It's just that plans can't keep up with changes, especially since Operation Spring Thunder involves far more than the six affected counties. And this is not about building a project or doing business, but about organizing the people to obey orders and letting some people make sacrifices. With the control and organizational capabilities of the Jiangnan Group, it is simply not up to the task...

So they have to rely on the government, and once they rely on the government, the situation will be out of control...

Pan Shujun and Xiang Yuanqi led the heads of thirteen development companies in the Jiahu area and sailed across Taihu Lake at night, returning to Jiaxing County, the capital of Jiaxing Prefecture, and Wucheng County, the capital of Huzhou Prefecture. They met with the two prefects respectively and presented Mr. Zhao with a handwritten letter.

"Handwritten letter" is an abbreviation, the full name is "Handwritten letter signed by Mr. Zhao written by Secretary Ma".

Jiaxing and Huzhou are the main raw silk producing areas in Jiangnan, and the silk weaving industry even accounts for more than 70% of the total. The two prefects were at a loss as to what to do about the spread of silkworm disease and poor spring silkworm harvest. Seeing that Jiangnan Group could solve their problems without them having to spend any money, they naturally gave their full support.

In order to avoid being overthrown by the Jiangnan Group, the two officials generously expressed their support by exempting the six counties affected by the disaster from labor service.

At the same time, assistant officials such as Tongzhi and Tongpan were sent to the counties with tickets to supervise the anti-epidemic work in each county.

The heads of the affected counties were naturally even more active, requiring all officials in the yamen to cooperate with each other and not slack off.

The prefect was so worried because the harvest was only one-third poor. But the whole county was facing a total crop failure! The spring silkworms were already ruined. If the summer and autumn silkworms had diarrhea again, the people would have to starve. That would cause a big mess!

Even the neighboring counties that were not affected by the disaster were extremely active... They sent officials and militiamen to set up checkpoints and obstacles on the water and land roads bordering the six affected counties, and to guard against any items related to silkworms from leaving the six counties.

Later, the nearby villagers learned about it and spontaneously joined the ranks of blocking the six counties. White-haired old men carried large Guandao, and children with pigtails held red tasseled spears, vigilantly watching every rural road where people might pass. They took the initiative to raise the isolation standard to the point where no one or anything was allowed to enter the county!

Even the sparrows that flew out of the six counties were shot down by people from the neighboring counties with slingshots, which fully demonstrated the noble sentiment of "I would rather die than let my friend die".

The six counties that were blocked were naturally very angry, especially those merchants who did not raise silkworms or engage in silk weaving, as well as the people who went out to visit relatives. They were stopped for no reason and even could not go home. They must have been furious.

The officials also took a clear stand to protect the interests of the county, but instead of putting out the fire, it only made both sides more angry. As time went on, more and more people gathered at the county border, and the atmosphere became more and more tense.

This scene was beyond the expectations of Pan, Xiang and others. They did not expect that the blockade of items related to silkworms would suddenly turn into a complete and all-round blockade. It then evolved into confrontation among counties and might even lead to a civil uprising!

This frightened them, and they quickly ordered all the development companies in the counties to go out and try their best to appease the people in the county and persuade them to calm down, and sent people to separate the two sides to prevent conflict. At the same time, they urgently reported to Mr. Zhao.

In order to facilitate the command and response, Zhao Hao has come to Wuzhen, Tongxiang County, which is located at the junction of Jiaxing and Huzhou. This place is located at the junction of two provinces, three prefectures and seven counties, and the transportation is most convenient. The imperial court also set up a Zhejiang branch office here, which was responsible for patrolling salt and arresting thieves, and also handling local lawsuits. However, it was abolished the year before last because the Japanese banditry was eliminated...

Jiangnan Bank had a branch here, and also managed the two prefecture branches. Zhao Hao set up his headquarters next to the Wuzhen branch, using Jiangnan Bank's powerful communication system to receive information from all over the country and issue orders in a timely manner.

After seeing this urgent report, Master Zhao frowned and said to Wang Mengxiang: "It seems that the foreplay was not serious enough, and they just went on recklessly."

"It's true that it's not smooth enough, but for this kind of thing, you have to take advantage of the fact that they are unaware and launch a surprise attack." Wang Mengxiang disagreed and said, "The people can be made to follow it, but they can't be made to know it. The young master has explained to them in detail that they should obey the overall situation and follow the arrangements. But it can't change their only concern for their own interests and convenience."

"That's true..." Zhao Hao couldn't help but smile bitterly. Indeed, if they were notified in advance, those gentry, merchants and common people would definitely rush to leave the six disaster-stricken counties before the blockade. Moreover, those silkworm-related materials would definitely be exported at a low price, and they would not just wait to be blocked in the county and leave it to fate.

"The key now is to prevent a civil uprising, otherwise many people will take advantage of the situation and accuse us." Wang Mengxiang also smiled bitterly, but his concerns were different from Zhao Hao's. "Gao Huzi has replaced all the officials in Nanjing, and most of the new ones are his students. We must be on guard."

Gao Gong was the chief examiner of the imperial examination in the 44th year of Jiajing. Many of his students served as county magistrates or officials for a full term and were qualified to be promoted to the censors. Whether it was the imperial secretary or the censor, they were all selected by the Ministry of Personnel without the intervention of the ministers. Therefore, Gao Gong's students entered the court one after another and became prosecutors with bright prospects... oh no, censors of the censors.

The reason why he arranged them in Nanjing instead of Beijing was mainly because Gao Gong had promised not to retaliate when he came to Beijing last year, so it was inconvenient to take action against the Paw Patrol in Beijing immediately. He could only let them transition in Nanjing first and find an opportunity to transfer them to Beijing.

Gao Gong's disciples have to repay their master and perform well to make progress. Their desire and ability to fight are very disturbing. The Jiangnan Group, the elephant in the room, is hard to avoid becoming the target of their attack...

~~

The two sighed for a while. After Gao Gong's comeback, the pressure became stronger day by day, so they called a meeting with Yu Ben and others to discuss four countermeasures.

First, all silkworm-related materials in the six affected counties were purchased by Jiangnan Group at market prices and then disposed of.

Second, all people, trucks and ships not related to silkworms can leave the six affected counties, but they must be thoroughly disinfected... Zhao Hao didn't dare to guarantee whether the earth medicine sprayed could be thoroughly disinfected. But as long as the people in the neighboring counties believe that they have been thoroughly disinfected, it will be fine.

Third, Jiangnan Group and its subsidiaries will ensure that prices in the affected counties remain stable during the quarantine period and that there will be no shortage of supplies.

Fourth, those workers who are unable to go out due to isolation are temporarily hired by Jiangnan Group to join the anti-epidemic work.

After these three countermeasures were announced, and the gentry did their best to appease the people, the people in the counties finally settled down temporarily...

The anti-epidemic work has finally been steadily advanced.

In the three counties of Tongxiang in Jiaxing Prefecture, Ma Yilong led 800 agricultural technicians and, with the assistance of shareholders of the development company, began to carry out disinfection from village to village and from house to house.

The agricultural technicians wore large cotton masks, put the disinfectant prepared by Ma Yilong into wooden barrels, carried them on their backs, and sprayed everywhere with bamboo pump sprayers, including the house, the yard, the front and back of the house, and the fields. The mulberry fields were given special care, and every mulberry tree was washed once, regardless of the cost.

The silkworm house where the silkworms live is the top priority for disinfection. All silkworm tools must be disinfected, leaving no dead corners on the ground, roof, or wall.

In addition to spraying, the silkworm farmers also followed the instructions to sweep away the dust and plug the holes; rinse the indoor and outdoor areas with clean water; scrape and wash the floor of the silkworm house; then whitewash the interior and exterior walls with 20% lime slurry, and do not spare the indoor ceiling and floor.

Finally, use sulfur cypress smoke to disinfect once, then close the door and seal it, and don't open it again until the summer silkworms breed.

Agricultural technicians repeatedly reminded the silkworm farmers not to move the silkworm tools outside for other uses, not to wash them with water, to use them for specific purposes, and not to bring unsterilized items into the silkworm room at will to prevent pathogens from infecting the silkworm tools in the room.

When silkworm farmers enter the studio, it is best for them to wear special work clothes, cloth hats and masks, and wash their hands before touching the silkworm tools... I hope that these silkworm farmers who have suffered great losses can learn some lessons and start learning how to raise silkworms scientifically and hygienically.

This is definitely a very difficult task. Although the 800-man disinfection team may seem like a lot, there are more than 500 natural villages and more than 100,000 silkworm-raising households in the three counties of Jiaxing alone.

Ma Yilong has very high requirements for disinfection. He requires that every household in every village should be fully covered and have no dead corners. As a result, it would be good if he could complete disinfection for two villages in one day.

Zhao Hao saw that this was not going to work. He couldn't finish the work in these three counties by the end of the year...

When people advised Ma Yilong to speed up, he insisted on the view that "if one is missed, all previous efforts will be wasted" and firmly disagreed.

The leading group had to change the order and asked the agricultural technicians, who were already skilled workers, to train and supervise the silkworm farmers to carry out the pest control on their own.

At this time, epidemic prevention materials supported by brother counties were continuously delivered to the six disaster-stricken counties. Shiploads of quicklime, slaked lime and hydrated lime, as well as barrels of wood spirit, were brought to Xishan Island. In terms of materials, the conditions for large-scale military operations were indeed met.

Ma Yilong finally agreed.

So the agricultural technicians finally no longer had to carry wooden barrels and spray everywhere all day, which made them very skilled. They returned to their old profession, with two people responsible for one village, spending a whole day training silkworm farmers, another whole day supervising them to spray on their own, and finally a whole day inspecting and repairing leaks.

As a result, the disinfection work in the three counties of Jiaxing was completed in three days, and the results will only be tested when the summer silkworms are raised...

The situation in Jiaxing is relatively simple, but that in Huzhou is much more troublesome.

From the day the work team moved in, everyone started to compete with the moth.

Li Shizhen first ordered all silkworm farmers to make their own net cages with mosquito nets and bamboo strips, and catch all their silkworms into the cages.

The male and female moths should be separated. The female moths should be placed in the room where the female moths are stored, and the male moths should be placed in the room where the male moths are stored. The male and female moths should never be mixed, lest they can't hold back and accidentally fire, and lay silkworm eggs prematurely.

When two rabbits walk side by side on the ground, how can I tell which is male and which is female? How can ordinary people tell the male and female of this fluttering moth?