Burn them
The night was pitch black, without a single star in sight, and the two lanterns under the eaves swayed in the breeze, their lights flickering on and off.
Today in the council chamber, when Li Wenkang proposed to execute those infected with the plague, he actually wavered.
Killing those already infected can protect the safety of the healthy people in the city; if they are not killed, it may lead to even more deaths...
What should he do? Which approach is the right one?
Xie Zhuo sat on the steps, his gaze unfocused, seemingly looking into nowhere.
Fu Zhiqiao had just finished showering when she came out and heard Yinxing say that Xie Zhuo had arrived.
Xie Zhuo looked solemn, and he suddenly looked up after hearing footsteps.
The moment Xie Zhuo looked up, Fu Zhi Qiao saw a thin mist floating in his eyes, a brokenness that evoked pity.
It was rare to see Xie Zhuo so vulnerable, so Fu Zhi Qiao silently walked over to him and sat down beside him. "Why do you smell so jealous?"
Xie Zhuo: ...
These words immediately pulled him out of his confusion.
"Doctor Gao said that everyone who goes outside the city must steam their clothes with vinegar."
Not only him, but the entire yamen reeked of vinegar.
"Oh, you've found the location of the plague?"
Xie Zhuo nodded.
"Does the imperial physician have a cure?"
Xie Zhuo shook his head.
Fu Zhi Qiao: "..."
When the plague was mentioned, Xie Zhuo's face turned unusually pale. "They suggested that I kill those patients on the spot."
Fu Zhi Qiao was silent for a moment, then asked, "What about you? What do you think?"
"I don't know either. Those patients are innocent, but if we don't kill them, more healthy people will get infected..."
Fu Zhiqiao understood what Xie Zhuo was troubled about; as a decision-maker, it was indeed a thorny problem.
Did those patients know they had contracted the plague?
"They don't know that if news of the plague in the city were to leak out, it would cause great chaos."
“It’s better to guide than to block; you can’t hide it.” Fu Zhiqiao advised him, “It’s normal for people to be afraid of the plague. You can have the imperial physicians issue a notice that anyone who conceals their fever will only face death. If they report it to the medical clinic and receive active treatment, they will have a chance of survival. People will definitely cooperate with the government’s arrangements in order to save their lives.”
The girl's soft voice was like a gentle spring, possessing a soothing magic. Xie Zhuo focused all his attention on listening to her speak.
"To prevent more people from getting infected, you should send people to explain the dangers of the plague to the people. The water source has been contaminated, so you should urge the people to drink boiled water and make them realize the seriousness of the matter. Secondly, you should separate the sick from the healthy people and prevent the spread of infection from continuing."
"Everyone must wear masks and gloves, especially the imperial physicians and doctors. They must wash their hands thoroughly after each contact with a patient. Also, if a patient unfortunately dies, their body should not be buried; it is best to cremate it."
Xie Zhuo listened quietly, and as Fu Zhiqiao spoke more and more, he also showed some surprise.
"Do you want to come to the yamen and help me?"
Fu Zhiqiao paused.
"Ah Qiao, do you want to come to the yamen to help me?" Xie Zhuo asked again, his eyes dark.
"Sure, but I'm not doing this to help you; I'm doing it for the sake of all the people in the city."
Xie Zhuo had gotten used to her drawing a line between herself and him.
And so, Fu Zhiqiao was invited by Xie Zhuo to work at the yamen.
Everyone else in the yamen was puzzled by Xie Zhuo's act of inviting a woman to the yamen and treating her as an honored guest, but they dared not say anything because of Xie Zhuo's status, and could only complain a little in private.
As a paratrooper, Fu Zhiqiao was completely unconcerned about what others were saying.
Xie Zhuo showed the plan she had written to prevent the plague to Imperial Physician Gao, who exclaimed that she was a genius.
"Boss Fu's act of kindness is admirable." Imperial Physician Gao first praised her for donating 100,000 catties of grain, and then showed great interest in the masks and gloves she made. After chatting for a few minutes, Imperial Physician Gao asked, "How did you confirm that the plague was transmitted through saliva?"
How did she know? Of course, it's because she learned modern scientific knowledge.
However, she couldn't explain these things to the people here, so she could only pretend to be mysterious and say, "If you don't believe me, you can find out for yourself by testing it."
The imperial physician felt that she seemed to have a lot of insight into the plague and wanted to invite her to the clinic to study the disease with other doctors.
"No, she doesn't know anything about medicine. What if she gets infected at the clinic?"
Xie Zhuo refused without saying a word, and with a glint of his eye, the Imperial Physician Gao immediately shut his mouth.
Inviting Fu Zhiqiao to the yamen was a rash decision by Xie Zhuo. At the time, he was so engrossed in listening to Fu Zhiqiao talk about various methods of preventing and controlling the plague that his mouth spoke faster than his brain.
Fu Zhiqiao really came to the yamen. Xie Zhuo kept regretting that he had come up with such a bad idea and dragged her into this dangerous place.
She's a frail woman with a weak constitution; what if she gets infected with the plague?
Xie Zhuoyue regretted it more and more, wishing he could go back to last night and knock himself unconscious with a stick.
Fu Zhiqiao smiled and said, "Imperial Physician Gao is too kind. The treatment of the plague still depends on the imperial physicians. All I can do now is to help General Xie control the spread of the plague as much as possible."
Xie Zhuo coughed lightly and said, "Miss Fu and I have already formulated a plan to prevent the plague. We will have to rely on you to take good care of the medical clinic."
Upon hearing this, Imperial Physician Gao's expression immediately turned serious. He cupped his hands and said, "This humble official will do his utmost."
Outside the gates of Qingzhou City, beyond the fences erected by the government, some people carrying bundles were trying to leave the city.
"Why won't you let me leave the city?"
"The notice says that a plague has been discovered outside the city. What if you get sick if you leave the city? If you want to die, don't drag the whole city down with you."
"What notice?"
"Go see for yourself."
"I can't read!"
The officer waved his hand impatiently, "Someone will read it to you."
A crowd had already gathered around the notice wall, and the officials were posting a notice: "By order of His Majesty the Imperial Envoy, anyone who discovers symptoms of chills or fever must immediately report to the medical clinic. Anyone who conceals or fails to report such symptoms will be punished with fifty strokes of the cane."
Fifty strokes of the cane would take half your life.
Compared to being punished severely, what worried people even more was the plague, for once infected, death was certain.
The public was discussing this extensively, with many worried that they might be infected.
"What? A plague has been discovered?"
“My mother is still in the countryside. It’s not safe outside the city, so I need to bring her here.”
Another person reminded him, "Did you listen carefully? The officials in the government office said that outsiders are not allowed to enter the city, so your mother can't come in."
"First came the flood, then the plague. Is this divine punishment for us?"
Everyone chimed in with their own opinions, and the conversation got increasingly esoteric.
"The notice said that we should avoid crowded places and cover our mouths and noses when in a crowd." Upon hearing this, a man immediately covered his mouth and nose.
"Don't drink well water, drink boiled water."
"Having a fever is basically a sign of an epidemic, so everyone must stay away from people with a fever."
The officials shouted, "The infected people have been moved out of the city. For your safety, you should go home immediately and not wander around the streets."
In addition to the notices about preventing and controlling the plague, there were also notices recruiting doctors. The government spent a lot of money to recruit doctors from all over the city to participate in the research and development of plague medicine.
The people were terrified of the plague, and most of them obediently followed the government's arrangements. The very few troublemakers were dealt with and then became obedient as well.
Qin Zhao used the Qingzhou city wall as a buffer zone and set aside a large open area outside the city as a temporary medical facility, where all those infected with the plague were transferred.
At the same time, the government forbade anyone from going out, and the officials at the city gates only allowed imperial physicians and government officials to pass.
In addition, Qin Zhao issued orders to the surrounding counties of Yunzhong, Shangyang, and Jinxian, prohibiting outsiders from entering and preventing locals from leaving. Protecting the people within the city was his responsibility, but at the same time, he could not allow any infected person to leave and affect the people of other prefectures.
In the following days, more and more infected people were discovered in the city. The officials and officers isolated each group of patients as they found them, following the guidelines for plague prevention and control written by Fu Zhiqiao.
Those isolated in the infirmary, upon learning they had contracted the plague, were utterly despondent. Some even begged the officials to let them go home, saying they wanted to die in their own homes, otherwise their souls would not find peace…
The imperial physician Gao tried nearly a hundred kinds of medicine, but still saw no results.
All the doctors in Qingzhou City helped out at the temporary clinics outside the city, but ultimately they couldn't save She Hong's life.
The day after She Hong died.
The city was in turmoil; people began to feel fear and even become irritable.
"Sir, sir, something terrible has happened! The people have gathered outside the yamen and are demanding that those suffering from the plague be burned alive!" An official rushed in to report.
"What?" Qin Zhao's heart skipped a beat. He put down his pen and rushed out the door to see.
At this time, about a hundred people had gathered at the entrance of the government office, blocking the entrance in layers. They were holding torches and shouting that they wanted to burn the patients infected with the plague.
"My lord, Your Majesty, please order them killed immediately, lest they spread the plague to us."
“Some infected people have already died. The plague is incurable. If this continues, we will all be infected and die.”
"Get rid of the plague, burn them to death!"
"The plague is incurable. Only by burning those who are infected can we all survive."
"Yes, burn them."
"Hand over the infected people immediately. They are the root of the problem; if they live, they will kill even more people."
"Burn the infected! Burn the infected!"
The people were filled with fear and terror. Their emotions were growing increasingly agitated, and they had lost their reason. If this continued, the officials might not be able to stop them.
Qin Zhao instructed his men, "Go quickly and invite General Xie here."
When Fu Zhiqiao arrived, she saw a group of people holding torches and shouting, "Burn them to death!"
She immediately got goosebumps.
People tend to be very united when their own interests are involved.
In the eyes of these people, burning the sick to death was a way of eliminating a scourge for the people. Only by burning the sick to death could the plague not spread to themselves and their families. Only when the infected people died could the rest of them be safe.
The people approached step by step, and the officials formed a human wall to block them.
Suddenly, a man broke through the human wall. He stumbled and fell to the ground, rolling around and shouting, "Ouch! The police are hitting people! Everyone come and see!"
Upon hearing this, the people standing behind immediately became as if they had been injected with adrenaline, and they all rushed forward to push their way in.
The officials couldn't really do anything at this point. Firstly, they were outnumbered, and secondly, hundreds or even thousands of eyes were watching. If word got out that the officials were oppressing the people, it would only cause greater unrest.
"Stop!" Xie Zhuo rushed over and stood on the steps.
The people were caught up in a frenzy and no one listened to him.
The elite cavalrymen brought by Xie Zhuo all wore masks and surrounded the people in front of the government office.
"Quiet down, everyone!" Xie Zhuo used his inner strength to project his voice, which boomed like a bell and instantly drowned out the noise of the crowd. "If your family members are infected now, do you want to be burned alive with them?"
If a family member is unfortunately infected, should they also be burned at the stake?
The noise stopped quickly.
The people were stunned for a moment, and the entrance to the government office fell silent. No one spoke for a while.
"Please give us some time. The imperial physicians are working hard to develop a medicinal decoction. As long as everyone follows the rules, the plague will surely be cured!"
"Sir, please don't try to fool us. Throughout history, has any plague ever been completely eradicated? In the end, didn't many people always die?"
"The first man to contract the disease has died. Even the imperial physicians couldn't save him. No one can save him now."
"It won't be resolved. Two families next to my house have been moved out of the city. I saw it. People in the city have already been infected."
"What should we do? Will we die too?"
"If you contract the plague, you can only wait to die; there is no chance of survival."
The crowd started talking all at once, and it looked like the anger in the crowd was about to rise again.
Fu Zhi Qiao stepped forward: "Who said you couldn't!"
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