This was a shocking and terrifying scene. Despite being a densely populated refugee camp, there was almost no noise. Even if there was, it was only the deliberately suppressed sobs and painful growls.
"Sir, you truly have excellent management skills!"
Such a depressing environment made Feng Bingwen want to say something.
"I'm sorry for making a fool of myself, Immortal Master."
The official in red robes received praise, but there was nothing to be happy about; instead, he shook his head.
“I used some ruthless methods. When I return to the capital after this matter is settled, I will inevitably have the censors impeach me, and I will probably be labeled a cruel official.”
“A cruel official? He was a capable official, a competent official.”
Feng Bingwen smiled nonchalantly. The fact that there were 200,000 refugees in this camp, displaced and suffering from an epidemic, yet they had not caused any chaos but were suppressed in this place was enough to prove the ability of the official beside him.
Imagine the horror of hundreds of thousands of people who lost everything due to the floods, who were also threatened by the plague and who might be carrying the disease, fleeing everywhere.
"Could you please tell me about the difficulties caused by this epidemic?"
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Feng Bingwen returned to the main topic.
"Does the Immortal Master know the origin of these refugees?"
"When nature dawned, the Dragon Lord of Xuan Ting roamed the waters, and wherever he passed, the waters spread for thousands of miles."
"It was the Dragon King who chose this auspicious day, causing millions of my people to be homeless and displaced, and now they are suffering from this plague."
It wasn't hard to hear the resentment in the official's words, which revealed a great deal of grievance against Xuan Ting Long Jun.
"..."
Feng Bingwen opened his mouth, wanting to say something on behalf of that Dragon Lord, but in the end he gave up, for it was indeed the calamity he had caused by his journey through water.
Even though he had ensured favorable weather and abundant harvests around Xuanting Lake for centuries.
But merits are merits, and faults are faults; they cannot be offset against each other. Moreover, the Dragon Lord of Xuanting has received no shortage of incense offerings from the people around Xuanting Lake.
"The only good thing about this Dragon King's journey was that he informed the government in advance and postponed the date of the journey by three days. But this time was far too little, and the court had no choice but to hastily devise a relocation plan."
There were at least fifty camps like the one before the Immortal Master, with temporary tents and food all provided. Although it only offered a place to sleep and barely enough to fill their stomachs, it was still better than them being displaced and losing their lives in the flood.
Feng Bingwen, now the size of a normal person, listened patiently as the official rambled on and on, clearly under immense pressure.
However, his words were also full of pride in the Daqian Dynasty. After all, the fact that the dynasty was able to relocate most of the disaster victims and settle them in such a short time was enough to prove the strength of the country.
"In fact, before the plan was even formulated, many people in the court had already foreseen the emergence of the epidemic. Great disasters are always followed by great epidemics; this has always been the case, without exception."
Therefore, when the first case of the epidemic was discovered and reported, imperial physicians were already waiting. To be honest, Master, this first case has already been cured; the patient is now refreshed, full of energy, and even surpasses the average person in strength.”
"There have already been cured cases?"
Upon hearing this, Feng Bingwen breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that this was no longer his concern, and the plague had been resolved.
"However, this treatment method cannot be widely adopted because the medicinal materials used in the decoction are too rare. It would be fine if only a hundred or so people were infected with the virus, but now there are tens of thousands of patients. Even if the national treasury is emptied, we still cannot gather the necessary medicinal materials."
"These medicinal herbs are so expensive?"
Feng Bingwen was startled. The Great Gan Dynasty was vast and its national strength was at its peak. The current annual revenue must be an astronomical figure. What kind of magic pill was used? Even the national treasury could not afford it.
"I hope the immortal master knows that it's not that the national treasury is empty, but that even with money, there's nowhere to buy medicine!"
That time, the official in red robes sighed, his brows furrowed in sorrow, and his eyes filled with uneasy resentment.
"Things that can be solved with money are like fleeting clouds to the imperial court. But the problem is that this epidemic cannot be solved with money. The key lies in the medicinal materials, most of which are mild tonics, and they are already in high demand on a daily basis. Even if we mobilize the reserves of various prefectures and counties, it will be difficult to sustain."
"I now understand the crux of this plague!"
Upon hearing this, Feng Bingwen understood.
The imperial court had considered everything, but alas, even the most skilled cook cannot cook without rice. The time allotted by the Dragon King was too short; even if they had considered everything, they could not prepare adequately.
At the very first sign of the epidemic, the imperial physicians sent by the emperor provided a prescription for treatment. However, the problem was that the medicinal materials used in the prescription were rare and expensive, making it impossible to promote and use them on a large scale.
"The doctors sent from various prefectures and counties are here precisely to solve this problem with the prescription, right?"
"Indeed. The imperial physician from Kyoto has already said that he has no other choice but to hope that there are hidden abilities in the mountains and fields that can provide a prescription to cure the disease and save lives."
At this point, the official in red robes jokingly pointed to a wildflower at his feet, which, despite being trampled and damaged, still stubbornly bloomed.
“If there is a prescription that uses herbs like these wildflowers, which grow all over the mountains and fields, the epidemic will be cured in ten days.”
"That's a good idea, sir."
Feng Bingwen glanced at the wildflowers and couldn't help but laugh. However, as a cultivator, he offered another solution.
"Did you not seek help from spirits or deities, sir?"
The method of refining hundreds of medicines into a soup is a way for humans to save themselves. But in addition to this, humans also have the divine way to rely on. What humans cannot solve, the gods may be able to solve.
"I have already pleaded. If no spirits or gods appear, does the Immortal Master really think that these hundreds of thousands of people can just stay here and wait to die?"
Feng Bingwen's question made the official even more worried.
"Can't even ghosts and gods eradicate the plague?"
"The power of ghosts and gods also has its limits. There are too many disaster victims infected with the disease, and the plague will also give rise to plague ghosts. If the city god does not lead troops to suppress it, the situation will be even more serious than we see now."
After exchanging a few words, Feng Bingwen understood.
The problem remains the same as with that prescription using excessively expensive herbs: the city gods of each prefecture and state do indeed possess the ability to eradicate plagues. It's manageable when there are few people, but when there are many, they still can't keep up.
Moreover, the City Gods have geographical limitations. These disaster victims are only gathered in one state or one place. No matter how powerful the City God of that place is, he cannot save tens of thousands of people at the same time.
The power to expel plagues is only one part of the City God's authority; it's not his sole responsibility. Furthermore, the City God is also responsible for suppressing plague demons.
"I see, I was too naive."
"Does the immortal master have a way to save us?"
The red-robed official's eyes were filled with hope.
"Let me think about it."
Feng Bingwen had a better understanding of the situation.
"Then please make yourself at home, Immortal Master. I must take my leave for now."
Feng Bingwen's words were merely taken by the official as a face-saving excuse.
After all, Feng Bingwen looks imposing and extraordinary, but he doesn't seem like someone who can save people from suffering. He's more skilled at battlefield combat and fighting.
"Please go ahead and attend to your business, sir."
Feng Bingwen didn't expect the local officials to stay with him and act as his interpreters.
After obtaining the pass, he wandered around the camp and even sought out one of the assigned imperial physicians, speaking with him for a while.
Even the imperial physicians, who considered themselves to be highly skilled in medicine, dared not neglect him because of his appearance in the dragon armor, and answered all his questions.
By the time Feng Bingwen arrived at the camp gate, he had already figured out the origin of the epidemic and how to solve it.
This epidemic was not the terrifying plague recorded in historical books that could wipe out thousands of miles of desert; it was just a relatively common seasonal epidemic that preyed on the weak and feared the strong.
The reason why this epidemic spread was very simple: the continuous torrential rains made the world very humid, and many disaster victims were displaced. Even though the government distributed food, it was only enough to fill their stomachs. It would be too much of a burden for the government to make a living.
Suffering from hunger and cold, and having lost everything to the flood, many were exhausted both physically and mentally, suffering a severe blow to their spirit and energy, and their bodies became weak as a result.
It is precisely because of the large number of disaster victims, whose vital energy is weakened by external changes, that these evil spirits, which roam freely in the world, have the opportunity to take advantage of their vulnerability.
As a result, in the many refugee camps set up by the government, eight or nine out of ten were plagued by disease, causing panic among the people. Panic could lead to the collapse of vital energy, allowing pathogens to invade further.
The solution is indeed not difficult. If the body is deficient and vital energy is depleted, then expensive tonics can be used to replenish it. Once the body's vital energy is full, the body's righteous energy will naturally be strong, and the mere pathogenic factors will be directly suppressed and expelled.
The problem is that tonics have always been in use, especially during times of peace. Therefore, there can't be a large stockpile of them.
Even if there were reserves, it wouldn't be enough for so many disaster victims. Nearly ten million disaster victims—how much medicine would that require?
No wonder that official in red robes said that even if the imperial treasury were emptied, it would be impossible to gather enough medicinal herbs.
However, Feng Bingwen, in a moment of inspiration, came up with a solution to this plague that had greatly troubled the imperial court and many spirits.
The first choice was naturally not the herb spirits in his courtyard. Although those herb spirits were a hundred or a thousand times stronger than their kind of herbs, their small bodies simply wouldn't be enough to handle so many disaster victims.
The first thing Feng Bingwen thought of was the old mountain spirit that had been spying on his mansion when the little peony moved into his courtyard.
If his knowledge is correct, that old mountain spirit must have been several hundred years old, and it had also encountered a great opportunity, so it probably couldn't compare to ordinary thousand-year-old medicines.
"I forgot to ask what the origin of that old mountain spirit was. I don't know if it was a tonic, but even if it wasn't, its age should have made it quite effective."
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