noffsinger Chapter 253 Going with the Flow 1
Chapter 253 Going with the Flow 1
Prime Minister's Mansion
Zheng Luoqi received news of the plague outbreak in Liangzhou and immediately went to discuss the matter with Zheng Yuxiang. Liangzhou was originally the territory of Grand Commandant Wen.
It's the height of summer, and with the recent disaster that has struck, no sooner had Consort Jiang been sent out of the palace than a plague broke out in Liangzhou.
Now they'll have another chance to make a big fuss and condemn Consort Jiang's child as a jinx.
"Father, this plague is probably not that simple!" Zheng Luoqi said worriedly.
After all, it hadn't been long since Consort Jiang left when the plague broke out in Liangzhou, which was somewhat of a coincidence.
"Chen Tongyu has made his move!" Zheng Yuxiang said, taking out several letters and handing them to Zheng Luoqi. After reading them, Zheng Luoqi's expression became increasingly solemn.
This plague was just ordinary swine fever, which doesn't infect humans. As long as people don't eat swine fever-infected meat, there's basically no problem.
Moreover, the local government is experienced and knows how to deal with these pigs that have contracted the plague, as long as they improve the feeding environment regularly.
Buy some Coptis chinensis, Phellodendron chinense, and Scutellaria baicalensis, decoct them, and feed them to the pigs to boost their immunity. Basically, there shouldn't be any major problems.
However, Chen Tongyu somehow learned about the situation in Liangzhou. He wanted to use the swine fever outbreak to help Consort Yue rise to power, so he first spread rumors that the swine fever was a plague.
Then, some pork infected with swine fever was distributed to the people as normal pork, turning swine fever into a real epidemic.
Then, Consort Yue was asked to volunteer to go to Liangzhou to treat the plague, and Consort Yue was arranged to go to Liangzhou with several imperial physicians to participate in the fight against the epidemic.
Once the plague has finally subsided, Consort Yue will be able to be portrayed as a goddess who saves the world, thus overshadowing Empress Chen Xianlin.
Chen Tongyu's plan was excellent, but unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. What Chen Tongyu never expected was that just as he had finished dealing with the plague, something went wrong at the palace.
He never expected that Chen Xianlin would pull off this "jinx" act at this time.
In this way, what should have been a grand drama about the plague, which was supposed to be starring Consort Yue, has now become a stepping stone for Chen Xianlin, indirectly helping her to eliminate Consort Jiang's child.
As news of the plague spreads in Liangzhou, the people will naturally point the finger at Consort Jiang's child, believing that the child is a jinx who brought the plague.
Chen Tongyu never wanted to be a stepping stone for Chen Xianlin. If Chen Xianlin were to get rid of Consort Jiang's child, who was also known as the "jinx," it would be disastrous.
Then Chen Xianlin would have fame, status, and power.
By then, it won't be so easy for Consort Yue to replace Chen Xianlin.
Originally, Chen Tongyu had kept the news of the plague under wraps, but somehow it suddenly got back to the capital!
morning
"Your Majesty, I dare to speak, but the child in Consort Jiang's womb must not be allowed to live!" A minister knelt down and solemnly reported in the court.
"Your Majesty, I agree. This unborn child must be an ominous creature. Otherwise, why has our Great Xia suffered so many calamities since Consort Jiang became pregnant?" another minister chimed in.
Just as the officials were discussing the child's fate, Zheng Yuxiang, who had been silent all along, finally spoke up: "Instead of discussing whether this child is an omen of misfortune, you should quickly find a way to resolve the plague!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the previously noisy court became much quieter, and many officials turned their attention to the prime minister.
Chen Tongyu sneered and said to Zheng Yuxiang, "Prime Minister, according to your logic, is this child innocent?" His words were clearly laced with sarcasm.
Chen Tongyu did not stop there, but continued to speak eloquently: "Putting aside everything else, even the eminent monks of Jietai Temple have asserted that this boy is an ominous person."
"Moreover, before this child was born, our Great Xia Dynasty had indeed failed to produce a single imperial heir!"
"Moreover, ever since he came into our lives, all sorts of disasters and accidents have followed one after another. First, the Empress was plagued by nightmares every night, and now a plague has broken out in Liangzhou. Is all of this just a coincidence?"
Upon hearing this, Zheng Yuxiang couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Are you planning to push all the blame onto an unborn child? How ridiculous!"
"If a child can influence the fate of a nation, then what's the point of having you civil officials? We wouldn't even need to fight; we could just throw that child into the enemy country and kill the enemy army. Is that what you mean?"
No sooner had Zheng Yuxiang finished speaking than Chen Tongyu trembled with anger, his face turned pale, and he shouted, "That's utterly unreasonable!"
Seeing that he couldn't win the argument with Zheng Yuxiang, Chen Tongyu rolled his eyes and followed Zheng Yuxiang's lead, saying, "Since you, Prime Minister, believe that the plague should be dealt with first, with your wisdom and strategy, you must have already come up with a solution, right? May I ask if you could enlighten me on it?"
Although Chen Tongyu's tone sounded respectful, it contained a hint of provocation.
Zheng Yuxiang, however, didn't buy it and replied, "Hmph! I'm not a royal physician, what use is it for you to ask me? The most important thing right now is to send people to Liangzhou to provide support as soon as possible!"
Zheng Yuxiang turned to Xue Huaiyu and said seriously, "Your Majesty, the plague in Liangzhou can no longer be delayed. We need to send people to provide relief immediately. The longer we delay, the more people will be infected. Instead of discussing here whether the child is unlucky, we should solve the plague problem first!"
"Then, in the Prime Minister's opinion, what should be done about this matter?" Xue Huaiyu didn't want to continue arguing about the child. The imperial edict had already been issued, stating that a decision would be made after the child was born. If he were to be executed suddenly now, where would he put his face?
"While the plague has not yet spread beyond Liangzhou, I believe that Liangzhou should be temporarily sealed off to prevent the plague from spreading further to other states."
"Send several more imperial physicians to Liangzhou to fully assist the local medical practitioners and ensure that an antidote to this plague is successfully developed as soon as possible!"
"However, the blockade of Liangzhou may cause public panic. In order to stabilize public sentiment, it is necessary to select a person of high status to go to Liangzhou to assist in governance."
The purpose of sending a person of high status to assist them was to show the people that the court had not abandoned them.
Upon hearing this, Chen Tongyu, who had been silent all along, suddenly had a thought, and his plan instantly came to mind.
This so-called plague was not an uncontrollable epidemic, but just an ordinary swine fever. It was only because he secretly instructed people to distribute swine fever meat to the people that this swine fever looked like a plague.
If Zheng Yuxiang's proposed governance plan is implemented, then Consort Yue will have the opportunity to travel to Liangzhou with the team.
As long as Consort Yue can successfully reach Liangzhou and quell this plague outbreak before Consort Jiang's child is born...
Chen Tongyu pondered to himself, a slight smile creeping onto his lips.
In this way, not only will the gimmick of Consort Yue being a goddess be effective, but even Consort Jiang's child can be exonerated from the stigma of being a jinx, so it won't be considered as doing a favor for Chen Xianlin.
As for the child, it's not too late to get rid of him after Consort Yue takes Chen Xianlin's place.
The more Chen Tongyu thought about it, the more he felt that the plan could continue.
Chen Tongyu felt that Chen Xianlin had grown too powerful and was no longer obedient. He just wanted to replace her with someone more obedient, and Consort Yue was the best candidate.