Chapter 85 Arrival at the Epidemic Area
Jizhou is located south of Shangjing, more than 600 miles away, and it takes three days to travel by horse carriage.
More than seventy horse-drawn carriages sped along the official road, heading towards Jizhou.
The vehicles were loaded with supplies to be sent to the epidemic area, including medicines and food, as well as many tents for marching. Song Yuzhu planned to build several temporary isolation and treatment centers.
It is summer now, and there are green trees on both sides of the road, and wild flowers dotted in the grass, the scenery is very pleasant.
The people in the car had no time to look at the scenery. Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao were both worried about the epidemic.
For some reason, the temperature today is exceptionally hot, and the sticky air makes people feel irritable.
The curtains of the carriage were open, and the two men didn't care about their image and opened their clothes to let in the air.
The clothes they were wearing were already the thinnest silk, yet they were still sweating profusely from the heat.
Zhao Xiao drank a sip of herbal tea and said, "Why do I feel that today is much hotter than usual?"
"Maybe it's the dog days."
Such hot weather is like adding fuel to the fire for people in the epidemic area. High temperature will accelerate the loss of water in the body and cause the corpse to rot quickly, and then flies and mosquitoes will spread the virus.
Song Yuzhu closed his eyes and opened the map to check the situation in Jizhou.
The highest temperature in Jizhou today is 30 degrees, and it will be sunny for the next three days.
Opening the map of Yongning County, we can see that the epidemic is more serious than in the previous few days and is now at the peak of the disease.
There were not many people on the street. Occasionally one or two pedestrians were seen, all of them hurriedly walking with their faces covered with towels, not daring to stay on the street.
People who were not sick hid in their homes and dared not go out, fearing that they would be infected with the disease. Those who were sick, those with mild symptoms ran to the clinic to seek medicine, and those with serious symptoms could only wait to die at home.
But there was no medicine left in the clinic. All the medicine had been sold out a few days before the outbreak of the disease. Now the doctor had been infected with the disease and was lying unconscious in bed.
Song Yuzhu found the girl he met that day. The girl's father had probably been buried, and the girl was the only one left at home, lying alone in bed.
She was pale and dying. She had also been infected with cholera and her illness was very serious. If she was not treated, she would probably die soon.
Song Yuzhu wanted to treat her, but it was still two days' journey to Jizhou, and by the time they arrived, she would be long gone.
The patient was right in front of him, but he was unable to help. Song Yuzhu felt too helpless, so he quickly cut off the screen and leaned against the carriage to catch his breath.
Zhao Xiao held his hand and asked nervously, "What's wrong with you?"
Song Yuzhu shook her head tiredly: "It's okay, I just checked the situation over there, it's worse than I thought."
Zhao Xiao squeezed his hand and comforted him, "Don't worry, we'll be there soon. If the train is built, it would be great. Iron Lump wouldn't need to eat grass or feel tired, and could reach Jizhou in one day."
"Yeah..." If it were in modern times, it would take half a day to drive there, not to mention high-speed rail and airplanes. Unfortunately, there is nothing in this era.
Song Yuzhu: "Ah Xiao, when you arrive in the epidemic area, try not to come into contact with the local people. Water must be boiled before drinking, and food must be heated before eating. Cholera is very serious, and even I dare not guarantee that I can cure it."
"Okay, I'll listen to you."
*
On the other hand, the first batch of relief supplies and medical officers from the Imperial Medical Academy shipped from Shangjing had arrived at Baoding Prefecture in Jizhou, and the prefect went to pick them up in person.
The prefect of Jizhou was named Ren Qingshan. He was in his early forties, with a square face, thick eyebrows and a wide mouth. Because of the spread of the plague, he was so anxious that his mouth was full of blisters and he lost seven or eight pounds.
How could he not be anxious?
This is a matter of life and death! So many people died in his jurisdiction, and next year's evaluation will definitely be poor. If the emperor can demote him, it would be a blessing. I am afraid that he will blame him and punish his family.
Now, not only Yongning County is seriously affected by the epidemic, but also nearby Changshun County and Bai'an County have reported symptoms.
Changshun County is a large county with more than 100,000 people. If the plague spreads, many people will probably die!
Seeing the Imperial Physician Yuan Yuan Shou, Ren Qingshan almost shed tears and held his arms with both hands: "Master Bai, I have been waiting for you to come!"
"Master Ren is well."
"Don't bother with the formalities, just follow me back to the government office!"
The group hurried to the government office, and Ren Qingshan asked his subordinates to report the epidemic situation to Bai Ning.
"The disease first spread from Tianhe Town in Yongning County, which is also where the disease is most serious. Now there are almost no survivors."
"At first, the local county magistrate thought it was dysentery and did not take it seriously. Later, as the number of patients increased, he reported it to the provincial government."
"When the prefect heard the news, he immediately sent people to organize treatment, but there were not enough people and medicines, so he could only submit a petition to the capital."
Ren Qingshan kept nodding his head. He had to shift the blame. Otherwise, he would lose his head. Anyway, the magistrate of Yongning County himself was infected with the disease, and it was not certain whether he could survive.
Bai Ning frowned after hearing this and asked, "Is Yongning County the only place where the epidemic has occurred?"
The subordinate looked at Ren Qingshan, and when he saw the prefect nodded, he immediately said, "In Changshun, Lin County of Yongning County, more than 370 people were sick and 70 people died. In Bai'an County, 140 people were sick and 31 people died. There are currently no cases in other counties."
Bai Ning: "Master Ren, have you sent people to govern these counties?"
"Yes, I have sent soldiers to guard the three counties." Ren Qingshan also knew that the plague was a serious matter and could not be taken lightly, so he sent soldiers to seal off several counties early on and did not allow local people to move around to prevent the plague from spreading to a larger area.
Bai Ning said: "There is no time to lose. We cannot stay here for long."
Everyone quickly got busy. According to His Majesty's instructions, the first thing was to send people to the epidemic area to deal with the corpses.
The bodies of people who died of cholera can still spread the virus after death, so these bodies cannot be buried at will. They must all be burned together. The key is to cut off the virus at the source.
It is not easy to collect so many corpses. After all, there are more dead people than living people in Yongning County, and there are not enough civilians, so they have to send the army to do this.
Zheng Da'an divided his troops into three groups. He himself led 3,000 soldiers to Yongning County to bury the bodies overnight. He also sent two captains with 1,000 soldiers each to cooperate with the medical officers to go to the other two counties to administer medicine and save people.
Ren Qingshan dispatched another two thousand soldiers to help.
*
On the evening of the third day, Song Yuzhu led a convoy of supplies to Jizhou Prefecture.
Ren Qingshan had not known that the emperor would come in person to preside over the fight against the epidemic. When he received the news that a large number of convoys were entering the city, he thought that it was an official from the capital who had arrived.
When he went to greet her, he saw the golden crown on Song Yuzhu's head and was so frightened that his eyes turned black and he almost fell down.
The subordinates next to him supported him, and Ren Qingshan quickly pushed the subordinates away and knelt down to kowtow.
"Your Majesty, why are you here?"
Song Yuzhu took Zhao Xiao's hand and walked down the carriage road: "Stop talking nonsense, change the carriage for me immediately and go to Yongning County!"
The horses were exhausted from the long gallop, and the carriage was almost breaking apart from the bumps it was experiencing.
"Yes, sir!" Ren Qingshan was so frightened that he dared not breathe. He quickly sent someone to change the carriage. He also packed his bags and prepared to follow the emperor to Yongning County.
The road from the provincial capital to Yongning County was nearly a hundred miles long. The convoy stopped only once along the way and arrived the next morning.
Although Song Yuzhu had been here many times on the map, it was only when he first walked to this place that he truly felt the consequences of the plague, which were so shocking.
Zheng Da'an had been leading his troops to burn corpses for three days, and a pungent burnt smell could be smelled from afar.
He heard that a car had arrived outside the city, and thought it was delivering something, so he rushed over to greet it. But when he saw Song Yuzhu and Zhao Xiao both coming, he widened his eyes in surprise.
"I bow to your majesty! I bow to the general!"
Zhao Xiao: "What's the current situation in Old Zheng City?"
"It's so tragic, so many people died..." Zheng Da'an and his men had been refining the dead in the western suburbs for two days, and there were still many who had not been burned.
Song Yuzhu asked, "Have any soldiers been infected with the disease?"
Zheng Daan nodded: "There are five or six of them. Follow your instructions and isolate them separately."
"What about the water? Did you boil it before drinking it?"
"It was burned. Even the water for washing hands and face was boiled and then cooled before use."
Song Yuzhu nodded: "Take me to see those soldiers first."
Everyone hurried towards the military camp.
In a tent, five or six soldiers were lying on wooden beds, their faces sallow and their lips pale.
They all started vomiting and having diarrhea yesterday. The serious ones had diarrhea almost all night long and felt like their intestines were about to come out.
Bai Ning treated several people and after they drank the medicine he boiled, their diarrhea improved a little, but they still had no appetite and couldn't eat.
The door curtain was lifted, and Zheng Daan walked in with a few people.
The soldiers all knew Zhao Xiao, and when they saw the general coming, they immediately knelt down and kowtowed.
Song Yuzhu quickly stopped them: "Just lie down, no need to be so polite."
Zheng Daan said: "Your Majesty, everyone is here."
When the soldiers heard General Zheng respectfully call that man His Majesty, they sat up straight in excitement. The Emperor actually came to see them? !
Song Yuzhu walked up to one of the soldiers and said, "Stretch out your hand."
The soldier stretched out his hand tremblingly, and Song Yuzhu tapped on his pulse and felt it. The pulses in the three parts of the body were all weak. Pressing hard, they felt empty. Then he looked at the soldier's eyelids and tongue. He found that there was some dehydration but it was not too serious.
"Rest well these few days, drink plenty of water, and don't let your mind wander."
"Ah!" The soldier was so moved that tears fell. Who would dare to believe that the emperor personally treated him? His life was worth it! He must survive and tell this story to future generations!
Song Yuzhu came out of the tent and met Bai Ning.
Bai Ning looked much more haggard after several days of running around, and his originally clean clothes were stained with a lot of dirt.
"Your humble servant greets His Majesty!"
"Hurry up and talk. What's the situation in the county?"
"Your Majesty, the number of patients is still increasing. I have followed your instructions and asked each household to isolate the patients. People who are not sick are not allowed to drink raw water or eat raw food."
“Are there enough medicines?”
Bai Ning shook his head: "I had already used up most of it yesterday, and I cut the dose in half this morning."
Song Yuzhu said: "Just right, I brought the medicine."
He asked the guards to unload the things from the car.
"This substance is called alcohol. It has the effect of disinfection and sterilization. Pour it into a bowl and wipe your hands after checking the patient's pulse."
Bai Ning walked forward and smelled it, a strong smell of white wine went straight into his nose, no wonder it was called alcohol.
"Your Majesty, since this substance can sterilize and disinfect, can patients drink it directly?"
"No! Drinking it directly will poison you to death."
Bai Ning carefully put down the jar of alcohol.
"There is also aged mustard greens marinade. Send someone to distribute this medicinal soup to the patients. Remember to use a needle to cut the skin on the patient's wrist first, then drop the aged mustard greens marinade on it. Wait for a cup of tea. If there is no rash, it can be consumed." Penicillin allergy is fatal. This is considered a simple skin test.
"Yes!" Bai Ning immediately took his men to move the medicine.
After everything was arranged, Zhao Xiao handed Song Yuzhu a handkerchief and asked her to wipe the sweat off her head.
"Go take a rest. You haven't had a good night's sleep these days because you have been traveling so fast."
Song Yuzhu looked up at the sky and shook his head solemnly: "No, we have to burn the bodies of the deceased as soon as possible. The weather is about to change..."
(End of this chapter)
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