mtl008 Chapter 436 Plague (3)
Chapter 436 Plague (3)
"Stop it all!"
Her voice wasn't loud, but it carried a calming power that gradually quieted the noisy refugees.
A vagrant with a full beard stepped forward and shouted angrily, "Who are you? A lackey sent by the government? Trying to trick us into obediently waiting to die?"
Shi Wanxia was not angry. She just looked at him and then swept her gaze over all the refugees present: "I am Shi Wanxia, the Minister of Works of the current dynasty, and an imperial envoy personally appointed by His Majesty."
“I’m not here to lie to you, but to tell you how to survive—not only can you survive, but your families can too.”
"Survive?"
Another refugee sneered, "People are dying in our camp every day. The government doesn't provide medicine or food, and they even say they're going to burn down the camp. Is this how we're supposed to survive?"
"That's a rumor."
Shi Wanxia held up the hemp paper in her hand, "Look, this is the epidemic prevention strategy I wrote."
"First, His Highness the Crown Prince has ordered the mobilization of grain from the surrounding granaries, which will arrive in half an hour. Every refugee will receive enough rice and rations, and you will not go hungry."
"Secondly, the Imperial Medical Academy is preparing a 'Heat-Clearing and Detoxifying Decoction,' which will be distributed to everyone shortly. Those with fever and rashes will find their condition improves after drinking it."
"Third, we will set up three isolation zones to house those with suspected illness, confirmed cases, and healthy individuals separately. This is not to abandon you, but to prevent the spread of the epidemic and to ensure that healthy people are not infected."
She paused, then pointed to the corpses of the dead refugees in the camp: "You say the government wants to burn down the camp, but actually they want to dispose of these dead bodies—not your dwellings, but the corpses."
"Do you know why? Because those dead people had insects (fleas) on them that could spread disease."
"If the corpses decompose, insects will crawl onto you and infect more people."
“We cremate the bodies, bury the ashes deep, and sprinkle lime on them to eradicate the root of the disease.”
The refugees looked at each other, clearly somewhat skeptical.
The man in short clothes who had spoken earlier immediately stepped forward: "You're talking nonsense! The plague is divine retribution, where would any insects come from?"
"You're just trying to trick us into waiting so the authorities will come and kill us!"
"God's punishment?"
Shi Wanxia looked at him with sharp eyes, "If it really is divine retribution, why did the first people to fall ill all live near that haystack in the west of the camp?"
"Why did someone throw dead rats into the haystack three days ago?"
She turned to Zhao Hu, "Commander Zhao, bring the man up."
Two imperial guards escorted a thin man over. The man was one of the people who had thrown the dead rats three days ago, and he was now trembling with fear.
"It was...it was the manager of Dehetang who told us to do it. He said that as long as we caused an epidemic, the medicinal herbs could be sold at a high price, and he also said..."
"They even said that letting the refugees rush into the city would disrupt His Highness the Crown Prince's plans."
These words caused an uproar among the displaced people.
The man in the short-sleeved shirt turned pale and tried to turn and run away, but was captured on the spot by Zhao Hu's men.
"Look,"
Shi Wanxia's voice softened again, "Someone deliberately infected you with the disease and instigated a riot so that they could make money off your medical treatment and harm His Highness the Crown Prince."
"And His Highness the Crown Prince never thought of abandoning you—he allocated food supplies, sent imperial physicians, and built quarantine zones, all to ensure your survival."
She walked up to a woman holding a child. The child's face was flushed, and there was a small purple bump under his arm. He was whimpering weakly.
Shi Wanxia reached out and gently touched the child's forehead, then took out a small packet of herbs from her medicine bag: "This is powder made from forsythia and isatis root. Mix it with boiled water and give it to the child to drink twice a day. The child's fever will go down."
"The medicine from the Imperial Hospital will arrive soon, and it will be even more effective."
The woman took the medicine powder, her eyes reddening: "Lord Shi, is it really...really going to get better? I thought this child was beyond saving."
"It can get better."
Shi Wanxia nodded, then turned to all the refugees, "I assure you, as long as you cooperate with the epidemic prevention measures—stay in the quarantine area, drink the herbal medicine, frequently air out your clothes, and don't move around unnecessarily."
"The epidemic will be under control within ten days."
"Then you will be able to return home safely with your family."
Just then, the sound of carriage wheels came from afar; the grain for the Eastern Palace had arrived.
Looking at the wagons laden with rice and grain, and then at Shi Wanxia's resolute gaze, the refugees finally put down the sticks and stones in their hands.
The bearded refugee stepped forward and bowed to Shi Wanxia, saying, "Lord Shi, we believe in you."
"We cooperate with the epidemic prevention measures, just so that our families can survive."
"Will do."
Shi Wanxia nodded, then turned to Cui Zhihao and said, "Commander Zhao, please send someone to guide the refugees to move into the quarantine area in the order of healthy, suspected, and confirmed cases."
"When the grain arrives, we will first distribute it to the refugees in the Kangjian area, and then send medicine to the areas with suspected and confirmed cases."
Zhao Hu looked at her, his eyes full of admiration: "Good."
The drizzle gradually stopped, and a ray of sunlight shone through the clouds onto the land of the refugee camp.
Standing by the bamboo fence of the quarantine area, Shi Wanxia watched the refugees receive food and medicine in an orderly manner, and watched the doctors from the Imperial Medical Academy treat patients. A warm feeling suddenly welled up in her heart.
She thought of the microscopes in modern laboratories, the instruments in negative pressure isolation wards, and the hemp paper in her hand and the herbs on her desk.
Although the methods of epidemic prevention have differed throughout history, the original intention of "saving lives" has never changed.
Shen Yanzhou and Cui Zhihao arrived at some point and stood beside her. Looking at the scene before her, they said softly, "Miss Shi, thank you so much."
Shi Wanxia turned around and smiled at him: "Your Highness, this is not my achievement alone."
"Epidemic prevention requires everyone's support, the cooperation of the displaced people, and even more so, our investigation into the mastermind behind it all to prevent future troubles."
Shen Yanzhou nodded, his eyes sharpening: "I will not let Dehetang and Wang Qinian go."
"Once the epidemic is under control, I will definitely investigate this matter thoroughly and give the people of Nancheng justice."
As the sun set, the afterglow cast long shadows of the group.
Outside the bamboo fence of the quarantine area, wood ash covered the ground in a light gray layer, lime ditches kept the rats from running around, and boiling mugwort water steamed.
This is the first time that "modern epidemic prevention" has sprouted on ancient land, and it also foreshadows the dawn of victory in the battle between humans and the plague.
The midsummer rain still carried a chill, pounding on the muddy ground of the disaster relief camp, splashing up specks of murky water.
Cui Zhihao stood under the makeshift shed, his fingertips holding a packet of epidemic prevention medicine, his fingertips unconsciously rubbing the edge of the coarse cloth packaging.
He personally oversaw the preparation of the medicine according to the prescription, using a mixture of Saposhnikovia divaricata, Perilla frutescens, dried tangerine peel, and dried mugwort leaves. It had a slightly bitter and warm smell and was believed to prevent post-disaster epidemics.
"Distribute by household, give the elderly and children half a percent more, carefully check the roster, and don't forget those households on the east side that built thatched huts."
His voice was steady, but his gaze drifted past the bustling refugees and unconsciously toward the central army tent not far away.
There hung a worn blue cloth curtain, its corners swaying gently in the wind. Shi Wanxia's figure would occasionally flash behind the curtain, sometimes talking to someone with her head down, sometimes raising her hand to rub her temples.