Volume 1: Zhu Xian Town Crisis Chapter 19: Searching the Canal

  Thanks for Li Qing's reward, thanks for Cat Sister's support!

  "That's right! From the day before yesterday afternoon, the south gate has been reporting that someone is ill, but until now, our Han family, regardless of old or young, male or female, not a single person has fallen ill. This is indeed thanks to General Yuan's blessings!" The house servant said with a fortunate expression.

  "What is the source of water for drinking in Han's mansion? Is it well water or river water?" Yue Yun asked hastily.

  "That household servant frowned and said: 'Of course, we use well water. The Grand Canal runs through the city, and most of the water sources in the city are from the canal water. It's just that our Han Mansion is a bit too far away from the riverbank, so it's very troublesome to fetch water from the river. So three years ago, General Han ordered the construction of three wells in the kitchen and backyard of the mansion. Since then, we have been using well water... What? Does Young Master Yue have any questions?"

  "What you just said is very important! I think I should go take a look at the South Gate where the plague first broke out!" Yue Yun patted the shoulder of that household's Ding and said loudly.

  "This... Young Master Yue, aren't you going to rest?" The servant stuttered in response.

  "It's still early before dark, take me to the South Gate first!" Yue Yun said with a smile.

  That Ding's face changed drastically after hearing this, and he was so frightened that his soul was about to leave his body. "Young Master Yue, please spare my life! The south gate is the place where the plague is most severe, and more than half of the people there have contracted the disease. I still want to live for a few more days, and I really don't dare to go there..."

  Yue Yun listened and felt both angry and amused, thinking to herself: This Ding family is so timid, it seems like I have no choice but to go myself. So she said: "Then you can just do as you please! Help me pass a message to Uncle Han, tell him I'm going to take a look at the situation at the South Gate!"

  Having said that, he walked out.

  That household slave did not dare to block him and hastily turned around to report to Han Shizhong.

  However, Yue Yun was not very familiar with the road to Han's mansion and had a hard time walking to the front gate of Han's mansion.

  He identified the direction and was about to head out south when he heard an old voice calling him: "Young Master Yue! Are you going out?"

  Yue Yun turned his head and took a look. It was exactly Xu Shuwei. He still held two objects sewn with gauze in his hand.

  "Hmm! When I went down to rest, I heard the housekeeper of the Han Mansion say that no one in the Han Mansion had contracted the plague. He also said that they drank well water, not river water. So I suspect that the source of this plague is from the water!" Yuke Yun said.

  Actually, he initially heard that the symptoms of those who fell ill were vomiting and diarrhea, and they got sick after lunch, so he suspected it was a gastrointestinal infectious disease. Because the source of gastrointestinal infectious diseases is often food and water.

  Xu Shu listened and pondered for a moment, feeling that the words were reasonable. He handed the two pieces of cloth to Yue Yun: "Young Master Yue, please take a look, are these not the 'masks' mentioned by the divine doctor? I had just ordered the needlework girl from the Han Mansion to make two according to the pattern, and was about to show them to you when I heard a servant report to the steward that you were going to check on the epidemic at the south gate. Luckily, I reacted quickly, and you hadn't gone far from the entrance."

  Yue Yun smiled wryly and how could he say that he couldn't find his way, so he delayed the time.

  After taking over this "mask", he found that the workmanship was very fine, although the style was slightly different from his memory of modern masks, but the effect would not be much worse.

  Yue Yun nodded and said: "You've done a great job! That cloud-traveling divine doctor's mask is almost like this!"

  Xu Shu listened and said with a smile: "Yue Gongzi, then let Xu accompany you to the south gate to take a look! Anyway, the drawings have been handed over to Zhen Niang and a group of seamstresses, so there's no need for Xu to be there, they can make it themselves!" After that, he took out a pair of sheepskin gloves from his pocket and handed them to Yue Yun: "This is also something that Lao Fu found by rummaging through the boxes with Liang Chen's brother, see if it fits?"

  "Applicable! Applicable!" Yue Yun heard that Xu Shu also wanted to go together, and his heart was also joyful. Although he had medical knowledge from a thousand years later, he wasn't a professional doctor after all. If it came to medical knowledge, he might be inferior to this Dr. Xu by a great margin. With him around, it would probably be easier to discover some subtle aspects of the plague.

  "Alright! Xu Xueshi, let's go to the South Gate together and see if we can contain this plague in our hands!" Yue Yun said with full confidence.

  Yue Yun and Xu Shu arrived at the south gate, but found that it had become desolate and lifeless. There was not a single person on the road. All the civilians had closed their doors tightly and did not dare to go out.

  Yue Yun suddenly became worried, as there wasn't even a single commoner in sight, so how could they ask about the cause of the epidemic?

  Just then, the two of them heard a "clip-clop" sound of horse hooves coming from afar and getting closer.

  Just then a familiar voice came from behind the two: "Brother Yue, Scholar Xu, how did you both end up here too? This is where the epidemic is most severe, it's very dangerous! You'd better hurry back!"

  Yue Yun turned his head and saw that Han Yan was riding a tall horse, leading a group of cavalry rushing over. Behind them was a group of yamen runners running "huffing and puffing". Among these yamen runners, there was a red wooden official sedan chair, with several yamen runners on either side holding up signs that read "Give Way" and "Silence". Yue Yun guessed that the person sitting inside was probably the prefect.

  Yue Yun smiled slightly and said, "Yan Zhi, I came here with Xu Xiansheng to investigate the epidemic situation and understand how the plague occurred. As a result, we didn't expect that all the common people here would be hiding in their homes, and we couldn't find anyone to ask about the situation at that time!"

  "It turns out that's the case......" Han Yan straightened up with a smile: "Brother Yue, what a coincidence! The county magistrate and I happened to come to the south gate to inform the citizens who have not been infected to temporarily evacuate to the west of the city! At that time, when the official opens the door for you, just ask whatever you want to know!"

  Yue Yun and Xu Shu were overjoyed when they heard this. If it was like that, then it would have reduced a lot of trouble for them.

  At this time, the magistrate had already walked out of the sedan chair and heard that it was General Yue's eldest son, Yue Yun, who was here. He hurriedly stepped forward to pay his respects.

  Yue Yun looked at the county magistrate, who was about 40 years old, with a broad face and wide eyes, his eyebrows were like heavy ink, and his eyes were bright and spirited, obviously a clever person.

  Yue Yun's position was to write the official documents, in the military he was just a small officer, but the position he held was the commander of the Baiguan army, commanding more than 8,000 elite soldiers, more than the number of soldiers under one prefecture. Plus he was the Commander-in-Chief of the Army and Horse, the Pacification Commissioner of Hubei and Jingxi Road, and the Grand Preceptor of the Crown Prince, Yue Fei's eldest son. His status was much higher than that of the Governor of Chu State.

  In the Song Dynasty, when looking at the size of official positions, the first thing to look at is the official rank, and the second is the difference in deployment. Zongfu, Xuanfu Envoy, and Zhongshu Envoy are all deployments, and they do not have their own ranks. However, in terms of actual power, the Xuanfu Envoy is much greater than the Zongfu and Zhongshu Envoy, even if those who have been Zhongshu Envoy in the past were high-ranking officials of the second or third rank.

  In specific positions, the prefect is equivalent to a modern mayor, while the Xuanfu Envoy is equivalent to the commander of a provincial military region. Moreover, Yue Fei, as the Xuanfu Envoy, also held part of the governor's powers, and their status and rights were vastly different. Therefore, although the prefect of Chuzhou was an official of the fifth rank, he did not dare to be disrespectful to Yue Yun at all.

  "He stepped forward and saluted, saying: 'I am Liu Mingcheng, the governor of Chu State. I have met General Yue before. Since General Yue arrived in Chu State, I have not been able to welcome him properly, which is truly remiss. I hope General Yue will forgive me.'"

  Yue Yun saw that everyone else was so polite and courteous, addressing him by his position rather than his official title, and referring to himself as a subordinate. It was clear that he had given himself enough face. He too hastily bowed his hands in return, flushing with embarrassment: "Lord Liu's words are too kind, this humble general is just a minor official who writes trivial documents. Your Lordship's words are truly overly modest!"

  Liu Mingcheng, however, spoke in a serious tone: "General Yue has repeatedly defeated the Jin army in Yanzhou, Yingchang and Zhuxiantown, greatly enhancing the prestige of our great Song Dynasty. Although I am only a humble civil official, I would also like to follow General Yue into battle to kill the enemy!"

  Liu Mingcheng's words suddenly sparked Yue Yun's interest, and looking at his expression, it didn't seem like he was pretending. Could it be that he had really found a fan of his own?

  Han Yan saw that Yue Yun and Liu Mingcheng had been exchanging pleasantries for half a day, and couldn't help but sigh: "Liu sir, Yue brother, if you two continue to exchange pleasantries like this, today's matter of notifying the people at the south gate to relocate will be ruined!"

  Yue Yun and Liu Mingcheng then remembered their own affairs, so the two of them hurriedly began to take action. First, Han Yanzhi led soldiers to post relocation notices in conspicuous places on the streets and city gates, informing the people that in order to control the spread of the plague, those who had not yet fallen ill would be relocated to temporary camps built on empty land west of the city.

  At the same time, the people who were already infected were managed in sections, and they were not allowed to move around freely. Then, the original houses of the people were cleaned with lime, saltpeter, sulfur, etc., to prevent the spread of the epidemic.

  Liu Mingcheng, on the other hand, led the yamen runners to knock on the doors of each household, informing them of the situation and taking the healthy villagers to the west of the city. Naturally, many villagers were reluctant to leave their families, but under Liu's persuasion, along with the local militiamen and yamen runners, nothing major happened.

  Yue Yun and Xu Shu finally found out what they wanted to know.

  This discovery shocked them greatly, all the sick villagers had drunk water from the canal or cooked with it, while the few who were not sick either drank stored rainwater from several days before or well water.

  "What is the location of the water intake point on the canal near the South Gate?" Yue Yun furrowed his brow and asked Liu Mingcheng.

  "This is too much, along the entire canal wherever it's possible to get down to the riverbank, there are people fetching water." Liu Mingcheng sighed and shook his head.

  Yue Yun thought for a moment and then gave up searching for clues from the civilians, instead turning to Han Yan and asking: "By the way, Yan, do you know where the soldiers who first reported illness got their water?"

  "This I know, they are taking water from under the small bridge next to the South Gate Garrison. I can take you there right away!" Han Yan said hastily.

  Yue Yun then went with Han Yan and Xu Shuwei to the canal near the South Gate Garrison.

  Xu Shu gazed at the canal, which no longer had a single boat, and couldn't help but say with some emotion: "In the past, goods from Jiangnan to Bianjing all had to pass through this Hangou Canal. Whether in winter or summer, this canal was always bustling. Unfortunately, Bianjing has now fallen into the hands of the Jin bandits, and there are no more cargo ships on this river."

  "Is that the Grand Canal of China?!"

  But as soon as this idea emerged, he knew it was wrong. Beijing at that time had not yet become the capital, and the real Grand Canal from Beijing to Hangzhou was only started during the Yuan Dynasty. The canal here in Chuzhou is just a section connecting the Huai River to the Yangtze River, called the Han Gou, which was built during the Sui Dynasty, extending north to Chuzhou on the banks of the Huai River and south to Yangzhou on the banks of the Yangtze River. Although in history the Han Gou later also became a section of the Grand Canal, at least it cannot be called the Grand Canal for now.

  Yue Yun then looked at the canal with great interest, which was over 100 meters wide. However, he soon became greatly disappointed. The water in the canal flowed very slowly and was extremely turbid, often churning up all sorts of floating debris and garbage.

  Yue Yun's eyebrows furrowed instantly, thinking that if such a dirty river didn't cause an epidemic, it would be strange.

  He immediately brought Xu Shuwei and Han Yanzhi with some soldiers to the canal bank and started searching.

  Yue Yun didn't know what he was looking for either. He, along with Han Yan Zhi and Xu Shu An, as well as dozens of soldiers, searched aimlessly on both banks of the canal, focusing on the waters near the small bridge next to the South Gate Guard Station. However, after searching for more than a whole day, they still didn't find anything valuable.

  After a long search with no result, everyone was somewhat disappointed. Han Yanzhi saw that the soldiers were all tired and ordered them to sit down and rest.

  Yue Yun and Han Yan sat down side by side on a stone step, after Yue Yun sat down, his eyes naturally looked straight ahead. At this moment, he suddenly stared straight ahead, staring intently at the front without blinking.