Chapter 112: Lost at war.

They stayed at Dai for a couple of months. The farmers needed something to eat, now that their crops were spoiled. The Wei family went to the ruined land and forced some crops to grow in time for the harvest. They were so successful that the granaries of Dai were overflowing.

The emperor decreed that the extra be sent to Chang'an. That made most of the population angry, but they obeyed. With groves littering the forest, things were looking up for the people of Dai. But they didn't forget why their crops failed in the first place, and so the Wei family wasn't very popular in the region.

As for the famine ritual, it turned out they had picked the wrong person for it, depending on who you ask. The man had been thrown in prison for cannibalism, and so wasn't disturbed in the slightest about eating his fellow prisoners. He had welcomed it, in fact, and had sung the emperor's praises to anyone who listened.