Chapter 606 What else do you want to do?
"Those people are all fine, except for one who is sick. However, one of them has a chronic cough."
Before Yun Yichen asked, Physician Kong hadn't paid much attention. But when he thought of the person who had been coughing for years, Physician Kong suddenly realized that perhaps that person was the key.
"Take me to see that person."
Yun Yichen had obviously thought of that as well, and the two of them quickly left the tent.
However, when they found the man, he was already dead. Watching the soldiers carry the body out, the two men covered their lips with handkerchiefs and examined it thoroughly before ordering, "Cremate him."
Back in his tent, Yun Yichen silently washed his hands before turning to Physician Kong and asking, "What medicines have been used so far?"
Knowing that Yun Yichen was concerned about the situation, Physician Kong simply placed the prescription in front of Yun Yichen.
Upon seeing this, Yun Yichen's brows furrowed into a deep frown, because what was written on it wasn't medicine at all; it was clearly just some soup with a slight warming effect.
"These are the only kinds that can be found in the nearby mountains, and I really have no other choice."
Although Physician Kong couldn't see Yun Yichen's expression clearly, he could tell from his silence that Yun Yichen was dissatisfied with the prescription.
Although Yun Yichen was also anxious, he realized there was nothing he could do about it, so he could only hand the prescription back.
"The medicinal herbs should arrive soon, so we'll have to leave it at that for the next couple of days."
Although Yun Yichen immediately sent someone to prepare medicine, transporting medicine is not the same as transporting grain, and the rain would likely cause delays.
The only thing that makes Yun Yichen feel fortunate is that the people in the surrounding area have not been affected and no one has been reported to be sick.
That night, the drizzle turned into a downpour, and Yun Yichen, lying in his tent, tossed and turned in the sound of the rain, unable to fall asleep for a long time.
Due to the inconvenience during the day, Yun Yichen only briefly looked at the patients. After nightfall, Yun Yichen went to the tent again, where he discovered a strange phenomenon.
Those who fell ill were almost all men, and all of them were strong and healthy. If it were a plague, the first to be infected should have been the elderly, weak, women, and children, but clearly not a single elderly, weak, woman, or child was infected.
The new city is being built at an extremely fast pace, thanks to the strength of those strong men. Now that they are falling one by one, the first thing to be affected will be the construction of the city walls.
Yun Yichen never believed in coincidences, so someone must be up to something. But what kind of illness could cause this situation? Yun Yichen was at a loss for what to do.
Confused and disoriented, Yun Yichen drifted off to sleep at some unknown time.
He Biyou waited for Yun Yichen's order to isolate all the patients and keep the plague a secret. Even so, the next day, the disaster victims panicked, and many people even made a fuss about leaving.
"Lord Ji, send soldiers to guard and patrol the route, and do not allow a single refugee to leave."
Yun Yichen was woken up by the noise and rubbed his aching temples as he spoke slowly.
"I have already made the arrangements, and we are currently counting the number of people."
The list of refugees had been compiled and their numbers counted as soon as Yun Yichen and the others arrived. At this point, everyone except the deceased man should be present.
Seeing Ji Wenjin's swift actions, Yun Yichen nodded in satisfaction. He raised his head and glanced at everyone before finally looking at Lu Yuanbin. "Fifth Prince, if these people are released, the entire Great Zhou will be threatened. I think Your Highness is highly regarded by His Majesty and would not want to see the whole country ravaged by plague, would you?"
Yun Yichen's words were devoid of any politeness, cold and ruthless, no different from his usual confrontational manner in court. The Fifth Prince merely frowned slightly at Yun Yichen's words, but for local officials who had never seen such an attitude before, it was truly intimidating.
Only at this moment did they understand why Yun Yichen's reputation was so bad, that he spoke so rudely to a prince, whereas he would have been friendly to anyone else.
The room fell silent for a moment. The Fifth Prince lowered his head and remained silent for a moment before saying, "My men are already at your disposal. What else do you want to do?"
The Fifth Prince looked bitter. It wasn't just his men who were being used by Yun Yichen; even he, a prince, had recently been forced by Yun Yichen to spread messages everywhere.
Despite the obvious shortage of manpower and the need to make them run errands, Yun Yichen spoke with self-righteousness, claiming, "This humble subject is merely a subject, and the authority to speak naturally rests with Your Highnesses. I can only trouble Your Highnesses to make a few more trips."
That means making more trips? He can clearly make dozens of trips a day, but Lu Yuanbin is always thinking about just quitting.
"Your Highness is mistaken. It is not what I want to do, but what Your Highness needs to do."
As soon as Yun Yichen spoke, Lu Yuanbin's face showed an expression of "I knew it," and he said, "Then I wonder what Lord Yun needs me to do?"
Lu Yuanbin practically spat out those words through gritted teeth before Yun Yichen finally spoke up: "Although the Ministry of War has sent soldiers to provide support, it seems that the manpower is clearly insufficient. Every city in the Great Zhou has a city guard. I would like to request Your Highness to use the imperial prince's token to mobilize the city guard to defend this place."
After speaking, Yun Yichen didn't forget to shift his gaze to Lu Changqing. To be honest, Yun Yichen didn't really trust Lu Changqing. If someone was really up to something, that person would undoubtedly be Lu Changqing.
However, in the current situation, it would be too obvious to let Lu Yuanbin handle things alone, so Lu Changqing had to be brought in no matter what.
“I am but a lowly person, and I am afraid I may not be able to persuade anyone to come. Moreover, according to the laws of the Great Zhou Dynasty, the city guards are not allowed to leave their posts without an imperial edict, so I am afraid your method will not work.”
Lu Changqing appeared extremely humble, as if even a county magistrate was more imposing than him.
"Yes, sir. The city's garrison is the city's safeguard, and they would never leave the city easily."
The speaker was none other than the leader of the city's garrison in Suzhou.
Upon hearing this, Yun Yichen's gaze remained fixed on Lu Changqing. "Your Highness only needs to do as instructed. As for whether they can come or not, Your Highness need not worry about it."
Yun Yichen's pupils beneath the mask were dark and deep, which startled Lu Changqing.
Lu Changqing then smiled and nodded, saying, "Then I will obey your orders, sir."
As expected of a powerful minister who controls the court, I'd like to see how you manage to get those city guards to willingly abandon their posts and come to your aid.
As Lu Changqing thought this, a meaningful smile unconsciously crept onto his face. Although he hid it well, Yun Yichen, with his sharp eyes, still noticed it.
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