Chapter 383 – Dongqing Earthquake (Fifteen)
The audience in the live stream craned their necks, eyes wide as they tried to decipher the contents of the folded letter.
However, reading the traditional classical Chinese was a bit too challenging for them, and after a while of guessing, they finally figured out what Feng Jin had written.
For quite some time, they remained puzzled about why the two suddenly fell silent and stared at each other, resorting to pretending to comment vaguely.
【Nutritional Fast Line】: Hmm… Feng Jin’s handwriting is really beautiful, not even a single typo!
【Gorgeous Secret Lock】: #Despise, even if he wrote a typo, you probably wouldn’t even recognize it!
【Three Squirrel Snacks】: Does anyone in the live stream have a big shot to explain this? I’m completely lost here!
It turned out that in such a large crowd, there were always some hidden experts among the many souls.
【I Am the Genius Guo Fengxiao】: Feng Jin’s letter isn’t hard to understand. The host asked Feng Jin to write a petition, asking for mercy from the Emperor and taking on the disaster relief task. This letter from Feng Jin has a similar intent but with the added note of “extortion”.
Extortion?
Everyone stared dumbfounded at those four characters.
【Genius Guo Fengxiao】: #Nose Picking, learn well, a crying child gets milk. He described the devastation after the earthquake, writing about the plight of the common people to garner sympathy, then emotionally pledged his loyalty, expressing the hope to use his meager strength to help the Emperor relieve their suffering and showcase the Emperor’s benevolence, and finally, cried poor, claiming he was from an aristocratic family with patriotism but without merit or title… Tsk, I must say, the emotional appeal is rich, and the flattery is spot on… Feng Jin isn’t as rigid as I imagined, what a relief.
【Stowaway Non-Money】: I initially wanted to criticize the ID above, but seeing your analysis is quite on point, I’ll hold back.
【Genius Guo Fengxiao】: Thanks to my university major, reading traditional classical Chinese is a breeze.
【Old Driver Alliance】: Birds of a feather flock together. Those who can joke with the host must share similar traits.
Jiang Pengji initially just wanted to write a petition, to have a solid reason, but with Feng Jin writing it like this, there’s a great chance it could help her secure an official position.
“With the people’s hearts in turmoil, everyone feeling uneasy. If the Emperor learns of Lan Ting’s sincere intentions, he will surely lament the rarity of wise ministers.”
People are most afraid of comparisons. After comparing, the good become better, and the bad become worse. With a bit of luck, the Emperor might be delighted and grant her a title, even if it’s just an empty title without real power; it’s still better than being a mere nobody.
“What a pleasant surprise! Huaiyu is indeed talented,” Jiang Pengji said without hiding her admiration, “Since that’s the case, I shall give you a surprise as well.”
Feng Jin’s eyes brightened; her surprise couldn’t possibly be…
“Mm.”
Since Feng Jue was present, she merely blinked and nodded, giving Feng Jin an affirming response.
“This letter needs to be sent up quickly, the sooner the better.”
On the other end, thanks to Xu Ke’s adept handling of affairs, there was no chaos. He organized the personnel and set up a porridge station, employing the surviving able-bodied citizens, with some clearing debris and others divided into groups to search for surviving souls.
The earthquake was severe, causing collapses and upheavals, rendering the ground uneven, and the extent of the damage greatly hampered rescue efforts.
The earthquake occurred late at night, while most people were fast asleep, so many commoners were buried under debris. Some perished on the spot while others, lucky to survive, were severely injured and without treatment couldn’t last long.
Now, there was a significant shortage of manpower. Jiang Pengji had resolved the issues of food and medicine shortage, but she couldn’t solve the issue of labor.
Desperate, she had to grab whichever able body she could find, even putting herself into the fray.
“Xiaoyu, take people to set up the injured area.” Jiang Pengji knew well that this was a tough battle, racing against time and struggling against death, rapidly assigning tasks, “Huaiyu, help arrange the injured and the porridge station, and care for Jingxian nearby.”
In ancient times, scholars had to learn the Six Arts of a gentleman, which included skills like riding, archery, and swordsmanship, but ultimately, they were civil servants. Jiang Pengji didn’t let them go digging through the ruins to save lives, fearing that aftershocks might occur, putting them in danger. It was safer to remain at the main base.
After her orders, Jiang Pengji took the strap handed to her by Ta Xue, clumsily biting one end of the rope while deftly tying up her sleeves, then swiftly tied the ends into a knot, revealing her two snow-white arms, ready for rescue.
“Ta Xue, you stay behind to make stretchers and care for the injured…”
They weren’t doing too badly; all the servants from the Liu Residence had survived, and among them was a maid who had learned some medical skills from the Young Doctor’s father.
Although she had only learned the basics, there was no room for picky preferences now; she would have to act as a young doctor.
She couldn’t save serious injuries, but she could handle minor ones.
Rescue began from the nearest locations, and Jiang Pengji led the charge, demonstrating what real strength looked like.
Before long, she was covered in dust and blood, her clothes unrecognizable.
Jiang Pengji was skilled and strong, with heightened senses, plus her indomitable spirit made her a moving life detection device, capable of finding traces of life. Following the principle of rescuing those most likely to survive, she prioritized those with the strongest life signs.
“Bring the stretcher over, there’s a survivor here…”
Jiang Pengji calculated the structure of the collapsed wood and stone, using all her might to lift the debris, revealing a bloodied figure.
The wood was readily available, directly pulled from the ruins. Jiang Pengji instructed that any skins and cloth they could gather be assembled, and the weaker maidservants should patch together simple stretchers, without caring for aesthetics, just functional enough to place the injured on.
Immediately, others rushed over to help lift the survivor, placing them on the stretcher.
Jiang Pengji had briefed them on how to handle lifting a person to avoid causing further injuries.
As she rescued one after another who still showed signs of life, everyone assumed there were many survivors.
In truth, only Jiang Pengji furrowed her brows, her heart sinking to the bottom.
There were… too many dead…
There was no time to lament; Jiang Pengji could only press her lips together, enduring the scorching sun above her head, her hands quickly blistering, the blisters bursting, mixing with sand and wood splinters, making her palms look terrifying. The live stream was silent, the atmosphere tense, and no one dared to speak.
From a geological perspective, the first 72 hours post-earthquake were the golden rescue period. Jiang Pengji had already wasted a fair bit of time; now, she had to seize every minute and second. Three time blocks later, it was already midday, the sun blazing hot.
Two hundred and thirty lives were rescued, of which one hundred and ninety had been rescued by Jiang Pengji leading the effort. The other groups managed to pull out only a few survivors, with the vast majority being cold and stiff corpses, and this area they had cleared was thick with the smell of blood.
“This is the general map of the capital city…”
