Taiheiki

Chapter 276 Disease
"This matter is of great importance!" Wei Cong stood up. "I cannot give you an answer right now. Please wait a few days, Mr. Hu!"

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With the drying up of the Yangqu Canal, Luoyang City was like a lady stripped naked, exposed to the besiegers. Of course, Wei Cong's army hadn't been idle these past few days. They demolished houses in some suburban manors and used the timber to build all sorts of siege weapons: lever-operated catapults, battering rams, towers, and siege ladders. Bundles of firewood and sandbags used to fill the moat were piled up like mountains. These terrifying contraptions were neatly arranged about two hundred paces from the Yangqu Canal, sending a silent warning into the city.

For Dou Wu and Empress Dowager Dou, this was like a steel knife held to their throats. However, the emperor inside the city was never found, and Wei Cong outside the city never responded. No one knew what the man was up to.

For the tens of thousands of refugees in Luoyang, an even more pressing problem loomed: water. As Wei Cong's army cut off the upstream water supply to the Yangqu canal, the moat dried up, and the irrigation canals that provided water to most of the city's residents also dried up. Thus, apart from a very few wells, Luoyang's drinking water source disappeared. While people could survive six or seven days without food, they could hardly endure a day without water. The thirsty people were forced to choose between dying of thirst and drinking contaminated water, which led to a terrible consequence—a large-scale epidemic. For people in the ancient world, this was perhaps the only horror comparable to war.

Zhang Rang had changed into a short, brown robe, and a short mustache had been added to his bald chin. Outwardly, he looked no different from the thousands of ordinary laborers and day laborers on the streets of Luoyang. He walked cautiously along the street, using the corner of his eye to check if anyone was following him. He had no choice; the Dou family's pursuit of the emperor had intensified in recent days, and he had even seen his own image on the wanted list—clearly, the Dou family had discovered his connection to the suddenly missing emperor. Of course, they hadn't used his real identity on the wanted list to avoid any unsettling associations.

Of course, the greater trouble than the government's search was the siege itself. Zhang Rang and Liu Hong were not lacking in food and money; in this matter, Liu Hong showed unexpected maturity. He had secretly prepared three hiding places, each with sufficient food and money. However, the problem was that he could not foresee the drying up of water sources, the spread of disease, and the large number of refugees wandering around in search of food, fuel, and water. Yesterday at noon, Liu Hong suddenly suffered from severe diarrhea, forcing Zhang Rang to risk leaving their secret hideout to find a doctor for the emperor.

He walked along the street, turning the corner ahead, trying to find the location of the pharmacy he remembered. But everywhere he looked, there were refugees or corpses lying haphazardly on the ground, and the air was filled with a nauseating smell. He subconsciously covered his nostrils with his sleeve and tried to stop a passerby to ask for directions to the pharmacy.

"Brother! May I ask if there's a pharmacy nearby?" Zhang Rang asked in a gruff voice.

The man who was stopped was a scholar in blue robes. He gave Zhang Rang a cold look, and Zhang Rang immediately realized that he had made a mistake in his address. Given his current attire, it would be presumptuous of him to address a scholar as "brother." He quickly changed his words and said, "Young master, is there a pharmacy nearby?"

"A pharmacy?" The scholar snorted and pointed across the street behind him: "See that? It's right there!"

“But, but wasn’t that door closed?” Zhang Rang asked.

"Nonsense!" the scholar in blue sneered. "What we lack now is water. How can you prepare and administer medicine without water? No matter how skilled a doctor is, how can he cure a patient without water?"

"This—" Zhang Rang was stunned. The scholar in blue sneered, flicked his sleeve, and hurriedly left. Zhang Rang searched four or five places, but all the pharmacies were closed. There was only one that was open, but there was no doctor there. When he asked, he learned that the man had contracted acute dysentery a couple of days ago and had already passed away.

Disappointed, Zhang Rang had no choice but to give up the search and headed towards his and Liu Hong's hiding place. Worried, he entered a small alley and stopped. At the alley's exit, two ragged men appeared. One held an iron-tipped wooden stick, and the other carried a ring knife. Their eyes gleamed with the light typical of carnivores.

Zhang Rang immediately turned around and ran back the way he came. He had only taken two steps when he was blocked at another alley entrance by two men who were also armed.

"This is all the money I have on me, take it all! Let me go!" Zhang Rang made a quick decision, throwing the money pouch from his waist. The man caught the pouch, weighed it a couple of times, and sneered, "Look at you dressed in such rags, yet your pouch is so full, there must be something else going on. Brothers, seize him!"

"Easy to say!"

"Yes, take it down quickly!"

Zhang Rang took a deep breath and drew his short knife. The first man lunged at him, but Zhang Rang nimbly dodged the blow, then lunged into the man's arms, plunging his knife into him. He could feel the man's body go limp. He tried to jump backward to avoid the attack from the two enemies, but slipped and fell. Zhang Rang quickly rolled, but was still surrounded by the remaining three enemies. Clubs, fists, and kicks rained down on him. Zhang Rang tried to protect his vitals, but soon a blow to the back of his head knocked him unconscious.

"You bastard, you dare to resist!" A thief spat on Zhang Rang on the ground.

"Boss, Feng San has been stabbed in the heart, he doesn't look good!" shouted a thief who went to check on his companion lying on the ground.

"Fine, let's leave him be. It's his fate to die so easily, getting stabbed in the heart!" the bandit leader shouted. "Search this bastard and see if he has anything valuable!"

"Here!"

The thieves quickly searched Zhang Rang from head to toe, but found nothing of value. Just then, one of the thieves exclaimed, "Hey, boss, look!"

"what happened?"

"This guy's beard is fake; he wasn't originally beard-free!"

The bandit leader stroked Zhang Rang's chin and laughed, "It really is true. This guy must be one of our accomplices. He's wearing a mustache to hide his identity, but we accomplices are always enemies, hahaha!"

“Boss, doesn’t this guy look familiar?” another thief suddenly said, scratching the back of his head. “I remember now,” he added, “this guy is on the government’s wanted list. A clue to him is worth 10,000 coins, and capturing him alive is worth 100,000 coins!”

"One hundred thousand coins?" The bandit leader was taken aback. "Are you serious?"

"It's absolutely true! You can go and see for yourself at the government office!" "Great! If it's true, we're rich! Let's carry this kid over!"

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A secret hiding place.

"Who?" Liu Hong hissed, his voice stiff and hoarse, as if coming from another mouth. First diarrhea, then a high fever; Liu Hong had completely lost his sense of time. How long had he slept? He was too weak, unbelievably weak. "Who?" he called again, trying to be louder. Light streamed in from outside, shining directly into his face, making it almost impossible for him to open his eyes.

The door opened, and hurried footsteps echoed inside. It wasn't just one person's voice. "Damn it, I've been discovered," the thought flashed through Liu Hong's chaotic mind. He instinctively reached under his pillow, grabbed the hilt of a knife, and forced himself to stop trembling.

A dark figure slowly approached him. Liu Hong heard his teeth chattering. This might be a henchman of the Dou family. What would he do to him? Would he give him a cup of poison, or a ribbon, to complete the mission that the disease had failed to accomplish?

"It stinks!"

The other person stepped into the firelight, revealing a pale yet handsome face. It was Dou Ji, the Marquis of Weiyang. He stared at Liu Hong with a vicious look in his eyes: "You stink. Did you shit yourself?"

Liu Hong opened his mouth, wanting to reprimand the other party, but the words caught in his throat. Dou Ji, at this moment, was too lazy to care about Liu Hong's thoughts: "My father and the Empress Dowager want to see him immediately. Find a way to get some water to wash him; he stinks!"

"But he seems to be sick, and there's no water here!"

"I don't care what you do! We can't just send him to see Father and the Empress Dowager like this. Do as I say!"

In the following days, Liu Hong was thrown onto a stretcher, lifted onto a carriage, stripped naked, rinsed with cold water, and then dressed again. This undoubtedly worsened his condition, but no one cared. "Perhaps my life is coming to an end!" he thought to himself.

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"Sister, Father, I have brought the Emperor back!" Dou Ji said to Dou Wu and the Empress Dowager with a triumphant look on his face.

Dou Wu, of course, had no time to care about his son's boasting. He walked to the bedside, saw that familiar face, and immediately breathed a sigh of relief. But he quickly realized something was wrong; the emperor's condition was not right! He reached out and touched the emperor's forehead, anxiously asking, "What's wrong? Why is he so hot? Is the emperor ill?"

"It seems to be diarrhea and fever!" Dou Ji said, "Zhang Rang didn't confess that he came out to fetch a doctor for the emperor. Otherwise, such a secluded place would be really hard to find!"

"Summon the imperial physician immediately! Damn it, why didn't you treat the Emperor first? You're not young anymore, how can you not even distinguish between what's important and what's not?" Dou Wu angrily cursed.

"Father, please don't blame my younger brother!" The Empress Dowager waved her hand, comforting her beloved younger brother, "To be honest, the Emperor's current state is actually a great thing!"

"Great news?" Dou Wu was stunned. "Why do you say that?"

"Didn't Wei Cong outside the city say that he has no grudge against our Dou family and has no intention of harming us? The whole thing was orchestrated by this brat from beginning to end. As long as he dies, our Dou family will at least be safe."

"Foolish! If he dies at our hands, the whole world will pin the crime of murdering the emperor on the Dou family, and our fate will only be worse!"

"What a joke! He brought this on himself. Who forced him? If he had stayed obediently in the palace, how could he have had diarrhea and a fever? From the moment he escaped until he was finally found, did we ever lay a finger on him? We can make this all public and let the whole world judge who is right and who is wrong between the Emperor and us!"

Dou Wu fell silent. He suddenly realized that this seemed to be the Dou family's only way out. From beginning to end, the Dou family hadn't overstepped any boundaries. The emperor, on the other hand, first issued a secret edict summoning troops from outside the capital, and then secretly fled and went into hiding. The arrival of the troops in Luoyang, the war, the killings, the famine, the water shortages, and the plague—all of these were ultimately the emperor's fault. He now had the reasons he had originally wanted to use to depose and install the emperor, but the only question was whether Wei Cong would agree.
"The most crucial thing right now is Wei Cong's attitude!" Dou Wu said in a deep voice.

"Wei Cong's attitude?" The Empress Dowager nodded. "Yes, let's just tell him everything. The Emperor is in his current state; if he were to suddenly pass away, it wouldn't be good for him either. Why don't the two families cooperate and establish a new Emperor?"

"Hmm!" Dou Wu nodded: "If Wei Cong can agree, that would be best. With his army and our righteous cause, we can stabilize the situation quickly. I'm just afraid he won't agree. After all, if that's the case, his previous military action will be seen as acting on orders from a rebellious cause!"

"Then offer a higher price!" The Empress Dowager sneered. "What does he want? A fiefdom? An official position? Rewards? We can grant him anything! If he doesn't agree, he won't benefit either. If the Emperor dies like this, he will also bear responsibility. After all, if he hadn't cut off the water supply, the Emperor wouldn't have had diarrhea and fever, and so many people wouldn't have died in the city! Moreover, he fought his way here, burning, killing, looting, and causing immense suffering. Someone has to vouch for him, right? While the Emperor is alive, the Emperor can vouch for him, but if the Emperor dies, who will? He has no right to appoint a new Emperor!"

"That's true!" Upon hearing this, Dou Wu's brows immediately relaxed. Just as Empress Dowager Dou had said, under the system at the time, no matter what a military general like Wei Cong did while leading troops, in the end, someone had to determine his actions—that person was the emperor. As long as the emperor was alive, no matter what treasonous things Wei Cong did, the emperor would eventually acknowledge that he had done the right thing, and he wouldn't have to worry about being held accountable or becoming a pretext for others to attack him.

But now the emperor lies there, barely breathing, and is about to die. Wei Cong's actions will then depend on the new emperor's opinion, which creates immense uncertainty; just deciding who the new emperor will be a fierce battle. However, if Wei Cong and the Dou family join forces, firstly, the Empress Dowager, as the head of the Han imperial family, can legitimize Wei Cong's previous actions. Secondly, there would be precedent for the Empress Dowager, the Grand General, and the Three Dukes to discuss the selection of the new emperor together; it would be a matter of course, and the provinces and prefectures would have no reason to object. Therefore, it seems highly likely that Wei Cong will accept this suggestion.

(End of this chapter)