novelSusiti Chapter 2034 - 1487: Plague Book, Xiulote and His Disciples_2
Chapter 2034 - 1487: Plague Book, Xiulote and His Disciples_2
Speaking of this, Xiulote sighed softly, gazing at the expanse of green outside the window and the blooming flowers in the distance. This tropical highland, with its eternal spring, is truly the most comfortable breeding ground for plagues. Worse than the tropical highland, however, are the tropical jungles along the coast where it feels like summer all year round..."Chief Divine bears witness! As heirs of the Royal Families of the Alliance, heirs of the Honorable Nobility, as the future rulers of the City-States of the Alliance... you must firmly remember! This ’epidemic vapor’ spreads through the air we breathe, through close skin contact, through contaminated water and waste! Hence, once traces of this epidemic vapor are discovered in the future, the roads must be sealed, strictly isolating the movement of patients, cordoning off entire villages where the plague has appeared, and even more stringent actions must be taken. The bodies of patients and their clothing, their former dwellings, must all be burned; they must never be reused!..."
"As for the personnel handling them, they must wear the cotton masks and gloves prayed over by the Medical Priests, and afterward, they too must burn their clothes and undergo isolation... because the epidemic vapor may still spread through these contact materials..."
Speaking of "handling," Xiulote lowered his eyes, feeling somewhat heavy-hearted. In this era, the primary methods for dealing with "smallpox" and the "rat plague" in Europe are simply violent but effectively pragmatic "burnings," termed the "Judgment by the Flame of the Almighty." This purificatory judgment is often very radical and thorough, sometimes involving the eradication of entire villages. Given the current medical capabilities of the Alliance, should smallpox reach the Mexican Plateau, probably the most stringent "village burning" would be the only recourse, much like in various European countries.
In fact, in this era, "village burning" is already the most effective "prevention and treatment" measure. The only possible real countermeasure to the threat of smallpox is the "human smallpox method" which emerged during the Yuan Dynasty on the Central Plains. Yet this "Smallpox Vaccine," derived from patients and weakened over generations, despite sounding simple, leaves Xiulote unsure about the exact extraction, operation, and the time it might consume. What he knows is merely a general, reliably accurate direction.
"Chief Divine bears witness! The White-skinned Demons have appeared on the Eastern Sea, and the many plagues they bring will surely descend upon numerous islands in the Eastern Sea within a few years... and smallpox will be among the easiest and most likely of them to first appear!"
"Compared to the limited military power of the Demons, these terrifying plagues are the real threat capable of destroying countries, exterminating tribes, and annihilating the whole world! Next, I will distribute that illustrated ’Plague Book’ to you one by one. Each of you will take it back, personally copy a version, and then return it to me... the focus of next month’s course will be this book, and there will also be Medical Priests coming to audit..."
Xiulote looked around sternly at the ten-odd well-behaved, diligent students. These noble youths, each with illustrious backgrounds, were here, in name, as students learning under the "Divine Revelation Prophet." But in some sense, they were hostages demanded by Divine King Avit from the various Great Nobility branches of the Alliance during the long Southern Expedition, far away from the Capital City, under the guise of "Prophet Teaching."
Just like eighteen-year-old Quetzalcoatl, who, despite being a Warrior Camp Chief in the Western Expedition Army, following his brother Montezuma II in battles, was still ordered by Avit to come here to study under Xiulote. There were obviously political considerations in Divine King’s checks and balances. Divine King Avit loomed like the towering Smoke Peak Divine Mountain, not only over Xiulote but also evenly pressuring many Royal Families and Great Nobility, driving the force of the entire Alliance into the Southern Expedition...
"Chief Divine bears witness! Do any of you have questions?"
"Brother... cough... Teacher! I have a question!..."
Under Xiulote’s piercing gaze, Quetzalcoatl immediately changed the form of address. Toward this "Divine Revelation Prophet," he felt both a desire for closeness and a considerable awe. In terms of blood relations, Xiulote was both his patrilineal cousin and a distant uncle from a Royal Family branch, as well as a brother-in-law through marrying the three Silver Raven sisters. Now, he had also become his teacher...
Suffice it to say, the Mexica Great Nobility’s marriages are deeply intertwined, free of the usual hierarchy of rituals, resembling more the nomadic grassland tribes.
"Quetzalcoatl, what do you wish to ask?"
"Chief Divine bears witness! Teacher, are the plagues brought by the Demons, especially this so-called ’smallpox,’ truly irresistible threats capable of exterminating our people? Look at me, so young and robust, full of ’Teyolia’ vitality! If I contracted smallpox, can’t I recover on my own? And those robust Jaguar Warriors, many even stronger than I, could they also be unable to resist?..."
"Quetzalcoatl, I understand what you’re asking. You are a strong warrior; if you were to get smallpox now, there is indeed a considerable chance you could resist just by relying on your physical strength... but I must tell you, your current strength is closely tied to your twenty-year-old age and adequate daily nutrition. If, twenty years later, at the age of forty, you again contracted smallpox, it would be impossible to withstand, and certain death would await!"
At that moment, Xiulote’s eyes grew deep, looking at Quetzalcoatl as if he saw a different stream of fate. Seeing that prophet-like confident gaze, Quetzalcoatl shivered slightly, struck by an inexplicable sense of divine fear. Then, he saw the "Prophet Teacher" surveying the group with unprecedented severity, solemnly imparting wisdom.
"May the Chief Divine protect! The reason these plagues brought by the Demons pose a threat of annihilation is that they do not appear just once, nor only spread among robust warriors and armies!..."
"For warriors with adequate nutrition and robust physiques, as long as there is enough cleanliness, treatment, and nutritional replenishment, even if four or five, six or seven out of ten die, some will always survive! But the most terrifying aspect of these plagues lies in that once contracted by the aged elder or the young infant, the outcome is nearly certain death!..."
"Take ’smallpox’ for example! If the smallpox mortality rate among adult males is three to six out of ten, then for young children, lacking a strong enough Life Force to resist, the mortality rate is nearly nine out of ten, or even one hundred percent! This is a complete erasure of the tribe’s next generation, an extinction across time!..."
"Without newborn children, there is no future for our tribes! The terror in the Demons’ plagues is that each could result in the deaths of countless children, leaving barely one in ten alive. Therefore, the most stringent isolation, strict prevention of plague spread, even burning infected villages unhesitantly... is precisely to give the young children an opportunity to grow strong! Otherwise, if the plague returns every few years or every decade, preventing children from growing up... then the future of the entire Alliance world will be a bleak, dying darkness!..."
At this moment, Xiulote’s stern voice felt like the most intense war drum, striking the hearts of all the disciples. And when the intense drumbeats subsided, there was the soothing bamboo flute, painting a melody of hope...
"Of course, you need not fear, nor feel despair! The Chief Divine has already issued a clear Divine Revelation, pointing out the path to completely prevent the plague... Like smallpox, no matter how much sacrifice is required, the Medical Priests will surely accomplish the Divine Arts of ’smallpox vaccination’! As long as young children receive a mild case through vaccination once... they need never fear smallpox again, able to grow safely, becoming the next generation of priests, warriors, and farmers!..."
"Furthermore, the hope of accelerated research will undoubtedly arrive under ever-increasing investment!... Whether this hope is found eastward, or westward, no matter the manpower, resources, and wealth expended..."