Along the way, he rushed to the capital with great speed, but met many disaster victims outside the west gate. As Shen Lie reined in his horse, he headed towards Dao Shisan.
"Go and ask...where these victims come from."
When Dao Shisan stepped forward and asked, he learned that half a month ago, there was an earthquake in Huazhou, Shaanxi Province. The ground shook and tens of thousands of houses collapsed. More than 100,000 victims begged along the streets, and they actually came all the way to the capital.
Looking at the large, dark crowd of people, men, women, old and young, sitting cross-legged on both sides of the road, they looked like soulless zombies.
Ragged clothes.
There are dishes on the side.
Shen Lie's heart skipped a beat, and he couldn't help but frown, cursing these unlucky years in his mind, wondering who the Ming people had provoked.
Little Ice Age, drought, snow disaster, locust plague, earthquake...
What kind of evil has been done!
Think about it.
Shen Lie said to the crowd again: "How much dry food do we still have? Take it out...and distribute it."
Dao Shisan, Li Chaohua and others quickly got off their horses and distributed the dry food, dried meat, and drinking water they carried in their bags to the victims along the way, but this was just a drop in the bucket.
The dry food distribution is finished.
The group of people walked towards the city in silence. After a while, as the crowds in front became louder, more victims began to appear, and there were also some soldiers carrying swords to maintain order.
Look up.
Shen Lie then saw some kind-hearted people outside the Taoist temples on both sides of the road. Taoist priests and nuns had opened some porridge sheds and were giving porridge and food to the victims.
Bustling in the hustle and bustle.
Shen Lie rode his horse and walked slowly under the protection of the fans. He seemed to have a clear understanding of the situation. He looked up and saw the beautiful figure that he had been thinking about day and night among all the living beings.
Looking at the graceful and slender figure of the stunning woman, wearing a bamboo hat and a veil, she was stirring a big pot while wearing a maidservant.
Shen Lie lost his voice and shouted: "Jing'er?"
Don't care about anything else.
He quickly dismounted and ran over, grabbing his lovely wife's slender pink arms. Seeing her transformed into a Guanyin Master rescuing people in distress, Shen Lie was speechless for a moment.
At this moment, Zhang Jingxiu's bright eyes were also flashing with thrilling splendor, and all around, his concubine Yun'er and several maidservants were screaming softly.
"Master is back!"
"Master, when did you come?"
In public.
Shen Lie hurriedly moved toward the concubine's room, and the maid nodded with a smile, while Zhang Jingxiu's jade face turned red, and she quickly threw away her jade arm and spat lightly.
"There are so many people...don't be pushy."
Shen Lie had no choice but to suppress the lovesickness in his heart and said, "Yeah."
Come on!
A wave of his hand.
Shen Lie whispered to the group of people behind him: "What are you still doing?...Help!"
This is the order.
Dao Shisan and others, who were like idiots, hurriedly swarmed forward and called Madam, Ru Madam. After seeing the courtesy, they started to help with porridge.
Shen Lie watched from the side, seeing a long line of victims lined up in front of him, the broken bowls in their hands, and the pitiful and dirty faces, and his heart became heavy again.
While serving porridge, he chatted with his beloved wife and concubine.
Why was this earthquake so severe?
Yun'er then said matter-of-factly: "I heard from an old man from Shaanxi that there have been many earthquakes in Shaanxi in recent years. About the twelfth month of the 34th year of Jiajing, there was an earthquake in Shaanxi, and the whole world was shaken, which affected Shanxi, Henan, and Gansu. In more than one hundred counties, the earthquake occurred at midnight, and there was no preparation. Millions of civilians, soldiers and civilians were killed and injured..."
Shen Lie nodded, and an idea popped into his mind.
aftershock.
He really didn't know that there was such a terrible earthquake in the north during the Jiajing period.
Twenty years have passed, and even the destructive power of the aftershocks was so shocking. One can imagine how terrible the earthquake in the 34th year of Jiajing that affected the entire north was.
It’s really hard to describe the bad luck of the country.
Shen Lie sighed, and had no choice but to give Dao Shisan a few words: "Hurry up and follow Yun'er into the city, show the Dongchang brand, and buy more food from various restaurants."
"In a few days..."
Shen Lie's eyes became serious, he was afraid that the price of food in the capital would rise to the sky.
Right!
As Shen Lie slapped himself on the forehead, he ordered his subordinates: "Go to Shenjiazhuang, and Tianjin Zuowei will bring more potatoes and sweet potatoes."
One year down.
There should be a lot of potatoes and sweet potatoes stored in the cellars of Shenjiazhuang and Tianjin Zuowei. Wouldn't this come in handy?
After a busy period.
There was a sudden commotion at the city gate in front, and the imperial guardsmen in bright armor were seen in all directions. Following the imperial guardsmen were a large number of palace maids and eunuchs, as well as bright yellow chariots, heading straight for a Taoist temple.
Not long after.
The palace maids and eunuchs also began to set up a porridge shed outside the Taoist temple, cooking porridge and steaming steamed buns. Shen Lie looked at the gorgeous car amid the smoke and fire.
He and Zhang Jingxiu looked at each other and couldn't help shouting.
"The Queen Mother is here too?"
Okay.
Shen Lie hurriedly gave a few instructions, showed his tiger head bronze medal to the imperial guards, and hurried towards the Taoist temple full of wild flowers.
After a while.
Inside the Taoist temple.
The Taoist priests and Taoist nuns were chanting scriptures to pray for the victims. As Shen Lie hurried towards the main hall, several familiar skilled and brave eunuchs hurriedly saluted.
"See Master Shen."
Shen Lie waved his hand, stood outside the main hall door and leaned out, looking into the hall, and at a glance he saw Queen Mother Li and Queen Wang kneeling on the futon.
Shen Lie did not dare to disturb the Queen Mother and the Empress, so he had to give a few instructions to Eunuch Jiyong to guard the surroundings and make sure nothing went wrong.
After walking out of the Taoist temple, Shen Lie looked at the longer and longer queue of victims in front of the porridge shed and couldn't help but start to worry about Long Live Lord.
What is the earthquake in this year and month.
This is the punishment sent by God for the emperor's lack of virtue!
Watching helplessly between the government and the public, the officials and officials are about to make a fuss again.
Ever since the Great Etiquette Controversy of the Jiajing Dynasty, the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty has deteriorated. Everything related to the royal family, even if it is trivial, must be brought to the forefront.
Qi, Chu and Zhejiang Party......
Even if there are no problems, we have to create some problems, and if there are no topics, we still have to create topics. The energy of this huge dynasty is consumed in endless quarrels.
When this earthquake comes.
Shen Lie rubbed his sore temples.
Trouble.
At the same time.
Fengtian Temple.
Zhu Yijun, who was sitting on the Dragon Throne, had experienced his first natural disaster since taking office. His slightly immature face was already ashen.
Inside the palace.
The Yushitai had already gathered together to attack, spitting out the sage's words, great principles, and some divine inspiration. The emperor's misconduct caused the wrath of heaven.
"I ask your Majesty to lead all the officials to go to the Ancestral Temple to plead guilty and ask for the blessings of our ancestors..."
"I have this memorial. Please give me your most personal edict!"
Noisy.
The mentally exhausted young emperor finally couldn't restrain the anger in his heart, stood up in a hurry, and walked away with a sullen face amid the criticism from the officials.
The adults in the Yushitai, on the one hand, looked pitiful and compassionate towards the incident, but on the other hand, they felt elated as if they had won a battle.