Chapter 1486
The Final Battle; Those Who Agree to the Marriage Alliance, Please Sign Up
Chapter 1486 The Final Battle; Those Who Agree to the Marriage Alliance, Please Sign Up
Peace talks were not an option for the enemy, as if the war had never happened.
The old man sent a message through a dead soldier: "Tell him that I, the old man, do not agree to the marriage alliance, and the poor boy is not allowed to agree either. If he dares to agree and advocate for peace, he is betraying his sect!"
"Eh." The dead soldier wrote it down for him, then mixed it with the observations of the military doctors about the bacteria, the follow-up of the bacterial culture, the high fever of patients who underwent abscess puncture and other new ward information, and sent it out of the outer ward.
After being copied countless times, the message was finally delivered to General Chu, King Ye, and Qin Jiang at dawn on the eighth day.
Qin Xiaomi is also working on separating and cultivating bacteria, but her biggest worry is that there isn't enough time.
The enemy's poison source this time is too potent; it causes rapid onset of disease and is highly contagious. I'm afraid they'll die from the plague before the eradication bacteria can even be cultivated.
Boom boom boom!
"News report on the epidemic: In Central District, there have been cases of infection, including the unfortunate infection of Tsang Tong-chi!"
The news cast a pall over the entire city.
"What did Zeng Tongzhi come into contact with? How did he get infected?" Prince Ye, Deputy General Lang, and Lord Yan asked, their hearts filled with panic.
Because Zeng Tongzhi was an official, everything he handled underwent rounds of disinfection, yet he still contracted the disease.
Judge Zheng shook his head: "I don't know, but the defense line of the Central City Ward has been set up and is being guarded by Commander Gu."
The defense lines of the three wards in the east, south, and north were guarded by Commander Hu, Commander Yue, and Commander Yu.
They were all willing to risk their lives for each other.
Lord Yan frowned upon hearing this, and said somewhat angrily, "Where are Commander Fu and Commander Shao?"
These two thousand households are the only ones who can't fight, so why not send them to guard the front line of the disease area?
Deputy General Lang said, "Given the current situation, anyone who is still willing to serve the court is a hero, so there's no need to dwell on it."
"The death toll has doubled in both the North and South cities, and both wards have requested that the legendary physician Xun come to their wards to help curb the spread of the plague."
The news of the old man entering the ward has been reported throughout the city.
Therefore, the people in the north and south districts felt that Dr. Xun's medical skills were better and wanted to invite him to stay in the wards of their districts so that the number of infected and dead would be reduced.
"Is it causing trouble? Can you still control it?" the King of Ye asked.
Judge Zheng was silent for a moment: "It caused a disturbance, but it was suppressed. Wartime military law was used, and a number of troublemakers were executed... The masterminds were mostly slaves of aristocratic families."
Judge Zheng cursed the servant in his heart several times!
As a scion of a prominent family, he always knew that capable servants from such families were difficult to manage.
Trapped in the disease wards of the South and North City, the aristocratic slaves, driven by despair, became far more ruthless than ordinary citizens of Wei.
They were clever and had learned tricks from their master. They used these tricks to make the people of Wei cause trouble.
In short, after Zheng Tongpan bowed and apologized, he gave a reminder: "Beware of the servants of aristocratic families. The closer it gets to the end, the less they are controlled by their masters."
Deputy General Lang sneered: "What, are you trying to shift the blame in advance?"
Lord Yan, also from a noble family, was displeased and retorted with the words of Deputy General Lang: "At this time, we are all meritorious officials, and we cannot allow infighting." "Take a look." Old Qiong handed a general register of those infected with the plague to the Prince of Ye.
When the King of Ye saw the number of infected people in the four districts of the east, south, north, and central at the bottom, he closed his eyes... From the discovery of infected people on the second day of the Lunar New Year to today, the eighth day, 100,000 people have been infected.
It has broken the 100,000 mark.
The Prince of Ye's hands trembled slightly... He couldn't understand how the infection could spread so quickly. He had clearly taken measures to prevent the plague, and he had clearly burned batch after batch of seriously ill patients according to the imperial edict.
"Report! Latest news from the enemy!" Commander Ling entered and handed a copy of the enemy's new state document to the Prince of Ye.
After reading it, the King of Ye slammed the crudely written letter from the enemy onto the table and repeated with a stern face: "They urge us to reply as soon as possible, otherwise they will poison us again in an hour... They must get our formal reply agreeing to the marriage before nightfall today, otherwise they will launch a full-scale attack on the city."
The enemy's letter, written in Wei script, stated: "Our army has a million men. Even if we abandon 300,000 troops to attack the city and die with you from the plague, we will still have more than half of our forces to go to Taizhou Prefecture to join the Western Rong army and destroy Wei together!"
Sending Qin Jiang and her husband to the capital for a marriage alliance is the best option for your Great Wei.
What's even more infuriating is that the last sentence was written to the Prince of Ye: You are a prince, of unparalleled nobility. Qin Jiang and the other two have no blood relation to you. Why don't you abandon them, gain great merit for yourself, and continue to be a noble prince?
Wow, even the enemy is using the phrase "why not?" This shows how well their spies have infiltrated and they've already learned some of the Wei's ways.
Qiong Lao, Deputy General Lang, and Lord Yan picked up the enemy's letter and read it together.
"Bah! You dog, trying to sow discord! How can you say we're not related by blood? The eldest son of the Prince of Ye is Qin Dongjia's blood cousin!" Deputy General Lang cursed, unable to contain his anger.
That's right, it was meant for the Prince of Ye to hear, fearing that this scholar-official prince, like the civil officials, thought that marriage alliances were a great thing that would bring peace to the world at the lowest cost.
Deputy General Lang glanced at Elder Qiong, Lord Yan, and Prefect Zheng, reminding them: "Qin and Jiang are holding the core of the weapon. Neither of them are easy to deal with. If we dare to send them to marry a foreign ruler, they will dare to teach the enemy to make the weapon and bring the enemy to kill us!"
Lord Yan's heart skipped a beat. It was indeed a possibility, but: "The marriage alliance between the two countries should be decided by His Majesty."
The old man is very slippery; he doesn't say whether he agrees or not, but just shifts the blame to Emperor Wuxing.
With a series of thuds, as if receiving a secret signal, Si Pei swirled into the hall from outside, holding a book in one hand and a pen in the other. His eyes were fixed on Lord Yan as he asked, "Lord Yan, do you mean to agree to the marriage alliance? To agree to send our Great Wei's meritorious officials to our enemies?!"
Lord Yan stared at Si Pei with a cold gaze and gave him a charge: "You have falsely accused a second-rank official of the court. Even the Si family cannot protect you."
Si Pei was not afraid at all: "The enemy is besieging the city, and there is a plague outbreak inside. You and I might die from the plague tomorrow. Do I care if what I say is slandering the officials of the court? Don't officials make mistakes? They do make mistakes, which is why there is a censorate to supervise all officials. Now that there is no censor in the city, then we scholars will supervise them!"
"Ha," Lord Yan laughed, shaking his head. He didn't argue with Si Pei at all, but said to the Prince of Ye and Deputy General Lang, "The enemy has given us a deadline. Before nightfall, the Prince of Ye, the Qi envoy, and the Wei army must come up with a plan."
This is something that can't be avoided, and it's not something that young people like Si Pei can stop by shouting "I disagree with the marriage alliance" and the enemy's deliberate obstruction.
"Lord Yan has not yet answered his student whether he agrees to the marriage alliance?" Si Pei was persistent, his eyes reddening.
Lord Yan merely glanced at him, still not giving him a word, and said only to Elder Qiong: "The current students of Taizhou Academy are too naive, which is not a good thing for the country. You should write to Taizhou Academy and emphasize this issue."
However, Qiong Lao asked on behalf of Si Pei, "Lord Yan, please answer whether you agree to the marriage alliance?"
Lord Yan's face turned cold: "What does Elder Qiong mean by this? At a time like this, you're still helping this brat cause trouble?"
Old Qiong shook his head: "This is not to cause chaos, but to make a true record of this great battle, so that the historical facts can be preserved for the capital, and for future generations to see whether it is more beneficial to the Great Wei to make peace through marriage or to advocate war."
"Absurd! In this desperate situation, I will not play such useless childish games with you!" Lord Yan refused to be led by the nose.