Datang: Just been appointed as the crown prince, the counterattack system is here

Chapter 379 Chang'an is in complete chaos! Is Li Tai going crazy? [Seeking monthly votes]

Chang'an!

The sudden outbreak of smallpox caused panic throughout the city and its surrounding areas!
After all, in this era, smallpox was practically a terminal illness, and there was no medicine that could stop it from claiming lives.

Those who are lucky and have strong resistance may survive, but most people can only wait to die.

Therefore, once a smallpox epidemic occurs in a certain place, the most effective way to control it is to seal off that place and let those infected with smallpox die on their own.

But Chang'an was different.

This was the capital of the Tang Dynasty, and also the most densely populated area.

The people living inside the city were either rich or noble, while those living outside the city numbered in the hundreds of thousands.

If these people were left to fend for themselves, the entire Tang Empire would likely descend into chaos.

Therefore, in order to fight the epidemic, the officers and soldiers inside and outside Chang'an City were like ants on a hot pan, anxiously running around in circles.

"Quick! Quick! Three people have collapsed in that room over there! Get them to the isolation ward immediately!"

"Stretcher! Where's the stretcher! Don't grab it! I'm in a hurry!"

"Where's the ambulance?! Can you hurry up?!"

Along both sides of the street, soldiers were busy everywhere. Some carried stretchers, some directed horse-drawn carriages, and some were responsible for dispersing crowds to prevent the further spread of the epidemic.

The entire city of Chang'an seemed to be engulfed in a war without gunpowder.

In this battle, the medical staff at the medical school have been the ones who have worked the hardest.

They didn't have proper protective suits, at most they wore masks and simple gloves, and they fought against the smallpox epidemic at almost every moment, risking infection.

Because the medical profession was a relatively new one in the Tang Dynasty, there were almost no medical professionals outside of medical schools.

Therefore, during the period when the epidemic broke out in Chang'an, the working hours of medical staff far exceeded those of all the officers and soldiers involved in epidemic prevention.

Even in the dead of winter, their backs were soaked with sweat.

"Doctor, look! This child's fever is getting higher and higher!"

A mother anxiously ran to a medical worker with her child in her arms, her eyes filled with pleading.

"Auntie! I'm not a doctor, but I can take a look at this child for you!" the medical staff explained as she prepared to take the child.

But the anxious mother quickly took her child back and said, "You're not a doctor! What illness do you need me to treat! I need to find a doctor! I need to find a doctor!"

With that, she hurriedly ran away.

Just then, another medical worker came over and said helplessly, "Princess! I'm afraid her child is not going to make it! I just took a look, and the baby's eyes are already rolling back!"

"I have to go check it out right away, it could be dangerous if I'm delayed even for 15 minutes!"

"No! Don't go! That child's infection is very serious! Her mother is infected too! You'll get infected too if you go."

"Green ivy! Have you forgotten our first lesson in medical school? As medical professionals, we must dedicate ourselves to medicine and protect lives! Alright! I'm not saying anything more to you!"

As soon as she finished speaking, she rushed towards the mother and child.

Green Bamboo, who watched her leave, grew anxious.

She immediately shouted to several soldiers fighting the epidemic not far away: "Go protect Princess Chang Le! Hurry!"

The same thing is happening elsewhere.

Princess Xiangcheng and Princess Baling, among others, did not remain uninvolved simply because they were princesses.

They actively participated in the epidemic prevention work and used their medical knowledge to bring new strength to the epidemic prevention efforts.

However, even so, the epidemic situation in Chang'an City remained very serious.

Hundreds of people are infected every day, and dozens die every day.

It can be said that every corner of Chang'an was permeated with an atmosphere of tension and unease.

Every household kept their doors tightly shut, fearing they might accidentally contract smallpox.

The refugee camps outside the city were even more appalling. The people who fled from the countryside were infected with smallpox one after another due to the weak epidemic prevention measures, and they could only fend for themselves.

They huddled in their dilapidated huts, awaiting the arrival of death.

At the same time, inside the palace.

Empress Zhangsun, along with cabinet ministers such as Fang Xuanling and medical professionals from the medical academy, are discussing epidemic prevention matters.

But Fang Xuanling said with a worried look, "Dr. Sun, has there been any new progress in the treatment methods researched by your medical school? People are dying every day, and we are under tremendous pressure!"

“Yes! Some officials in the court have also contracted smallpox. I’m afraid that when His Majesty returns, our court will be gone!” Li Jing sighed as he spoke.

But Sun Simiao remained calm: "If we had new treatment methods, we would have developed them long ago. The reason we haven't is because we don't have them! I know you're anxious! Aren't we anxious too?"

"this."

Upon hearing this, the cabinet ministers exchanged bewildered glances.

At this moment, Empress Zhangsun, who had been silent all along, turned her gaze to Ma Zhou and frowned, saying, "Minister Ma, has the Embroidered Uniform Guard been able to pass the message to the Crown Prince? Does he have any way to deal with the smallpox plague?"

Upon hearing this, all the ministers immediately turned to look at Ma Zhou.

Although they are political rivals with the Crown Prince, they are now in the same boat and have no interest in infighting.

Moreover, the medical school was established at Li Chengqian's suggestion. Not only did they turn to look at Ma Zhou, but even physicians such as Sun Simiao and Zhen Liyan couldn't help but look at Ma Zhou.

Ma Zhou hurriedly bowed to Empress Zhangsun and said, "Your Majesty, Commander Yang of the Embroidered Uniform Guard has already sent someone from the Records Department to inform the Crown Prince. I believe the Crown Prince will respond soon!"

"So, the people from the Bureau of Investigation haven't returned yet?"

Empress Zhangsun frowned even more deeply, but she did not dwell on the matter. She then said to Zhen Liyan, "Imperial Physician Zhen, the imperial physicians in the palace should also participate in this anti-epidemic operation. Use all available medicinal herbs in the palace. Human life is the most important thing!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

Zhen Liyan agreed without hesitation.

Because she knew that the queen was a kind-hearted person.

However, as Empress Zhangsun finished speaking, Cen Wenben remembered something and immediately interjected, "Your Majesty, some of the medicinal herbs in the palace should still be kept. After all, we need to send people to watch over the Emperor Emeritus and prevent smallpox from spreading to him! In particular, those who serve the Emperor Emeritus should be carefully checked every day. Anyone with a fever, cough, or chickenpox should not be allowed to approach Da'an Palace!"

"Yes, Director Cen is right. I did not consider this carefully! Then arrange two imperial physicians and five medical staff for the Emperor Emeritus to take care of him at all times! Also, prepare a full range of medicinal herbs for the Emperor Emeritus!"

"As ordered!"

The medical professionals at the medical school immediately accepted the order.

Soon, the meeting moved on to the next topic.

Fang Xuanling spoke again, "Although we have reported the epidemic in Chang'an to His Majesty, His Majesty's decree has not yet arrived. Therefore, we can only solve the current predicament ourselves. And the most difficult predicament now is that some meritorious nobles are unwilling to cooperate with our epidemic prevention efforts! What do you say we should do?"

"Hmph! In the face of great disasters, everyone is the same! It's impossible for smallpox to not strike them just because they are meritorious nobles! Since they are not cooperating, then let's ignore them!" Sun Fujia sneered.

Liu Ji, who was standing nearby, immediately retorted, "How can that be? They are, after all, members of the Li Tang imperial family. How can we ignore them?"

"Yes! Although they are not cooperating with our epidemic prevention efforts, we still have to manage them, otherwise how can we explain it to His Majesty in the future?"

"But they want to leave the city to seek refuge! We've already ordered the city gates closed. Even the Empress and the Emperor Emeritus are in the capital. Why should they be treated differently?"

"This isn't exactly making an exception, considering the increasingly serious epidemic in Chang'an; they're just trying to find a way out for themselves."

"What a joke! They think they know how to find a way out? Are they more noble than the Empress and the Emperor Emeritus?"

"okay!"

Seeing Liu Ji and Sun Fujia arguing again, Fang Xuanling immediately interrupted them impatiently: "What kind of time is this? Can't you two be a little more composed?"

After speaking, he subconsciously glanced at Empress Zhangsun, and seeing that Empress Zhangsun's brows were furrowed, he looked at Li Jing and asked, "Right Minister, what do you think of this matter?"

"Isn't it just those princes like Li Shentong? I'll go talk to them!" Li Jing readily accepted the task: "They owe me a lot of favors back then, they should be able to give me some face!"

"Hehe, General Li is truly mighty!"

Upon seeing Li Jing accept the task, Chu Suiliang couldn't help but chuckle twice.

The other ministers also showed satisfied smiles.

"Report——"

Just as the ministers were rejoicing that Li Jing had resolved the matter, a report suddenly came from outside the door: "Your Majesty, news has arrived from the Crown Prince!"

Wow!
The whole place was in an uproar!

Empress Zhangsun, in particular, immediately stood up from her seat, almost bursting into tears of joy. "Quickly! Summon the messenger!"

Without any hesitation, Empress Zhangsun immediately issued the order.

Soon, the burly general named Kou Zhong walked in, looking travel-worn: "Your subject, Kou Zhong, has been ordered by His Highness the Crown Prince to deliver the epidemic prevention guidelines!"

boom!
The whole audience was shocked!

It turned out that only Empress Zhangsun stood up, but now everyone has stood up.

Sun Simiao, in particular, went straight to Kou Zhong from his seat and hurriedly said, "Quick! Show it to me!"

"this."

Kou Zhong hesitated for a moment, then looked at Empress Zhangsun, who smiled slightly and nodded, saying, "Then let Physician Sun take a look first!"

"Yes!"

Kou Zhong responded, then without saying a word, took off the package on his back, took out the envelope inside, and handed it to Sun Simiao, saying, "Dr. Sun, this contains the epidemic prevention guidelines written by the Crown Prince himself!"

"Good good!"

As Sun Simiao took the instruction manual, he nodded repeatedly and asked curiously, "Is there a prescription for treating smallpox in this book?"

"To be honest, Dr. Sun, I rushed back to Chang'an as soon as I received the package and had no idea what was inside!"

"It doesn't matter!"

Sun Simiao smiled indifferently, then glanced at Zhen Liyan who had come closer, and then opened the envelope in front of everyone.

Inside were three sheets of paper covered with writing.

When Sun Simiao saw the contents of the first sheet of paper, he was slightly taken aback and exchanged glances with Zhen Liyan.

But Zhen Liyan asked in surprise, "Does the Crown Prince really have a way to prevent smallpox?"

"What!?"

Upon hearing this, the officials were taken aback, and even Empress Zhangsun was somewhat surprised.

Although she knew her son was capable, she never imagined he was this capable. He was not only literate and skilled in martial arts, but also knowledgeable in medicine; he was truly a prodigy among prodigies.

"Don't get excited! According to the Crown Prince, those who haven't been infected with smallpox can indeed prevent it, but those who have already been infected still need treatment!"

Seeing that the officials had recovered from their shock and were swarming around him, Sun Simiao quickly explained to them.

This explanation, however, was like a bucket of cold water, extinguishing most of their excitement.

For patients who have been infected with smallpox, there is no specific medicine for the disease. The only way to stabilize their condition is through isolation, nutritional supplementation, and herbal medicine.

If the situation is serious, such as in cases of repeated infections, antibiotic injections may be necessary.

Medical schools at present have not yet successfully extracted antibiotics, so it can only be said that this method is almost useless.

After all, smallpox had a very high mortality rate, but it was almost eradicated in later generations.

Therefore, Li Chengqian did not have many treatment methods for smallpox.

The only way to reduce the number of infections now is through vaccines.

But Sun Simiao continued, "The Crown Prince's method is to use cattle infected with smallpox, extract cowpox from them, and inoculate uninfected people with it. Once they develop smallpox antibodies, they will not be easily infected with smallpox."

"For those infected with smallpox, the approach is the same as what we are doing now: take isolation measures to prevent them from infecting more people."

“Alright! I’ll go and gather oxen from near Chang’an right away to supply the medical school with smallpox vaccinations!” Fang Xuanling quickly replied.

"Wait a minute! Is this method really feasible?"

Before Fang Xuanling could even gather the oxen, Liu Ji stepped forward again and questioned, "This is a matter of life and death; shouldn't we verify it first?"

"Do you understand, or do we? The Crown Prince's method doesn't need verification! We know it better than anyone else!" Zhen Liyan rolled his eyes at Liu Ji, then said to the doctors in the medical school behind him, "Immediately gather all the doctors in the academy, bring your tools, and come with me to collect cowpox vaccines!"

"Yes!"

All the medical school doctors spoke in unison.

Sun Simiao calmly looked at the assembled officials and patiently explained, "The resistance and immunity of cattle are many times that of humans. This was mentioned in the new medical texts compiled by the Crown Prince for the Medical Academy. Compared to those large animals, our human survival ability in nature is much worse."

"Therefore, cowpox vaccine extracted from cattle infected with smallpox contains components that provide immunity against smallpox. And when humans are vaccinated with cowpox, they can also acquire this ability!"

"I see!"

Li Jing suddenly realized, "I never imagined there were such miraculous methods in the world! Truly worthy of being the Crown Prince!"

"Indeed! The Crown Prince's abilities far exceed our expectations!"

"Your Highness the Crown Prince is mighty!"

The ministers couldn't help but begin to praise Li Chengqian.

Empress Zhangsun smiled and said to Sun Simiao, "Divine Physician Sun, thank you for your trouble!"

"Your Majesty, rest assured, we will do our utmost to extract the cowpox vaccine so that everyone can be immune to smallpox infection!"

After saying this, Sun Simiao didn't even glance at Liu Ji before taking the three pieces of paper and striding away.

Meanwhile, at the Yangzhou Grand Governor's Office.

When Li Tai heard that a smallpox epidemic had broken out in Chang'an, a feeling of "thank goodness I came to Yangzhou" welled up within him.

When he heard that Li Shimin had summoned Li Chengqian back to Chang'an, he was so happy that he almost jumped for joy. He even hoped that Li Chengqian would contract smallpox and die in Chang'an.

However, when he heard that Li Ke had also been summoned back to Chang'an by Li Shimin, he was devastated.

The current situation is that he, the son whom Li Shimin once personally said he liked, has been completely ignored.

Even though he knew that Chang'an was in great danger, he felt that not being summoned back was a very ominous sign.

"What are we going to do?! Tell me! What are we going to do?!"

Li Tai hurriedly asked Su Xu beside him.

But then Su Xu said thoughtfully, "Perhaps His Majesty didn't see the letter I wrote to him before because he was too busy with military affairs. Why don't you write another one to His Majesty? Maybe when His Majesty sees it, he will remember you?"

"Does this work?"

Li Tai asked skeptically, "Even if Father is busy, surely he can't be too busy to eat and sleep? Can't he at least take a look at my letter while he's eating and sleeping?"

"Well, perhaps His Majesty is just too tired."

"No! I can't just sit here and wait to die! Fine! I'll write another letter to my father!"

Li Tai didn't know what to do either, so he could only pin his hopes on the next letter.

He hurriedly ran to his desk, picked up his pen, and began to write, expressing all his thoughts on the paper.

In less than an hour, he wrote more than three thousand words, each one filled with emotion.

He felt that Li Shimin would definitely be moved by him this time.

However, just as he finished writing the letter and was about to hand it to Su Xu to send it out, Liu Yuan rushed in: "Something terrible has happened, Your Highness! There is flooding in Yangzhou, and parts of the river embankment are collapsing, posing a risk of further flooding!"

"Isn't it winter? Can floods occur in winter too?"

"Your Highness is unaware of the situation! The upstream dam collapsed, causing excessive water accumulation in the downstream lakes. In addition, the river embankments have been in disrepair for many years, which is why there is a risk of flooding!"

"In addition, there was another torrential downpour last night, the situation is very serious!"

Upon hearing Liu Yuan's explanation, Li Tai suddenly understood, but then quickly realized something and hurriedly asked, "Could the floodwaters reach my governor's mansion?!"

"what?"

Liu Yuan was completely dumbfounded, thinking to himself, "What kind of thought process is this? Shouldn't you be concerned about the people? You're the highest-ranking official in Yangzhou!"

"What do you mean, 'huh'? I'm asking you a question! Are you mute?"

"No, Your Highness, we're located downstream from the flood. If the dikes breach, our area will definitely be flooded!"

"Why didn't you say so earlier!?"

Upon hearing this, Li Tai was both shocked and furious. He immediately said to Su Xu, "Quickly! Leave the Governor's Mansion! I'm going back to Chang'an!"

"????"

Su Xu and Liu Yuan were both dumbfounded, thinking to themselves, "Has the King of Wei gone mad?"

I cannot return to the capital without being summoned!
Moreover, this happened during a major disaster, when the people were abandoned.
(End of this chapter)