Xianyue stepped forward to salute, and then ordered the palace servants to bring a cup of Hongli's favorite Yuqian Longjing. She handed it to him personally and said, "Your Majesty, do you have anything on your mind?"
Hongli held the tea cup and said in a deep voice: "Yes, I encountered a difficult matter recently, which made me very upset."
"I have heard the emperor talk about crossing the Yongding River before. Although the construction period there is heavy, it is going smoothly. There is also enough money in Taiwan to provide disaster relief. What else worries the emperor so much?"
Hongli was silent for a long time before he said: "In a county in Baoding Prefecture, some people had symptoms such as redness, swelling and ulceration in the waist, pus flowing out, pain and cramps in the legs, and even acne and carbuncles on the head, neck, arms, and knees." It hurts; do you know what that means?"
Listening to Hongli's description, Xianyue felt that it was very scary. It must not be a simple disease. But after all, she was not an imperial doctor and had never studied medicine. She could not tell what the disease was, so she could only say: "I don't know."
Hongli slowly spit out two words from between his lips and teeth, "smallpox."
Xianyue was shocked and said with a pale face: "How could it be smallpox? Didn't the ancestor emperor promote vaccination when he was still alive? There has never been a large-scale outbreak of smallpox in these years, why is it happening again now..."
Hongli said sadly: "Although the imperial grandfather promoted vaccination to prevent and control smallpox, apart from the palace, the only people who actually promoted it were the children of the Eight Banners. Today, those are all Han people, and many of them have never been vaccinated."
Xianyue was silent for a long time and said, "Are many people getting smallpox nowadays?"
"There are more than 20 people who are sick, and there are many people who will get sick at any time. If they are all counted together, there will be at least hundreds of people." Hongli put down an untouched tea cup, stood up and said: "The onset of smallpox is related to The wind and cold were similar, but no one cared about it at the time. It was only when the redness and swelling broke out and pus oozed out that they realized it was smallpox. Now the prefect of Baoding Prefecture has imprisoned them in one place and asked them what to do next. The memorial also stated He said that several of the yamen responsible for the supervision also showed symptoms."
Xianyue considered it and said: "Although I don't understand medicine, I have heard about smallpox. Although the disease of smallpox is terrible, the most terrible thing is its contagiousness. If it spreads without control, people will die. There are thousands of people, so this matter...cannot be delayed."
"I know. As soon as I received the report, I immediately informed all the imperial doctors of the Imperial Hospital. Even Imperial Physician Xu was summoned to the palace. They all said that we can only prevent and treat the disease, and we cannot treat it after the disease breaks out. So, the only way The solution is to kill and bury all those who are sick or even likely to be sick while the area is not yet wide. I believe this is also what Baoding Magistrate Shangzhe meant. But with the decree, hundreds of people will die. Huang Ama You have always taught me to love the people like your own children, the old and the old, and the young and the young, but I... really can't bear it."
"The emperor's kindness is a blessing to all the people in the world, but there is no cure for smallpox. If they don't die, more people will die." Xianyue saw this matter more clearly than Hongli.
Hongli looked at her and smiled bitterly: "I originally wanted to find some peace and quiet here, but I didn't expect that by talking about this as soon as I came here, I would be even more troubled than when I was in the Yangxin Palace."
Xianyue walked to him and said softly: "If this matter is not resolved, the emperor will not be able to find the word Qingjing wherever he goes." Seeing that Hongli did not speak, she added: "If the emperor really can't bear to do it himself To order them to be killed, how about taking them to a sparsely populated place, surrounding them with a fence, and not letting them out, and then sending people there every day to deliver meals and medicine, so that they can have a chance to survive this ordeal. In short, controlling the spread of the epidemic is a top priority."
Her words convinced Hongli, "What you said is a good idea, but the person who sent the things is likely to be infected with the disease. In this case, there is still the possibility of spreading."
Xianyue also thought of this, bit her lip and said: "Otherwise, put all the food and medicinal materials inside and let them be self-sufficient. And this is the last way of survival given by the emperor. If they have to break through
Come out, then the only option is to use thunderous means."
After Hongli thought carefully, he nodded slowly and said: "Okay, let's use this method and send soldiers from the Shenji Battalion to guard outside. Once anyone breaks out, he will be killed immediately."
The Shenji Camp was the former Firearms Camp. It was reorganized in the last years of Yongzheng's reign and has now returned to the size of thousands of people. Hongli renamed it the Shenji Camp.
At this time, it was already dark and the palace doors were closed. Even if the edict was written, it would not be sent out until the next day, so Hongli did not rush back to Yangxin Hall to draft the edict. However, there was a solution to the matter, and he
My mood is undoubtedly much better. After looking at the flaws,
After thinking about it, he said with a half-smile: "Obviously she is a little girl, but why do she have so many ideas, and she often thinks more thoughtfully than me? As a result, whenever I have something to do, I will unknowingly go to Yan'an."
Come to the Jubilee Palace."
Xianyue lowered her head and smiled, and said: "In other words, if nothing happens, the emperor doesn't want to see me? Why do I feel that I look a bit like Zhong Wuyan?"
Hongli had never associated Xianyue with the legendary Zhong Wuyan from the Six Kingdoms period, so when he heard her say this, he was very curious and asked: "What do you mean by this?"
Xianyue said with a smile: "Isn't there a saying among the people: when there is something to do, Zhong Wuyan will be there, but when there is nothing to do, the summer will welcome the spring? The emperor will only think of my concubine when there is something to do. What is my concubine if she is not Zhong Wuyan?"
Hongli understood and laughed loudly: "You, you, I'm really sorry you figured it out. Not to mention that King Qi Xuan didn't have a concubine named Xia Yingchun at all. Even if he did, I believe you are better than that so-called beauty.
Xia Yingchun is hundreds and thousands of times more beautiful, not to mention that Zhong Wuyan."
Xianyue then chuckled, and after the laughter had subsided, she said: "It's getting late, the emperor should go back, and in a while, people will be sent over from the respect room."
The corners of Hongli's lips curled up slightly and he said: "Why did I feel a little sore when I heard what you said? Are you trying to say in a roundabout way that I didn't call you to sleep with me during this time?"
Xianyue said angrily: "I only care about the emperor, but the emperor in turn says that I am jealous. It's really unreasonable. That's all. I won't say anything from now on, so as not to attract a lot of words for no reason."
Hongli looked at him funny and said: "I seem to have just said, why are there so many numbers?" After that, he held Xianyue's shoulders and said: "It's my fault, I haven't come to see you these days.
, I’ll just stay here with you today, okay?”
Xianyue pursed her lips and puffed out her cheeks without saying anything. Hongli smiled and said, "What's wrong? Are you really angry with me?" Seeing that she still didn't speak, Hongli stroked her black hair tied into a bun and said, "Okay, no.
I'm angry. I came today and have no intention of leaving. I have nothing to do these days and I am very concerned about you. But sometimes, I can't help but feel a little helpless."