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nChapter 136: Epidemic Outbreak

nTranslator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

nUnder Shen Yufeng’s lead, Tang Jinghong came to the place where the grains had been robbed.

nThis was also a forest. The forest had already been completely destroyed. The hot sunlight shone on the bare ground and tree trunks, showing the bleakness of despair.

nShen Yufeng blamed himself. “General, the ground is dry and hard. There are no traces of the cart rollers.”

nTang Jinghong observed his surroundings. “Tell me about the robbery.”

nShen Yufeng frowned and said, “At that time, a portion of the refugees robbed us. After the robbery, the remaining refugees came to stop us and bought time for the robberse to transport the grains away. We watched helplessly as the grains were taken away…”

nSuch a cohesive and planned robbery was definitely not done by refugees alone… Tang Jinghong looked around. “Which direction did they go?”

nShen Yufeng pointed to the north. “They ran in the direction of the capital.”

nTang Jinghong looked over and narrowed his eyes. After a while, he asked, “Did you encounter a large number of refugees along the way?”

nShen Yufeng shook his head. “No, everything went smoothly until we encountered a robbery. Those 10,000 refugees were the largest we encountered.”

nTang Jinghong lowered his eyes. “There are about 30,000 outside Xu City. You encountered 10,000. That adds up to 40,000. In other words, the whereabouts of at least 60,000 refugees are still unknown.”

nShen Yufeng’s heart skipped a beat. “General, what do you mean?”

nTang Jinghong frowned. “The Lord of the Northern Border is involved in this matter. 1 suspect that he’s plotting against the emperor.”

nHearing this, Shen Yufeng panicked. “General, what should we do?”

nTang Jinghong said, “Take your men and head in the direction of the capital to track the grains. 1’11 handle the situation here before catching up with you.”

n“Yes, General.”

nShen Yufeng immediately brought the soldiers towards the north.

nTang Jinghong stared at the north for a while before getting on his horse and returning to the camp.

nWhen the officials in Xu City saw that the refugees outside the city were under control, they opened the city gate and came out to greet Tang Jinghong.

nThe governor was wearing a purple official robe loosely. It was obvious that he had lost a lot of weight and his face was haggard. He said happily, “General Tang, you’re finally here. If you hadn’t come, the supplies in the city would have been cut off.”

nTang Jinghong did not blame the governor for closing the city gate. If the refugees entered the city, they would definitely burn, kill, and plunder. At that time, the city would be in chaos and things would become even worse.

nTang Jinghong asked sternly, “How’s the situation in the city?”

nThe governor sighed. “The drought not only affected the villages, but also the city. Every family is short of water. Fortunately, some old wells still have water. Otherwise, 1 couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened.”

nTang Jinghong asked, “At this rate, when do you think the city will fall into chaos?”

nThe governor replied respectfully, “We can still manage to keep order for the time being. Everyone still has some food stored, but after a month, the city will definitely be in chaos.”

nTang Jinghong thought to himself, There’s still time. “Go back and stabilize the situation in the city first. Try to keep order for as long as you can.”

nThe governor replied, “Yes, General Tang.”

nThe governor returned to the city with a group of officials and made arrangements according to Tang Jinghong’s instructions. He did not dare to be negligent at all.

nA soldier rushed over. “Miss Chu, someone fainted over there.”

nChu Qingzhi frowned. “Let’s go take a look.”

nTang Jinghong and the others followed behind her.

nA woman hugged a man and cried, “Husband, what’s wrong? Wake up!”

nThe children beside him also cried. “Father, Father…”

nMany refugees watched and surrounded the family of four.

nChu Qingzhi pushed through the crowd and walked in. She checked his pulse first. Then, what she was most worried about happened. “Everyone, step back. Don’t approach.”

nWhen the refugees saw Chu Qingzhi’s serious expression, they immediately retreated.

nAt this moment, another person fainted nearby.

n“Mother, Mother, what’s wrong?” A young man shouted anxiously, his face covered in tears.

nBy then, everyone realized that something was wrong. Without needing Chu Qingzhi to remind them, they quickly retreated, their eyes filled with suspicion and fear.

nChu Qingzhi hurriedly walked towards the young man. After checking the woman’s pulse, her expression became even more solemn. She turned around and nodded at Tang Jinghong.

nThey could not tell the refugees that an epidemic had broken out. Otherwise, the refugees who had just calmed down would immediately riot.

nTang Jinghong’s heart sank. He instructed, “Transfer everyone who is sick to the huge banyan tree over there.”

nThe soldiers replied, “Yes.”

nA refugee mustered his courage and asked, “General, what’s wrong with them?”

nChu Qingzhi answered for Tang Jinghong. “They’ve been dehydrated for a long time. When they suddenly drink a lot of water, they’ll feel uncomfortable. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine after resting for a while.”

nHearing this, everyone was relieved.

nIn the following period of time, people would fall sick one by one. However, many people believed Chu Qingzhi’s words. After all, she was the one who found the water vein and saved everyone.

n“Qingzhi, what illness is it?” Tang Jinghong felt that things were getting more and more troublesome. Originally, when the refugees calmed down, they could be sent back to their original village in batches. Now…

nChu Qingzhi said in a low voice, “Malaria. Infectious disease that is caused by mosquito bites and will be transmitted through mosquito bites.”

nTang Jinghong clenched his fists and punched the tree beside him. “Infectious…”

nIn this era, the most terrifying thing was infectious disease. Once there was such a disease, people would die in large numbers.

nIf the Lord of the Northern Border spread the rumor that this disease was a heavenly punishment, the entire Daling Dynasty would fall into chaos. The neighboring countries would take advantage of this situation, and the border that had just stabilized would definitely be scourged by war again. At that time, the people would live in misery.

nChu Qingzhi reached out and held Tang Jinghong’s hand. “Jinghong, this disease is not scary. As long as we find the wormwood, we can cure this disease.”

nTang Jinghong looked at Chu Qingzhi as if he was looking at a ray of light. “I’ll immediately get people to find the wormwood.”

nChu Qingzhi said, “I’ll give you a drawing of wormwood to help you identify the herb.”

nTang Jinghong was shocked. “Qingzhi, you expected this to happen long ago?”

nChu Qingzhi smiled at Tang Jinghong. “There are only a few large-scale epidemic diseases. I prepared it just in case.”

nTang Jinghong pulled Chu Qingzhi into his embrace and was extremely touched. “Qingzhi, thank you on behalf of the people and the entire Daling Dynasty.”

nChu Qingzhi stared at Tang Jinghong’s handsome face and smiled. “I only want to help you.”

nTang Jinghong’s heart trembled slightly, and his feelings for Chu Qingzhi deepened unknowingly. “Qingzhi, when this matter is over, I’ll ask His Majesty to reward you.”

nChu Qingzhi smiled and nodded. “Okay.”

nTang Jinghong gave the drawing of wormwood to the soldiers and asked them to immediately go to the surrounding cities to search for wormwood..

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