Hearing his words, Mu Weizhou thought to himself,""Could it be that my suggestion ruined time? So time corrected itself? Logically speaking, it wouldn't be. The matter of raising cattle was something the emperor had long wanted to do.”Even so, Mu Weizhou could not help but feel a little panicked. He felt that if he really lost so many cows because of his idea, he would be a sinner.
"Finance Minister, shouldn't we quickly use some methods to save these cows?”Mu Weizhou asked anxiously.
"Mu Shu Zi does not know. Once the cow plague broke out, it would be very difficult to control. Deputy Ox and Doctor Ox have already thought of some methods, but the results are minimal. In my opinion, our current focus is to think of a way to control the epidemic and prevent it from spreading. We have to block the traffic flow so as not to affect other areas.”Liu Min sighed and said.
Mu Weizhou was a little scared when he heard him say that. When he came over from East City in the morning, the cows there had already shown the same symptoms as those at the ranch. He suddenly thought of the "SARS-era" that he had experienced and quickly said,"Aiya, when Dou Tao and I came from East City this morning, the cows there seemed to have been infected. Crown Prince, Minister of Finance, should we immediately ask the Emperor to seal off the bull market?”
Hearing this, Liu He frowned." Big brother, don't be too anxious. After hearing the military officer's report, the finance minister has already arranged for people to seal off the East Market. No one is allowed to move around freely." Now, the people there were also trying to find out the cause of the outbreak. Unfortunately, if these 1,000 cows die, our plan to promote cattle farming will probably die.”After saying that, he sighed deeply.
When Mu Weizhou heard that all 1,000 cows had died, he suddenly remembered the few cattle pens near the foot of Mount Mang. He hurriedly said,"Not all of them are dead. The ones in the cow pens at the foot of the mountain are fine.”When he finished speaking, he regretted it. In his impression, there were only a few dozen cows in the cattle pens, no more than a hundred at most. Compared to the number that might die, it was really disproportionate. Therefore, she felt that her words were abrupt.
Liu He didn't think much of it, but Mu Weizhou clearly felt that the finance minister Liu Min and a cow doctor were very surprised. "Mu Shu Zi, did you say that there was a cow at the foot of the mountain?"”
Mu Weizhou saw that he was serious and nodded."Yes, I am. Before you came, Dou Tao and I looked around. Other than a few cattle pens at the foot of the mountain, the rest of the cattle have fallen. There were about a dozen of them over there, and the situation was similar to that one.”As he spoke, he pointed at the cow that they had tied to a tree stump not far away.
The finance minister looked at the cow in the distance and exchanged a glance with Doctor Niu.""Your Highness, what Mu Shu Zi said is strange. I think we should go over and take a look immediately.”
Liu He and Mu Weizhou saw the change in his expression and did not know what was going on. So they mounted their horses and ran towards the cattle pen at the foot of the mountain, led by Mu Weizhou.
When they arrived at the cattle pens, Liu He and the finance minister found that most of the cattle in the cattle pens were guarding the cattle trough and eating grass. Some of them were still drinking water by a stream flowing down the mountain. Two of them were lying by the pen, but when they saw someone coming, they immediately got up and ran away as if they were shocked. They didn't seem to realize that their death was just around the corner.
Seeing this scene, the originally worried finance minister became solemn, and the two ox deputies seemed to panic even more. The finance minister saluted Liu He and said,""Your Highness, in the past, when the cow plague broke out, the cattle within a radius of three to five miles were rarely spared. However, the cattle here did not seem to be affected by the disease. I see that the condition of these dozens of oxen here is not bad. This old minister wants to do a detailed investigation with Niu Doctor and Niu Cheng. Please wait here for the crown prince and the concubines.”
Mu Weizhou guessed that the finance minister was going to do some professional investigation, and was afraid that he, Liu He, and the others would cause trouble for him, so he nodded and tied up the horse with Liu He, waiting from afar.
"Brother Crown Prince, what are the finance minister and the others doing?”Dou Tao blinked and asked.
"They seem to be checking on the situation of the cows here.”Liu Meng said," It's really strange. Why is it that the same cattle farm is not far away, but none of the cattle here are fine?"”
"Yes, I am. Judging from the looks of the finance minister and the others, the ox plague didn't seem to be as simple as they thought.”Mu Weizhou continued.
"Big brother and I thought the same." Liu Meng nodded. Why do you think all the cows here are fine?”
"And the one we tied outside the day before yesterday.”Liu Yan reminded.
Mu Weizhou and Liu He looked at each other. Although they did not speak, they both faintly felt that there might be something fishy going on.
"If Qingping was here, she might be able to see some clues.”Mu Weizhou muttered to himself.
"Yes, Sister Qingping is so smart. But Sister Qingping doesn't know how to raise cows.”Dou Tao said.
"Sister Dou is right." " It's been almost three months since Sister Qingping returned to Guangling," Liu Meng said." I wonder what she's been busy with recently. Hey, Big Brother, do you have any news about her?”
Hearing this, Mu Weizhou looked at the finance minister and the others and replied casually,""No, you don't either?"
"I don't think so. I met Sister Wei Luan a few days ago and she asked me about it.”Dou Tao said.
"I sent her a message half a month ago, telling her that Father's grudge has been resolved. I will find a suitable opportunity these few days to get Father to agree to Sister Qingping's return. He wondered if she had received the news.”Liu He also looked in the direction of the finance minister.
"I think it's tough. It would take at least a month to travel from Luoyang to Guangling.”Mu Weizhou said.
"Why did they use the water from the creek?”Dou Tao crossed her legs and looked at the few people in the fence.
Liu He and Mu Weizhou looked at each other, then explained to Dou Tao,"The finance minister and the others must have discovered something.”
Dou Tao didn't understand what Liu He meant. Just as she was about to ask, she saw the finance minister, Doctor Niu, and Deputy Niu running over. The few of them walked up to Liu He and Mu Weizhou and saluted,""Your Highness the Crown Prince, the guilty officials have discovered that there is something fishy about the cow plague. The guilty minister requests the crown prince to report to the emperor, let Tingwei and Henan Yin also come to the cattle farm.”
Hearing the finance minister calling himself a criminal and asking the chief justice and Henan Yin to join in, Mu Weizhou started to guess. Hearing the finance minister's words, Liu He asked,""Why would the finance minister say that? Did you find anything?"
"Your Highness, I'm worried that this cow plague might not be a natural disaster, but a man-made one!”Liu Min said with some fear. The two Ox Deputy behind him seemed to be trembling slightly.
" Man-made disaster?!" Liu Meng and the other two exclaimed in unison. Mu Weizhou had already had this speculation when the finance minister and the others were investigating. It was not that he was very smart, but he had lived in a farming area since he was young and was no stranger to raising cattle and sheep. He had spent a lot of energy in this area recently and had also learned some things from Niu Cheng, so he had this idea. Just as the finance minister had said, even if the cow plague broke out, it would not become like this overnight.
"Finance Minister, why do you say that?”Liu Meng asked.
"This is just a speculation of the guilty minister. To confirm it, we have to investigate it further. Because this event involves me, I want to ask the emperor to let the chief justice and Henan Yin participate in it first.”The finance minister lowered his head and replied.
Mu Weizhou did not expect this finance minister to be such an upright and brave person, and he couldn't help but admire him. Liu Meng seemed to know what the finance minister was thinking and said calmly,""Finance Minister, I have been raising cattle with you all. Now that such a big thing has happened, I must bear the primary responsibility. But now is not the time for us to investigate the responsibility. Tell us first, what exactly is going on?”
The finance minister felt grateful for Liu He's attitude. He felt that it was rare for this weak young man to not run away when he was in trouble. He bowed again and said,"I thought that no one had poisoned me yet.”
" Poison?!" Liu He and Mu Weizhou couldn't help but blurt out.
"How did the finance minister come to such a conclusion? Besides, so many cows are infected. Are you mistaken?”Mu Weizhou asked.
Liu Min glanced at Liu He and Mu Weizhou, then pointed at the dozens of cows behind her and said,""Crown Prince, Mu Shu Zi, look. These cows and the cows at the foot of the mountain were in the same cattle farm. Although this cattle pen was far from the foot of the mountain, it was not far. The cows at the foot of the mountain, including the cows in the East City, all had the symptoms of the ox plague, but the ones here did not. This was really illogical. Just now, I checked with Doctor Niu and Deputy Niu. The grass, land, and materials used for the fences here are no different from those at the foot of the mountain. The only difference is that there is a stream flowing down from Mount Mang here. Just now, I asked the Ox Deputy. When they and the military officials feed the cows, they only add fodder to the cows on the mountain and don't carry water up. These cows drink the water from the stream beside them, while the cows below drink the water from the pond below. The sinner suspected that the problem lay in the water in the pond.”
Hearing this, Mu Weizhou immediately felt that it made sense and quickly asked Niu Cheng,""Did the cow we tied to the cowshed at the foot of the mountain never drink water?”
One of the officers quickly knelt down and said,"The water it drank was carried over alone the day before yesterday." Yesterday evening, we saw that there was still some in the bucket, so we didn't carry it anymore. I'm guilty!"
"But strangely, last night, Deputy Ox and the military officers also used the water from the pond to cook, but they did not show any signs of poisoning. Therefore, I only dare to say that what I said before was just a guess.”The finance minister added cautiously.
Liu Meng gestured for the Ox Deputy to stand up as he said,""Finance Minister, in that case, we should go down the mountain immediately and confirm if the water in the pond is poisonous.”
Hearing that, the finance minister hurriedly said," That's what I mean too. However, it's a serious matter. Therefore, I hope that the chief justice and the Henan governor can come to witness it."”
"There's no need to stick to the usual rules," Liu Meng said decisively."It's more important to find out the truth first. Liu Yan, you take a Deputy Ox and report to father directly. Ask him to send the chief justice and Henan magistrate here. Finance Minister, let's go down the mountain immediately and verify our guesses as soon as possible."”
Seeing that Liu He's arrangement was reasonable, everyone mounted their horses and galloped down the mountain. The two Ox Deacons each led a cow and carried two buckets of water as they followed behind.
Everyone came to the pond at the foot of the mountain. The finance minister asked Doctor Niu to find two empty buckets and fill them with water. Then, he divided the stream water from the mountain into two groups. After the grouping was completed, the finance minister asked the military officials to bring two dogs and split them into two groups with the two cows. After the finance minister arranged everything, he asked Liu He if he should start the experiment.
Liu Meng was more cautious about this experiment, even though he already believed that the finance minister's speculation was likely to be true. If the finance minister's speculation was true, it meant that these lying cows were not infected with the disease, but because they drank the poisoned water in the pond. Then, after the experiment, one of the two cows in front of him would definitely be poisoned, and that would mean the loss of one cow. Therefore, Liu Wei suggested to wait for the chief justice and Henan Yin to arrive before conducting the sex test. If the cows in the cattle farm were poisoned, the first thing to do was to think of a way to detoxify and save the cows. Thinking of this, he asked,"Finance Minister, according to your speculation, you've been poisoned. Should we think of a way to detoxify it first?"?”
The finance minister glanced at Doctor Niu, who understood and replied,""Reporting to the Crown Prince, I'm afraid this lowly official is powerless. I've checked the fallen cows, including the dead ones, and the symptoms are the same as the ox plague. With our current treatment level, I'm afraid there's nothing we can do. Unless…unless…"
"Unless what?" Liu Meng looked at the white-haired Doctor Niu and asked.
Doctor Niu replied," I've been learning the art of healing cows, sheep, donkeys, and horses from my master since I was young. I remember that my master once told me when we were chatting. According to the folklore, there is a tribe in the western part of Yizhou called the White Wolf Tribe. They have lived in the Shiwan Mountain for generations. During the reign of Emperor Xuan of the previous dynasty, there was an extraordinary person in the White Wolf Tribe who could use the five poisons as Gu worms to create many kinds of poisons. The special thing about these poisons was that depending on the ratio of the ingredients, it could poison livestock such as horses, cattle, sheep, pigs, and deer, and even humans alone. Moreover, the symptoms produced by different amounts of poison were different.”
"Are you saying that because the formula is different, even if two different animals eat it at the same time, only one of them will be poisoned?”Mu Weizhou found it hard to believe that in the Eastern Han Dynasty, which sounded like a barbarian region, there was actually a poison similar to the results of genetic engineering research. This was too unbelievable.
Doctor Niu nodded,"Yes, Lord Shu 'zi." According to my master, that extraordinary person used these poisons to unify the various tribes of the White Wolf Tribe. It was said that after he unified the White Wolf Tribe, he was afraid that people would abuse those poisons, so he destroyed them all. Moreover, he did not make any more after that.”
When Mu Weizhou heard this, he pondered and said,"Could it be that you suspect that these cows have been poisoned?”
"Yes, Lord Bastard. However, what I said just now is only a legend, so I don't dare to be particularly sure.”Doctor Niu lowered his head slightly.
"Didn't you say that the strange person had already destroyed all the poison he had concocted? How can it be related?" Dou Tao asked in surprise.
"Miss Dou, I heard from my master that although that strange person destroyed the poison he had concocted, he was afraid that the tribes he had merged with would once again rebel, so he specially left a copy of the Five Poison Scripture for his clansmen. I wonder if his descendants concocted those poisons according to the Five Poisons Scripture. However, these are all my guesses based on the symptoms of the cows in the cattle farm.”Doctor Niu said.
Liu Meng nodded thoughtfully and said,""Yes, it's a pity that we know too little about these things. Then what did you mean by 'unless' just now?”
"Reporting to the Crown Prince, I heard from my master that the 'Five Poisons Scripture' not only records the methods of concocting various poisons, it also records the methods of interpretation. If the cows in the cattle farm were really poisoned by the Five Poisons Classic, then if they could find the Five Poisons Classic before noon and formulate the antidote according to the method inside, they might be able to save half of them.”Doctor Niu replied.
When Mu Weizhou heard this, he almost fainted. He thought to himself that this Doctor Niu was really muddle-headed. After talking so much, he actually came up with the legendary " Five Poison Scripture " and he even wanted to find it before noon. Wasn't this a joke? The world was so big, where could he find it?
" What?" Liu Meng suddenly snapped," You're such a bold doctor. You've wasted so much time just to let us listen to your story?"! Why are you still spouting nonsense at such a critical time?!”
Doctor Niu was shocked when he heard that. He knelt down with a thud and repeatedly shouted,"I deserve to die!" I deserve to die!" It turned out that Doctor Niu's position was low, and he had never had the chance to interact with people like the Crown Prince and the finance minister for a long time. Today, he had finally gotten the opportunity to show off his " broad knowledge " to the few lords and leave a good impression so that he could climb up in the future. He didn't expect Liu Meng to see through him. He left a bad impression. In the end, this person retired in the Eastern Han Dynasty as a cow doctor.
Seeing that Doctor Niu was afraid, Liu Meng did not reprimand him anymore. After all, he had learned more about the rumors from him. He was just angry at Doctor Niu's blind cunning, but he needed him now, so he said,""Apart from the Five Poisons Scripture, could it be that you can't think of any other way?”
Hearing this, Doctor Niu hurriedly kowtowed and said,"I will tell you everything I know." I really can't think of any other way. Please forgive me, Crown Prince.”
Seeing his weak body, Liu Meng knew what he said was true. He said calmly,""Get up."
Hearing this, Doctor Niu hurriedly thanked him and kowtowed a few more times before standing up and not saying a word.
While waiting for Liu Yan to return, Liu He, the finance minister, and Mu Weizhou discussed with each other and asked the officers to gather the dead cows together. In the end, these cows would definitely be burned. For those cows that had already shown symptoms of prostration, they still tried their best, hoping that a miracle would happen.
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