Taifu Liang could not help but oppose Murong Jie's mobilization of troops, and urged Murong Jie to issue an order immediately to kill all the zombie patients in Shitou Village. Moreover, any zombie patients found again should be shot on the spot, and there was no need to capture them and send them to the epidemic area.
Taifu Liang's proposal was recognized by many people, and even the ministers who were neutral before now agreed with Taifu Liang's proposal.
Because of the zombie patients' chaos all night, the number of zombie patients in Beijing increased dramatically, causing panic among the people. No one knew when they would be bitten. In order to prevent it, everyone thought that the best way was to kill the zombie patients one by one.
Murong Jie's attitude was very tough. "First, I want to mobilize troops, not to ask for your opinions, this is my decision; second, I will not order the shooting of zombie patients. Xia Zian's deadline for issuing the military order has not arrived. This military order restricts both her and the court, so don't mention the shooting again."
Taifu Liang burst into tears, "If the prince insists on his own way and protects Xia Zian, it will be the root cause of disaster for our Great Zhou."
When Taifu Liang started crying, he went right before the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager was upset. Listening to the Imperial Tutor analyzing the situation while crying, she was also very worried. "I have already issued an order to arrest Xia Zian. Let's wait for two more days."
Taifu Liang said angrily, "Empress Dowager, the regent is now acting arbitrarily and ignoring the opinions of the officials. He is blindly protecting Xia Zian. It is clear that a doctor has pointed out that Xia Zian is absconding, but he ignores it. I suggested killing the patients with the epidemic to prevent further outbreaks, but he is still waiting for Xia Zian to come back. But who knows if she will come back? If she doesn't come back, and we keep waiting like this, the capital of our Great Zhou will sooner or later become a living hell."
The Queen Mother said disapprovingly: "Taifu is worried about the Great Zhou, so it is inevitable that he will be emotional, but don't exaggerate."
Taifu Liang said excitedly: "Empress Dowager, I am absolutely not exaggerating. In just one short night, the number of zombie patients in the capital has risen to one thousand."
The Queen Mother knew that a zombie patient bit someone last night, but she didn't expect the situation to be so serious. "Really?"
"The Queen Mother, can you order someone to investigate? Xia Zian has absconded, and the zombie disease is out of control. Now there are signs of a massive outbreak in the capital. I am reporting to the prince today, asking him to order the killing of all the zombie patients. I know this is cruel, but there is no other way, because they will die sooner or later. Rather than keeping their lives and waiting for someone who has already absconded, it is better to kill them first. At least this will reduce the number of cases."
The Queen Mother was truly hesitant this time. According to last night's data, if there was another major outbreak tonight, no one could predict how high the number of infected people would rise.
But, do we really have to kill them? Although they are now infected, they were originally just innocent people.
"Where's the Prime Minister?"
"The Prime Minister is waiting outside for orders." said Eunuch Sun.
"Pass it in." said the Queen Mother.
"Yes!" Eunuch Sun responded and went out to invite Prime Minister Xia, who was waiting outside the hall, in.
Prime Minister Xia knelt on the ground with a pale face, "Queen Dowager, I am guilty."
The Queen Mother looked at him and thought of what he had done. She couldn't help but feel disgusted. "Of course you are guilty. You also had a hand in signing this military order. Now your daughter is missing. What do you think we should do about this?"
Prime Minister Xia prostrated himself and said, "I did not know that this rebellious girl would escape. She had vowed that she could be cured. Since I have issued a military order, I am willing to accept the punishment. Please, Queen Mother, reduce the punishment."
The Empress Dowager was really dissatisfied with this Prime Minister, but replacing the current Prime Minister was a big deal, especially now that the country was in turmoil due to the zombie disease. At this critical juncture, he really couldn't be removed.
"I give you two days to find Xia Zian, otherwise, you will be replaced as Prime Minister."
"I obey your command!" Prime Minister Xia was really annoyed. He didn't expect Xia Zian to suddenly leave the capital. Although he didn't quite believe that Xia Zian had escaped, he was indeed missing.
He even suspected that it was Master Liang's men who took her away.
Perhaps she is dead now.
If this is true, then Taifu Liang is just as my mother said, a cunning person who will be abandoned after his running dogs are cooked.
Taifu Liang obviously didn't want to delay for another two days, because if Xia Zian came back in two days and cured the epidemic, she would be a great hero.
But if she issues an order to kill the zombie patient now, the Empress Dowager will not let her go easily even if she comes back with the prescription in the future.
"Queen, this is a matter of great importance. I think we should not wait any longer and should order the burning of the village."
The Queen Mother looked unhappy, "What did the prince say at the morning court today?"
"Your Highness, it is irrational to protect Xia Zian. It will harm the foundation of the Great Zhou Dynasty and endanger the lives of innocent people."
The Queen Mother said calmly, "It is not appropriate for me to interfere in the affairs of state. Since the prince has decided to do this, I cannot question it. I can only urge Prime Minister Xia to find Xia Zian as soon as possible."
Taifu Liang did not expect that the Queen Mother would support Murong Jie so strongly. This was really beyond his expectations.
He originally thought that Murong Jie was not born by the Empress Dowager, so she should be wary of him. Her previous support for his political platform could be explained as she did not want to be accused of making things difficult for her illegitimate son as the Empress Dowager.
However, this time is different. If she stands up this time, many people in the court will support her decision, because the zombie disease really makes many people panic.
Tutor Liang had no choice but to leave with Prime Minister Xia.
The two giants in the court have finally shown a rift since their alliance.
Outside the palace, Prime Minister Xia asked, "Grandmaster, let's not beat around the bush. It was you who captured Xia Zian, right?"
Taifu Liang shook his head and said earnestly, "Prime Minister, I did want to use this incident to control you, so I asked the Crown Prince to take your position in prison. However, I can swear to heaven that I did not take Xia Zian away, and I don't know where Xia Zian went."
"You don't know? If you didn't know, why did you force Murong Jie to order the burning of the village?"
"Because, the old lady suspected that Xia Zian had found the prescription and went somewhere to look for herbs. She would not abscond. The Regent is behind her, so why would she leave? Since she would not abscond and was not captured by you or me, she must have left on her own. The only reason she left was that she found the prescription to cure the zombie disease."
Seeing that Prime Minister Xia still looked unconvinced, he added, "Prime Minister, if she finds the prescription and comes back to cure the epidemic, do you know what kind of threat you will face? That is your little tiger, with teeth that are sharper than anyone else's. The first person she will bite is you. But if Murong Jie orders the killing of the zombie patients, even if she finds the prescription and comes back, she left without explaining, killing more than a thousand people. Even if she has made a contribution, she must be held accountable."
(End of this chapter)