Xue Shu's gaze was too frank, and the emotions in his dark eyes were strong and straightforward, which made Yin Chengyu's heart move slightly.

It seemed that no matter in past or present life, Xue Shu had an extraordinary trust in him.

He recalled the scene when he just returned to the court in his previous life.

When he left, he had nothing and was covered in stigma.

Five years later, he returned to the court, but his grievances had not yet been cleared. In order to prevent Emperor Longfeng from reinstating the crown prince, the old events were inevitably dragged out and attacked by people with ulterior motives.

The past that had been silent for five years was brought up again, and it was even more foul-smelling than five years ago. The Second Prince's Party and the Third Prince's Party were eager to throw all kinds of dirty water on him.

Although he was mentally prepared, he still felt his ears pricking when he heard it.

But by then he had already learned during his five years of imprisonment to plan before taking action. If he could not clear his grievances in one move, it would be better to do nothing.

The person who couldn't sit still was Xue Shu.

When those court officials once again brought up the old story of his "adultery" with Concubine Rong and even used it to accuse him of all kinds of dirty and smelly things, Xue Shu, who was in charge of government affairs, walked down from the Jinluan Terrace, drew his guard's sword, and killed the most aggressive Yu Shi on the spot.

In the horrified eyes of the courtiers, he coldly threw the bloody long sword to the ground, his eyebrows and eyes full of anger: "You are just following the crowd, and you can't even tell the truth from the false. It's really an eyesore to us."

At that time, he only thought that Xue Shu had a violent and tyrannical temperament and would not tolerate anyone questioning his decisions. But thinking about it now, his firm tone at that time was exactly the same as it is now.

But he and Xue Shu had no previous experience. However, the fact that he and Rongpin "slept" in the same bed five years ago was a secret known to almost everyone in the court, and Emperor Longfeng's execution of Rongpin put an end to the matter.

Why did Xue Shu not trust the civil and military officials of the Manchu court, but instead trust him?

Where does his determination come from?

Yin Chengyu slowly released his grip on the other person, stepped back, and looked at Xue Shu carefully.

There were many doubts in his heart. Once the clues of some things were discovered, the doubts would grow bigger and bigger like a rolling ball of yarn.

However, in the end, he did not express his doubts.

Slowly stroking the folds of his clothes with his fingers, Yin Chengyu stood up and smiled meaningfully, but talked about something else; "Send people to Datong, Xuanfu and other places to mobilize troops to guard the fortresses connecting Shanxi and the surrounding prefectures. Before the epidemic is under control, only entry is allowed but not exit. Also transfer 20,000 soldiers from the Fourth Guard Battalion to the border of Shanxi. Once the epidemic in Shanxi cannot be controlled..."

Having said this, Yin Chengyu's face darkened, but he did not continue speaking.

But Xue Shu already understood what he meant: if the epidemic in Shanxi could not be controlled, he would probably have to resort to the worst possible strategy.

He lowered his eyes and replied in a deep voice.

Yin Chengyu thought for a while and wanted to ask about other arrangements, but suddenly he noticed the sky outside. Thinking that he had been busy all day, he stopped talking: "We will discuss the rest tomorrow. I am going to bed, you can leave first."

Xue Shu followed his instructions and left, carefully closing the door for him.

He did not leave immediately. He stood quietly in front of the door for a long time before walking a few steps away and summoning the soldiers on duty to pass on Yin Chengyu's instructions.

After he finished speaking, he pondered for a moment and added, "Early tomorrow morning, have someone build a house outside the city, away from human habitation, prepare a few iron cages, go to the countryside to find ten dogs, catch more than a hundred mice, and keep the captured mice and dogs together. Only water is needed, no food is needed."

He heard the conversation between Yin Chengyu and the imperial physician today, which made him somewhat concerned.

Although the imperial physician's statement that the lumps and rashes came from rats was just a guess, he felt that the disease was most likely related to rats. He had heard from an old man who had experienced a great epidemic that rats should not be eaten in a disaster year.

In years of disaster, people have nothing to eat, so where do rats get food?

Most of them feed on the dead bodies that no one collects.

If you eat such a mouse, you will easily be contaminated with the evil spirit and bad energy of the dead. In the worst case, you will be sick for a few days, and in the worst case, you will lose your life.

Although these old sayings are only passed down orally by the elderly and involve the use of ghosts and gods, they are the experiences of our ancestors and may not be useless.

If it can be confirmed that scabies is related to rats and the source is found, it may help control the epidemic.

"When catching mice, be alert, wrap yourself in thick clothes, cover your mouth and nose, and don't touch them. After the job is done, burn the old clothes immediately, and then go find the doctor to get mugwort to fumigate yourself."

That night Yin Chengyu only slept for three hours before waking up.

It was just getting light outside when Yin Chengyu stood up and opened the window, and saw a few people on the street.

They were all old, weak, women and children. They ran quickly through the streets with their bodies bent, and when they saw an empty house, they went in and searched around.

He stared for a long while, until Xue Shu came in with the toiletries, then he closed the window and stopped looking outside.

"Why did you get up so suddenly?"

"You woke up early." Xue Shu replied, and after he rinsed his mouth, he handed him a warm towel to wash his face.

"Have you passed on yesterday's arrangements?" After wiping his face, Yin Chengyu threw the handkerchief into the basin, then spread out his arms and let him change his clothes.

Xue Shu was very skilled at changing clothes, first his inner shirt, then his outer robe. He lowered his eyebrows and did each step very slowly and carefully, smoothing out every wrinkle on his robe.

"I've given the order. We should be able to block all intersections tonight."

Yin Chengyu nodded: "Any news about the disaster relief team? How many days will it take for them to arrive?"

"At the fastest, it will take two days; at the slowest, it will take three days."

"That can't wait." Yin Chengyu frowned and said, "It's better to control the epidemic sooner rather than later. I will go to see the governor of Shanxi first and arrange the disaster relief matters. Once the disaster relief supplies arrive, we can arrange it as soon as possible."

After packing everything up, Yin Chengyu went to the government office in Taiyuan Prefecture, and at the same time ordered people to summon the governor of Shanxi and the commander-in-chief to come for an audience.

Ever since the inspector Zhou Weishan was dismissed from his post and imprisoned, the provincial governor Jing Weishan has been worried that the scalpel hanging over his head might fall at any time.

When he suddenly heard that the prince was coming early in the morning, his heart skipped a beat, and then he breathed a sigh of relief. No matter the result was good or bad, the knife hanging over his head had finally fallen, and someone had finally come to clean up this mess in Taiyuan Prefecture and even in Shanxi.

The governor of Shanxi, the commander-in-chief, and the prefect of Taiyuan, along with a group of subordinates, waited in front of the yamen and respectfully welcomed Yin Chengyu in.

Yin Chengyu sat down at the main seat in the hall, looking at the officials who were hunching their heads and trembling with fear, and he slowed down his tone a little: "Why are there only so many people?"

Now, apart from the governor, the commander-in-chief and the prefect of Taiyuan, there were only about ten officials left standing in the hall.

The governor Jing Weishan showed a bitter look on his face and bowed his hands to apologize: "Your Highness, many officials in the government office were also infected with the disease before, and they were all... executed."

Zhou Weishan served as the governor of Shanxi for nearly twenty years. He was in charge of the civil affairs and military power of the entire Shanxi. He had accumulated great power and authority, and the whole of Shanxi was almost under his control.

This time, the typhoid fever broke out suddenly. In order to conceal the epidemic, Zhou Weishan ruthlessly executed many people, even some low-ranking officials were not spared.

These officials were used to listening to Zhou Weishan's words in the past, but when they suddenly encountered such a big event and faced Zhou Weishan's atrocities, no one dared to resist.

If Xue Shu had not sent someone to persuade Sun Yao, the commander of the Andong Zhongtun Guard, to report the matter to the emperor, the matter would probably never have reached the court, and those officials and civilians who were burned to death would probably have been just a general number in Zhou Weishan's memorial.

Although he was somewhat angry at their lack of fighting spirit, when he saw the haggard and frightened expressions on these officials' faces, Yin Chengyu could not say too many harsh words.

Before coming here, he had read about Jing Weishan's life. Although this man had mediocre abilities and no opinions of his own, he did not do evil.

He just followed orders from Zhou Weishan when he made the decision.

"Zhou Weishan has been imprisoned. He will be handed over to the Dali Temple for punishment after the Shanxi incident is resolved. As for you, although you also made mistakes, considering that you were only accomplices and did not intend to do any evil, you will be allowed to make amends."

Yin Chengyu looked at the expressions on everyone's faces and said slowly, "I have already ordered Datong and Xuanfu to dispatch troops to block the entire Shanxi Province. No one is allowed to leave until the epidemic is under control. The relief team from the imperial court will arrive in two or three days. I can ensure that there will be no shortage of money, food, and medicine. But the only thing missing right now is people who can follow orders and do their job. Can any of you be competent?"

Although he had not been angry since he entered the room, his tone was still relatively mild.

But when the officials heard him say that he had dispatched troops to blockade the entire Shanxi Province, they felt a chill in their hearts.

This Crown Prince looks kind, but his methods are probably no softer than Zhou Weishan's.

If the epidemic can be controlled, everyone will be happy. If it cannot be controlled... no one dares to think about it further.

Jing Weishan bowed deeply and took the lead, saying, "As long as His Royal Highness the Crown Prince gives the order, we will certainly serve you wholeheartedly."

Yin Chengyu established his authority and nodded with satisfaction: "Since that's the case, pass the order down and count the population in Shanxi as soon as possible, how many are alive, how many are dead, and how many are sick. Count them one by one and record them in a book."

"He also ordered the soldiers to build a sanctuary for the sick in an open space one mile outside the city to house the sick."

“…”

Yin Chengyu gave orders one by one, and the officials finally found their backbone. They each received their assignments and went back to work.

Three days later, the imperial court's disaster relief team finally arrived in Taiyuan Prefecture, Shanxi.

A large number of officers and soldiers escorted cartloads of food and medicine into the city. Yin Chengyu asked Xue Shu to lead people to check each cartload of food and medicine to confirm that there was nothing wrong with them before they were put into the warehouse.

"The relief food has arrived. The next step is to distribute it to various state capitals. Have the officials make a public announcement to notify the disaster victims to come and collect the relief food."

Yin Chengyu said, his brows furrowed. "It's just that the rosters compiled from various places show no information on the number of patients. This plague is so virulent that gathering a large number of people before we know the number of patients may be counterproductive."

The reason why the number of patients is empty is easy to guess. Zhou Weishan was too cruel in the past. Anyone with a cough and high fever would be considered infected and burned at the stake. Now the people no longer trust the officers and soldiers. Even if someone in their family is infected, they will probably hide it and dare not let others know, let alone report it on their own initiative.

In this situation, Yin Chengyu couldn't think of a good solution for the time being, so he could only say, "Forget it, let Taiyuan Prefecture take the lead first, and when more people receive food and medical treatment, other prefectures can follow suit."

He looked at the food piled up in the warehouse and said, "Have someone prepare porridge tonight so that it can be distributed tomorrow morning. Also send two imperial doctors to follow. If anyone with symptoms of infection is found, send them to the plague hospital immediately."

Now, the three imperial physicians and doctors recruited from the public have been studying how to treat the plague. However, before a cure is found, they can only transfer the infected patients to the plague hospital and isolate them from normal people to prevent more people from being infected with the plague.

"The victims may not be able to wait until tomorrow morning."

Xue Shu shook his head when he heard this and suggested, "Your Highness can order people to guard the warehouse tonight, as we are afraid that some disaster victims may break into the warehouse."

In the past few days, Xue Shu has sent out servants to find out the situation inside and outside Taiyuan Prefecture. Although Taiyuan Prefecture looks like a dead city now, it is actually because the common people were frightened by the previous arrests by the soldiers. Most people have gone into hiding, hiding in the cellars of their homes during the day and coming out at night.

Just when the grain truck was entering the warehouse, a guard came to report that he had seen sneaky figures around the warehouse.

"This is food for disaster relief. Why are they trying to steal it?" Yin Chengyu was puzzled when he heard this.

"The previous disaster relief grains have not reached the people, and coupled with Zhou Weishan's atrocities, these frightened people may not trust the government easily anymore." Xue Shu lowered his eyes and said in a deep voice: "Instead of expecting the government to give out a little relief grain, it is better to rob it ourselves."

The famine in Shanxi has lasted for more than a month. Those people who have managed to survive have probably reached their limit.

Once a person reaches a desperate situation, he will no longer trust anyone but himself.

Yin Chengyu thought for a moment and felt that what he said made sense.

However, he was still somewhat puzzled, and looked at Xue Shu with a sizing look, "How do you know so much about the thoughts of these disaster victims?"

The author has something to say:

Gou Gou: Hold on to my little vest tightly.

Your Highness:?