"Your Highness, are you saying that there are plague patients among the applicants?" Commander Zhou asked in astonishment.
In all his years in the military, he had never encountered such a situation.
The other generals also looked nervous, as if they were facing a powerful enemy.
The Second Prince said solemnly, "Yes, I have accurate information. There are more than a dozen people in total, and the leader is Suo Youren, the one wearing a veil."
"What they have in common is that they are all from Jiaxiang County."
"There's a serious plague breaking out in Jiaxiang County right now. Because local officials are covering up the situation and failing to report it, the epidemic is getting worse. The Liang State is taking advantage of this opportunity to recruit some young people infected with the disease to enlist in the army."
General Cui clenched his fists, his knuckles rubbing against each other, making a crackling sound. "How could they be so vicious!"
Other generals also began to curse Liang Chaozong.
"Everyone, be quiet. Now is not the time to speak freely. The most urgent task is to protect the imperial guards, minimize the losses, and break their conspiracy!" Commander Zhou looked firm.
The Second Prince echoed, "Commander Zhou is absolutely right. Let's first find the infected person and control the situation. I will send someone to the palace to report this and have the Emperor arrange for doctors and supplies."
Several generals quickly discussed a preliminary plan.
General Cui and General Zhao led their men to search among all the applicants for people from Jiaxiang County.
The second prince wrote down the situation and gave it to Silver Leopard to deliver to Emperor Mingxi immediately.
The others, under the leadership of Commander Zhou, settled the applicants and calmed everyone's emotions.
Xia Miaoyuan was also escorted back to the palace.
…
Palace of Heavenly Purity.
Emperor Mingxi was shocked when he received the secret letter about the plague conspiracy.
"It's really abominable!" Xia Zhengqi pounded the table with his hand.
The queen held Xia Miaoyuan tightly in her arms and sat in the warm room, her face full of worry.
"Your Majesty, please take care of yourself! How should the Imperial Guards respond now? Please give an order as soon as possible!" the prince said in a loud voice.
Xia Zhengqi calmed down and said, "Prince, you must immediately take all the imperial physicians and Doctor Yin to the Imperial Guard camp to diagnose those infected and see if there is a cure."
"Also, after the consultation, you and the imperial physicians will calculate the necessary supplies and medicines. If the national treasury does not have enough, ask the Minister of Revenue for funds."
The prince took the order and went to do the work without delaying for a moment.
When Minister of Revenue Zhao Hui heard the words "Ministry of Revenue appropriations", he shuddered as if by reflex.
"Your Majesty, is the news accurate? Even if there really is a plague, it wouldn't necessarily be that serious! Isn't this mobilizing too many troops?"
Dongfang Yushi also echoed: "Yes, now we don't even know whether the news is true or not."
Seeing Minister Zhao and Censor Dongfang say this, several other ministers echoed them.
[Huh! The plague in Jiaxiang Town was terrifying. I remember from the book, Jiaxiang was a big town with over 5,000 people, and the plague killed off only 500 people!]
"You old pedants, if you continue to neglect us like this, I'm afraid the entire Imperial Guard will be wiped out."
Xia Zhengqi secretly gave his daughter a thumbs up in his heart, feeling lucky to have his precious daughter.
"Minister Zhao, Censor Dongfang, do you know what the epidemic situation is like in Jiaxiang Town now?" Xia Zhengqi asked with a cold face.
"I don't know. I haven't heard of any plague in Jiaxiang recently." Censor Dongfang was a little stunned.
"I don't know either. The Spring Festival has just passed, and it is not the time when the plague is prevalent. Besides, Jiaxiang has never had a plague." Minister Zhao said in a light tone, as if he felt very disdainful of the idea of a plague in Jiaxiang.
The new Minister of Revenue, Zhao Hui, was very stingy and would feel very painful about any expenditure of the Ministry of Revenue. He would try every possible way to shirk it.
As for Dongfang Yushi, he has always been conservative and pedantic in his work.
"Report..."
Just when the king and his ministers were in a stalemate, an urgent voice came in.
I saw a guard running to the gate of the Qianqing Palace with sweat all over his forehead.
"Come in quickly!" Xia Zhengqi waved at him.
The guard rushed into the hall in two steps and knelt on the ground. Before he could even catch his breath, he spoke: "Your Majesty, we just found out the itineraries of the dozen or so people infected with the disease."
Xia Zhengqi said anxiously, "Hurry up and tell me!"
"They arrived in the capital last night, the day before the conscription. We speculate that they must have stayed in an inn. However, the Imperial Guards haven't had time to interrogate them about which inn they stayed in."
Xia Zhengqi pursed his lips solemnly and said, "You guys continue your investigation. Don't wait for the results of the interrogation from the Imperial Guards. Go ahead and investigate now. Check every inn to find out where they're staying."
The guard bowed and immediately left.
Xia Miaoyuan, who was sitting in the warm room, heard all of this. She stamped her feet in anger and muttered, "It's bad!"
These infected people entered the city and stayed at the inn, which meant they had come into contact with the people of the capital. Now, even the people of the capital were in danger.
If a few, or even a dozen, civilians were infected, and then they passed the disease on to others, one person could infect a large group. Within three days, the capital would be flooded with infected people.
"Ahhhhhh! Daddy, quickly order the capital to be disinfected!"
[Hey, I don't know if Daddy knows how to disinfect. Sprinkle quicklime on things on the street to disinfect them.]
Xia Miaoyuan was so anxious that he could not sit still in the warm room. He was also troubled by the fact that Emperor Mingxi was discussing matters with more than ten ministers in the front hall, so he could not just run over and talk to them.
The warm room was just behind the front hall, separated from Xia Zhengqi's throne by only a carved screen, so Xia Zhengqi could hear his daughter's thoughts clearly.
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