On the fourth day of the eighth lunar month, an earthquake struck the southwest.
That evening, Xie Yuan, who was still taking shelter from aftershocks in the open space outside the palace, received a message sent by carrier pigeon from Li Baozhu.
In the letter, Li Baozhu expressed a mixture of fear and relief: the earth shook, and sure enough, the ground trembled and houses collapsed!
Its destructive power was no less than that of a massive hurricane.
The key point is that at this moment, the entire ground was shaking, and it seemed that people had nowhere to escape.
Unlike a hurricane, it can't run inland.
The earth shook; there was no escaping it.
Fortunately, although the governor of Liangzhou was negligent, his eldest son, Li You, was very capable.
With his own servants and the government officials in tow, he strictly followed the decree issued by the council and forced the people to leave their houses and come to the relatively open courtyards or streets.
Xie Yuan nodded when he read this section: The ancient hierarchical system was not entirely without its advantages.
If this were in a later era that values freedom and human rights, even with a legitimate reason, it would be impossible to force people to comply.
But in ancient times, well, what did it matter if it was reasonable or unreasonable, what did it matter if it was a rule or a law? The words of those in power were imperial edicts.
When a government decree is issued, the people have no choice but to obey.
This absolute obedience proved extremely effective in defending against natural disasters.
Except for a very few remote mountainous areas that officials cannot take care of for the time being, the people in the county town and its surrounding villages and mountain villages are all outdoors.
The ground was overturned, causing cracks, landslides, and house collapses, but there were very few casualties.
This is also related to the fact that there were no tall buildings in ancient times.
Most of the houses are single-story, so as long as you leave the house, there will be no secondary damage.
Even those few people buried in the ruins were rescued by soldiers, officials, and tribal warriors.
"A miracle! Sister Yuan, this is absolutely a miracle!"
"Such a massive disaster, yet the number of casualties is no more than a hundred." (Qianqian Xiaoshou)
"The disaster relief was timely and the supplies were sufficient, so there were no riots or panic among the people!"
At the end of the letter, Li Baozhu, a devoted fan, once again openly expressed her admiration and respect for Xie Yuan: "Sister Yuan, you are truly amazing!"
Moreover, such achievements are absolutely worthy of being called a Buddha by all families, and their merits are immeasurable!
"Whether it's meritorious or not is not important. What's important is that I really saved many people!"
Xie Yuan put away the note, looked southwest, and let out a long breath.
Having traveled through time, Xie Yuan knew that her personal strength was limited, but she still wanted to do her best to use her knowledge and skills to help others and change the world.
Changing the world is destined to be a long and arduous task.
However, if one holds a high position and wields great power, it is still possible to help the world and save lives if one desires to do so.
Xie Yuan was relieved to find that although the natural disaster in the southwest was severe, it had not caused too many casualties.
However, the various matters in the aftermath of the disaster should not be overlooked.
A major disaster is always followed by a major epidemic.
Especially in the southwest region, the climate is hot and humid, and there are naturally many snakes, insects, rodents and ants.
With government intervention, casualties were minimal.
But what about the animals in the wild?
If wild animals die and their bodies are not disposed of in time, they will rot and breed bacteria and viruses.
Once it spreads, it can cause a terrible epidemic!
In ancient times, once an epidemic spread, it could wipe out an entire city.
"Fortunately, anti-inflammatory drugs and miasma-repelling agents were developed early on, as well as artemisinin, which was also extracted by Physician Feng early on."
"Otherwise, if an epidemic breaks out in the disaster area, it will be a real problem."
In superstitious ancient times, epidemics were also considered "divine punishment," a cause that could be used to spread rumors.
etc!
Rumors!
Xie Yuan's thoughts began to wander.
During the day, the capital city felt the tremors. Even while Xie Yuan was in charge of the inner palace, he did not forget to control public opinion outside.
Even so, many rumors circulated among the people.
Xie Yuan had her own embroidered-robed messengers, as well as shadow guards left to her by Helian Jue. Both sides were secretly investigating and actually found some clues.
"Yellow Sect?"
When Xie Yuan first heard the name of this unorthodox sect, he immediately had a bad feeling.
In ancient times, there were many examples of using religion to carry out rebellions.
There were too many records in the historical books that Xie Yuan read.
But after arriving in the Great Zhou, Xie Yuan heard about the "Yellow Sect" for the first time.
"Your Majesty, this is a sect that originated in the southwest and northern border regions."
Luo Peiyu found some clues and ran to report to Xie Yuan.
"It is said that the Taoist priests of the Yellow Sect are members of the former imperial family."
"This Taoist master couldn't bear to see a tyrannical ruler in power and the people suffering, so he founded the Yellow Sect to ensure that the poor had enough to eat!"
Xie Yuan: ...Doesn't that Taoist priest himself find this statement contradictory?
As a member of the former imperial family, a noble royal, even if your country is destroyed and you are reduced to a life of hardship among the common people, you shouldn't really be struggling to survive like an impoverished peasant.
For specific examples, one can refer to the cases of the Marquis of Yongle and the Marquis of Anle.
These two individuals were, respectively, a descendant of the Yuwen dynasty and the last emperor of the Southern dynasty.
For the Great Zhou Dynasty, they were all considered "remnants of the previous dynasty".
However, they have not fallen from grace; to ordinary people, they remain high-ranking officials and dignitaries!
This Taoist priest from the Yellow Sect is really interesting.
Tsk tsk, a once privileged class now has to "speak for" a lower class that it once oppressed.
What is this if not fooling the people?
Of course, Xie Yuan could understand.
Using the name of the former dynasty's royal family was a way to give their future rebellion a "legitimate cause."
Furthermore, even though the people may fear or even hate those in power, deep down they may have a sense of awe or even admiration for those in power.
They were already accustomed to the law of the jungle, and class consciousness was deeply ingrained in their bones.
Therefore, even if a sect claims to be "for the good of the poor," if its leader is a member of the royal family, the people will instinctively feel that the other party is noble and worthy of their trust!
While silently complaining, Xie Yuan accurately grasped a key point: "You mean, the Yellow Sect originated from the southwest and northern Xinjiang?"
southwest?
The Southwest is great!
While it couldn't be called Xie Yuan's stronghold, it was still a place he was very familiar with.
After receiving Luo Peiyu's affirmation, Xie Yuan began writing to Li Baozhu, in addition to continuing to urge her to do a good job in post-disaster reconstruction, epidemic prevention and other work, he also asked her to inquire about news about the "Yellow Sect".
Li Baozhu is now the "leader" of all the indigenous tribes in the entire southwest and southern Xinjiang.
It's not that she could actually rule over all the indigenous tribes, but rather that she was like a symbol, a link between the indigenous tribes and the government.
While it's not fair to say they were trying to curry favor with Li Baozhu, the various tribes were still willing to establish some kind of connection with her.
With this connection, it was relatively convenient for Li Baozhu to investigate anything she wanted to do in that area.
As Xie Yuan's number one fan, and out of respect and submission to the Empress, Li Baozhu began to mobilize all her connections to conduct a secret investigation after receiving Xie Yuan's letter.
Surprisingly, she actually uncovered some clues...
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