Volume 2: The Capital, I’m Back Chapter 84: Heaven Collapses and Earth Breaks
Zhu Qizhen stood up suddenly and was the first to walk out of the Fengtian Hall.
The ministers looked at each other in bewilderment. The sudden shock caught everyone off guard and they didn't know what was going on.
Among the several imperial censors who had just followed Tang Xinggu in impeaching Beilin, some had already vaguely sensed that something was wrong and quietly stood aside, intentionally or unintentionally distancing themselves from Tang Xinggu.
Zhu Qiyu reacted and followed Zhu Qizhen out of the hall. Soon after, Cao Nai, Yu Qian and others also filed out.
At this time, the sky was just beginning to turn pale and visibility was very low. Huai En quickly ordered someone to bring lanterns.
Immediately afterwards, the ground shook again, and there was a loud bang. One of the stone pillars outside the temple fell down, hit the ground and shattered into pieces.
"Your Majesty, be careful!"
Fan Zhong rushed forward and protected Zhu Qizhen.
"I'm fine!"
Zhu Qizhen waved his hand, then squatted down, and with the help of the light from the lantern, he carefully observed the bluestone slabs on the ground.
The square outside the main hall was originally made up of square bluestone slabs. Due to the vibration just now, many of the slabs have been squeezed and broken, and some have been lifted up. If you look closely, you can see that they are arranged like water waves.
Zhu Qiyu stood aside, confused, and asked, "Your Majesty, is this... an earthquake?"
"Not bad!" Zhu Qizhen nodded and suddenly said, "Li Shimian, come here!"
Li Shimian hurried forward and asked, "What does the emperor want?"
"Look here!" Zhu Qizhen pointed to the ground and asked, "Tell me, what is this?"
"Bluestone... Broken bluestone ..."
"Why did it break?"
"It's probably because... because... there was an earthquake..."
"Where did the earthquake occur?"
"This... I am not sure. We have to wait until the report is sent to the capital before we can..."
"Look carefully for me!"
Before he could finish, Zhu Qizhen pointed at the broken bluestone slab on the ground and said, "When the bluestone slab breaks, it takes on a fixed shape. This shape is the energy wave propagating from the epicenter. Just follow this line vertically and then determine the direction of the epicenter based on the direction of the wrinkles on the slab!"
Everyone looked in the direction of Zhu Qizhen's hand and saw that it was heading west.
Although I don’t understand many of the words, I can guess the general meaning, which is that an earthquake occurred somewhere in the west!
To the west, Yulin Prefecture...
Li Shimian suddenly felt a chill on his back. The earthquake predicted by Beilin really happened!
How can it be?
Natural disasters such as earthquakes are clearly warnings from heaven. As the saying goes, the secrets of heaven cannot be revealed, so how could they be predicted?
Impossible, absolutely impossible!
Zhu Qizhen turned around and pointed at one of them and said, "Tang Xinggu, come forward!"
Tang Xinggu's face had already turned pale. He forced a smile and asked, "What instructions does the emperor have?"
Snapped!
Zhu Qizhen went up to him and threw a big punch, then angrily said: "I don't want to talk to you, get out of here!"
"yes!"
Tang Xinggu no longer had the literary spirit he had just had and left in disgrace.
There's nothing I can do. I've hit a wall and can only blame myself for my bad luck.
Zhu Qizhen looked around and saw that those censors who had been fearless just now had turned into quails in the blink of an eye, with their heads lowered.
This group of upright people are only good at talking on a daily basis. If something really happens, no one can be relied upon!
"Yuan Bin!"
Yuan Bin stepped forward and said, "I'm here!"
"How much goods were seized in the case of Shanxi merchants colluding with the enemy?"
"Your Majesty, the main cargoes include 250,000 dan of grain, 60,000 bolts of cotton cloth, 50,000 dan of salt, and 30,000 jin of pig iron, but most of them are in Datong and Taiyuan and have not yet been shipped back to the capital."
Zhu Qizhen nodded and said in a deep voice: "The cabinet listens to your orders!"
Cao Nai, Yu Qian and others hurried forward and said, "I am here!"
Zhu Qi calmed down and said, "Immediately organize people to allocate some of the food and other daily necessities seized in Datong and Taiyuan, Shanxi, and transport them to the disaster-stricken areas of Yulin Prefecture. This is a matter of great importance. Yu Qian, you go there in person!"
Yu Qian bowed and said, "I obey your order!"
Zhu Qizhen continued , "Li Shimian, the Imperial Observatory, has made no achievements in his position and is not good at judging people. Considering your advanced age, please retire!"
Li Shimian knelt down tremblingly and said, "I, your old servant, thank God for His grace!"
"And more!" Zhu Qizhen's eyes were like torches, and he swept coldly over everyone present. "From now on, I will establish a rule that the censors will no longer report things based on hearsay. I will grant the power of supervision. You can enter and exit any government office as censors, and you have the right to review any records. In a word, before impeaching someone, you must first clarify the facts! If the impeachment is correct, the court will reward you according to your merits. If you are just making groundless accusations and following the crowd, and later find out that it is inconsistent with the truth, you will be punished for the crime of rebellion!"
"Your Highness obeys your order!"
No one dared to breathe, for fear of angering the emperor and giving him a big beating.
This thing is different from the caning in the imperial court. Although the caning in the imperial court hurts the buttocks, it is glorious. Dabidou not only hurts the face, but also feels humiliating...
…
Yulin Prefecture, the prefectural government office.
The prefect Jiang Wenke was sleeping soundly with his concubine in his arms, when suddenly there was a huge shake and he fell off the bed.
"what's the situation?"
Jiang Wenke covered his head in a daze, and the concubine beside him was also confused.
Immediately afterwards, there was another huge tremor, the windows banged and the earth shook.
"The ground collapsed!"
Jiang Wenke finally reacted and crawled under the bed. The concubine was slow to react and was about to follow him when she was hit by the collapsed beam and fainted.
By the time the officers dug the prefect out of the rubble, the entire prefectural government office was already in ruins.
"Master, Master, are you okay?"
"Pooh! Pooh!"
Jiang Wenke's face was covered in blood. He struggled to spit out the dirt in his mouth and looked around blankly. The houses were leaning to one side and the only century-old tree in the yard was uprooted.
Fortunately, this bed is newly made and quite sturdy, otherwise I would be dead!
Thinking of this, he said with lingering fear: "The ground collapsed, the ground collapsed!"
"Yes, sir, the ground collapsed!"
Suddenly, Jiang Wenke seemed to think of something, his face turned pale and he began to shiver uncontrollably.
"Master, are you not hurt?"
"Quick, prepare the horses!" Jiang Wenke shouted hurriedly, "Everyone, follow me to Mizhi County to provide disaster relief!"
"Master, your injury..."
“No problem!”
Jiang Wenke had no time to care about his own injuries, and he didn't even bother to look at his concubine who died tragically in the ruins. At this moment, he was only thinking about one thing: the imperial envoy was still in Mizhi!
I just wrote a letter to impeach him, saying that he was harming the people and causing public resentment...
It’s over, it’s over, my career is in jeopardy!
Thinking of this, Jiang Wenke yelled like crazy : "What are you still standing there for? Prepare the horses and set off!"
