In my dream of returning to the Tang Dynasty, I snatched Wu Zetian from my lap.

"Your Highness, what should we do now?"

"Should we send someone back to bring in some more people?" Guo Chao asked.

Li Yuanchang shook his head: "Forget it, turning back would take too much time. Every day wasted is a huge loss."

"Let's go around there first."

"There are quite a few people on the other side, let's mobilize them on the spot."

"yes!"

"..."

It took Li Yuanchang and his group several more hours to get around the soft muddy ground, covering only a few miles in those few hours.

Because it was a landslide, the heavier the object, the easier it was for it to sink in, making it difficult for horses to move.

When they reached the "other side," the post road was already overcrowded with people: locals gnawing on tree bark, merchants stopping to admire the scenery, and helpless refugees weeping in an endless stream.

A scene of desolation and devastation after the disaster.

"The soldiers are here!"

"The soldiers are here!"

Someone shouted, and suddenly hundreds and thousands of people surged forward.

"Sir, what should we do?"

"Springtime insect plagues, followed by this natural disaster in winter—how are we ordinary people supposed to survive?!"

Another woman rushed to Li Yuanchang's horse, crying out, "Sir, please save my child! He has been missing for seven days!"

"grown ups……"

Looking at the ragged, starving refugees shivering in the cold wind, holding bowls or kneeling on the ground, looking at him with pleading eyes, Li Yuanchang felt extremely distressed!

"Fellow elders and fellow villagers, I am the Governor of Liangzhou, and the current King of Han!"

He first revealed his identity, instantly shaking the entire post road and causing an uproar: "What, the Prince of Han??"

"I hereby promise you all that as long as you listen to me, I guarantee you will not freeze to death in the cold wind or starve to death in the mud!"

"I will remain here until everything is resolved!"

As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous cheers erupted from the crowd, and all the refugees kowtowed.

Li Yuanchang demonstrated strong leadership at this moment.

"Now, everyone gather here to register and report any missing persons!"

"yes!"

"Thank you, King Han! Thank you, King Han!"

The refugees began to disperse, heading towards open spaces.

After calming the people down with a few words, Li Yuanchang began to look for officials at Luoma Post Station to understand the situation, and at the same time sent people to find the workers of the Qin family.

Yuan Tong led his men on horseback, galloping wildly along the post road, repeatedly shouting, "Where are the officials of Luoma Post Station?"

"The King of Han has arrived! Quickly pay your respects!"

Where are the officials at Luoma Post Station?

"..."

Meanwhile, the guards began to set up camp, choosing an open area to avoid secondary landslides, but this also had its drawbacks.

January is already the coldest time of year, and living in an open, deserted place in the wild, the biting wind can truly tear your life apart.

How to keep warm for so many displaced people is also a major problem.

Before Li Yuanchang could finish dealing with the situation, Yuan Tong returned.

"Your Highness, they've arrived!"

Five ragged men knelt down with a thud.

"Cao Feng, a minor official at Luoma Post Station, pays his respects to Your Highness!"

"Feng Jin, messenger from Luoma Post Station, greets Your Highness!"

"..."

Li Yuanchang's face was grim and cold.

If the officials at Luoma Post Station had followed the established procedures, he would not have believed that so many people were displaced, much less that so many officials and servants would have died at Luoma Post Station.

It is important to know that the post roads of the Tang Dynasty were a vital national asset. During the Zhenguan era, a strict system had already been established for this purpose, including night patrols and disaster prevention.

"Just you guys? Where's Registrar Qiu?"

The five men trembled and dared not speak.

"Answer me!" Li Yuanchang hissed.

"Qiu, Clerk Qiu is dead!"

"Dead?"

"How did you know? Were you buried?"

"Your Highness, such a serious incident has occurred. Qiu, the registrar, was afraid of being held accountable, so he hanged himself. By the time we found his body, he was already dead."

Upon hearing this, Li Yuanchang swallowed his pent-up anger. This bastard knew how to be decisive; he hanged himself first.

What exactly happened that night?

"Why didn't the people at the post station run out? And why wasn't anyone alerted at the sheep farm?" Li Yuanchang asked with a grim expression.

"Your Highness, three days before the incident, there was a heavy rain in Luoma Post Station, and there were some landslides in some places. We reported it to Qiu Lushi, but he ignored it and just told us to put up a sign to warn passing merchants."

"That night, we heard a loud bang, and the entire mountainside collapsed, instantly washing away the entire post road."

"Even if the post station was made of iron and built right next to the post road, it couldn't withstand that kind of impact!"

"We were all not at the post station when the incident happened, which is why we were lucky enough to escape unscathed."

"As for the sheep farm, we don't know what's going on either; it's under Lord Suhe's jurisdiction."

"Where is Suhe?" Li Yuanchang asked.

"This... their whereabouts are unknown, we don't know either." All five shook their heads, their eyes still lingering with the fear of that night.

"Then why is the reporting so slow? Is the death toll really only thirty-odd? Is it a cover-up or the truth?"

"When the landslide happened, it only swept away the air on the east side. What about the houses on the west side? Did you notify the people to evacuate?" Li Yuanchang was not so easily fooled and his words hit the nail on the head.

The five men looked flustered, clearly feeling guilty.

Li Yuanchang flew into a rage: "If it weren't for you scoundrels concealing the truth, I could have brought at least more supplies!"

"These disaster victims are all your fault!"

The enormous sound traveled hundreds of meters, attracting many eyes to look in this direction.

"Your Highness, we know our guilt!" the five cried out.

Li Yuanchang didn't want to waste words; without killing, legislation was impossible!

"Drag him away and chop him up!" He decisively flicked his sleeve.

"yes!"

"No, no, Your Highness, no!"

"Your Highness, I beg you!"

The five men were dragged away, wailing and begging for mercy, but Li Yuanchang ignored them. When something like this happens, someone has to die to quell public anger.

But Li Yuanchang also knew that it was impossible to find out whether the clerks had done any shoddy work, since the site had been completely destroyed.

The most urgent task is to clear the post roads, settle the disaster victims, and reduce the death toll.

"How's it going? Haven't they found the Qin family members yet?"

"Your Highness, not yet."

"Keep searching."

"yes!"

"..."

Soon, darkness fell, a biting wind howled, and the temperature dropped further, leaving the refugees shivering with cold.

Despite Li Yuanchang's best efforts to coordinate, it was still a drop in the ocean and insufficient to settle so many disaster victims.

"Report!"

"Your Highness, registration is complete!"

"There are a total of 1,084 refugees. This does not include those from the caravans. Among the disaster victims in Luomayi alone, more than 100 are children."

"A small number of people were injured." Guo Chao cupped his hands in greeting.

Li Yuanchang was overwhelmed when he heard the number. How was he going to get through the night in this cold weather?

"Let's go and divide up the food we brought."

"But Your Highness, brothers..."

"The rations have been distributed. There's enough dry food to feed at least a thousand people for two and a half days. After two days, I'll have my own plan." Li Yuanchang was resolute; he had his bottom line as an official.

"Yes!" Guo Chao clasped his hands in a fist salute and left again, holding the torch high.