Chapter 48 - Leaving Jiangsu

 

The following morning, Ding Qi releases the pigeons to deliver the letters. Xia Chunyu and Feng Long wake up and meets with Ouyang Ziyu and Zhong Kunyi. Xia Chunyu assists them in preparing their luggage to come back home:

-Feng Long... I wish we will have more time to spend together. - Xia Chunyu smiles. 
-We will meet again. I'll definitely not wait another five years to get my foot on Wuxi again... And feel free to visit our Zhejiang.

Zhong Kunyi and Ouyang Ziyu also talk:

-I am pretty happy with your highness... you are a very open-minded person, and we get to a new treaty that will further help our empires to advance in the right direction. - Zhong Kunyi smiles.
-I am sure this will happen. You are very competent and responsible, I was impressed the last time I crossed the border. Zhejiang is now a very modern state that stands out.

Before departing, Xia Chunyu hugs both Feng long and Zhong Kunyi:

-Please, feel free to visit our Jiangsu. We are great friends and share the same mindset, if we merged into a single empire in the future, it would happen rather easily, given how aligned we are. - Xia Chunyu smiles.

Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi bow to him:

-We greet your majesty for providing excellent treatment for us as your guests. Your majesty will be treated equally well on our empire, should you want to visit us in person. 

Xia Chunyu smiles, and helps them to rise:

-Please, rise...

They rise. Feng Long looks deeply into Xia Chunyu's eyes:

-We will humbly take our leave, Your Majesty. I wish his highness keeps serving you so well as he currently does. And also loving you as much as he does... - Zhong Kunyi smiles.
-You may leave... But never forget us... - Xia Chunyu smiles.

Feng Long hugs Xia Chunyu strongly and kisses his cheek before departing. A tear runs from Xia Chunyu's eyes as Feng Long moves away. They keep visual contact for a while until a building hides Feng Long. He is in turn feeling a bit sad for having only a brief passage on Wuxi, even though the main objective of the mission was accomplished.
As they move down Lake Tai, Feng Long engages in a conversation with Zhong Kunyi:

-I'm happy that our objective was accomplished, Zhong Kunyi... I bet you have had a hard time negotiating, haven't you?
-Well, Ouyang Ziyu was very worried that my proposal would cause economic losses to Jiangsu, but we later reached a good agreement for both empires and he was happy. How about your talks with Xia Chunyu?
-I can say that it was a success too. I got to, you know... have a nice time together with him...- Feng Long blushes. 
-I feel happy for your majesty...

Zhong Kunyi takes one of Feng Long's hands, caressing it. They move to a bench and sit together. Feng long looks at Zhong Kunyi, and smiles:

-You know, Zhong Kunyi... Maybe this disease may have helped us to strengthen our relationships with our neighbors and give more stability to our empire as anything else could. 
-Your majesty is right. Of course, some empires don't care,  I can't conceive Anhui doing anything productive in this regard. Further, I think Ding Qi is the only barrier protecting us from the disease. Of course, Zhang Yi is incredibly talented, and your majesty has the merit of choosing the right person... But I am still scared to face a larger outbreak in our land. Epidemics can be controlled until a certain point, Zhang Yi knew that when the flu outbreak has hit Lishui, but it was mostly contained in a small city. 
-I understand. I feel powerless without you. I also don't want this thing to ever spread on my empire, but I must recognize that Zhang Yi was correct when he said that all diseases eventually spread, no matter how much containment you do. Of course, we must work hard to find a cure or treatment while we try to contain the spread, so the effort pays itself off and the disease eventually disappears.

The boat keeps moving towards the wharf. As they disembark, they get on their horses and run down the plains to cover the remaining 100 li until the next wharf. 
At Zhejiang, Yu Lexuan helps Zhang Yi in the making of the new medicine. He reviewed the recipe he had used in Lishui to treat patients infected with the flu, and added new components that may boost its effectiveness:

-I'm eager to know if my former formulae worked in Huangshan. We do not have enough people infected to test, but from what I'm checking, both should have a good result 

Yu Lexuan smiles:

-I'm confident they will work! I am prepared for the worst, but hoping for the best.
-I agree with his highness. 

Shortly after, a pigeon appears in the window, carrying a small container. Yu Lexuan smiles:

-Hey, Zhang Yi, Huangshan replied!
-This is good, let's see what they got!

Yu Lexuan gently takes the pigeon, opens the tiny container, and takes the letters, reading out loud:

"I greet his majesty, Feng Long. We are passing by a difficult situation due to the non-stop influx of infected people coming from Hefei. We are a responsible empire, so we are keeping travelers quarantined for about two weeks, and most of them are recovering. It has a downside for you, of course, delaying shipping considerably. We have a limited supply of tests, and we need your cooperation to carry on testing on your empire if you can, so the market can still function. This is a risk decision, but I think his majesty is wise and will care about alleviating it for us... We humbly ask for your comprehension. Cordially, Ding Qi, emperor of Huangshan"

Zhang Yi raises an eyebrow: 

-This is really a risky decision. I think we can do it, but I'll wait for Feng Long. Of course, we must be sensible with Ding Qi, he's being beaten up by the disease, and having to control it alone, at his expense, is really not fair. - Zhang Yi nods.
-Yes, really, this is not how he should spend his money and resources. It is in fact incredibly unfair. We have barely recorded any cases because he screened the infected and has kept them inside his empire. 
-Feng Long will probably be there tomorrow, so let's try to convince him that we should carry out our own testing program for travelers. I can do it, we have the necessary resources. 
-I trust you more than anyone on that, Zhang Yi! - Yu Lexuan smiles.

Zhang Yi smiles back:

-And the other letter, may I read it?
-Yes, it is probably from Zhang Xiaofan.

Zhang Yi takes the letter, and also reads it out loud:

"To his excellency, Health Minister Zhang Yi. We are recording fewer cases resulting from community infection, and much more cases from travelers arriving from Hefei. The domestic tests are 95% negative, while 94% of travelers coming from Hefei are infected. We have only tested about half of the total population, using more than a hundred testing stations, but given that the local cases are trending down, I can assume the epidemic has mostly been contained. His Majesty, Ding Qi, will start to gradually lift restrictions, and we will put them back in place as needed. Also, I'll put your medicine to the test as soon as possible. Humbly, Zhang Xiaofan, Health minister of Huangshan".

-It seems to be a good thing, actually. If they are testing and not finding new cases, it means the disease is being slowed down, and the measures Ding Qi imposed are working fast. Of course, they have tested just half of the population, the other half might be completely infected or not, only time will tell. 
-I hope most people are fine. If we manage to create a good medicine for it on time, we will avoid many deaths. 
-His highness is right, but something bothers me.
-What, exactly?
-Hefei is probably bathed in the disease, either because the emperor doesn't care, or they have lost control due to the sheer size of the city. We cannot avoid receiving items from Hefei, and if not most or all trade routes cross the city or pass very close to it. With such a phenomenal amount of people infected, the disease is very likely to evolve to something worse than it actually is, either spreading faster or killing more. And our hard-to-develop medicine may be rendered completely ineffective if it ever works.  
-This is really a good point. Maybe we can ask Ding Qi about how the emperor is dealing with it now.
-Yes, I'll ask him. 

Zhang Yi writes back to Ding qi and Zhang Xiaofan, sends also another sample of his newly developed medicine. Later, Yu Lexuan frees the pigeon, and the bird aims back to Huangshan. Meanwhile, Feng Long and Zhong Kunyi are arriving at the wharf. Their ship is ready, the sailors bow to Feng Long, and he bows back to them:

-Thanks for the greeting. We will navigate against the current, so our trip will not be as fast and easy. I hope we all can get back home safely.

Given that sailing upstream is impossible, the sailors moved the ship from deep water to a shallow part of the river where the current is not noticeable and the ship can still sail very slowly, as the winds have reversed direction. The sailors also had to use pushrods to keep the ship moving when the wind was not blowing strongly enough, and to avoid it running aground. 

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