Private soldiers stood at the entrances of major aristocratic houses, refusing to enter even if there was snow falling in the sky.
It seemed that they would treat anyone passing by with solemn attention, fearing that this person would accidentally break into the family's mansion.
Not only the aristocratic families, but also the government offices in Youzhou and the palaces of the princes were heavily guarded by soldiers, and no one dared to approach.
The strange thing is that each of them is wearing a hood covering their faces and covering themselves tightly.
The once bustling streets turned empty.
…
On the outskirts of Youzhou, the governor of Xinlu covered his face with gauze, pinched his nose tightly, and stared at his officials as they brought in carloads of corpses.
This was the third day of the cholera outbreak. The disease that came from unknown sources quickly infected the entire Youzhou. The incident was so sudden and people died so quickly that he had no choice but to close down the city.
The corpses being burned in front of me were all civilians infected with cholera.
All the aristocratic families and princes were staying in the palace, but he, the great enemy, was the only one who came out to fight against cholera.
Governor Xinlu sighed.
Life is so unlucky, who else would it be?
"Processor, there is another village outside the city infected with cholera!" An official came over in a hurry and bowed to him with a pale face.
The governor of Xinlu looked stern and hurried over with his people. As expected, he saw several people squatting on the spot with their stomachs covered and looking very abnormal.
"Seal the village! Bring fire, bring fire quickly! Burn the village, leaving no one behind!" A trace of panic flashed in his eyes, and he immediately spoke loudly.
Officials quickly sealed off the entire village and set off a large fire.
When the uninfected people inside heard this, they immediately rushed to the door covered with thorns posted by officials and begged loudly for mercy——
"Open your eyes, Governor, and let me wait!"
"There are many people in the village who are not infected with cholera, so you don't need to burn the whole village!"
"Yes, Governor, please be merciful and let us go. I still have my grandson outside!"
"I don't want to die yet, let me out!"
"We are not infected with cholera, why should we be burned to death together!"
"..." "..."
Out of fear of a riot, the people in the village tried their best to break down the door and get out.
Out of instinctive fear, Xinlu Governor subconsciously took several steps back and narrowed his eyes slightly: "Where are the archers!"
A row of archers suddenly appeared behind them, with their bows and strings drawn up and ready to shoot at the villagers.
"These are living people, why do you want them to die?"
An angry voice came from not far away.
"Just because I am the governor of Youzhou, I have been ordered to stop the spread of cholera. What are you doing?" The governor of Xinlu turned his head and his pupils shrank slightly, "Is it you?"
Not far away, a young man rode up.
The flying mane of the jade lion in Zhaoye is particularly conspicuous in the heavy snow. The young man's eyebrows are covered with wind and frost, and you can tell at a glance that the wind and dust are coming.
The governor of Xinlu met him.
He was a retainer who followed Xie Yuan, the son of Lao Shi. His name was Huo Qubing, and he was Sanlang of the Huo family.
I heard that the governor of the Huo family who was kidnapped by Rouran is back. The morale of the Huo family is low and they want to revive the family tradition and resist the Wang family - the Huo family has become a popular family in front of Emperor Tianwu these days.
Not to be messed with.
Thinking of this, Xinlu Governor suddenly smiled at the corner of his eyes: "Huo Xiaolangjun came here this time, I don't know why?"
"They are all living people, why should we kill them?" Huo Qubing dismounted and pointed at the archers and then at the people, with an angry look on his face.
"They are infected with cholera. It is well known that there is no cure for cholera. To prevent the spread of cholera, they should be killed." The governor of Xinlu looked embarrassed.
"Mr. Huo Jialang, please don't cause trouble. I am acting under the direction of the imperial court to stop the spread of cholera. This delay will not be good for anyone."
Huo Qubing pursed his lips.
Cholera is a type of plague that appears frequently in troubled times.
In the face of plague, what people often do is to burn infected people to prevent its spread as much as possible.
But there are obviously people here who are not infected with cholera. It would be too cruel to be burned alive.
When Xinlu Governor was thinking of ways to drive away Huo Qubing, another voice came from not far away——
“Who says there’s no cure for cholera?”
Damn, one or two of them don’t stop, don’t you think it’s annoying!
The governor of Xinlu looked over impatiently. When he saw Xie Yuan, his impatience was clearly revealed: "Have you ever seen a cholera outbreak that was successfully cured?"
Huo Qubing also saw Xie Yuan, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "Lord!"
"That's because the medicine was used incorrectly." Xie Yuan looked at Huo Qubing, "Is the Huo family's governor okay?"
"Everything is fine. My father asked me to continue to follow you. He said that if there is something you can't solve, you can write a book about Huo." Huo Qubing glanced at Xinlu Governor and spoke loudly on purpose.
Sure enough, when he heard that Huo was going to support Xie Yuan and wanted to find trouble to arrest Xie Yuan, Xin Lu's governor immediately changed his face and asked with a flattering smile -
"Then according to Xie Xiaolangjun's words, what should these people do?"
"The grassroots have learned the art of Qihuang and know how to cure cholera. If the governor is willing to trust the grassroots, the grassroots can try to cure cholera." Xie Yuan bowed to the governor of Xinlu.
Huo Qubing: “??!”
The Lord can also cure cholera?!
Xinlu Governor narrowed his eyes: "Since ancient times, no one has ever cured cholera."
Even if there are, there are ridiculously few, and those authentic ancient medical books have been lost, either in the hands of some magic doctors in the world, or locked up by aristocratic families——
But these people would rather keep it for themselves than come out to treat the people.
"The common people will make a bet with the governor." Xie Yuanyun said softly, "If the cholera disappears within half a month, the governor will not have to close the city and then burn the villagers."
"What if after half a month, cholera does not improve but spreads, and you delay my affairs again?" Xinlu Governor did not agree immediately, but asked in a deep voice.
"The common people then committed suicide and apologized, and together with the corpses of these infected people, they disappeared." Xie Yuan smiled slightly.
"Why do I trust you?" Xinlu Governor's eyes flashed.
"The grass-roots people swear in the name of our ancestors that the grass-roots people can cure cholera."
The governor of Xinlu stared at Xie Yuan. Seeing that he looked calm and composed and did not want to lie or brag, he nodded: "Okay, half a month. If the cholera does not get better, you can come and see us."
"Here."
Huo Qubing's pupils trembled.
Lord, does he know what he is talking about?
It is well known that cholera is difficult to cure with medicine and stone. If the lord cannot cure cholera in half a month, he will be decapitated!
"My lord, it's still too late for you to regret it." Huo Qubing spoke immediately after Governor Lu left with his officials.
Xie Yuan stroked the little donkey next to him who was smelling the pungent smell and was a little restless, and said calmly: "These people can be saved."
Due to the perennial wars and the continuous natural and man-made disasters over the years, the population of the Central Plains is already small. If any plague happens, it will be even smaller if it is concentrated in piles and burned.