In August of the third year of Taichu, the torrential rain that had ravaged various parts of Liaodong for more than half a month finally stopped, and the weather became dry again.
The swollen waters of the Hun River and Liao River began to recede, and large areas of the Luo Lu river bed were exposed to people like huge wounds, along with the bodies of drowned animals.
After just a few days of exposure to the sun, the Hun River emitted a disgusting stench. Large areas of dead fish, rats and livestock floated on the surface of the river. The further down it went, the more floating corpses there were. Finally, at the intersection of the Hun River and the Yalu River, A radius of more than ten miles...it's like a hell on earth.
Just as Liu Zhaosun said, the river god is accepting human sacrifices.
It's just that such a brutal sacrifice is not what the Supreme Emperor wants.
The rice fields on both sides of the Hun River were reduced to swamps. More than 20,000 acres of rice that had just grown into ears were drowned, and the remaining green crops could only be eaten by war horses. More than a dozen official roads from Shenyang to surrounding prefectures and counties were all washed away by floods, and horse-drawn carriages transporting grain, grass, ordnance were trapped in Shenyang. Xie Yang personally led engineers to repair the roads day and night, and finally restored traffic between Shenyang and other places at the end of August. .
Peasants' associations in various places suffered serious losses in the floods, with acres of grain production reduced and granaries and warehouses destroyed. Emperor Wuding pursued the concept of governing the country by strengthening the branches and strengthening the branches. Sixty-seven out of ten local taxes and grains must be turned over to the central government every year to protect the vast and vast empire. Treasury expenditures.
There was not much money and food left for various places, and most of it had to be taken away by the Eastern Expeditionary Army. The food was suddenly not enough. It was difficult to eat the big pot rice of white flour buns, pork and cabbage.
On the second day of August, as soon as the floods receded, Lu Xiangsheng, the prefect of Kaiyuan, came to Shenyang with officials from Fushun, Tieling, Qinghe and other places to ask for help from Emperor Wuding, asking the imperial court to open warehouses to release grain and provide relief to farmers' associations in various places to prevent the people from starving. die.
Liu Zhaosun decisively rejected Lu Xiangsheng's request. The Eastern Expeditionary Army still felt that the food and grass were insufficient. Where could there be surplus food for the people to eat?
Lu Xiangsheng was unable to beg for food and lingered in Shenyang, refusing to leave. He only lived in a cave in Guangjimen City every day (the guild hall in the city had been destroyed by wind and rain), sleeping in the open air and in a difficult situation.
Compared with the famine that may be faced in various parts of Liaodong, Emperor Wu Ding still had more difficult problems to solve.
More troublesome is the plague.
Due to continuous heavy rains and the backflow of water from the Hun River into the city, when the water in Shenyang was at its deepest, almost half of the city gates were submerged, and even the Huangji Palace was not spared.
Hundreds of poultry carcasses were floating on the water, and the North-South Street, which used to be full of flowers, was like a dead zone. When the flood receded, the bluestones of the street were covered with silt, and the smell was terrible, with flies and crows flying everywhere.
The common people have sealed their doors and windows, not because they have modern knowledge about epidemic prevention, but because the stench that permeates the whole city is so unpleasant that even a three-year-old child knows that if he smells it one more time, he will be infected with the plague.
Emperor Wu Ding ordered the workshop to rush to produce 100,000 simple masks. Civil affairs officials knocked on doors and distributed them to the people. This simple mask was actually two layers of cotton. If there was a plague, it would be difficult to prevent the spread of the virus. Its The psychological effect is greater than the actual effect. At the same time, people are ordered not to go out unless necessary. If they want to go out, they must report to Baojia in advance.
Of course, for the civil officials who were active outside and the soldiers who maintained order, Emperor Wuding drew on the European medieval epidemic prevention experience and gave them a beak mask, which contained spices and herbs that could purify the air (mainly Houttuynia cordata, licorice, Bupleurum, etc.), the bird's beak mask is similar to the gas mask of later generations, and can play a virus defense function to a certain extent, but because the cost of a bird's beak mask is too high, with Daqi's current financial resources, it is basically impossible to Cannot be fully promoted.
As soon as the floods receded, the Ministry of Revenue joined forces with the Zhenfu soldiers and organized a large number of people to enter Qixing Mountain in the north of Shenyang to collect wormwood, honeysuckle, Bupleurum, skullcap, Houttuynia cordata, Polygonatum, licorice and other medicinal materials.
These medicinal materials were either used to make decoctions for the people to take, or they were directly lit and burned, leaving the North and South Streets with an unpleasant smoky smell.
In addition, officials from the Military and Horse Division vacated a large number of private houses in the north of the city on higher ground to house patients who might be infected with the plague.
On the 10th day of August, Emperor Wuding issued an edict that all officials should work from home, and people in the city were not allowed to go out unless necessary. The fruits, vegetables, firewood, and rice needed by each household were uniformly distributed by officials from the Military and Horse Department and the Ministry of Household Affairs. In this way, Liu Zhaosun arrived on the 17th In the first half of the century, in the capital of Qi Qi Empire, the empire's first city blockade began.
It has been many years since the time traveler came to this world, and he has witnessed various disasters, including the explosion in the overclocked version of Wang Gong Factory. It is said that he has long been accustomed to strange things. However, the great flood at the turn of summer and autumn in the third year of Taichu, many years later Thinking back on it, it still made him feel frightened.
Just like the scene of the Ten Commandments of Moses described by Francisco, endless disasters are ravaging this land tirelessly.
At the end of July, several farmer groups defected one after another in Jinzhou, Liaonan. After the overwhelmed farmers killed the grain collection officer, they fled in a lucky boat and planned to defect to Nanming. As a result, the lucky boat they were traveling on was captured when approaching Weihaiwei. Patrolling navy sunk.
In August, more than 30 people from the Western Liaoning Chamber of Commerce absconded with money, but Zheng Yishi sent troops to chase them to Yishui and kill them all.
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Under tremendous pressure, Emperor Wu Ding was forced to issue the Sin Ji Edict again to express his feelings to the subjects of Da Qi. The Sin Ji Edict was written in the tone of the young emperor Liu Kan. The full text is as follows:
"I have been guarding Hongxu for three years. Remembering the power of God and the great importance of my father's entrustment, I have been vigilant at night and day, and I dare not neglect the desolation. However, there are frequent disasters. There are many polices in the north and south. They are inexhaustible in punishing people, and they often rebel. , there are even those who are incited by him and forget about the enemy's hatred. I am the parents of the people, and I can't help but protect them. The people are my innocent sons, and I can't help but protect them.
The people of Liaodong, the sun and the moon warn of misfortune, drought comes in the first year, locusts appear in the second year, and the country is flooded in three years. How sad, the people of Liaodong, how innocent they are, and they suffer from catastrophe, the harmony of heaven and earth is at the top, and the resentment of the family is at the bottom. It’s all my fault...”
This was the second time in his life that Emperor Wu Ding issued an imperial edict on sinners. The whole text was filled with heartache and sincerity, full of guilt and repentance.
Of course, these are just formalities, because Liu Zhaosun does not think that he has done anything wrong, and he does not believe in any karma and retribution.
All this was done just to appease the subjects.
On the third day of August, the Supreme Emperor took the two queen mothers to the Qing Palace to pray for the people and inspect the surrounding disasters.
The Daqing Palace Taoist temple complex in the western suburbs of Shenyang was mostly demolished by Kang Yingqian's men as early as the first year of Wuding. The masonry and wood in the Taoist temple were all taken to Shenyang to support city defense construction. Some leftover stone tablets and stones that were not taken away were also moved back and used by nearby people as padding for pig pens.
Only a few thatched houses were left for Zhang Zhenren to live in.
At that time, Prime Minister Kang believed that Taoist priests should be pure-minded and not be greedy for materialistic desires. A few thatched cottages were enough for their practice.
Mr. Zhang is sitting cross-legged on the Yin Yang Baji futon. The sun is shining through the cracks on the thatched roof. There is a wooden statue of Emperor Zhenwu in the dim front hall. Thousands of dust particles are dancing in front of the statue of Emperor Zhenwu.
Emperor Wu Ding looked up at Zhang and his party, and was surprised to find that after so many years, the real person was still the same young man with gray hair and childlike appearance.
Remembering that he still owed the Qing Palace a golden body, Liu Zhaosun's tone suddenly became condescending.
"Master, where are the other Taoist friends? Where are your two Taoist boys?"
Liu Zhaosun vaguely remembered that when he came to the Qing Palace to pray for Jin Yuji in the 47th year of Wanli, the incense here was still very prosperous. There were not a thousand but also eight hundred crooked Taoist priests in the front and back yards beating corpses and chanting sutras.
Now when I look around the Taoist priest, all the disciples are gone. Master Zhang is standing alone, with shadows and shadows, which is really pitiful.
"Ashes return to ashes, soil returns to soil. Three thousand poor Taoists who are weak in water will only take a cup to drink. The disciples can come and go freely, let them go."
Emperor Wu Ding looked around and saw that the thatched house was in dilapidated condition, and felt quite ashamed.
"I thought that the donor had given up fifty years of life and had already left for the west. I didn't expect you to still be alive. It's so good."
Wu Xiao, who was accompanying him, saw Taoist Zhang being so rude and overstepping his authority, and was about to draw his sword and reprimand him. Emperor Wu Ding smiled at him and said:
"Today we are all donors, and Master Zhang is the ferryman. What's more, we have requests from others, so we must not be rude."
Wu Xiao put the knife back into its scabbard and retreated.
"Master was joking. Maybe he changed his fate against fate. He survived the catastrophe in Wang Gongchang that day and gained a few more years of life."
Liu Zhaosun clasped his hands together and looked at Zhang and his party with a pious look on his face. He was in a trance and went back to the happy time of cheating and drinking with the Wudang Taoist priests in Junzhou many years ago.
Taoist Zhang was as independent as a crane. He stood up from the futon at some point, looked at Emperor Wu Ding up and down, and pretended to be surprised:
"Ah, how wonderful! I choose a friend while I'm asleep, and ask for wealth. After a few years of not seeing each other, the benefactor turns out to be a dragon, and the fish leaps into a dragon. This adds more than just a few years of life. The dragon's eyes are like a phoenix's eyes, and the sun's horns are gnawing at the moon. It's a perfect match. Expensive, poor people have never seen it, let alone a few years, dozens, or hundreds of years."
Liu Zhaosun laughed and said as if he could really live forever.
At the moment, he didn't care whether Master Zhang was lying or not. He presented a box of gold and silver, explained his purpose, and asked the Taoist priest to perform a ritual for Liaodong, pray for the people of Qi, and eliminate disasters.
Zhang Zhenren said: "Your Majesty asked the poor Taoist to do things, and the poor Taoist should naturally do his best. The poor Taoist is an outsider and is not interested in yellow and white things. There is only one request here."
"It's okay to tell real people."
Zhang Yixing said with a pleasant look: "I would like to go to Taihe Mountain (Wudang Mountain) and choose a secluded place to practice practice."
Emperor Wu Ding was stunned on the spot. He never expected that Taoist Zhang would want to occupy the magpie's nest and go to Wudang Mountain to compete for the leader.
It should be noted that after the last great purge movement in Wudang Mountain, the incense was almost cut off, and the Taoist priests of the Quanzhen Sect were clinging to it, as if they really needed a highly respected Taoist priest to lead their practice.
After hesitating for a moment, Liu Zhaosun agreed to Taoist Zhang's request.
From now on, let Zhenren Zhang remain as a confidant of the imperial court in Wudang Mountain...
At that time, Master Zhang followed Wu Xiao into the city of Shenyang, and spent seven days and nights in the city doing good deeds, giving away talismans, and treating disasters and diseases. The plague was eliminated, and the army and the people were in peace.
Not long ago, the real person resigned from the court, rode on a crane and flew into the clouds, and went to Wudang Mountain to fight for the leader.
Lewen
