Chapter 951
The Great Wind Arrives
Pan Yun believed that this was God's support for her; otherwise, how could she have thrown tree branches to find Pu Min and even found tungsten mines?
Clearly, God also supports her in accelerating the progress of the times, so that people now and in the future will experience less suffering.
Pan Yun chuckled, smashed a large rock with a palm, and casually picked up a few pieces of tungsten stone to put away: "Let's go. Since God has given us instructions, Pu Min should be nearby. Let's go to a higher place. They must need to start a fire to refine silver. Let's look for silver mines by watching the smoke."
They waited until evening before they saw any smoke rising from the chimneys.
Upon seeing the smoke, Wang Cong remarked, "This is cooking smoke. It seems the mine's output isn't very good; there's no smoke from silver smelting."
Indeed, there was no smoke from silver smelting, because the ore wasn't smelted in the mountains at all.
Pu Min said, "Because of rampant illegal mining and the chaos in mining operations across the country last year, the imperial court no longer refines silver near mines, but instead transports the ore elsewhere."
Pan Yun and Wang Cong saw the path that had been worn into the ground and exclaimed, "Thank you for your hard work."
They should at least fix the road.
Pu Min looked at them and calmly asked, "What brings you two to infiltrate the deep mountains with such difficulty?"
Pu Min had just come out of the mining area and received his dinner. Feeling depressed, he deliberately found a secluded spot to squat down and eat by himself, trying to process his feelings. He didn't expect that as soon as he squatted down on a rock, Pan Yun and Wang Cong would appear before him, looking so beautiful.
Pu Min immediately pinched the sturdy gray steamed bun in her hand in half.
The miners in this mine are all criminals who have committed crimes. To prevent the criminals from escaping, the mine is surrounded by thorns and guarded by people. How did they get in?
The thought flashed through her mind, but Pu Min thought of their abilities and her heart settled down. Oh well, they were like fish in water on the sea, what was there to be afraid of in the mountains?
Pu Min gripped the steamed bun in her hand tightly, her face tense, and said, "You can leave now, I won't tell anyone."
"What are you talking about? About you taking the blame for Pu Si?" Pan Yun said, "We're not asking you about that."
Pu Min frowned. Besides this, what other value did he have?
Pan Yun said, "Do you know that Pu Si is now working for the royal family?"
Pu Min remained silent; he didn't know, and he wasn't interested.
Pan Jun looked at his expression and smiled slightly: "Then do you know that Mrs. Wu's condition has worsened, and Pu Yue's condition has not improved either?"
Pu Min's eyes widened instantly: "What did you say?"
Wang Cong then handed him the prescription that Miao and Mo had written down: "This is the prescription that Mrs. Wu revised over the years, do you still remember it?"
Pu Min reached out and took it. He personally went to the pharmacy to get all the medicine for the family, so of course he remembered.
He gripped the prescription tightly in his hand and asked, "Is there a problem with this prescription?"
Wang Cong: "Mrs. Wu is weak and ill. The previous prescription, while not curing her completely, could at least maintain her condition and provide some nourishment, albeit slowly. The revised prescription, however, would over-nourish her, which is like trying to control a river. It's better to dredge than to block. This prescription, however, blocks the lesion but doesn't kill it. If this continues..."
Pu Min's face grew increasingly pale, and Wang Cong lowered his voice, saying, "She's still using this prescription, and her body is already at its limit. If we don't help her recover, I'm afraid she won't live much longer."
Pu Min looked up and stared at the two of them. After a long while, he asked in a hoarse voice, "What do you want?"
Pan Yun: "I want you to be used by me."
Pu Min: "What can I, an exiled criminal, do for you? Even if you ask me to recant my testimony, there is no evidence. It is almost impossible for you to bring down Pu Si. You yourself said that he is working for the royal family."
Pan Yun: "I don't need you to bring down Pu Si, I just need you to restrain him and make the Pu family do what they should do."
Pu Min couldn't help but laugh out loud, raising her hands to show her: "Me? Restrain Pu Si? I'm a prisoner now, I can't even get out of this mountain!"
Pan Yun said, "I will let you out."
Pu Min's expression changed and he said, "If I escape from prison, it will definitely implicate my family. My mother and sister's health cannot withstand such an ordeal."
Pan Yun: "I will let you walk out openly and honestly."
Pu Min was slightly taken aback.
Wang Cong said, "My junior uncle is now the Imperial Advisor."
Pu Min stared at her blankly: "Imperial Preceptor?"
Pan Jun narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Do you know that the new emperor has ascended the throne?"
Pu Min's eyes were blank; clearly, he knew nothing.
Pan Yun glanced at the mine and expressed his understanding. These were prisoners exiled to labor camps, and the officers and soldiers in charge of them would not receive any news from the outside world unless they told them.
Pu Min quickly realized what was happening. His heart pounded, and he asked, "The Emperor, how could the Emperor be... He's so young, who is the new Emperor?"
“The late emperor personally led the expedition against the Oirat Mongols and died on the battlefield. The new emperor is the Prince of Cheng,” Pan Jun said. “Pusi surrendered to the late emperor. Although he is still working for the royal family after the late emperor’s death, he is not clean and has too many ulterior motives.”
Pu Min's mind raced, and her eyes sparkled.
He is not a fool.
The Pu family members are all business-savvy. Pu Min only wanted a stable working environment to take care of her mother and sister, so she used her connections to get a job in the local garrison and even specially transferred herself to guard the city gate.
Don't be fooled by the humble job and low social status of guarding the city gates. The work hours are stable, and apart from some discrimination within the government offices, he can wield considerable power outside of official circles.
He was merely using this identity to protect his own business.
Moreover, he obtained a lot of information while guarding the city gate. By observing the people coming and going every day, he managed his family's several plots of land and a general store very well, supporting a large family.
If it weren't for the ever-increasing medical expenses for his mother and sister, he wouldn't have quit his job guarding the city gate and returned to the Pu family to run errands for Pu Si.
Therefore, he is very smart.
Pan Yun only needed to say this much before he understood.
Rather than saying he listened to Pan Yun after he left, it would be more accurate to say he listened to the new emperor.
The latter is different from the former. The former may be treason, but the latter is loyalty to the emperor.
Without a second thought, Pu Min immediately knelt down and said, "This humble subject is willing to serve Your Majesty with his life."
Wang Cong was displeased and muttered, "It was clearly my junior uncle who saved you..."
Pan Yun stopped Wang Cong and said to Pu Min, "You just need to remember this sentence."
Pu Min quickly replied, "I am willing to give my life for the Imperial Preceptor."
“I don’t need you to die for me. I just need you to strengthen yourself and keep an eye on Pu Si.” Pan Jun glanced at the sky and said, “It’s getting late. Let’s leave now. You must keep this a secret. You will need at least two more months before you can leave.”
Pu Min anxiously said, "Master Pan, my mother..."
"I will have Miaohe and Tao Yanbai treat her; they can save her life."
Pu Min breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was still pounding. Even after Pan Yun left, he remained anxious.
Especially at night, the miners were exhausted and all fell asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow. Amidst the chorus of snores, Pu Min's anxiety was amplified. He felt some resentment towards Pu Si, who had promised to take care of his mother and sister. Why hadn't he kept his promise?
He didn't even blame him for taking the blame, as long as he treated his mother and sister well after he came in.
He even gave his mother the wrong prescription.
Pu Minxin felt as if she were on fire, and couldn't help but toss and turn.
Pan Yun and Wang Cong, who had left, returned to Quanzhou.
Two days later, when the Qintian Observatory predicted that the strong winds would make landfall, everything hanging on the streets last night was taken down and brought home, and anything that couldn't be taken was tied up and secured with ropes.
There was no one on the streets; everyone was hiding at home waiting.
In the morning, the sky was overcast, but there was no wind.
At noon, the dense clouds dispersed, revealing sunshine and calm winds.
In the afternoon, everyone couldn't resist going outside and peering up at the sky. Sunlight streamed through the white clouds, casting a golden glow on the sea.
Everyone shook their heads: "Could the Imperial Observatory have made a mistake? There doesn't seem to be a strong wind today."
"Who knows, I might have actually miscalculated. How could a mortal possibly predict the affairs of immortals?"
"Exactly, if they could predict everything, would they still be gods?"
Everyone shook their heads and sighed; some went out to pick vegetables, while others went to visit neighbors and chat.
As evening approached, the sunlight was suddenly blocked out, and the whole sky darkened. The banners that had been hung on the doors were unfurled, making a snapping sound, followed by the swaying of the trees and the rustling of their leaves.
The people who were squatting by the door denouncing the Imperial Observatory and wondering if they should go to the government office together tomorrow to demand an explanation and compensation exchanged glances. They immediately got up, put away the banner advertising customers, and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.
At 2:45 PM on the 28th day of the sixth month of the first year of the Jingtai reign, a strong wind made landfall. The wind started as a gentle breeze, which blew for less than half an hour before suddenly increasing in strength. The wind whipped up water from the sky and poured it down, hitting the ground, sweeping it against the trees, and splashing it onto the roofs...
The sky darkened instantly, and before noon, it was completely dark.
Prefect Lu stood inside the gate, pacing anxiously: "They're coming at night, how long will it take for the wind to pick up the supplies?"
The advisor said, "The Grand Preceptor said that the strong winds come and go quickly, but if the wind mass is large, it is estimated that there will be heavy rain for several days, and the strong winds will not stop. The disaster relief personnel will not be able to go out tonight, and we can only see how the situation is tomorrow."
"Stop talking! Close the door now! If you flood my house, I'll sweep you out and let you stay with the wind."
The prefect's wife shouted from afar, and Prefect Lu silently slammed the door shut with his staff. In the darkness, the two stared at each other, speechless.
Soon, the sound of trees being uprooted came from the air, window frames shook in the gale, and tiles were picked up and smashed to the ground. Exclamations and shouts came from not far away.
Prefect Lu was extremely worried, but he was powerless to do anything about it. If he went out at this moment, he would be swept away by the wind.
Even though he couldn't do anything, he was still anxious, pacing back and forth in the room.
Cao Jixiang, who lived in the backyard of the Maritime Trade Office, looked through the crack in the window at the rain curtain rolling up outside and the sycamore tree in the yard with its branches broken by the wind, and felt a pang of sadness in his heart.
"Natural disasters are beyond human control."
Pan Yun was also standing in front of the gate of the villa, watching the rain and the wind.
She stood at the doorway, but the wind and rain only reached her and did not touch her.
Wang Cong and the other three turned their chairs around and sat in a row in the main room behind her, leaning on the backs of their chairs to watch her.
Miaohe exclaimed in amazement, "Junior Uncle is truly amazing! When will I be as amazing as Junior Uncle?"
Tao Yanbai counted on his fingers and said, "If you practice diligently without stopping, it will take at least ten years."
Miaozhen: "All I see is Yuan energy flowing out. Junior Uncle is so extravagant, using Yuan energy like that."
Wang Cong hesitated for a moment before saying, "Perhaps it's to observe the strong winds and calculate data?"
Miaozhen pointed to the things hanging under the tree and eaves and said, "To measure wind speed, just look at these."
Pan Yun turned around and said, "The wind direction has changed, and it deviates from the results we obtained from observing the celestial phenomena. It will shift southward, heading towards Tingzhou Prefecture, and Ganzhou Prefecture will also be affected."
The four sat up straight and asked, "Then what should we do? The two governments haven't made any arrangements, have they?"
Pan Yun lowered his eyes and said, "With this wind force, even I can't fly. Besides, it's too late. I wonder if the two prefects had the foresight to make arrangements in advance."
As it turns out, the prefects of Tingzhou and Ganzhou were quite capable.
When the Imperial Astronomical Bureau predicted that the strong wind would make landfall in Quanzhou Prefecture, then turn north towards Jianning Prefecture, and eventually affect Yanping Prefecture, the prefect of Tingzhou Prefecture, which was near Yanping Prefecture, immediately followed up and notified all counties and villages to make preparations.
Upon meeting the prefect of Ganzhou Prefecture further south, he inquired about the duration of the lockdown in Quanzhou Prefecture and made some preparations accordingly.
So in the early hours of the morning, when the howling wind came from outside and grew stronger, both prefects immediately threw off their blankets, got up, and opened the windows, only to be met with a face full of wind and rain.
The two managed to close the window, both feeling incredibly fortunate that the people had been given advance notice.
Despite prior preparations, areas affected by the typhoon still suffered severe damage.
Some dilapidated houses collapsed instantly, countless thatched roofs were ripped off, torrential rain poured down, and the roads were flooded.
At this time, the rice in the field was in its full head stage after heading. When the strong wind passed by, countless rice plants fell over and were soaked in muddy water.
After the strong winds subsided, the rain and wind weakened. Lu Mingzhe, wearing a raincoat, walked along the edge of the fields, looking at the farmland that was mostly flooded, his heart aching: "My grain!"
The farmers cried even more bitterly than he did, but they didn't just stand there crying. Instead, they wailed loudly while carrying their hoes and rushing to the edge of the field to drain the water. They had to quickly prop up the fallen rice and tie it up, otherwise the rice ears would sprout.
The village head stood beside Lu Mingzhe and said, "The situation is much better than when the last strong wind came. The villagers were prepared and had opened up the ditches in advance and raised the field ridges. As long as the field ridges are dug open to release the water, the cleanup will be more than three times faster than last time."
Ganzhou, Tingzhou, and Yanping all suffered varying degrees of damage.
After the wind subsided, Pan Yun flew around in the rain to survey the disaster area. Once she had a clear understanding of the situation, she left Wang Cong and the others behind to continue their disaster relief efforts and flew back to the capital.
The capital was unaware of the strong winds that had made landfall in Quanzhou, and the news brought back by Pan Yun surprised the entire court.
Then, under the emperor's supervision, the Ministry of Revenue began to raise funds for disaster relief. After a thorough deliberation, the national treasury transported 200,000 taels of silver for disaster relief southward. Quanzhou Prefecture, which was the most severely affected by the disaster, received 80,000 taels, while the other three prefectures each received 40,000 taels. At the same time, relief grain was transported from Changsha Prefecture and Nanjing.
Pan Yun said, "There is still a month until the autumn harvest. For the people, the most important thing is this year's taxes."
Pan Yun said, "I humbly request Your Majesty to reduce or waive taxes in the disaster-stricken areas and grant a general amnesty, so as to pray for the well-being of the Ming Dynasty." (End of Chapter)