The Presidential Palace, Executive Yuan, Military Commission and other departments are now equipped with telegraph machines. This telegraph machine was only successfully developed in August. Its structural principle was also proposed by Wan Lei not long ago. Don’t underestimate this telegraph machine, which is made of battery packs. , a telegraph composed of rough components such as electromagnetic sensors, switches and copper wires, it can transmit messages thousands of miles away.
After three months of intense construction, special wires for telegraphs were successively installed in Beiping, Liaodong, Shandong, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi and other provinces. The connections between the provinces and the capital were even closer. Completed, this is why Wan Lei can promptly learn about the occurrence of disasters and strange phenomena in various places.
When disasters occurred in Beiping and Shandong, Wan Lei certainly would not sit idly by and immediately ordered Beiping and Shandong to enter a state of disaster preparedness, impose a curfew at night, and evacuate people living in towns to open areas, while the people were busy When leaving home, a disaster quietly struck.
The location is in Pingyuan County, northwest of Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province, about dozens of kilometers away from Licheng, the seat of Jinan Prefecture. A muffled sound spread throughout the countryside, and then, the earth began to tremble violently, and the ground seemed to be shaken by a handful. The huge ghost ax split open, and several deep trenches with a width of several feet appeared in an instant. The walls and houses of Pingyuan County and surrounding villages seemed to have been crushed by a huge gravel machine, and suddenly turned into piles of rubble. And those who didn't have time to escape were trapped in the rubble.
It was tragic, extremely tragic. In just a few minutes, a historic city was turned into ruins. Those who were lucky enough to escape saw this miserable situation and heard helpless cries and heart-rending wails. It resounded throughout the countryside, and more people were frightened and fainted.
After the first round of severe earthquakes, there were several aftershocks of different sizes. When people in the wild saw the aftershocks coming, they were so frightened that they ran in all directions. They couldn't even spell it out, as if the end was not coming.
Hundreds of kilometers away in the city of Peiping, Wan Lei was discussing earthquake relief options with dignitaries from the Executive Yuan and the Military Commission at an evacuation site. Suddenly, he felt the chair beneath him shake violently. He subconsciously leaned over the table. He squatted down and put his head in his hands, while other officials followed suit and got under the table one after another.
In fact, while the Ministry of Science and Education of the Republic of China is popularizing primary and secondary education, it is also popularizing the knowledge of disaster prevention and reduction. Among them, how to escape from an earthquake is also one of the common sense taught to students. As long as they have taken escape classes Everyone knows that when an earthquake suddenly strikes, the stupidest way is to run around. The best way is to lean over, cover up, and hold on tightly.
After more than ten times of violent shaking, the ground finally returned to calm. As soon as Wan Lei got out of the table, he received an emergency report from Jingzhong Guard: There was an earthquake in Pingyuan County, Jinan Prefecture, Shandong Province, with an estimated magnitude of eight.
An earthquake of such intensity is undoubtedly a heavy blow to an emerging country. The harm it causes is not only how many people were killed and injured, how much property was lost, but more importantly, it tests a government's ability to govern, because a If not handled properly, it will cause large-scale social unrest.
You must know that the Republic of China has just been established, and citizen education has just been launched in many places. Many people are still in a state of ignorance. They do not regard earthquakes as natural phenomena, but regard them as "God's punishment". According to the theory of divine connection, this kind of "God's punishment" is generally regarded as punishing the "unjust" government.
Therefore, after major natural disasters occurred in various dynasties in the past, everyone from the monarch to the subjects had to carry out self-examination and self-examination, and even the emperor issued an edict to punish himself. Of course, these self-examination and self-examination activities did not help the people in the disaster area at all. It's just a political show.
Wan Lei is different from those hypocritical kings. He knows that it is useless to issue orders to punish others now. The key is disaster relief. And this time the earthquake occurred, although it is a crisis, it can also be turned into an opportunity. He can definitely take this opportunity. Establishing the image of the Republic of China for the people also allowed the Chongdao sect to perform its humanitarian assistance function, making it more popular and solidifying its reputation as a state religion.
"Give me the order to have Chongdaotang organize a rescue team immediately and have the railway bureau prepare several special trains to depart within an hour to the disaster area for disaster relief." Wan Lei gave the order and said to Tie Xuan beside him: "Mr. Tie, as a general Prime Minister, disaster relief needs to be directed on site in person. Now hand over the government affairs, rush to the train station before twelve o'clock, and take the train with me to the disaster area to appease the people!"
"Wouldn't the Presidential Office first issue a national proclamation on self-examination for the whole country?" Tie Xuan asked in a low voice.
"The most important thing now is disaster relief. Let the publishing house draft an "Earthquake Relief Initiative" and call on people with lofty ideals from all over the world to join disaster relief teams and go to the disaster areas for disaster relief. At the same time, we call on wealthy people from all over the world to donate money and materials to the disaster areas. Now that winter is coming, the disaster areas What is most needed are tents and quilts. Let the Military Supplies Department take inventory of the warehouse and try to send these cold-proof materials to the disaster area!"
Wan Lei paused and then said: "By the way, the proposal should add 'when one party is in trouble, all parties will support it, neighbors will help each other, and we will sympathize with each other in times of adversity'. Our Republic of China is different from other dynasties in the past. We will not fight to the death." It also encourages citizens to establish a national spirit of unity, mutual assistance and sharing weal and woe!"
"Okay, my subordinates will go down immediately to make arrangements. In the next few days, we will issue a special earthquake relief issue to report on the disaster relief process in real time." Liu Jing, Minister of Science and Education, said.
"By the way, go and invite Master Zhang here right away. This time we need to mobilize the power of Taoism for disaster relief." As soon as Wan Lei finished speaking, the sloppy Taoist priest had already arrived. As soon as he saw Wan Lei, he said: "There has been an earthquake in the evening. The early warning has started, and our teacher has prepared for disaster relief. Now the personnel are here and ready to go!"
"Don't worry, wait until the rescue supplies are loaded on the train and then set off uniformly. You can mobilize again when you go back and try to bring more volunteers, especially those who know first aid. In addition, try to bring as many rescue equipment as possible. We must try our best. We will do our best to rescue those buried in the rubble!"
While Wan Lei was nervously arranging disaster relief matters, at the Peking Railway Station, bags of military supplies were taken out from the warehouse and piled on the train. Military doctors mobilized from major military hospitals in Peiping also boarded the train carrying first aid kits. , there were even some young volunteers who went to the disaster area voluntarily, and they all looked solemn in the face of the disaster.
At eleven o'clock at night, Wan Lei appeared at the train station with hundreds of elite guards. An emergency train loaded with more than a dozen carriages slowly started. The first emergency relief operation of the Republic of China began in the darkness.