Chapter 270: Plague Reappears
It was Deputy Team Leader Sun Ping who immediately made the decision: "Xiao Zheng, go check if the weapons we buried are still there. Xiao He, take two people with you to check the situation."
Xiao He's face was a little serious: "What if they want to kill Captain An?"
Sun Ping's eyes flashed with ruthlessness: "We can only fight our way out of the encirclement first."
"But in this way...won't the mission fail?"
"If we die, the mission will fail. And the City Lord said that during the mission, personal safety should be the top priority!"
An Peilin was dragged into the tent.
After lurking here for ten days or half a month, An Peilin naturally knew that this was the tent of Wang Lun, the biggest leader under King Zhoushan.
He quickly calculated in his mind that he had never been able to infiltrate their top management before, but now he was caught. It was really like planting flowers with care, but willows grew into a shade without any intention.
An Peilin instantly thought of countless situations and solutions in his mind.
"Master, the person has been brought here!" the man reported to the person behind the screen. "It was this person who spread the news about Jinzhou Prefecture everywhere, causing panic among the believers below. I have already found out that this person appeared in our group twenty days ago. His name is Goudan. He claimed to be coming to the west to find his parents. He has been acting suspiciously and has been instigating the believers to go to Jinzhou Prefecture to make a living. He deserves death!"
An Peilin's heart skipped a beat. He never expected that this spy had only been working for more than ten days, but his secrets had been known so clearly!
Now, it is dangerous, but also an opportunity!
There was a screen in the room, behind which stood a thin figure. There were seven or eight people around him, all sitting on chairs, looking at him curiously and with ill intent.
However, An Peilin keenly noticed that two of them seemed to be in poor spirits, breathing rapidly, and coughing in low voices from time to time.
Recently, many believers in Gongzhou have developed symptoms of cold.
It was the coldest time of the year and the temperature dropped sharply. They had no cotton clothes and no medicine, so getting sick was common. Therefore, An Peilin was not suspicious.
One of the older women said in a hoarse voice, "People who spread such nonsense and mislead the public should be dragged away and burned to death!"
"Let's interrogate him first to see if he's a spy from Jinzhou Prefecture!"
"We and the King of Jinzhou Prefecture have always kept our distance. Why is he trying to start a war with us?"
The person behind the screen walked out slowly.
The lobby suddenly became quiet.
An Peilin looked up and saw a middle-aged man in his early thirties. He had a square face, a long beard, dark skin, and a gloomy look.
An Peilin was forced to kneel on the cold floor, his head slightly raised. The man walked over and looked down at him: "Are you from Jinzhou Prefecture?"
An Peilin's mind raced, and then he smiled and said, "Master, I'm not from Jinzhou Prefecture. I'm from Gongzhou Shangang Village, right next to Jinzhou Prefecture. When you led your men to occupy Gongzhou Prefecture, my family fled and separated, so I followed them here. I don't know what I did wrong, but why do you all call me a spy?"
"You spread news about Jinzhou Prefecture, shaking the faith of our believers and even inciting them to run towards Jinzhou Prefecture. And you still say you're not a spy?"
Wang Lun shouted, and anyone who was timid would be so scared that they would fall down.
Pian'an Peilin continued to smile and said, "Master, I'm speaking the truth. The people in Jinzhou Prefecture are indeed living a good life. How can telling the truth be considered spreading rumors? Besides, the believers fled to Jinzhou Prefecture because their faith was not strong enough. What does this have to do with me?"
These words surprised everyone.
"Smooth talk!" Wang Lun was so embarrassed by An Peilin's rebuttal that he immediately became furious. "Even if you didn't spread rumors or cause trouble, it's a fact that you have shaken the morale of the army! Drag him away and burn him!"
Upon seeing this, An Peilin immediately cried out in injustice, even asking, "Master, I did all this for you! You must have heard about the situation in Jinzhou Prefecture. Gongzhou and Jinzhou Prefecture are closely adjacent. Don't you have any intention of taking Jinzhou Prefecture?"
"Wait!" Wang Lun waved his hand, frowning slightly. "Go on."
An Peilin immediately turned back, knelt on the ground, and said sincerely: "Master, Jinzhou Prefecture is getting stronger and stronger, and the next step will definitely be to attack us! I admit that I did spread the news about Jinzhou Prefecture on purpose. My purpose was to let the believers in Gongzhou know how well the people in Jinzhou Prefecture are doing, to make them jealous and make them fight to the death! When the time comes, Master only needs to raise his arms and call, and the believers will definitely make a concerted effort to occupy Jinzhou Prefecture and seize it in one fell swoop!"
These words truly shocked everyone in the room.
Even Wang Lun raised his eyebrows slightly, his eyes filled with even more doubt, "Who on earth are you?"
"I am naturally from Shangang Village! I just want to make a career, and now that I am under your command, I am naturally greedy for the military merits. I am proud of my own talents and can read and write, but it is a pity that Jinzhou Prefecture has not given me the opportunity to realize my ambitions! Now, if the leader is also willing, you and I can join forces to capture Jinzhou Prefecture without any problem!"
Wang Lun didn't believe it. "If you want to achieve great things, why don't you go to Jinzhou Prefecture?"
"One is to find my parents, and the other is..." An Peilin hesitated, "The other is that when I was young, I was arrogant and proud, and I offended someone I shouldn't have. Now that person is an official in Jinzhou Prefecture, and there's no way I can rise to prominence. I came to join the leader, where I can find my parents and achieve great things at the same time. Why not?"
Wang Lun seemed unsure. He glanced at his men. The old woman, who seemed quite dignified, spoke first, "Since he's determined to surrender, why don't we give him a chance? Send a group of men to scout out the situation in Jinzhou Prefecture, and let this boy lead the way. If you can bring back a few heads, we'll trust you!"
Another person also said, "That's right. Since you keep saying you're coming to us for refuge, we can't accept you right away. From what you've just said, it seems you have some ability. You also said you can read and write, so we'll give you a chance to live. But we still need a token of your loyalty. Next time, we'll send people to feint an attack on Sanping County to test the bottom line of Jinzhou Prefecture. If you can chop off the county magistrate's head, you'll officially become our brother!"
An Peilin was shocked and put away his contempt. This group of White Lotus Sect was actually smarter than he had imagined!
He immediately put on an expression of great joy, "Thank you, leaders, for giving me this opportunity! Rest assured, everyone, the next time we attack Sanping County, I will be at the forefront!"
Just as he said this, he heard a "bang" from inside the house. It turned out that the man who looked unwell before had fainted and fell directly from the chair to the ground!
Everyone was terrified! Even Wang Lun rushed forward. Everyone hurried to help the man up, not caring about An Peilin anymore!
The man had a look of pain on his face, shivering, and his eyes seemed a little distracted.
An Peilin looked at it and for some reason, he suddenly felt uneasy.
"Brother Liu! How are you?"
"Didn't you say you had a cold? Why hasn't it gotten better yet?"
"Quick, go get the doctor!"
But the man had already vomited with a "wow". The old woman grabbed his wrist anxiously, and then saw the red dot on his arm. She didn't know what she thought of, but her face changed drastically. She was so scared that she shook off the man's arm and took two steps back in shock!
Her voice was horrified, as if she had seen a ghost. "It's smallpox! It's smallpox!"
"What?!!"
The old woman's voice trembled. "That's right! Chills, fever, fatigue, vomiting, and that red rash—it's definitely smallpox! My son and daughter died of smallpox back then. I'm absolutely not mistaken!"
Everyone in the room was dead silent!
Smallpox, the most brutal plague!
Legend has it that once infected, this terminal illness is nearly impossible to survive! Every time a plague struck the Great Zhou Dynasty, it killed tens or even millions of people!
Right now, no matter how much achievements you make or how much merit you gain from following a powerful leader, it is not as good as living a good life!
At this moment, everyone subconsciously stepped back, away from the person lying on the ground.
An Peilin reacted almost immediately: "Quick, quick, cover your mouth and nose, and spread out the air! Call a doctor quickly, it may not be smallpox! I see that many soldiers have caught colds recently, send someone to count the number of people! If it is really smallpox, those who died of colds a few days ago cannot be left in the team, they must be burned immediately! Their clothes cannot be left either, evacuate the crowd quickly to prevent the spread of the disease!"
Wang Lun seemed to have just realized what was happening. His face turned pale as he shouted outside, "Where's the doctor? Call him! Brother Zheng, go ahead and find a few trustworthy brothers to count the number of people who have caught a cold recently!"
After saying this, he glared fiercely at everyone in the room, especially An Peilin: "Don't make this matter public. If the news gets out, no one will survive!"
An Peilin instantly sensed the crisis and could only immediately distance himself from it: "Master, there's no way to hide it. In fact, people have been breaking out with rashes for a few days, and some have been saying it might be the plague. You've made such a big fuss today by calling in doctors, counting the number of people, and setting fires. The believers must have noticed something. And if it really is smallpox, it can't be concealed. Instead of hiding it from your subordinates, why not evacuate the crowd quickly and try to save those who haven't been infected yet!"
The old woman immediately agreed, "This kid is right! We can't hide it anymore. Those people down there have seen smallpox before, and it's such a big thing, how can we keep it secret? Why don't we do what this kid says and evacuate those who are not infected first?"
As soon as An Peilin came out, Sun Ping and others below immediately went to greet him calmly.
An Peilin said solemnly, "Something happened. There's a plague in Gongzhou!"
More than a dozen people's hearts skipped a beat.
"Are you sure?" someone asked.
"I'm sure. I just checked. There's someone sick in the back room. He has a red rash on his arm. And I don't know if you've noticed, but people have been falling ill one after another since ten days ago."
"But the doctor said it was just a common cold."
"Smallpox isn't easy to diagnose in its early stages. A common cold isn't that contagious." An Peilin then remembered the most important thing. "Did you get the cowpox vaccination before you left?"
A dozen people nodded.
An Peilin's tense shoulders finally relaxed, and he smiled bitterly: "The people of Jinzhou Prefecture have all speculated about whether the cowpox vaccine is effective. Now we can put it to the test."
Sun Ping asked, "So what should we do now? Should we continue to hide here?"
"I just surrendered to the enemy temporarily to save my life. From what I saw in their conversation, I think they might be thinking of attacking Jinzhou Prefecture. Now that the plague has broken out, I don't know what the situation is in Gongzhou—"
"Maybe they will give up attacking Jinzhou Prefecture."
"It's very likely that if it really is a plague, they would be too busy taking care of themselves to think about charging into battle."
An Peilin, however, was not optimistic. "Not necessarily. People can do anything when they are forced into a desperate situation. If they knew that Jinzhou Prefecture had the cowpox vaccine, do you think... would they go to Jinzhou Prefecture with all their might?"
Everyone's expression changed immediately.
My heart was instantly pulled high!
This war... is about to break out!
"Is Sanping County still Lu Fei and Lu Shiwen now?"
Sun Ping's voice was a little nervous, "Yes, it's them."
"Are our communication channels still usable?"
“It should work.”
"Okay, write a letter right now, informing Lu Fei of the possible plague and asking him to prepare for war. Also, have him ask the city lord for help immediately!"
"yes!"
However, what An Peilin did not expect was that the news of the plague spread almost immediately!
After the doctor entered the tent, he ran away as if he had seen a ghost, and even shouted for everyone to run for their lives as soon as he left the tent!
After all, the plague cannot be hidden.
The believers were in a state of panic, fleeing in a flash. Thousands fled in one night! They would rather die in the mountains or freeze to death than stay in a place with the plague!
Too many people were fleeing! They fled in all directions, carrying their families, through forests, across rivers, and hiding in the mountains. Wang Lun was unable to stop them, fearing that their flight would spread the smallpox even further. He could only send people to kill many of them, but that still couldn't quell the people's fear of the plague.
That's smallpox!
Once infected, there is almost no way to survive!
There had been no reports of plague in the Zhou Dynasty for more than ten years.
But the incident more than ten years ago almost shook the entire court. It was reported from the north, and almost half of the people in towns, counties, and prefectural cities along the way died. No one was spared. It is said that nearly one million people died in that incident alone!
Who can mention the word "smallpox" without changing color?
This smallpox is no different from a flood or a beast!
An Peilin was originally afraid that Wang Lun would cover up the smallpox incident, which would naturally lead to killing people to silence them, and he would become the most dangerous one. Unexpectedly, the doctor's loud shout as he came out of the tent changed the situation instantly.
The situation took a turn for the worse and immediately became out of control!
Even An Peilin and the others were stunned!
Because of this, Wang Lun sent many people to guard several important official roads, which made it impossible for Sun Ping to get in touch with the people in Sanping County, let alone pass on the information here!
However, the most terrible thing happened!
Wang Lun announced something almost the next day, and he told everyone in a very decisive manner.
——Jinzhou Prefecture has cowpox vaccine!
An Peilin was mixed in the crowd, looking at the believers below who had suddenly become extremely excited. Seeing their fanatical eyes, he instantly broke out in cold sweat!
Sure enough, Gongzhou has been clearly paying attention to the situation in Jinzhou Prefecture!
They never mentioned the cowpox vaccine!
So how did Wang Lun know?
In other words, they have always been aware of the situation in Jinzhou Prefecture, and they even know the latest cowpox vaccine!
It is even possible that they have spies in Jinzhou Prefecture!
No wonder they haven't dared to actually attack Jinzhou Prefecture. They're probably afraid of the city lord's power! But now that the plague has broken out, in order to keep these believers, Wang Lun and his men have no choice but to divert the blame!
An Peilin had to admire Wang Lun.
Just tell the believers that there is cowpox vaccine in Jinzhou Prefecture, and then these crazy believers will definitely risk their lives to occupy Jinzhou Prefecture!
In Gongzhou alone, there are over 60,000 believers! And Sanping County only has Lu Fei's 3,000 soldiers! If Wang Lun leads his men in a desperate siege, how can they resist?!
Sanping County...is in imminent danger!!
Jinzhou Prefecture is in imminent danger!!
But the situation was getting worse and worse! Just when An Peilin and the others were at their wit's end, like ants on a hot pan, Wang Lun once again announced that he would urgently summon a 5,000-man army to attack Sanping County!
And the vanguard troops turned out to be smallpox patients who already had symptoms!
Last night, Wang Lun sent people to count the cases overnight, and the preliminary estimate was that five to six thousand people had already shown symptoms of infection.
And today, Wang Lun announced that they would form the vanguard and attack Sanping County first!
The strangest thing was that those people actually looked very happy, and even seemed a little impatient!
An Peilin and others couldn't help but be shocked!
He couldn't help but push through the crowd, ignoring the risk of infection, and went straight to find an acquaintance from the vanguard team, named Gu Xiaonan. "Xiaonan, are you crazy? Do you know what Sanping County is like? It's easy to defend and hard to attack, with impenetrable walls. The leader is sending you to your deaths! What's more... you are patients. You need doctors! You need medicine! Are you crazy?"
Gu Xiaonan smiled weakly, but subconsciously took two steps back. He was wearing a white face scarf, which Wang Lun had to wear to isolate the infection and minimize the spread of the disease.
"Brother Goudan, you are a good person, thank you for your concern for me. But I still have two younger brothers and sisters. The leader promised us that as long as we dare to go to Jinzhou Prefecture, the first batch of cowpox vaccine will be given to our relatives! Now that the plague has come, these herbs are priced exorbitantly, how can poor people like us afford them? Anyway, I am going to die, but I can't die in vain. My brothers and sisters are still young! My parents are gone, I have to find a way for them to survive, right?"
Another person laughed and said, "That's right! The leader also said that those of us who are sick should go first. Anyone who can infect Jinzhou Prefecture will be killed! This is like going into battle and killing the enemy. Every person infected counts as a kill, and that's ready-made military merit!"
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