Chapter 18: Emergency Response (III)

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Last time I heard him mention the plague around the 7th year of the Republic of China at Xu Yongchang. This time I heard Zhu Qinglan and Jing Yuexiu talk about the disaster, and couldn't help asking: "Mr. Zhu, Chief Jing, when I went to Shanxi to visit Chief Xu, I also heard him mention the plague that swept nearly half of China around the 7th year of the Republic of China. However, I only returned from overseas in the autumn of the 7th year of the Republic of China and was taken in by my master. I had no impression of what happened that year. I wonder how the plague was extinguished? How much damage was caused? Are there any measures to be learned from and used to control the current plague?"

"To be precise, the plague was first reported from a church in Pazibulong, Utra Front Banner in August 6, in August 2009. Then, the people in that area fled in panic and brought the epidemic to other places. At the end of September, an epidemic occurred in Baotou. In mid-October, an epidemic occurred in Sarachi, Tumote and Guisui areas in the eastern part of Suiyuan. Later, the epidemic spread to Suiyuan and 27 nearby banners and counties, and entered Shanxi. Later, the epidemic occurred in the epidemic.

It spread everywhere along the Jingsui Line, Zhengtai Line, Beining Line, Jinghan Line, and Jinpu Line, spreading nearly half of China." Jing Yuexiu said in a low voice, "When the plague broke out, it was Zhang Xun's restoration and the situation was in chaos, no one cared about the life and death of the people in the northwest. It was not until Duan Qirui's comeback at the end of the 6th year of the Republic of China that Beijing Zhengfu learned that another Belgian missionary in a church in Wuyuan City had a disease and died, and then he began to pay attention."

"Duan Qirui Zheng also took some measures such as blocking the communication, demarcating epidemic prevention areas, clarifying responsible persons, hiring foreign experts, and mobilizing gentry from all over the country to participate. These measures have indeed had certain effects. However, due to the lack of medical treatment, especially the lack of effective substances to prevent and control plague, many places rely on isolation measures. When the infected people die, the epidemic will be extinguished."

"By May and June of the 7th year of the Republic of China, the plague was basically extinguished. The number of deaths with clear records was close to 15,000, and property losses were immeasurable."

After Jing Yuexiu finished speaking, he sighed. He knew in his heart that there was no effective object in the world that could effectively prevent and control plague. If the barrier was also taken in northern Shaanxi to allow the life and death of the infected people to come from the sky, the losses would never be small. It is hard to say that several counties with severe epidemics might be cut off from this.

"Around the 7th year of the Republic of China, I was living in Shanghai. I had only heard of the plague and had not experienced it myself." Zhu Qinglan said heavily, "However, when I became the chief of staff of the Heilongjiang Supervisor in the first year of the Republic of China, I saw the tragic situation after the plague broke out in the northeast in the second year of the Xuantong reign of the Qing Dynasty."

"Although the plague that occurred in the northeast in October of the second year of Xuantong was not as long as the plague around the seventh year of the Republic of China in terms of duration and scope, the consequences were even more serious, and the losses caused by more than 60,000 people were caused. Many of them were military and police who went to the epidemic area to perform tasks, and many rescue workers involved in epidemic prevention and control. At that time, in the medical team formed by epidemic prevention expert Wu Lien-teh, nearly half of the rescue workers died in the line of duty."

After a pause, Zhu Qinglan said: "If we look at the number of deaths alone, the losses of these tens of thousands of people will definitely not be as large as the number of casualties caused by a war. However, the forces of the two sides on the battlefield are certain. If the people are not harmed, the losses of the war will be the sum of the forces of the two sides. But the spread of the epidemic will be different. If it is not controlled well, the local people may die in the places where the epidemic spreads. One is the total force of the two sides, and the other is the total population of the place where the epidemic spreads. Compared with the two, the potential harm of the epidemic is greater and it can also cause panic among the people."

"Mr. Zhu's words make sense." Zhao Zhenzhong smiled bitterly, "After confirming that the epidemic was plague, I had thought of asking Huamei Company's branches in Tianjin and Qingdao to hire some doctors to participate in epidemic prevention and control. But when they heard that it was necessary to prevent and control the plague, they actually said that there was no cure at the moment, so they all made excuses to refuse."

"This time, Mr. Zhu is invited to preside over the epidemic prevention and control. I hope that Mr. Zhu can use the dual identities of the State Administration Supervisory Committee and the President of the North China Charity Federation to coordinate the power of the government and the civil forces to control the plague as soon as possible. If it is relying solely on the power of the people or the chief of the well, it may not be possible to catch it."

Jing Yuexiu, who was on the other hand, also agreed: "Mr. Zhu is highly respected and has been working in Shaanxi for disaster relief in recent years. He is also familiar with the situation in northern Shaanxi. In addition, he is a member of the State Administration and the Nanjing and Peking. It is great to be presided over the prevention and control of the plague this time by Mr. Zhu."

"Since you said that, I won't refuse. However, epidemic prevention and control are complicated. If there are any troubles, please do your best." Zhu Qinglan said.

"Mr. Zhu, don't worry, Sihai Industrial and Huamei Company will definitely help you all." Zhao Zhenzhong replied, "I have asked someone to prepare the products and grain separately. They will be shipped here through Baotou in the future."

Zhu Qinglan and Jing Yuexiu are no longer accustomed to Zhao Zhenzhong's provision of food to the disaster area through the North China Charity Federation, but this is the first time Zhao Zhenzhong provides yào products to the disaster area.

"Mr. Zhao, what is that yào product? Can it completely control the plague?" As a local official in northern Shaanxi, Jing Yuexiu was naturally concerned about major events on his territory, so he asked anxiously.

"Captain Jing, there is no special effect in the world that can cure the plague. Among these products provided by Sihai Industrial and Huamei Company, in addition to some Chinese products, there is also a new one called 'sulfadiazine' that was just developed last year. Although this new one cannot completely cure the plague, it also has good results. Chinese ones can be transported here in a few days, while that new one will take about a month."

Although Jing Yuexiu was a little disappointed after hearing this, it was better to be effective than to be ineffective, so she nodded and said no more.

"With Mr. Zhao's strong help, we will be more sure of controlling the epidemic. Let's discuss how to control and prevent this epidemic first." Zhu Qinglan smiled, "I think some of the political practices at that time can be learned from us in the two plagues mentioned above. At least it is good to separate the gaps, define the epidemic prevention area and clarify the responsible persons, and hire domestic and foreign experts, etc.."

Subsequently, the three agreed that Zhao Zhenzhong was responsible for coordinating Huamei Company to provide grain and products to northern Shaanxi, and was responsible for transporting them to Fugu, and was taken over by staff from North China Charity Federation; Jing Yuexiu was responsible for sending troops to block the connections in areas with severe epidemics such as Jingbian, Hengshan, Anding, and the people in northern Shaanxi; Zhu Qinglan was responsible for presiding over the epidemic prevention work, and coordinated with the ruling personnel of Nanjing, Peking, and Jin, Sui and other regions in northern Shaanxi.

After roughly determining the matter, Zhao Zhenzhong took the opportunity to say: "Captain Jing, an epidemic occurred in Hengshan, and later it was necessary to block the spread of the epidemic. The matter of Huamei Company opening an industry in Dingbian will definitely be affected. Can you make peace with Huamei Company to open a transportation channel from Dongsheng to Dingbian? If the subsequent equipment and materials cannot be in place as soon as possible, it will be delayed."

"Mr. Zhao, you are welcome. I'll just say hello to Dingbian. However, you don't need to open another passage. There was originally a road from Dongsheng to pass through Wushen Banner, Nalin River to Dingbian. This road was originally used by horse gangs. In recent years, due to disasters and bandits, and the herdsmen outside the Great Wall also fled elsewhere, and the road was gradually abandoned. If Mr. Zhao wants to use a car to transport supplies from Dongsheng to Dingbian, he has to send someone to sort it out." Jing Yuexiu has been in northern Shaanxi for many years and is well aware of the large and small paths inside and outside the Great Wall.

"That's thankful to Chief Jing. With your advice, we will take a lot of effort." Zhao Zhenzhong said happily.

"This is nothing. I wish you could start more industries in northern Shaanxi, which is beneficial to each other. Take the cement factory in Dingbian for example. If you can start construction as soon as possible, I can also use cement as soon as possible, and it is also possible to repair the roads in northern Shaanxi." Jing Yuexiu waved his hand and said.

After the agreement on plague prevention and control was agreed, the three conveniences each began to step up their actions since early May.

Zhao Zhenzhong stepped up the transportation of various materials to the Dongsheng area in the name of disaster relief and epidemic prevention; Jing Yuexiu also sent troops to isolate the severe plague areas; while Zhu Qinglan came forward to prompt Nanjing Zhengfu to establish the "Shanxi and Shaanxi Epidemic Prevention Affairs Office" in Lin County, Shanxi, and set up epidemic prevention groups in Yulin, Mizhi and other places. At the same time, Shaanxi Yang Hucheng also came forward to negotiate with the Northeast Epidemic Prevention Office and invited two experts to assist. You Xianhang, a native of Yulin who worked in the Central Epidemic Prevention Office of Peking, was even more eager to make an effort to prevent and rush to lead medical teams to the severe epidemic areas and take emergency prevention measures.

Due to the emergence of Zhao Zhenzhong and others, the plague in northern Shaanxi was confirmed four months earlier than in history. In addition, effective prevention and control measures were taken in time, so the epidemic was controlled in northern Shaanxi before it spread. This also greatly reduced the harm of this plague.

Just when Zhao Zhenzhong was relieved that the epidemic prevention matter was settled, the situation reports from various departments sent by Zhang Mingrui, Liu Jifeng, Xu Chaoyuan, Yang Tianming and others made Zhao Zhenzhong face new problems.

The situation mentioned in Yang Tianming's telegram was that the northern Shaanxi and Huanxian areas had drought and rain after the Chunqian Festival, and the disaster was severe. Zhao Zhenzhong knew when he went to his place to confirm the epidemic. But what Zhao Zhenzhong did not expect was that the entire Longdong and even Gansu were suffering from severe drought. In Pingliang, "digging three feet of the ground, no wet soil"; in Qingyang, the land was dry and cracked, and it was so far that "the Chun could not be cultivated, and the autumn could not be planted"... There are now hundreds of thousands of victims in Gansu that are displaced and gathered in the provincial capital Lanzhou, hoping that the government can provide relief. And the number of victims in Gansu is estimated to be 2 to 3 million.

Compared with Gansu, although there were no floods and droughts in Ningxia this year, due to the continuous plundering of wars last year, and the disaster victims in the neighboring province of Gansu, Shaanxi fled and gathered, which caused the people to even grow grain. As a result, after the opening of the chun, Ningxia farmers lacked seeds, and about 40% of the cultivated land could not be cultivated. The chun planting failed, which led to the expansion of the disaster. Now there are hundreds of thousands of hungry people in Ningxia, and they starved to death every day. The population of Zhongwei County is less than 100,000, but from last winter to now, more than 8,000 people have jumped into rivers, fell into wells, committed suicide, committed suicide, and died of cold and starvation!

After Zhang Mingrui and others explained the disaster situation in various places in their call, they mentioned with concern that according to the current food stored by each ministries, it is impossible to rescue so many victims; and if each ministries launch the battles of Longdong and Ningxia at the same time on schedule in May, it will inevitably lead to the authorities' blockade of the newly occupied areas of our area, increase the difficulty of material transportation, and aggravate the disaster situation.

Zhao Zhenzhong is now facing a dilemma:

Delaying the launch of the battle can increase material reserves, which will help to seize the two places in the future and rescue the victims, and quickly gain a foothold in the northwest; but delaying the launch of the battle will lose the unprecedented opportunity to seize Longdong and Ningxia, and our side may pay a greater price when seizing the two places later.

If the battle is launched on time, we will face the problems mentioned by Zhang Mingrui and others. Although it is relatively easy to capture the two places, it will be difficult for them to help the victims in time in the future.

Where to go, this is a question.
Chapter completed!