Minister Zhao was about to jump off the city wall when his followers held him back: "Sir, you can't jump. The city wall is nearly 20 feet high. If you jump, your legs will break!"
Minister Zhao looked down and came to his senses with a pale face.
The Prince of Yan had fought in the battlefields of southern Xinjiang before. Why was he, an old and feeble civil official, joining in the fun?
After regaining his senses, Minister Zhao ordered someone to bring a ladder and climb down.
"Who else is there in my sister-in-law's family?" Yu Jin asked.
The woman replied: "There is another daughter, she, she has a fever -"
The crowd fell silent and subconsciously moved to the side.
Fever is often a sign of disease. If a woman's daughter has a fever, she may also be infected...
These disaster victims who were rushing out of the city were mostly people gathered in the West District. They thought they had no health problems and did not want to stay in the city and wait to die.
They were afraid of being harmed by women.
The woman seemed to understand the situation, and suddenly knelt down and kowtowed three times to Yu Jin: "My Lord, the tiger head is now in your hands."
She looked at the boy in Long Dan's arms with great reluctance, then turned and ran away.
No one spoke to stop him, only the boy cried loudly: "Mom——"
Such cries are heartbreaking to hear, but for the disaster victims who are accustomed to life and death, this is all they can hear.
They were all living in danger, what could they do? Should they persuade the woman to ignore her dying daughter?
Yu Jin was silent for a moment, then said to Long Dan, "Take the child away first."
"Your Highness, you can't do that!" Minister Zhao rushed over in a panic.
Yu Jin looked at him.
Minister Zhao advised earnestly: "Your Highness, please do not act rashly. This child's family has been infected with the disease. He may already have the disease lurking in his body, just waiting to break out. If you take him out of the city, once the disease spreads, it will be an uncontrollable disaster, and you will not be able to explain to the emperor and the people of the world..."
He understood the kindness of the young prince, but kindness was not an option in this situation, as kindness would often lead to greater disasters.
Such lessons are not uncommon in history, and the best way is to follow the precedent: observe the epidemic first, and if it is truly uncontrollable, then we can only sacrifice these people to prevent future troubles.
Minister Zhao's words touched the pain of the disaster victims.
"We are not sick, and neither are our family members. Why can't we be released?"
Seeing Minister Zhao coming down, the Magistrate of Qianhe County also came down and said with a stern face: "Whether you are sick or not is not up to you to decide. No one thinks that they are sick, but when they leave the city and bring the disease with them, what will happen then?"
Someone in the crowd said, "If that's the case, the county lord is still a city dweller, how can he come in and out?"
Someone else asked, "That's right. Why were the soldiers who came into the city to help with disaster relief allowed to enter and leave the city?"
The Qianhe County Magistrate was so choked that he was speechless and his face turned purple.
Yu Jin glanced at the Qianhe County Magistrate and thought to himself: How did such a mentally retarded person become a county magistrate?
"Everyone, please be patient." Yu Jin waved his hand.
People quieted down.
They wanted to hear what the young prince had to say about saving women and children by ringing the bell.
"If you have any questions about whether the county magistrate and disaster relief soldiers can enter and leave the city, please ask the Minister to answer this question."
Although Minister Zhao was helpless when Yu Jin pushed him out, he sighed secretly when he thought of the victims crying in unison, and said, "You can see that if we want to enter the city, we need to change into clothes fumigated with herbs, and after leaving the city, we have to take medicinal baths and drink soup repeatedly... And those soldiers not only have to do these, but the places to live outside the city are also specially designated. They can only live in the area outside the city. Even if they wait until the disaster relief is over, they have to observe for at least half a month, and they are allowed to leave only if there are no problems..."
Listening to Minister Zhao's explanation, someone shouted, "We can do that, too, as long as we are allowed to leave the city!"
Minister Zhao smiled bitterly and said, "There are tens of thousands of people in the city. Once they leave the city, how can we allow so many people to stay in the designated area for a few months? If only one person with the disease leaves, it may cause a disaster for the whole city or the whole country. Who can bear such responsibility?"
The crowd was silent for a long time, and someone murmured: "So we should just wait to die?"
Minister Zhao couldn't say that, so he said hurriedly, "The Emperor and the court are concerned about you all, how could they let you wait to die? Isn't the city divided into two districts, the East and the West? You can live in the West District and wait until there is no more epidemic in the city, and then you can leave the city..."
"What about this child?" Someone pointed at the young child in Long Dan's arms.
The older child was tired from crying and began to doze off on Longdan's shoulder.
Although Long Dan was a grown man, he felt a little distressed holding this small, soft baby. He couldn't help but hold the baby tighter and looked at Yu Jin nervously.
No matter how pitiful this child is, he still has to listen to his master in the end.
The little child who was taking a nap had no idea that he had suddenly become the focus of countless people, and he fell asleep with his fists clenched.
"The prince just said that he would take the child out of the city..."
What is worrying is not the scarcity of wealth but the inequality of wealth. When it comes to one's own life and death, showing mercy to a strange child means nothing.
Yu Jin nodded slightly: "That's what the king said."
Minister Zhao kept winking at Yu Jin: "My Lord, please don't cause chaos in the city because of a child..."
Yu Jin said sternly, "Lord Zhao is wrong. The chaos in the city was definitely not caused by a child. Besides, if I break my promise to even a child, wouldn't I be betraying my father's trust?"
Minister Zhao shook his face.
The Prince of Yan is really good at making a big fuss. It is obviously the Crown Prince who has been entrusted with the important task by the Emperor, and the Prince of Yan is just here to accompany the Crown Prince.
By the way, where is the prince?
Thinking about the Crown Prince who had already run away, Minister Zhao suddenly felt that the Prince of Yan was more likable.
Although some of them are young people with bad tempers, their character is good.
Regardless of whether kindness can lead to bad things, kindness is kindness after all, and it is always better than being cold-hearted and heartless.
"Everyone, please listen to what Xiao Wang has to say." Yu Jianchong bowed and said loudly, "Since Xiao Wang promised that the elder sister-in-law would take her child out of the city, he will keep his word--"
"Aren't you afraid that this child is harboring the disease? If this child can leave the city, then we must go out too!" The crowd was excited.
Yu Jin raised his hand and pressed it down, and the crowd quieted down again.
After such a long period of suffering and despair, this was the first time that a noble person said he could take someone out of the city, even if it was just a child. This actually gave these people unlimited hope.
Of course, they will be more patient and respectful towards those who give them hope.
"After this child is taken away, he will be isolated for observation. No matter what the result is, I will tell everyone when the time comes." Yu Jian sighed, "His father just died, and his mother can't see him anymore. You won't make a fuss about a young child, right?"
"What about us?" After hearing what Yu Jian said, many disaster victims blushed and softened their tone.