Chapter 395 – Relocation to Chenzhou (2)
The relocation had become a done deal, and it had been a full six days since the earthquake.
Thanks to Jiang Pengji’s quick actions and timely handling, the capital did not discover any signs of plague.
However, from the cook responsible for grain transport and the troops involved in disaster relief in Fengyi County, news came that other regions had already shown signs of plague.
Jiang Pengji had her hands and feet bandaged, and on the last day of relief efforts, she only needed to focus on recovery, aided by a thousand Imperial Guards.
【Host V】: I feel like I’ve turned into a dried fish.
Currently, Jiang Pengji’s main task was to recover and heal her injuries as quickly as possible.
During the days following the earthquake, Jiang Pengji had hardly rested, tirelessly digging through rubble to rescue one buried commoner after another. After all, no one could sense life’s traces as precisely as she could.
So her injuries looked quite severe, and as the rescue efforts wound down, Feng Jin and others strongly insisted that she recuperate at camp.
In reality, her recovery abilities were many times greater than those of an ordinary person.
If it weren’t for the fear of scaring the young doctor with thoughts of her being a monster, she would have long since been up and about.
Bored during recovery, Jiang Pengji decided to chat with the audience.
Maybe because the shadow of the earthquake had temporarily faded, the audience in the live stream was much livelier.
【Big Red Date】：You trashy host, you’re a dried fish! Poor Young Xu Ke, Young Feng Jin, and Handsome Qi Guanrang—what are they? The ultimate dried fish whipped and enslaved by a dried fish? I haven’t seen Handsome Qi Guan in a whole day!
【Host V】: Wen Zheng has a wife now.
【Favorite Feng Jin Baby】：I haven’t seen Young Feng Jin in a while either; adult Feng Jin has such a charm—starry eyes.
【Host V】: Huaiyu has a wife now.
【Eldest Princess】: Get lost! If we’re talking about looks, I think Young Xu Ke is the most charming. Host, do you remember how much Young Xu Ke resembles a fresh-faced young man from here? Let me tell you, Young Xu Ke now has super many fans! That young man hasn’t been doing well in the past two years, desperately riding on Xu Ke’s coattails. Recently, he took a historical drama role, trying to mimic Young Xu Ke’s style!
Jiang Pengji cradled her bowl, blew on it, and gulped down the bitter medicine, shifting into a comfortable position.
【Host V】: Xiaoyu has a wife now.
【Petty Good-for-nothing】: So what if they’re married? I say you all are just naive and shallow. Young Feng Jin, Young Xu Ke, and Uncle Qi Guanrang—they’re all elite scholars, unable to do heavy lifting or carry things… Without their prideful intelligence, they’d just be useless boiled chicken. If you ask me, it’d be better to go for Uncle Meng Hunyun; those muscles are so tempting. A man with a big tool lives well, and marital life can be harmonious.
Jiang Pengji glanced at the bullet screen, almost hearing a train pass—woo woo!
【Host V】: This man has lost a wife.
The audience in the live stream: “…”
Can we not have fun while chatting anymore?
【Old Driver Alliance】: Speaking of which, all of the host’s friends are married. Why are you still single, Host?
Jiang Pengji was not one to back down easily.
【Host V】: Sigh, isn’t it because I’m here chatting with you all?
Although she was supposed to be resting, Jiang Pengji was hardly truly relaxed.
After teasing the audience, her mood lightened up. She pulled over some maps from the low table.
These weren’t the maps of Dongqing but rather simple terrain maps of a few nearby counties—just barely legible.
At that moment, Feng Jin entered the tent.
“Huaiyu, how’s the tallying of the injured outside?”
Jiang Pengji had some candied fruits to wash away the bitterness in her mouth.
“The specific number has come out: nineteen thousand eight hundred and twelve injured. The number of deceased commoners is uncountable, roughly estimated at eighty-five thousand.”
Upon hearing this number, even Feng Jin couldn’t help but sigh.
How prosperous the capital used to be, with a population of 120,000; a single earthquake buried seventy percent of them.
Jiang Pengji calculated and felt the number was about right.
Even if they had searched the area twice thoroughly, they couldn’t be certain that there weren’t any missing persons. Jiang Pengji had set up porridge kitchens and relief camps in the capital. It was difficult to ensure that no commoners survived and fled elsewhere… this population figure was not far from her expectations.
“I plan to head to Xiangyang in a couple of days,” Jiang Pengji said.
“So soon?” Feng Jin was taken aback, then added, “But how will the commoners be settled after that?”
Jiang Pengji smiled, saying, “If the commoners want to follow, let them come along with us. If they think it’s hard to leave their homeland, we’ll leave them some grain—that’s the least we can do. We ought to set out early to avoid further complications. The court remains silent after this earthquake, and with the relocation, the abandoned commoners won’t just swallow this bitterness. I’m afraid they’ll rise up, and there will be countless mobs on the road…”
While the situation wasn’t too severe yet, it would be better to get to her post first.
Once there was a stable base, Jiang Pengji could ponder her next move.
Feng Jin’s face suddenly turned bitter as he said, “It’s not just a fear… it’s already happening.”
Jiang Pengji raised an eyebrow, “There really are rebels?”
Dongqing was indeed peculiar; despite the trials and tribulations of recent years, the resilience of the common people was surprisingly strong.
If it were Jiang Pengji in charge, she would have revolted long ago during the court’s turmoil instead of enduring it till now.
“There are two factions: one calls itself the Green Garment Army, and the other is the Red Lotus Sect. Both arose within a day of each other, waving banners of ‘Heaven is merciless, topple tyrants’ and ‘Join hands for the people’s cause’, making quite a show. Previously, our troops sent a thousand stones of grain to Fengyi County and nearly got robbed by that Green Garment Army. Even so, we lost several troops…”
As Feng Jin finished, Jiang Pengji’s expression turned grave. A few faint cracking sounds could be heard in the air.
Looking down, Jiang Pengji saw her hand resting on the table, crushing the table’s arm into dust.
“Nearly robbed the troops’ grain?” Jiang Pengji sneered, her eyes brewing with intense killing intent. “Since they wave such honorable banners, do they not know that the grain sent to Fengyi County was entirely for relieving disaster victims? And they dare to rob even that?”
Feng Jin glanced at the dust on the ground, unable to fathom the force Jiang Pengji had applied.
However, this showed that she had indeed healed, right?
A hint of sarcasm appeared on Feng Jin’s face, “What use is it to raise justice in the air when they’re merely an undisciplined rabble? In the end, it’s just a lot of noise with little storm; they won’t cause much trouble…”
Though this statement seemed reasonable, the audience in the live stream had different opinions.
【Old Driver Alliance】: Tsk tsk, I think Young Feng Jin has set a huge flag. Remember the Yellow Turban Army back at the end of the Eastern Han? Who cared about them at first? Yet they caused quite a stir and shook the court!
【Pulse Zhao Zilong】: Young Feng Jin comes from an aristocratic family; he has a fixed impression of ordinary farmers. His judgment isn’t wrong. Not just him, but most people of this era think the same. Tsk tsk, they still don’t understand the farmers’ anger.
As for Feng Jin’s words, Jiang Pengji smiled without replying, feeling supported by her live stream audience.
“Green Garment Army, Red Lotus Sect… tsk, Heaven is aiding me,” Jiang Pengji’s eyes sparkled. “Huaiyu, don’t you think being just a county magistrate of Xiangyang is too beneath my status?”
Feng Jin’s heart skipped a beat, a faint sense of foreboding bubbling up.
