sjar Chapter 605 Inquire about the situation
Chapter 605 Inquire about the situation
As soon as the words were spoken, everyone knelt down with horror on their faces.
No one dared to look up.
Afraid of getting into trouble.
"Your Majesty, calm down. Anger is harmful to your health. Your Majesty, please take care of your body—"
The officials said together.
"Tell me, which other province has been affected? Is it serious?" Ming Shenghuang asked again with a frown.
"Your Majesty, in the southwest, everyone is affected."
"How many casualties?" Although he already knew the answer, Ming Shenghuang still asked him with a glimmer of hope.
I just hope that fewer people will die from the plague.
"Your Majesty, some... the southwest is more serious. A county closest to it has lost more than 10,000 people, while the rest of the country has lost less than 5,000 people. However, the number of deaths in the province is quite surprising to me."
The official paused while speaking, not knowing whether to continue.
"Oh? What's the accident? Tell me." Upon hearing that nearly 20,000 people died, Ming Shenghuang's eyes turned slightly red. Due to his status, he blinked twice quickly and tried not to cry.
He didn't move his head, but his eyes were looking sideways at the official next to him.
"Logically, the five counties of Ruling Prefecture in Weishu are not far from Enxin, so the situation should be much more serious than in the southwest. However, Yingnan Prefecture, which is farther away from Enxin, lost 2,000 people, while Ruling Prefecture lost less than 1,000 people, only 647. On the way, I also learned a piece of news that as early as two months ago, no one in Weishu was infected with the plague."
Under normal circumstances, the sudden death of 647 people is really a lot.
But this was a plague. Once infected, an entire city would be wiped out. Yet in such a large city like Ruling, only over 600 people died.
What a surprise.
Ming Shenghuang also became interested.
"Do you know how the plague was controlled?" he said.
"I don't know." In fact, he knew that the secret guards he hired privately had already found out the cause of the matter, but how could he explain it so clearly.
If I tell it out loud, I'm afraid the emperor will become suspicious.
"Let's go and take a look." Emperor Mingsheng took one last look at Yaozhou County, then got on the carriage without looking back.
It seems that he is afraid that the scene will be too big, too conspicuous, and get in the way.
He changed to an inconspicuous horse-drawn carriage halfway and came to Cihu County, the closest to Enxin Province, under the pretext of visiting relatives.
Once the plague was under control, the city gates were opened.
The number of deaths in Cihu County was the highest in Ruling Prefecture. As soon as you entered the city, no one smiled on the faces of the people. Among the people here, three out of ten had lost a relative in their family.
Those who are not dead have been frightened for so long that they can no longer laugh.
There was an indescribable sadness hanging over the city.
It doesn't feel like early spring, but rather like a cloudy day in late autumn, which makes people depressed.
"Little brother, may I ask how the plague in your city is controlled? I heard that many people died in Enxin Province, but why not many people died in your county? Do you know why?"
The carriage stopped by the roadside and a man in ordinary clothes got off. He took out a silver ingot and handed it to a vendor on the roadside, asking in a low voice.
"Oh, sir, you asked the right person. No one in the city knows as much as I do. My cousin is an official in the county government. I have someone above me! Just listen to me and I will tell you slowly..."
"Originally the situation in our county was also very serious, with many people infected with the plague. Our county magistrate was so worried that it is no exaggeration to say that his hair turned white overnight. My cousin was also busy running around and didn't go home for half a month. Later, the city was sealed off, and stalls and shops were not allowed to be set up. We all stayed at home and couldn't even go out, according to my cousin.
The magistrate of Qixi County sent a letter saying that there was a prescription that could cure the plague. Our magistrate immediately went to Qixi County. When he came back, all the doctors in the city were called to the county government office, including the medicinal materials in the pharmacy, which were also sent over. These doctors made pills according to the prescription and gave them to the people infected with the plague. In just four or five days, they began to get better..."
Having taken so much silver, the peddler naturally told the whole story clearly from beginning to end, and his voice was quite loud, so Ming Shenghuang, who was sitting in the carriage, could just hear it.
A quarter of an hour later, the man returned to the carriage.
"There is actually a prescription that can cure the plague? How come I don't know about such an important matter? This is absurd! Who is hiding this from me? Investigate it thoroughly for me!"
The carriage left.
The next day, Ming Shenghuang, who was living in the prefect's house, summoned Meng Zhili.
It was learned that the prescription for curing the plague was developed by an eleven-year-old girl.
Emperor Mingsheng was so shocked that he couldn't wait to summon Jiang Fubao to see him.
He followed Meng Zhili to Lianshan Town.
It was actually a misunderstanding. Emperor Mingsheng was worried about the plague and came from the imperial city early. It just so happened that the governor of the province of Wei had just sent the prescription and memorial to the imperial city a month ago. The two groups happened to take different routes and missed each other.
Emperor Mingsheng thought someone had deliberately concealed the knowledge of the prescription and was very angry.
When we arrived at Lianshan Town, unlike Cihu County, all the pedestrians walking on the road had smiling faces, and you couldn't tell that a plague had ever occurred here.
Emperor Mingsheng sat in the carriage with his back straight. If this were in the imperial city, the officials would not be qualified to ride in the same carriage with him.
Meng Zhili, who was of the lowest rank, sat in the corner, not daring to say a word.
Emperor Ming Sheng used his index finger to lift a corner of the curtain and secretly peered outside.
Naturally, the sound of people chatting on the street could also be heard.
"Brother Liu, how are you? I haven't had time to visit you since we left the rehabilitation center. What have you been busy with recently?"
"It's been healed for a long time. Fortunately, we both took the pills from the little miracle doctor. Otherwise, you would be like those idiots, coughing all day long. You refused to take the pills before. If I hadn't pulled you to take them, you wouldn't have recovered and could still go out for a walk. You owe me a meal. You have to treat me some other day when you have time."
"Okay, okay. Thanks to Brother Liu, I wouldn't be where I am today. Hey, have you heard that our county is already in the best situation? I heard that more than 10,000 people died in the southwest, and Enxin also died the most. Tsk tsk, the governor of Enxin was captured and taken to the imperial city. I'm afraid he will be beheaded. It's all his fault. Otherwise, we wouldn't have to suffer this."
"Yeah, let's not run around anymore. If we hadn't been scheduled to attend the banquet in Enxin, we wouldn't have been infected with the plague. Fortunately, we have the little miracle doctor. Without her pills, we would have grass growing on our graves."
"I used to look down on the little doctor, thinking she was just a girl, and it would be ridiculous to open a clinic. Who knew her medical skills were better than those of the old doctor who had lived for most of his life, and she could even cure the plague."