Chapter 370: Reality and Fakeness
The antidote was prepared, but the problem was that even if all the pharmacies in Huicheng put together had enough stock, it would not be enough.
Without enough herbs, the epidemic is still out of control.
Doctor Sun looked at the list of herbs listed by the military doctor and said very clearly: "The stock of these herbs in the Imperial Hospital is not as much as the stock in Ji Yun's pharmacy here.
In recent years, the Imperial Medical Service has been receiving finished medicines from Tongji Pharmacy. As for the others, there are almost four royal purchasing merchants across the country.
By the time the news from our side reaches Kyoto, Kyoto will send the news to various procurement offices, and the procurement offices will then gather the medicines and send them to us. It will be a delay of probably a month.
After this month of friction, almost all the people in Huicheng have died of illness."
This epidemic is different from other epidemics. The course of the disease is extremely fast, and the symptoms are all high fever. Once a person has a fever, all organs of the body will be damaged. Not to mention humans, even cows can't withstand such a fever.
As soon as Doctor Sun finished speaking, Xu Kefeng, who was tied to a tree, said, "Madam, can I redeem myself for my crime?"
Su Qingqing turned to look at him.
Xu Kefeng said, "I know that Rong'an Hou had a trade route before. I had cooperated with him before he rebelled. There was a medicinal materials business on this trade route.
If I can prepare medicinal materials for Her Majesty, Her Majesty will let me live."
Su Qingqing had not expected such timely assistance. "It is probably impossible to give you a way out, but I can still give you a temporary way out. I can only guarantee that you can live well during the time you get the herbs, but whether you can survive after that depends on whether you are still useful. You'd better work harder and be more useful."
When you are ill, time is of the utmost importance.
She didn't have much time to test Xu Kefeng's loyalty or his calculations in this matter. She could only say that she had to take a gamble and let Xu Kefeng go find it.
He selected four smart and skilled kung fu men from the Su family army to accompany him.
While Xu Kefeng was looking for medicinal herbs, Su Qingqing couldn't just sit and wait for his results. Many towns along the way were destroyed by the flood. If they wanted to purchase them from nearby places, they could only go further away.
A team led by Zhen Ze and a team led by Doctor Sun set out in two directions, trying their best to find all the medicinal herbs they could.
In addition, a military signalman was sent to Kyoto to deliver the message.
The delivery of medicinal materials from Kyoto is slow, but no matter how slow it is, this preparation must be done.
After giving all the orders that could be given, Su Qingqing ordered people to bring out Duke Xue.
The reason why he was not tried before was that Duke Xue was different from Xu Kefeng. No matter how much torture he endured, he might not confess. He had a trump card in his hand.
The antidote to the plague.
As long as he holds this trump card, Su Qingqing can't really do anything to him.
But now it’s different, this trump card is invalid.
Another reason is that Su Qingqing knew that Duke Xue would not cooperate so easily unless he suffered some unusual hardships.
After being locked up in the darkroom for so long, Duke Xue was suddenly taken out. The dazzling white light outside made him close his eyes in extreme discomfort. For a moment, he didn't know whether it was because of weakness or what, but there was a loud buzzing sound in his ears. He seemed to be blind and deaf. He was dragged in front of Su Qingqing like a dead dog and tied to the same tree where Xu Kefeng was tied before.
Su Qingqing was still sitting there leisurely, "My Lord, how are you?"
Duke Xue frowned, still not daring to open his eyes. The voice floated into his ears, with a vague and distant feeling. He gritted his teeth in anger and frustration, "The Queen is very skillful. Her methods of torturing people are more vicious than those of the eunuchs in the palace."
Su Qingqing smiled, "Thank you very much, but please don't give me any compliments. After we are not meeting today to compliment each other. Let's talk about the incident in the cold palace. Who was the person who carried the little prince into the well?"
Duke Xue was a little surprised.
He thought that what Su Qingqing wanted to ask must be related to Huicheng, "Have you found the antidote formula?"
Facing Duke Xue's surprise, Su Qingqing smiled and said, "Yes, I found it. You don't need to bother me anymore, Duke."
Duke Xue immediately said, "Impossible, how could you have the recipe?"
"Everything in this world, once done, leaves a trace. Every poison has an antidote. How can you not have me when you have me?"
Duke Xue's eyes finally adapted to the brightness outside. He opened his eyes slightly and looked at Su Qingqing.
Su Qingqing's face indeed showed a sense of ease and calmness, and it didn't seem like a disguise.
Could it be that Su Qingqing really found the antidote?
How could that be!
"Let me tell you something clear. I think the Duke knows that our Su Army suffered from poisoning once before. Coincidentally, the poisoning and the epidemic this time are the same thing.
That time we had no experience and no antidote, so we could only watch our soldiers fall one after another and die at the hands of our own people.
how?
Does Duke Xue think that such a lesson is not enough to teach our military doctors a lesson?
Or do you still feel that, after all we’ve been through, our military doctors haven’t researched this epidemic yet?
That's unfortunate. Our military doctors are dedicated to their duties. Ever since the epidemic claimed the lives of countless our soldiers, these military doctors have been studying the epidemic day and night.
As it happens, the results of this research were used in the experiment of this epidemic.
In our Su Army, from the soldiers who charge into battle to the military doctors who provide logistics support, no one will let their own people fall in the same place twice."
Su Qingqing said this to Duke Xue, but also to herself.
After she finished speaking, her mood changed, and she looked at Duke Xue with a sneer and ridicule, "Let's talk. Xu Kefeng has already requested an imperial decree to make amends for his crimes, and I have also approved it on behalf of the emperor. The Duke has been wise all his life, and it is unlikely that he will die in a foreign land before his old age.
Even if you die, your son can't collect your body openly. After all, your name is not on the family tree, right?"
Duke Xue's expression froze and he looked at Su Qingqing warily.
Su Qingqing smiled and said, "Why are you so nervous? I know that the stupid son on your farm is not your biological son. Isn't this normal? The chief escort of Weiyuan Escort Agency followed Wang Yu to Zhaoguo. Whether he can come back safely depends on whether the Duke cooperates."
"You threaten me!" Duke Xue shouted at Su Qingqing angrily.
Su Qingqing smiled, "Isn't the threat obvious enough? Then let me make it clear. If you cooperate, I may not give you a way out, but your son may still be alive."
"What if I don't cooperate? All the granaries in the world are under my control. If I fail, the entire grain distribution will be in chaos."
Su Qingqing laughed, "If you fall, then naturally the Minister of Rites Xu will take over your position. The Eight Great Families don't need you. It's a matter of time. Without you, someone else will do. Do you really think that the association of the Eight Great Families is so solid because of a blood sacrifice?"
Su Qingqing spoke in a mixed tone.
