"Don't worry, sister. I've already sent a message over there. Most of today's supplies will be delivered to Lindu Mansion. But it may be a little later because the situation in Lindu Mansion happened suddenly. Therefore, supplies may still be in short supply in the first few days."
This is inevitable, Xiaocao rubbed his eyebrows. Transportation is inconvenient and there is really no way. Moreover, the demand is increasing in an instant, and I don’t know whether the manpower can keep up.
As a result, Xiaocao became even more irritable. Even if she didn't get off the carriage, people could easily feel the low pressure from her. They dared not breathe, let alone speak easily, for fear that her anger would fall on them.
Just as they were rushing to the place where the patients were isolated, a large group of people suddenly appeared in front of them, blocking their way.
This time it wasn't just Xiaocao who had a bad face, but almost everyone had a bad face. When would someone come out to make trouble? No one would think that those who were blocking the way were people who came to help.
Among these people, a few should be teenagers younger than Fan Wuguo, and the rest are of varying ages, ranging from their twenties to thirties to forties to fifties, and there are even two or three with gray hair in between.
The identities of these people are easy to identify because they wear similar clothes and they are all scholars.
Fan Wuguo was born to be at odds with most scholars. "What the hell do you want to do? Get out of here as soon as possible."
This scholar, no matter how poorly he was dressed, seemed to be naturally aloof because of his status. When he met a bully like this who cursed at everyone, he naturally disliked him the most, and many people followed suit and frowned.
However, they all knew that the people in front of them were not ordinary people, so they did not dare to confront them head-on. A representative stood up and bowed, behaving in a measured manner. He seemed to be very polite, and then spoke slowly, "I heard that a noble person had come to Lindu Mansion, and today Lindu Mansion suddenly closed the city. We..."
"Shut up! Do you know what time it is? You are still being so unruly here. Why don't you disperse?" An official stepped forward and shouted harshly. Especially when he saw that some of these people were disciples from aristocratic families with whom he had a good personal relationship, veins popped out on his forehead. He was filled with anger and secretly cursed his friend, asking him if he couldn't see the situation clearly and let these guys come out and make trouble at this time.
"Sir, we just..."
"No problem, let someone clear the way." Xiao Cao said coldly in the carriage.
Fan Wuguo seemed to be waiting for Xiaocao to say this. He raised his hand and said, "Black Armor Guards, listen up, open the way—"
Hundreds of black-armored guards were all equipped with war horses and were well-trained. After stopping, the horses would not move rashly. But after receiving the order, there were probably only dozens of them in the front, and they were still like tigers out of a cage. What's more, they were not alone, but brought with them a torrent of force. The people blocking the front seemed to be separated in the blink of an eye. There were those who were angry and refused to retreat, and were still shouting something. They used their sheathed swords to thrust it under the armpits of those people, and with a strong pull, they knocked them over.
This road was not too easy to open. Perhaps they did not expect that the "noble man" would directly give the order to take action. Those scholars were all confused and could not come to their senses for a while.
Xiao Cao lifted the curtain and said, "No problem. Let the doctors take the things and go over first."
Fan Wuguo immediately understood what Xiaocao meant. She was going to stay and handle the matter. "Sister, please give them the face and tell me to throw them all into jail and let them wake up." Having said that, Fan Wuguo had already raised his hand to signal the people behind him. He had handled the logistics before, and now he just needed to give orders, so it was natural that he could do it with ease.
Now is not the same as when she first arrived in Pushan County. Even if there is no Xiaocao, the medical staff below know what to do, so it doesn't matter if she is delayed for a while.
By the time all the people who needed to pass had passed, the team of grass had been reduced by more than half as a whole.
The carriage's door curtain was originally only half-closed, and after hearing Xiaocao's voice, how could he not know that this "noble lady" was a woman? For a long time, it has been deeply rooted in the mindset that men naturally look down on women. Although sometimes, due to class differences, it is common for men to bow to women of noble status, but most of the scholars are more stubborn.
Xiaocao came out of the carriage again and waved his hand. The black-armored guards who were blocking the scholars quickly withdrew back to their original positions, guarding both sides of the carriage faithfully.
"If you have anything to say, you can say it now." Compared with the previous officials, Xiaocao was more tolerant towards them.
However, perhaps because Xiaocao was a woman, they hesitated.
Xiaocao said calmly, "I was the one who issued the city closure order. If your issue is related to this, then I am the only one who can make the final decision." In fact, no one in the entire Dongqing Provincial Government, let alone the Lindu City, has the authority to surpass her.
Xiaocao's words really surprised them.
Xiaocao and his companions had come from the imperial city before, with a total of more than 20,000 people. It was very difficult not to attract attention. However, most people only knew that the leader was an imperial envoy who came for the epidemic in Pushan County, but they did not know his specific identity. Moreover, because this matter was special, those officials did not dare to say anything lightly. Therefore, not many people in Lindu City knew about Xiaocao's existence and identity. At present, many people in Lindu City have been infected with the epidemic, and the city is still under blockade.
Although he was skeptical of Xiaocao's words, looking at the attitudes of all the officials around him, he was probably telling the truth. He kept guessing where Xiaocao came from, but the representative from before still stood up and said, "I would like to ask the young lady for advice."
"The princess of the dynasty, given the title of Anguo."
When Emperor Xuanren was seriously ill, the disease was concealed in the early stage. Later, especially after he recovered, the truth was not hidden. The lavish rewards to Xiaocao were talked about among the people, and the local officials would naturally keep an eye on the situation in the imperial city - although many things would be reported with a delay - Wenren had a daughter who saved Emperor Xuanren's life from the hands of the King of Hell, and was then adopted as an adopted daughter by Emperor Xuanren, included in the royal family list, and granted the title of princess. Her salary was the same as that of the highest Prince Duan. The emperor's grace was so great that almost no one could match it. Naturally, everyone who knew about this major event knew about it, and among the scholars, there were always some well-informed people, or they would occasionally learn about it from other channels. Now this person was the insider, and he was not of high birth, and he learned about it from a friend of his father from the imperial city.
They immediately became respectful and solemn. After all, Princess Anguo was known as the first saint of the Qi Dynasty. It was obvious why she was here. "Student greets Princess Anguo." Thinking about the previous situation, he had a bad feeling in his heart. Maybe they really showed up at the wrong time. But he was not sure if it was something he could ask. He calmed down and said as he had originally intended. "We are the scholars who will participate in the Dongqing County Examination. We were planning to rush to the Dongqing Examination Center in the next few days, but the city was suddenly closed today. We asked around but got no results. We happened to know that the princess's ceremonial procession had entered the city. We thought we might get the answer, so we came here together. We did not mean to offend the princess. Please forgive us."
They didn't do anything extreme, otherwise, even if Xiaocao didn't say anything, no one else would tolerate them standing there.
"Since the city is sealed, you should know that it is not a trivial matter. If you miss the provincial examination this time, you can take it again next year. It's only a year away. After the provincial examination next year, you can take the metropolitan examination the year after next. With one more year of study, you may be more confident. You are scholars, so you should be more sensible. At this time, you should be concerned about what happened. If you don't know, you should study hard at home and obey the government's orders instead of gathering to block the road."
Since the founding of the Qi Dynasty, various examinations before the imperial examination have been held every year.
"Next year, the emperor will celebrate his 50th birthday, and there may be an additional special examination. How can the provincial examination this year be the same as next year?" Someone at the back couldn't help but speak up.
Xiaocao had never thought of this. Emperor Xuanren's birthday was at the end of January, and the imperial examination was in February. It was indeed possible to hold an additional special examination for his 50th birthday. However, it would only be an additional test, and the subsequent ones would not be cancelled. Many people might think that if they couldn't pass the examination next year, they would just have to wait another year. For some people, one year was a "long" time, better than three years.
"Even so, I'm afraid you won't be able to take part in the provincial examination this year."
"Why?" Many people became excited immediately.
"You should be aware of the plague in Pushan County. Now it has also appeared in Lindu Prefecture. In order to prevent the spread of the disease, the city is sealed off. Among you, there is no guarantee that there are no people infected with the disease. It will bring danger to people outside, so you cannot leave."
Although some people had some guesses in their minds, they panicked for a moment when they learned that the epidemic had spread in Lindu Prefecture. Although Pushan County was not far from Lindu Prefecture, it was not close either. For most of them, they just listened to it, and maybe even talked about it as current affairs. They probably never thought that they would be in the middle of it.
However, some people are still more concerned about the provincial examination. "We are all fine. Let alone patients with the epidemic, even if they are ordinary patients, we haven't had any contact with them recently. How could they be infected with the epidemic? You..."
"It's not that if you are infected with the disease, it will show up immediately. Sometimes it will take one or two days, and sometimes it may take seven or eight days. Similarly, the normal people you have come into contact with may not be infected with the disease. So, this matter is non-negotiable."
"Never heard of such a thing."
"If I haven't heard of it, does it mean it doesn't exist? Every profession has its own expertise. In this regard, no one can question my words."
It seems impossible to leave Lindu Prefecture to take part in the provincial examination. However, there are still many people who are unwilling to give up. It seems that they will definitely pass the examination this time, and there will definitely be an additional special examination next year. If the special examination is opened, they will definitely pass the metropolitan examination, participate in the palace examination, and even become a Jinshi in one fell swoop. If they are blocked, their future is blocked.
Xiao Cao raised the corner of his mouth slightly, his eyes were cold, "You study for nothing more than to pass the exam and become an official, but in essence, it is for the people of heaven. Now that the epidemic is at hand, if it is not stopped in time, it will spread more and more widely. In Lindu City alone, there are hundreds of thousands of people. When the epidemic is out of control, how terrible it will be, have you ever thought about it? Now, before you become an official, don't you want to do something for the people first?"
I will bring you out of the righteousness and put you directly into the fire. Let's see who still doubts and wants to leave.
In fact, as soon as these words came out, those who were originally shouting fiercely suddenly became silent. Do they dare to say that they took the imperial examination just to seek benefits for themselves? Of course not.
"Having said this, please all go away."
This was indeed something that could not be helped. Some people were ready to leave, but some others were still unwilling to do so and stopped others, seemingly wanting to fight for it further.
Xiao Cao had already wasted a lot of time here, trying to talk to them in a nice way, but they still didn't know what to do, and her patience with them was wearing thin. "If you don't want to leave, then don't leave. It's just right that we are short of manpower now, so you can stay and help, and really do something for the people in advance."
Everyone immediately had a bad premonition. They originally didn't want to leave and now wanted to escape, but unfortunately, it was too late.