Jinghong Tower

More and more people fell ill. At first it was just soldiers, but later even generals and officers in command of troops fell ill. All of them had almost the same symptoms, starting with diarrhea and then a persistent high fever.

All the doctors who could be found in Xi'an and Xianyang came, and even midwives, apprentices from medical clinics, and drugstore clerks were all captured.

That’s right, he was caught.

Especially the midwives, when they saw the soldiers knocking on the door, they panicked and shouted, and some even threw tantrums.

The soldiers had no patience to deal with these gossipy women, so they just walked over and kicked them a few times. When the family members rushed over, they started to beat them up too.

Most of the midwives were sent to the military camp tied up.

Originally, as long as we explained our purpose, the people in the pharmacy would cooperate and follow us, but the army needed not only people, but also medicine.

The problem was that Wu Ji had to spend money to buy the medicine and he had allocated some silver, but not all of the soldiers were good people. Some of them wanted to take advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune, so after a few of them discussed it, they put the silver away and started to rob the medicine shop as soon as they got there.

How could the people in the drugstore let them rob for nothing? After a few rounds of fighting, the people in the drugstore were of course no match for these soldiers. In the end, not only the medicine was robbed, but also the small change they had just collected that day. In the end, even the shopkeeper and his clerk, who were beaten black and blue, were tied up like dumplings and taken away.

For a moment, everyone in the city felt insecure and speculated about what had happened.

No one knew who first spread the news, but within half a day, the news that the epidemic had spread in the army and many people had died spread rapidly from Xi'an to Xianyang.

Epidemic!

Many people have died!
When the people heard the news, they were terrified.

The last epidemic in these two places was 28 years ago, and many elderly people are still frightened by it.

"When the epidemic broke out, the news was sent to the court, and the court sent the imperial physician and the Imperial Guards. However, the imperial physician was also infected with the epidemic as soon as he arrived in Xi'an. The Imperial Guards determined that the epidemic could not be cured, and immediately ordered the infected people to be sent out of the city."

"All ten of my family members were infected with the plague, and I was the only one who survived. We were all sent out of the city, locked up together, and no one treated us. People died every day, and the dead were piled up and burned."

"Later, the shopkeeper Pinggu of Jinghong Tower brought a lot of people to the outside of the city to argue with the Jinyiwei. Pinggu was still a young girl at the time. She asked someone to bring 10,000 taels of silver. If these people could not be cured, she would burn them according to the Jinyiwei's request and guarantee that no patient would be let go. If there was any mistake, the silver would be used to buy wine for the brothers of the Jinyiwei."

"I don't know where Shopkeeper Pinggu invited several medical monks from. They set up a big pot to boil medicine. I have never drunk such bitter medicine before, but after drinking it for three days, my symptoms and those of many others were alleviated. People still died every day, but the number was significantly reduced. In the end, half of us survived."

A woman's sobbing voice could be heard from the crowd nearby: "But now there is no Jinghong Tower, and the shopkeeper Pinggu was killed by the bad guys. Where can we find the medical monk, who will save us?"

Yes, there is no Jinghong Tower anymore, and there is no shopkeeper Pinggu anymore. The old shopkeeper who had done good deeds all her life was killed by someone.

A child shouted, "I know who killed Pinggu, the shopkeeper. It was Princess Chang'an!"

A woman quickly covered the child's mouth, and the child made a grunting sound. The woman slapped the child's butt twice: "What nonsense are you talking about? If you don't say anything, no one will think you are dumb, you little bastard, go home!"

The old man who had just spoken sighed: "Mother, don't take your anger out on the child. The child didn't say anything wrong."

Someone changed the subject: "All the doctors in the city have been arrested. If the epidemic spreads from the military camp, we won't be able to find a doctor. I don't know if the official has reported this to the court. It would be great if the court could send an imperial physician."

Someone sneered, "You are dreaming. The King of Chang'an is our court. Now all the doctors have been taken to the military camp by the King of Chang'an. Where can we find the imperial physician? There are not even ordinary doctors."

The woman who had just been crying cried even louder: "It's over, there's no hope, we can only wait to die!"

At first, only this woman was crying, but later her crying became louder and louder, and more and more people started crying together.

The epidemic came, but they had nothing, no court, no Jinghong Tower, no shopkeeper Pinggu, no doctors. The Prince of Chang'an, who governed them, only knew how to compete with the people for doctors, and the Princess of Chang'an was the murderer of shopkeeper Pinggu.

Suddenly, someone thought of something: "Oh, right, the King of Chang'an sent people to grab medicinal herbs everywhere. Let's go and stock up on them, otherwise the King of Chang'an will grab all the herbs."

Everyone suddenly realized that ordinary people could not compete with the soldiers in stealing medicine. If they did not stock up on medicine, there would be no medicine left.

But the bad news soon came, and all the clinics and drug stores, big and small, closed down.

Come to think of it, without doctors and apprentices in the clinic, and without the owner and clerks in the drugstore, the business will certainly not be able to continue. If they don't close down, are they just waiting for the soldiers to come and rob them?

The people were so anxious that their eyes turned red. What should they do?
Without saying a word, some people took stones and went to the drug store to smash the door. Since no one was in charge now, when would they rob it if not now?

The door of the first drugstore was smashed open. The 80-year-old owner of the drugstore, along with her daughter-in-law and grandson, knelt on the ground and begged bitterly. The pillar of the family had been captured and his life or death was uncertain, while most of the medicinal materials in the shop had been looted by the soldiers. They begged the neighbors to give them a way out. Besides, medicine cannot be taken casually; a prescription is needed to use the right medicine for the symptoms.

A woman in the crowd said loudly, "Yes, you can't take medicine carelessly. Don't be impulsive, it will not be worth it if you get sick from taking it."

Then another woman said, "In my opinion, we should go to the Chang'an Palace to seek justice. They have captured the doctors and taken away the medicine. It is not right that their lives are important, but the lives of ordinary people are not."

"Yes, let's go to Chang'an Palace and ask for an explanation!"

"Ah, I heard that the Prince of Chang'an is in the military camp in Xianyang, not in Xi'an."

"But Princess Chang'an is in Xi'an. That bad woman is the one who killed Shopkeeper Pinggu. Let's go and talk to her!"

A group of people walked towards the Chang'an Palace, and people in the team kept shouting: "The lives of ordinary people are also lives, let Princess Chang'an return the doctor to us!"

People in teahouses, pubs, and shops heard the shouting and came out to watch the fun. Then, more people joined the team. Among them were men, women, children, and elderly people with unsteady steps.

There are more and more people in the line. People at the end of the street have just joined in, while the people at the front have already reached the next intersection.

The long team surged forward, and finally, they arrived at the gate of Chang'an Palace.

Menzi was shocked when he saw it. He only realized today that there were so many people in the city!

He ran in hurriedly to report the news. The predecessor of the Chang'an Palace was the Qin Palace of the previous dynasty. It covered a large area and had deep courtyards.

What happened at the door had to go through many layers of reporting before it could reach the back house, so the first person to hear the news was not He Shuting, but Wu Dongming.

Wu Dongming was surprised to learn that there were many people gathered outside the door, and hurriedly asked the people around him to go out and ask.

The matter was soon made clear. It turned out that there was an epidemic in the army, and Wu Ji ordered all the doctors in the city to be arrested. Not only the doctors, but also many people, even the midwives.

Wu Dongming's heart sank.

Wu Ji hasn't returned home for three days.

It turned out that there was an epidemic in the army!
As a former military commander, Wu Dongming knew too well the impact of an epidemic on an army or a city.

Summer is indeed the peak season for epidemics.

The epidemic 28 years ago did not affect Yulin, but the number of deaths and injuries was so high that even Wu Dongming, who was far away in Yulin, was shocked.

Suddenly, Wu Dongming remembered something. He remembered that the epidemic ended that year because Jinghonglou contributed money and manpower!
Jinghong Tower!
Wu Dongming thought he might know why these people came here. He ordered someone to call a steward from the mansion. This steward was over fifty years old and was a native of the place.

Of course the manager still remembered the epidemic twenty-eight years ago. As expected, the shopkeeper of Jinghong Tower at that time was Pinggu who was killed by He Shuting!
Wu Dongming's face was gloomy. He said to a guard, "Bring more people and capture He. Anyone who dares to stop us will be killed without mercy!"

"Princess, it's bad, the old prince's men are coming to attack us!"

The maid said "kill in" instead of "rush in", which means that the guards were already killing people.

Just now, when He Shuting learned that the people were flocking to the gate of the palace to seek justice from her, she guessed that Wu Dongming would definitely push her out.

But she didn't expect that before she could deploy her troops, Wu Dongming's men would come and kill her.

"This old man is not dead!"

He Shuting cursed.

In the past few days, she thought about poisoning, but Wu Dongming was very vigilant. After they entered the mansion, they occupied a kitchen. The people in charge of the kitchen were all people he trusted, and there were even people guarding the well.

He Shuting tried several times to test the waters by sending snacks and medicine, but the food she sent could not even get into the courtyard. Neither Wu Dongming and his wife, nor the people they brought from Yulin, would accept any food sent from outside.

But now, He Shuting has not yet poisoned Wu Dongming to death, but Wu Dongming has already sent people to kill her.

He Shuting gritted her teeth and asked two maids to move a box away. There was another box underneath the box, but this box contained a mechanism. When they turned the mechanism, a secret passage appeared under the bed.

This secret passage was left behind by the prince who lived here during the previous dynasty. After He Shuting moved in, she found a topographic map of the palace among the few things left in the palace that had been looted countless times. Only then did she realize that there was a secret passage in the courtyard where she lived.

Even Wu Ji didn't know about this.

He Shuting only brought four maids with her and quietly walked into the secret passage.

By the time the guards rushed in, the house was already empty.

The guards guessed that there was a secret passage, but after searching inside and outside the courtyard, they found no clues, so they had to report to Wu Dongming in disappointment.

At this time, the mood outside the palace became even more violent, and more and more people gathered.

There are not only ordinary people, but also officials.

"General, I will lead my men to charge out and fight our way out!" said the captain of the guards.

Wu Dongming's face was as gloomy as water: "What happens after we fight our way out?"

The captain of the guard was speechless.

Yeah, what happens after they kill their way out?
Go find Wu Ji and ask him to lead the troops back to the city to quell the rebellion?

They are all unarmed civilians, and their only demand is for Princess Chang'an to give an explanation. What chaos do they want to quell?

Wu Dongming closed his eyes. Who could have thought that after a lifetime of military service, he would end up in such a situation.

Wu Dongming opened his eyes with a determined look.

"Go, carry me out!"

Outside the palace, the people shouted in unison. At first, they shouted, "Let Princess Chang'an come out, and return our doctor to us!"

At some point, other voices began to mix in with the shouting. Gradually, other people started shouting as well, and finally they shouted in unison, deafening!

"Give me back my doctor. The lives of ordinary people are also lives. Give me back Jinghong Tower and avenge the old shopkeeper Pinggu!"

Suddenly, the heavy door slowly opened a crack, and then four big men came out carrying a sedan chair.

The shouting stopped and there was silence all around. Everyone's eyes were on the sedan chair where an old man was sitting. Then the people began to talk.

"who is this?"

"It's definitely not Prince Chang'an. Prince Chang'an is very young."

"I know who this is, it's General Wu!"

"How is it possible? I have seen General Wu, he was majestic and impressive. How could it be this old man?"

"Yes, yes, General Wu is less than fifty years old, but this old man looks like he is in his sixties or seventies."

When Wu Dongming heard the discussions, he couldn't help but smile bitterly.

He hasn't looked in the mirror for a long, long time. Does he look so old now?
He took a deep breath and signaled the guards to put down the sedan chair. The guards wanted to help him up, but he shook his head and struggled to stand up. However, after trying several times, he finally let the guards lift him up.

The people held their breath and looked at him in surprise, wondering what this old man, who was already unable to walk, was going to do.

Facing thousands of people, Wu Dongming said in a clear voice: "I am Wu Dongming, the commander-in-chief of Yulin Guard and the general of Northwest."

Before he finished speaking, exclamations broke out from the crowd.

"Oh my god, he really is General Wu!"

"General Wu has become a cripple!"

Wu Dongming laughed at himself: "I am old and useless, and I am injured and sick. Now I even need help to stand up. I am sorry to make you laugh at me."

A voice in the crowd shouted, "General Wu, you guarded Yulin and resisted the Tartars. You have done great service to the country and benefited the people!"

The voice came from a woman. If someone listened carefully, they would recognize that this was the voice that started the crying.

She is Wanqing, Pinggu's daughter.

Jinghong Tower closed down and all the people there disappeared, including Wanqing.

Everyone thought that she had left this sad place with Xinggu and Taogu, but she didn't go anywhere. She stayed in Xi'an.

Jinghong Tower has always been there, and so have the people in Jinghong Tower. (End of this chapter)