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When Qin Mu arrived in Zhuzhou, He Lianxi, the head of Zhuzhou Bachelor's Home, hurriedly came to greet him and reported: "Sir, there is an outbreak of plague in Daning Village, Xiangyin County..."
"What? Plague?" Qin Mu's heart trembled when he heard the word plague.
"Yes, sir. The officials in Changsha are all panicking. Mr. Zhuge asked us to report this matter to you immediately. Please make the decision."
"How can we defend it? Have you sealed off Daning Village? Have you sealed it off?" Qin Mu was really anxious, and the guards around him were all terrified. For people of this era, the plague was even worse than a flood or a beast.
"Sir, Mr. Zhuge has already ordered the blockade of Daning Village, but the news has already spread. Now the people near Xiangyin are all in a panic, and various rumors about the plague are spreading rapidly. They have already spread to Changsha, and Changsha is also in a state of panic. Mr. Zhuge asks you to stay in Zhuzhou for the time being and never go north again. If you have any orders, I will immediately pass them to Mr. Zhuge, and Mr. Zhuge will execute them."
"What are you leaving behind? Sima Kai, prepare paper and pen. You should remember what I say. Quickly." Sima Kai hurriedly took out pen, ink, paper and inkstone. He used the water bag on the saddle to fill water into the inkstone and began to grind ink quickly. Li Shi pointed and the two guards immediately bent down and used their backs as a table to spread the paper.
Qin Mu thought about it and gave an order in a deep voice: "Listen carefully, order Liu Boquan to make masks with cotton cloth immediately, and all the soldiers who blockade Daning Village should cover their mouths and noses with masks. In addition to strictly prohibiting all residents of Daning Village from entering and leaving, a fire wall should be built outside the village. Special attention should be paid to prevent rats and fleas from leaving Daning Village. People in the village should be sent to sprinkle lime powder. The dead infected with plague cannot be buried directly, and all bodies should be cremated before being buried.
At the same time, people were sent to check nearby villages and set up quarantine areas. Anyone who showed symptoms such as slight fever, sudden chills, high fever, headache, fatigue, body aches, nausea, vomiting, irritability, etc. was to be isolated immediately. Doctors were sent to treat them... ... ... ...
In addition, officials in Huguang should take immediate action and organize the people to eliminate rats and fleas. In densely populated areas, all garbage and ditches should be cleaned up, and then lime should be sprinkled on the sides for disinfection. Then, the people should clean up the debris in their homes, wash the quilts and expose them to the sun, and take good care of personal hygiene, such as bathing every day. Keep the body clean, sprinkle lime on the room for disinfection, and keep the doors and windows ventilated.
Especially in the military camp, the measures mentioned by this officer must be strictly implemented. Not a single rat or flea can be allowed to exist. Soldiers without missions are strictly prohibited from going out. Those who must go out must wear masks. When returning to the camp, they must change clothes and bathe outside the camp before entering the camp... ... ... .... This matter is defined as the highest military action, no matter whether it is a general or a local official. Anyone who dares to shirk his duties, be careless or paralyzed will be punished by military law. If the plague spreads under his rule due to poor prevention, he will be killed without mercy. "
Before the ink was thick enough, Sima Kai hurriedly wrote down the order, which was quickly delivered to Changsha by He Lianxi. At the same time, Qin Mu's personal guards rushed to pass on Qin Mu's order to all states and counties.
Qin Mu then left Dong Xiaowan to walk slowly, and he himself rode north with the remaining guards.
In every county he passed through, he saw that officials and people were taking action to clean up, kill rats and fleas, and sprinkle lime for disinfection. The momentum was extremely huge.
Especially when entering the county towns along the way, you can see every household clearing out debris and hanging clothes and quilts, with clothes and quilts fluttering everywhere.
The reason why Qin Mu's order was executed so quickly was that he issued a death order that all local officials must take immediate action after receiving the order, and those who dared to shirk their duties would be severely punished once verified.
Secondly, the people were so afraid of the plague that no one dared to be negligent. After hearing that the method Qin Mu said could prevent the plague, most of the people took action consciously without being forced. Their lives were their own and no one wanted to die.
Third, the plague has ravaged the areas north of the Central Plains in recent years, and tens of millions of people have died from the plague. Since the sixth year of Chongzhen, the plague first spread in Xing County, Shanxi, then to Datong, then to Lu'an, and then to Yulin, Shaanxi and other places. By the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, the plague had spread to Daming Prefecture and Shuntian Prefecture in Hebei. In many counties and cities where the epidemic was severe, most of the people died, and they killed and cannibalized each other.
Even the city of Beijing was not spared. The plague ravaged the capital like a ghost town, with death everywhere, nine out of ten houses empty, and even every household had died out, with no one to collect the dead.
Especially from February to April last year, tens of thousands of people died from the plague in the capital every day, so much so that the city gates were blocked by coffins being transported out. The death toll in the capital alone was no less than 200,000.
These horrific facts made the people of the Ming Dynasty terrified by the plague. Who dared to treat it as a joke
However, in the original history, this horrific plague catastrophe mainly broke out in the areas north of the Central Plains. It is not known whether there was an epidemic in the south, but even if there was an epidemic, it should not be serious. This is what is recorded in history books.
But Qin Mu did not dare to take it lightly. Who can guarantee that history will remain the same? Who can guarantee that the plague will not spread in the south? It is a fact that Xiangyin suddenly broke out.
Moreover, it is spring now, the season when germs reproduce most vigorously. The plague in Ming Dynasty, which lasted for ten years and claimed countless lives, also peaked in spring.
That was why Qin Mu made such a big fuss and did not dare to have any hope of luck.
He even asked the bachelor's family to look for a doctor named Wu Youke, because when he watched a movie before, the movie mentioned the plague in the late Ming Dynasty that killed countless people. Among them, there was a doctor named Wu Youke who had unique ideas in preventing and treating the plague.
Qin Mu sped all the way, passed Changsha without entering, and headed straight for Xiangyin. After Zhuge Min heard about it, he didn't dare to stay in Changsha, and hurriedly chased north, but he didn't catch up with Qin Mu until Xiangyin County.
Because Daning Village, where the war took place, is only more than 30 miles away from Xiangyin County, the entire Xiangyin County is in a panic at this moment. Shops on the street are closed and there are few pedestrians. All the streets have been sprinkled with lime according to Qin Mu's orders, and everything is white. The sanitation everywhere has also been roughly cleaned up, and quilts can be seen drying everywhere in front of and behind the houses.
Although all these preventive measures were taken, the people's expressions were very solemn, and they cast vigilant glances at outsiders entering the city.
Qin Mu and his personal guards rushed straight to the county government office. When Xiangyin County Magistrate Li Yingxin heard about Qin Mu's arrival, he hurried out to greet him, and even his official hat was askew. To Qin Mu's surprise, Huguang Governor He Tengjiao was also there and came out to greet him together with Li Yingxin.
Qin Mu didn't even bother to be polite. As he walked in, he asked, "Magistrate Li, what is the current situation of the epidemic in Xiangyin? In addition to Daning Village, are there any other places with the epidemic?"
"Your Excellency, as of today, more than 30 people in Daning Village have been infected with the plague, and 21 of them have died. Six people in the nearby Mengyang Village and Shuigua Village have also experienced alternating hot and cold symptoms. I have ordered these people to be sent to the quarantine area. Although their family members have not shown the same symptoms, they have all been ordered to stay at home and not go out..."
"Who is the general in charge of leading the troops to blockade Daning Village? Who is the doctor in charge of the treatment? Have them come to see me immediately."
"The general in charge of blocking Daning Village is my Xiangyin garrison commander Chen Youyi, and the attending doctor is Shangguan Neng. I will send someone to inform them right away."
"Who discovered the epidemic in Daning Village this time? Has the cause been investigated?"
"Your Excellency, I discovered the epidemic in Daning Village. After entering February, I went to the countryside to encourage people to grow crops and distribute corn seeds. When I passed by Daning Village, I found that many people had died of the disease. The symptoms of the deceased were similar to those of the lumps and plague that were prevalent in the capital and Shanxi. I immediately ordered General Chen Youyi to lead the army to blockade Daning Village. Now it has been confirmed that the first person to die of the lumps and plague was a villager named Chen Da Gong who returned from Shanxi. He must have brought the plague back from Shanxi."
Qin Mu frowned when he heard this. The plague was originally transmitted to humans by rats, but humans can also infect each other after being infected. He was not a medical student in his previous life, and the preventive measures he ordered were common methods used in most epidemics. They were not targeted at the plague, and he did not know how to cure the plague.
But will humans transmit the plague to rats? If not, then it will be much easier to deal with. After all, it is easy to isolate people, but it is difficult to eliminate all rats infected with the plague.
After being summoned by Li Yingxin, General Chen Youyi and the attending physician Shangguan Neng, who were responsible for the blockade of Daning Village, hurried over. Qin Mu further asked them about the situation in Daning Village, and then told them all the knowledge he knew about the plague and taught them how to prevent it.
Finally, he said to Chen Youyi, "General Chen, I'm going to trouble you this time. Go back quickly and stabilize the morale of the troops. Tell them that as long as they take proper precautions, the disease will not spread and there is nothing to be afraid of. In short, we must not let the soldiers responsible for blocking the epidemic area get scared and run away. After the epidemic is under control, I will commend every soldier who participated in the blockade of the epidemic area."
Chen Youyi returned the military salute and said loudly: "Please rest assured, sir. I will definitely live up to your expectations."
Qin Mu had taken all the preventive measures he knew. Next, he should try to appease the soldiers and the people. As soon as Chen Youyi and Shangguan Neng left, he immediately ordered Li Yingxin: "Magistrate Li, immediately prepare the three animals and other sacrificial supplies. I will go to Daning Village to offer sacrifices to the God of Plague."
"Yes, sir."
Zhuge Min, who had hurriedly followed, was still breathing hard. When he heard what Qin Mu said, he immediately objected fiercely, "Wait a minute, Magistrate Li, are you confused? My lord, you can't go to Daning Village. You can't go there. If you want to offer sacrifices to the God of Plague, you can set up an altar in the county town. You can't go to Daning Village."
Li Yingxin was scolded by Zhuge Min. When he came to his senses, his face turned pale. He quickly joined the ranks of those who opposed and refused to carry out Qin Mu's order unless he agreed to offer sacrifices to the God of Plague in the county town instead.
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ps: Today is the first day of March. Haoyuan is here to ask for the guaranteed monthly ticket from everyone. Please give more support to let Mingyang Tianxia go further.
Haoyuan would like to express his gratitude in advance.
.(To be continued..)
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