In ancient times, the occurrence of plague was a very terrifying thing. Every time there were disasters, wars, or sudden changes in the four seasons, such as cold and hot, plagues often occurred.
"Plague" is not a disease, but refers to all diseases with strong infectious and lethal characteristics. Once spread, it will often cause great loss of population.
Terrible diseases are more harmful than natural disasters. Once the disaster spreads, the panicked people often leave their homes to "hide from the disaster". This escape caused the plague to spread on a larger area. Therefore, when the ruler encounters the plague, , I would rather all the people in a land die than move half a point.
In the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were frequent wars, and plagues and disasters took eight-tenths of the population, which was even more terrifying than the Wuhu chaos. There is a saying in the "Seven Sorrows": "...Go out and see nothing, white bones cover the plains. There are hungry women on the road. People, hug the child and abandon the grass. Gu heard the sound of sobbing, and shedding tears alone will not return. 'I don't know where the body will die, how can it be finished?' Drive the horse and abandon it.
During the more than 70 years from Liu Zhi, Emperor Huan of the Han Dynasty, to Liu Xie, Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty, 17 epidemics were recorded. The epidemic has plagued the people for years, and even the scholar-officials have not been spared. For example, Xu Gan, Chen Lin, Ying Jue, and Liu Zhen in the famous "Seven Sons of Jian'an" in the history of literature also all passed away, and the tragedy is evident.
In the Jin Dynasty, due to the emergence of a Taoist genius "Ge Hong", he began to conduct detailed research on the plague, so the knowledge that the "plague" can be prevented was spread. Ge Hong's "Elbow Reserve Emergency Recipe" records many medicinal powders to ward off the plague, which has become a standing prescription for local officials.
There are also "pharmaceutical departments" and "living people's departments" in various places, which are specially responsible for hoarding medicines and disposing of the dying people and the dead bodies of the epidemic.
But after the Five Husbands, the entire Jin Dynasty system was greatly destroyed. Only Liu Song, who continued the Eastern Jin Dynasty, still had a large number of Langzhong and medical officials. The rest of the countries were all witch doctors, monk doctors, Langzhong, and shamans. For what purpose, even Tuoba Tao's palace kept various medical officials who could treat diseases.
Not to mention doctors, it is more appropriate to say that some are witches.
Under such circumstances, the most feared thing by the lords of all countries is natural disasters and plagues.
Earthquakes, floods, droughts, and thunderstorms not only cause devastating blows to the whole country, but also cause civil unrest.
The Han people often think that "the country will be destroyed by evil spirits", and all the turmoil is caused by the immorality of the monarch, not to mention the fact that the Hu people now dominate the Central Plains. It is possible to start a rebellion.
Plagues usually accompany natural disasters and wars. Tuoba Tao obeyed Han Chen's advice and did not slaughter the city, and the camp in Montenegro became "burned" because of the prohibition of Han Langzhong and Han people to join the army, all because the plague was too terrible and would eventually bring harm to himself.
Unlike the Xia Kingdom, where the turmoil just ended, Yuzhou and Qingzhou have been occupied for more than eight years. Because the late emperor and Tuoba Tao attached great importance to the southern region, they sent officials with great talent and virtue. The economy and people's livelihood have recovered very well. Compared with the turmoil and rebellion in the Eastern Jin Dynasty, the rule of the Northern Wei Dynasty was more relaxed. At least the people did not have to do a lot of corvée and military service.
As for disasters, except for occasional floods in some places in summer, earthquakes, snow disasters, and droughts are absent, the climate is normal and the food is harvested, and there is absolutely no sign of any plague coming.
Now it is winter again, and even the insects are already "dormant", and they will not crawl out until the "scare sting". The poisonous insects are not infested, and there is no poisonous miasma. No one would have thought that the plague was discovered at this time.
This person has been missing for more than three months, but it is impossible for the plague to make people live for so long. This person must have contracted the plague recently. Why did he disappear for a few months and show up after contracting the plague? Did he find out that he had a serious disease and threw him out, or was the place where the plague spread where he had lived for the past few months
Everything had to do with the plague, which made people shudder. Even He Mulan didn't dare to let the army advance. He actually asked all the Huben army and Gaoche Huben army to retreat a hundred miles and find a field to station.
At this time, it is dangerous to be close to the city.
Xue Andu's decision made He Mulan terrified. He Mulan even thought that Xue An had no temperament of Ren Xia, it was simply the temper of a hero.
The rangers who asked him for help were all righteous men who had supported him and called him brothers. Now, because they had taken care of the people who died of the plague, Xue Andu had persuaded them to voluntarily imprison him at home with their family members, unless they really did. There is no problem at all, I would rather die than go out.
Xue An also used the "safety of the world" as an excuse to force them to swear that if they also showed signs of missing persons, they would commit suicide immediately, and they would be able to fulfill their loyalty.
In addition, the entire township of Baize Township was under martial law. Xue An used his authority as the "Captain of Yuzhou" to dispatch several thousand troops to surround Baize Township, and no one was allowed to go out. All died in this village.
In this age when news and roads are extremely underdeveloped, as long as the source is controlled, it is difficult for the disease to spread.
He Mulan had a very good temperament, but even if Xue An did this, she couldn't say a word to refute. On the contrary, she knew that everything Xue An did was right.
Xue An was already considered a calm young man. If he met someone who was afraid and ruthless, maybe those rangers would not be imprisoned at home, but would be killed just like he killed the missing person.
Don't think this is cruel. In ancient times, it was common for plagues to burn people alive and kill the entire village, just to prevent it from spreading.
The thing Xue Andu was most afraid of right now was how many people there were like this.
"General Hua, is there any basis for your guess? This... this is too sensational!"
Xue Andu and He Mulan, who had been in contact with the missing, all washed their bodies with hot water. All the clothes, shoes and hats they had left on that day were burned and replaced with new ones. He Mulan was glad that she quickly covered it up when she noticed it. Cover your mouth, nose and all exposed skin, otherwise I'm afraid I'll be like Xue Andu...
The skin on his body was terrifyingly red, as if it had been brushed with an iron brush.
"I also hope it's sensational." He Mulan's tone was so heavy that even Chen Jie and the others on the side were afraid. "But there are all signs that someone is creating a plague. From the beginning of someone missing, to more and more missing people, to the later disappearance of people appearing, but with serious diseases, you will never feel that he is just unlucky, Was it thrown out?"
The more He Mulan said, the more terrifying: "If you arrest a group of people and do something, and one of them gets sick, the smartest thing to do is to kill him immediately and burn him like you did, why would you let him go back to his hometown? Being yourself also carries the risk of getting sick, and the gains outweigh the losses. There is only one possibility…”
"They know that this person will definitely be found by relatives or friends when they go back to their hometown, and they will try to heal. Once they start to come into frequent contact with people, these people will be infected and then spread the disease..."
Xue An shuddered and shouted loudly:
"They arrest these people for this! To spread the plague! What madman!"
"I don't believe anyone would do this." Chen Jie looked dumbfounded. "Perhaps it was just a coincidence? Maybe this man caught a plague when he escaped, and then ran home without help? General, General, don't scare us!"
The rest of the older soldiers did not speak, because they could not refute this speculation in their hearts. People really do such crazy things for some strange purpose.
"If you want to know if it's a coincidence, just look at the next development. Although I don't want to see the next development at all..." He Mulan never knew that this world still studies "biochemical weapons" like her world. " people.
"If the real culprit behind the arrest is for this, then there will definitely be people who have been infected with the plague one after another in various places, and they must appear in places with many people..."
Damn, this idea is more than a thousand years old, it is simply outrageous!
This is the age when you get a cold and you die!
Xue An couldn't sit still.
"God! God, stop talking, I'm getting hairy! I'm going to summon all the rangers from all over the place. The government can't do this alone!"
"There is no need to expand the scope too far. As long as the plague or other plagues, it takes only a few days from the onset of the disease to the death. Since the steward of the car and horse shop said that the rice merchants are all sending rice to Chen County, you might as well stay in Chen County. Search within the range of four or five days' journey in the county. If there are people with serious illnesses in the streets, then the eighth achievement is true."
He Mulan was also worried.
"It turned out to be in the name of selling food. I was afraid that they even touched the food and water sources. That's really..."
The county magistrate of Pingze County, who was listening from the beginning to the end, turned iron gray. Bai Ze Township is a township under his jurisdiction, but he rarely cares about it. Most of the countryside is managed by the clan and clan elders.
When the Ranger reported that there were fewer people, he thought he had lost his life because of something like a fight or grabbing water in the village, and he didn't take it too seriously. Now that he heard this shocking secret, the first thing that came to his mind. He took his family, young and old, and simply fled into the mountains, not wanting to stay in Yuzhou any longer.
Xue Andu probably saw the change in his expression, he pulled out his replacement saber and looked at him savagely: "Now the plague is likely to spread, you county magistrate must appease the people and guard the granary, if it does happen If you run away because of the turmoil, your entire nine clans can’t run away! If you have any wrong thoughts and make the whole Pingze chaotic, I will report it to the imperial court and ask Your Majesty to save your nine clans!”
"Don't dare, don't dare! Xue Duhu, don't be so scary!"
The magistrate shook like a sieve.
"You can try if I can be more scary!"
The county magistrate was being held by Xue Andu's soldiers, and he went back to prepare with a bitter look on his face. Xue Andu had already sent documents to the prefectures and counties in Yuzhou and the surrounding prefectures. The possible outbreak of the plague would soon be known by the officials of the prefectures, and then began to investigate the whole prefecture.
This matter should have been discovered earlier, otherwise the plague would have already begun to spread somewhere. In addition, it is the end of winter now, and the spread of the disease is slower.
But it doesn't take long for the "Jing Zhe" to arrive. As soon as the Jing Zhe arrives, the weather warms up, the spring thunder begins, and all the insects hibernating in the ground begin to move. Once a disease occurs in the spring...
"General Hua, the situation in various places is still unclear now, and your subordinates can't continue to move forward..." Xue An dutifully asked He Mulan, "There are not many people in Qinzhou and Yuzhou. We need to borrow the general's men and horses."
He was referring to the isolation of the people in various places so that the disease would not spread.
No wolf general would agree to this kind of thing. If his subordinates were ruined in vain because of this kind of thing, not to mention that their strength has been greatly reduced since then, even the emperor will be furious.
It may take five or ten years for an elite soldier to be honed. The soldiers do not die on the battlefield, but die of illness in their beds. This is the last thing any politicians want to see.
But He Mulan knew that the plague was terrifying, so he hesitated for a moment, then nodded: "If the situation is so critical, I can borrow your manpower."
"General!"
"General!"
"At this time, you should report to Beijing immediately and go back to Pingcheng!"
All the generals, including Di Yefei, "talked about the change of color of the epidemic". As soon as they heard He Mulan's decision, they immediately changed their faces.
"I am the coach of this expedition, I have the final say! The epidemic is really spreading, do you think our horses can outrun the plague?"
He Mulan scolded her face down and said, "What's more, things haven't gotten to that point yet!"
If it were other generals, Xue An would not dare to borrow someone else. It was precisely because he spent a few days with He Mulan that he realized that this young general had nothing in common with him, a ranger who traveled south and north, and was very concerned about the common people and the epidemic. , so I dared to speak.
Hearing that He Mulan had agreed to borrow people when there was not enough manpower, Xue An immediately breathed a sigh of relief, and went to arrange the next thing without stopping.
There was plague in Baize Township. According to the practice of marching, places with plague were not allowed to enter. He Mulan's army could only helplessly stationed in the field, waiting for the horses to go to Chen County to report back with the news that there was nothing in front of them. Keep going.
However, as He Mulan guessed, apart from Bai Ze Township, there were infected people in several villages and cities north of Chen County. Fortunately, Xue An was the protector of the whole state, and he gave orders to city defense and city gate officials in various places. The order was timely, and several were found, and those who died of illness were not buried casually, but were burned cleanly under the supervision of local officials.
As for how many people were locked up again "waiting for the result", several towns closed four doors for this reason, and how many people were in a panic and rumors abounded. Can guess.
To the north of Chen County, is the area where the army from the direction of Pingcheng must pass. Not only that, the vicinity of Chen County was almost dominated by the "suzerain", and most of the population were "shady households" in Wubi. Outside the countryside were either Hu people or wealthy households who had private fields and were unwilling to entrust their households to the shade.
When they contracted the disease, it was not the Han people who died first, but the Hu people who lived with the Han people.
He Mulan was almost certain that the epidemic was aimed at the army heading south. Perhaps the person behind the scenes knew that the army was heading for Chen County, and even found out that the army was bound for Chen County, so he began to release it. These sick people want to startle them away.
After He Mulan, Xue Andu, Di Yefei and others discussed it for a while, they all thought that it was not Liu Song who did this kind of thing, and it had something to do with Liu Song.
Because no one would do this kind of inhumane thing in their own country, if it spreads to their own territory, it would be shooting themselves in the foot.
But the problem is that Liu Song absolutely does not have the manpower and ability to make so many people disappear, and there are even places to cultivate "diseases" and then transport them to various places.
The city gate officials of this era are the ones who have to search even if they carry two eggs. With such seriously ill people passing through the city, they must have unquestionable identities and means of transportation.
Moreover, some people have been missing since a year ago. If the "virus" has been cultivated since then, according to the lethality of the plague, people should have died. He Mulan was puzzled by the person who disappeared a month ago.
He Mulan's letter was quickly sent to Beijing, but no letter came from Beijing until now. He Mulan's army was trapped here and could not move forward or retreat. Xue An was writing letters to various places every day. Coming to and fro, or taking government soldiers to patrol everywhere, the whole Yuzhou began to have a faint trend of panic.
At this juncture, a terrible thing happened.
He Mulan, who had fallen into a high fever and could not wake up a month ago, showed such signs again, and this time, the fever was even worse, and she didn't know the personnel directly.
Xue An was in charge of allocating the logistics and supplies in the Huben camp. As soon as he received the news, he rushed over with a large number of local troops.
Because He Mulan went with him to see the missing person before, and even checked the person himself, Xue An suspected that He Mulan had the same disease, and because of her strong body, she was suppressed until now.
"You dare to touch the general and try!"
When Chen Jie saw that Xue An had brought someone to carry He Mulan away, he immediately drew his sword and protected him in front of He Mulan's bed.
Not only him, but Di Yefei, Na Luohun, Gai Wu and the others all took their weapons and forced Xue An out of the tent.
"If General Hua is really ill, the entire Huben army is in danger now, so you can't be foolish!" Xue An saw that the general who was staring at him did not dare to act rashly, so he could only persuade him: "I just bring him here. Go to a secluded place to recuperate. If it is not a plague but typhoid fever, I will send him back respectfully.
"Who knows where you are going to send our general! In case you are sent to the Living Person's Office, to be with a group of sick people, you will get sick even if you are not sick! You say that our general is sick, let's not talk about our day Get along with the general day and night, practice, eat and drink together, so you say that you will come to see you every two or three days, do you care about yourself?"
Chen Jie has always had sharp teeth and sharp mouth, and while cursing, the sword in his hand did not relax: "Our general also caught a cold when he was in the hot spring last month, and this is the symptom. As soon as he has a fever, he is confused, and he will be fine tomorrow. He is in good health!"
"Yes, he was right."
Na Luohun and Mangu nodded.
Di Yefei didn't talk to Xue An at all. A group of warriors with tall chariots and tigers surrounded the tent so tightly that Xue Andu's men couldn't even take a step forward.
According to He Mulan's prestige in the army, now Xue An dared to take Yuzhou soldiers to grab people, and today the Huben camp would not even want to go out.
All of a sudden, Xue Andu and Hu Benjun were at a deadlock, and Hu Benjun was actually worried. Countless people pin their hopes on the medical officer sent by Hu Ben Jun and Xue An...
—What the hell happened to their general tiger power!
"Xue Duhu! Xue Duhu! The masters of Songshan Tianshi Dao are here!"
Several of Xue Andu's subordinates were hurriedly led by the Hu Ben army, and when they saw the Duhu and his subordinates who were fighting with the Hu Ben army's soldiers, they were stunned.
Whenever there is a plague among the people, it is either to seek gods or to worship Buddha. The people of Taoism are usually proficient in medicine. Xue An is a Han Chinese.
Guanzhong is the birthplace of Taoism. Kou Qianzhi's presence was in Songshan. Except for those who went to Pingcheng with him, all the disciples stayed in Songshan to practice.
Xue Andu's whereabouts were uncertain during this time. Many times he was still in this county in the morning and rushed to that county in the afternoon. The group of Taoists who went down the mountain went to find Xue An and they were all in vain. After searching everywhere, they found Hu Benda. Camp came, ready to "wait for the rabbit", just happened to meet the rabbit Xue Andu.
"Sun and Moon"
This time, not to mention Xue Andu, even Di Yefei and the others had excitement in their eyes.
"Please, please! It's the Celestial Master on Songshan Mountain!"
Xue An shouted in surprise.
After a while, a group of Taoists in Taoist robes appeared in front of the crowd with tall medicine boxes and medicine baskets on their backs. Wearing a star and a moon crown, and stepping on the wind and white shoes, it flutters like a fairy.
When the Taoist official led the Taoist priests to the front, even the people in the Tiger Ben Army who were used to seeing Di Yefei's good looks couldn't help but praise him.
Just relying on this person's appearance, he can be worthy of the words "Xiao Shuxuanju, Zhan Ran is like a god".
I saw this young Taoist in his early twenties glanced at the messy scene, bowed his head, and said aloud.
"Blessed and immeasurable Heavenly Venerate. The poor Dao is the great sacrifice of the celestial master, Kou Yizhi. Dare to ask who is Xue Andu, the governor of Yong and Qin, who is Xue Shijun?"