Several horses followed behind Magistrate Sun's carriage, pulling a cart full of kerosene and sulfur powder.

The guards unloaded all the oil drums from the cart and moved them to the village entrance. They poured the oil from the drums onto the weeds and then sprinkled sulfur powder all over the weeds.

In winter, the grass and trees wither, and with just the slightest spark, these flames will spread rapidly along the grass and trees on the ground, igniting everything that can be ignited. The smoke from the fire is filled with sulfur powder, making people cough and unable to breathe, until they are suffocated to death.

At that time, the entire village will become a living hell, and no living thing will be able to escape.

This method is absolutely cruel!

When the villagers of Chujia Village saw the guards pouring kerosene and sprinkling powder on the ground, they all came out from their hiding places and looked sadly towards the direction of the village entrance.

The old patriarch of Chu Family Village knelt down with a thud. He dropped his cane, prostrated himself on the ground, and pleaded, "Your Excellency! Fewer than twenty people in the village are sick; not all of them have been infected with the plague! Please, Your Excellency, grant these healthy children a chance to live!"

Magistrate Sun sat inside the carriage, covering his mouth and nose with a handkerchief. He didn't even glance at the old clan chief, but merely raised his hand slightly to give orders to the guards.

The guard immediately took out a tinderbox from his pocket, blew on it, and a blue-purple flame leaped up in the wind.

Seeing the tinderbox in the guard's hand, Shen Yuan rushed forward and snatched it away while the guard was off guard.

The guard immediately drew his knife. "You audacious scoundrel! Do you intend to defy the magistrate?"

Before he could finish speaking, a long sword was already pointed directly at his chin, the speed of the blade startling everyone.

Upon seeing the suddenly appearing man in blue, the guard's expression hardened.

The guards beside the carriage drew their knives and surrounded Xiao Ling and Shen Yuan.

Xiao Ling remained silent, simply standing in front of Shen Yuan and protecting her behind him.

"Don't be impulsive!" Shen Yuan quickly grabbed Xiao Ling's sleeve, afraid that he would cut someone's head in half with a single stroke.

After all, she had witnessed his skills.

Xiao Ling pursed his lower lip slightly. These corrupt officials of the court who treat human life like dirt! Kill them if you want! What's the pity?

"Ha!" Magistrate Sun's eyes flashed with coldness. "They dare to flaunt their power in front of me. Since they're not afraid of death, I'll throw them into Chu Family Village and have them buried with that bunch of scum!"

"Your Excellency the Prefect's jade token is here. Please, Your Excellency the County Magistrate, withdraw this order!" Shen Yuan suddenly revealed the jade token in her hand, stopping the servants who were about to attack them with knives.

Upon seeing the jade token in Shen Yuan's hand, the guards dared not make any rash moves and turned to look at Magistrate Sun.

Magistrate Sun scoffed, "Prefect? ​​Which prefect? ​​Don't think you can just pick up any green stone..."

As Magistrate Sun was speaking, his eyes unconsciously glanced at Shen Yuan's hand. After seeing clearly what Shen Yuan was holding, the words he was about to say instantly stuck in his throat.

How did Magistrate Jiang's personal jade pendant end up in the hands of a country girl?

Could it be that this brat knows Magistrate Jiang?

Magistrate Sun was puzzled when Shen Yuan said, "This humble woman did not intend to offend Your Excellency!"

Magistrate Sun sneered inwardly. Whether it was intentional or not, hadn't he already offended them?

Shen Yuan knew that although she had taken out the jade token of Prefect Jiang, Magistrate Sun was still unhappy with her, so she earnestly persuaded him: "In the more than 100 years since the founding of the Great Yan Kingdom, there have been three epidemics, but there has never been a precedent of burning down a city or village because of an epidemic!"

"I understand that the magistrate's actions today are for the sake of the people in the surrounding towns, but Chu Family Village has more than one hundred villagers, and burning them all to death is too cruel!"

"If all these people die in the burning of the village today, I'm afraid the magistrate will inevitably face criticism and even impeachment from his colleagues! I urge the magistrate to reconsider!"

After Shen Yuan finished speaking, she knelt on the ground and kowtowed heavily.

"Do you think I haven't thought of these things you're talking about?"

Magistrate Sun's face turned cold. Didn't he know that burning down villages had many drawbacks?

However, if we do not act decisively and surround and burn these people before they leave the village, it will be much more difficult to stop the plague once they escape the village and spread the disease to other places.

If this plague were to spread to Jian'an City and disturb the nobles there, would he have faced less impeachment and punishment than he has now?

This was simply the most direct, simple, and effective method he found after weighing the pros and cons.

All we need to do is burn down Chu Family Village, and all the epidemics and plagues will disappear!

It's just a little over a hundred lives. He's already killed the doctors who went into the city to spread the news of the plague, so why would he care about killing a few more people?

Besides, it was their fault that these people contracted the plague; they deserved to die! He was merely acting on behalf of Heaven, the Emperor, and the Prefect, personally sending them to their deaths!

"Since the magistrate has considered the consequences of doing this, why does he still insist on going his own way?" Shen Yuan asked.

Magistrate Sun, enraged, laughed coldly: "Then tell me, besides burning these people to death, what better way is there?"

Shen Yuan said, “There is a precedent in Great Yan. In the first year of Qiyuan, a new emperor ascended the throne, and the court was unstable. Due to the turmoil in the capital, the people in the city were infected with a plague. The new emperor ordered all those infected with the plague to be transferred to Hanshan Temple outside the city, and sent medical officers to Hanshan Temple to treat them. The people of the capital and the medical officers were trapped in the temple for a month, and in the end, nearly half of the people survived and returned to the capital. This act touched the hearts of the people of Great Yan! County Magistrate, you can follow the example of the sage and save the people of Chu Family Village!”

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Sun snorted coldly, his face full of disdain.

He was not unaware of these precedents, but it was obvious that such a wasteful and laborious undertaking was not worthwhile. Why would he spend his own money on such an unprofitable deal?

The villagers of Chu Family Village are nothing but mud-legged peasants who only know how to plant rice. How can their worthless lives compare to the lives of those people in the capital?

So what if they're burned to death? Nobody cares about the lives of these peasants!

Seeing that Magistrate Sun remained silent, Shen Yuan knew what he was thinking.

So she said, "I will provide the medicine to treat these villagers, and they can take care of their own food. The magistrate only needs to send a guard to keep Chu Family Village firmly in place and ensure that no one can get out."

Upon hearing this, Magistrate Sun raised an eyebrow and looked at Shen Yuan, a hint of surprise appearing in his eyes.

He had just listened to this young girl babbling on and on, and thought she was just spouting some Confucian wisdom. He never expected that she would be willing to risk her life to save these villagers.

This surprised him somewhat.

"This jade plaque was a gift from Prefect Jiang. He said that seeing this plaque is like seeing him in person, and it is my support in his jurisdiction. I wonder if Your Excellency, the Magistrate, would consider my suggestion for the sake of Prefect Jiang?"

Seeing that Magistrate Sun was clearly interested in her proposal, Shen Yuan then played the trump card of Prefect Jiang.

Magistrate Sun lowered his head, his hands resting on his knees, gently patting his legs as he pondered Shen Yuan's words.

He's only contributing some manpower. If this woman can really save the people in these villages and resolve the epidemic, then he'll have earned a good reputation for nothing!

If this woman cannot successfully treat these villagers and control the epidemic, then he will only end up burning one more person to death.

This deal is... a sure thing!