Xiao Cao stood on the carriage, taking in all their actions, her eyes full of indifference.
"Everyone present here should stay and help deal with the various problems caused by the epidemic. This is probably a very good opportunity for you to learn in real time instead of studying hard. Don't miss it." Looking at the people on the edge who were retreating further and further away, "There are records of how many scholars there are in Lindu Prefecture. If one of you runs away and I am not asked to find him, it's fine. If I am asked to find him, I will report it to my father and take away his fame. As for the rest, they will be banned from taking exams for ten years. All levels of exams in Lindu Prefecture will be banned for five years, and all levels of exams in Dongqing will be banned for three years."
Not to mention these scholars, even the officials next to them couldn't help but gasp.
The entire Dongqing Provincial Government banned the exam for three years, which meant that the achievements in this area would be zero during these three years. Naturally, it would not only affect the achievements of these officials, but also the atmosphere of scholars. Some people could survive for three years, but what about five or ten years? If they could not take the exam in Lindu Prefecture, would they try every means to transfer their household registration to another place? How great would the loss be? There were also some longer-term issues...
The more I thought about it, the colder my back felt. This Princess Anguo was extremely cruel!
Even though she had attacked Magistrate Wu before, it didn't make people's hair stand on end or feel cold under their feet even in such a hot day.
Not to mention these scholars, who got angry before seeing Xiaocao, their first impression was that she was a gentle person, but...
If a person is afraid of death, he can even give up his own fame. But what about the people who are implicated? I am afraid that the culprit will be heartbroken, and correspondingly, his relatives and friends will also be affected. Wherever he goes, he will be pointed at and stabbed in the back. In extreme cases, it may even escalate to behavior. Such a situation is probably countless times more terrible than death. Especially for the noble scholars, it is even more unbearable.
"How could you ..."
The voice was not loud, and before he could finish speaking, the person next to him covered his mouth.
Xiao Cao heard it, "Why can't I? Or maybe you also doubt whether I have the ability to make the emperor listen to my opinions, why not give it a try, I won't let anyone stop you, you can go alone, I believe it won't take too long to get the result. Of course, you can also pretend to agree now, and then sneak away, but I like to record everything I do, and I will record the division of labor, so the possibility of you getting away should be smaller."
"Just because you are a princess, you can take people's lives lightly..."
"Take human life lightly?" The grass murmured, then laughed softly, feeling a little sad for some reason.
This time, not only Fan Wuguo and others were angry, but also hundreds of black-armored guards. Without any orders, they drew out the swords at their waists, flashing with cold light.
Fan Wuguo was furious, his eyes flashing with ferocity, "Today I will let you know what it means to truly take human life lightly." The horse had already rushed out, with the sword raised high, and the people standing in front of it retreated in fear.
"Wuguo, stop it—" Xiaocao did not expect that Fan Wuguo would start fighting as soon as he said so. Beating and scolding people would be fine, but if he really killed someone, well, with his identity, he would not have to pay with his life, but this was not a reason to kill people at will.
Fan Wuguo's knife still fell down, causing many people to scream and subconsciously cover their faces and turn their heads away.
However, at the last moment, Fan Wuguo's knife deviated a little and only scraped the opponent's arm, cutting off his clothes and injuring a little flesh. The man fell to the ground, his face turned pale with fear, he trembled, and even became incontinent.
Fan Wuguo dismounted, with the blade close to the opponent's nose, "Princess Anguo, you are so precious. When you learned about the epidemic, you immediately formulated a rule and invited yourself to Pushan County. The emperor did not allow it, and many people did not allow it. It was she who insisted because she was worried that the epidemic in Pushan County could not be controlled.
They rushed there without stopping, and started saving lives and treating illnesses. The people they came into contact with were all those with the most serious symptoms of the epidemic. They were so busy that they had to keep their feet busy. Even when they were eating and drinking, they were asking about other people's situations. Their eyes were red from staying up all night, and the bloodshot never went away. A few days ago, they showed abnormal symptoms, and they stayed up for three or four days in a row, just hoping to save a few more people.
Why did she do all this? She didn't want to enjoy the good life and the comfortable environment. Was she tired of living and came all the way here to seek death?"
Fan Wuguo thrust his knife forward a little further. "We are just short of manpower, so we asked you to help out. We didn't ask you to come into direct contact with the diseased patients. Do you think you are taking human lives lightly? Is your life so precious?"
Those who originally had some thoughts about him, upon hearing his words, felt admiration and shame, and could not help but take a few steps back, as if they were ashamed to be associated with that person. Moreover, such a loss of composure was really a loss of face. Moreover, with such a character, who knows what kind of problems he might encounter in the future, and he would directly push the people around him away. In this case, who would dare to stand with him
"People like you don't need any help. You will only make things worse. Don't even think about the imperial examination. Your sister has ruined your future, and today I have ruined your future too. Your mother is the eldest princess, a duke, and you are a prince. I can beat you up if I say so. It only takes a word to ruin your future." Fan Wuguo put away his sword. A line of blood was running down the other person's nose. The wound was shallow, so naturally not much blood was shed.
Fan Wuguo turned around and looked at the officials of Lindu Prefecture, "This person insulted Princess Anguo with his words, and he was thrown into prison. Then he wrote a memorial and submitted it back to the imperial city, and handed it over to the emperor to make a personal decision on the matter."
Fan Wuguo wanted to kill the person directly, but his sister did not allow it, so he let it go. Despite this, he believed that the result of the emperor's handling would be either death or a life worse than death.
It is said that Emperor Xuanren was a benevolent emperor, but don't forget that he fought for his throne. At the beginning of consolidating his throne, he let bygones be bygones and only employed people based on their talents. The only people left were those who had not hurt him in the fight for the throne. He appeased them in public, but how many people died in secret for him to sit firmly on the throne in such a short time.
Although he was young and didn't know anything at that time, it was not difficult to find out the bloody storm in some of the files at that time. In addition, a few years ago, Prince Duan was blinded and almost died. When the emperor ordered the confiscation of property and extermination of the family, he never blinked an eye. His kindness was also conditional and had a bottom line.
Xiaocao didn't say anything, just looked at him coldly, shaking off the negative emotions in his heart, "Okay, Wuguo, we've been delayed for a long time." Xiaocao turned around and went back to the carriage.
—There are only a minority of people like this, so why should you let them waver your heart
The grass closed its eyes and prepared to take a short rest as it would soon be busy again.
Those scholars were left behind, standing where they were, watching Princess Anguo's "guard of honor" go away, at a loss for a moment.
"Alright, stop standing there. Her Highness cherishes human life so much that she would never let anything happen to you. If it weren't for the shortage of manpower and you just happened to run into her and refused to listen to her kind words, would Princess Anguo be so angry as to keep you here? When they were in Pushan County, they would rather suffer more themselves than let ordinary people get involved."
An official took the initiative to speak up. He was considered to be the one who carried out orders meticulously from the beginning. However, in comparison, his words were insignificant and he could not do much.
"Do the things assigned to you well and learn well. Don't just think about how terrible the epidemic is. No matter how terrible it is, Princess Anguo and her men can conquer it. This epidemic is far less serious than the previous ones. The one in Pushan County is under control. This Lindu Prefecture," the official paused, "is just because someone was stupid and disobedient, causing such a big disaster. If you encounter it, learn more. It won't hurt you."
Since they are scholars, they are naturally knowledgeable and insightful. They did something wrong before only because they failed to get the news, so now they naturally want to do something to make up for it.
"May I ask, sir, what do the students and others need to do?"
"You should go to the government office now and register first, then divide into groups, because you are responsible for different things, and we will have to summarize them later, so you can't mix them up. There will be people there to teach you, go ahead."
These scholars said no more and went straight to the government office.
After receiving the task and taking some simple protective measures, they started their work with a little bit of trepidation in their hearts.
At first, there were people who led them, but only gave them rough instructions and let them go on their own. Even if they were unfamiliar with the place, they had to go. Then they met some people who were obviously soldiers. In their eyes, these people were very rough and barbaric, who probably knew nothing except marching and fighting. They prayed for the prosperity and peace of the country, and except for those on the border, they even thought that the rest should not exist. However, this time, they were impressed by these rough people who did things in an orderly and handy manner.
In comparison, they are really much weaker, which is really shameful.
Finally, someone broke the barrier in their hearts and came forward to ask.
The following was a process of getting along from unfamiliar to friendly. After they gradually got the hang of it, they received praise from each other, "As expected, you literati are really good at these things."
This kind of praise seems to feel particularly different compared to other times.
Then Xiaocao was inevitably mentioned. When it came to Xiaocao, these imperial guards followed her to Pushan County and then returned to Lindu Prefecture. Even though they had never had direct contact with Xiaocao, they could still say a lot. After all, the original rules for all these things came from Princess Anguo, and it was just that the people below made some detailed arrangements.
After talking about her so-called actions after coming here, I will extend it to talk about some of her great achievements in the imperial city.
In short, although Princess Anguo is a woman, she has lofty ambitions, cares about the people of the world, is kind and benevolent, and has great medical skills. Gradually, she even has the exaggerated saying of "reviving the dead and turning their bones into flesh". - Well, it's not completely exaggerated. Compared with other people, to a certain extent, Xiaocao seems to be able to "revive the dead and turn their bones into flesh".
After hearing this, the scholars were even more respectful. Even though some of them felt a little uncomfortable because she was a girl, when they thought about it, how many men could be compared with her? It was really shameful.
However, someone asked, for some unknown reason, "Princess Guan'anguo should be quite old, but she is still dressing like a girl. Is she engaged but not married yet, or is she not engaged at all?"
The imperial guard glanced at the person asking the question and said, "Of course they are engaged, but Princess Anguo doesn't want to get married so early. The emperor and her family all agree. She can get married whenever she wants."
There is no need to let more people know about the bad things that happened to Princess Anguo. Although many people already know about it, gradually, they no longer mention it deliberately, and some people may even make up some beautiful things about it. Over time, some things will eventually be erased.
Princess Anguo is such a good person, it is enough for the world to remember her goodness.
Xiaocao didn't know that he now had many more "fans", and that "medical staff" were in short supply. He even wanted to split one person into two or three. Some things could not keep up for the time being, and he dared not let ordinary people get involved. Fortunately, the medicine had not been cut off for the time being, but the "defense medicine" was gone.