Before entering the Northern Wei Imperial Palace with Eunuch Qian, Xia Pingan raised his head and looked at the sky again.
He had already been in this world for a few years. In these few years, he had been summoned by Tuo Ba Si many times to inquire about astronomical phenomena. Every time, the results proved that he was right. Tuo Ba Si was convinced and the entire Northern Wei treated him as a god-like existence.
In the sky, the stars were shining brightly, but Mars had disappeared.
In the entire Northern Wei capital, from the Imperial Palace to the mansions of the nobles, countless people were gathered in their courtyards. They were like crowing roosters as they stared at the sky with uneasiness in their hearts.
Last night, Mars had suddenly disappeared from the sky. In just a day, the entire capital of Northern Wei was filled with rumors. Until tonight, there was still no sign of Mars in the sky. Thus, Tuo Basi invited Xia Pingan to the palace to inquire.
Mars was Mars!
People living in the future would find it hard to imagine the importance of astronomical phenomena in the ancient times.
If the weather forecasts, earthquake warnings, political upheavals in various countries, and war intelligence were all added together, the importance of this was almost the same as the interpretation of astronomical phenomena in this era.
The study of astronomical phenomena was known as the Seven Governance in ancient times. The five planets of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, as well as the sun and the moon, made up a total of seven. The study of the seven most important celestial bodies was known as the Seven Governance.
Those who truly grasped the Seven Governance were the experts of this era.
"Lord Cui, please hurry. His Majesty is getting anxious …" Eunuch Qian said to Xia Pingan in a low voice as he led the way. "His Majesty trusts Lord Cui the most now. Lord Cui was the one who objected to moving the capital last time, and it turned out that Lord Cui was right. That natural disaster passed very quickly, and the refugees were also settled. The coming year will be smooth sailing. If His Majesty had listened to those people's nonsense about moving the capital last time, who would be able to live a peaceful life now? Sigh, why did Mars disappear all of a sudden when everything was fine? Everyone was in a state of panic, and in just one day, there were all sorts of rumors in the city.
"Eunuch Qian, there is no need to worry. Mars didn't disappear. It's just that its trajectory is erratic and hard to observe. The omen this time has nothing to do with Wei..." Xia Pingan said calmly.
"With Lord Cui's words, I am relieved..." Eunuch Qian heaved a sigh of relief.
...
Very quickly, Eunuch Qian brought Xia Pingan to a garden in the Imperial Palace.
Tuoba Si was not in the main hall. Instead, he was in the garden. He raised his head and frowned as he observed the weather. A few professors and officials from the imperial astronomer stood beside Tuoba Si, trembling in fear. Their faces were filled with fear.
Mars was an ominous star. Everyone was afraid of Mars because of its anomalies.
Seeing Xia Pingan walk over with a calm expression, Tuoba Si was relieved. The others also heaved a sigh of relief as though they had seen their savior.
When Tuoba Si asked about the omen of Mars, no one dared to speak or explain. They were afraid of losing their heads if they said the wrong thing. Now that Lord Cui was here, there was nothing to be afraid of. The entire Wei knew of Lord Cui's abilities. He was a divine strategist who was proficient in astronomy and geography. If there was something they didn't know, they could always ask Lord Cui.
The group of professors and officials from the Imperial Astronomer hurriedly bowed to Xia Pingan. When Xia Pingan walked over, they automatically retreated and listened attentively.
"Minister Cui, look at the sky. Why did Mars disappear? Mars is an ominous star. Is this omen unfavorable to Wei?" Tuoba Si asked anxiously.
Xia Pingan looked at the sky and adjusted his expression. "Your Majesty, according to the Legend of the Zuo Family of the Spring and Autumn Annals, when the gods descend on Shen, they will offer sacrifices. Based on the date, I can deduce that Mars disappeared on the evening of the seventh lunar month. There were dark clouds in the sky during the Xin Wei Dynasty. In other words, the disappearance of Mars was indeed the arrival of a star of calamity. It was a bad omen, a bad omen! "
When Xia Pingan said this, the doctors and the officials of the Imperial Astronomer trembled. Their faces were filled with fear. Tuo Basi's face also turned ugly.
"Minister Cui, is there a way to resolve this omen?" Tuoba Si quickly asked.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The disappearance of Mars in Geng and Wei means that it belongs to Qin. This means that this calamity has nothing to do with the Wei Kingdom. It will be reflected on the land of Qin, that is, the Emperor of the Great Qin Empire, Yao Xing. Mars will be a fire, and it will be a sign to the land of Qin. In the coming year, the land of Great Qin will most likely be barren, and weapons will rise from within. That Yao Xing is already advanced in age.
Xia Pingan knew that in the coming year, the Great Qin Empire would really experience a rare drought. The land would be barren, and the political situation would take a turn for the worse. Rumors would spread everywhere. Yao Xing's third son, Yao Bi, wanted to take the throne from his eldest son, Yao Hong, and started a rebellion. In the end, the rebellion failed, and Yao Bi was executed. After this rebellion, the Great Qin Empire's vitality was greatly damaged. Yao Xing's health was not good to begin with, and after this, his condition worsened.
Hearing Xia Pingan's words, Tuoba Si heaved a long sigh of relief. He was finally relieved. It was fine as long as it had nothing to do with him. But on second thought, Tuoba Si's face turned solemn again. He ordered the people around him, "You all heard what Lord Cui said just now. These words are to be kept in the Imperial Garden and are not to be leaked out. If the Empress knows about it, I will investigate and behead you."
Everyone in the garden hurriedly nodded, not daring to say anything.
Tuoba Si's Empress was Yao Xing's daughter. A few years ago, when the rabbit entered the palace, Xia Pingan divined for Tuoba Si that Yao Xing would send a princess the next year. The next year, the Great Qin sent a princess.
Following this, Tuoba Si waved his hand and had everyone leave, leaving Xia Pingan alone in the garden pavilion to talk.
"I heard that Minister Cui gave birth to Lin'er a few days ago. I haven't congratulated Minister Cui yet. In these two years, Minister Cui's body has been getting stronger and stronger, and your complexion is much better than before. I wonder if Minister Cui has any methods to maintain your health? To be honest, there are many concubines in the palace. Although I am still young, I feel that I am not as good as I used to be … "Tuoba Si actually started to tell Xia Pingan about his troubles as a man.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the less one desires, the better one's health. I've only suddenly realized this truth in the past two years. In the past few years, I've racked my brains to write books and establish theories. I've been worrying about a lot of things. A few years ago, my study caught fire, and the fire turned my decades of hard work into nothing. Instead, I've accepted it, put down the book, and left everything to fate. When I have time, I'll walk around and take a look. I'll read the great essays of the world in the mountains and rivers of Jianghu.
Tuoba Si shook his head and said, "What a pity, what a pity. I have long heard that Minister Cui's commentary on the classics is the best in Wei Kingdom. I didn't expect that it would be burned down. Is it true that Minister Cui met a strange monk and received a volume of the Mahayana Li Script Universal Light Scripture?"
"That's indeed the case. That strange monk came and went without a trace. He was rather miraculous. From the beginning to the end, he did not mention his name. Later on, my wife and I visited many temples, but we did not find any trace of that strange monk. Now that I've been reading the Mahayana Li Script Great Light Sutra every day, I feel that my secular thoughts have disappeared. My husband and I are harmonious.
Tuoba Si originally wanted to talk to Xia Pingan about the matter of destroying the Buddha. However, he found that Cui Hao was not interested in it at all. Cui Hao seemed to be aloof from worldly affairs, so he stopped talking about it. Before Xia Pingan left the palace, he asked the eunuch beside him to reward him with some silk.
...
Xia Pingan returned to his study. As soon as he sat down, Cui Ming, a disciple of the Cui family, asked to see him.
"Greetings, Uncle..."
"How's it going?"
Seeing that there was no one around, Cui Ming took out a cloth bag from his chest, opened it, and handed it to Xia Pingan. In the cloth bag, there was a pitch-black iron pipe as thick as a thumb.
"How many pipes can you produce per month?"
"According to eldest uncle's method, Cui family's workshop could produce 210 iron pipes per month. The farmsteads that we recruited from the victims all had a bumper harvest this year. Eldest uncle bestowed the farmsteads to those victims. Those victims are willing to sacrifice their lives for our Cui family. The horse caravan that we recruited from those victims has already entered Western Liang …"
Xia Pingan looked at it and nodded slightly. He thought to himself, "Finally, I have some ability to protect myself."
...
Everything was as Cui Hao had expected. In the second year, the Qin Kingdom was indeed in dire straits. Tuoba Si relied on Cui Hao more.
A few years had passed when Xia Pingan entered the palace again to interpret the astronomical phenomena for Tuoba Si.
In the third year of Taichang, a comet dragged a long tail across the sky for more than eighty days. The comet left the planet of Tianjin, passed through the Big Dipper, and swept past the Crape Myrtle...
Many people had never seen such an astronomical phenomenon in their entire lives. It caused the entire Northern Wei to be terrified. Before this, many people had never seen such an astronomical phenomenon in their entire lives.
A group of scholars and imperial astronomers flipped through the ancient records and finally found such a record in the "Book of Han". Before Wang Mang seized the throne, the comet entered and exited.
Hearing this, Tuoba Si was terrified and summoned Xia Pingan to the palace.
"Your Majesty, don't worry. Currently, the Wei Kingdom is in an orderly state. Thus, this calamity will not appear in our Wei Kingdom. Instead, it will appear in a large country in the south of our Wei Kingdom. That large country has a weak ruler and strong officials, and there will be a great change!"
When Tuoba Si heard this, he heaved a sigh of relief. That large country in the south with a weak ruler and strong officials was none other than the Jin Kingdom. Right now, Sima Dewen was like a puppet in Jin Kingdom and had reached his limit. Liu Yu's authority was overwhelming, and his reputation in Jin Kingdom had reached its peak.
"When will the great change that Minister Cui spoke of take?" Tuoba Si asked.
"In less than two years!" Xia Pingan replied with certainty.
"I didn't expect that Jin Kingdom would also walk on such a path. In Minister Cui's opinion, how can a country avoid such a calamity?"
"The ancients have said that the calamity is caused by humans. If humans don't have any flaws in their actions, demons won't cause them. If humans have flaws, the calamity will appear in the heavens. The heavens are constant, and it won't be easy for a hundred generations. Fortune and calamity come from the heart. If one wants to be free from calamity, one must constantly cultivate virtue and reflect on one's actions. If one has a clear conscience, one will naturally be free from calamity! "
"Minister Cui's words are great!"
...
After dealing with the matter, Xia Pingan walked out of the palace again.
In the past few years, he had raised a few groups of horse bandits. Previously, he had invested a lot in them. He didn't expect that these horse bandits would actually start to earn money. They ran amok in the north, plundering wealth and had become a powerful force in his hands.
Xia Pingan was thinking about whether he should play a big game and completely change history to obtain more divine power. Without any warning, the world in the World Pearl shattered.
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