Later that same year a typhoon destroyed thousands of boats, large and small, at Yangzhou where the Grand Canal intersects with the Yangtze, losing more precious grain and rice. Almost incredibly, at that same time, a fire in the capital’s main weapons arsenal destroyed 500,000 weapons, crossbows, swords and spears. In the autumn it rained for weeks on end and floods caused havoc as far inland as the Wei River and the environs of Chang’an.
