Daming: After self-explosive time travel, Lao Zhu's mentality collapsed

As soon as Zhu Yuanzhang finished speaking, there was a sound of hurried footsteps outside the hall.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! Something bad has happened!" A eunuch rushed in in a panic, not even bothering to salute, "There's a big fire in the capital, and it's about to spread to the palace!"

"What?" Zhu Yuanzhang was shocked and stood up suddenly. "Have you found out the cause of the fire? How many casualties are there?"

"The fire started in the residential area of ​​East Market, and it has been burning for more than an hour." The eunuch reported tremblingly, "Because the wind is too strong, the soldiers and civilians are trying their best to put out the fire, but the fire is too fierce."

Before he finished speaking, there were faint shouts and cries of the crowd in the distance, mixed with the faint rumbling sound of houses collapsing.

"This!" Zhu Yuanzhang was a little panicked for a moment. Although the capital city is large, it is densely populated and most of the houses are made of wood. Once the fire spreads, the consequences will be disastrous.

"Pass on my order, quickly mobilize all officers and soldiers, and put out the fire at all costs!" Zhu Yuanzhang made a prompt decision, "Also, immediately evacuate the people of East Market and place them in the open space outside the city. Make sure their lives are safe!"

"Yes!" The eunuch took the order and galloped away.

But could the fire be put out by simply mobilizing manpower? The court officials looked at each other, not knowing what to do for a moment.

At this critical moment, Chu Ze suddenly stood up.

"Your Majesty, I think it's difficult to put out this fire with human power alone." He said firmly, "How about this, I will lead a group of elite soldiers and use the new water hose to help put out the fire. Maybe it will have a miraculous effect!"

"A new type of water hose?" Zhu Yuanzhang was stunned, then suddenly realized, "Could it be the Western weapon you mentioned earlier?"

"That's right!" Chu Ze nodded. "This thing is connected to the water source, and can accurately spray a large amount of water to the fire scene. Compared with manual water transportation, it saves both time and effort. If it can be put into use in time, it will definitely turn the situation around!"

"Okay! I'll do as you say!" Zhu Yuanzhang made the final decision. "This matter is of great importance. I'll trouble you to personally supervise the battle. You must fulfill your mission!"

"Wei Chen accepts the order!"

Before he finished speaking, Chu Ze had already mounted his horse and led a group of a hundred elite soldiers to rush towards the fire scene.

At this time, the fire in East City was raging. The fire started from a private house and quickly spread to most of the block. Thick smoke billowed, flames shot up to the sky, and the shouts of people putting out the fire and the roar of houses collapsing were endless.

"Quick! Hand over the bucket!"

"You guys, go get some water from the well on the next street!"

"No! This place is surrounded by fire, there is no way to rush in!"

The civilians and soldiers were in a panic, but the fire was too fierce and they were blocked everywhere. For a time, the scene was very chaotic.

"Get out of the way! Let us do it!"

At this moment, a loud voice suddenly sounded. A group of cavalry rushed in like a flash of lightning. The leader was Chu Ze!

Following closely behind were a dozen horse-drawn carriages filled with unknown equipment.

"Connect the hose to the nearby water source and prepare to discharge water!" Chu Ze jumped off his horse and gave orders quickly. As soon as he finished speaking, the elite soldiers behind him quickly opened the carriage and carried out huge iron containers. Then, they connected thick water pipes to the containers one by one and connected them to nearby lakes and wells.

"Okay! Everything is ready!" Chu Ze looked around and shouted, "Prepare the hoses, open the gates and release the water!"

With a "boom" and accompanied by the roar of a huge water pump, thick columns of water shot up into the sky, like a dragon emerging from the sea, rushing straight into the center of the most violent flames!
"Wow!" "So powerful!" The onlookers all exclaimed. Although everyone did not understand these strange devices, being able to witness their power with their own eyes was already a great shock!
Dense water curtains continued to spray, gradually forming barriers above the fire. Although the fire was still burning fiercely, the spread of the fire was significantly slowed down by the water flow.

"Amazing! It actually works!" Even the officers and soldiers who came to put out the fire were stunned.

Chu Ze was not overwhelmed by the results in front of him. He inspected back and forth and soon found that there were blind spots that these water hoses could not cover.

"Li Changji, lead your men to rush into the left alley with a water hose!" He immediately ordered, "Li Si, lead your men to encircle from the right and cut off the path where the fire spreads!"

"Yes!" The two men took the order and the soldiers under their command immediately dispersed.

In a short time, with the perfect coordination of manpower and machinery, the fires in all directions were gradually brought under control. The area where the fire was soaring into the sky became smaller and smaller, and the scope of the thick smoke was also significantly narrowed.

A desperate fight began. Chu Ze rode back and forth on horseback to command the troops, while Li Changji, Li Si and other close associates personally went to the fire scene and led the soldiers to race against the fire.

"Let's try again! I don't think this fire can stop us!" Li Changji tightly gripped the water gun and encouraged the soldiers behind him.

"Okay!" "Follow me!" The soldiers were full of fighting spirit.

In the blink of an eye, the sun had gradually sunk into the west. With the last rays of sunset, the fire was finally put out.

The charred remains of houses and the scattered ashes all tell of the horror of the fire. Fortunately, after desperate efforts to put out the fire, no greater casualties or losses were caused.

"Thank God, the fire is finally out!" "Thanks to Prince Chu's magical weapon! Otherwise, the belongings of us common people would have been burned to ashes." The people who survived the disaster were so excited that their eyes were filled with tears.

The news soon reached the palace. Zhu Yuanzhang breathed a sigh of relief when he learned that the fire had been put out and the people had been rescued.

"Minister Chu is really foresighted! If he hadn't brought this powerful Western weapon, I'm afraid this fire would have burned to who knows when and where." Zhu Yuanzhang sighed sincerely.

"Your Majesty was wise. He appointed Lord Chu to promote Western learning among the people." The eunuchs around him also agreed. "Western learning has saved our country. It shows that your majesty's decision was wise!"

As they were talking, Chu Ze and the others had already rushed back, covered in dust and soot.

"Your Majesty, I have led the troops to put out the fire, and all the people in the East Market have been rescued." Chu Ze bowed and reported, "But many houses and streets are seriously damaged. Please allocate funds for repairs."

"Thank you for your hard work, my dear minister." Zhu Yuanzhang nodded with a smile, "The people will live in peace and rebuild their homes. This money will be paid from the national treasury, don't worry about it."

"As for those magical fire-fighting tools, we need to manufacture more of them in the future!" Zhu Yuanzhang added, "Let the Ministry of Industry make copies as soon as possible and distribute them to various places. Just in case of emergency!"

"I will obey the imperial edict." Chu Ze received the order and hurriedly ordered the officials around him to prepare the drawings. (End of this chapter)