A hundred li northeast of Star Luo City.
Lanke Village.
True to its name, the village was utterly dilapidated. Everywhere one looked lay broken walls and crumbling ruins. The villagers living there were skeletal, barely clothed, and covered in grime.
"Why is this place so poor?"
Li Ming was not the only one with that question.
Zhou Qing, listening to the story, was also puzzled. "Star Luo City is the imperial capital, at least. How could there be such an impoverished village only a hundred li away from it?"
"That year, the Star Luo Empire suffered a fairly severe drought."
Lu Qibin sighed. "The weather is unpredictable, and human strength can do little against it."
Zhou Qing neither agreed nor disagreed.
Lu Qibin continued, "To be honest, I spent those years in Star Luo City and could not feel the drought outside at all. It was only when I left the city with Teacher Li Gong and went to Lanke Village that I learned how severe disasters elsewhere could never affect the imperial capital.
After all, no matter how severe the disaster was, it was heaven's fault, not something the nobles could be blamed for.
At the time, the Star Luo Emperor did order disaster relief, but after the funds and grain left the treasury, the money was skimmed away layer by layer. Gold Soul Coins became Copper Soul Coins, until in the end, only grain remained!
And the grain went from white rice to yellow millet, from yellow millet to brown rice mixed with bran, and finally from brown rice mixed with bran to bran mixed with brown rice!
The emperor did not concern himself with any of that. After all, only once those officials at every level had been fed could the refugees below receive even a bite