Chapter 138 Chapter 138 is the only genuine version...
If it is really an epidemic, wouldn't it be very dangerous for the young lady to go there now?
Qin Chen hesitated for a moment. Gu Zhizhuo took a few steps and asked, "Qin Chen, did you see any village nearby?"
"Yes. Not far ahead." Qin Chen followed and sighed, "They're so hungry, but they're just hanging on and not going to the village to rob."
Gu Zhizhuo walked on, saying, "Young Master said there's a fine line between refugees and bandits. When they were refugees, they had a bottom line and placed their hopes on the government. They would wait patiently for the government to release food in order to survive."
"Once someone crosses that line, from being a refugee to a bandit, they become a disaster for the people nearby."
"Perhaps the mob cannot break into the county town, but they can go to the nearby villages to rob, kill, or even massacre them."
If you have killed someone, you will not be afraid of killing again.
Once you see blood, you will become bloodthirsty.
"That's right," Qi Fu agreed, following behind him leisurely. "When I was young and hadn't yet joined the army, the village near my home was massacred by bandits. The local officials were unkind. They had only begged the officials for some porridge, but several of them starved to death and didn't get it. In anger, they broke into the county government and killed the county magistrate. After escaping, they became bandits, frequently looting in the mountains. Later, they were suppressed by the imperial court."
Qin Chen suddenly stopped and said, "Miss, she's just ahead."
Gu Zhizhuo looked into the distance and saw a small village not far ahead. It was dusk and smoke was rising from every household.
She asked them to wait there while only she and Qingmei went in.
There were refugees nearby, and the fact that they were two men, armed, would definitely make people alert.
Even without the two of them, as soon as Gu Zhizhuo and Qingmei entered the village, everyone put down their work and gathered around them.
It was not until Gu Zhizhuo said that they were here to buy clothes that his expression relaxed slightly.
Gu Zhizhuo traveled light this time, wearing only ordinary riding clothes, but in the eyes of these villagers, this riding clothes was already the best. Hearing that they were going to Yihe County, they thought they were afraid that if they dressed too well, they would be robbed by refugees.
Gu Zhizhuo didn't explain much. He gave a five-cent silver ingot and bought a set of coarse cloth clothes for the four of them. The two of them borrowed a villager's house to change into clothes, wrapped their hair with floral blue cloth, and brought two coarse gauze shorts to Qin Chen and the others.
After changing clothes, they wrapped their weapons with cloth and climbed over the small slope to Yihe County.
Just as Qin Chen said, Yihe County has been surrounded by refugees.
Most of these refugees brought their families with them and sat on the ground in front of the county town gate. Due to hunger and running around, their faces were pale and thin.
If it is just about expelling them, the three hundred elite soldiers brought by Gu Zhizhuo are more than enough.
In order to prevent them from being infected by the epidemic, Gu Zhizhuo drew a few disease-eliminating talismans and gave one to each of them, asking them to put it on their chests. He also used silver needles to prick several acupuncture points on their hands.
"Let's go."
"Qin Chen, go check out the west gate."
The county town has two gates, east and west.
Qin Chen clasped his fists in agreement, and Gu Zhizhuo took the lead and walked towards the direction where the refugees gathered.
Gu Zhizhuo bought coarse cloth clothes, but after she paid the money, the honest villagers took out the best clothes in their homes and gave them to her. They were clean and had only one or two patches on them.
Among these people who were on the run and in exile, he felt somewhat out of place.
Gu Zhizhuo simply wiped the dust from the ground and rubbed it on his clothes and face.
There were only women, children and some old people sitting or lying around, and no one knew where the young and strong men had gone.
Gu Zhizhuo walked straight towards a daughter-in-law holding a child.
My daughter-in-law is not even 10 years old yet, she is very thin, and her pretty face is full of vicissitudes and despair.
As he approached, Gu Zhizhuo noticed that there were indeed no children crying. Many were either sleeping on the floor or being held in someone's arms, but none of them made much noise, as if they were fast asleep, or as if they had already died. A foul odor filled the air.
"Auntie, auntie."
Gu Zhizhuo squatted down and called his daughter-in-law.
The daughter-in-law was stunned for a moment, then looked up at her and said with dry lips: "Girl, I have no food here."
"I have."
Gu Zhizhuo secretly stuffed a pancake into her hands.
The daughter-in-law's eyes lit up, and she quickly raised her sleeve to cover her mouth, lowered her head and took a bite, not minding the choking of the pancake at all, and ate it voraciously. But she stopped after only one bite.
She thanked him repeatedly: "Thank you very much, young lady."
"Where are the men?" Gu Zhizhuo pretended to be confused. "Why are you the only ones here?"
Facing her puzzled gaze, Gu Zhizhuo explained nonchalantly, "My family lives in the village ahead. We heard there were people from Qingzhou here, so my mother asked me and my brother and sister to come over and take a look. Hey, my mother married here from Qingzhou, and when she heard there was an earthquake in Qingzhou, she was terribly worried, afraid my grandmother and the others would flee with them."
Oh. The wife had no doubts.
The girl even gave her a cake! They were almost starving to death, so what else could she possibly gain?
She smiled weakly and said, "That's where the men go."
The wife pointed in the direction of the county town and said in a hoarse voice, "The officials want to starve us to death, but we don't want to die. My Huniu is only four years old, and she doesn't want to die either."
As she spoke, she found a chipped coarse porcelain bowl from her bag, poured some water into it, and broke the cake into small pieces and soaked them in the water.
The wife sighed and said, "The men went to the government to ask for food. My husband said that he would get a bowl of rice for us mother and me no matter what. Let me hold on for now."
She broke the cake in half and put the other half in her arms against her chest, then smiled shyly at Gu Zhizhuo.
Gu Zhizhuo said to Chongjiu, "Brother, go look for them at the city gate. Maybe my cousin and the others will be there."
Chongjiu: “…”
Gu Zhizhuo winked and said, "Go quickly."
Chongjiu responded with a buzzing sound and placed the cotton bag in his hand at Gu Zhizhuo's feet.
The biscuits in the coarse porcelain bowl softened. The daughter-in-law picked up the child, supported her back with her arms, and called out softly, "Hu Niu, wake up and eat something."
"Eat something. You'll be fine once you're full."
She tried to feed the child in her arms, stuffing the softened biscuits into her mouth, but the child was barely breathing and fell into a coma, and no matter how she called her, she would not wake up.
The wife was almost crying: "Hu Niu, can you have a bite?"
Gu Zhizhuo helped her hold the child and took the child's pulse.
After pondering for a while, she lowered her wrist and left on the pretext of looking for someone. She then went to see another child not far away. It was a boy, about seven or eight years old. He was in better spirits and could still speak. She gave him a few bites of the cake and he ate two bites.
Gu Zhizhuo looked after several children in a row.
Similarly, they first used biscuits to get close to the child's family, and then secretly took their pulses. The pulses were generally similar, indicating the same disease, but with varying degrees of severity.
The heaviest one was the one called Hu Niu.
Different children have the same disease, it is definitely an epidemic.
After walking around a small area, Gu Zhizhuo returned to Hu Niu.
"Auntie, when did Huniu get sick?" Gu Zhizhuo sat down beside her. "It seems like many children are sick."
"Five days, no, seven days," the wife said in a daze. "I fell ill on the road. My husband said that as soon as we got to the county town, we would go see a doctor. We've already reached the county town, why won't they let us in?"
"Are you really going to force us to death?" She gritted her teeth and was a little hysterical.
After saying these words in one breath, most of the strength he had forced himself to hold on to disappeared, and he gasped for breath.
Why.
Gu Zhizhuo sighed secretly.
Even if the young master had made some arrangements, the disaster caused by the earthquake could not be completely resolved by making advance arrangements.
Gu Zhizhuo supported her and took her pulse. Her pulse was the same as Huniu's, not as strong as Huniu's right now, but it would get stronger in a few days.
Epidemic.
An epidemic that can infect adults and children.
Gu Zhizhuo looked around and realized that if the war broke out, the refugees here would probably not be spared.
Without medicine, they would die of illness before starving to death, and even infect the people in the county.
She thought of the epidemic in Dongyang County, Qingzhou in her previous life, when only one in ten people in the entire county survived.
Gu Zhizhuo pondered for a moment and then took the initiative to say, "Auntie, I have been learning medicine from my master since I was young, and I know quite a bit about it. If you are willing, I can treat Hu Niu."
As soon as these words were spoken, the wife, who had almost lost all her energy, felt her heart leap. She didn't know where she got the strength from, but she grabbed Gu Zhizhuo's hands and begged, "Miss, Miss, please save Hu Niu. I, Kong Xiulan, will serve you like a slave."
"Don't move. You haven't eaten for a long time. You might faint easily."
Gu Zhizhuo took out a silver needle from the needle bag and first pierced Hu Niu's earlobe. After a long while, a drop of blood slowly seeped out.
My qi and blood are extremely weak, and I am hungry and sick. It is extremely difficult for me to hold on until now.
"What, what happened?" asked daughter-in-law Kong Xiulan nervously.
"Don't worry, auntie." Gu Zhizhuo soothed her, "I'll give her the needle first."
Acupuncture is not suitable for epidemics. Decoctions are needed so that everyone can drink them in a short period of time.
But we have to try how to use this medicine.
I'm afraid this child won't be able to survive until then.
Gu Zhizhuo gave the child acupuncture treatment repeatedly, and soon the child's pale face became a little rosy.
"Girl..." Kong Xiulan was shaking all over, not daring to move. She looked at Gu Zhizhuo pleadingly, feeling uneasy.
"Don't move yet. The needle needs to stay in for a while."
Another injection was given, and Hu Niu let out a low moan.
Kong Jilan couldn't help but get excited and asked, "Is she about to wake up?"
She couldn't control her voice for a moment, attracting the attention of those around her. Seeing Gu Zhizhuo giving Hu Niu acupuncture, someone asked in surprise, "Sister-in-law Kong, where did you find this doctor?"
doctor?
At the word "doctor," a woman holding a child stumbled over and said quickly, "Hurry up and take a look at my Zhuzi."
Gu Zhizhuo looked up. She had taken the child's pulse when she walked around earlier, so she said gently, "He's not seriously ill. Wait for a while."
Acupuncture can only temporarily treat the symptoms, stimulate the child's vitality and keep her alive. On the surface, the symptoms are alleviated and she looks better, but in fact the disease has not been cured.
Hu Niu is seriously ill and will not live for a few hours if she is not treated. Only this can help her survive.
Gu Zhizhuo planned to give injections to a few children who were particularly seriously ill to help them survive.
She only had two hands, so there was no need to waste time if the problem wasn't serious. She would buy some herbs from the county town and then use the medicine together.
"Why wait!"
Before she could explain, the woman rushed over. Gu Zhizhuo was still giving acupuncture and was caught off guard and almost fell to the ground. Fortunately, Qingmei blocked her way and said, "Get out of the way."
"This is a girl. She's dead, so why save her? Zhuzi is the only son in our Li family for four generations. You must save him first." The woman with disheveled hair shouted arrogantly.
Kong Xiulan was also angry. She rushed over and tore her hair. Without saying a word, she bit the woman's face. The pain made the woman scream and beg for mercy. Then she threw her to the side viciously.
She was not as strong as the woman, and she just relied on the fact that she had eaten a piece of cake to become fierce.
She opened her arms to block Gu Zhizhuo, blood still dripping from her mouth, and looked like she would fight to the death with anyone who dared to come over.
"The doctor is saving my Tiger Girl."
"No one is allowed to make noise!"
She screamed in a shrill voice: "Did you hear that?"
During their escape, they became more or less familiar with each other. This daughter-in-law was usually very delicate and spoke softly. No one had ever seen her so fierce.
Gu Zhizhuo did not take any action and gave Xiang Qingmei a wink.
Qingmei went over and grabbed the woman, shouting fiercely, "Who among you recognizes her? Take her away quickly. What's the matter? His son is his life, but other people's daughters aren't?"
A maid came over and pulled her back: "Aunt Wang, please stop making a fuss. We have to save them one by one. My little grandson is also sick."
As she spoke, she also looked at Gu Zhizhuo. Seeing that Hu Niu's complexion had improved a lot, she was delighted and pulled the woman even harder.
No one knew where this little girl came from, but she was the only doctor they had met in recent days. If they missed her, they didn't know where to find her.
If they don't have money to give her, she will definitely leave at any time. After driving away Wang's daughter-in-law, she can still show her to her little grandson.
"Hey, don't bother me, girl."
Many people had this idea, and everyone around gathered around and watched eagerly.
Aunt Wang was pushed aside and immediately became unhappy. She shouted frantically: "Dad, you are such a useless thing! Your wife and son are going to be bullied to death."
Qingmei rubbed her ears and complained in her heart: I don’t know whether she is really hungry or not, how can she be so full of energy.
"My..." Qingmei almost called her "my girl" out of habit, the name turning around in her throat, "My sister only has a pair of hands, you have to see them one by one."
"Who's going to make trouble again?"
She waved her fist and threatened, "I'll take my sister away and won't show you any of her."
How can this be possible!
Someone quickly pulled Aunt Wang down to comfort her, so that the doctor wouldn't really walk away.
Qingmei gave them a sweet treat first, scaring them, and then spoke to them kindly, soothing them and asking, "We are here to look for our relatives, but we haven't found them yet..."
The relative has not been found yet, which means that he will not leave for a while. Everyone is happy.
She asked, "Can you tell us what's going on? Aren't the officials going to let you into the city?"
"No."
When it comes to this, many people are furious.
They sat on the ground, each complaining to Qingmei.
Most of them are from Wujiang Prefecture in Qingzhou. Wujiang Prefecture is located in the northeast of Qingzhou and is the exact center of the earthquake, with mountains collapsing and the earth cracking.
"Ah. All the houses in our town collapsed, and many people died. The rocks blocked the road, and we couldn't survive in the town. We had no choice but to leave. People always have to fight for a way to survive, right?"
"Are you all from the same town?" Qingmei asked.
"No, no, we just met on the road. We walked and begged for food along the way. We originally thought we'd count our progress as far as we could, but then we heard someone say that King Chen had ordered all counties to give us grain and porridge. We were so happy that we came here to try our luck."
An old woman slapped her thigh and cried bitterly: "We finally made it here, thinking we could have a full meal, but the county magistrate won't give us any food at all. He's deliberately trying to starve us to death."
"What King Chen, King Chen, bah."
"They deliberately tricked me into coming here to starve to death."
The people around nodded in agreement.
Qingmei frowned, and seeing Gu Zhizhuo's focused gaze, she resisted the urge to scold him and asked, "What happened next?"
"later……"
"Oh no!" A young man in his teens came running back from a distance, shouting, "Sister Xiulan, the officers and soldiers are coming out! Your man is fighting with the officers."
Kong Xiulan was startled when she heard this, and looked around with a pale face.
"They didn't get any food."
"what to do."
"If they hit the officers and soldiers, will they be imprisoned and beaten to death?"
"What about us?"
"No one will come to help us." A young wife covered her face and cried, "Prince Chen is the same. All the officials are the same."
Gu Zhizhuo's pupils suddenly shrank, and she put away the last needle. Hu Niu's eyelids suddenly trembled, and she suddenly opened her eyes.
Gu Zhizhuo said: "No."
"Someone is thinking of you."
She smiled slightly, and the light of the setting sun fell on the side of her face. Although it was covered with mud, it still had a calming power.
She said, "I'm here, aren't I?"
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