A month after Xiang An had completely taken control of Three Qi, something happened that caught him utterly off guard.
Although Xiang An had already ordered the Northern Chu officials to oversee waterworks construction, there were too few hands and too little time for any results to show.
Then, just as July arrived and flood season began, immense amounts of rainwater poured into the Yellow River. The surging Yellow River—
burst its banks.
Not only had it burst its banks, it had also changed course. The mud-laden Yellow River swept across all of Three Qi, submerging vast stretches of land. The resulting flood covered nearly half of Northern Chu's farmland.
Yet the location where the Yellow River had changed course and burst its banks left Xiang An helplessly amused.
The Yellow River had changed course from a section near Dong Commandery City.
Xiang An had taken almost all the wealth from the Northern Chu royal palace, along with the vast majority of its grain, to provide disaster relief and help the victims throughout Northern Chu rebuild their homes. At last, the Northern Chu palace's coffers could no longer hold up.
"We need to go to war."
Zi Juan, Northern Chu's Grand General, had just returned to the Northern Chu royal palace in Linzi when she said this to her elder brother.
By now, Xiang An had appointed Zi Juan as Northern Chu's Supreme Pillar of State. Her noble rank had risen to that of a high minister, with ten thousand households in taxable fiefs, while her domain was Langya Commandery.
Thus, aside from Grand General, the title most often used for Zi Juan now was "Lady Duke of Langya."
It was not because Xiang An favored Zi Juan that he had bestowed so many grand titles, noble ranks, and military