After Gu Jinke arrived, he defined a rough area with Qingcheng Prefecture as the center, and then arranged for Wu Lian to inform every village, every household, and every person of the impending earthquake in detail through the division of tax collection under his jurisdiction.
Since all the houses seen did not meet the requirements to survive an earthquake, it was not realistic to rebuild new ones. Therefore, at the same time, information dissemination and escape training in the event of an earthquake were also issued.
Gu Jinke required that every three households and every village have someone beat gongs and drums when an earthquake occurred so that everyone could hear it, and then arrange for people to go down and ensure that every resident learned to escape in an orderly manner, and leave space for escape.
Because the original book did not mention the exact time of the earthquake, it only gave a hint of a rainy night.
Gu Jinke could only ask the people from the Imperial Observatory to follow the local farmers to observe the weather and calculate which night there would be a heavy rain.
In order to ensure food, water, warmth and hygiene after the disaster, Gu Jinke also mobilized local pharmacies and herbal farmers to prepare possible medicinal materials, and then stored as much as possible, carried out management and control, and even took over several local granaries. Prevent medicinal materials and food from being looted and prices from being raised to make money from the disaster.
As for local water and warm clothing, they also began to stockpile them in advance.
Naturally, the local people were unwilling to cooperate, believing that there had never been an earthquake in Qingcheng Prefecture, so this one was just alarmist talk.
There were also those who were skeptical and fearful, and seeing Gu Jinke's posture and movements, they were ready to run away with their husbands and children.
The news of the earthquake had already spread because of the Third Princess's mention of it during her court session. It could not be concealed at all, and these reactions were inevitable.
Gu Jinke could only suppress it severely, mobilizing local troops and guards from top to bottom, and the one thousand soldiers she brought were naturally put to good use.
For a time, people were in awe of her and secretly complained about her, but as the Imperial Observatory and local farmers investigated, they did discover some unusual things. The possibility of an earthquake has greatly increased, and people are becoming more skeptical and nervous.
Although Gu Jinke made a lot of preparations, as the days passed, the earthquake was like a knife hanging over her head, and no one knew when it would fall. This made the people around her gradually anxious, and it also affected her invisibly, bringing out the emotions that had been pent up in her heart.
She could confirm that the original trajectory was entirely based on the original book. There were some minor changes, but they never affected the progress of the main storyline, such as the original actions of the Third Princess.
However, the rebirth of the Fifth Princess made her realize the change in the trajectory of the book. The return of Prime Minister Gongzhong made Gu Jinke doubt late at night, would the earthquake really come as in the original book?
But she was worried about the people here, fearing for the worst, so she still told the Queen about the earthquake, shouldered the pressure, and volunteered to come here.
When the Imperial Observatory and local people discovered something unusual, she didn't know whether to be happy or sad.
The starry sky outside is pitch black, and this kind of weather has lasted for several days.
The wind was howling outside and the night was dark, but Gu Jinke couldn't sleep at all. She put on her clothes and prepared to take a walk on the street to see if there was anything she had missed.
This time, Sang Yi and Xun Ji insisted on coming along and walked behind her.
The guards on the street were still patrolling, and occasionally one would encounter a man carrying a gong and drum patrolling at night. Some of these people were originally night watchmen, and some were assigned to take shifts according to Gu Jinke's orders.
When they saw Gu Jinke, they all bowed and saluted. Gu Jinke nodded indifferently. She didn't have a fixed route. She walked here and looked there, constantly sorting out in her mind whether there was anything she had forgotten. The prefect Wu Lian heard the news from somewhere and hurried over with her guards. The guards even held gongs and drums in their hands. She bowed and saluted: "Your Highness."
"It's the middle of the night, why aren't you resting yet? I said you don't need to accompany me, you just need to do your job well." Gu Jinke looked at her.
Wu Lian laughed. She was a plump, middle-aged woman with a somewhat amiable face. Although there was a gleam in her eyes, a dimple appeared on her cheek when she smiled, which neutralized her shrewdness and made her look like a kind-hearted person.
However, in Gu Jinke's impression, she was not bad. Her biggest advantage was that she was obedient and careful, but she was not a brainless yes-man without any opinion of her own.
Gu Jinke was unfamiliar with the place, and there were always obstacles in turning theory into practice. Magistrate Wu often cleverly and quietly resolved the problems. After spending time with Gu Jinke once or twice and seeing that he was not annoyed by her behavior, she would tentatively remind him.
Overall a smart guy.
She smiled when she heard Gu Jinke's question and said, "We met on the road. I was originally out for an inspection, but after walking around for a while, I still feel a little worried. Now that I see Your Highness, I might as well accompany Him for a walk and listen to His Highness's teachings."
Gu Jinke raised his eyebrows. Now that things had come to this, he could only indulge himself.
A horse-drawn carriage came rumbling ahead, and it seemed to have seen Gu Jinke and his group, so it immediately moved away in a hurry, which made it look a little suspicious.
Gu Jinke frowned, somewhat worried that it was someone who wanted to escape with his family.
Wu Lian saw her expression and stopped the carriage: "Who? Sneaking around late at night, looking suspicious?"
The guards she brought with her also quickly went up and surrounded the carriage.
The carriage was indeed quiet for a while, and now even Wu Lian felt that something was wrong.
She was about to ask someone to come forward to check, but the carriage door was gently pushed open, and a man in light blue clothes stepped down and said, "I greet Your Highness, the Princess, and Magistrate Wu."
The sound is like the sound of a clear spring, very pleasant to hear. The part of her neck that was exposed when she bowed was also slender and white.
"Why are you here in the middle of the night? You look suspicious?" Magistrate Wu asked in a cold voice.
The man raised his head slightly and glanced at Prefect Wu. "Prefect, I just saw a few women in front of me. We met late at night and were outnumbered. I couldn't help but worry, so I stepped back. I never thought that His Highness and the Prefect would be here again late at night."
This reason did make sense. In addition, when he raised his head, his face was fair and his eyebrows were as beautiful as a painting. The most important thing was that he was very familiar with him. Wu Lian put most of his worries aside: "Mr. Qiao?"
The man responded softly.
Wu Lian explained to Gu Jinke on his behalf: "Your Highness, this must be a misunderstanding. This is the very famous Mr. Qiao in our Qingcheng Mansion."
Gu Jinke also had an impression of this person. She also raised a batch of grain from the local wealthy clans in case of emergency. The Qiao family is one of the clans and also the leader of the clan. The person in charge of the Qiao family at that time was this Mr. Qiao.
Because he was a man in charge and cooperated very well with Gu Jinke, Gu Jinke had some impression of him. Later, he curiously asked about who had come from this family, and only then did he know that the Qiao family also had a considerable background.
The Vice Minister of the Ministry of War in the imperial court also had the surname Qiao. It was said that his ancestral home was here. Tracing back two generations, he was the ancestral family of Qingcheng Prefecture. However, with the development in the capital over the years, a new ancestral hall has been built, and there is a new branch of the Qiao family in the capital, so fewer people come back here.
Gu Jinke nodded slightly, and Mr. Qiao smiled and prepared to bow and retreat: "Then I will not disturb Your Highness and the prefect in their work. I will withdraw first."
"Who is in your carriage?" Gu Jinke suddenly asked.
Although Mr. Qiao handled the situation appropriately, Gu Jinke still felt something was wrong. It was normal for an ordinary man to choose to retreat when meeting a woman, but it was very abnormal for her to dare to go out so panicked so late at night.
In addition, Xun Ji told her that there was someone else in the carriage, so Gu Jinke immediately raised questions.
Mr. Qiao's smile froze, and he quickly turned around to look at the carriage, then covered it up: "Your Highness, it's a little brother from the side branch of the family. He has a rash on his face and is not convenient to see people, so he didn't come down."
"Really?" Gu Jinke stared at the carriage. The wind was whistling, bringing a chill.
The man in the carriage seemed to have heard the conversation outside. He pushed open the door in fear and got out with his face covered. His voice was trembling: "The servant Qiao Chen greets His Highness... and greets the prefect."
He was completely wrapped in a cloak, so his figure could not be seen clearly. His face was covered, so his eyebrows and expression could not be seen clearly. He really looked like a young man with a rash who was afraid of being seen.
But Gu Jinke's intuition still made her feel uncomfortable, and she even felt familiar with the young man who came down behind her.
But then raindrops as big as beans began to fall. The rain came quickly and suddenly, and was wrapped in a strong wind and covered the sky like an all-encompassing force.
Gu Jinke could only stop and said, "Okay, you guys go back."
Master Qiao and Qiao Chenfu bowed and retreated towards the carriage.
Sang Yi immediately held up an umbrella for Gu Jinke and said, "Your Highness, let's go back too."
Gu Jinke nodded, greeted Wu Lian, turned around and was about to leave, but the horse behind him suddenly neighed and began to padd its hooves anxiously, and then a man's exclamation was heard.
Gu Jinke had a bad feeling in his heart. He turned his head and saw that the horse, which had been obedient just now, was spinning in place. The coachman had no control over it. The Qiao siblings who were about to get on the carriage were thrown off balance and had to take two or three steps back before they could steady themselves.
The groom said with a bitter face: "Sir, I don't know why this horse can't be controlled all of a sudden!"
Her voice came faintly through the sound of wind and rain.
Gu Jinke was uneasy, and suddenly the words rushed to his throat, and he shouted involuntarily: "Wu Lian, warn! The ground is shaking."
Almost as soon as she finished speaking, the ground began to shake, and the guard who was patrolling beside Wu Lian with a gong and drum also knocked it down reflexively with a hammer.
This seemed to be a signal. The sound of gongs and drums in the street pierced through the wind and rain, and suddenly became impatient and continuous.
The groom was still in the carriage. When he heard the gongs and drums, his heart stopped beating. The horse was also stimulated and started running anxiously. The groom shouted, "Help!"
But Gu Jinke was also unable to take care of himself. The ground was shaking violently. Sang Yi's umbrella fell to the ground. Wind and rain blew towards them. The bricks and tiles of the surrounding houses slipped and then collapsed. Gu Jinke could hear the sound of bricks and tiles falling and breaking through the wind and rain, as well as the roar of houses collapsing, followed by the panicked and heart-wrenching cries for help of the people.
"The earth is shaking! Run!" These words were heard from all directions.
Gu Jinke managed to steady himself, and pulled Sang Yi, who was standing unsteadily behind him, into his arms, and ordered, "Hold your head and squat down."
The street they were in was wide, and although the houses were collapsing, they were low and had not yet affected them.
Although Sang Yi was flustered, he was always obedient and squatted down immediately.
"Grease the carriage!" Then he felt His Highness let go of his hand, shouted to the coachman, and went back the way he had come.
Sang Yi wanted to hold her back and ask her to squat down with him instead of taking any risks, but his mind controlled him and Gu Jinke would not squat down with him.
He could only adapt himself quickly and not become a burden to her.
The horse was extremely frantic, running around in all directions and even heading towards the house. But the collapse there was so severe that even on a rainy night, one could see the dust and the sound of the collapse.
The groom was at a loss. He vaguely heard Gu Jinke's order. He gritted his teeth, held his head and jumped down, falling to the ground.
Xun Ji practiced martial arts and stabilized himself faster, and then he stood by Gu Jinke to protect him.
Gu Jinke glanced at her and said, "Xun Ji, be careful, go and save them."
She glanced at the two young men who had fallen to the ground in front of her, and the shouts from all around: "I will go and save them too."
"Your Highness, Xun Ji's duty is to protect you."
Gu Jinke pursed his lips: "Go quickly! I have the ability to protect myself."
Her voice was gentle and there was no command, but Xun Ji had no way of refusing and could only rush into the rain.
Gu Jinke glanced at her back, then turned around and rushed towards the Qiao brothers who had fallen to the ground and didn't know what was going on.
She first helped Mr. Qiao who was nearby, and found that he was just a little dizzy, so she immediately felt relieved: "Hold your head and squat down, don't move."
She ordered. Then he turned around and helped the young man in the cloak to lean against Master Qiao's arms: "Take care of each other and keep warm. If the earthquake stops, quickly find some clothes to keep out of the rain. Don't hide next to the ruins."
Lightning came with thunder, and the sky suddenly became as bright as day. The two young masters of the Qiao family also saw Gu Jinke clearly.
The rain slid down her face, and her hair stuck to her face in a messy way. Her beautiful face was full of seriousness and urgency, and her eyes were filled with obvious worry: "I will go save the others."
Master Qiao clearly felt the hand moving in his arms pause for a moment, and then stopped there. Something pressed against his lower abdomen.
Seeing that both of them were fine, Gu Jinke stood up and went to other places to rescue people. Prefect Wu and his men tried to follow her.
They hurried away, their backs disappearing into the night.
The wind and rain continued, blowing up the sleeves and hems of the two Qiao brothers who were cuddling together.
Master Qiao lowered his head to look at him, only to see a sharp silver light flashing at the junction of his sleeves and hem, which were blown up by the wind.
The author has something to say:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or irrigated nutrient solution during 2022-05-24 20:42:17 ~ 2022-05-25 23:40:33~
Thanks to the little angels who irrigated the nutrient solution: kkkk Yan 5 bottles; Hanshan Yuanshang 4 bottles; lyapril, eat a lemon to calm down, super high school level 1 bottle;
Thank you very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!
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