Chapter 67
After selling his wares, Wen Yi also bought a modest house nearby. He used the front yard as a residence and the back yard to store unsold goods. It was a little crowded, but relatively inconspicuous, at least better than the constant wall-climbing.
At first, I just wanted to stay here for a while and wait for the caravans from remote areas to come back to see if they brought anything that interested me.
But sometimes unexpected events disrupt plans.
Dao Chenggang had just brought the Fengyi caravan over and was about to report the goods they had brought to Wenyi when he heard someone shouting something on the road outside the yard.
He subconsciously stopped, but before he could hear the details, someone pushed the door open. It was the guard on duty outside. He looked extremely anxious at the moment. Without even having time to greet Dao Cheng, he ran straight to the main hall.
"What's wrong?"
Wen Yi was originally reading a book under the window in the sunlight. He had heard some noises before and thought it was just a small matter. But now the guards outside the courtyard ran in, thinking that something important had happened.
The person who ran in took a breath, and without caring about being polite, he nodded hurriedly, his voice a little unsteady:
"Sir...in the city...something happened at the city gate."
"What's the matter?" Wen Yi put down the things in his hands and spoke in a steady tone, which made the man calm down. After sorting out his thoughts, he said:
"My Lord, a group of refugees suddenly arrived outside the city gate today. Originally, these people were not allowed to approach the city gate, but somehow a few of them mixed in with the group entering the city. When the gate guards found them, they were already lying on the ground."
This was an understatement. Those people seemed to have deliberately held on to their last breath to reach the crowded area at the city gate. When they were checked, it was discovered that they were covered in pus-filled sores and their faces were red. They were previously covered in mud and dirt, and were not noticed until they fell to the ground.
When something urgent happens, everyone will subconsciously stay away, and the guards can't control the situation all of a sudden, and it's really chaotic for a while.
The doctors in the city saw this and their faces changed drastically, which led to the previous commotion.
"I saw it from far away, and heard that it seemed that they were going to close the city gates."
Wen Yi immediately pulled down the seal from his waist and said:
"Go find the fastest one and immediately report this to Fengyi. Let them take notice. Same with those outside the city. If the situation is not good, they should leave first and don't worry about those inside the city."
The control outside the city is certainly not comparable to that inside. They should be able to perceive more content and bring more detailed information to the north. Our own information is insufficient and we cannot make an accurate judgment for the time being, but combined with those outside the city who want to come to Fengyi, we should be able to prepare in advance.
Thinking of something, she added, "Don't go through that gate over there. Go out from the north. If you're fast enough, you can make it before the city closes."
It's not that she doesn't plan to leave. Now that the news has spread, she will definitely not be able to catch up with those who can ride horses in the city with her speed. On the contrary, a few of her subordinates with good martial arts skills may have a chance. After all, it takes time to pass on the news.
The situation was urgent, so the guard took his things and ran out. Wen Yi saw Dao Cheng standing in the yard and ordered:
"Go and call back all our people, quickly." If it was a false alarm, it would be fine. But if there really was an epidemic, the longer they stayed outside, the more dangerous it would be. They would also be easily caught by patrolling soldiers, and it would be difficult to get them out then.
Normally, people don't go to the city gate. Most of them are in the courtyard here. Only a few people are out for negotiations and are not here. It's not too late for them to come back now.
The city gate fell earlier than expected. Fortunately, I rushed to the side gate at the beginning and finally completed the inspection before the message from the front came, and I got out of Changyu.
Without even taking a breath, they hurried to their place of residence outside the city. One person was left behind to organize those who were still outside the city to move to a remote place, while several people with good riding skills headed straight north with the seal.
Wen Yi in the city was also reminded by the subordinates of Meng Xi and other people with whom he had a good relationship. He simply took out a few copies of the response measures when Pingyi had a cold outbreak from the shelf behind the desk and gave them to a few servants, as a way of fulfilling this friendship.
Upon hearing the news, there was some commotion in the yard, but fortunately Wen Yi was there, and there were previous rules. They also learned some medical skills when they were in the army, so it didn't take long for the situation to calm down. Many people began to use existing cloth and materials to make and distribute simple masks.
Wen Yi sat back in the chair and began to carefully calculate the supplies.
There is a well in the yard, but there is no guarantee that the water source will be polluted in the future. Fortunately, the house is located in a relatively remote area and upstream. Filling the jars brought here for painting patterns with water should be able to cope for a while.
There is enough cloth in the backyard, and soap is what they originally sell here. There are also some prepared medicinal materials. Many of them were restored by the doctors in the clinic based on the medical books they collected and re-surveyed. Some are inherited from family. There are also several doctors here who usually treat various discomforts for them. If they are really infected, there is still room for recovery.
Alcohol and the like can also be used for wiping. At this time, it doesn’t matter how expensive it is, what matters is people.
A lot of grain had been purchased earlier and was originally intended to be handed over to Daocheng for delivery later. Currently, there is enough food for them to chew on. The only thing lacking is fodder for the horses, so they can only adapt to the situation.
Not long after, his subordinates came to report that their men had already left before the city gates were closed, and that the people outside and Fengyi were all properly dealt with.
Dao Cheng also brought back several accountants who had heard the news and rushed back. After taking inventory, he closed the doors to the front and back yards and reinforced them with metal rods. Wen Yi deeply suspected that if there were enough materials, this person would even want to seal the doors completely with stone or metal.
She also didn't say that if it was really an epidemic, closing the door would be useless because the air and other things could spread the virus.
"Is everyone here?"
"Yes, except for the three people who went out to report the news, all the other people in the city are here." Dao Cheng replied.
"That's good." This place is not their territory. Instead of risking their lives to get information outside, it is better to stay here and wait for the situation outside to calm down.
In the yard, you can hear the sound of people clearing the streets on horseback. It seems that they have some experience.
That's right. Changyu is a transportation hub with people from all over the place gathering here. I think it must have encountered similar situations over the years.
Wen Yi sent everyone to rest. They were all a little tired after being busy for a while. Dao Cheng and others also withdrew after noticing it, leaving only someone standing in a dark place to deal with anything if there was anything.
The noise in the city lasted for a long time, and even at night, one could still vaguely hear the sound of horses or carriages rolling over the ground - this was certainly not an evacuation, but rather those nobles took advantage of the night to leave this troubled place.
However, the main city gate is the only one through which these vehicles can enter and exit. After what happened during the day, no one knows whether these people value their lives or not.
Moreover, those disguised people were able to reach the city gate, so there must be someone behind them pushing them. The caravan originally gathered outside was even more dangerous. They went out and encountered that group of people. They were really asking for trouble.
Wen Yi's prediction was correct. Originally, those who went out of the city gate set up camp after marching for a while. However, when they woke up the next day, they found that several terminally ill people had appeared around their camp. It was so dark that some people woke up to find that the person lying next to them was not a companion who had returned from the night watch, but a patient with a high fever.
*
Wen Yi rested quite well that night. He felt energetic when he woke up in the morning. He even followed Dao Cheng and others to do a set of exercises in the yard to strengthen his body, and a thin layer of sweat appeared on his body.
After washing up, Wen Yi changed into loose clothes. Since he didn't need to go out and see anyone today, he just wanted to be casual.
Originally, when he was in Pingyi or Fengyi, he could dress freely, but in Changyu, people often dress according to their clothes, and there are even various dress requirements. For example, merchants cannot use certain colors and patterns, and certain sleeve and neckline styles are not allowed. Wen Yi naturally would not deliberately go against them.
Last night, several wooden balls wrapped with letters were thrown into the backyard. They looked exactly like the ones that had been given away as gifts or purchased before. After being cleaned, they were opened and sent to the front hall.
Wen Yi unfolded the note inside, which contained Meng Xi's thanks and instructions. If there was anything missing, just let her know - the places where they were staying were not far from each other, and the closest place was only separated by a street.
There were a lot of gadgets delivered this time, including semi-finished products that had not yet been assembled. Daocheng and others simply took advantage of their free time to start assembling those gadgets, and the chef also began to happily prepare breakfast.
She seemed to be in a peaceful and stable situation here, but she had no idea that there were already many places in Changyu City where trouble had broken out.
The most serious damage was to the area where temporary houses were built.
The population here is dense, and most of them do not have the money to buy or rent a courtyard. Their health was not good to begin with. In addition, many of those who lined up at the beginning lived here. Some of them developed high fever symptoms overnight. Many people wanted to leave but were threatened by armed soldiers, so they had to stay away from the group of people who were obviously abnormal.
A lot of things also happened in the building that provided accommodation for merchants. Fortunately, the courtyard here was relatively independent and the environment was good. Most people were relatively safe staying in their rented places, but they still had to come out when the water and food ran out.
The guards at the city gates were in better health, but some of them developed symptoms on unlucky nights, and their colleagues quickly reported them to their superiors, who quickly moved them away to fend for themselves.
Although the quarantine was carried out relatively quickly, perhaps the people behind the scenes were prepared. People who have come into contact with patients with high fever are also very likely to be infected. If they cannot cool down in time, they will develop acne or spots on their bodies, and even doctors dare not diagnose them.
The speed of news spreading outside the city was even faster. After seeing that things were not going well, the people in Wen Yi's place outside the city decided to leave a letter in the dark and quickly packed up their things and evacuated to the north.
The person sent by Wen Yi to report the news ran all night and finally arrived at Fengyi just as the city gate opened the next day.
Fortunately, their horses were of extremely high-quality breeds, and there were temporary saddles and stirrups outside the city, otherwise it would take some time to get back.
Nan Xun and the others didn't dare delay after hearing the news, and quickly summoned the city officials to the office for discussion. If the situation was fine, Wen Yi would certainly take his men away, but from what these people said, if they hadn't run fast, they wouldn't even be able to get out of the city gate. It seemed the situation was urgent.
However, after hearing several people describe that their yard was located in a relatively remote area, with few crowded places around, and that they had all kinds of supplies, they temporarily put aside their worries about Wen Yi and began to discuss how to deal with the possible impact on this side.
However, it was not until the last group of evacuees returned that the people of Fengyi realized that the situation seemed to be much worse than they had expected. On the way back, they seemed to see many people wrapped in cloth sitting on old carts, and their destination was unknown.
Nan Xun realized that Wen Yi had sent someone back to report the news. The several leaders exchanged glances and quickly passed on the order to close the city gates. At the same time, they sent people to several cities in the north to report the news.
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