Chapter 99: Inseparable in Life and Death

  PS: I took a day off to recover from my cold and it's getting better, but today's condition is still not great. However, I'm still releasing the next chapter to thank those who voted for me during this period. After crying tears of gratitude, I've decided that tomorrow I'll use chapters 99 and 100 (which is also the final chapter of volume 1) as a thank you gift. On December 2nd, I'll officially start working on volume 2. Sincere thanks to all friends who have been supporting me all along, hoping my runny nose won't affect your mood, and wishing everyone good health, happiness, and joy.

  "I could not have foreseen the situation would be so bad, but what I do believe is that we will do our best, and I believe all people will come together to get through this unprecedented century disaster..."

  Many people do not know that Haiyuan has an ancient city of Xi'an, a long-standing castle that has experienced thousands of years of historical wind and rain. It witnessed the brilliant prosperity and decline of China's ancient history, but it could not predict its own catastrophic disaster in the century. However, its beautiful past is still worth recalling.

  In the history of Western Xia, there was an ancient city called Nandu, which is now Xianzhou, or the northwest part of Haiyuan County in Zhongwei City, Gansu Province. This place where the queen who gave birth to the emperor of Western Xia and the first prime minister of Haiyuan were born was built in 1099 AD. After the Song Dynasty army occupied this land, they expanded the construction of the city wall. The Western Xia regime increased the scale of construction after taking over this land. The ancient city wall is nearly a thousand meters long on each side and has a circumference of 4.6 kilometers, with an 8-meter-high rammed earth wall.

  He chanted the poem "Before the world's worries, worry; after the world's joys, joy" and Fan Zhongyan had always had a dream of pacifying Western Xia. He commanded the elite troops of the Song Dynasty to launch a tug-of-war against Western Xia in Yuanzhou and Haiyuan, but the Western Xia army relied on the solid backing of Xi'an Prefecture and used a water battle to defeat Fan Zhongyan's beautiful dream, causing his fate to take a downturn from then on. The final song "Four sides of the border sound together, a thousand peaks, long smoke falls, solitary city closes" was born out of this defeat.

  In 220 BC, Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of roads across the country. The roads built were required to be 50 paces wide, or about 83.3 meters, with three trees planted every 10 meters, and a thick layer of gravel on the outside, hidden with golden nails, and lined with green pine trees. As a famous historical city, Xi'an was naturally an important stop along this major road. The ancient road in Haiyuan was expanded during the Han Dynasty to become a major highway for chariots and horses, allowing tens of thousands of cavalrymen and infantrymen, as well as thousands of military vehicles to pass through unimpeded. Countless famous people have traveled on this major road, including the relay station where Emperor Wu of Han received envoys from the Xiongnu state with a sword in hand, the temporary palace of Genghis Khan's western expedition, and the summer resort of Li Yuanhao, king of Western Xia - the Tian Du Shan mountain villa... In short, whether heading west out of Yangguan or east into Chang'an, one cannot leave behind this major road in Haiyuan.

  The Silk Road continued from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, and the eastern section of the Silk Road developed into three lines: south, middle, and north. The southern line runs along the Wei River basin, the central line crosses the Liupan Mountains to Lanzhou and enters the Hexi Corridor, and the northern line crosses the Liupan Mountains to Guyuan Sanying, then divides into two roads, passing through Pingxia City to Shimen Pass, exiting Haiyuan Hongyang to the west. Another road passes through the Xiaoheguan Ancient Road of Hanxiakou to the west, which is a flat and smooth passage from Xi'an to Liangzhou to the Western Regions.

  Such a strategic location is naturally highly valued, Gan Salt Pool is the largest military horse breeding base of the Western Xia Dynasty, and Xi'an Prefecture is also the largest granary of the Western Xia Dynasty. The Western Xia Dynasty borrowed the chariot road and set up the military command center in Xi'an Prefecture. It is backed by Tian Du Mountain, facing Yuanzi River, and can be said to be easy to defend.

  "Ten thousand hectares of fields are barren, the harvest is gone, and the dust rises with a mournful wind. The fishermen and woodcutters do not reach the mountain streams, and the chickens and dogs are unheard in the empty alleys. Who would have thought that the willows were not as green as before, and the flowers were the red of old times? When can we see again the prosperous gathering, and the joyful sound of the city gates?

  Zhu Meixi's "Passing through Xi'an Prefecture" bears witness to the prosperity and decline of Xi'an Prefecture during the Ming dynasty. In fact, the wars between Mongolia and Western Xia had already dealt a devastating blow to Xi'an Prefecture, and even though the later Yuan dynasty's Yu Wang built his capital here, he was unable to pull this city out of its fate of decline."

  As the rolling wheels of history continue to crush yesterday's past and welcome new days, Xi'an, as an ancient historical state capital, has lost its strategic significance and value as a military stronghold, but it has not fallen behind in economic development and population growth. Haiyuan is a thriving agricultural city, where people live and work happily in the heavenly days, welcoming one sunrise after another on this ancient postal road.

  Time slips away quietly, years are like arrows, although the direction of history's progress has changed, the unceasing footsteps of history have still led this city to the "end of life", important events that arrived late in the day have undergone changes, yet are still being staged with great cruelty.

  December 15, 1922, at 8:05:53 pm, a magnitude 8.5 earthquake occurred in Haiyuan County, Gansu Province, China, with the epicenter located at 36.7° north latitude and 105.7° east longitude, and the focal depth was 17 kilometers. The extremely affected areas included Guyuan, Longde, Xiji, Jingyuan, Jingtai and other counties, covering an area of 20,000 square kilometers, with strong tremors felt in over ten provinces and cities in China.

  A marble rolls out with a slight sound, the wooden board tilts, and the pendulum hanging above the core of the marble moves, the marble falls into the disk below, making a crisp noise...... The ancient earthquake test is so simple, but when the real earthquake comes, how many people are willing to listen to that crisp sound.

  After Haiyuan was fortified in the Northern Song Dynasty, its geographical location showed an advantage in agriculture, and it became a granary of Western Xia and the largest camel forage base in Asia. The rich agricultural and pastoral areas had significant military importance, even in the Republic of China period, Haiyuan was still a densely populated county, but when the strong earthquake came, more people hoped that this place would not be desolate and uninhabited.

  A powerful earthquake released unprecedented crazy energy, and the intense shaking caused nearly a hundred seismic stations in different countries around the world to record this earthquake, which also recorded the seismic wave that circled the Earth's surface twice. The magnitude of 8.5 made this earthquake an instant "Global Great Earthquake".

  "The mountain has gone, the lights have gone out, and in the sandstorm that blocks out the sky, there is a pervasive smell of disaster..."

  "From heaven to hell is just one step!"

  The earth shook violently, and the houses embedded in the ground were like sailboats in a stormy sea, tossing about violently. In this intense shaking, these earthen structures quickly began to collapse one after another. The streets, which were originally empty on this cold winter night, had streetlights that flickered constantly before eventually going out. Pedestrians who had fallen to the ground cried out as they tried to get up but couldn't stand steadily. The utility poles and trees on both sides of the street shook uncontrollably before crashing down, followed by sparks flying everywhere, and then there was only silence. The earth was filled with a deafening roar, like the sound of a train passing through a tunnel, a mournful howl that pierced the darkness of the night, which was no longer as quiet as it had been on ordinary days.

  As the crumbling houses collapsed, tiles fell off and walls caved in. The ground began to crack, as if it was going to swallow everything. People ran out of their homes one by one, wearing thin clothes and screaming in panic. The collapsing houses continued to bury people under heavy beams and falling roof tiles that became deadly flying swords. On the cold streets, groups of people who had escaped gathered together, while the collapsed houses continued to claim lives from those still asleep. The biting cold made it hard for the lucky survivors to bear, and they could only crawl on the ground, too afraid to stand up amidst the intense shaking.

  "For crying out loud, heaven, are you trying to make it impossible for people to live?..."

  "Oh no... my mom?" The people who escaped kept shouting the names of their loved ones, but such voices were useless in the midst of the deafening collapse. Those who tried to rush back into the house quickly disappeared into the rubble, and the mournful cries pierced the hearts of everyone trying to take action. The destructive power of nature, apart from creating heartbreaking wails and earth-shattering sorrow, reduced the once-thriving streets to nothingness, as blood and tears splattered everywhere amidst the swirling yellow sand.

  "Listen to the teacher, don't squeeze..."

  Guyuan, Jingyuan and Tongwei counties are relatively small, with only one basic school in each county. Even in Haiyuan County, which is slightly larger, there are only two schools. It was not yet the winter break, so 8 o'clock was just the time for evening self-study. In addition, all schools in Gansu Province have a strange rule that at this time, teachers and students must go to the auditorium near the playground for self-study. Each auditorium has two glass doors on either side that open and close at regular times, with a large emergency sliding door at the back. Next to each glass door is a large hammer, and the emergency sliding door can be opened by pressing the red button next to it.

  A strange regulation requires that in the event of an emergency, the teacher on duty during self-study time must immediately open the door and let students rush to the football field on the school's sports ground as soon as possible. This reasoning is based on the consideration that students in these areas need more time to review their lessons, so even though it's just elementary school, they still need to study hard from 8:00 to 9:15 at night. The Ministry of Education's regulation is undoubtedly afraid that something unexpected will happen during this period. However, the richer one's imagination, the more difficult it is to imagine the consequences. Although all students were safe in the small-scale school building complex built at a high price like a skyscraper, the uniform steel-concrete structure flat houses could withstand the 8.5-magnitude earthquake for a short time, allowing students to escape. However, other places became unimaginable scenes of devastation.

  "Has the distress telegram been sent?"

  In the wireless communication duty room of Haiyuan County, staff who had been on night shift for hundreds of times just took over and were immediately hit by a violent earthquake. After sending out two earthquake telegrams in a hurry, the security guard rushed into the duty room to help the chief and deputy communicators move the wireless transmitter to the government's open space.

  In the dark of night, the earth's shaking had stopped, leaving only the mournful moans and cries for help from survivors. The occasional flashes of light came from torches or flashlights lit by people searching for survivors, or fires lit by those huddled together for warmth. People who had escaped in their sleep were mostly dressed in single layers, shivering with cold, and could only warm themselves by gathering together. Some had already begun to kneel down and wail, while others muttered to themselves, and still, others rummaged through the rubble, shouting out, hoping to hear some response, no matter how faint, even a moan of pain, just to know that their loved ones trapped under the collapsed houses were still alive.

  "Reality is cruel, the more advanced human imagination is, the more unbearable the consequences are!" Just as Zhang Yu was about to end a meeting and go back to rest, he was quickly summoned to Zhang Yusheng's office, browsing through a series of disaster reports. Zhang Yu said: "We have done our best, we have thought of everything we can do, but Heaven still doesn't let people live in peace... I hope it will be merciful..."

  "In ten minutes, I will make a nationwide broadcast speech. At the same time, a brief summary of my speech will be translated into telegrams and released to the whole world. It is now in the middle of the night, and we still do not know what the situation is like in the disaster area. However, from the conversation with the Seismological Bureau just now, it can be confirmed that this earthquake is a magnitude 8.5 major earthquake. The destructive power of such a high-intensity earthquake is unimaginable. I hope you two don't have any illusions in your hearts. If heaven is reliable, even female pigs will climb trees!"

  After finishing, Zhang Yu-sheng quickly took out the long-sealed plan file, unsealed it and handed over the part that Zhang Yu needed to be responsible for, and added: "This time, I hope the army will perform well. Many people at home also regard the People's Army as a direct descendant of the warlord, I want them to know that the People's Army is a true army for the people, not the dog shit in their eyes, our People's Government is not a group of farmers playing with mud on the western border!"

  After getting his own "action plan", Zhang Yu quickly returned to the People's Armed Forces Department, and he quickly organized an emergency meeting in his military uniform. The 100,000 excellent new recruits who had already completed their three-month training period by August were divided into six main forces, and the original instructional brigade was also expanded into the Fourth Reserve Division of the Army. Of course, with their combat effectiveness and the special location of Liuzhou, their capabilities are not inferior to those of the six major main forces. However, it's not just for fun that so many new recruits were recruited, but there are more important things to do. Just as the leaders of all ten divisions gathered in Liuzhou to discuss important matters, Haiyuan began to shake.

  "That's the situation, and I hope that at this critical moment, no one will let me down!" At the emergency meeting, Zhang Yu briefly introduced the situation of the super-large earthquake in Haiyuan. As Zhang Yu also served as the commander of the land and air forces, the attendees included important figures such as the ten major generals of the land army and Navy Commander Chen Shaokuan. After glancing around at everyone, he continued: "I declare that from this moment on, the People's Military Land and Air Forces will enter a state of emergency, and I order!"

  As soon as Zhang Yu's last two words came out of his mouth, all the people attending the meeting stood up at once to listen to orders. "Order the Second Army and Shaanxi Third Division to assemble forces and organize a strike force, set off immediately to the disaster area. At the same time, mobilize medical personnel and materials, prepare rescue equipment, and mobilize officers and soldiers to organize follow-up reinforcement forces. All garrisons, except for leaving behind necessary combat personnel, must advance to the disaster area by dawn tomorrow at the latest!"

  "Report to the commander, our division will not rest tonight regardless of whether the road is clear or not. We will organize troops and supplies immediately and head to the disaster area even if we have to crawl!" The second division's Zhuang Jiaming and the third division's Dai Chengyong quickly expressed their stance. After receiving Zhang Yu's order, they left the conference room and rushed to the telecommunications department on the floor. They wanted to send Zhang Yu's instructions and their own orders back to the troops as soon as possible, so that the deputy division commanders and political commissars who stayed behind could organize and arrange the corresponding work.

  "Reserve forces of the First, Second and Third Divisions, although you do not have the task of organizing assault operations, you must also make preparations to go and provide disaster relief. I give you three divisions 4 hours' time, you must prepare the necessary materials and equipment, organize rescue forces and be ready to take off at any time to rush to the disaster area for rescue."

  While the People's Military was busy with various tasks, the autonomous government was also in a flurry of activity. Government personnel who had been shaken awake by the aftershocks and hadn't even had time to figure out what was happening with their families were summoned away by phone calls one after another. Tonight, the government will work through the night. The reason is simple - the Haiyuan earthquake.

  "It is now 8:25, and with a heavy heart I am reporting to all citizens in front of the radio that just twenty minutes ago, an earthquake of magnitude 8.5 occurred in Haiyuan County, Gansu Province, Ningxia Autonomous Region. I believe the intense shock has already been felt by all people in the autonomous region, and life at this moment seems fragile yet precious. I have to announce..."

  "It is announced that from this moment on, the People's Autonomous Government and the three armies of the People's Military have entered a state of emergency. All relevant departments will enter a 24-hour uninterrupted work period. The government and military will be mobilized... We will do our utmost to rescue the earthquake-stricken areas. In short, we will not abandon them until death, we will never give up!"

  Just after finishing the broadcast speech, Zhang Yu-sheng quickly received several long telegrams from the disaster area. Although they were only over a hundred words each, at this critical moment, they were already considered precious long articles. The telegrams sent by various counties in the disaster area emphasized that a strong earthquake had occurred and revealed that the government departments of the region had activated emergency response plans and were taking action according to plan. Although the warehouses were damaged, supplies were still available. After taking corresponding protective measures, they were organizing people to use stored materials for self-rescue. However, as time passed, the disaster area would lack rescue forces and supplies would be depleted... In short, the implicit meaning was a request for external aid to launch relief efforts as soon as possible for these disaster areas that had been isolated by landslides and mountain collapses.

  "The situation at Haiyuan Airport is not very bad, the earthquake did not cause serious damage to the runway. The airport has already activated its backup power and communication equipment, organized personnel to inspect and repair the airport, and will issue a report on whether it can be opened for navigation around 9 o'clock. Of course, the steel-concrete warehouse has also been put into use, and some technical personnel at the airport have started setting up temporary power lines for various areas of Haiyuan County to provide necessary lighting for nighttime rescue efforts."

  "Gansu Education Department's statistical telegram reported that according to the emergency reports from each school, all schools in the province had zero casualties. The students and teachers of Haiyuan and Guyuan disaster areas gathered on the football field as per their emergency drill procedures, and they are currently in good condition. The stored tents, food, and water at the schools are also sufficient..."

  "The people's governments of Haiyuan, Guyuan and Jingyuan counties have sent back telegrams again, saying that small-scale aftershocks are still occurring in the disaster area. Also, the emergency meeting of the Ministry of Health can be convened now, all important personnel are present, just waiting for you to go and convene the meeting. In addition, the People's Military has also reported... The brightly lit General Affairs Building is filled with busy figures, an 8.5-magnitude earthquake may seem insignificant in distant Beijing, but it is undoubtedly a top priority for the people's government, as both the government and the military have promised that the entire autonomous region will stand together with the disaster area through thick and thin."

  PS: Finally, I'd like to say that the US's performance in the Yellow Sea over the past two days has really made me unhappy. What do you guys think?