Chapter 71: The Dog Emperor
“Damn it, is he threatening us?”
“Yeah! Maybe… we should just refuse.”
“This is a dead end. He wants to drag someone down with him.”
“Worthless dog, give it to him!”
A storm of curses erupted from the local county office, followed by reluctant compromise. Yet how could laborers be mobilized so quickly?
“All idle clerks, go at once!”
It happened to be a day for county deliberations, with all the village chiefs present. So even they were sent off… In an instant, the entire place descended into chaos.
The county magistrate roared at the city gates, “Go now!”
A crowd of men rushed away.
The magistrate’s lips foamed with anger as his trusted clerk handed him a cup of tea.
Such flattery.
Such keen observation…
Perfect!
The magistrate took a sip, looked at the clerk with contentment, then suddenly bellowed.
“Why aren’t you going?”
He kicked the clerk aside and asked, “That’s ruthless—who is it?”
The county assistant replied, “Deputy of Wannian County, Yang Xuan.”
The magistrate regarded the assistant with curiosity.
The assistant hesitated, “I’ll go at once.”
...
Outside the camp, two miners lay on the grass.
Zhou Ning had already examined them.
“How are they?”
The old scoundrel looked at her with eager eyes.
Zhou Ning adjusted her tortoiseshell glasses with the back of her hand. “There are some problems.”
She stood, brows slightly furrowed—a rare expression for her.
“Where’s Yang Xuan?”
“The gentleman is at the mine.”
Outside the main mine, Zhou Ning was about to ask the guards when a shout came from within.
“Clear the way!”
The two soldiers quickly moved aside, reminding her, “Assistant Zhou, step back.”
Zhou Ning nimbly stepped aside, the old scoundrel even faster than her.
A figure flashed out—upon closer look, it was Yang Xuan.
Yang Xuan’s upper body was bare, carrying a load. He dumped earth and stone onto the ground, then turned to head back.
“Yang Xuan!”
Yang Xuan paused, handed the load to the old scoundrel. “Let the second take over.”
“How are things?” Zhou Ning approached.
Yang Xuan was fit, a bit lean, drenched in sweat. The pressure he exuded made Zhou Ning instinctively want to step back.
She did so subtly. “Let’s talk aside.”
Only when they reached a secluded spot did Zhou Ning speak.
“It’s not an epidemic.”
“What?”
“It’s not an epidemic,” Zhou Ning affirmed. “The library of metaphysics contains countless records, including medical writings from the past thousand years. Some predecessors have documented epidemics… I’ve reviewed them carefully. It’s definitely not that.”
“Are you sure?”
“Certain.”
Yang Xuan hadn’t expected it not to be an epidemic.
“Good, half my life has been pulled back from the brink. The rest depends on fate.”
Yang Xuan had come ready to sacrifice himself, yet now received good news.
“But what illness can fell thousands at once?”
“I’ll keep investigating,” Zhou Ning said.
“Thank you.” Yang Xuan felt he had troubled Zhou Ning.
“It’s nothing. I like healing people.” Zhou Ning gestured to his bare torso. “You don’t have to do it yourself.”
“I must.”
“Why?”
“Clear the way!”
A young voice called out.
Zhou Ning looked up.
A boy of six or seven dragged a basket out of the mine. The basket was only a fifth full of earth.
His shoes were worn, his big toes poking out. Each step pressed his toes against the ground, causing them to bleed.
The boy lifted his head, his eyes full of determination.
Yang Xuan said, “I can’t stand by.”
“Clear the way!”
Wang Lao Er darted out, much faster than Yang Xuan, carrying even more.
“Hurry!”
The laborers arrived.
A dense mass.
“Which one is Deputy Yang?”
The official at the front asked, temper flaring.
“I am!”
Five hundred men, armed with hoes and shovels, seething with anger, fell silent when they saw Yang Xuan, bare-chested, carrying loads.
The official wiped sweat from his forehead. “What are your orders, Deputy?”
Yang Xuan pointed behind him. “A dozen people are trapped in the mine. Five hundred men will dig in shifts, non-stop. The sooner we get them out, the better their chances.”
He cupped his hands. “I understand your anger. Save it until the rescue is done. Then I’ll stand here and take your blows and curses.”
The official strode up, seized Yang Xuan’s load, and led the charge into the mine.
“Hurry!”
Zhou Ning watched the scene and said, “That’s a true man.”
With the five hundred men, digging sped up.
“Deputy!”
Wang Song flew over. “It’s clean now.”
A hundred men had toiled half a day, and the camp was finally cleaned.
Those hundred squatted, vomiting furiously, faces pale.
“I’m doomed.”
“After all this, I must have caught the plague.”
Zhou Ning glanced at Yang Xuan.
Yang Xuan shook his head, signaling her to keep quiet.
This rabble deserved some punishment.
“How do you feel?”
He entered the wooden hut, warmly shook a miner’s hand.
The miner was pale, weak. “Diarrhea… exhausted.”
“It makes you weak,” the Vermilion Bird commented.
Yang Xuan had studied much on the topic.
“Boil water, make saline.”
Yang Xuan was fierce now—no one dared object.
He visited each miner, and gradually, life returned to the camp.
“Thank you, Deputy!”
Someone weakly cupped his hands.
“If you must thank someone, thank His Majesty!”
A soldier nodded quietly.
After making his rounds, Zhou Ning was secretly impressed.
“Please keep this confidential,” Yang Xuan requested.
Zhou Ning was puzzled. “For how long?”
“Preferably… a lifetime.”
Yang Xuan looked at her.
“Make your gaze more affectionate!” the Vermilion Bird coached.
Zhou Ning looked at him. “Alright.”
Yang Xuan breathed a sigh of relief.
When Wang Song saw him again, he was far more respectful, clearly from the heart.
“Boil saline, have them drink it,” Yang Xuan ordered.
Diarrhea’s greatest danger is dehydration; the fifty dead had succumbed to the worst cases.
He called for Captain Chen Jin.
“You’ve seen the devastation. Send someone back to Chang’an at once. Ride hard and report to His Majesty. We need physicians, medicine, manpower—urgently!”
Chen Jin looked at him with admiration, thumped his chest. “Rest assured, Deputy!”
Chen Jin was obviously someone’s man. Yang Xuan, seeing his response, judged him loyal to the emperor.
He sat, watching the mountains bathed in red clouds, contentedly murmured, “We’ve survived.”
Military couriers move faster than common folk can imagine—otherwise, fruit from the south would never reach Chang’an still edible.
On the third morning.
A courier galloped into Chang’an.
At court.
“The mine belongs to the Wang clan, but iron ore production concerns the fate of the Tang Dynasty. Why can’t it be opened up?” Minister of Justice Zheng Qi pressed relentlessly.
Wang Douluo replied calmly, “With too many hands, chaos ensues. If the plague escapes, disaster follows. Wang’s people are already on the way…”
“But days have already been lost!” Zheng Qi sneered. “The miners are suffering—who cares? Wang clan? In the end, His Majesty had to send help.”
Upon learning of the epidemic, Wang Douluo’s first reaction was to seal the mine.
He knew well: if the plague spread, Wang clan was doomed.
The worse the epidemic, the worse their fate.
Wang Douluo said, “To combat this plague, Wang clan has offered huge rewards and assembled a team. Each goes as if he’s already dead.”
Is that enough?
He looked at Zheng Qi. “If needed, I myself would go.”
As long as Wang clan survives, he would offer his life.
Zheng Qi snapped, “What use are you? Now iron ore is scarce, prices in Chang’an soar—how will Wang clan respond?”
The emperor watched Prime Minister Chen Shen, the steady old man who said nothing, as if Wang clan’s troubles had nothing to do with him.
Sensing the emperor’s gaze, Chen Shen lifted his eyes. “Get to work.”
Zheng Qi turned, “Only if Wang clan opens the mine can the court make arrangements.”
Chen Shen looked at him.
His old eyes were calm—and somewhat disdainful.
“Who’s stopping you?” Chen Shen asked.
“What’s the point of going in?” he pressed.
“To catch the plague?”
Zheng Qi had no answer.
Chen Shen slowly addressed the emperor, “In warfare, one must first know the enemy; so too with epidemics. Your Majesty sent people to handle it—that is to gather intelligence, so the court can respond. Until they return, what’s your hurry?”
Zheng Qi was simply eager to trample Wang clan’s reputation.
The emperor said quietly, “That county deputy has been gone four days. News should be back by now.”
“Your Majesty!”
Han Shitou looked up to see a palace attendant.
“Deputy Yang from Qizhou has sent word.”
“Let him in.”
The emperor’s gaze was calm.
Zheng Qi glanced at Wang Douluo, nodded, “Let’s hope it’s good news.”
His tone was peaceful.
But Wang Douluo sensed murderous intent.
After the incident, upon discovering the epidemic, he dared not conceal it and reported at once.
The emperor was silent for a day.
That day, he watched the palace.
Wang Douluo knew exactly what the emperor intended.
He wanted to remove the prime minister.
But first, he needed to cut the prime minister’s wings.
Wang clan was first on the list.
Now, news had arrived.
The soldier was brought in, not daring to lift his head.
“Upon arrival, Deputy Yang ordered the camp cleaned and then led a rescue for the trapped miners…”
Putting the cart before the horse!
Some squinted, dismissively shaking their heads.
“Once cleaned, Deputy Yang comforted the miners—even… held their hands.”
That!
The atmosphere shifted.
Was the man not afraid of death?
Whenever plague strikes, the further from the sick, the safer—this belief runs deep.
“Deputy Yang said…”
The soldier choked up.
“He said they urgently need doctors, medicine, manpower. The sooner, the better.”
Chang’an was stirred.
Later, the soldier reported privately to Han Shitou.
Han Shitou relayed to the emperor.
“The miners were moved to tears. Deputy Yang said they should thank Your Majesty.”
The emperor responded.
After a long pause.
“Tell Wang Shou to pull back the team watching Chen Qu since the day before.”
“Yes.”
The emperor later went to the inner palace.
“He dared hold their hands?”
The imperial consort was astonished.
Outside the palace.
Wang Douluo gazed ahead in silence.
His advisor arrived.
“Young lord.”
Wang Douluo, hands clasped behind his back, said, “Tell Erlang, he has good judgment.”
The advisor was surprised.
“Prepare the best physicians. If Yang Xuan falls ill, cure him—at any cost!”
“Yes!”
Wang Douluo turned to the palace, eyes filled with disdain, and said,
“Dog emperor!”