It was raining.
The clouds were slightly blue, and it seemed like only half the sky was bright. The heavy rain rolled up the yellow mud in the courtyard, beside the ruins, and between the streets into muddy streams. Immersed in the rain, there were still all kinds of clanking sounds of cleaning up. Workers in straw raincoats pushed carts and dragged wooden baskets, still clearing away the ruins everywhere, carrying away the soil and stones that needed to be thrown away. The entire streets, alleys, and courtyards were filled with such scenes.
In Taiping Alley, the courtyard that originally belonged to the Su family had many sheds set up. In the rain, the water droplets from the eaves formed a curtain. A small figure wearing — or rather, holding a bamboo hat ran through a small section of the curtain of rain. When she reached the eaves where there was no rain, the small figure hugged the bamboo hat and looked into a room. It was a little girl about four or five years old. Her head was injured and wrapped in bandages.
It had only been a few days since the earthquake. The environment was not good. The room that the little girl was looking at was piled up messily. However, from the cabinets, the large bed, and the waterproof condition, it was quite good. She took a few timid glances at the door. The man inside saw her and waved at her.
"Uncle son-in-law …"
The little girl called out and entered the room. The man then checked the bandage on her head and touched it with his hand. "Does it still hurt?"
"A little …"
"Then rest in the room. Don't run around."
"There's no one in the room. It's so boring. What is uncle son-in-law doing? Xiaorou can help you, okay?"
"This is very dangerous. You can't touch it. You have an injury on your head. I'll give you a candy. Sit to the side and watch."
The man called uncle son-in-law was naturally Ning Yi. The little girl was the daughter of one of the Su family's accountants. Her name was Chen Jirou. On the day of the earthquake, she had been hit in the head by something and bled. However, a check later showed that the injury was not serious. She was really lucky. It had only been two or three days, but she was already jumping around.
Although it was raining, the huts were sturdy and there were no leaks. The ground was also dry. Several wooden baskets and sieves were placed on the ground in the room. Some were set up with benches. These containers were basically filled with mixed powder. It was raining and it was early autumn, so the powder was not very dry. Ning Yi took some and arranged it in a line on the ground.
"Be careful and stay far away."
After saying this to the little girl, he picked up a match and touched it. The flame rose with a bang and then turned into smoke. The little girl suddenly swayed and her body almost shrunk to the side. However, her eyes widened after blinking a few times, trying to see the scene in front of her clearly.
Su Tan'er, who came in from outside, was also shocked. In addition, Chan'er and Juan'er followed them. Chan'er stuck her head out curiously, while Juan'er adjusted her position behind Su Tan'er. She seemed to be trying to make herself rounder, trying to line up with her uncle and mistress. Her ultimate goal was to not let Ning Yi see her.
"Husband, this is … gunpowder?"
Su Tan'er frowned slightly and walked over. She picked up little Jirou and looked at the bandage on her head, but her eyes were still on Ning Yi. When she was married to Ning Yi, she was the kind of person who would ask and understand everything. That was because of her sense of responsibility. At this time, she no longer cared about what Ning Yi wanted to do or what unexpected actions he would take. Even if Ning Yi blew up, burned, or demolished the house, she would not be angry as long as she saw that it was Ning Yi who did it. Instead, she would probably discuss with her husband how to demolish the house faster. However, she was naturally curious and hesitant at this time. After all, gunpowder seemed to be dangerous.
"Yes, I made some when I was free. This thing is dangerous. Put it in the back later and let someone look after it. Don't let it come into contact with fire."
Ning Yi put the gunpowder into a small wooden barrel and hammered it tightly. Xiaochan squatted at the side and watched. Then, she went over to help. "This is the barrel that Husband asked us to drag from the Qian Family a few days ago."
"I added some things." Ning Yi looked at Su Tan'er and smiled. "It's a precautionary measure. I hope we won't need it. If not, these won't be of much use."
After that, a few people in the family carefully put the gunpowder into small barrels. Then, they called someone over and moved it to a room in the back that could be used to store things. Ning Yi put on a straw rain cape and went outside. Su Tan'er carried the little girl, while Chan'er and Juan'er followed him with umbrellas. On the road outside the courtyard, a half-drenched Xing'er was holding an umbrella and directing the people in the family to move things from the ruins in the rain. Even Protector Geng and the others listened to her instructions. She looked like a young girl who had a similar leadership temperament as Su Tan'er.
When she saw Ning Yi and the others, she combed her wet hair, lifted the hem of her dress, and jogged over.
At this time, there were people from other families in Taiping Alley. They pushed their carts or carried their frames as they passed by in the rain. When they saw Ning Yi, they respectfully called him the son-in-law of the Su family or the son-in-law of the Ning family. Some called him Young Master Ning or Old Master Ning. It was a messy form of address, but it was a form of greeting.
The reason for everything was ultimately attributed to the night of the earthquake and what happened in the following two or three days. Ning Yi did not have any specific experience with earthquake disaster relief. However, in the future, he had been influenced by a lot of information, so he understood many basic measures. He led the people to understand the situation in his family. Then, he went to help the other families in Taiping Alley.
At first, he only helped out casually. However, in such an urgent situation, there were many things that could not be hidden. Ning Yi directed the people to dig and save people. When his ability to plan, command, and control the overall situation was revealed bit by bit, the people around him often involuntarily listened to his arrangements. Then, the operation of the entire scene was very smooth. After saving many people and avoiding a few disasters caused by recklessness, everyone naturally remembered him.
This was not something that could be done through unconventional means. It was also not very shocking. Once it was revealed, it shone brightly. This was the temperament that had been cultivated in the decision-making circle for a long time. If the person present was a shut-in, even if he was given the position of leader, this person would inevitably panic and lack confidence. When he gave an order, people would involuntarily distrust him and feel that he was not reliable. However, even if Ning Yi casually gave an order that "this is how it should be done", the people around him would involuntarily feel that "this person has a plan". Very few people would doubt the imposing manner that Ning Yi displayed at the critical moment. Therefore, the entire scene became orderly.
After all, this was a kind of confidence that was naturally cultivated by someone who had shouldered responsibility for a long time. When he truly grasped some of the basic points and could make people follow order, the rest of the matter became much simpler.
Then, he moved things, saved people, and scolded the people who moved the ruins not to cause a second collapse. Especially with the cooperation of the people around him, the matter of moving the corpses under the ruins out of Taiping Alley and burning them did not encounter much obstruction. In other parts of the city, this was even enforced by the soldiers. There was almost a huge conflict.
After that, the various families in the alley were more or less influenced by the husband and wife, Ning Yi and Su Tan'er. To be honest, when Ning Yi married into the Su Family, he was supposed to address him as the son-in-law of the Su Family. However, some people knew that his surname was Ning, so they used the surname Ning as a form of address. Son-in-law Ning, Master Ning, Young Master Ning, and so on. Su Tan 'er and the three servant girls also contributed a lot in that situation. However, they were women, and it was not appropriate for them to speak to strangers.
On the first day after the earthquake, Ning Yi ordered people to transport enough food from the Qian Family to store it. He also asked the Qian Family to get two barrels of gunpowder. Today was the third day of the rain. Ning Yi finally had the time to further process the large barrel of gunpowder. At this time, the military was already using black gunpowder, but its performance was not the best. Some places were equipped with firearms to defend the city, and they threw barrels of gunpowder down. Ning Yi made some changes to the ingredients of the black gunpowder, adding and subtracting. After all, at this time, there was not a very detailed processing environment. However, he could increase its performance a little, and it could be used in the future.
No matter how good the performance of smokeless gunpowder was, it was still far from the smokeless gunpowder that needed a chemical process. Ning Yi's passion for gunpowder was actually a result of his habitual thinking. It could be used in simple things like mines and bombs. In fact, sulfuric acid and other things were already available. He had been fooling around in Jiangning for more than a year. If he had been there, he could have really made some smokeless gunpowder, or the prototype of smokeless gunpowder, nitrocellulose, and so on. However, smokeless gunpowder in the early stage was really too dangerous, so it had been put aside. He also did not want to hand over these processes to others. Otherwise, many people on Kang Xian's side would be waiting to be blown up. However, at this time in Hangzhou, he only wanted to respond to an emergency, so he could not do so much.
After all, the economic system and social system in ancient times could not give Ning Yi enough security. This was why he first stocked up on food when there was a disaster. He also stocked up on gunpowder just in case. It did not mean that something was really going to happen. Over the past few days, the Hangzhou Prefecture had taken a preliminary control of the situation in the city, but all kinds of unpeaceful things were still happening.
Because of the chaos, some people in the Jianghu took risks out of desperation and fought for property. Then, all kinds of conflicts arose because of the burning of corpses. The workshop owner of Taiping Alley had already passed away during the earthquake. The deputy workshop owner did not have a backbone, so he had looked for Ning Yi over the past few days to discuss repairing the walls around Taiping Alley and organizing young and strong people to patrol the area.
In the city, there were many cases of people from one street beating up people from another street. Usually, it was because of small disputes caused by individuals, or conflicts caused by people organizing to dig up the ruins. Later on, it quickly spread. Some beggars and thieves who had lost their homes took advantage of the night to look for money in the ruins.
Before the rain, everyone was given a day's buffer time, but there were still many people in the city who did not have enough food and money to move out of their houses. Large families like the Qian Family had enough manpower, so the total amount of food stored in Hangzhou would not suffer too much. However, due to the losses of the small families, the price of food in the city still soared over the past few days. Even though there was a disaster, after the initial control, there were still people who took the opportunity to open shops and raise the price to make huge profits.
After taking a look at the situation in his house in the heavy rain, the deputy workshop owner came over after a while. He pulled Ning Yi to see the families of some of the deceased in Taiping Alley. Ning Yi followed him. At the end of the alley, there was a rich family with the surname Tang. The old mother was crushed to death by the collapse of the house, but her son was later rescued by Ning Yi. At this time, a simple mourning hall was set up and she wore mourning clothes. As she cried, she pulled Ning Yi to express her gratitude. The deputy workshop owner probably wanted to recommend him as the person in charge. Then, he mentioned the various connections with the government and inevitably talked about his status as a member of the family. He said a few perfunctory words and gradually became annoyed. He pushed the matter away and went back. The coachman Dong Zhu, who was sent out to inquire about the situation in the city, had also returned. He took off his straw raincoat and began to report what he saw and heard.
"I don't know why, although the rain is heavy, there seem to be more and more refugees coming from outside the city. The collapsed city wall is already being repaired. The soldiers of the Wu De Camp have sealed the city. If it wasn't for the invitation from the son-in-law, I'm afraid I wouldn't have been able to enter. Those refugees can't enter and are causing trouble outside. Although the people from the yamen are also releasing food for disaster relief, the people in the city don't have enough to eat. It's the same for the refugees outside the city … "
Sending Dong Zhu out was mainly to observe the situation outside the city. Su Tan'er listened and sighed.
"There was originally a war in the west, so the refugees all ran here. With this earthquake, the affected villages all came over."
Ning Yi thought for a while and said with a smile, "In the past, when we were in Jiangning, there were some small disasters, so the people nearby also gathered in the city, right?"
His words sounded like he was confirming something, but it also sounded like he was testing her. After all, he didn't know exactly what the situation was like in the past. Su Tan'er glanced at him and thought for a while before nodding. "Yes, in fact, there is more surplus in the city than in the countryside. Moreover, the government is in charge. In order to reduce the number of people starving to death, they have to release food … What is Husband thinking?"
"The rice is about to ripen. At most, it will take a month to half a month before this season's rice is ready to be harvested. Earthquakes sound like a big deal, but other than the people who were crushed to death by the collapse of the houses, the rest can always find some surplus food to get through this period. Why is there so much all of a sudden … "
"Husband, do you think there's a problem?"
Xing'er also widened her eyes. "Fang, Fang La? Young Master, you mean … "
Ning Yi smiled and shook his head. "No, I think I'm overthinking it. There have always been a lot of refugees coming from the west. We've only been here for two months, so we don't know how many refugees there were in the past. It would be irresponsible of me to say so without any reference. Now that I think about it, it might be because we're not locals, so it's just too sensitive. There's no lack of powerful people in Hangzhou Prefecture, so they should have considered and taken precautions against these things. But … it's a pity that the river has collapsed. Otherwise, I'd rather get a boat and return to Jiangning in a few days. I was prepared to leave anyway. Now that we're going by land, there's no need to do so when the refugees are scattered. By the way, is there anything happening in the city? "
Dong Zhu thought about it. "Oh, the Qian Clan, Mu Clan, and a few other clans started selling grain this morning. The price is also three times the previous price, but it's much cheaper than the others. Also, it's been raining for a few days now, and the city has been digging around. It's not as urgent to burn the corpses as it was a few days ago. This morning, some people in the north of the city got into a fight with the soldiers who were dragging the corpses. The fight was really fierce. I heard that one of them was killed on the spot. Now, they're making a scene at the government office … "
Ning Yi frowned. It was expected that the big landlords would start to lower the price of grain. Although most people saw the merchants and landlords as evil beyond redemption, such a chaotic Hangzhou was not in line with their interests at all. The best way to deal with them was naturally to carry out a new round of annexation and embezzlement during the recovery process. However, regarding the corpses …
"It's raining so heavily. It shouldn't matter much if we bury them later." Su Tan 'er thought about it and smiled. Although she also knew that it was necessary to burn the corpses, as a person of this era, there was always a certain rejection of burning the corpses after they died. Relatively speaking, this heavy rain gave everyone a chance to buffer. However, seeing Ning Yi frowning, she whispered, "Husband?"
Ning Yi smiled and did not speak.
That night, the heavy rain seemed to be weakening. The couple stood by the window of the shack and looked out. The room was lit with candles. The room was simple, but for Su Tan 'er, it was really warm and bright. Occasionally, someone walked by outside the shack, or some trivial conversation could be heard. She was also tired. After taking a shower, she put on a thin shirt and held Ning Yi's hand. "Husband, what are you thinking about?"
"If the rain stops tomorrow, I want to go to the city gate to see what it looks like outside. Dong Zhu said that there are many people, but I don't know how many people there are."
Su Tan 'er rested her chin on his shoulder. "Let's go together … Husband, do you still think it's dangerous here?"
"I don't think so." Ning Yi put his arm around her shoulder. "I feel that if I were Fang La, I would take the opportunity to attack Hangzhou. But I don't know anything about the strength of the Wude Camp, their deployment, the control of Hangzhou government, or even the situation on Fang La's side. There is no basis for this. Logically speaking, the leadership, speed, and combat ability of the peasant army are all very problematic. The Hangzhou government has talents, and Lu Tuizhi and the others are not idiots. They could stop Fang La before, so they will definitely be more vigilant now. So from this point of view, I am more inclined to believe that nothing will happen to Hangzhou. I am just going to take a look … Let's take a step back. If Fang La really wants to take this place, his reaction shouldn't be so fast … "
Su Tan 'er nodded. At this time, she was feeling a little lazy and did not want to think too much about things beside Ning Yi. Then she heard Ning Yi say, "But the corpses are very problematic."
"What's wrong?"
"If I were Lu Tuizhi, I would arrest people today and kill a bunch of them. I would announce to the public that this group of people colluded with Fang La and deliberately left the corpses behind to stir up conflict and plot to take the city during the chaos. After this matter is announced, there will be no more objections to the disposal of the corpses in the city. There will be less trouble in the future … "
"But the city will be chaotic …"
"It won't be chaotic. No one believes that Fang La will not have designs on Hangzhou. He will use the power of this murder to justifiably strengthen the control inside and outside of Hangzhou and prepare for war. On one hand, under this kind of chaotic situation, the situation in the city can be controlled faster. On the other hand, it will prevent the possibility of real chaos. In this kind of situation, a high degree of centralization of power and swift action is the best strategy … "
Then he smiled again. "Of course, if we really do this, the prefectural magistrate will encounter a lot of trouble. There are intrigues in the officialdom. This kind of extreme method of centralizing power will definitely encounter a lot of resistance … I'm just thinking about it."
His wife hummed in agreement and then said softly, "On the other hand, Xiaochan's matter has been postponed again. There's also the matter at the poetry meet. Husband clearly wrote such a good poem, but in the blink of an eye, an earthquake happened …"
This wife who loved her husband's reputation as a gifted scholar had always been somewhat resentful about this.
*****
At night, on the other side of the city, there were people looking at the curtain of rain in the darkness. There was light on the other side of the curtain of rain. In the ruins, there was a hastily built straw hut, but half of the mourning hall had collapsed.
There were two people talking.
"It looks like the rain is going to stop. Once the rain stops tomorrow, the Hangzhou Prefecture will definitely not be able to ignore the undug corpses … Haha, I'm afraid the stench will come out by then …"
"If the weather had been hot, most of the corpses would have been dug out by now. Now that the rain is here, it's helping us. With the urgency and the delay, they're hoping for a fluke … But it won't stop tomorrow. There should be another day. "
"That's good. We'll be more prepared. In another day, Fo Shuai, Xin Xingzong, Liu Dabiao, and the others should be here. Stone Chipper, I think you said something before, 'If you don't take what the heavens give you, you'll be punished'. Is this what you meant? Haha, in my opinion, Hangzhou should be given to us by the heavens … What a pity that it's been shaken to this state … "
"If you don't take what the heavens give you, you'll be punished; if you don't take what the heavens give you, you'll be punished … We were just about to head over here when it caused an earthquake. It's probably the will of the heavens … Once we take over this place, Brother Shisui, Brother Dao 'an, and the others will respond everywhere. The matter of the southeast will be settled."
"Haha, you're always so genteel. Stone Chipper, since you're so knowledgeable, why did you always chisel stones in the mountains? You should come out and be a teacher. "
"If I can't do it, I'll float on the sea. I'd rather hide in the mountains and chisel my stones than come out and teach a bunch of kids …"
"Knowledgeable, I don't understand. But it doesn't matter. I, Shi Bao, am a boor. I'll do whatever you say. I'll kill whoever you want me to kill. Haha, when the time comes … Just like you said, the southeast will be settled. Sheng Gong will be the emperor. Ask him to give you the position of Prime Minister, and I'll be a general. When the time comes, I'll be able to visit whomever I want in the brothel … Tsk, I heard that there are many beautiful girls in Hangzhou. I hope they'll all survive. I won't bully them. I'll pay, hahahaha … "
The arrogant laughter faded into the distance. The black shadow standing in front of the window looked at the curtain of rain and was quiet for a while. Then, he laughed. "Heh, if it wasn't for the fact that chiseling stones is more profitable than teaching, who the hell would chisel stones? That's a good question … "He sighed and cast his gaze a little further, his voice shaking the curtain of rain as if he was talking in his sleep.
"I've been waiting for this day …"
*****
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
