Chapter 367 Epidemic
Duke Xue watched Su Qingqing and his men enter the city, and he was so anxious and angry that he almost vomited blood.
If Xu Kefeng is arrested, then everything in the city will no longer be a secret, and all the things he and Xu Kefeng have done together will be confessed by Xu Kefeng.
Duke Xue was so overwhelmed that he quickly returned to his house in Huicheng from the city gate.
He controls the supply and circulation of grain for the imperial court. For the time being, Su Qingqing will definitely not do anything to him immediately. Once he is caught, the circulation of grain will be paralyzed.
Duke Xue forced himself to calm down and think about how to deal with the situation.
He needs to be clear about his pros and cons.
But, damn, my head hurts.
That idiot Xu Kefeng, what was he doing running out for? Is he a spy sent by the enemy? Why are they doing this to him?
The originally good plan has now been ruined by Xu Kefeng.
Mr. Xue Guogong had a headache when he heard a chaotic noise outside. He didn't even need to think about it because Su Qingqing was coming.
With a rage in his chest, he stood up and went out. Su Qingqing had already brought people in. The merchants who had been locked up in the mansion by him had been released by Su Qingqing. Now they were nowhere to be seen. He was afraid that his embezzlement of disaster relief donations would be exposed soon.
With a big bubble coming out of his mouth, Duke Xue took two steps forward and said, "The queen has finally entered the city. I failed to welcome her from afar. I deserve death."
Duke Xue clasped his fists, bowed, and tried his best to maintain superficial calm.
Su Qingqing glanced at him sideways, without saying a word, and waved her hand.
Immediately, soldiers attacked from both sides and went straight to capture Duke Xue.
The guards in front of Duke Xue naturally tried to stop them. During the fight, Duke Xue stood behind them and asked Su Qingqing coldly, "What is your majesty doing? I was sent by your majesty to Guangdong and Guangxi to provide disaster relief. After entering the city, I was threatened by the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, Xu Kefeng. Now you are finally waiting for your majesty to enter the city, but you want to arrest me? I hope your majesty will make it clear."
Su Qingqing held a whip in her hand and didn't bother to say any more nonsense. She just whipped him.
She was pregnant and didn't dare to move much, but she was more than capable of dealing with Duke Xue. As for Duke Xue's guards, the soldiers and Jixiang were holding them back.
The whips lashed Duke Xue on both sides. Even though none of the whips actually hit him, he was so frightened that his heart beat rapidly and he stepped back repeatedly.
Bang.
His heels hit the stone steps behind him, and he staggered and fell backwards.
Just as he was about to fall backwards, Su Qingqing's whip came towards his back, lifted him up, and with a strong tug on his wrist, dragged him in front of her.
Bang!
Su Qingqing stepped on Duke Xue's back, and the guards of Duke Xue were afraid to resist and were quickly dealt with.
Su Qingqing half bent over and put away the whip.
"Are you thinking that since you control the distribution of the imperial court's grain, I must consider the overall situation and not arrest you? It would be a mistake to arrest you. I, Su Qingqing, never consider the overall situation when doing things."
After she finished speaking, she stood up and clapped her hands, "Take him away! Keep a close watch on him. If anyone comes to rescue him, kill him directly if necessary and don't let him go."
Upon receiving the order, the soldiers dragged Duke Xue away like a dead dog.
Duke Xue wanted to ask a few more questions, but the other party didn't give him the chance to talk. All his words, along with all his anger and anxiety, were kept in his stomach.
As soon as Duke Xue was dealt with, Su Qingqing directly ordered people to clean up the office of Xu Kefeng, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi, and use it as her office for flood relief and rescue operations.
The rain has stopped.
It is highly likely that floods will not occur again, as the previous floods have already been diverted and drained. What remains is post-disaster reconstruction and post-disaster epidemic control.
Without Xu Kefeng and Duke Xue causing trouble, Ji Yun's pharmacy set an example by setting up a tent outside the pharmacy and putting up a sign for free clinics.
Before, the city gates were closed, so people inside could not go out and people outside could not come in. Now that the city gates are open, people outside still cannot come in. Those refugees are still placed in the military camps, but supplies in the city can be sent out, and their lives have improved.
People in the city still cannot go out. In order to prevent the occurrence and spread of the plague, it is necessary to ensure that everyone in the city is healthy so that these people can really move freely.
Those thugs hired by Xu Kefeng who had previously cursed Su's army were so scared that their legs were shaking. They hid in the dark and watched the movements of Su's army for fear of being caught.
Those people who were afraid to go out to see a doctor because of their illness before, began to appear in major pharmacies since they began to provide free medical treatment and the government took on the expenses of all skin diseases, colds, fevers and other diseases.
Doctor Sun looked at the long line and sighed to Doctor Zhen next to him, "I didn't expect that there were so many patients hiding here. Before, Xu Kefeng sent people to register every day, and all of them were registered as healthy."
Doctor Zhen looked as if he had expected this. He snorted lightly, said nothing, and went on to see the next patient.
Su Qingqing sent a soldier to each pharmacy.
One is to maintain order on site, and the other is to record the actual number of people who have fallen ill.
They were busy from morning to night, and at nightfall, the data from each pharmacy was brought to Su Qingqing for summary. When the military doctors saw the number of patients, their faces became gloomy.
"My lady, the number of people who have been sick has almost reached one-tenth of the total population of Huicheng. This number is too huge. According to the registration, most of the symptoms are high fever, sore throat, and dry eyes. A very small number of people have tingling all over the body or rash on top of these symptoms.
Moreover, almost all those who fall ill are families, and basically the entire family falls ill.
As for those who are not sick, according to today's census, generally everyone in the family is healthy.
Most likely, it’s an epidemic .”
When the word "epidemic" came out of the military doctor's mouth, everyone present trembled in their hearts.
The military doctor continued, "On the contrary, although the conditions of the refugees outside the city were poor, such gatherings did not cause infection, and the number of people who stayed in the same tent with the fever patients did not increase.
With such a large number of people in the city, I'm afraid it cannot be ruled out that someone may have poisoned them."
Jixiang immediately said, "Master, didn't we catch a man who was sent by Duke Xue to poison our military camp? I'm afraid they are the ones who are causing the illnesses of the common people in the city. They are not just closing the city gates, they are actually raising poisonous insects behind closed doors."
"Since we already suspect it's an epidemic, let's discuss countermeasures!"
Su Qingqing left a message to the military doctors, stood up and walked out, instructing them as she walked, "For all the patients who come to see the doctor today, each household will be assigned a soldier. They will not come into contact with the patients, but will only be in charge of their supervision. The patients are not allowed to leave their own yards, and their food and drink expenses will all be provided by the court."
