The Daoists and monks Pan Yun had summoned to preach on the grasslands all knew that the blizzard that had struck the grasslands that spring had little to do with Eternal Heaven's punishment. The main reason was the first point Pan Yun had raised: the moon waxed and waned, and the seasons naturally had favorable and adverse turns as well. That was nature, an immutable law.
The law could not be changed, but disasters could be.
If the people of the grasslands could know of a snow disaster in advance and prepare beforehand, they could reduce casualties and losses during a great blizzard;
If the Imperial Court and the various departments also prepared relief supplies and disaster-relief procedures early, and handled the aftermath properly;
If all three stages—before, during, and after a disaster—were handled well, the losses and casualties caused by a snow disaster could certainly be greatly reduced.
That was why, though natural disasters were difficult to predict, humanity still never stopped struggling against Heaven.
Whether Daoist or monk, they all felt that battling oneself and battling Heaven was far more interesting than battling other people.
The superstitious calamity caused by this great snow disaster not only gave both the Daoist and Buddhist camps a fright, but also made them understand through their covert struggle that, if left unchecked, heretical cults would spread far faster than orthodox faiths. Most frightening of all, those cults often borrowed the names of gods and Buddhas, inevitably entangling the two camps. If the Imperial Court one day ordered a ban on Daoism and Buddhism...
Well, the Imperial Preceptor was a Daoist, so Daoism might not be banned, but Buddhism certainly would be.
That was what the monks and nuns thought, but the Daoists did not see it that way.
Only the Daoists knew