Raozhou is very close to the capital, and the earthquake was also felt in the capital.

The lights in the imperial study were on all night, and many ministers were called to the palace to discuss disaster relief matters.

At the morning court the next day, the atmosphere in the hall was very depressing. Emperor Hui sighed frequently, and after receiving the report from Raozhou, he became even more furious.

"This year, natural disasters have continued, and I am exhausted. Now the Ministry of Works and the three departments have been sent to deal with the floods. Are there any of you who would like to volunteer to go to Raozhou to provide disaster relief?"

At this time, Chief Censor Gu Yi stood up.

"Your Majesty, I am willing to go! Nearly 200,000 people in Luocheng have been affected by the disaster. I beg Your Majesty to give me more rice, grains, herbs, and horses. If it is not handled properly, the disaster will cause a plague, and the consequences will be even more serious!"

Emperor Hui nodded and said in a deep voice: "Gu Aiqing's words make sense. Minister of the Ministry of Revenue Chu Hengjing, you go with Gu Yi. You will use the things you need. The post-disaster management will be handed over to you!"

"Yes! I obey your command!"

After the court session, they immediately dispatched personnel with food and herbs to rush to Luocheng to work with local officials to carry out disaster relief.

Yueyang County was the worst hit, with ruins and broken walls everywhere. Houses collapsed severely, and because it was at night, many people were still asleep and were crushed in their homes before they could escape, resulting in countless deaths and injuries.

Crowds sat in the ruins and wailed, cursing the injustice and cruelty of nature, which separated them from their loved ones in just a few moments.

Many officials felt extremely sad when seeing this and shed tears, but there was nothing they could do. After a night, very few people were still alive after being buried.

They dug day and night, and the bodies were carried out one by one and thrown into the pit for collective burning to prevent the outbreak of plague.

The survivors were taken to the Rescue Hall, where they were given food and water every day to encourage them to overcome their difficulties and rebuild their homes in the future.

Until mid-June, not a drop of rain fell, the river was completely dry, and only a shallow layer of water remained in the reservoir.

Only the river in Linjia Village still has a small flow, providing water for several surrounding villages, but it is still not enough. Other villages without water sources carry buckets and walk to Linjia Village to fetch water, because their cows also need water, so they save as much as possible.

There was no time to take care of the fields now. Living was more important than anything else. Lin Wanwan stayed at home all day and couldn't think of any other way to get plenty of water.

The village has already dug ten wells, and no one knows how long they can last.

"Girl! Girl! Something bad has happened! There is a fight in the village!" Nan Xi ran in and shouted in panic.

Lin Wanwan jumped up from the bed with a somersault.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

"Today, a lot of strangers suddenly came outside and occupied the well and refused to leave! When the villagers heard about it, they picked up their weapons and went over to fight with them. The fight is getting fierce now!"

How could such a thing happen? She quickly put on her clothes and asked, "Is he from another village?"

Nan Xi shook her head and said, "It doesn't look like that. Those people are so dirty, it looks like they haven't seen water in their lifetime!"

"Refugees?"

"Huh? It should be!"

Lin Wanwan's heart skipped a beat. What she feared the most had finally arrived. These refugees were already hungry and water-starved, and human life was not worth mentioning in their eyes. Just being able to stay alive was enough. If they started fighting, they would definitely not care about their lives!

She took Lin Jiu and the others with her, selected thirty or forty strong men, and rushed towards the back mountain.

Before we arrived at the place, we saw a noisy chaos in the distance. A group of people were waving sickles, hoes and kitchen knives, fighting with the men in the village.

Lin Wanwan walked forward with a gloomy face, and Lin Jiu drew his sword to protect her.

"Stop it! Otherwise, don't blame me for being rude!"

As soon as she finished speaking, the guards behind her raised their swords and rushed forward.

Those people looked at the knives in their hands, were so scared that they clenched their hands tightly and stopped.

When the village head's son Lin Zhongwen saw Lin Wanwan, he ran over and said hurriedly, "Aunt Lin, why are you here? It's too dangerous here! These people are a bunch of refugees who don't care about their lives. Go back quickly!"

Lin Wanwan shook her head and asked as she walked, "Are there any injured people in our village?"

"Don't mention it. Many people were caught off guard at the beginning and more than ten of them were injured!"

She walked over and looked at the group of people. They were all ragged and skinny. They really didn't look good at all. Some of the women were holding children in their arms, with bowls of clean water for the children to drink.

"Where are you from? Why are you fighting with people from our village?!"

The leading man looked at her fiercely and said, "It's none of your business! This land belongs to us from now on! Go get water somewhere else! Otherwise, don't blame us for being ruthless!"

"Hmph!" Lin Wanwan sneered and waved at Lin Jiu.

Lin Jiu understood immediately and rushed over with a knife to chop off the kitchen knife in his hand. Seeing this, other refugees raised their weapons and wanted to beat him to death, but they were beaten up by Lin Wanwan's men. Some refugees who attacked by surprise were even stabbed a few times.

"You are on our territory, stealing our water source, and beating up our people. Who gave you the guts? Hurry up and tell me. I don't have time to waste with you!"

A woman with red and swollen eyes knelt down holding her child and begged for mercy: "Girl, we won't dare to do it again. Please let us go! We really have no other choice. Several children and elderly people are about to die. There are so many people ahead of us. There is really no other way!"

Some people in the village were unhappy and shouted, "We let you beat us! Why are you still occupying the well and not leaving? You even injured our people!"

Lin Wanwan continued, "Oh, it's just greed. Don't you think it's unfair? Why can we occupy so many wells? And you are homeless, wandering around, just for a sip of water?"

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