Chapter 156: Beside the Couch
Their batch of 10,000 new recruits were divided up and sent to four disaster-stricken cities. The Third Princess was only grouped with the three of them, and then they arrived at Fengxuan City.
When they arrived, the water in Fengxuan City had receded, but the city was in a mess, with collapsed houses, people and livestock drowned or crushed to death, clothes and furniture floating everywhere, and yellow mud brought by the flood on the road. There was not even a dry place to step on.
It was also the first time that the Third Princess faced a natural disaster. Looking at the people hugging each other and crying, and those who died with their eyes open without being buried in time, she had her first nightmare. Before she could recover, tasks came one after another.
The thousand people were divided into two teams, one to clean up the garbage and the other to rescue the people, temporarily placing them in a safe place, and then gathering the bodies to burn and bury them.
The third princess and three female soldiers were assigned to clean up the garbage. Every day they came into contact with dead bodies and rotten poultry. The stench was always lingering under their noses, and their appetite decreased.
After clearing half of the city, the officials of the government office began to mobilize the people to dig out edible things from the ruins, and then began to clean up the remaining half of the city bit by bit.
During this period, a citizen did not bury the poultry as ordered, but instead cooked and ate the meat privately. As a result, his family of seven began to suffer from vomiting and diarrhea, and within three days, his family members died one after another from exhaustion, and he himself was in critical condition.
The female official in the government office was quite smart. She immediately asked the medical officer to keep him on life. After he woke up, she asked him the reason. It turned out that it was caused by rotten poultry. Since he would do this, other people would probably do the same.
In the eyes of the people, as long as the rotten parts were cut off, the remaining meat could still be eaten. Moreover, since relief food had not arrived, they could not eat dirt!
Soon the plague broke out in Fengxuan City. For a time, not only the common people but also the soldiers could not escape this disaster. Fortunately, there were imperial doctors and medical practitioners stationed in the city. They immediately arranged personnel to separate those with physical problems from those without symptoms, and then boiled the appropriate medicine and began to fumigate the whole city.
The Third Princess was the second group to be infected because she was very careful about protection, so her symptoms were not the most serious. Moreover, because of her special status, she was able to use the best remaining medicine in the city, which is why she was able to survive until now.
"The Third Princess had a high fever before, but it has subsided now. She is just still a little confused and is sometimes asleep and sometimes awake. When she is awake, we feed her rice porridge and soup medicine. Her condition has improved."
"Okay, thank you for your help. I guess you haven't had enough rest recently. Go get some food first, and then take the prepared medicine package to make a soup. You also have to take care of your health. The Third Princess needs you."
When Xian Shijun learned that his daughter had passed the most dangerous time, he felt relieved and immediately let the three of them rest.
The three guards did not refuse. They did not leave before because they had no one to trust. Now that Xian Shijun has come, he will definitely take good care of his daughter. After all, they can retire with honor.
Xian Shijun stayed in the tent to take care of the third princess until the sun set. Then the third princess woke up and opened her eyes with great effort. She saw her father and felt as if she was dreaming.
Xian Shijun also noticed that his daughter had woken up, and immediately held the father's hand, covered his forehead with his other hand, and whispered softly:
"Are you feeling better? Are you still feeling uncomfortable somewhere? Would you like some water?"
"Father, I am not dreaming! Why are you here?"
"Knowing that something happened to you, the Queen was very worried about you, so she asked me to bring people and herbs to Fengxuan City to find you."
“I thought you didn’t want me anymore.”
The Third Princess cried in a very pathetic manner, which made Xian Shijun laugh. Then he said seriously:
"Now you know how dangerous it is outside, right? If it weren't for the guards secretly arranged by your mother, do you think you would still be alive today?"
The virtuous attendant tapped the Third Princess' forehead and scolded her with a look of disappointment.
"I understand! I will never do such a stupid thing again. After leaving the capital this time, I realized how difficult it is for the people."
On the day Xian Shijun entered Fengxuan City, the generals of Zhao family learned about this matter. The general of Zhao family had a gloomy face. She felt that someone must have set a trap for them secretly, and the third princess was just a trap for them.
"General, look now"
"Send a message to the Second Princess in the capital, tell her the situation here so that she can be mentally prepared. Also, send a skilled imperial physician to Fengxuan City. We must not let the Third Princess make any mistakes!
The Third Princess is the Queen's favorite daughter. If something happens to her in the team we lead, the Queen will not let us off easily and may even implicate the Second Princess."
"Yes, I will do it right away."
Panlong Kingdom
The Sixth Prince, who had succeeded to the throne for half a year, had some ideas when he learned that Fengqi Kingdom had suffered a flood. The loss of the five cities was a thorn in his heart and he felt aggrieved whenever he thought about it. He had no money to fight the war before, but now that Fengqi Kingdom had suffered a flood, he felt that the time had come for them to take action.
At the morning court session the next day, he could not wait to share the news with all the civil and military officials in the court.
Zhang Zhang was the most perceptive person, he immediately stepped forward and said:
"Your Majesty is wise. Now is our best chance to take back those five cities! I think we don't need to fight head-on this time. We can take advantage of the flood in Fengqi Country."
"To conquer the enemy without fighting is the best strategy!"
Immediately a military officer jumped out.
The white-haired old man in the Ministry of Revenue also stood up and said:
"Your Majesty, generally there will be a major epidemic after a major disaster. Medicinal materials and food are the most scarce items. We can use these to earn money from Fengqi Country and expand the national treasury."
"My dear, what you said makes sense. Is there any other solution?"
The new emperor continued to ask.
"There are still our people in the five cities occupied by Fengqi State. One of the cities has been affected by the flood. We can let them incite the people to clash with the soldiers defending the city, and then we will cooperate with them from inside and outside to take the city first."
"If there is an infection of plague in the city, the risk we take is too high."
Immediately, some military generals were unwilling to do so. These civil officials said that the soldiers who were charging into battle were their own soldiers, and they were unwilling to let their men go to their deaths.
"We can just kill those infected with the plague. Those women are unwilling to submit to us. Do they want us to support them?"
A pedantic official said.
"Well, what you said makes sense, we still need to plan carefully and take it step by step."
The new emperor said with narrowed eyes.
On the other side, the second princess also received a letter from General Zhao sent by eagle, and learned that the third princess had contracted the plague and was trapped in Fengxuan City, and that Xian Shijun had already arrived in Fengxuan City. Her heart skipped a beat, and she went to pay a visit to her mother as soon as the court was over.
(End of this chapter)
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