Chapter 45 Plague breaks out in Liangcheng
Gu Feixue didn't know what to feel. Although Yuchi Shuo was usually annoying, he was still competent as a partner of the Gu family.
"This is all Zhuifeng's fault. Zhuifeng failed to take good care of His Highness!"
Looking at Zhuifeng's self-blaming expression, Gu Feixue thought for a moment and said:
"I'll go see him. Maybe he's not the plague."
However, Zhuifeng shook his head: "Before His Royal Highness the Crown Prince fell into a coma, he ordered me not to allow anyone to come near him, fearing that everyone would also be infected with the plague."
Gu Feixue opened her mouth, not knowing what to say.
"That's someone else. I have a way to avoid being infected."
Upon hearing this, Zhuifeng's eyes widened and he asked, "Really? What's the solution?"
Not only other people, even Zhuifeng himself was not allowed to approach. Before Yuchi Shuo fell into a coma, he said that he would deliver food to his door every day, and would not let anyone in unless he came out by himself.
Zhuifeng naturally did not dare to disobey. He had been guarding the door since last night, and His Royal Highness the Crown Prince had not come out.
Today, the prefect, Duke Zheng, was called in to discuss the matter. The two of them personally led people to the neighboring city to send letters back to the capital at full speed, and there was no time even to notify the Gu family.
However, Zhuifeng just remembered the resourceful Gu Feixue, and with the intention of giving it a try, he came to find Gu Feixue.
But he didn't expect that she really had a way. Even if it was just a way to avoid being infected, it would allow him to see what happened to His Highness!
"Go prepare the strongest wine and gauze."
Due to limited conditions, we cannot make protective clothing, so we can only make masks and disinfectant alcohol.
After a while, Zhuifeng prepared everything. Gu Feixue sniffed the wine. Although it was not too strong, it should be more than 30 degrees. It was better than nothing.
Then she sprinkled the wine on the gauze and stacked the gauze three layers inside and three layers inside, making a mask-like thing that was thick enough but still had some breathing space.
She put the mask on her head, moved around for a while, and found that she could breathe normally. Then she did a similar thing for Zhuifeng.
"Now find some clothes that are wide enough to cover all the skin. We can put them on and go see His Highness."
The plague is mainly transmitted through surface contact and the respiratory tract. As long as they don't touch Yuchi Shuo and pay attention to disinfecting and replacing masks, they should be fine.
Especially since the probability of plague transmission in ancient times was not that high, it should still be worth a try.
If something happened to Yuchi Shuo in Liangcheng, then everyone living in the prefecture might be held accountable in the end. She didn't want to be buried with others at such a young age.
Of course, Gu Feixue didn't say this. She followed Zhuifeng to a place two meters away from Yuchi Shuo's bed.
I only saw that the person in front of the bed was still unconscious, with layers of sweat oozing from his head and his face was extremely pale.
Gu Feixue couldn't help but frown when she saw this. It looked like the situation was not good, and it seemed like it was really a plague.
However, before Gu Feixue could say anything, the wind-chasing scout came from behind to report:
"Report! A plague suddenly broke out in the city at noon! Half of the people in Anju Village have caught colds and fevers, the city construction and land reclamation workers are all infected, several people at the soup kitchen have been infected, and the number of people in the main city is estimated to be thousands."
Gu Feixue was confused for a moment, and she finally understood where the uneasiness she felt in Anju Village yesterday came from.
"Those villagers from Anju Village who are bedridden with typhoid fever."
When Gu Feixue reminded him, Zhuifeng immediately thought of the abnormal incident during the inspection yesterday.
"Yesterday, while His Highness was on his way to an inspection, he was bumped into by a woman. I immediately thought she was strange. She was clearly in her prime, yet she walked with an unsteady gait. It turns out she had contracted the plague!"
Gu Feixue had never seen that woman, so she naturally didn't know whether she was really the one who was infected. She looked at Yuchi Shuo who was lying unconscious in front of her.
He instructed Zhuifeng who was standing beside him, "The plague has broken out completely. The most urgent task is to isolate those who have been infected. Then, isolate those who have had contact with the infected."
At this point, Gu Feixue glanced at the mask on Zhuifeng's face and said, "Have someone make as many of these masks as possible. Everyone in quarantine must wear them, and no skin must be exposed. Anyone who has come into contact with an infected person must wash the contact area with strong alcohol."
These are the basic knowledge of modern infectious diseases, but in ancient times not many people understood how the plague spread.
In her opinion, this ancient plague was not very contagious, but it caused more serious harm to those infected.
As long as the transmission routes of the plague are cut off, an unprecedented catastrophe can be prevented.
"But where can we find so much liquor in the city..."
Gu Feixue frowned. Wine was not available everywhere in ancient times, especially strong liquor, which was a rare thing.
Those wealthy businessmen refused to sell even grain, let alone wine.
In addition to alcohol, other disinfectants include iodine and hydrogen peroxide, but neither of these two things was available in ancient times!
Even though soapberries existed in ancient times, they could only wash away some bacteria, and it is not known whether they had any effect in preventing the plague.
“Go find some soapberry trees and have people who have come into contact with infected people wash the affected areas with soapberry.”
What else can be disinfected? Gu Feixue was thinking hard when she saw the sunlight projected in from the window on the ground.
Yes! Besides alcohol, there is also ultraviolet light, and sunlight contains ultraviolet light!
Even if the UV intensity is not that high, it still has some effect!
"Move all those infected with the plague out into the sun. Keep plenty of water nearby."
The soapberry tree was fine, but when Zhuifeng heard that the patient was being exposed to the sun, he couldn't help but hesitate.
If they really did that, wouldn't they become the target of public criticism?
Gu Feixue gritted her teeth. She knew that this would be a difficult task to implement.
But she could not explain to the ancients why the sun, which is everywhere, can eliminate those pathogenic viruses to a certain extent.
Even though we don’t know whether the plague virus can be eliminated, it is better than staying in a hot, humid and dark place!
It is now noon and the sun is shining brightly outside. The autumn sun does not last long, so we have to speed up.
"There's not much time left. First, order people to find as much liquor as possible and make as many masks as possible."
"I'm going to meet some of the people who initially came into contact with the infected people but never got infected."
These people are very likely to have antibodies to the plague virus in their bodies, so it would be most appropriate to ask them to carry the infected people out into the sun.
Of course, if the protective equipment is complete, those who are willing to take the risk will also be given considerable food as revenge.
Gu Feixue did not tell the Gu family about these things, for she was afraid that they would not let her go out if they knew about it, and if she did not go out, it would only cause more chaos.
She just asked the people in the yard to tell the Gu family to wait for her at home and that she would tell them something important later.
At the same time, Gu Feixue came to Anju Village fully armed. At this time, the whole Anju Village was filled with a bleak atmosphere, but Gu Feixue had no time to care.
She gathered all those who might be immune to the plague in an open space, and with food and the higher hope of recovery from her family, she earnestly asked them to help carry the person out into the sun.
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