Chapter 75
If someone asked what major events had happened during the Ji An period, both rural vagrants and traveling merchants would suddenly become lively and recount in vivid detail what they had experienced or heard.
However, whether it was the southern pacification of the various states in the second year of Ji'an or the relocation of the capital some time ago, what people mentioned most was the earthquake and the accompanying epidemic.
In the fourth year of Ji'an, an earthquake that affected more than 20 cities in the west disrupted the plans of many people and destroyed the west's intention to invade these cities when they had just changed hands and lacked control.
Hearing that the young man next to him seemed to be interested in these things, the farmer who had just finished cleaning the canal and was about to take a break suddenly became interested and took the man to the shade of a tree on the side.
This is a tree that has been growing for who knows how many years. It is now the season when its branches and leaves are lush. Mats have been laid underneath, and someone has prepared tea for people working in the fields.
Originally, the people under the tree were wary of this unfamiliar face, but after he took out the document with the seal on it, they became more enthusiastic, and some even offered him a cup of tea.
After hearing the farmer say that he wanted to hear about what happened before, the guy who had been a little silent due to the heat became more energetic.
Even now, some people still remember that even though two days had passed, the sky was still dark.
It should be said that this place is relatively lucky as there are no tall buildings. The farmer who had previously pulled this person here to listen to the story was unlucky as his arm was injured by a fallen tree.
Some people used dismantled materials to build simple shelters to shelter from the rain, but more people could only hide behind rocks, using sheets of thatched grass or worn-out straw raincoats to block the rain.
Occasionally, vibrations could be felt, and the injured needed care. Even healthy people caught a cold after being caught in the rain. If a lot of medicinal herbs had not been dug up nearby and boiled into soup for everyone to drink, perhaps more people would have collapsed now.
Although it was some distance from the worst-affected areas, the damage here was also extremely severe. Fortunately, the soldiers stationed here quickly stabilized the situation and finally avoided chaos.
But it rained again in the following days, slowing down the journey a lot. When everyone was almost at the end of their rope, they finally received this batch of life-saving supplies, as well as various protective supplies and cleaning tools to reduce the possibility of disease transmission.
Wen Yi and others who arrived would not stay here, because this was not their destination. They had to rush to the more severely affected areas as quickly as possible.
*
Sang Yu looked anxiously at the makeshift tent not far away, but he couldn't get close. He could only watch the group of busy apprentices coming in and out, holding burnt daggers and silver needles in their hands.
The distillation equipment that had been excavated was also dug out, and they were put together to form a set. Half of it was used to distill the wine dug out from the ground, and the other half was used to heat clean water to soak the crushed garlic cloves.
After several years of vigorous promotion and purchase, crops that were once little understood have become ubiquitous. Furthermore, since they also have a flavoring effect, many people grow them outside their houses for easy consumption.
It is working right now.
After a while, an apprentice came out holding something. After looking around for a while, he saw Sang Yu and quickly asked the soldier standing at the door to run over and hand the thing in his hand to the person in front of him.
It was He Xuan's handwriting, a little sloppy, obviously written in a hurry, but judging from the penmanship, there shouldn't be any problem, so Sang Yu also put his mind at ease.
This time, He Xuan and Sang Yu came here to choose a site for the academy, but they didn't expect to encounter such a disaster.
All the wounded were placed in the tents, where the environment was better. In order to reduce infection, other people were not allowed to approach, and apprentices and doctors had to clean up before entering and leaving.
So even though Sang Yu was extremely worried, he could only stand here and wait. Fortunately, the teacher was fine, just a scrape. The wound had been cleaned properly, and with the help of the allicin, there were no signs of inflammation. It was a blessing in disguise. He would come out once he felt better, making room for the other injured.
The note instructed him to help prepare some food first, as a precaution. Medicine was also running low, so he needed to find it quickly.
Wen Yi and others will definitely send people to help as soon as possible, but the journey will take a lot of time, so they need to find a way to survive this period of time.
The people outside weren't in great shape either, but they still had to stay alert and handle various matters. Upon receiving the news that He Xuan was alright, Sang Yu took out a pen and hastily wrote a response on the back of a piece of paper. After handing it to the soldiers, he quickly left to work with the few uninjured leaders.
Several people in charge of the search and removal were in charge, while Sang Yu led the team to the original location of the granary. The original buildings in these places were not very tall, so it was easy to clean up. Most importantly, they had the things they needed most.
The relatively good materials were also carried to the open space to build a temporary shelter. Although there was no rain here yet, the weather did not look good. In an era when colds were considered extremely serious diseases, it was best to avoid the rain. The food that was carried out also needed to be stored.
Wen Yi and others worked almost day and night, and originally thought that these preparations were sufficient. However, after seeing the tragic condition of that group of people, even the soldiers who were used to big scenes gasped, and after reacting, they quickly went to help.
Wen Yi and the others, exhausted, mustered their energy and began directing the unloading of the items. The doctors who came down from the carts quickly cleaned up and replaced those who were nearly exhausted.
"Hurry up and boil some water so we can clean this place."
"We're out of potion here! Go get some over there. No more? Bring us some warm water first."
The person at the edge had an empty jar of medicine in his hand, so he quickly called on the people around him to add some. He then quickly wiped the blade with alcohol and went to treat the next person's wound, which was already in a bad condition.
"Hurry up and clear out this garbage, and then replace it with new cloth!" The black and red things that were removed were cleaned out, emitting a foul smell.
Even with the medicinal materials, after a few days some people still fell into coma due to high fever due to the large wounds.
"Go get those guys who learned bandaging here and tell them we're short on manpower. Also, bring over the boxes I put on the truck rack!"
People were coming in and out, many of them were shouting something quickly, probably with an accent, but that was not a big deal at this time.
Sang Yu tried to figure it out for a long time but still couldn't understand. Finally, Wen Yi had someone take him and several other leaders to the carriage to rest first, as they would not be able to hold on any longer.
This city is closest to the epicenter and is the worst-hit area here. There are naturally people living in closer places, but they are not under their jurisdiction and naturally cannot be taken care of at this time.
But someone also came out from that side.
The expressions and complexions of their group were worse than those of the people here, and many of them were coughing. Wen Yi naturally would not let them come into contact with the rest of the people, but he also asked the fully armed soldiers to bring them some porridge and water.
But after a long journey, I was exhausted both physically and mentally, and couldn't eat anything. I could only take a few sips of water to moisten my throat.
Many of those who stayed in the open space in the distance were feverish, having forced themselves to walk here before falling asleep. Most of them were suffering from festering wounds. Those who were still conscious, after drinking porridge and regaining some strength, helped each other untie the filthy strips of cloth.
Some people would make noises when their wounds were untied, and they would be stimulated to regain consciousness. The people around them would quickly hand them some porridge and water, and they would finally recover a little, increasing their chances of survival. More people could only judge that the person was still alive by the faint rise and fall of his chest.
Many people also followed the example of the soldiers here and tied a piece of cloth loosely around their mouths and noses.
Even the responsible persons don’t know exactly how many people have disappeared, and the original household registration information has been damaged. We can only find out after the original submitted materials are copied.
After the initial bustle, the new arrivals finally filled the gap. After the people originally in the city had a good rest, they began to take turns and finally managed to deal with all the things. After Sang Yu and the others woke up and cleaned up, Wen Yi couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a deep sleep.
Water was running low, and many nearby residents volunteered to fetch water. Sang Yu and others washed the linen and laid it out to dry. Nearby, many soldiers were processing the newly processed lime in a makeshift earthen kiln.
Watching the restless people around him, Sang Yu suddenly felt completely useless. All his so-called persistence was completely meaningless in this disaster. Previously, his mind was in a state of chaos and he had temporarily forgotten all about it. But when he had a little free time, these thoughts would creep into his mind like a shadow, making him feel endless fear and despair.
He hit his head a few times, trying to come up with a better solution in the chaos, but still came up blank.
Wen Yi, who was not far away, saw that he was not in a good condition, so he quickly wiped his hands and asked the soldiers to call people over:
"You go take a rest. I'll hold on here for a while. You can also go outside and call a few people over."
Wen Yi snatched the linen cloth from Sang Yu's hand, whose original color could no longer be seen, and instructed Sang Yu, who was already a little confused, to drink some water or simply take a rest for a while.
Sang Yu seemed oblivious to the fact that his lips were cracked and bleeding. It wasn't until he picked up the ceramic bowl that he realized his hands were shaking, unable to even remove the simple mask tied around his mouth and nose.
He naturally knew Wen Yi's good intentions, but no one would leave in this situation. Compared with others who saw this scene for the first time, Sang Yu's reaction was particularly intense.
Even after several groups of people changed at night, he still had the desperate and painful wails in his mind, as well as the eyes that were originally clear but gradually dimmed.
Sang Yu wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep; many people woke up in their dreams, shouting for help. He Xuan, who had recovered somewhat, sighed as he looked at his disciples.
Compared to Sang Yu, He Xuan had naturally seen more disasters. He even saw refugees killing each other when he was young and studying abroad, but he still found it difficult to fall asleep when he heard those cries at night.
Some time ago, Sang Yu actually had some opinions about Wen Yi's various behaviors. Although there was nothing wrong with what she was about to do, in his opinion, the importance of those trivial things, such as those plants, should not be ranked before the country.
But when he suddenly encountered this disaster and was fleeing in a hurry, he actually had a delusion that if there was something that could help these people escape from suffering, it would not matter what he did.
This thought was so strong that he realized at that moment that the so-called great righteousness was actually like every little thing in life and had no meaning in the face of life.
He Xuan could sense Sang Yu carefully leaning aside, not wanting to disturb him. Tents were extremely scarce right now, and the fact that they were able to share one with two was a concession to the injured Sang Yu. Most people would be crammed in with six or seven people.
He reached out and patted Sang Yu's back through the quilt, as if to comfort her. Sang Yu seemed to hear something vaguely, but could only make out the second half of the sentence:
"...If you can't figure it out, just follow her."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
