Xiao Ruxun liked Fang Congzhe's well-behaved character very much.
He hated the kind of people who were not cowardly in their words but selfish in their hearts. They were extremely tolerant of themselves but forced others to be virtuous. They would get the benefits themselves and let others take the blame. There were many such people from ancient times to the present.
Fang Congzhe was not such a person. He was really cowardly. He was frightened by the power of Daqin and the power of the Emperor. He only wanted to lick the Emperor's boots. He had no other thoughts but to be an obedient person.
Xiao Ruxun was very happy and satisfied with his obedience. So after some investigation, Xiao Ruxun decided to give him a chance to make a comeback. After all, he was a person with practical ability. It would be a pity not to use him. Now was the time when talents were needed.
A well-behaved person like Fang Congzhe was the best.
So Xiao Ruxun gave Fang Congzhe several letters from Liu Chuanhai and some court bulletins on some matters discussed in the court.
After reading it, Fang Congzhe asked, "I have heard of the Big Belly Disease in my hometown and have seen patients with my own eyes. But I didn't expect the scale to be so large and the number of people infected is far beyond my imagination. I really don't know the suffering of the people."
Xiao Ruxun waved his hand.
"It's not strange that you don't know. I didn't know at first, but now there are 300,000 people infected in South Zhili alone. This is not the complete data, and it doesn't include other identities in Jiangnan. Adding them all together, I'm really worried that the number of people infected will exceed one million."
Fang Congzhe swallowed.
"Your Majesty, the symptoms of this disease vary, and some people die quickly. Some people stay for months, years, or even decades before dying. So it's not strange that people don't pay attention to it. The people can't afford to see the disease, this …"
"It's even less strange."
Xiao Ruxun sighed, "The people are poor, and the biggest thought is to have enough to eat. Now they are trying to move forward with all their strength, but they fall because of a few small insects. Fang Congzhe, where do you think we should start to improve this matter?"
Fang Congzhe knew that the Emperor's test had come.
"Your Majesty, in my opinion, the most important thing to do is to count the number of people who are infected, so that we can have a general grasp of the overall situation, and judge the number of infected people and the severity of their illness. The imperial court must have a clear idea of these things."
Xiao Ruxun nodded.
"Data collection is the first step. I share the same opinion. What next?"
"Then, I suggest that within our capabilities, we should gather the patients to live together, separate the infected people from the uninfected people, and focus on treatment. In addition, since this disease is spread by Oncomelania snails and is directly infected by the plague water, we should organize people to kill the snails and clean up the water source in the area where the infected patients live.
We can't remedy the problem after it has happened, because no amount of medicinal materials will be enough. We should find the source of the problem and control it from the source. Since this worm is spread by Oncomelania snails, we should organize people to kill a large number of snails. Killing the snails will naturally reduce the number of poisonous insects.
If we reduce the number of poisonous insects, we won't be able to infect more people, or else we'll be able to infect more people. Over and over again, the Imperial Court's finances will collapse. As such, this old official suggests that we deal with them one region at a time and not on a large scale. Even if all of Great Qin's doctors were gathered together, it would be useless. "
Fang Congzhe's thinking was very clear, and his countermeasures were very cautious, even a little conservative, but this was appreciated by Xiao Ruxun.
In this case, he could still maintain a conservative attitude, which showed that he really realized the power of schistosomiasis and the difficulty of dealing with this matter.
Otherwise, if they were to attack Chu State like Li Xin, Qin would not be able to destroy Chu State even if they used up all their troops.
If this matter could really be handled by Xiao Ruxun with just a few words, then Xiao Ruxun wouldn't need to find Fang Congzhe to test his ability.
"So, Fang Congzhe's suggestion is to attack one by one, and we should start from killing the snails instead of treating the patients?"
"That's right."
Fang Congzhe said.
"Then what if the infected people don't get timely treatment and die? The people of Daqin will die in front of me, and I will be indifferent? "
Fine beads of sweat oozed from Fang Congzhe's forehead, and his breathing became a little rapid.
"Your Majesty, please listen to this old subject. The number of patients and the severity of the infection have far surpassed this old subject's expectations. From how this old subject sees it, even if all of Great Qin's doctors were gathered together, they would not be able to cure these patients in a short period of time. During this period of time, there will definitely be people dying without being treated in time. However, this is not something that can be changed by manpower."
Fang Congzhe carefully chose his words and sentences, for fear of angering Xiao Ruxun.
"Then if I ask you to do this, to kill the snails and ensure that the patients don't die, can you do it?"
Fang Congzhe was stunned.
This …
This is impossible …
Fang Congzhe is alone, not an immortal. This kind of thing is difficult even for immortals, let alone him alone?
But if he can't do it, will the emperor …
After thinking for a while, Fang Congzhe decided to make a small bet.
Betting that the emperor is not that crazy.
"If Your Majesty says so, this old subject really has nothing to say. Please find someone else. Perhaps, this old subject is too stupid and can't do the task Your Majesty has given me."
Fang Congzhe handed his career to Xiao Ruxun.
Xiao Ruxun was silent for a while, and this short period of time was extremely long and unbearable for Fang Congzhe.
"Fang Congzhe, you didn't let me down."
When Xiao Ruxun's words came out, Fang Congzhe let out a breath and his heart didn't beat as fast as before.
"This is an impossible matter. We have long understood that even if we can immediately transfer ten thousand doctors over, we won't be able to save so many patients in time. Some of them will definitely die before they can be saved, and the number will not be small.
We are indeed a bit unwilling to say this, but more importantly, we want to see if you, Fang Congzhe, are someone who likes to boast and shoot empty cannons. If you say that you can work hard, then immediately scram back to farming. We don't need boastful people in the court. "
Xiao Ruxun chuckled, "Now it seems that Minister Ye didn't make a mistake. How about this, you were a minister in the previous Ming Dynasty, an editor in the Hanlin Academy, and a chancellor in the Directorate of Studies. We will give you the official title of assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. You will be an imperial envoy and go south to Jiangnan to organize this matter for us.
We will set up a department in the court to deal with natural disasters. There are currently hundreds of officials in this department in the south. They will listen to you and we will fully support you in whatever you want. We only have one request for you. Within five years, control the insect disaster in the three provinces in the southeast. "
Xiao Ruxun stated his request to Fang Congzhe.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
