Chapter 1455
Siege of the City, Plague Outbreak in the Capital City [2]
Chapter 1455 Siege of the City, Plague Outbreak in the Capital City [2]
The sentry soldiers hurriedly reported the latest situation to General Chu.
"Finally, there's some movement! Quickly, go and fetch the old physician Xun!" The Wei army had been watching ever since the enemy soldiers were locked in wooden cages. Now that there was a new development, General Chu hurriedly ordered his personal guards to call for the old physician Xun.
Soon, Old Man Xun, Jiang Dalang, Zhong Baihu, Lan Hu and others went up to the East City Tower together.
They were taken to a secluded room on the evening of the 21st for quarantine against the plague. Now it is the morning of the 25th, and they have no symptoms of infection and are able to leave the secluded room.
Having just finished the examination, I learned about the enemy's poisoning position, so I rushed up with some dry biscuits for breakfast.
They were followed by imperial guards and eunuchs, both of whom were there on behalf of the King of Ye and the Qi envoy to gather the latest military intelligence.
"Old Xun, the enemy troops have fallen ill!" General Chu reported in detail the military intelligence gathered by the sentry tower soldiers.
Old Xun's expression hardened slightly as he counted on his fingers: "On the morning of the 22nd, he was locked in a cage and came into contact with the source of the disease. On the morning of the 25th, over a hundred people fell ill... It took three days, no, it should be two and a half days to get sick."
They only discovered it this morning, but the enemy soldiers may have already fallen ill last night, or even yesterday afternoon.
"Continue to examine the records, and check the progression of symptoms among the enemy soldiers infected with the plague, according to the 'Detailed Record of Plague in the Wilderness of Dongming Prefecture' and the 'Detailed Record of Plague'." Old Xun beckoned, and the military doctors who were taking care of him handed the two stacks of books to General Chu's personal guards.
General Chu had also read the detailed records of these two plagues and said with a heavy heart, "Elder Xun, the time from when the enemy came into contact with the source of the disease to when they fell ill was twice as fast as the time when the patients in the plague-stricken areas of Dongming Prefecture fell ill."
In May, a plague broke out in Dongming Prefecture due to the infected package of the spy Mo Xiucai, but it was brought under control. Because of this small-scale plague, the government and military authorities learned about the onset time, symptoms, survival time, and number of deaths of the rat plague.
Old Xun nodded: "Yes, the enemy's pathogen this time is indeed more potent... In the desolate mountains of Dongming Prefecture, it takes five or seven days for the disease to manifest, but this time it only took a little over two days."
but……
"Don't panic prematurely. Stay calm and observe the subsequent pathogenicity and lethality of this disease first... The onset of the disease is rapid, but if no one dies within a month or two, there's nothing to fear!" Old Man Xun said encouragingly, quelling everyone's panic.
"Old Xun is right. The pathogenicity and lethality of this plague virus have not yet been revealed. There is no need for fear among the soldiers!" General Chu shouted, his voice steady and deep.
He was a general, and when he said that, the soldiers were indeed less panicked.
Jiang Dalang and his men stared at the enemy's formation, pondering how the enemy would poison them and how to stop them.
Half an hour later, the sentry reported again: "Report! Another group of enemy suicide soldiers have fallen ill and have been moved to the right flank!"
A little over fifteen minutes later, the sentry reported again.
A morning has passed...
"More than two thousand enemy soldiers have fallen ill, and they have occupied a large part of the right flank." General Chu's voice was deep: "The pathogenicity of this poison is very strong."
"Don't panic, don't panic. High pathogenicity doesn't mean high lethality. Besides, the enemy troops are directly locked in cages to come into contact with the source of the disease, while our people are not in direct contact with the source of the disease. There's no need to worry too much." Old Man Xun led the military doctors and the imperial physician Xiao Yu to sit by the city wall ramp, flipping through stacks of medical books, as well as ancient prescriptions for treating epidemics collected by the Imperial Hospital, the two gates of the government army, Madam Guan, and powerful families.
"Reporting to General Chu, the renowned physicians of the city have arrived!" Commander Yu, who was guarding the city gate, sent someone to report, startling everyone on the city tower.
A military doctor wiped away a bead of cold sweat... thinking there was more bad news from the enemy positions, but it turned out the laborers had arrived.
Welcome, welcome.
Famous doctors from all over the city, including Dr. Guo, Dr. Feng, and Dr. Sun, came to the city in response to the call. Some of them had apprenticeships with them and brought ancient medical books, medical records, and prescriptions.
Guo Fengsun and the other two even carried an old leather-covered box containing a machine tool on their backs... For renowned doctors like them, their medicine boxes were carried by apprentices, so the boxes they carried themselves must contain some important secret formula or life-saving medicine passed down from their ancestors.
"Greetings, General Chu..."
"Oh, esteemed physicians, no need for formalities. Let's get straight to the point," General Chu interrupted their nonsense, informing them of the crucial military intelligence that the enemy was cultivating poison to kill the entire city. The renowned physicians, both large and small, knew that being conscripted was never a good thing, but they hadn't expected the situation to be so troublesome and tragic.
For a moment, the renowned doctors were a little caught off guard.
"Gentlemen..." The voice of the Prince of Ye rang out not far behind them.
When everyone turned around, they saw the King of Ye standing on the steps of the city wall, bowing deeply to them solemnly three times before saying, "On behalf of the Wei royal family and the people of Wei, I implore you renowned physicians to use the culmination of five thousand years of ancient medical knowledge to eradicate the plague and save lives."
Is he even speaking human language?
The plague, do you think you can just wipe it out like that?
If ancient doctors truly possessed such abilities, historical records wouldn't mention methods like trapping and burning people to eradicate plagues.
and also……
The King of Ye is being a bit pretentious. At a time like this, he's lowering himself to ask for help. Anyone who hears this would praise him for loving his people like his own children.
Tsk tsk, he's really reaped all the good reputation, but they're the ones doing the hard work of eradicating the plague.
Even Qi Shitian and Lang Fujiang bowed to the doctors and said the same words as the King of Ye.
The renowned doctors, both big and small, felt like crying, yet also excited... Throughout history, not everyone has the opportunity to encounter intractable diseases or plagues.
But they met, so...
"Please rest assured, King Ye, Imperial Envoy Qi, and all generals, whether or not we can eradicate this rat plague, now that we have encountered it, we will give it our all and will not let the enemy's plague easily pass through the gates of us doctors!" More than half of the doctors said.
The sounds were chaotic, but they moved the King of Ye. His eyes reddened, and he bowed deeply to the doctors again: "An Nong, thank you."
Tsk, he's such a show-off!
The doctors inwardly complained, but outwardly replied, "Your Highness is too kind."
Doctor Xun frowned and shouted, "Gentlemen, are you taking this opportunity to slack off? Come and get to work!"
"And Prince Ye, Qi Shishi, and Deputy General Lang, you should all go back to the city with General Liang. It's no longer safe around the East Gate Tower."
"This angel will stay and help."
"It would be inhuman for a general to stay behind and kill the enemy, to slay their ancestors!"
Qi Tianshi and Deputy General Lang explained their decision.
"Envoy Qi will stay behind to oversee the situation, while Prince Ye and Deputy General Lang will take General Liang back to the city." It was Jiang Dalang who said this, and he explained, "After the news of the enemy raising plague bacteria and poisoning the city spreads, there will definitely be chaos in the city. We need both civil and military officials to stay behind to oversee the situation, so Deputy General Lang must return to the city."
General Chu agreed: "What Dalang said is right, let's do it this way."
"Alright." The King of Ye made the final decision, then looked at Jiang Dalang: "Dalang, take good care of yourself, don't be too reckless. Uncle Guan and your family are waiting for you to return safely in the city."
Help! He's such a faker!
However, the doctors did not understand the King of Ye's feelings about having such rebellious relatives.
With the sound of hooves, Qin Xiaomi led a group of people, galloping from the horse trail on the west side of the city.
"Whoa!" She reined in her horse and stopped, then glanced around before her gaze fell on Old Man Xun. "Old man, has the enemy's army been infected with a plague?" she asked.