The full name of Henan Ming Dynasty is Henan Chengxuan Zhengshisi, referred to as Henan Chief Secretary or Henan Province. Its administrative seat is Kaifeng. It has jurisdiction over eight prefectures, twelve states and ninety-six counties. Most of the county names were used in later generations.
The current scope of the plague mainly started in Kaifeng Prefecture and spread to Nanyang Prefecture.
Regardless of the number of deaths or the size of the plague, except for a few counties where it was extremely serious, there was no major source elsewhere.
Zhu Ying's destination is Runing Mansion.
It was about six hundred miles from the capital to Runing Mansion. There was no infantry delay, it was all cavalry. They marched normally and arrived in less than three days.
Zhu Ying was relatively comfortable and spent the entire journey in a luxurious carriage. On the way, she was either reading or reviewing memorials.
A large box of memorials was left to him by Zhu Yuanzhang.
However, the memorials here are basically from Henan Province.
If there are any problems with the memorial, they can be solved together.
A team of 40,000 cavalrymen was still very majestic when marching. At a glance, the mountains and fields were full of people, which was extremely terrifying.
Zhu Ying herself did not expect that a trip to Henan would be such a grand event.
In fact, the plague itself is a bit mysterious.
Of course, the plague didn't just appear once, it had plagued the whole world for many years.
Even in the later generations of Zhu Ying's life, the plague had not been eradicated and still existed. However, due to timely prevention and control measures, large-scale plague outbreaks rarely occurred.
However, even in China in later generations, small-scale plague still exists, and many people will also lose their lives as a result.
"Uncle Zhang, inform the soldiers to kill the rats ahead."
"Follow orders."
About ten miles ahead is the camp where Zhu Ying will be stationed.
After Zhu Ying gave the order, tens of thousands of soldiers took action to exterminate rats near the camp.
This time Zhu Ying came here to carry out a large-scale massacre of rats.
When leaving the capital, the Chamber of Commerce had already arranged to mobilize a large number of cats into the disaster-stricken areas of Henan to carry out large-scale rat eradication operations.
Dogs were trained to catch rats in the Han Dynasty, and cats were trained to catch rats in the Tang Dynasty.
These are all natural enemies of mice.
But dogs are very likely to spread plague, but cats cannot.
Cats themselves have the plague virus and have natural antibodies to the plague.
Zhu Ying also began to prepare a large amount of food, including rat poison.
At the same time, we began to publicize the role of lime in controlling epidemics.
The main spread of plague is from rat fleas.
Rat flea bites are the main route of transmission of plague and are the causative agent.
This does not mean that all rats will carry plague, most of them are considered healthy rats.
The reason why I saw dead rats and people started dying the next day was actually because I was bitten by rat fleas.
It can be imagined that in the ancient sanitary environment, people basically did not have much idea about fleas, and they could not imagine the source.
Lime can also kill rat fleas to a great extent.
For Zhu Ying, the plague was not actually a terrible thing.
Human-to-human transmission requires intensive contact to become infected.
However, the incubation period of the plague is very short, and people usually die within two days. People who contract the plague will stay away immediately.
"Yueqing, actually you don't have to follow me."
Zhu Ying raised her head, looked at Ye Yueqing next to her and said.
After learning that his boss was going to Henan to combat the plague, Ye Yueqing took the initiative to ask Ying to go with him, and his attitude was very determined.
Zhu Ying agreed without much hesitation.
The ancients were extremely afraid of plague because they did not know its origin and were full of unknowns.
It seems that the farther away the better.
Even among the 40,000 cavalry, many people felt a little uncomfortable about coming this time.
However, these 40,000 elites are all extremely loyal soldiers, and obeying orders and prohibitions is not a problem.
The cavalry in the Ming Dynasty was naturally a professional arm, so military discipline must be stricter.
Zhu Ying came over in person. From another perspective, it was actually a bit of a show.
At least this behavior can be seen in the army, and it has won the admiration of many soldiers.
At the same time as Zhu Ying set out, a large number of arrangements had been started through the Qunying Chamber of Commerce.
Ye Yueqing fell silent when she heard her boss's words.
She was in the Gunpowder Department at the time. After hearing the news, she turned around and left without hesitation, heading straight to the capital, and then quietly waited for her employer.
There are not many thoughts, only life and death.
Seeing that Ye Yueqing was silent, Zhu Ying also understood what he was thinking.
I felt a little moved in my heart.
In front of her was Ye Yueqing, whose face was covered with silk cloth, similar to the masks of later generations.
In fact, the use of masks was already very popular in the Yuan Dynasty.
Mainly in the palace.
"Book of Rites" records: "Hide your mouth for fear that your anger will offend others."
In the palaces of the Yuan Dynasty, officials who presented food would cover their mouths and noses with silk cloth to allow them to breathe and not touch food or drink.
Zhu Ying also issued an order to prevent plague infection. People in plague areas must cover their mouths and noses with silk cloth when going out.
The silk cloth used after going out must be boiled in boiling water for half an hour, that is, more than half an hour, before it can be used again.
Silk cloth does not filter airborne viruses. Zhu Ying's intention is to prevent people who have been infected with plague and reduce the possibility of transmission.
The area where Zhu Ying was stationed quickly began to be constructed under the hands of the soldiers.
This place is located near Ruyang County and is considered the most prosperous area in the entire Runing Prefecture.
Now Runing and Ruyang are the Runan County of Henan in later generations. They have different names, but they are the same place.
This is mainly a plain area, which is more convenient for feeding war horses.
Water sources are also relatively abundant.
The nearest plague county is about two hundred miles away, and the news can spread quickly within a day.
"Your Highness, the magistrate of Ruyang would like to visit your Highness."
Guo Zhong, the eunuch of Bingbi, came over to report.
The arrival of 40,000 troops is undoubtedly an earthquake for Ruyang County. If the reception is not good, major accidents are extremely prone to occur.
The army had just begun to garrison, and the magistrate of Ruyang County had already boarded the carriage and came to visit him personally.
"Forget it today, let him come tomorrow. By the way, tell him to go over and let Ruyang County, including the surrounding areas, do their best to make lime to prevent the plague."
Zhu Ying ordered.
He arrived here today with many arrangements and plans.
Forty thousand cavalry, this is the most elite cavalry team in the Ming Dynasty.
Now that it is in Zhu Ying's hands, it is naturally not just as simple as dealing with the plague.
Some other ideas can also be put into action.
Especially in dealing with local corrupt officials and unscrupulous businessmen.
The reason why the county magistrate was not seen was because Zhu Ying had already arranged for personnel to further arrive in Ruyang County and start investigation.
Take a look at what Ruyang County looks like on the edge of this plague.