Tian An managed the family business very well, and Zhao Yiming worked day and night and finally arrived in Meixian, Weizhou after seven days.
But the situation here is far more serious than they imagined.
The county magistrate had already ordered the city to be sealed off. Now, people are only allowed to enter Meixian County but not leave. Several surrounding counties have also been affected. In order to prevent strange diseases from entering the city, people are only allowed to leave but not enter.
The entire state was in chaos, and Meixian, the first city to be sealed off, had already run out of food.
To be on the safe side, Zhao Yiming distributed all the medical masks prepared by Tian An as soon as they entered Weizhou, and asked everyone to have one and wear them strictly according to the requirements.
And according to Tian An's advice, everyone must maintain a safe distance of more than three feet between each other.
Before entering Meixian County, Zhao Yiming distributed medical protective clothing from Tian An's space to several imperial doctors, and prepared disinfectant, ready to start disinfection.
The people probably knew that the county town gate would be opened today, so those who could still move all crowded at the gate, ready to rush out.
Before the door was opened, the people outside could hear all kinds of chaotic sounds of beating, scolding, shouting, and crying coming from inside.
After a long while, the county magistrate, dressed in his official uniform, poked his head out from the city wall and called out to Zhao Yiming below, "May I ask who is here to help us?"
Zhao Yiming sat on his horse and raised his hand slightly to wave forward. Jingyu immediately shouted loudly to the tower: "My master is the sixth-rank official of the Ministry of War, and also the Duke of Zhao, Zhao Yiming."
The county magistrate repeated Jingyu's words silently. When he heard that he was a sixth-rank official, he didn't take it seriously. But when he heard that he was the Duke of Zhao, his expression changed immediately.
He slowed down, and when he spoke again, his tone subconsciously became flattering.
"Sir Zhao, the people are now blocking the city gates, clamoring to leave. I'm afraid they'll spread the strange disease. I don't dare open the gates. What do you think we should do?"
Zhao Yiming pondered for a moment and whispered a few words into Jingyu's ear. Jingyu then called out again, "Please, sir, inform the people that the court has sent food and medicine, as well as imperial physicians, who will definitely cure the strange disease and help everyone overcome this difficult time.
But if anyone attempts to force their way out of the city gate, the soldiers outside will have their swords drawn, and will kill anyone who crosses the gate without mercy."
The county magistrate immediately sent someone to pass on the message after hearing his words, which were both kind and serious.
Sure enough, a moment later, Zhao Yiming and others outside the city gate heard that the noisy noise inside the city gate had subsided.
However, just in case, Zhao Yiming ordered the soldiers to draw their swords and form an arc to surround and defend the city gate.
Soon, the city gate opened from the inside.
As Zhao Yiming expected, some people agreed on the surface, but still wanted to take the opportunity to rush out of the city gate.
However, as soon as he squeezed out of the crowd, he was frightened by the icy white blade in front of him.
Seeing this, Zhao Yiming looked ahead with a stern and sharp gaze and shouted, "Retreat!"
The soldiers behind him followed closely, shouting in unison and dignity: "Retreat, retreat, retreat..."
The few people who were about to rush out of the city gate were frightened by the momentum and their legs went weak. They hurriedly retreated step by step along with the retreating people.
Afterwards, Zhao Yiming ordered the soldiers who were already wearing medical protective clothing to serve as the vanguard to disinfect and clear the way.
Then the carriages carrying the imperial doctors and the carriages loaded with food, medicine and supplies entered the city. Finally, after all the soldiers entered the city, the city gates were closed again.
After entering the city, Zhao Yiming asked the soldiers guarding the city to take them to the widest street in the city.
This place happened to be a crossroads. Zhao Yiming stopped his horse, put his feet on it and stood directly on the horse's back.
Looking at the people who had followed them all the way, he first shouted loudly: "To prevent the further spread of the virus, please spread out and keep a distance of more than three feet from each other."
Since the soldiers still had their knives unsheathed, the people quickly did as he said.
Afterwards, Zhao Yiming asked the soldiers to distribute masks to everyone, "In order to prevent the further spread of the virus, whether you have been infected with the virus or not, everyone should wear this mask from today on."
While the soldiers were distributing masks, Zhao Yiming once again began to implement control according to the method given to him by Tian An.
He looked at the soldier who had led them here and asked, "How many of the largest restaurants are there here?"
The soldier scratched his head and said, "The largest one seems to be the Pengji Restaurant behind you."
"Peng's? Is it the business of the Peng family in Beijing?" Zhao Yiming looked back at the restaurant behind him and asked.
The soldier shook his head and said, "I'm sorry, sir. I'm not sure if this Peng family is the same as the Peng family in the capital you mentioned."
Seeing this, Zhao Yiming didn't even frown, and ordered: "Jingyu, go and verify. Regardless of whether it is from the Peng family in the capital, all the people will be collected and used as a medical center for the time being."
If it really was Peng Zhang's restaurant, then he would talk about friendship, after all, it was easier to get things done with acquaintances. If it wasn't his, then he would give some money, but if they refused to budge, then he wouldn't mind using force.
Then he looked at the soldier leading the way and said, "I need to set up two more medical points. Do you have any recommendations?"
The soldier looked at the Pengji Restaurant behind him and asked, "But they all need places this big?"
Zhao Yiming nodded, "The bigger the better."
The soldier thought for a moment and said, "The Chunxiang Tower in the east of the city is actually bigger than this, but..."
As soon as he heard the name, he knew it was not a good place, but Zhao Yiming didn't care about that at the moment.
"Jingyu arranged for someone to negotiate and offered them money to vacate the space to accommodate the patients. We'll use courtesy first and then force. If they refuse to comply, we'll enforce the order."
After that, he looked at the soldier again, "Anything else?"
"There's a large vacant lot in the slums in the west of the city, but we need to build a shed there," the soldier thought for a moment and said.
"Okay, that's it. Go notify the county magistrate and ask him to quickly arrange people to build the shed. Everything must be completed before noon." Zhao Yiming made the final decision.
"Yes, I will go and tell the county magistrate right away." The soldier took the order and ran quickly to find the county magistrate.
Seeing that most of the masks had been distributed, Zhao Yiming looked at the people again and said, "Now, everyone, listen to my command and line up in rows, keeping your distance. I will immediately arrange for the imperial physician to diagnose anyone who is confirmed to have been infected with the virus.
Later, they will be taken directly to the medical center for intensive treatment until they are fully recovered.
If you are confirmed to be healthy, you can go back first, and food will be distributed later."
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