Chapter 393 – Dongqing Earthquake (Twenty-Five)
On the third day after the earthquake, the Emperor issued a decree to relocate the capital to Chenzhou.
Even though Feng Jin and the others had anticipated the Emperor’s intentions to move the capital, they fell into silence upon the official announcement.
The common people, hearing this news, were plunged into despair, their cries echoing like thunder, with some old women even fainting from grief.
After three days of quakes, the audience in the live stream had developed strong hearts, yet upon witnessing this scene, even they felt a twinge of sadness.
Though they couldn’t quite fathom why it struck them this way.
【Potato Beef Stew】: Sigh—it’s just a capital relocation, not the end of the world. Why cry like this?
【Big Red Dates】: Pfft, easy for you to say! It’s not just about moving the capital, they’re crying because they’ve been abandoned, okay?
【Old Driver Alliance】: This live stream isn’t state-affiliated, so I’ll make an inappropriate analogy—imagine our Huaguo capital experiencing such a catastrophic earthquake, where a large portion of the populace perishes and there’s no rescue operation for three whole days. People might doubt, yet they’ll trust the nation and wait for help, only to be told, “The capital is too ruined, there’s no point in rescue; we’re relocating.” What do you think those abandoned folks would feel?
Being abandoned, how would it feel?
This nation is doomed!
【Potato Beef Rice Bowl】: No way, that’s not a fitting analogy! If our country dared to do that, billions would erupt in anger. Besides, with the internet so developed, if there’s three hours of silence, the whole nation would turn upside down.
【Xuan Bu Jiu Fei】: Whether the analogy is fitting or not doesn’t matter. What Old Driver’s trying to say is clear to me.
【Krypton Doesn’t Change Fate】: Sigh, if I were one of the common people, I’d be crying too. With a devastated homeland, what’s the point of living? If the country doesn’t care, it means the chance of rebuilding is almost zero, the future looks bleak with no hope.
In ancient times, common folks had blind faith in their Emperor because he was the Son of Heaven, granted divine right!
When rejected by the Son of Heaven, they see no future for themselves.
In such a somber atmosphere, Jiang Pengji merely curled her lips.
“Truly, if they had more energy to spare, they wouldn’t be wasting it crying at a time like this.”
Luo Yue, a commoner with his own grief, nearly choked on Jiang Pengji’s callous remark.
If it weren’t for the Emperor’s command, he honestly didn’t want to take orders from her.
“Did I say something wrong?” Jiang Pengji shot him a glance, her eyes filled with contempt.
Luo Yue was momentarily speechless, instinctively wanting to refute, but the words caught in his throat, refusing to come out.
He felt a twinge of guilt.
As Jiang Pengji walked away, Qi Guanrang nudged him with his elbow as he passed by.
“The Son of Heaven has indeed abandoned these people, but can’t you see why they are still alive and not buried in the rubble? Young Master is right; they have too much energy to spare, so why cry? With such overflowing emotions, why not express gratitude to Young Master?”
Qi Guanrang shook his head, wearing a look that said “these fools are hopeless.”
Luo Yue’s expression turned serious as he declared with righteous indignation, “How can you say that? If it weren’t for the Emperor’s decree, Young Master Liu would…”
Qi Guanrang interrupted him, “That’s not true. If it weren’t for my Young Master’s kindness in volunteering to take on this grim task, just tell me, would the Official Master send someone else to rescue the people? Ha, even if Young Master made a request, they only dispatched a mere thousand Imperial Guards and provided five hundred grain units. Tell me, how many lives can this save?”
Luo Yue wanted to argue, but he could only blush in shame, though his dark complexion masked it well.
Qi Guanrang sarcastically quipped, “One hundred thousand Imperial Guards, yet they only sent out a thousand. Quite the generosity!”
Even a few years ago during the snow disaster, the court allocated thirty thousand taels of silver for disaster relief. Although very little made it to the common people, it at least showed some willingness. Now, the court had grown shameless, sending just a thousand Imperial Guards and five hundred grain units to brush off the issue.
To realize, this earthquake impacted Shangyang and Fengyi counties, affecting nearly two-thirds of Wanzhou!
The death toll was dozens of times higher than during past snow disasters!
With a cold smirk, Qi Guanrang’s gaze chilled Luo Yue’s heart.
As more and more commoners were rescued, the demand for rice and medicine soared.
Jiang Pengji exchanged for twenty thousand grain units and a large supply of mugwort and reed roots, always sending Xu Ke to fetch them. Part was reserved for the people of Shangjing, while another portion was sent to Fengyi County, where Qi Guanrang had left two thousand men behind for rescue.
Shangjing was the epicenter of the earthquake, suffering particularly severe casualties.
Fengyi County, being farther away, had more survivors, thus consuming massive amounts of rice and medicine.
Jiang Pengji couldn’t keep relying on the supplies from the marketplace; while it could work short-term, prolonged reliance could spell trouble.
With all her teammates being useful in their own right, her grand performances wouldn’t matter; the key was that everyone around her was sharp-minded, which made a difference. If it weren’t for the Liu Clan’s second household being flush with cash and running grain shops all over Dongqing, Xu Ke might’ve faced serious difficulties.
Thus, finding new sources and saving costs became crucial.
“Shangjing is filled with nobles, and each household must have some fine goods in their storerooms…” Jiang Pengji said unceremoniously, “Since these people are leaving the capital, their things will just rot. Why not take them and put them to good use, benefiting the common people?”
Jiang Pengji expressed it so plainly, it was tantamount to announcing, “Let’s go steal!”
Qi Guanrang was on board with the idea because he was never one to adhere strictly to principles.
Xu Ke felt a bit uncomfortable, recognizing such actions were akin to theft, but considering the suffering of the common people, there was no other choice.
Meng Hunyun was always inclined to follow Jiang Pengji, thinking it was totally fine to clear away the rubble or even rob along the way.
The only one voicing opposition was Feng Jin.
Having received a formal education for years, he couldn’t simply hop aboard Jiang Pengji’s bandwagon so easily.
Jiang Pengji inquired, “So what ideas do you have, Huaiyu?”
Feng Jin was under scrutiny from everyone, and after a long pause he sheepishly suggested, “At the very least… leave a promissory note?”
Everyone: “…”
With all the clan members having fled, who’s going to read the notes?
However, if this could ease Feng Jin’s conscience, they might as well, as it wouldn’t cost much effort.
Jiang Pengji nodded, “Hmm, my thoughts are in line with Huaiyu. If we wait until the earthquake subsides, and they return to see their things gone, they might raise hell. A promissory note can at least show we’re not thieves, just temporarily ‘borrowing’ things.”
‘Borrowing’ carried a deep meaning with Jiang Pengji’s phrasing.
Qi Guanrang smiled without speaking; ‘borrow and never return’ also counts as ‘borrowing.’
Four days passed since the earthquake, and the number of rescued commoners reached eighteen thousand, yet the corpses buried outside the city soared to seventy thousand.
With a permanent population of one hundred twenty thousand in Shangjing, that still left a gap of several tens of thousands.
Jiang Pengji planned to stay a few more days, conducting a thorough search before heading to Fengyi County to reunite with the other two thousand teams.
