Chapter 2071 Meeting
Since they still had to wait, Manbao and his friends simply started chatting with the yamen runners and asked about the current situation in the city.
However, the yamen runner was very cautious and refused to say too much. The three of them could only step aside and look up at the city.
Xiazhou City is the only way for the Turks to move south. Half of its jurisdiction is grassland. About 300 miles to the north is the Shanyu Protectorate, and in the middle are large grasslands and forests.
Therefore, the city walls of Xiazhou are tall and the city gates are heavy. It is an important garrison town. Although it is not a border town, there are quite a few soldiers stationed there.
After looking carefully, they found that there were many soldiers walking on the city wall, but they were not facing outside, but facing inside the city.
It seems that the situation in the city is not very good.
Just as they were thinking about it, the small gate under the city wall opened and three horses galloped out. They were attracted by the noise and looked over.
Seeing the person coming, Man Bao, who was leaning against the horse, stood up immediately. The person also jumped off the horse and ran over, "Miss Man, you are here——"
Manbao reached out to support Wan Tian, who was about to kneel down, and asked, "How are Brother Yang and the others?"
Wan Tian wiped his tears and said, "The master is fine, but the wife..."
He didn't finish his words, but turned sideways and said, "Miss Man, please go into the city quickly. The master and the others are waiting at the county government office."
Manbao and Baishan looked at each other, turned around and mounted their horses without asking any more questions.
With Wantian leading the way, they entered the city smoothly. After entering the city, they found that there was no one on the road, but there were many checkpoints on the road, guarded by soldiers.
While verifying identities, Wan Tian took the time to tell Man Bao Bai Shan, "The master has vacated several houses in the city specifically for housing patients. Some who can't be accommodated are temporarily staying in wooden sheds. Anyone who has contracted smallpox is not allowed to go out."
"If anyone in the city falls ill, they're isolated in their own house, with doctors visiting regularly. But there are only thirteen doctors in the city, too few to care for so many people." Wan Tian was practically in tears as he spoke, "So most sick people are sent to the unified house. Madam, she was sent there this morning as well."
Manbao was startled and asked, "Is my sister-in-law infected?"
Wan Tian nodded and said through gritted teeth, "Those people are too evil. We have been on high alert, but we didn't expect someone to still take advantage of us."
The group passed through three intersections before reaching the county government office. Perhaps because Wantian was leading them, the guarding soldiers only took a glance at them and let them pass, which was why they were able to pass so quickly.
There were many people in the county government office, and many officials were coming and going. As soon as they approached the lobby, they heard Yang Heshu's voice. It seemed a little hoarse, but he still gave orders one by one in an orderly manner.
As soon as Manbao and the others appeared at the door, Yang Heshu looked up at them. He couldn't help but smile. He put down the documents in his hand and stood up. But perhaps because he had been sitting for too long, his vision was blurred for a while. The smile on his face did not change, and he still supported the table, but he paused for a long time.
In just a moment, Bai Shan and the other two had already rushed over to support him, "Xiaoxiong Yang?"
The person in front of him gradually became clearer, and his voice became clearer. He smiled and said, "You are here?"
The officials still waiting in the hall looked at them curiously.
Yang Heshu held down Zhou Man's hand that was feeling his pulse and introduced him to everyone, "This is Doctor Zhou from the Imperial Hospital."
He then pointed to Bai Shan and Bai Erlang and said, "These two are students from Chongwenguan. They will work with us in the future. Let's meet them."
The officials in the hall were startled, then delighted, and came forward to pay their respects, especially Zhou Man, who was extremely enthusiastic.
They had heard a lot about Zhou Man's deeds recently. They heard that she was a famous miracle doctor in the capital. Although they had known that she was young before, they only realized how young she was when they saw her.
Manbao saw that Yang Heshu was overtired and probably hungry, so he withdrew his hands and politely returned the greetings to everyone.
Yang Heshu smiled and greeted them, then let everyone go back to have their meal. He then led Manbao and the others to the backyard.
As soon as they arrived at the backyard, the smile on Yang Heshu's face disappeared. He said to Wantian, "Take Daji and the others and settle them down."
Wan Tian responded and asked Daji and the others to go down.
Bai Shan nodded to Daji, and Daji went downstairs with two guards and asked for medical assistance.
The medical assistant thought about it and followed.
It was obvious that they had a good relationship, and they probably had something private to talk about, so he decided not to stay there.
Yang Heshu sat on a chair and told the servants to prepare lunch. Bai Shan and the other two took off their cloaks and handed them to them.
Yang Heshu asked, "You guys are staying at the county government office for now. Did you arrive early? When will the Imperial Hospital's convoy arrive?"
Manbao said: "If nothing unexpected happens, they will arrive in three days."
Yang Heshu breathed a sigh of relief and said to them, "There aren't many medicinal herbs left in the county. I've tried to get them from other places, but there's also smallpox outside of Xiazhou City, so what I can get is limited."
Manbao asked, "How many people are sick in the city now?"
Yang Heshu sighed deeply and said, "There are 1,859 people on the list."
That means there are still some who are not on the list.
He said, "There are quite a few people not on the list, especially those in the villages outside the city. Since the city was completely sealed off, my control over the villages outside the city has weakened. In some villages, the entire village has been infected with smallpox. I can only seal off the village and send them some medicine, but..."
He paused and said uncomfortably: "There are too few doctors..."
There are really too few of them, and he can't force doctors to come to the epidemic area. Half of the thirteen doctors who are willing to stay in the city now come from other places.
Half of the doctors in the city had left, not to mention recruiting from other places.
Manbao asked, "How can we take care of so many patients with so few doctors?"
"So many people have died in the past few days," Yang Heshu rubbed his forehead tiredly and said, "It's been fifteen days since the city was locked down. Counting the earliest case I know of, it's already been thirty-eight days. Many patients are now at the end of their lives."
"I asked people to classify the cases according to the severity, and asked the doctors to give priority to patients with mild and moderate symptoms..." Yang Heshu told them in detail about the current situation in the county.
After the food was served, they washed their hands and ate together. He then mentioned Cui, "Your sister-in-law has also contracted smallpox and has been moved to the house. Will you come with me to see her later? Or do you need to rest for a while?"
Seeing that his eyes were a little red, Manbao said, "We'll go after dinner."
Yang Heshu nodded.
It had been five days, and this was the first time he had eaten such delicious and appetizing food. Manbao ate two bowls of rice in a row, and only after he finished asked, "Where's Brother Qi?"
Yang Heshu then asked someone to bring Qi Ge'er out.
He was already two years old. Perhaps because his mother was not around, his eyes were red from crying, and he was still twitching when the nanny took him out.
Manbao reached out to hug him, but he reached out to his father.
Yang Heshu reached out and held him in his arms, allowing Manbao to examine him.
Manbao simply felt his pulse and touched his forehead. Seeing that there was nothing wrong, he took out the medicine bottle, poured out a pill, put it in his mouth, and asked with a smile, "Is it sweet?"
Qi Ge'er was so happy that he forgot about his mother and responded crisply, "Sweet!"
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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