Chapter 130: Bounty
The people of Bear Village stockpiled food for the winter and hibernated in stone houses.
Other people in Shu were not so lucky, especially those who fled.
Outside Zhiyou's palace, stretching for dozens of miles, there are temporary residences built anywhere.
A few pieces of tattered linen were wrapped around several pillars on all sides, and then used to cover the roof, to make a small thatched hut.
People gathered in groups to keep warm, and coughing sounds were heard one after another.
In a straw hut, Zhao Lizheng had just coaxed Zhao Xiaobao to sleep. He couldn't hold back his cough any longer, so he ran to the door, squatted on the ground and started coughing loudly.
Zhao Lizheng is old, and the villagers who fled with him were either dead or injured. He had no time to vent his sadness, and more serious problems were already looming.
"Cough! Cough! Cough!"
After coughing several times in succession, Zhao Lizheng felt as if there were countless itchy bugs in his chest biting him, biting him so much that he wished he could cough them all out in one breath and crush them to death.
"Cough! Cough! Cough! Ahhh... cough!"
A violent cough caused Zhao Lizheng's hunched body to bounce straight up from the ground.
"Ah—take it off!"
After finally spitting out a mouthful of sticky phlegm, Zhao Lizheng felt that the pain in his chest seemed to be less uncomfortable.
"Grandpa, Grandpa, are you feeling better?" Zhao Xiaobao ran to Zhao Lizheng at some point, looking at the blood beads hanging from the corner of his grandfather's mouth, his little face full of worry.
"It's okay, Grandpa is fine, Xiaobao, don't be afraid." Zhao Lizheng could smell the blood in his mouth. Looking at the panicked Zhao Xiaobao, he could only stretch out his trembling hands to touch Xiaobao and comfort him.
There is no way. All the family members are gone, and now there are only two people left in the Zhao family.
Zhao Xiaobao witnessed the departure of his relatives with his own eyes, and the childish look on his face was gone. Every day he hugged his only grandfather with worry, fearing that when he opened his eyes, his grandfather would be gone too.
But Zhao Lizheng's condition had just eased when the itchy bug started to attack again and a new round of coughing began.
Looking at the people next to me, they were all in the same situation.
That day, after Zhao Lizheng and his group escaped from the gate of Jiancheng County, many of their remaining people gradually contracted the disease.
I heard from other people on the road that there are doctors in Zhiyou Palace who provide free treatment to everyone.
Zhang Xiaodi, the only one who did not contract the disease, led everyone to rush to Zhiyou Palace at the instruction of Zhao Lizheng.
However, after they arrived, they found out that although the King of Shu provided everyone with a temporary place to live, most of the people were infected with the epidemic and there was no longer enough medicine.
Since yesterday, the people could only get a bowl of herbal water that had been boiled several times.
Since Zhang Xiaodi and his friends arrived later, they naturally got less.
Inside Zhiyou Palace.
"Master," Xu Huai said worriedly, "this epidemic is getting worse and worse. Over a hundred people have died, and there's still no news from the ghost doctor we went to find."
After hearing this, Jiang Yu's expression gradually became solemn.
He was able to gather the people here because he had sent people to find the ghost doctor in advance.
But when the Rong people moved south, the ghost doctor also followed the crowd and disappeared completely.
The epidemic spread at an extremely fast speed. Seeing that all the people were infected with the disease, Jiang Yu was anxious and angry.
Because the troops sent by the court had already arrived in Shu. However, they had been staying at the pass leading to Shu, and did nothing while the Rong people slaughtered the people wantonly.
Thinking of what the King of Shu said a few days ago, Jiang Yu became even more dissatisfied with his father who had just ascended the throne.
He really couldn't understand. It was bad enough that he was cruel to his mother, but now that he had seized the world, he was so indifferent to the people. What was he doing?
In the past few days, if the Rong army had not been affected by the epidemic and had not suspended its plan to attack the city from the south, the people would have once again become victims of the Rong army.
"How has the food been consumed these days?" The young man's brows, which had been furrowed for a long time, relaxed a little and asked in a deep voice.
"There is still half of the food."
Xu Huai breathed a sigh of relief and added, "Fortunately, the King of Shu hid some of the grain he had collected here, and the young master used it on the people. This can be considered taking from the people and using it for the people."
The boy's frown finally relaxed a little.
"Forget it, send more people to find the ghost doctor, and post a reward notice among the people. Anyone who can cure the plague will be rewarded with a thousand taels of gold," the young man frowned and ordered, and Xu Huai went out in response.
"Is the epidemic really incurable?" The young man paced in the room, muttering to himself.
For some reason, the image of that little girl appeared in his mind...
"Uncle Xu," the young man paused before saying, "Let's not disturb them."
"Master, have you thought of anything?" Xu Huai, who had already given the order, turned around and asked.
"No." The boy waved his hand.
The next day.
The north wind blew snow foam through the mountains, forests and valleys, and the earth was soon covered with a silver coat. The people on the ground had no warm clothes and huddled together like dogs, feeling cold.
The epidemic has made life difficult for the people, and the sudden heavy snow has made the situation worse.
Fortunately, Jiang Yu finally received the news.
"The news about the ghost doctor has been found, and the ghost doctor is actually staying with the Shen family."
Jiang Yu felt warm in his heart after hearing Xu Huai's report.
"Uncle Xu, I'll go get the ghost doctor myself. You and Uncle Wang should stabilize the situation here and don't let Uncle Wang mess things up.
As for the imperial army, as long as the Rong people don't make any unusual moves, don't make enemies with them for the time being."
The two men and four horses rode through the wind and snow, galloping quickly towards the southwest Liangshui Prefecture.
Bear Village.
"Grandpa Yu, I went out to investigate yesterday and heard that the Rong people have temporarily stopped their attack due to the epidemic. We must also pay attention."
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com