Shuse Jinjia

Xie Zhaotang was walking along the road when he saw Li Qin leading Dong Jie and Xue Jintong in a hurry.

"Tangtang, there's a fire in the southern part of the city. The Emperor has sent imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to help with the rescue efforts. My father sent someone to find me; I have to go help. Pei Song and the others have already left. You and Dong Jie should go back first!"

Li Qin said hurriedly.

Upon hearing this, Xie Zhaotang immediately thought of Huo Beiyu and the others leaving, and quickly said, "I'll go help too."

Li Qin remembered that Xie Zhaotang had mentioned wanting to learn medicine from her that day, so she decided to let her experience it and didn't object.

Dong Jie said, "We'll go help too, it'll be good if we go together."

Seeing that Xue Jintong didn't want to go back first, the four of them quickly walked to the gate, and Aunt Xia and the maids that Li Qin and the others brought also came out.

The Duan family had already prepared a carriage, and the group hurriedly boarded it and headed over.

The carriage had only traveled halfway when Xie Zhaotang saw thick smoke billowing from the south of the city, with flames reaching the sky.

The fire broke out at noon, and the streets were packed with people. There were so many people that the carriages were blocked from passing. Li Qin was anxious and got off the carriage: "Let's take a shortcut."

Xie Zhaotang and the other two also got off the carriage.

On the carriage, Xie Zhaotang and the others followed Li Qin's example, tying up their wide sleeves and lifting their skirts as they followed Li Qin into the alley.

Dong Jie was able to keep up, but Xue Jintong was weak and became breathless after running only a few steps.

Xie Zhaotang turned around and called to her, "Sister Jintong, don't go. The thick smoke is bad for your health. If you want to help, go back and prepare some bedding and food, and send them to the resettlement area after the fire is extinguished."

Li Qin turned around and said, "Yes, Sister Jintong, once this fire starts, many people will be homeless and will definitely need bedding and food. If it's convenient for you, please help prepare some."

Xue Jintong was a little out of breath from running. Hearing this, she just nodded and waved her hand to tell them to leave her alone.

Aunt Xia didn't know why Xie Zhaotang had gone to join in the fun, and hesitated whether she should advise Xie Zhaotang against it.

Xie Zhaotang said as soon as he saw her.

"Aunt Xia, you should go back too. Tell Madam that Sister Li and I went to help out and will be back later. Ask Madam to send over some bedding that we don't need."

Xie Zhaotang didn't want to give too many hints, lest Madam Xie become suspicious.

With such a massive fire in the capital, the Emperor will surely send people to provide relief. However, it is better to donate proactively than passively. It all depends on whether Madam Xie can seize this opportunity for Xie Jianghuai.

Aunt Xia nodded and added, "Fourth Miss, don't go where the fire is big, be careful..."

Xie Zhaotang nodded and ran after Li Qin.

Once the group had circled out of the alley, they were on the outskirts of the southern city. The fire was raging, and the temperature had instantly risen several degrees. Hot air mixed with thick smoke rushed towards them.

Xie Zhaotang covered his mouth and nose with a handkerchief and saw many soldiers and civilians fighting the fire, with truckloads of water being transported from all directions.

But when the water was poured on, it only suppressed the flames and did nothing at all.

"Oh my God, whose house started such a huge fire? My house is completely burned down... How am I supposed to live now...?"

"We didn't manage to salvage anything, how are we going to survive..."

All around were the shouts, cries, and curses of the people.

"Tangtang, come over here..."

Li Qin had run a short distance when she turned back and saw Xie Zhaotang still standing there dumbfounded, so she quickly turned back and called out.

Just as Xie Zhaotang was about to go over, he heard several loud crashes and crackling sounds as several interconnected houses collapsed from the fire.

The flames shot up three feet high, and sparks flew everywhere.

"Retreat, everyone retreat... This area is no longer worth saving. Quickly retreat to the back blocks and prevent the fire from spreading..."

Xie Zhaotang saw a general-looking man standing on a high place in the distance, shouting hoarsely.

"Ah Qin, you guys go first, I'll come find you later!"

Xie Zhaotang glanced around and immediately saw the firefighting methods used by the soldiers and civilians. Most of the residents in the southern part of the city were poor, and the housing was densely packed.

Let alone retreating to the back blocks, given the fire's intensity and firefighting methods, the houses in the back blocks won't be saved, and the fire will spread to the next block.

Xie Zhaotang gave an order and then dodged the firefighters as he ran toward the general.

As they approached, they saw several generals in armor standing and watching the fire, discussing how to prevent it from spreading.

Xie Zhaotang ran over and called out, "Generals, I have a few good ideas for putting out the fire. May I share them?"

A more experienced general turned around and saw that it was a young girl. He scolded her impatiently, "Go away, we're discussing serious matters. What brilliant ideas could a little girl like you have? Get out of here and don't get in our way..."

Xie Zhaotang said loudly, "Everyone is trying to put out the fire, so we should brainstorm together. The general didn't even listen to my good ideas, so how do you know they're useless?"

Xie Zhaotang rushed over because he saw the disaster victims and was worried that the fire would spread and leave more people homeless.

Huo Beiyu stood in another direction, with his back to Xie Zhaotang, observing the surrounding terrain.

He didn't notice Xie Zhaotang running over, but when he heard the voice, which was several octaves higher, sounded familiar, he turned around to look...

Upon seeing that it was indeed Xie Zhaotang, Huo Beiyu frowned. What was this little girl doing here instead of going home?

"Young Master, you're here too... I'll just say a few words, it won't take up much of your time!"

Upon seeing him, Xie Zhaotang said urgently, "The fire is so big that retreating to the next block won't save those houses. We should abandon these two streets and concentrate our efforts on building firewalls in the back blocks, in a stepped pattern, one to two meters higher than the roofs of these houses, to prevent the fire from spreading..."

"We can also organize the people to bring sand. Sand can cover the fire source, and it works better than water... We'll see the effect after trying it. If it doesn't work, the young marquis knows me and can punish me for obstructing military affairs!"

Xie Zhaotang only hoped that Huo Beiyu would set aside his prejudices and adopt his opinion out of consideration for the plight of the disaster victims.

Without hesitation, Huo Beiyu immediately ordered, "Pei Song, organize a team to haul away the sand..."

The old general who had just reprimanded Xie Zhaotang shouted, "Young Marquis, are you really going to listen to this woman's nonsense and abandon these two streets? There are dozens of households in this area; abandoning them would be a huge loss... They will definitely cause trouble, and the censors will impeach us!"

Xie Zhaotang didn't listen anymore. She had already said what she needed to say, and how to persuade them was Huo Beiyu's business.

"Don't try to reason with them, make them move out immediately. Anyone who dares to cause trouble will be punished as an example to others..."

Huo Beiyu's voice could be faintly heard. Xie Zhaotang rolled her eyes. Kill, kill, kill! This guy really came from the battlefield, he was full of murderous aura.

However, Xie Zhaotang was not offended this time.

Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. There's no time to persuade people one by one; force is the best tool for persuasion.

She quickly found Li Qin by following the route the soldiers had taken to transport the wounded.

Li Qin and Dong Jie are working with Physician Li to treat the civilians and soldiers who have been burned.

The imperial physicians sent by the emperor were also busy, and some doctors recruited from the common people were also helping out.

"Someone come here, help me hold him down!"

Just as Xie Zhaotang was about to help Imperial Physician Li, an old doctor next to him shouted.