met free Page 114
Page 114
Because the horses were not easy to sell in the official horse market, they had no choice but to travel thousands of miles south to Henan and Shandong.
Now that they have Yinma River, the travel time and effort saved for them are greatly reduced.
That's enough to send the Liao Dynasty's horses south again.
Gradually, more and more horse smugglers became willing to sell their horses at Yinmachuan.
As more and more people came to buy horses because of their reputation, there were those who wanted to sell them.
Most of them were outlaws, who dared not go to the government's horse market, so they all gathered at Yinmachuan.
And so, the Yinmachuan Horse Market was completely established.
"Fortunately, Brother Deng Fei arrived in time with money and provisions,"
Lin Chong said with relief, "The horse market at Yinmachuan was built by Liangshan, so whenever there are new horses, Liangshan gets to choose first."
"Before Brother Deng Fei arrived, Yang Lin and I had already selected more than a hundred fine horses, but unfortunately we didn't have enough money and food, so we had to put it off for the time being. Fortunately, Brother Deng Fei arrived in time, otherwise, in order not to break our promise, more than half of the horses here would have to be returned to the horse dealers!"
"By the way, brother, what's going on with this cavalry?"
Zhao Yuan asked curiously, "They don't look like the people from Deng Fei's original mountain stronghold."
"It was the same flood last year that caused famine across Hebei. I figured Liangshan didn't lack food, only soldiers who could ride horses, so I took it upon myself to recruit these people,"
At this point, Lin Chong cupped his hands in apology, saying, "Brother, please don't blame me for acting on my own!"
Chapter 151 The Plague of Xucheng
"I'm overjoyed that my brother has added two hundred cavalrymen to Liangshan, how could I possibly blame him!"
Zhao Yuan smiled and offered Lin Chong another cup of wine.
Just then, a scout from the inn rushed in, bowed deeply, and said, "Chief, something has happened in Xucheng!"
"What exactly happened? Explain yourself!"
Zhao Yuan, still holding the wine cup, asked in a deep voice before he could even put it down.
"The disaster victims outside Xucheng have been afflicted with a plague, and now the epidemic has spread into Xucheng. Prefect Cheng has ordered the entire city of Xucheng to be sealed off, and entry and exit are strictly prohibited!"
The scout said in a panic, "Even the refugees outside the city have been surrounded by the troops of Yunzhou."
plague?
Zhao Yuan was momentarily stunned, then suddenly heard the sound of a cup shattering on the ground.
He quickly looked down, his wine glass still safely in his hand.
If it's not me, then could it be "067"?
Zhao Yuan turned his head and saw that Lin Chong's face was pale, there was a broken wine cup at his feet, and there were traces of wine splashed on his trouser legs.
"Instructor Lin, what's wrong?" Lu Zhishen asked in surprise.
"Commander, brother,"
Lin Chong said somewhat absentmindedly, "I just remembered something. On the way back, when we rested, we encountered a group of refugees who said they came from Daxucheng."
"I saw that they were pitiful, hungry and thirsty, so I let them eat something with the cavalry!"
"Now that I think about it, several of those disaster victims had pale and sickly faces; perhaps..."
Upon hearing this, Lu Zhishen realized what was happening: "Instructor, are you perhaps suggesting that the disaster victims might have contracted the plague?"
Zhao Yuan, who was standing to the side, had already stood up and given the order.
"Quickly! Send fast boats to catch up with the previous fleet immediately. Not a single cavalryman from earlier should be allowed to land!"
......
The fast boat sent by the hotel arrived as quickly as possible, but it was still a step too late.
When they arrived, the two hundred-plus cavalrymen had already reached Jinshatan Beach.
They just hadn't had a chance to get through the pass and up the mountain yet.
The messenger quickly stopped the cavalry.
"The chieftain has ordered that the cavalry brought by Instructor Lin from Hebei must remain in place and not go up the mountain! The fleet of ships and navy transporting the cavalry must also remain in place at Jinshatan Beach!"
"What's going on? Didn't my brother tell us to take them to the cavalry's camp?"
Ruan Xiaoqi asked in surprise, "Why are you suddenly not allowing it again?"
"Chief Ruan, I don't know the specifics either!"
The messenger said helplessly, "However, the chieftain, Instructor Lin, and Commander Lu are on the boat behind. They should arrive at Golden Beach in about half an incense stick's time."
"Since it's your order, brother, we'll obey!"
Ruan Xiao'er responded and, together with his two brothers, moored the boats that had just transported the cavalry together.
All the sailors on the ship went ashore and waited with Ma Jun on the golden sand beach.
After a while,
Zhao Yuan, Lu Zhishen, Lin Chong, and Hu Sanniang arrived at Jinshatan.
Seeing that the cavalry had landed but only stopped on the golden sand beach and had not crossed the pass to go up the mountain, the four of them breathed a sigh of relief.
"Brother, has something happened?"
Seeing the somber expressions on everyone's faces, Ruan Xiaowu quickly asked.
"There's a plague in Xucheng! These cavalrymen may have come into contact with the plague victims!"
Zhao Yuan briefly explained the situation.
Upon hearing this, the online trolls immediately erupted in a clamor.
"What? Plague!"
“Ma Jun had contact with disaster victims who were infected with the plague, so wouldn’t it be possible for them to get infected as well?”
"What about us? We were just with Ma Jun, so doesn't that mean we're also...?"
......
The online trolls were making a ruckus, and the cavalry nearby weren't much better off.
After hearing Zhao Yuan say that they might have been in contact with plague victims,
The cavalry soldiers quickly began blaming each other.
This person said, "You ate with that group of disaster victims before!"
The one who said, "You leaned against that group of disaster victims while resting!"
......
Seeing that the golden beach was in complete chaos,
Zhao Yuan frowned and roared, "Stop arguing! If you don't want to catch the plague, obey orders!"
The Liangshan stronghold today is entirely due to Zhao Yuan's leadership.
His prestige as the chieftain, both on and off the mountain, was far beyond what Wang Lun could match.
Upon hearing Zhao Yuan's roar,
The previously noisy online army immediately fell silent.
Although Ma Jun had just arrived at Liangshan, he had heard Lin Chong mention Zhao Yuan, the chieftain.
Although some whispering still occurred, no one dared to speak loudly anymore.
"From this moment forward, neither the cavalry nor the navy shall cross the pass and ascend the mountain. They shall set up camp at Jinshatan!"
Zhao Yuan ordered, "Anyone who feels unwell, coughs, or has a fever, must report it immediately!"
Seeing that the naval and cavalry forces, which had just calmed down, were about to stir up trouble again upon hearing the order,
Zhao Yuan then shouted, "Including me, the chieftain, and all the leaders currently on Golden Beach, we are all the same as you. We are not allowed to go up the mountain and will all stay on Golden Beach for the time being!"
"As you all know, this plague is something else! If any of us get infected and then go up the mountain, it won't just be one or two people who die!"
"In short, no one is allowed to go up the mountain until it is confirmed who is infected!"
The soldiers had just heard the order and wanted to make a fuss, but they were actually just worried that they would be abandoned by the mountain stronghold!
Now, upon hearing that even Zhao Yuan and the others weren't going up the mountain but would stay with them on Golden Beach,
Most of the soldiers immediately breathed a sigh of relief.
......
The Song Dynasty was an era marked by frequent plagues.
During the more than 320 years of the Song Dynasty, there were 49 outbreaks of plague, averaging one every five or six years.
For the people at that time, Plague 2.0 meant death!
The news that a plague had broken out in Xucheng, and that even the cavalry and navy might be infected, quickly spread throughout Liangshan.
After the leaders learned that Zhao Yuan had confined them, Lu Zhishen, Lin Chong, Hu Sanniang, and the three Ruan brothers to Jinshatan,
They immediately went to the pass, insisting on coming down to visit them.
But Zhao Yuan directly retorted with a curse!
Besides the naval and cavalry forces isolated on Golden Beach,
Zhao Yuan also stood below the pass, ordering Sun An on the mountain to lead his soldiers to check both inside and outside the pass one by one.
Anyone who has fallen ill in the past two days, regardless of their status, should be gathered together!
At the same time, Pei Xuan and the others on the mountain organized the people to sew silk cloth into masks, which everyone had to wear every day!
In addition, gatherings are strictly prohibited, and all production and manufacturing activities are temporarily suspended.
Chapter 152 Lin Chong, the Unlucky Old Man
After all the epidemic prevention orders were issued,
That evening, the Malaysian and marine personnel most likely to be infected on Golden Beach prioritized wearing masks.
This place is close to a mountain stronghold and is not lacking in supplies.
Zhao Yuan then separated the naval forces and cavalry into separate camps.
Inside their respective camps, soldiers were separated by wooden planks, leaving space between them.
No abnormalities were observed among the soldiers that night.
In the middle of the night, Shi Qian was taken to Golden Beach by a speedboat from the North Shore Hotel.
Because he had been to Xucheng, he feared he might have contracted the plague and dared not approach Zhao Yuan and the others.
He reported the situation to Zhao Yuan from a distance of four or five zhang.
"Brother, an epidemic has broken out among the disaster victims in Xucheng. Four or five out of ten people have been infected. The rest who haven't been infected are surrounded by soldiers from Yunzhou. If they try to escape, they will be shot dead immediately!"
"Prefect Cheng has already summoned doctors to treat the disaster victims, but there are still no results."
"The Zhu brothers are all trapped in the city, but everyone in the hotel is safe and sound; no one has contracted the disease." 18
"Brother, wasn't Xucheng supposed to be under lockdown? How did you get in?" Zhao Yuan asked.
"I heard rumors that something was wrong in Xucheng, so I rushed over to check it out,"
Shi Qian chuckled and said, "Xucheng had already begun martial law at that time, strictly prohibiting people from entering or leaving. But just then, a group of yamen runners, on the orders of Prefect Cheng, led several doctors out of the city to check the situation. When they returned to the city, I took advantage of the darkness, knocked one of them unconscious, and sneaked into the city with them."
"After entering the city to ask Brother Zhu Gui about the situation, I originally wanted to sneak out of the city again, but I didn't expect that the yamen runner who was knocked unconscious was discovered. Xucheng directly closed the city gates and began to search for my whereabouts everywhere."
“I hid with Brother Zhu Gui for a day, and only after the storm had passed did I slide down the city wall with a rope and return to Liangshan to report the situation.”
After Shi Qian finished recounting what he had learned, his beady eyes curiously surveyed the camp on the Golden Beach.
"Brother, what's going on? Why aren't we going up the mountain? Why are we camping on this golden sand beach instead?"
After Zhao Yuan explained the situation, Shi Qian immediately sighed.
"I was hoping to find out the situation as soon as possible so that I could help Liangshan avoid this disaster."
“If I hadn’t gone into the city and hadn’t wasted that day, maybe you brothers would have known about the epidemic in Xucheng long ago, and things wouldn’t have turned out like this.”
Zhao Yuan sensed the self-blame in his words and smiled as he advised, "What is meant to be will be. Even if you had notified Liangshan in advance, Instructor Lin and the others would still have been unable to escape those disaster victims. Do you think we would abandon Instructor Lin and the others then?"