Chapter 597 Yuanzhou County

"It's good to go early, so you don't have to feel bad. Son, when you leave, I will follow you."

Ye Youqin muttered to herself.

The eldest son has his husband by his side, but the younger son only has her.

She couldn't let her little son die alone; he wasn't grown up yet and would be scared.

An atmosphere of low pressure and despair enveloped the entire ruined temple.

When Meng Zhili arrived in Chang'an, he wrote a letter and sent someone to rush to the imperial city.

At that time, in Yaozhou County, Enxin Province, people coughing could be seen everywhere on the streets.

There were even people lying on the ground, their life or death unknown.

A deadly aura was floating in the county town.

In the backyard of the county government office, a middle-aged man in official uniform was drinking, eating meat and listening to music with his beautiful concubine.

It’s so leisurely.

"Master, the drums outside the county government office have been beating for several days. Don't you really want to go and take a look?" The beautiful concubine said coquettishly, her thin and white arms tightly wrapped around Zhang Zhixian's neck.

"Why are you going? You are a bunch of unruly people. You keep beating drums everyday. I think they want to die. Go and beat the drummers with a stick fifty times. Let them see for themselves."

Zhang Zhixian's mouth reeked of alcohol, which was a bit smelly. The beautiful concubine leaning against his chin frowned for a moment, but quickly relaxed her eyebrows.

It was not seen by anyone.

"Master, this is not good, is it? Can I survive after fifty strokes of the cane? I'm afraid~" Her voice was really charming.

The officers standing nearby were all staring in amazement.

"What are you afraid of? I'm not going to hit you. Do you hear me? Hurry up and give them fifty strokes of the cane until they are afraid. It's just a flood. The crops have been washed away. It's not a big deal that the house has collapsed. You can just rebuild it and plant more. If they have nothing to eat, they can go to the mountains to dig wild vegetables and eat the soil. What's the point of asking me for help? I can't even conjure up food for them."

Zhang Zhixian burped, and after he finished speaking, he went into the house carrying his beautiful concubine in his arms.

Soon, an unbearable sound was heard inside.

The officers looked at each other, wondering whether they were carrying out orders.

Hundreds of people gathered outside the county government office. The man beating the drum had sunken cheeks and was as thin as a stick, but his eagle-like eyes made people feel scared.

"Stop beating the drum. Have you forgotten what happened to the last person who beat the drum?" Someone advised him, while others encouraged him to continue beating the drum, otherwise the county government would not issue disaster relief food.

His newborn son was starving to death because he had no milk, and he couldn't afford to buy food.

Food in Yuanzhou County and several surrounding counties is too expensive.

If the county government doesn't send him any more money, he will have no choice but to run away.

But who would want to leave their hometown unless it is absolutely necessary? These people are holding on to their last hope.

“Boom boom boom—”

The sound of the drums spread throughout the county and could be heard from far away.

Yaozhou County is neither big nor small and is located on the river.

It should be a good place, backed by mountains and next to water, but it is located in the middle and lower reaches. Over the past hundred years, it has suffered countless floods. Previously, they were just minor incidents, with just some homes being flooded. Who would have thought that this flood would be so serious.

Those who lived close to the river had their houses collapsed.

The grain stored in the cellar was also flooded, so that after the water receded, not even a basin of grain could be found.

However, the county magistrate was a corrupt official and didn't care at all.

Many smart people have already moved in with their families to live with their relatives.

Only those of them who have no distant relatives are still struggling here, begging for relief food from the county.

Just as these people were fantasizing that the county magistrate had a change of heart, several officials rushed out of the county government office.

The man beating the drum was beaten to death.

"If you continue to beat the drum, this will be the result. I'll watch you all carefully."

The officer drew his sword and threatened fiercely.

If you didn’t know, you would think they were bandits, they were so ferocious.

When the officers came in, the onlookers looked at the person on the ground in horror.

"Dead. Beaten to death."

"He's dead. It's terrible. Look, his lower body is covered in blood."

"It's not just his lower body that was injured. These officials wanted to kill him. The sticks were hitting his waist. Even if he survived, he would be paralyzed in bed and become a useless person."

"God really wants to kill us. We can't stay here any longer. If we stay any longer, will my family and I still be alive? Cough cough cough."

"It's strange that there are so many people lying on the street."

"Oh no, oh no, these people are out of energy!"

I don’t know who said it.

Everyone turned and looked at the person lying in the street.

Some people were so curious that they turned them over. Without exception, their faces were all blue, and some even had corpse spots on their bodies.

"Oh my god, how could it be a dead person? I thought they got drunk in the bar and passed out on the street. Bah, bah, bah, bah, how unlucky! I actually touched a dead person's body."

"Cough, cough, cough, my typhoid fever has gotten worse after I saw the doctor. I feel like I can't breathe. Cough, cough, cough."

"Me too. My wife's condition is worse than mine. She has no strength at all and can't even get out of bed. I came out this time thinking of buying her some medicine to take home, but I saw this guy beating the drums and I came to join in the fun. I didn't join in the fun, but I saw this scene. Oh, how sad."

"It's so strange, how come we are both sick and have caught a cold together, but the weather hasn't been too cold these days."

"This is not typhoid, this is plague, plague--"

An old man exclaimed.

He had experienced the plague before, and when he saw this familiar scene, he trembled with fear.

"What, plague? Don't scare us, old man."

"That's right, what plague? Why are you talking about this for no reason? It makes me feel uneasy."

"This is the plague. It's the same plague I encountered in Canghai Province thirty years ago. It was also caused by a flood. In less than two months, most of the people in the city died. Otherwise, why do you think I came all the way from Canghai to Enxin? It's over. I may have escaped it back then, but I can't escape it now. Ahem."

After the old man finished speaking, he sat down on the ground with his eyes blank.

"Really?"

"Where's the doctor? Go find him. I need to ask him something clearly."

"Let's go together."

These people already felt something was wrong, and after being awakened by the old man's words, they all rushed to the nearest hospital.

However, once we entered, we found the clinic was empty.

There was no doctor inside, and there was nothing else except the tables and chairs that could not be taken away.

They went to other clinics.

There are three medical clinics and two drug stores in total.

There was only one clinic with people still there, but the only old doctor there was so sick that he was bedridden and his breathing was less rapid than his breathing.

"Why are they all running away? Is it really a plague?"

"No, I have to get home quickly, run, I have to run quickly. If the county magistrate finds out, he will definitely seal off the city and maybe even burn us all to death."

Those who think quickly have already run home.