The sun set from one side of the sky, while the moon and stars rose from the other side. Near Little Yingzhou, flames were burning fiercely on the surface of the water.
The ground had stopped shaking, and everything that could be seen in the darkness seemed to be in a mess. A large ship was still burning on the surface of the lake. There was no one on it, and the entire frame was burning and falling apart. The burning wreckage scattered in all directions with the ball of flames as the center, and then gradually disappeared on the surface of the water, annihilated.
The surrounding pleasure boats also scattered in all directions in the darkness with the fire as the center, like a flock of scattered geese, and the lights on the boats were speckled.
The small pleasure boat of the Su family was also moving slowly on the dark lake. Not far away was the scene of the burning ship and the floating wreckage. Slightly further away, there were soldiers holding torches, rescuing people on Little Yingzhou and dealing with the aftermath. On the surface of the water, there were still some boats searching for people to rescue people, and shouts could be heard among the confused light spots. Ning Yi stood at the bow of the pleasure boat, watching the large and small boats go far away.
The earthquake had stopped. After the initial panic, most of the boats still rushed towards the direction of Hangzhou. At this time, West Lake was not the center of Hangzhou, but the outskirts. Looking from afar, the outline of Hangzhou City could still be seen. The light of the city was reflected in the night sky, but it looked much weaker than before. Even if they could not see it with their own eyes, they could imagine that the city must be full of people and a mess.
The crackling sound of the fire and the splashing sound of the boat pole entering the water sounded a little empty. There were not enough people on the boat, so it did not move very fast. Dong Zhu, Su Wending, Su Wenfang, and the others also went to help. In the chaos earlier, the small pleasure boat had been hit a few times, but it was still sturdy, so it was not a big deal. When the night wind blew over, a soft body pressed against his back. Su Tan'er hugged him and leaned against his back for a while before reaching out to touch the bandage on his head.
"Are you okay?"
"I'm fine. Fortunately, everyone is fine."
"Mm, I don't know how the family is. The house has probably collapsed. Uncle Geng and the others … "
"Don't think too much about it now. It should be fine." Ning Yi patted her hand. "It's not like all the houses have collapsed. Relax, the night is still long."
"Why did the earth dragon suddenly turn over …"
"I don't know. There might be more at night, but it shouldn't be as powerful as this time. When we get back tonight, we have to clear our things and sleep in the courtyard. We can't sleep in the room. "
"Husband, you know about this too?"
"I know. Don't worry, it'll be fine."
Su Tan'er leaned on his back and replied with a "Mm". After a moment of silence, she said, "It's good to have you here." This was the same atmosphere they usually had when they were chatting on the balcony of the small building in Jiangning.
"It's the same."
"When I was young, I thought that even if I was a girl, I could do everything well on my own. After I married my Husband, I gradually realized that having my Husband by my side was different from being alone. It's Tan'Er's blessing to be able to be with my Husband. "
"It's still the same. I'm married into your family. You're the one who raised me …"
Su Tan'er hit the back of his neck. After a while, she whispered, "It's not the same." This was just a statement. There was no need to answer. The two stood at the bow for a while. Su Tan'er said, "I'll go to the back and have a look. Ning Yi nodded and then left.
The night wind blew, and they were getting closer to the shore. Ning Yi sighed. This sudden earthquake was indeed something unexpected. After all, he had never experienced an earthquake. He didn't know the magnitude of this earthquake. It must be powerful. He didn't know if this place was the epicenter of the earthquake. After the earthquake, there were a large number of refugees. It was just before the autumn harvest. It would be difficult for Old Qin to go to the capital. But at this time, most of the houses in the city were bungalows. Even if they were destroyed, the number of people buried and the depth were easier to rescue than in the future. Moreover, the earthquake happened in the evening. Most people should be able to escape.
"Alas, copying poetry is punished by God …" He sighed out of boredom. In his heart, he hoped that the magistrate of Hangzhou and others could respond in time. Last year, his book on disaster relief should have been distributed all over the country. Most of it was about earthquake relief.
The only thing he had to worry about was Fang La, who was growing stronger in the west. In this aspect, his knowledge of history was not enough. He did not know whether Fang La had attacked Hangzhou. In his impression, the Liangshan Uprising was relatively deep, but that was because of the Water Margin. Moreover, he had not finished watching the book or the TV show. Fang La's uprising was larger than Liangshan's. But Hangzhou was an important city. Fang La was suppressed quickly. In his opinion, he shouldn't have attacked Hangzhou. And he didn't have any impression of this earthquake. Otherwise, he wouldn't have agreed to come with Tan'er.
Time and space had changed. It was useless to think about things he didn't know. This thought just flashed in his mind casually. When he turned his head, he saw a thin figure standing on the side of the ship. When Ning Yi looked over, she also looked over. It was Juan'er.
At this time, Juan'er was on tiptoe to take a small lantern hanging on the ceiling. She had already taken it down. When she saw Ning Yi looking over, her body suddenly swayed, as if she was so nervous that she shrank. She held the small lantern in her arms and took two steps forward. Then, she turned around and walked to the back. Ning Yi knew that she was resting in the cabin. He was curious about her health. At this time, he was a little worried about whether she would be burned by the lantern.
However, when he thought about what happened when he saved her, he did go a little too far. He inadvertently put his hand on her chest for a while. Later, when he realized it, he felt that it was soft. He didn't know whether he pinched it or not.
At that time, blood flowed from his head. He reacted naturally. After realizing it, he let go of her and then looked around. Tan'er and the others had strange expressions, but they didn't say anything. This was the only way to deal with it. It might hurt the little girl a lot. But it was an emergency. The most important thing at the moment was not to solve this problem. Future problems could only be dealt with in the future.
CPR, artificial respiration, alas …
After that, the ship docked. The post station on the shore, which was specially set up for traveling on the lake, was also in a mess. They found their carriage, but the horse was gone. At this time, there was no way to investigate. The group walked along the road to Hangzhou. When they got close, they saw a big hole in the west wall. After entering the city gate, they saw fire and wailing.
The whole city was filled with a shocking and desolate scene. Sixty to seventy percent of the houses in the city had collapsed. Shouts, screams, and cries filled the air. Ning Yi realized that he had been too optimistic earlier. Or perhaps it was because he had never experienced such large-scale casualties before. He could not bear to watch the cries, rescue people, and rescue their belongings. The corpses and blood that could be seen at any time in his field of vision made him feel a little bad.
This was because he had the mentality of someone from the later generation. Furthermore, this was not the time to think about these things. The group passed through the city and rushed back home. When they passed by a waterway on the way, they realized that the bridge had collapsed as well. They could only take a detour. There were wreckages and ruins everywhere. Even corpses could be seen floating in the waterway in the city. They also saw a few rich people whom they had met in Little Yingzhou. They had already rushed back, and were now directing people to rescue their belongings and families. Soldiers with torches ran through the city. Some of the injured were crying and kneeling in front of the ruins of their homes, while others were helping each other out. However, in such a situation, there was still not enough manpower.
It had been more than an hour since they had returned to Taiping Alley. Most of their courtyard had collapsed. Torches were lit around the ruins, and there were both dead and injured people. Protector Geng was not injured. At this moment, he was directing some of his family members to dig up the collapsed houses. The entire Taiping Alley was basically in a similar state. Even though a few houses seemed to be in good condition, most of the tiles had fallen off. Nobody would dare to stay there. Seeing that Su Tan'er, Ning Yi, and the rest had returned, some people immediately came up to them. A few women were still crying. They were the family members of the housekeeper and accountant who had followed them here. In the ruins, three of their family members were still buried under the rubble. Meanwhile, many people outside were injured, and two of them had died.
"Let's save them." At this moment, there was nothing much to say. Ning Yi only glanced at them and waved his hand. Then, he walked straight into the ruins and joined the ranks of moving and digging. Su Wending and Su Wenfang might have been more delicate in Jiangning, but ever since they had followed their sister and brother-in-law over, they had rather admired Ning Yi. So, when Ning Yi went over, they followed him.
An hour later, the first aftershock arrived as scheduled, bringing more despair to this ruined city. Ning Yi had rescued two people, but there were still more buried people who had not been rescued. They had lost their chance forever.
The night was still long. Amidst the loud roars brought about by the tremors of the earth, the flames in this ancient city burned even brighter than before. The red light trembled and burned the sky. Birds flew in the night, sometimes sounding like the call of jackdaws. That night, there were two aftershocks. In the second half of the night, looting began to occur in the city. The officers and soldiers did not respond for the time being. Some places were in a state of panic, as if there were no owners. The east of the city was set on fire because of the looting of some desperadoes. It was not extinguished until dawn.
The next day, the entire city was still focused on rescuing people from the ruins and salvaging their belongings. All kinds of news came in one after another. Quarrels and fights broke out over belongings. Some desperadoes and gangsters who had nothing on them began to take the opportunity to make a fortune and fish in troubled waters. The government began to try to maintain order. Conflicts gradually arose, and a few people were arrested and killed on the spot. Ning Yi went to inquire about the possibility of leaving Hangzhou, but the upper part of the canal had collapsed and was blocked. At this time, the waterway was temporarily suspended.
In the afternoon, Qian Xiwen sent a steward to check on his safety. Ning Yi wrote a reply. Then, he asked Guard Geng to pick a servant to follow him to the Qian Residence. They brought back a large amount of food in a carriage and sealed it. Qian Xiwen was a big landlord here, so he had the most food in his house. The earthquake might have damaged many storage warehouses. At this time, it was not difficult for him to go and ask for some. But after all, he owed a favor. In the letter, Ning Yi had proposed a few measures to deal with the earthquake, but these were also in the disaster relief clause last year. If the Hangzhou Prefecture did a good job, he would owe them a favor. But at this time, there was no other way.
That night, the city was illuminated by fire again. It was not the usual lights, but the panic and fire on the ruins. However, the army and the Hangzhou Prefecture finally managed to forcibly control some of the order. A large number of corpses were transported out of the city and burned. It was still the hottest day of the year. If it was any later, it would probably be a plague. Then, on the third day, heavy rain fell. In the fierce rain at the turn of summer and autumn, Hangzhou became a country of water …
That evening, on the post road that left Xuzhou, a galloping horse carrying an exhausted knight on its back was still running for its life, carrying the urgent notice that recorded the heavens falling and the earth splitting in the southeast eight hundred li, constantly approaching the capital of the Wu Dynasty, Bianjing.
The lone horse galloped quickly. The sun had already set, and night was coming …
*****
In the afternoon, he almost thought that he had eaten something wrong. But fortunately, he still managed to eat it.
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