Allure of a Country Maiden-Chapter 948 - 946_1

The spread of rumours was fast. In less than a day, fishermen near the southern border were discussing the possible occurrence of an earthquake.

Following Shangguan Xuanyi’s advice, they began to observe their surroundings.

Interestingly enough, a woman who, as usual, was fetching water from the well at midday, discovered that her well water was inexplicably bubbling. Frightened, she screamed and ran out to call her neighbours. Many neighbours who heard the noise came to see what was happening.

This incident spread rapidly.

Others saw groups of bees and wasps flying furiously south. Some even saw snakes frozen to death crawling out of their holes in the ground.

Frantic catfish, abnormal well water, migrating bee swarms, winter snakes emerging - everyone was now more convinced that an earthquake was imminent!

Fear started to set in. Some people dared not stay in their houses even when there was no imminent danger. Some even set up a stove outside and dared not cook in their kitchens.

Seeing that the time had come, Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er went to the county magistrate and asked the government to evacuate all the people living along the coast to a relatively safe open space. Shangguan Xuanyi had already had a temporary refuge set up there.

Soldiers began beating gongs and drums, urging everyone to pack up and leave for safety, to avoid the earthquake.

"Everyone must bring clothes, quilts, and food, and gather at the village entrance as soon as possible! The county magistrate will take you to a safe place to avoid the earthquake for about a month! Take good care of the old and the children. No one is allowed to stay behind!" freewёbnoνel.com

The fishermen in the several villages did not object. Everyone packed up their belongings, took what they could, and gathered at the village head.

The gathering was swift. In less than an hour, everyone had assembled!

After all, no one knew when the earthquake would strike. Seeing how many animals were frantically running away, why wouldn’t they be quick? Did they really want to stay here and wait for death?

The village chief personally took a headcount, and the evacuation team set off.

The villagers didn’t walk away. They ran. Almost everyone ran as fast as they could.

"Everyone slow down, don’t rush!" Officials constantly shouted to ensure safety and avoid collision.

The frantic escape of the people confirmed yet again that all animals have the instinct to seek benefit and avoid harm. Even humans, when faced with an unknown disaster, feel fear.

This seismic activity would bring not only an earthquake but also a huge tsunami and several days of stormy weather. Aftereffects could still be felt for up to a month!

This meant that these fishermen would need to spend approximately a month in the refuge.

News of the commotion in Minze Country reached the nearby Nangong Country. However, they did not believe in such rumors at all.

Xiao’er wrote a letter to Shangguan Wanru, alerting her that these signs were precursors to an earthquake. As for whether or not the people of Nangong would be informed to evacuate, that was beyond Xiao’er’s control!

The Nangong Emperor disbelieved this. He thought Minze was trying to seize their coastal islands by using the situation to their advantage.

Of course, not everyone was a skeptic. Some people living by the sea were fearful. They packed their belongings and ran to relatives in the inland for refuge. They were lucky enough to avoid disaster!

Ever since Shangguan Xuanyi had dispatched people to capture Wanli Shitang, the people of Japan regretted their loss. The place was a critical route to reach Nangong and Minze. Now that Minze had stationed their people there, any future surprise attacks on these countries would be difficult and would require a big detour across the sea. Therefore, Japan had been secretly monitoring the situation at Wanli Shitang, waiting for an opportunity to attack. However, to Japan’s surprise, they didn’t have to attack. Minze’s troops had withdrawn! The Japanese swiftly occupied Wanli Shitang!

Not only Japan, but Nangong also regretted - they had lost Zhan’er Island and now Wanli Shitang had been occupied by Minze. Gong Qinghua quickly realized the harm this three-point line disjointed setup had on Nangong, and the significant advantage it bestowed on Minze.

He informed the Nangong Emperor of his analysis, who had already sent people to monitor the situation. He too wanted to seize the opportunity to reclaim Wanli Shitang and Zhan’er Island.

Therefore, when Minze withdrew all its troops from Zhan’er Island and Wanli Shitang, leaving only a flag fluttering in the wind, the generals of the two countries quickly took action. The Nangong occupied Zhan’er Island first and Japan occupied Wanli Shitang first. But as Nangong had hoped to regain Wanli Shitang, the two nations’ soldiers began to fight!

Xiao’er was unaware of all these affairs because within a radius of 30 miles from Wanli Shitang, there were no Minze soldiers or people!

One evening, the seawater suddenly retreated rapidly!

The sea seemed to have been drained instantly.

Many fish were exposed on the beach, jumping around.

The occurrence lasted for about 15 minutes, then the ground shook and the towering waves rushed toward the shore at a lightning pace. The houses on the coast were instantly destroyed by the waves.

The 100-meter-high waves, one after another, carried the force to destroy everything, roaring.

In an instant, the soldiers on Wanli Shitang and Zhan’er Island were swept away by waves, leaving no trace behind. They didn’t even have time to react before they were swallowed by the sea!

Shangguan Xuanyi and Xiao’er both stayed in the refuge to help.

With Shangguan Xuanyi staying at the shelter, other officials, including county magistrates, didn’t dare to leave either.

Xiao’er had set a time and asked the officials to beat gongs and drums in the city 15 minutes before the earthquake to remind the people to leave their houses and stand in the open to brace for the coming earthquake.

Each strike of the gong and drum echoed more fear into the people’s hearts. Their chickens and geese, which they kept at home, tried frantically to jump out of their cages. When people heard the officials’ warning, they hurriedly ran out and stood in the open.

Xiao’er silently counted down to Shangguan Xuanyi: "Ten, nine ... three, two, one!"

As soon as Xiao’er’s words had fallen, the ground shook.

At this moment, the people were having dinner. Initially, they thought the trembling of the ground was just their imagination, but then someone shouted, "Earthquake!"

Everyone was startled and quickly stood up, huddling together as a family.

Horror was written all over their faces: "It’s really an earthquake!"

"Oh my God, it’s really an earthquake!"

"Fortunately, we believed in the warning. Otherwise, we would still be having dinner in our houses. We wouldn’t have had the time to run when the earthquake came!"

The ground shook more violently, but fortunately, everyone was standing in the open, huddled together, so they were relatively safe.