In early spring, several light rains fell upon Linji City, seemingly heralding a year of gentle winds and timely rains—a year of bountiful harvest.
However, as April approached and the time for spring planting arrived, the weather abruptly turned dry.
For over a month, not a single drop of rain fell on Linji City, and the counties under its jurisdiction began reporting drought conditions one after another.
Last year's drought had caused much turmoil. The City Lord's Mansion, in conjunction with the Four Great Clans of the Inner City, had contributed manpower and resources, allocating vast sums of money and provisions to finally bring the disaster under control.
But in the aftermath of that drought, the Government Office's granaries were all but depleted, and common households had no surplus grain to speak of.
This year, the drought delayed the spring planting, meaning another disaster was imminent—one that was bound to be even more severe than the last.
