Just as Xie Minghe suddenly sank into bewilderment, the wind in Henei stopped.
Over the preceding days, rain had come first. People kept saying it had not grown colder, had not grown colder, but after several days of rain, it had plainly grown colder nonetheless. Then the wind began to blow. Hebei's early-winter winds might not quite compare to Henan's rains in May, but they came close.
Especially a day later, once the ground dried and the wind began whipping up dust, it felt exactly right.
By this point, even if it did not feel cold, each day was colder than the last.
Now, without any local explaining the geography or climate, everyone on both sides could imagine what lay ahead: by the middle of next month, ice would form as usual and the Great River's ice floods would begin. In the twelfth month, it would freeze over, then flood with ice again in spring. Who knew whether snow, cold snaps, or high winds would come in between...
These were no small matters!
Quite the opposite. Anyone with a little common sense knew that weather and changes in climate were matters of life and death for the hundreds of thousands of troops in the three armies facing off in Henei.
Water and fire showed no mercy; warmth and cold were things one felt for oneself. One need only consider how a Great Grandmaster was praised as almost capable of provoking celestial phenomena. In other words, the effects of changing weather really were more powerful than a Great Grandmaster where armies were concerned.
Thus, after that day's great battle, both sides had independently chosen to avoid combat during the wind and rain... After all, no one wanted freak winds to rise halfway through a battle and send an entire army collapsing,