Chapter 83 - Slow progress

In the morning, the bed on which Feng Long and his friends slept is a total mess. The blanket is on the floor, and Yu Lexuan lies on Feng Long's chest. Zhong Kunyi is lying very close to the edge of the mattress, almost falling. The thunderstorm ceased, the sky cleared out during the night, leaving behind fallen trees and brooks so full that they had overflown. 

Feng Long was the first one to get up. A sunbeam coming from the window has aligned perfectly, hitting his face. He looks to his side and notices Yu Lexuan over him. He smiles, gently caressing him:

-Yu Lexuan... Please, get up...

Yu Lexuan opens his eyes slowly and smiles after seeing Feng Long:

-Good morning, your majesty... I slept so well feeling your heat. 

-Me too...

They look at Zhong Kunyi. He opens his eyes slowly and moves a bit but loses equilibrium and falls from the bed. Yu Lexuan gets up quickly and offers help:

-Zhong Kunyi, what a disaster! Are you ok?

-I... Yes, I'm fine, ouch!

Feng Long gets up, and also helps him to rise:

-You must be very careful. The bed is big but not fall-proof...

-Yes, I'll try to avoid it next time... I told Yu Lexuan a single bed is not a great idea.

-If you want to sleep alone, you do you. I'll stick to Feng Long even if there's space for only one person. - Yu Lexuan smirks.

Feng Long smiles and caresses both:

-No problem, you can solve it later. Let's get dressed and eat something. We will have to get new horses on the stud farm. The horses we used yesterday probably recovered from the trip. However, they will not be able to gallop for a second day. 

Both Yu Lexuan and Zhong Kunyi bow to him:

-As your majesty wishes.

-Rise.

They get dressed and have breakfast. Feng Long pays for the accommodation, and they get to their horses. The stud farm is on the outskirts of the city. Getting there, Feng Long shows the letter sent by Meng Zhang, which contains his official seal.

They get the new horses but keep the previous saddles Yu Lexuan bought. They mount on the new horses and continue to the next stop, Yingtan, about 160 li away.

Due to the thunderstorm that happened the night prior, they faced difficulties like fallen trees and flooding. Even so, they kept a decent pace overall.

A few hours later, they reached Yingtan, their last stop before Nanchang. They again change horses and also eat something. This stop was much faster, but this final stretch is over 200 li, which will take the full afternoon to complete, as they have to cross at least three rivers. 

In Hefei, Bai Chongye was complaining to a representative of the Health Bureau about the number of cases not dropping fast as he expected. The rhythm of immunization was fast compared to other empires. However, Hefei has over a million people eligible for the medicine, and keeping all the required personnel working, not counting the large amounts of materials needed, cost a lot of money:

-How can't the caseload drop more? Does this medicine work?

-Yes, it works, but so many people have to take it. We have over two thousand people working around the clock to deliver the medicine. Even so, it is going to take weeks.

Yu Qing moves closer to Bai Chongye:

-Your majesty, please, may I suggest you something?

-Yes, please.

-I think your threshold of fewer than 10 cases a day is too low and likely impossible to achieve. How about 100? That's more realistic. 

-100 cases a day is still a lot! The spread has to stop.

-By your logic, we will remain closed forever then. Instead of aiming at such an impossible goal, we can accept that this disease will stay between us forever and live with it.

Bai Chongye thinks:

-What you said is fair, but I understand that 100 is still too high. We can do better than that after most of the population get the medicine. 

-Exactly! So far, everyone who got it didn't get the disease again. 

Yu Qing bows:

-Your majesty, please understand that keeping the city closed will have far-reaching consequences.

-I understand, but I also understand that doing nothing may trigger a war between our empire and others. We have the capacity, but our soldiers are not ready, especially if they lose their families. We will be defeated.

Everyone, including Yu Qing, raises an eyebrow. They couldn't believe that Bai Chongye assumed that Anhui might lose a war. He puts himself in a position until now thought to be impossible. 

-I dismiss this meeting. Please, keep doing your work to fight it. I accept a threshold of 50 cases, but we must aim for ten or fewer. 

They bow to Bai Chongye and move out of the room. Yu Qing was shocked:

-How come Bai Chongye thinks anyone other than Hunan can defeat us? That is utterly, utterly impossible! 

 ...

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