Chapter 48: Plague Outbreak

"Elder Gao!"

Qin Xuan struggled to calm his emotions, speaking in a deep voice.

Gao Xiong immediately stepped forward respectfully, bending slightly at the waist. "Your Highness, please give your orders."

"From this moment on, I will establish a separate workshop. You are to select a batch of artisans and devote your full effort to producing the new crossbows."

Qin Xuan's expression was solemn. Knowing that this matter concerned weaponry, Gao Xiong naturally dared not delay and nodded repeatedly.

"Luoying, dispatch a unit of the Divine Strategy Army to guard the workshop. From now on, this workshop will successively manufacture more new types of weapons, so those stationed here must be one hundred percent loyal."

"Understood, Luoying," Zhao Luoying replied immediately with a nod.

Time flew by, and another half a month passed. The crossbow workshop was successfully established, and a large number of craftsmen were brought inside to forge the new crossbows day and night.

In fact, Qin Xuan had originally intended to strike while the iron was hot and further develop repeating crossbows, a weapon with even greater lethality.

However, when he saw the exhausted appearance of the artisans one by one, he suddenly realized a problem—there were not enough craftsmen.

Located in the northern borderlands, Beining City suffered from a harsh, cold climate and inherently lacked skilled artisans.

Had it not been for the more than thirty thousand refugees Qin Xuan brought with him when he arrived—from whom he had selected a group of craftsmen—there probably wouldn't even have been enough people to set up the crossbow workshop in the first place.

And now, alongside Qin Xuan's continuous research, development, and production of refined salt, coal stoves, coal briquettes, new farming tools, and new crossbows, Beining City's demand for artisans had reached a critical, pressing point.

"Problems really do come one after another!"

Sitting in the main hall of the Prince's Mansion, Zhao Luoying gently massaged Qin Xuan's throbbing temples.

"You should rest too, Luoying." Unable to bear seeing Zhao Luoying overwork herself, Qin Xuan gently took her delicate hand and spoke.

Just as Zhao Luoying was about to reply, a hurried series of footsteps suddenly echoed from outside.

Immediately afterwards, Zhuge Xuan rushed in with a panicked expression, bowed, and reported, "Your Highness, plagues have broken out simultaneously in Shuanglin City, Tianshan City, Lu Cheng, and Danxia City. A vast number of commoners have died, and in many villages, less than one in ten survived. Moreover, this plague shows clear signs of spreading toward our Beining City."

"Does the Great Qi imperial court have no one capable of handling this?"

Qin Xuan's heart jolted as he stood up angrily.

Beside him, Zhao Luoying's expression also changed dramatically, her beautiful eyes widening.

The four major cities mentioned by Zhuge Xuan were all located close to Beining City; if they were not careful, Beining City would inevitably be implicated.

Zhuge Xuan shook his head helplessly. "The plague first appeared in Danxia City, but the local officials concealed it and refused to report it, nor did they take any measures. As a result, the disease quickly swept through the entire Danxia City and subsequently spread to the other three cities."

"According to reports from the Mintai Chamber of Commerce's intelligence network, this plague is extremely severe. In Danxia City especially, the death toll has already exceeded one hundred thousand."

Hearing this number, Qin Xuan's expression changed abruptly.

One hundred thousand! A city like Danxia only had a population of eight or nine hundred thousand!

When coupled with the death tolls of the other three cities, the scale was simply unimaginable.

"Large numbers of displaced people have now fled these four cities. Initially, they tried to head south, but they were all blocked at the city gates."

"Some cities even issued orders to shoot them directly in order to drive the refugees away."

At this point, Zhuge Xuan's body was trembling, his eye sockets reddening.

"Go on," Qin Xuan said, suppressing his anger, though a murderous aura already radiated from him.

Those incompetent fools in the imperial court—even if they were powerless to treat the sick, they had no right to slaughter innocent civilians.

Such a corrupt dynasty truly deserved to perish entirely.

"With the southern cities blocked, the refugees naturally had to turn back. By now, they are probably all heading toward Beining City."

Zhuge Xuan let out a deep sigh, gazing quietly at Qin Xuan.

He seemed to be waiting for Qin Xuan to make a decision, yet he dared not offer a suggestion.

After all, Beining City had only just endured the ravages of war and was finally beginning to recover and rebuild. If they were to take in so many refugees all at once, everything could potentially revert to square one.

Worse still, among these refugees, there might well be carriers of the plague.

Once they entered the city and the contagion spread, the entire population of Beining City could perish.

"How soon will those refugees reach Beining City?"

While Qin Xuan was still deep in thought, Zhao Luoying could no longer hold back her question.

"In less than five days, refugees should start appearing." Zhuge Xuan pondered for a moment, a trace of inner conflict flashing in his eyes, before he took a deep breath and said, "Your Highness, I know you have always loved the people like your own children, but this time, Zhuge Xuan implores you: under no circumstances must you open the city gates."

"You want me to watch hundreds of thousands of refugees die right before my eyes?" Qin Xuan flared up, his tone turning severe.

Zhuge Xuan dropped to his knees with a thud, crying out loudly:

"Your Highness, once the city gates are opened and the refugees enter, the foundation you built with such painstaking effort will be reduced to ashes!"

"Does the Great Qi imperial court truly not know how to govern? They are merely using this plague to back you into a corner and pressure you."

Looking at Zhuge Xuan's tear-stained face, a sharp pain pierced Qin Xuan's heart.

How could he fail to see the conspiracy behind this? Yet, for the Great Qi imperial court to use a natural disaster and the lives of hundreds of thousands of commoners to plot against him presented an unsolvable dilemma.

If he abandoned these refugees today, then even if he were to eventually establish a kingdom and declare himself emperor, the ghosts of these hundreds of thousands of souls would haunt him like shadows, denying him peace for the rest of his life.

"Get up!"

Qin Xuan stepped forward to gently help Zhuge Xuan to his feet, sighed, and said, "Strategist, I understand your intentions, but if I were to act just as you suggested, would a prince like me still be worthy of your loyal following?"

A single sentence left Zhuge Xuan utterly speechless.

"Perhaps we could first set up a series of camps outside the city and then provide sufficient food so that the refugees can be temporarily accommodated," Zhao Luoying suggested.

However, her proposal was immediately rejected by Zhuge Xuan. "It's useless. It is already deep winter, and temperatures continue to drop. Even if there are tents in the open ground outside the city, these refugees will still freeze to death."

The bitter winter of the northern borderlands was nothing like that of the south; especially at night, temperatures frequently plunged more than ten degrees below zero.

In such freezing weather, a few tents would accomplish nothing.

"Then how about carving out a specific area inside the city for their resettlement?" Zhao Luoying immediately proposed.

Zhuge Xuan gave a bitter smile. "The total number of refugees this time is at least two hundred thousand. How could Beining City possibly carve out such an area?"

"And even if we could carve one out, would the citizens inside the city agree? If the populace objects and we insist on taking them in, it is bound to provoke riots."

Hearing this, Zhao Luoying fell silent.

"Your Highness, this situation is truly a matter of helplessness. It is not that you lack benevolence, but rather that you must answer to the people of Beining City!"

Seeing that Qin Xuan still refused to speak, Zhuge Xuan could only invoke the greater good, hoping that Qin Xuan could harden his heart this once.

"We still have five days, which is enough time for us to formulate a response. But our most urgent priority right now is to understand the exact nature of this plague."

Qin Xuan spoke slowly, his eyes revealing neither sorrow nor joy. "Strategist, dispatch men immediately to investigate the symptoms of this plague. At the same time, arrange for the Divine Strategy Army to pitch tents outside the city, set up coal stoves, and prepare food and drinking water."

"Your Highness, you..."

"Just do as I say. This time, whether these refugees live or die depends half on the will of Heaven, and the other half..."

Qin Xuan left the rest unsaid.

He had never been a saint. His previous insistence on taking them in was merely to avoid letting Zhuge Xuan think him too cold-blooded.

Yet if there truly was no way to resolve the plague, his only remaining course of action would be to keep the refugees stationed outside the city; otherwise, the riots that Zhuge Xuan feared would inevitably break out.

That was a consequence Beining City simply could not bear.