Imperial Physician Lu wasn't at the scene; he had gone with Meng Fang to rescue people. They had mostly saved villagers who had taken shelter from the flood on higher ground or in trees. So far, they hadn't seen anyone drown.
Without a phone, even if Baili Tang wanted to send someone to find them and teach them this method, it would be difficult to find that person.
The floods brought by the super typhoon were too severe.
By evening, Meng Fang and his companions had rescued a total of 500 villagers and arranged for them to stay at Pang Taishi's house.
Fortunately, the dark clouds in the sky gradually dispersed, the rain gradually subsided, and by the evening, the rain had stopped. All we had to do was wait for the floodwaters to fully dissipate.
Once the flood subsides, Baili Tang's troubles will follow.
The next morning, thousands of disaster victims from nearby Xiyun County arrived.
Baili Tang ordered people to arrange for them to squeeze into Jia Shidao's house, and distributed the rice cakes and buns (which had not yet spoiled) prepared yesterday to everyone.
Jia Shidao's house is really too big. There are dozens of rooms, corridors, courtyards, etc. Even if you squeeze in, there is still a place to sit.
However, this is just the beginning.
The victims came one after another.
By the evening of that day, there were already more than 10,000 disaster victims who sat wherever there was space, leaving no one behind.
Even the kindhearted General Meng Fang had a thought: Don't open the city gates again and let the victims in. He could just build straw huts outside and provide porridge. If the victims rioted, or if assassins infiltrated, or even if a plague broke out, the consequences would be disastrous.
Meng Fang wasn't the only one who had such thoughts; the people of Xiyun County had already expressed their dissatisfaction. If a plague broke out among the disaster victims, it would likely affect the entire county.
This kind of thing has happened in Jingguo before.
Eunuch Yang had asked to see Baili Tang countless times, asking him to order the city gates to be closed, but Baili Tang just refused to see him and did not express any opinion.
If we continue to allow the disaster victims to enter the city, something big will happen!
After nightfall, nearly 10,000 more victims arrived.
But that's nothing.
The third day is the outbreak period.
As if by agreement, the vast sea of disaster victims "entered" Xiyun County in a group.
The total number of people in a few days has exceeded 70,000!
"Eunuch Yang, what does His Majesty mean?" The usually calm Lord Zhang Dongzheng was frightened. He was so frightened that he couldn't pretend to be calm any longer.
If the 70,000 disaster victims riot, thousands of them will be trampled to death.
If an epidemic breaks out, the two imperial physicians and the county doctors are not enough.
Of course, if a real fight broke out, with over 5,000 elite soldiers and a few hundred guards against 70,000 unarmed villagers, they could certainly fight. But the result was that a mysterious force hiding nearby would take this opportunity to kill them all.
"How would I know? For the past two days, His Majesty has been staying in his room with Concubine Liang, not even leaving the room. He also doesn't allow me to go in and serve them."
"Oh, there must be someone with ulterior motives who is secretly guiding the victims!" Lord Wang sighed.
Lord Zhang asked, "Lord Wang, why do you say that?"
Lord Wang analyzed, "Xiyun County is thousands of miles in radius, all located in the hot southern region. Wild fruits and vegetables abound in the mountains and plains, and there are countless birds and beasts. Does Imperial Physician Lu remember that you were providing disaster relief in Bubei three years ago?"
Imperial Physician Lu continued, "Of course I remember it clearly. At that time, there was a severe drought in the north of the city for two years. The wild animals in the mountains, the fish in the ponds, and even the locusts in the fields were all eaten clean by the victims.
Afterwards, the victims began to eat wild vegetables and tree bark. Any plant that could be used to fill their stomachs and survive was eaten by the victims. Even Guanyin soil..."
Furthermore, they discovered an incredible phenomenon: among the victims, there were very few elderly, weak, women (here women refers to pregnant women), or children. The "typhoon" His Majesty had mentioned had given everyone ample time to prepare for escape. Even if families couldn't relocate, they could at least take their valuables with them. Those who remained behind were most likely guarding their belongings or were otherwise unable to move.
Moreover, as Lord Wang said: wild fruits and vegetables are everywhere in the mountains, and there are countless birds and beasts... It is not to the point of being forced to take reckless action.
It hasn't reached the point that Imperial Physician Lu said.
Of course, there were also victims who were no longer able to survive the disaster, like Xiaolian and her brother. Ten thousand of these people combined was normal, but seventy thousand was bizarre.
Why have these disaster victims come? If Baili Tang doesn't give them an explanation, will they rebel? Will the rebellious bandits in Jing Kingdom become even more rampant? Do the traitors who covet the throne have a legitimate reason to fight - to suppress the tyrant emperor?
Eunuch Yang: "This plan is extremely vicious. I forgot that you gentlemen can help your majesty share his worries!"
"Sharing His Majesty's worries is our responsibility. Eunuch Yang, please don't be polite."
However, the only solution these officials who received Baili Tang's salary could think of was to allocate funds for disaster relief.
The money cannot be taken out of the national treasury. Not to mention that the treasury is empty, even if there is money in the treasury, it cannot be transported in just a few days.
The only way to get the wealthy families in Xiyun County to donate 1,000 taels... I'm afraid they can't raise that much money, and after the money is distributed, the victims will be reluctant to leave...
If these people could come up with a plan, then Baili Tang would naturally think of one too, because the guards would report to him from time to time.
As for money, of course there was some. The money that Jia Shidao had hidden could be distributed to 70,000 victims, with more than 30 taels of silver for each person.
In three years, the magistrate earned 100,000 silver coins.
Jia Shidao had been the magistrate of Xiyun County for over a decade, so it wasn't surprising that he had such wealth. But he had to spend it. He had twenty or thirty concubines alone, so his daily expenses were undoubtedly considerable.
But Jia Shidao had another way to make money—his house was connected to the ground outside, and there really was an extremely pure iron ore. No wonder he attracted so much attention.
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