dognovel Chapter 371 The elegy has faded into the distance, leaving only a deathly silence.
Chapter 371 The elegy has faded into the distance, leaving only a deathly silence.
After confirming the epidemic as a fait accompli, Emperor Sukang and his ministers held an emergency meeting in the Imperial Study.
The final plan prioritized isolation, supplemented by medical treatment, and activated an emergency response throughout the capital, issuing an imperial edict and authorizing the establishment of a temporary command center.
The Imperial Guard was in charge of overall epidemic prevention and control in the affected areas, with the government office assisting as a secondary authority.
The city gate captain and the patrol and defense departments were both subordinate to the guard captain.
The city gate captain was responsible for closing the city gates and checking the entry of epidemic prevention materials and personnel into the city during the lockdown and control period.
As the main force on the front line of epidemic prevention, the patrol and defense forces are responsible for matters such as isolation, blockade, patrol, and stability maintenance in the epidemic area. The military command headquarters in each region must fully cooperate and assist in the work.
The government office also played a supporting role, mainly assisting the patrol and defense forces in carrying out epidemic prevention work, and was responsible for grassroots management, registration, reporting, distribution of supplies, and issuing notices to reassure the public.
The Ministry of Revenue provided financial support, was responsible for allocating funds, and coordinated the distribution of relief grains and medicines to ensure the supply of materials in the epidemic area and stabilize prices.
The Ministry of Public Works was responsible for providing epidemic prevention materials and engineering support, including roadblocks, timber, wooden fences, lime, etc.
The Ministry of Works was also responsible for coordinating the transportation of supplies from various regions to ensure that epidemic prevention medicines, food and other supplies were delivered to the epidemic areas in a timely manner.
The Imperial Medical Academy was in charge of medical treatment, diagnosis, research on the source of the disease, formulation of prescriptions, and guidance on disinfection and sterilization.
"drive……"
"drive……"
"drive……"
As imperial edicts were swiftly dispatched from the palace, people from all sides began to bustle about in what should have been an ordinary night.
First, the four main city gates on the east, west, south, and north sides, as well as several secondary city gates, were closed one after another.
Roadblocks and wooden fences were successively transported from the Ministry of Works to the west of the city, where checkpoints were set up at various intersections. Multiple prevention and control zones were established with the west of the city as the boundary, with the Huang Mansion as the center of the severely affected area, and the secondary affected areas were successively isolated and controlled outwards.
Three days.
It only took three days.
Panic gripped the western part of the city as the plague began to spread at an alarming rate.
Mr. Huang, who was bitten and scratched by rats, and his three bodyguards went from being ill to deteriorating in just one day. They ultimately did not survive three days and passed away one after another after nightfall on the second day.
By the next day, more than half of the people in the Huang household had developed symptoms of the epidemic.
At first, only a few households in the vicinity had patients with the disease, but it quickly spread to many other households.
The plague, like an ominous tide, surged and spread in the west of the city, through the narrow streets and alleys.
At night, you can clearly hear many people coughing, vomiting, crying, and the painful groans of the dying.
These sounds were like the howling wind and snow outside, intermittent, as if an invisible hand was gripping the heart and tearing at the nerves of everyone who was still conscious.
The once bustling West Market is now closed and desolate, even the wind seems so lonely.
Only the heavy footsteps of the patrolling guards outside, the sound of their footsteps crushing the ice and snow, sounded like a mournful elegy filled with a chilling atmosphere.
The elegy has faded into the distance, leaving only a deathly silence.
The medicine furnace burned day and night without ceasing, and the bitter and pungent smell of medicine permeated the air in every corner of the western part of the city.
On the snow, one could often see figures collapsing and unable to get up, and in the streets and alleys, one could often see corpses being carried out wrapped in straw mats.
Panic, fear, helplessness, and despair filled the hearts of everyone in the western part of the city.
They were all afraid that they would be the next person to be swept away by the straw mat.
The bodies of those who died from the plague would be handled by the Ministry of Works officials or hired personnel, either cremated or buried deep underground with lime.
In cases of death of a family member, it is strictly forbidden to keep the body in state or hold a funeral procession. Although this practice is not in accordance with tradition, it can only be done as a special exception during a major epidemic.
One by one, the large red lanterns above the gate were taken down, and one after another, white cloth banners were hung up.
Just a few days ago, people were happily celebrating the arrival of the New Year and looking forward to a wonderful life in the coming year, but then...
The imperial court quickly designated an area in the west of the city to isolate patients, separating those with mild symptoms from those with severe symptoms.
Then, medical officers were dispatched in groups to conduct rounds of medical consultations in the epidemic area and quarantine zone.
In addition to medical officers, renowned doctors were recruited from across the city to participate in the fight against the epidemic.
Even though the plague is a major disaster that can be frightening, many doctors still risked their lives to answer the call to go to the epidemic area.
The Huimin Pharmacy under the Imperial Medical Academy also set up multiple medicine distribution points throughout the city, distributing decocted medicines to the people free of charge.
Long Chuqing, Doctor Yuan, Xiao Zeng, and a group of medical officers moved almost non-stop among the suffering crowd.
Her moon-white cloak was stained with medicine and filth, and there were dark circles under her eyes, but her eyes were still clear and sharp.
Even she couldn't stop the spread of the epidemic.
The epidemic was like a bomb that suddenly exploded in the west of the city. Its rapid spread caught the people off guard and made the imperial court realize that stricter prevention and control measures were needed.
Fortunately, thanks to timely prevention and control measures, no symptoms of the disease have been found in the remaining areas except for the western part of the city and some northwestern areas.
As the Minister of the Imperial Guard, Lu Beizhou personally arranged the isolation and control measures, relocating all residents living near the west side of the city to other places to create a wider isolation area.
Meanwhile, people are arranged to disinfect the quarantine area several times a day using mugwort, atractylodes, and lime.
The workers that Mr. Huang previously hired all came from a village located at the foot of the mountain that Mr. Huang contracted to develop.
Of the hired workers, three were also bitten by rats and eventually died despite treatment.
So far, many people in the village have been infected with the epidemic, and the imperial court has sent medical officials to treat the villagers.
Illness coupled with the severe cold weather meant that some elderly people and children with weaker constitutions did not survive.
Fortunately, the entire village consists of only a few households, is located in a relatively remote area, and has no other villages nearby, making it relatively easy to control. There is currently no risk of the epidemic spreading to other areas.