Chapter 656: 224
The temple was originally spacious, but now, under the collapsed half of the clay god statues, it was densely packed with patients who moaned softly, a heavy stench of death hitting one in the face.
Ji Xun frowned slightly and said softly, "This place is cold and empty, hardly a good place for recovering from illness. Why set up the Plague Hospital here?"
Cai Fang said nothing and led everyone outside, turned back for one more glance at the inside of the temple, and then let out a deep sigh.
"The Medical Officer might not be aware," he said, "that Su Nan has been suffering from a locust plague for several months, followed by a famine. There have been a few uprisings in the city. Afterwards... the documents sent to the court have been delayed with no response, and the Magistrate has fled." At this, Cai Fang looked somewhat embarrassed, "With no one in charge, the County Office is just for show, with people inside either dead or fled. County Commander Li and I gathered the remaining ten or so people to barely maintain order, but with so few people, it’s like trying to put out a fire with a cup of water!"
In agony, he said, "Many people die in Su Nan every day, and these past two days alone over a hundred have perished. Their bodies are lying outside, and we fear the spread of the epidemic, but the ten or so people from the County Office simply can’t burn all the bodies."
Cai Fang pointed behind him, where vast stretches of deserted land lay dead silent under the grey, clouded sky.
"That’s the execution ground," he said, "with lots of open space. This temple is next to the execution ground, and any new patient that comes in can barely last a month before dying. Once dead, we drag them to the execution ground to burn them. These days, we can’t keep up with the burning, so we bury them there. It’s the most convenient way to handle it."
Lin Danqing frowned: "Won’t live past a month... then what’s the point of even setting up a Plague Hospital?"
"There’s no more Plague Hospital," Cai Fang said with a bitter smile, "Su Nan can’t save these people. The first to contract the epidemic were the doctors of the Medical Practice, and all of them died. Actually, those who come here for treatment know very well there’s no hope; they’re just waiting to die. We also know we can’t save them; we’re just providing a place for them to stay before they die, to give their families some hope."
Rather than a Plague Hospital, it might as well be called another Yizhuang.
He spoke in sorrow, not noticing that Li Wenhu beside him was desperately signaling him with his eyes.
Li Wenhu was inwardly anxious, as revealing the full severity of the epidemic in Su Nan from the start might cause the Medical Officers to lose heart, and if they left after only a few days, what then?
After all, the last official who had come with grand promises to treat the locusts hadn’t even lasted half a month before heading back home.
Chang Jin nodded, having a clear understanding of the current situation in Su Nan. The letters received by the Hanlin Medical Institute had not been detailed, and the situation was more dire than they had imagined.
"Medical texts say: ’An epidemic starts with heavy snow, manifests at the Winter Solstice, is born at Lesser Cold, grows at Greater Cold, peaks at the Start of Spring, weakens with the Rain Water, and fades at the Waking of Insects,’" he recited.
The Chief Physician said, "We are now in the depths of harsh winter, a critical time for the epidemic. We must control the spread of the disease before next spring, or else..."
Or else, Su Nan would become a city of the dead.
He looked at Cai Fang, "It is correct to separate the sick from the others, but this place is crude, and the chill cannot be warded off. Plus, you are short on manpower. We can only make do with this place for now. However, starting today, we will brew medicinal soups for the patients of the Plague Hospital, and also make medicine pouches for the remaining people in Su Nan who haven’t been infected, as a precaution."
"All bedding used by Plague Hospital patients must be boiled; we need to fumigate with Atractylodes Macrocephala to eliminate the foul air..."
He listed many things, and after Cai Fang and Li Wenhu listened intently and Chang Jin finished, they waited for them to leave before he addressed the others, "We must not delay, follow me into the Plague Hospital to assess the condition of the patients."
The Medical Officers all agreed.
Lu Tong also wanted to go in, but Chang Jin stopped him.
Chang Jin looked at Lu Tong, Lin Danqing, and Ji Xun, and said, "You three need not go in."
Lin Danqing: "Why not?"
"The epidemic is fierce, and the situation in Su Nan is much more perilous than I had thought. The Plague Hospital is now the place with the heaviest infection; you should not enter for the time being."
Chang Jin also had his private concerns.
The medical skills of these three were among the best in Shengjing, perhaps even the entire Liang Dynasty, and they were so young. The older heads were prepared to risk their lives coming here, but he was reluctant to see the young ones face danger.
"You three should work on developing a new formula to prevent the epidemic at the place arranged by Cai Fang. Do not step foot in here."
"Chief Physician, you’re not old yet, why the confusion?" Lin Danqing incredulously spoke up, "We haven’t even seen the patients; how can we develop a new formula without personally discerning their conditions? Are we supposed to make it up?"
Chang Jin was taken aback.
"Are you looking down on us? Besides, before I left, I specially brought a ’Treatise on Epidemics’ that has been passed down by my family’s ancestors. Our Lin Family has unmatched experience in treating epidemics. When we return to Shengjing and others ask about our efforts at the Plague Hospital, it would reflect poorly on us if we appeared to be too afraid to face danger. How would that look?"