Plague and severe drought.
These are two things written by Chongzhen on rice paper.
When he first started writing, each stroke was as heavy as a mountain, which made him feel afraid.
These were the two largest natural disasters during the Chongzhen period.
It was even the worst natural disaster in the entire history of China.
"If I remember correctly, the plague should be in the sixth year of Chongzhen, and this year is the third year of Chongzhen. In other words, there are less than three years left?"
Thinking of this, Chongzhen shivered all over, and the look of fear in his eyes increased again.
Compared with the widespread drought that began in the ninth year of Chongzhen's reign, he was more afraid of the plague.
Drought reduces food production and results in no harvest. It is better for people to have food in stock. If not, they can eat bark, grass roots, wild vegetables, whatever they can, as long as they can survive.
He already has countermeasures for future droughts. Not only will the people have enough to eat, at least not too many people will starve to death.
But the plague doesn't recognize people and attacks almost indiscriminately. As long as you are infected, you are basically close to death.
He can still think of a solution during the drought, but what about the plague?
Even though this palace city has high walls, tight guards, and countless experts, it is of no use against the plague.
In the extremely developed societies of later generations, the upper echelons may have special medicines, so even if they get infected, it won't be a big deal, but in this era, it can only be said that intrauterine medicinal materials are abundant.
It cannot be said that it is useless, but the effect of the medicine cannot keep up with the speed of virus destruction in the body.
The plague originated in Shanxi. In just two years after it spread to Beijing, at least 30% of the people in Beijing died. At least tens of millions of people died in the entire North China.
Until Jiannu entered the customs, at least 12 to 15 million people died of the plague throughout the Ming Dynasty.
Compared with the plague itself, the most terrifying thing is the collapse of people's hearts.
The outbreak of plague plunged many counties in northern China into chaos, severely weakening the region's economic foundation and political cohesion.
The destruction of the entire social order and the chaos caused by the threat of death are more terrifying than the plague.
In the face of the plague, everyone is equal. Ordinary people did not get rid of it, and even the army did not get rid of it. Morale was extremely unstable and combat effectiveness dropped sharply, which objectively accelerated the demise of the Ming Dynasty.
Therefore, there is also a theory that rats will die, which fully shows how terrible the plague is.
Chongzhen tried his best to recall the records he saw in the history books, his face was gloomy and scary.
Later generations would use the power of the entire country to face a plague, let alone modern society...
"Why……"
Chongzhen sighed deeply, feeling powerless in his heart.
After being decadent for a while, Chongzhen sat up straight and his face became serious.
"We must not sit still and wait for death!"
"The hundreds of millions of people in the Ming Dynasty need me, the king and father, to lead them to survive!"
"The queen and the children also need me to protect them!"
"There is still time, there must be a solution!"
…
Chongzhen's eyes flickered. After thinking for a while, he wrote down three questions.
1. How did the plague form?
2. How did the plague spread from Shanxi to Beijing and then spread to Henan, Shandong, and the southern Zhili area?
3. How did the plague disappear?
After writing the three questions, Chongzhen tapped his fingers lightly on the stone table.
These three questions seem simple, but in fact the first one is prevention. Kill the conditions for the formation of the plague before it is formed. If it cannot be formed, there will naturally be no plague to speak of;
The second is the route of infection. Even if it occurs, the plague can be controlled within a fixed range and reduce losses;
The third problem is the solution. Even if the infection is widespread, there is no need to worry if there is a way to cure it.
After thinking for a while, Chongzhen raised his head and waved in the distance: "My dear friend, Zhang Jingyue, the dean of the Chuanqihuang Research Institute, Wu Youke, Chen Shigong, the deputy deans, and Li Zhongzi, the president of the institute, are here to see me!"
Wang Chengen's expression changed drastically as he was waiting in the distance, and he immediately arranged for a young eunuch to leave.
Then he walked to Chongzhen and whispered: "Your Majesty, you have been sitting here for an hour. The wind has picked up. Why don't you go back?"
Looking at the ancient locust branches swaying in the breeze, and looking at the setting sun under the sunset, Chongzhen nodded and said, "Ask Li Ruolian to come too!"
Two quarters of an hour later, when Luan Jia arrived at the gate of Qianqing Palace, Zhang Jingyue and four others were already waiting outside the palace gate with medical boxes.
After some salutes, Chongzhen said softly: "I have summoned you all here today for two things. The first is to hear about the progress of the Qihuang Research Institute.
Secondly, I have some doubts, please answer them. "
The four of them breathed a sigh of relief. They thought someone in the palace was sick, but now that they heard the progress and answers to questions, their worries relaxed.
Then he became curious. Medical science is relatively professional. Even if the emperor is smart, how much can he understand at the age of twenty?
But after thinking about saline solution and medical alcohol, a few people became serious.
"Let's talk about the progress in the hospital first!"
"yes!"
Zhang Jingyue, the director of the Qihuang Research Institute, said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, the current focus of the Qihuang Research Institute is threefold.
The first is to teach disciples. Currently, there are eleven medical officers in the hospital, who are the chief doctors of eleven departments in the hospital. One person is tentatively appointed for each department.
In addition, there are forty-four physicians, more than a hundred doctors, more than two hundred doctors, and more than five hundred apprentices, totaling more than eight hundred people;
In addition to apprentices, 50% of the doctors at the other levels are part-time in various places. They usually practice medicine in various places and do not need to work in the hospital. If necessary, they must be recruited unconditionally.
The condition is that medical records, medical books, etc. in some hospitals will be opened.
The reason why they are concurrently appointed is that they have not yet passed our assessment. We must ensure that the character and medical skills of the previous batches of recruits are first-class.
Only when the upper levels do well can the lower levels follow the correct path!
What we want is someone who can work and study medical skills, not a group of uncles. "
"Okay, good job on this!"
Chongzhen patted the table gently and said with a serious face: "The development of the Qihuang Research Institute is related to whether the people of the Ming Dynasty can get good treatment, get sick, and get good treatment. It will be okay if the development is slow, but it must be better than indiscriminate. .”
The four people listened to the emperor's approval with smiles on their faces.
Zhang Jingyue continued: "The second task is to screen folk remedies and earth remedies. Currently, more than 400 folk remedies have been collected, covering all subjects.
The hospital mainly conducts screening and summary based on drug efficacy, medicinal properties, pharmacology and versatility, common sense and other aspects. At present, almost all of them have been screened.
The next step is to try it out among the people, see the effect and then make adjustments. "
Chongzhen did not express any opinions on this work.
No one can say for sure whether earthwork and folk remedies are useful or not. Many people have saved lives, but many have died. Some of them are just nonsense.
For example, centipedes are used to treat hemorrhoids. Centipedes are highly poisonous. Is this because you think you are not dying quickly enough?
It’s not that highly poisonous things cannot be used as medicine, they must be prepared through a series of special methods such as cleaning, steaming, drying, etc., and then they must be checked by a doctor. If they are used directly, they will definitely be dead.
This step is not only to screen out the useful ones, but also to find out the unfounded and harmful ones, so as to prevent more people from dying from useless folk remedies.
