Under Shen Yufeng’s lead, Tang Jinghong came to the place where the grains had been robbed.
This was also a forest. The forest had already been completely destroyed. The hot sunlight shone on the bare ground and tree trunks, showing the bleakness of despair.
Shen Yufeng blamed himself. “General, the ground is dry and hard. There are no traces of the cart rollers.”
Tang Jinghong observed his surroundings. “Tell me about the robbery.”
Shen Yufeng frowned and said, “At that time, a portion of the refugees robbed us. After the robbery, the remaining refugees came to stop us and bought time for the robberse to transport the grains away. We watched helplessly as the grains were taken away…”
Such a cohesive and planned robbery was definitely not done by refugees alone… Tang Jinghong looked around. “Which direction did they go?”
Shen Yufeng pointed to the north. “They ran in the direction of the capital.”
Tang Jinghong looked over and narrowed his eyes. After a while, he asked, “Did you encounter a large number of refugees along the way?”
Shen Yufeng shook his head. “No, everything went smoothly until we encountered a robbery. Those 10,000 refugees were the largest we encountered.”
Tang Jinghong lowered his eyes. “There are about 30,000 outside Xu City. You encountered 10,000. That adds up to 40,000. In other words, the whereabouts of at least 60,000 refugees are still unknown.”
Shen Yufeng’s heart skipped a beat. “General, what do you mean?”
Tang Jinghong frowned. “The Lord of the Northern Border is involved in this matter. 1 suspect that he’s plotting against the emperor.”
Hearing this, Shen Yufeng panicked. “General, what should we do?”
Tang Jinghong said, “Take your men and head in the direction of the capital to track the grains. 1’11 handle the situation here before catching up with you.”
“Yes, General.”
Shen Yufeng immediately brought the soldiers towards the north.
Tang Jinghong stared at the north for a while before getting on his horse and returning to the camp.
When the officials in Xu City saw that the refugees outside the city were under control, they opened the city gate and came out to greet Tang Jinghong.
The governor was wearing a purple official robe loosely. It was obvious that he had lost a lot of weight and his face was haggard. He said happily, “General Tang, you’re finally here. If you hadn’t come, the supplies in the city would have been cut off.”
Tang Jinghong did not blame the governor for closing the city gate. If the refugees entered the city, they would definitely burn, kill, and plunder. At that time, the city would be in chaos and things would become even worse.
Tang Jinghong asked sternly, “How’s the situation in the city?”
The governor sighed. “The drought not only affected the villages, but also the city. Every family is short of water. Fortunately, some old wells still have water. Otherwise, 1 couldn’t imagine what would’ve happened.”
Tang Jinghong asked, “At this rate, when do you think the city will fall into chaos?”
The governor replied respectfully, “We can still manage to keep order for the time being. Everyone still has some food stored, but after a month, the city will definitely be in chaos.”
Tang Jinghong thought to himself, There’s still time. “Go back and stabilize the situation in the city first. Try to keep order for as long as you can.”
The governor replied, “Yes, General Tang.”
The governor returned to the city with a group of officials and made arrangements according to Tang Jinghong’s instructions. He did not dare to be negligent at all.
A soldier rushed over. “Miss Chu, someone fainted over there.”
Chu Qingzhi frowned. “Let’s go take a look.”
Tang Jinghong and the others followed behind her.
A woman hugged a man and cried, “Husband, what’s wrong? Wake up!”
The children beside him also cried. “Father, Father…”
Many refugees watched and surrounded the family of four.
Chu Qingzhi pushed through the crowd and walked in. She checked his pulse first. Then, what she was most worried about happened. “Everyone, step back. Don’t approach.”
When the refugees saw Chu Qingzhi’s serious expression, they immediately retreated.
At this moment, another person fainted nearby.
“Mother, Mother, what’s wrong?” A young man shouted anxiously, his face covered in tears.
By then, everyone realized that something was wrong. Without needing Chu Qingzhi to remind them, they quickly retreated, their eyes filled with suspicion and fear.
Chu Qingzhi hurriedly walked towards the young man. After checking the woman’s pulse, her expression became even more solemn. She turned around and nodded at Tang Jinghong.
They could not tell the refugees that an epidemic had broken out. Otherwise, the refugees who had just calmed down would immediately riot.
Tang Jinghong’s heart sank. He instructed, “Transfer everyone who is sick to the huge banyan tree over there.”
The soldiers replied, “Yes.”
A refugee mustered his courage and asked, “General, what’s wrong with them?”
Chu Qingzhi answered for Tang Jinghong. “They’ve been dehydrated for a long time. When they suddenly drink a lot of water, they’ll feel uncomfortable. Don’t worry, they’ll be fine after resting for a while.”
Hearing this, everyone was relieved.
In the following period of time, people would fall sick one by one. However, many people believed Chu Qingzhi’s words. After all, she was the one who found the water vein and saved everyone.
“Qingzhi, what illness is it?” Tang Jinghong felt that things were getting more and more troublesome. Originally, when the refugees calmed down, they could be sent back to their original village in batches. Now…
Chu Qingzhi said in a low voice, “Malaria. Infectious disease that is caused by mosquito bites and will be transmitted through mosquito bites.”
Tang Jinghong clenched his fists and punched the tree beside him. “Infectious…”
In this era, the most terrifying thing was infectious disease. Once there was such a disease, people would die in large numbers.
If the Lord of the Northern Border spread the rumor that this disease was a heavenly punishment, the entire Daling Dynasty would fall into chaos. The neighboring countries would take advantage of this situation, and the border that had just stabilized would definitely be scourged by war again. At that time, the people would live in misery.
Chu Qingzhi reached out and held Tang Jinghong’s hand. “Jinghong, this disease is not scary. As long as we find the wormwood, we can cure this disease.”
Tang Jinghong looked at Chu Qingzhi as if he was looking at a ray of light. “I’ll immediately get people to find the wormwood.”
Chu Qingzhi said, “I’ll give you a drawing of wormwood to help you identify the herb.”
Tang Jinghong was shocked. “Qingzhi, you expected this to happen long ago?”
Chu Qingzhi smiled at Tang Jinghong. “There are only a few large-scale epidemic diseases. I prepared it just in case.”
Tang Jinghong pulled Chu Qingzhi into his embrace and was extremely touched. “Qingzhi, thank you on behalf of the people and the entire Daling Dynasty.”
Chu Qingzhi stared at Tang Jinghong’s handsome face and smiled. “I only want to help you.”
Tang Jinghong’s heart trembled slightly, and his feelings for Chu Qingzhi deepened unknowingly. “Qingzhi, when this matter is over, I’ll ask His Majesty to reward you.”
Chu Qingzhi smiled and nodded. “Okay.”
Tang Jinghong gave the drawing of wormwood to the soldiers and asked them to immediately go to the surrounding cities to search for wormwood..
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