PDLP Chapter 236: Sudden Situation in Jiangnan City
Chapter 236: Sudden Situation in Jiangnan City
Upon hearing this, King Rui happily patted Jiang Bai's thin and frail shoulders and said,
"Very good! Mr. Jiang is worthy of being my advisor. I will definitely remember your contribution when my wish comes true."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
Jiang Bai said neither humbly nor arrogantly that it was this man's character and ruthlessness that caught the eye of Prince Rui Liang Hengrui.
The two men smiled at each other, laughed out loud and started their conspiracy at the morning court again.
**
Ten days later,
Morning,
Eunuch De shouted loudly as usual,
"When there is something to do, we will start to act, but when there is nothing to do, we will retreat."
Before the long note was finished, the eunuch outside the Golden Palace came running in with a dusty messenger, shouting loudly.
"Report~~, urgent news from Jiangnan City within 800 miles."
Emperor Kun, who was sitting on the dragon throne in the Golden Palace, suddenly sat up straight and stared nervously at the messenger who ran in from the palace door.
All the ministers immediately straightened their expressions and stood up straight.
They knew very well that any messenger that appeared in this form basically meant that a crisis had occurred somewhere in Daliang State.
Eunuch De hurriedly took the urgent report, opened it to check if there was anything wrong, and quickly presented it to Emperor Kun for inspection.
*
Emperor Kun glanced at the urgent report, and was a little dazzled by the densely packed small characters. He said to the kneeling messenger in a hurry,
"Will you report back quickly?"
The messenger knelt on the ground with a dusty face. He swallowed hard and licked his cracked and bleeding lips and said in fear,
"Well, reporting to His Majesty, after the flood in Jiangnan City subsided, the people in the city suddenly fell ill with an unknown disease.
The patient had chills and high fever, and had difficulty breathing. No medicine could cure him. He died of respiratory failure within two to three days.
This disease has a high mortality rate and spreads very quickly. Currently, 10,000 people in the city have been infected and the death toll is as high as thousands. …”
"What? How could this happen?"
Emperor Kun was no longer calm. He suddenly stood up from the dragon throne and asked again,
“How do local officials deal with this?”
*
The messenger was dizzy and about to fall. Seeing that he was exhausted, he pinched his palms hard and replied with all his strength,
"Your Majesty, the adults have done their duty diligently but cannot find the cause of the illness.
It happened that the imperial envoy Lord Ding came to the city in disguise. He decisively ordered the city gates to be closed to prevent people from escaping.
He also led the city's officials, both big and small, to supervise the cooking and distribution of medicines in various high-incidence areas day and night.
They also actively distanced and dispersed the infected population, but the results were minimal.
The decoction was ineffective, the number of patients continued to increase, and as their condition worsened, they could only wait for death.
Even so, all the medicinal materials in the city have been exhausted. The prefect has also unfortunately fallen ill."
Having said this, the messenger could no longer hold on, and fell to the ground with a thump, fainting.
When Eunuch De saw this, he immediately ordered two guards to carry the man away for medical treatment.
*
Under the palace,
The ministers listened to the messenger's report in fear and trembling, and their faces turned pale with shock.
"How could it be so serious?"
Exclamations continued to ring out. As court officials, no one understood the dangers of infectious diseases better than them.
They stared with wide eyes, not daring to imagine the consequences.
Looking up and seeing that Emperor Kun had not spoken, they could not help but panic in their hearts, and they all started to make comments like a pot of boiling water.
"Your Majesty, this, this...what should we do? If we don't prevent and control it in time, the consequences will be disastrous if it spreads!"
"Your Majesty, if you don't prescribe the right medicine for a highly contagious disease, it will be difficult to cure it completely!"
"Your Majesty! I remember a historical record from the previous dynasty that said a disaster left corpses all over the land!"
One after another, the worried ministers began to report.
Listening to the noisy voices in the hall, Emperor Kun's head began to hurt again. He frowned and finally spoke,
"My dear friends, do you have any good ideas?"
The emperor's sudden words caused the entire hall to fall silent.
*
At this time, someone stood up and started playing loudly.
"Your Majesty, I beg the court to send reinforcements as soon as possible."
Another old minister retorted,
"Sir Wang, you talk lightly, but who should be sent when lives are at stake? If I ask you to go, will you go?"
"Hey, Master Liu, do you think I am fit to go with my frail body?"
"Humph! Since you know you can't go, why are you talking so much?"
As the conversation went on, the two old ministers started to argue. And Emperor Kun looked in an unknown direction.
Someone came out to smooth things over.
"Two old men, if you can't go, then don't make trouble here."
"That's right, they usually share the emperor's worries, and it turns out that they always talk about it?!"
"You? You guys?"
The two people who were arguing shut up with bad looks on their faces.
*
"Your Majesty! I am here to make a report."
An old official with a white beard stepped out, bowed and said,
“Your Majesty, since Lord Ding is in charge of Jiangnan City, the people in the city will be properly arranged.
As a matter of fact, the imperial court needs to quickly dispatch several skilled imperial physicians to investigate the disease and prescribe the right medicine.
To prevent people from panicking and rioting.
I, your humble servant, venture to make a suggestion.
It would be better to send a prince to express condolences this time, bringing all the necessary medicinal materials and food.
First, it can demonstrate your majesty’s benevolence towards your people.
Second, it can calm the panic of the people.
Third, it can prevent the occurrence of public riots. "
Emperor Kun's face remained calm upon hearing this, and no expression could be seen.
*
At this time, another old man stepped forward and angrily rebuked the old minister, saying,
"That's nonsense. There are only two adult princes now, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and His Royal Highness Prince Rui. Sir Zhang, who do you think we should send?"
"Your Majesty, I have no other intentions, I am just offering a suggestion."
"Your Majesty, I second your opinion. At this critical moment, we are most afraid of people rioting, and the one who can best calm people's hearts is the prince."
"Eh? Lord Zhao, you are the father-in-law of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. Do you want His Royal Highness the Crown Prince to go? You are truly a good minister who cares about the country and the people!"
"You? Don't talk nonsense here. I didn't say anyone must go. I just agree with Master Zhang's proposal."
*
Another old minister stepped forward and said,
"Your Majesty, Your Highness Prince Rui has made great contributions in controlling the flood in Jiangnan, and Prince Rui has some understanding of Jiangnan. I beg Your Majesty to send Prince Rui to go there again."
"I do not agree, King Rui..."
As everyone was arguing, someone suddenly shouted,
"Oh? Your Highness, what happened to you?"
King Rui's face turned pale, cold sweat rolled down his forehead like beans, and his body began to shake.
Someone wanted to help him, but King Rui pushed away the minister who was trying to help him, bowed to Emperor Kun and said,
“Your Majesty, through my work in managing the flood in Jiangnan City, I have gained a certain understanding of the situation in Jiangnan City.
Now Jiangnan City is in crisis again, and I, your son, am duty-bound to help you, Your Majesty. I beg you to order me to go there."
**