Chapter 605 is about the plague.
Yun Yichen didn't make any comment about Geng Shilang's change of heart. He waved to Ji Wenjin and then told Geng Shilang about the plan without any hesitation.
The addition of someone knowledgeable was naturally a good thing for Vice Minister Geng. He bid farewell to Yun Yichen and left with Ji Wenjin.
That afternoon, while everyone was busy, Ji Wenjin finally delivered the personnel from the Ministry of War. Accompanying them was a batch of disaster relief silver and grain.
There weren't many of these things, since they were all done according to Yun Yichen's instructions. There was no need for others to see them. Although they were a little disappointed, having some was better than having none.
Yun Yichen seemed to trust He Biyou quite a bit, and after the items arrived, he handed them over to Ouyang Biao and He Biyou to distribute and use.
He Biyou thought that Yun Yichen had finally put his mind at ease, but little did he know that these things were actually those secretly transported out of Suzhou City.
With the disaster in Suzhou severe, and given that He Biyou and his ilk were notorious corrupt officials, they naturally dared not expose their ill-gotten gains. Fortunately, a new city site had been chosen, and the soldiers who originally guarded the city had all been left behind. He felt quite at ease leaving those things in the now-ghosted city.
Even with disaster relief grain and silver, some things still happened.
The lingering heat of August was intense; in just two days, it left everyone feeling listless. And under these conditions, some of the disaster victims, whose injuries hadn't yet healed, suddenly began to develop fevers.
Yun Yichen initially thought it was just a common case of a festering wound, but gradually, those disaster victims without external injuries also began to develop fevers, accompanied by coughs and fatigue.
Just as Yun Yichen realized that this might be due to the plague, the sky suddenly changed color and a light drizzle began to fall.
"My lord, more and more people are falling ill. What should we do next?"
The ministers gathered inside Yun Yichen's tent, looking at the calm-faced Yun Yichen, and asked anxiously.
Upon hearing this, the Fifth Prince Lu Yuanbin could no longer sit still. He stood up and walked to Yun Yichen, saying in a tone that carried a hint of command, "Yun Yichen, I don't care how you want to resolve this situation. Now that this has happened, you must arrange for me and my fourth brother to return to the capital as soon as possible."
Lu Yuanbin originally only wanted to talk about himself, but after glancing at Lu Changqing, he couldn't help but add another sentence.
Upon hearing this, Yun Yichen looked up at Lu Yuanbin and said, "I'm afraid I can't send Your Highness back. If I'm not mistaken, we've probably contracted the plague here. If Your Highness leaves now, you might bring the plague back to the capital. I absolutely cannot allow that to happen."
Yun Yichen spoke in a calm tone, but his words surprised everyone.
"Plague? Sir, aren't you making a mountain out of a molehill?"
While major disasters can indeed be accompanied by outbreaks of plague, Yun Yichen handled the situation well this time, and most of the refugees were evacuated, so there should be no outbreak of plague.
What everyone was thinking was also what Yun Yichen was thinking. According to his plan, the outbreak of the plague could have been completely avoided. Moreover, half a month had passed since the great disaster, and this sudden outbreak of the plague was really strange.
Because no preparations were made, these sick people could only temporarily take some herbs that could be found on the mountain.
"Physician Kong, please tell everyone."
Yun Yichen did not answer the question, but instead looked at the silent imperial physician at the bottom of the table. At this moment, Yun Yichen was extremely glad that he had brought Imperial Physician Kong with him. Although the plague was his speculation, everyone naturally trusted the imperial physician's abilities more than their own.
Physician Kong was originally one of Yun Yichen's men, and upon hearing Yun Yichen's words, he immediately stood up with a grave expression.
"To be honest, my lords, I suspect that this illness is a plague."
Having received a definite answer, the people did not feel relieved; instead, their hearts grew even heavier.
"What should we do? It's raining outside, and even if we search every pharmacy in the ruined city, I'm afraid there won't be any usable herbs left!"
Ouyang Biao was most afraid. He was not originally from Suzhou. If he died here because of the plague, then what had he been scheming for all these years?
Next in line to him were the local officials, whose gazes all turned to He Biyou, but He Biyou did not react at all.
Yun Yichen's gaze swept over everyone, finally landing on the Fourth Prince, Lu Changqing.
Lu Changqing remained calm, as if the matter being discussed had nothing to do with him. Although Yun Yichen felt it was wrong to doubt Lu Changqing, he still felt that the plague was somehow related to Lu Changqing.
"Please be patient, everyone. I have already written to the nearby towns to ask for help, and the medicine should arrive soon. For now, we must keep this a secret, gather the sick disaster victims together, and comfort the rest of the disaster victims."
As the backbone of the group, Yun Yichen naturally needed to stabilize morale. His gaze swept over He Biyou's face, and Yun Yichen said in a commanding tone, "Lord He, you are the most senior, so this matter is entrusted to you."
"Rest assured, my lord, I will certainly handle it well."
He had family members among these people, and he didn't want anything to happen to them, so he agreed without hesitation.
"Physician Kong will come with me to check on the patient in a little while. The rest of you can go back and rest!"
It was raining outside, so it was impossible to do anything even if we wanted to. So we told everyone to go back, and I followed Physician Kong into the patients' tents.
"Your Majesty, I believe this plague may be man-made."
As soon as Physician Kong entered the tent, he addressed Yun Yichen, who couldn't help but glance at him. "Why do you think that?"
Upon hearing this, Physician Kong led Yun Yichen to the side of an injured man, exposing his wound. Physician Kong said, "Sir, please take a look. This man's wound had already scabbed over, which should have meant it was fully healed. But why has it suddenly become infected and feverish? Although the weather is hot, he wasn't covered in blankets. This is too illogical."
Yun Yichen naturally knew what Physician Kong had said, which was also the reason why he suspected Lu Changqing.
"Has the cause of these symptoms been determined?"
Although it is suspected to be a plague, there must be a reason for its occurrence.
Physician Kong shook his head. "That's what I find strange too. I asked the first patient about his previous condition. His daily routine was exactly the same as everyone else's, and he hadn't been in contact with anything strange."
"What about the people who are often with him? How are they doing?" Yun Yichen never believed in things without a reason; there must be some connection between them.
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