amaotonovel Chapter 416 Landslide
Chapter 416 Landslide
Chapter 416
Before she could finish her words, another woman came running, stumbling over. As she reached the crowd, her legs gave out, and she collapsed onto the muddy ground. She clutched her tangled hair and wailed at the top of her lungs, "My flower fields! What shall I do? They're all gone! Gone! Sob…"
The crowd erupted in excitement, their cries of surprise echoing throughout. Luo Shuiyao felt a chill creep up her spine and onto the back of her neck. She clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, but her face remained stern. Seeing the crowd's panic and confusion, she suddenly raised her voice, "Don't waste time here! Does anyone know where County Magistrate Qin is? Go find him now, tell him what happened at Baihua Manor, and ask him to send rescuers as soon as possible."
The restless crowd finally woke up, and someone shouted, "I know, I'll go right away!" It was the waiter at the inn who said that. As soon as he finished speaking, he turned around, stepped on the mud and ran towards the end of the street.
Seeing this, Luo Shuiyao pointed to a guard who followed and said, "Follow him and go look for him with him."
Then he called out to the rest of the people, "There's a landslide, and I'm afraid someone is buried. Time is running out. Would you be willing to come with me to rescue them?"
These people were mostly strangers to each other, but most of them shared a sympathetic heart. Some hesitated, while others agreed without hesitation. "I do. Let's go now!"
Several more people responded: "I do!"
"We do too!"
Luo Shuiyao nodded at them, stepped forward to help the woman up, and said, "Sister, please cheer up and lead the way. We will go and rescue the people first. As long as they are safe, believe me, the court will not sit idly by and watch as your flower fields are destroyed."
Although she had only met Emperor Yuanzhen a few times and could not say that she knew him very well, she had lived in the Great Zhou for so many days. Based on her experience, Emperor Yuanzhen might have some shortcomings, but he was still a wise ruler. Upon learning of this, he would certainly not sit idly by.
The woman had just come running, intending to go to the county to find someone to rescue them. However, upon seeing so many people, she couldn't contain her grief over the destruction of her flower fields, which had caused her to lose her composure. Now, after hearing these words, she naturally understood the priorities and quickly wiped away her tears with her large hands. Although her body was still shaking slightly, she responded repeatedly, "Okay, let's go and save them!"
The others helped the man who had slumped to the ground to his feet, and without caring about anything else, they hurried forward. Luo Shuiyao instructed the guards as they walked, "Quickly bring the horses. Those who can ride, get on them. This way we can go faster."
"Chun Xing, go see if there are any snacks or anything like that in the inn. Take some with you, maybe they'll come in handy."
"Yes, I'll go right away." Chun Xing responded and then turned and ran towards the stable.
Her words actually alerted everyone, and they immediately took action. Some rode horses, some pulled horse-drawn carriages, and some pulled ox-drawn carts. In any case, it was much faster than walking.
After hearing what was happening nearby, the residents called out to each other and drove their horse-drawn, ox-drawn, and donkey-drawn carts to join them.
Someone with a quicker mind heard this and shouted at the top of his voice, "Everyone, listen up! Anyone who has hoes, shovels, or other tools, bring them! The more the better! Let's go and save them!"
Needless to say, everyone knew that these tools would come in handy, so when they pulled the ox carts and drove the horse-drawn carriages, they did not forget to bring all the farm tools they had at home.
Luo Shuiyao helped the older woman onto the carriage, and Chun Xing whipped the horse, sending the horses galloping furiously through the mud. Everyone inside was tossed about, clinging to the side of the carriage, unable to focus on anything else.
Baihua County had a fertile land nestled against a mountain. While it was called a mountain villa, a village would be more appropriate. There were only a few scattered households nestled against the mountain, while the majority lived on the open, flat land. Fortunately, this place wasn't far from Baihua County, and the group quickened their pace, arriving in two quarters of an hour.
In nearby villages, villagers, having heard the news, had already rushed down the mountain, carrying hoes, shovels, and other farm tools. Men and women were diligently digging in the soil. Someone with a keen eye spotted them and excitedly shouted, "Look! Help is coming! Everyone, come on!"
The men, buried in the earth, looked up at the noise and saw a dense mass of men, some on horseback, others in horse-drawn and ox-drawn carts, galloping toward them. They cheered with joy. But they knew time was running out, and there was no time to relax. A surge of strength surged within them, and they all gripped their tools tightly, digging even harder.
Before the carriage stopped, the peasant woman couldn't wait to rush out of the carriage and jumped off.
Luo Shuiyao followed closely behind, grabbing a hoe from someone in the carriage and immediately going forward to dig the soil. However, she did not dig blindly like the others. Instead, she moved back and forth among the crowd, carefully observing the collapsed houses and the accumulation of mud and rock.
These houses weren't completely destroyed, and since most of them were wooden structures, supported by mortise and tenon joints, they were quite strong. The outlines of several houses could still be vaguely discerned. However, the terrifying nature of a mudslide lies not only in the rocks and gravel it carried, but also in the large amount of mud and water mixed with it. If people trapped inside weren't rescued in time, they would likely not be crushed to death by the heavy objects, but rather suffocated by the mud and water blocking their mouths and noses.
Seeing this, she took a few steps back, quickly scanning the hillside. Then, she stepped on the soft soil and found that the trees on the hillside were sparse. She realized that there might be a risk of another collapse. If a second collapse really happened, those trapped below would be in extremely dangerous situation in this era without advanced rescue equipment.
As she thought about this, her heart grew increasingly anxious, her gaze sweeping over the crowd of people blindly digging all over the hillside. No! We had to organize the work immediately—we had to first figure out where the body was buried and who it was, and then begin digging. That way, we wouldn't miss the golden rescue window.
"Everyone, wait a moment, please listen to me!" she shouted loudly when she thought of this.
The scene was in chaos. When she first shouted, only a few people looked in her direction; most people didn't even hear her. She shouted again at the top of her lungs, "Everyone, stop! I have something to say. We can't keep digging blindly like this. We need to be organized and disciplined to rescue people sooner!"
Those who heard it hurriedly called out to each other, and then everyone stopped digging one after another and looked at her with confusion. At this time, someone in the crowd shouted impatiently: "Whose little girl are you? There is such an urgent need to save people, why are you still making trouble here?
Although Luo Shuiyao was dressed in men's clothing, everyone was not blind and could clearly see that she was a woman with red lips and white teeth. Seeing that she was so young and disturbing everyone at such an urgent moment, they couldn't help but scold her, "That's right, a young girl, at this time, you are still causing trouble!"
Luo Shuiyao ignored those words and bowed deeply to the crowd, drawing their attention. Then, raising her voice, she spoke, "Blindly digging like this will do absolutely nothing. Furthermore, I've observed that the soil on this hillside is soft and could collapse again. Everyone, I know you're all anxious to save lives, and I completely understand your feelings. But we can't act without a plan. Please trust me and follow my instructions. Only in this way can we rescue the trapped people as quickly as possible, and give them a better chance of survival!"