Chapter 161 Escape, this is the order from above!
What was burned was not an object.
But real living people.
They were skinny, with pale faces and muscular muscles, and looked as if they would fall down at the slightest breeze. They were powerless to resist, and now their hands and feet were tied and their mouths were blocked by the yamen runners, so they couldn't even scream.
In addition to being thin, these people also have red papules all over their faces.
This is a typical symptom of smallpox.
Lin Miaoyin instantly understood why the yamen runners wanted to burn them.
Their eyes were wide open, with a look of grayness, powerlessness, and even a hint of relief in them, but there was no fear.
It's like just waiting to die numbly.
“No, don’t…”
In the numbness, there was suddenly a heart-wrenching cry, "Mom, I'm scared, I'm scared..."
The girl was so thin that she looked a little deformed. Her forearm was only as thick as an adult's thumb. Her soft hair stuck to her scalp like dead grass. Her head and face were covered with dust. Her round almond-shaped eyes seemed even bigger because of her thinness. Her dark eyes were filled with fear.
She struggled in fear, and somehow managed to free herself from the handkerchief that was stuffing her mouth. She trembled and sobbed, "Don't burn me, don't burn me, I'm scared..."
The cries awakened the numb people's hearts.
The crowd who had already accepted their fate looked at the wailing girl, their dry eyes moved slightly, and they began to struggle as well.
As long as there is hope of life, why would they want to die?
"Oh no, they broke free!" At this moment, a sharp-eyed bailiff shouted.
The yamen runners who were nearby immediately drew their swords to hold the men back and threw the torches in their hands at them.
Lin Miaoyin's eyes tightened, "No!"
She rushed forward in two steps, subconsciously trying to grab the flame.
But it's too late.
In the night wind, the flames licked the ragged corners of the people's clothes frantically and soon devoured them.
Lin Miaoyin shouted anxiously, "Maidong, come and help!"
These are vibrant lives.
They just had smallpox, they didn't deserve the death penalty!
"Princess Ning, what are you doing?" Kang Dayong immediately followed and raised his hand to stop Lin Miaoyin.
"Maidong, save people first and put out the fire!"
"Yes, Princess!" Maidong took off his outer robe and quickly dived into the water tank beside the street, and put out the fire in a few seconds.
Even though he acted quickly, several people still suffered skin burns.
Just as Lin Miaoyin stepped forward to observe the injuries, Kang Dayong frowned and asked, "Princess Ning wants to save them?"
"Yes." Facing the man's cold eyes, Lin Miaoyin spoke firmly.
"Princess Ning, please spare me a moment to talk."
Lin Miaoyin took out the burn medicine from the medical system and handed it to Mai Dong, signaling him to apply the medicine to the burned people. Then she came to the side and said, "Supervisor Kang, just speak frankly."
"Does Princess Ning know what she is doing?"
Kang Dayong looked solemn, "These people are suffering from smallpox. If they are not treated in time, the entire Shengjing City will be endangered!"
If it were some other place it would be fine, but Shengjing is the imperial city, under the feet of the emperor.
All the people living here are important people, how can we allow any mistakes to happen?
Even if it was just hearsay, they would be executed on the spot, not to mention that these people really did have smallpox.
For the safety of the emperor and the people in the city, they must die.
"Captain Kang, you are too serious! They are just a few smallpox patients. Why would they endanger the entire Shengjing?"
"Several smallpox patients? Princess Ning is so arrogant. Do you know that smallpox is more ferocious than a tiger? Smallpox is not only highly contagious, but also an incurable disease. Once infected, it's a deadly disease. They will die sooner or later. Why should Princess Ning risk her life for these dying people?" Kang Dayong reminded.
This is an order from above!
If she stopped it, it would do her no good.
"You are putting yourselves in danger by doing this! As officials of Jingzhao Prefecture, it is your duty to protect the safety of the people. You cannot say that they are no longer citizens of Beiliang just because they have smallpox. Now you want to burn them alive. How can this not chill the people's hearts?"
"I think the people of Shengjing City can understand."
"If one person is sick, then burn him to death; if one city is sick, then burn the whole city. Then let me ask you, if all the people in all the counties are sick with smallpox, what should we do? Should we burn them all to death? If only empty cities are left in the end, will there still be Beiliang in this world?"
Kang Dayong felt that Lin Miaoyin was making a fuss, so he said, "Princess Ning is wrong. In order to prevent Beiliang from becoming an empty city, they want to burn the infected people to prevent future troubles."
"I suppose you didn't set the fire for the first time tonight, and the plague stopped?"
Kang Dayong was suddenly speechless.
Indeed, every night when the people in the city were resting, they would come out to search for the infected people hiding in the city and then set them on fire.
However, more and more people in the city were infected with smallpox.
Even the people from their Jingzhao Prefecture did not escape. If they had not been so cruel, that little brother would have turned into ashes by now.
"Burning the infected people to death is an escape from the problem, it won't solve it." Lin Miaoyin said seriously, "If we want to control the epidemic, we must face it actively, block the town, and use medicine to treat it."
Kang Dayong wanted to laugh when he heard this.
If smallpox could really be cured, the authorities would not have ordered the burning of the infected people alive.
"I know you think I'm naive, but how can you know if you don't try? The epidemic in Shiqiao Town has been brought under control, and the epidemic in the north of the city has also stabilized. These things prove that we can fight smallpox. Moreover, I am confident that I can cure them. So, I hope that Governor Kang will give them a chance to live."
Kang Dayong knew that he couldn't win the argument with her, and didn't want to get entangled with her any more. He raised his hand and bowed in the direction of the imperial city, "I am following orders, and I hope Princess Ning will not embarrass me."
"I'll take care of the higher-ups' affairs, just let them go."
"this……"
Before Kang Dayong could say anything, Lin Miaoyin had already ordered Mai Dong to take the infected people away from the ground.
"Princess Ning, you..."
Kang Dayong took two steps to catch up and was about to stop him when a fast horse came galloping and broke the tranquility of the long night.
He saw the man's expression change slightly.
"Boss, this is bad!" The man quickly dismounted, walked over to Kang Dayong in two steps, and whispered, "My sister-in-law came over just now and said that my brother has a high fever, and there seems to be... a rash on his arm!"
Kang Dayong felt a loud bang in his mind, as if the sky was about to fall.
"Boss? Boss? Are you okay?"
Kang Dayong felt a little powerless and waved his hands with difficulty.
It's not like he hadn't thought about this before, but he never expected that things would be far worse than he imagined.
Having been in contact with infected people all day, he had already prepared himself to be infected.
But...why would it be my brother?
When he came back to his senses, his brothers rushed forward impatiently, "Boss, Princess Ning just took someone away, we are powerless and can't stop her..."
"Forget it, let her take it away."
In an instant, Kang Dayong seemed to have lost all his strength and no longer had the heart to search for the infected people.
He just wanted to go back and see his son as soon as possible.
For some reason, a glimmer of hope arose in his heart.
I hope that Princess Ning can fight smallpox and cure those suffering from the disease as she said.
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