Chapter 2089 Origin
After the Little New Year, the number of people who fell ill every day was only a few. People who were cured left the medical tent every day. Yang Heshu saw that there were fewer people and the branch courtyard was almost empty, so he simply moved all the patients in the medical tent to the branch courtyard.
Manbao no longer cared about the villa, but focused on taking care of the remaining patients in the military camp. As they gradually recovered, New Year's Eve was approaching.
It is impossible to go back to Beijing to celebrate the New Year.
Manbao was holding a hand warmer and was welcomed into the carriage by Yingyue as soon as he got off. She said with a smile, "Mr. Bai and the others have arrived. They are just waiting for Miss Man."
Manbao shrank his neck and said, "Xiazhou is really cold, much colder than the capital. Fortunately, there are many herbs sent to treat colds, otherwise it would be a lot of trouble."
Yang Heshu, who was sitting by the fire and feeling a little sleepy, vaguely heard these words. He looked up and saw her coming in wearing a cloak. He smiled and said, "Speaking of which, I have to thank you for being so thoughtful and preparing these in advance when preparing the herbs."
This was a private banquet. Zhou Man had just come out of the military camp, so it was a welcome party for her and also a celebration. Now, except for some unrecovered smallpox patients in the other courtyard, there was no one else.
The government office has been cleaning and checking the streets and alleys these past two days, and no new smallpox patients have been found.
Apart from Zhou Man, he only invited Bai Shan, Bai Er, Yin Huo, and Major General Gong.
He said, "Major General Gong should be here soon. He said he wanted to thank you very much. The smallpox mortality rate in the army is lower than outside. The mortality rate in the medical tent you are in charge of is also the lowest."
Manbao hadn't been getting enough sleep for two consecutive months, and all she wanted to do was sleep. She sat by the stove, holding a hand warmer, not even taking off her cloak, and asked, "Is the data out yet?"
"Not yet," Bai Shan replied. "We're still counting. We've only recorded everyone we can find. We'll have to wait a few days to find out the exact number. But the total population of Xiazhou City and its surrounding areas alone should be no less than 6,000, with over 2,000 dead."
He paused and said, "The news spread too widely at the beginning. The city was okay, but some of the rural areas were isolated. When we went there, only one in ten of them remained."
Manbao was a little sad, and Yang Heshu was even more heartbroken. There were four counties in Xiazhou City, and Guo County under his jurisdiction was the worst hit.
Bai Shan lowered his voice and said, "But I found that the highest death rate wasn't in Shuofang County. Of the six thousand people infected in Xiazhou, at least four thousand were in Xiazhou City, but the death toll in Xiazhou City was only seven hundred and fifty-eight. I was the one who inspected the countryside, so the total death toll shouldn't have exceeded two hundred."
Shuofang County is the outer county of Xiazhou City, and Yang Heshu is the county magistrate of Shuofang County.
In other words, outside Shuofang County, there were less than two thousand patients but more than one thousand died.
This is a mortality rate of over 50%. It was okay at the beginning, but later the prescriptions from the Imperial Hospital were spread and the cure rate increased. It shouldn't be like this.
Yang Heshu sat up straight.
The room was silent for a moment before Yin Huo said calmly, "Smallpox could wipe out the entire clan. With a mortality rate of only around 50%, the imperial court should be satisfied. I don't think they'll be too sad, considering it's not like 80% to 90% of the population has died."
Bai Jilang was so shocked that he couldn't speak. It took him a while to find his voice. "Then, then let it go?"
Bai Shan said rationally, "If we really want to hold someone accountable, the first person we should question should be Brother Yang. The smallpox epidemic started in Shuofang County."
Yang Heshu clenched and unclenched his fists in his sleeves. Cui, who brought the food, looked at him worriedly.
Bai Shan reached out to take the plate of meat. Man Bao also looked up at Cui Shi, forced a smile and asked, "How is my sister-in-law doing these days?"
Cui smiled and said, "I'm fine. I'm very careful, so the pimples didn't leave any marks."
Manbao nodded.
Bai Shan put the meat slices on the iron plate. The meat sizzled, and the aroma of the meat brought everyone back to their senses. He asked Yang Heshu, "Has Brother Yang written the letter of apology?"
Yang Heshu nodded. "The one for Shuofang County is already on its way and should arrive in the capital in two days. But the one for Xiazhou City will have to wait until you calculate the numbers."
Bai Shan said, "My classmates and I will speed up, but it is impossible to finish it before the New Year."
"Yes, this year is destined to be an unfair one." Yang Heshu glanced outside and said, "The governor's mansion has lifted the house arrest. After the New Year, I will return to Beijing to sue him. Do you want to come back with me?"
He had placed the governor under house arrest, so this matter obviously could not be let go;
But Governor Niu would not let it go like this. They must have a lawsuit to fight in front of the emperor, and the situation in Xiazhou City also required them to make a report in front of the emperor.
Bai Shan looked at Man Bao.
Manbao thought about it and nodded, "There aren't many patients in the other hospital now. They should have the results in a few days. As long as there are no new patients, we can go back."
Yin Huo was a little puzzled, "Why did Brother Yang put Governor Niu under house arrest?"
An indescribable expression appeared on Yang Heshu's face. Talking about others behind their backs is really not the character of a gentleman.
"Because he's stupid!" Young General Gong strode in, untied his cloak and tossed it to a servant. He waved to the few who were about to stand up to salute, then plopped down on a stool by the stove and said to Yang Heshu, "Just return to the capital. My father has already promised to write a letter to speak up for you. Humph, even if Niu Feng is placed under house arrest, so what? The fact that he hasn't punished his family is already because he's an official appointed by the court."
Now not only Yin Huo, but also Bai Shan and others couldn't help but become curious.
They arrived early and were busy on weekdays. They only occasionally learned from the discussions of officials while investigating the origin of smallpox that smallpox seemed to have spread from the governor's mansion, but no one was willing to say the details.
Other officials were concerned about the reputation of the Governor's Office, but General Gong was not. He said, "Niu Feng has a young son named Niu Kang. In September, he led his men to hunt on the grasslands. He ended up in conflict with a merchant caravan from the Western Regions. He took advantage of his large numbers and abducted a Hu girl."
"He brought her back home and spent the entire day with that Hu Ji. For unknown reasons, she developed a fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. The doctor he sent for initially thought she was suffering from acclimatization issues and prescribed her some medicine. But within two days, she developed over a dozen smallpox rashes and a high fever. Her illness was so severe that she died in less than a day."
Major General Gong said, "The doctor who treated her felt something was wrong and suggested she might have smallpox. As a result, the Niu family chased her away. That kid, Niu Kang, was reckless and still had a crush on that Hu girl. Not only did he hug her and cry, he even held a grand funeral, and all his cronies went to join in the fun."
"Within two days, he himself developed smallpox, and those who had come into contact with Hu Ji also began to break out. The Niu family then remembered what the doctor had said, and while they sent for the doctor, they also suppressed the news." Young General Gong said bitterly, "But Niu Kang was so clueless. He knew that his condition was unusual, but he still went to the banquet at Chunfeng Tower that day. Not only that, the Niu family didn't try to stop him. The purchasers, maids, and servants went out as usual. In less than five days, they had traveled half of Xiazhou City. Still, a doctor was not convinced and quietly reported it to Changbo, who then learned of it."
See you at 6pm
(End of this chapter)
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