thick that chopsticks could stand upright in it without falling over, and it contained both vegetables and oil. Two meals a day, unlimited, all you can eat! The elderly, the weak, women and children could receive fried noodles and dried meat."

"Secondly, provide work relief and grant land to settle down!"

"All displaced people with labor capacity shall not be allowed to eat for free. They shall be organized to repair roads, build cities, develop water conservancy projects, and excavate mines. They shall be paid according to the amount of earthwork and the hours worked, and shall be paid daily with grain or Jingbei Tongbao coins."

"Those who wish to settle down will be granted land according to the regulations for the naturalization of displaced people, and will be provided with loans of oxen and seeds, and will be incorporated into the Baojia system."

"Third, strictly prevent disease outbreaks and shelter women and children!"

"Medical tents were set up at each receiving point, with medical officers from Huimin Medical Center stationed there to distribute epidemic prevention medicine and isolate patients."

"Establish Tzu Chi Homes to take in elderly people living alone and orphans; establish women's workshops to provide employment for women in spinning and weaving."

Fourth, enforce laws and regulations strictly; violators will be severely punished!

"Any refugee who commits crimes, incites disturbances, or spreads rumors, regardless of the reason, shall be executed without pardon!"

"Any government official or soldier who dares to withhold rations or oppress displaced people will be punished equally!"

"Make a thousand copies of this royal decree and post them at all passes and markets to inform the people!"

"yes!"

The ministers responded with a resounding roar, their hearts filled with no more doubts, only boiling passion and unwavering confidence.

The king's decree spread swiftly across the border, like a spring breeze.

When the aroma of thick porridge, so delicious that chopsticks could stand upright in it, filled the porridge stall; when the refugees received their first mouthful of hot porridge, the scalding warmth sliding down their throats into their parched stomachs; when they saw the soldiers of Hanyuan maintaining order and the medical officers treating their children—

The fear, despair, and numbness that had been building up for months collapsed in an instant.

"Mother... there's porridge..." A child, so thin he was practically skin and bones, held a broken bowl, tears falling "plop plop" into the porridge.

"Your Highness... Your Highness has given us a way out..." An old woman with white hair knelt on the ground, kowtowing repeatedly towards the direction of Zhenbei City.

"Father, we...we won't starve to death...we won't have to sell our sister anymore..." The family hugged each other and wailed.

Crying is the release of something suppressed for too long. Gratitude is the most instinctive reaction after surviving a desperate situation.

Someone shouted "Long live the Prince of Jingbei!" and the shouts spread like wildfire, quickly erupting in front of countless soup kitchens and in the long lines of refugees!

"Long live the Prince of Jingbei!"

"Long live Han Yuan!"

"I will repay Your Highness's kindness in saving my life, even if I have to be reborn as an ox or a horse in my next life!"

The sounds were initially chaotic, but gradually coalesced into a massive, awe-inspiring wave that soared into the sky and lingered among the border mountains for a long time.

Countless refugees knelt on the ground, facing north, towards the prince they had never met who had given them a new life, expressing their gratitude in the most devout and humble way.

This scene moved the Han Yuan soldiers who were maintaining order, brought tears to the eyes of the officials distributing porridge, and stirred the heart of Xiao Chen, who was silently watching all this from a distant hilltop through a "telescope."

"Your Highness," Han Lie wiped his eyes, his voice choked with emotion, "the will of the people... this is the will of the people! He who wins the hearts of the people, what is there to fear in conquering the world?"

"No."

Xiao Chen lowered his binoculars, his gaze deep. "This is not just about public sentiment."

"This is the power to survive. It is the most basic, and also the most powerful, power."

"We gave them a way to survive, and they will protect that way to survive and the people who gave them that way to survive with their lives."

"These 100,000 refugees are not a burden, but 100,000 seeds. As long as we guide them well and settle them properly, they will take root, sprout, blossom, and bear fruit on the land of Hanyuan, becoming the most solid foundation and the most loyal people of Hanyuan."

"Pass down the order," Xiao Chen turned around and said to the messenger behind him, "Have the painter create a painting titled 'Ten Thousand People Expressing Gratitude,' depicting the scene of refugees kneeling in gratitude that we witnessed today. Print it into a book and circulate it to all armies and government offices."

"Let everyone in the Cold Abyss know what we are protecting, and what we are fighting for."

"yes!"

The policies of opening granaries and distributing grain, and providing work relief, acted as a shot in the arm, not only stabilizing the refugees but also stimulating vitality within Hanyuan.

New roads are being extended, new cities are rising, and new fields are being cultivated.

One hundred thousand refugees were quickly transformed into one hundred thousand laborers, injecting tremendous power into the construction of Hanyuan.

The grain in the official granaries is decreasing, but the land in Hanyuan is increasing, the population is increasing, the wealth is increasing, and more importantly—the people's hearts are frantically rallying and growing!

An invisible yet real "luck" seemed to converge on Zhenbei City, on the Jingbei Prince's Mansion, and on Xiao Chen, along with the shouts of "Long live the Emperor" and the bowls of "life-saving porridge."

Han Lie and other senior officials who were well-versed in the principles of the I Ching discussed privately, all saying that the prince "has great fortune bestowed upon him, and is destined by Heaven."

This good fortune did not come from nowhere; it was the result of the merit of "saving countless lives."

Xiao Chen neither confirmed nor denied this.

All he knew was that when he stood at the highest point of the palace, overlooking the increasingly prosperous and vibrant city, and gazing at the distant land that belonged to him, his belief had never been so firm.

"The will of the people is the destiny of Heaven."

He spoke softly to the void.

"I accept this destiny."

"I will take this world as well."

A full treasury provides material strength; refugees kneeling in gratitude are the foundation of people's hearts.

When matter and the human heart unite as one, the power that erupts will be enough to shake the heavens and earth and rewrite history.

Driven by this force, the Cold Abyss is accelerating its journey toward its destined glory.