Emperor Hongzhi convened the cabinet ministers, the six ministers, and the five military governors to discuss the immediate epidemic prevention and control matters.
"Dear dear friends, the epidemic situation in Beijing and Tianjin has undergone strict control measures and has been greatly improved. The order is stable, the number of new infections has dropped rapidly, and a large number of patients have been treated in a timely manner."
Emperor Hongzhi had a raging fire in his heart, but on the outside he talked about the current epidemic with a smile on his face.
The Beijing-Tianjin area quickly stabilized because the emperor was under the emperor's command and Zhu Houzhao was the chief envoy to the Northern Zhili. The focus was on prevention and control in Beijing and Tianjin.
Moreover, the Beijing-Tianjin area also has the largest number of hospitals and medical clinics, and the best technology.
In Beijing alone, there are two professional medical schools, Daming Medical College and Daming Royal Medical College, which not only cultivate a large number of medical talents, but also enter a new medical field.
Especially after the invention of the microscope, bacteriology and virology have become a specialized research course, and research on various diseases has been at the forefront of the world.
Like this plague, if we go by historical data, the mortality rate of plague is 30%-50%, and traditional Chinese medicine has almost no treatment for plague.
But this time in the Beijing-Tianjin area, thanks to the research on bacteria and viruses by two medical schools, a large amount of research results have been accumulated. Through accumulated research, a complete set of treatment methods have been summarized.
Although streptomycin, a specific drug for treating plague, has not yet been developed, it has greatly reduced the mortality rate caused by plague. The most important thing is control, which can quickly control the spread of plague.
Liu Jin paid great attention to this aspect from the beginning, because he was well aware of the development of urbanization and industrialization in the Ming Dynasty, and the population was highly concentrated in cities.
Once plague, plague, smallpox or the like occurs, the consequences will be catastrophic.
Liu Jin carried out defense in many aspects. The first was the city's water supply system and sewage system. The city's water supply has basically achieved a unified supply of tap water. The tap water has been disinfected, which can greatly reduce the occurrence of diseases.
At the same time, the improvement of the sewage system will also make the city cleaner and will not be as smelly as European cities at the same time. This can also greatly reduce the occurrence of various plagues.
The city's garbage is also cleaned up by dedicated personnel every day and transported outside the city, which greatly reduces the outbreak and spread of various infectious diseases.
If the same plague occurs in Europe, it will probably be another Black Death pandemic. It is not known how many people will die. Even though the scale of European cities is far less than that of Ming Dynasty, their poor sanitary conditions are... A hotbed of disease and plague.
Liu Jin also attached great importance to the research and progress of medical science and technology, established a medical school, summarized past medical experience, cultivated medical talents, and more importantly, researched new medical techniques, studied various infectious diseases, etc.
After more than 20 years of development, we have been able to minimize the losses from this epidemic. The Beijing-Tianjin area alone has quickly brought it under control, and the mortality rate is also very low. This is enough. It shows that these efforts are not in vain.
"However, this time the epidemic has spread to almost all major cities in Ming Dynasty, especially in the northern region. Because of the drought, the epidemic is particularly serious."
"I am also worried about this. Are there any reports from various places to report on the epidemic prevention situation in each place?"
Emperor Hongzhi glanced at everyone and asked.
In fact, he knew very well in his heart, what was done well and what was not done well, Emperor Hongzhi was very clear about it. Now he is asking this question to see if these ministers are honest and whether they have supervision to perform their respective duties.
Area.
This time, the imperial court assigned the responsibilities of the major provinces and cities of the Ming Dynasty to the important officials in front of them.
For example, Han Wen, the chief minister of the cabinet, is mainly responsible for the two provinces of Henan and Shaanxi. He has done a very good job. The epidemic in these two provinces has been controlled and order is stable. At the same time, patients have been treated and the mortality rate is not high.
.
As a native of Shandong, Mao Ji was mainly responsible for epidemic prevention in his hometown of Shandong and South Zhili provinces, while Yang Tinghe was responsible for Shanxi and grassland provinces.
Responsibilities have been divided at the highest level of the imperial court, and responsibilities have been assigned to people. According to this method, the responsibilities have been assigned to everyone, and the strictest control measures have been implemented to prevent the continued spread of the epidemic.
"Your Majesty, we are calling from Shaanxi and Henan provinces. The two provinces have achieved remarkable results in prevention and control. The number of new cases has dropped sharply, social order is stable, various life-related materials are in sufficient supply, food prices are stable, and patients have received timely treatment.
With isolation and treatment, the mortality rate has been greatly reduced, and it is expected that normal order will be gradually restored in a few days."
When Han Wen heard this, he quickly stood up and reported the situation in Shaanxi and Henan provinces that he was responsible for.
This time, as the chief minister of the cabinet, he must not only take into account the situation of the entire Ming Dynasty at a large level, but also pay close attention to the epidemic prevention work in Shaanxi and Henan provinces.
It is necessary to coordinate with the Fifth Army Governor's Office and require the local garrison to cooperate with the government's actions. At the same time, it is also necessary to control the situation in the two places in real time through telegrams and remotely command the local epidemic prevention work.
"Um!"
Emperor Hongzhi nodded with satisfaction. Judging from the information provided by the factory guard, Shaanxi and Henan provinces were indeed doing very well.
The provinces led by these hard-working officials were basically able to implement the requirements and orders of the imperial court. While quickly controlling the epidemic, they were also able to stabilize social order, stabilize food prices, and ensure the livelihood of the people.
"Your Majesty, we have called from Shandong and South Zhili. The two provinces have achieved remarkable results in prevention and control. The epidemic has been brought under control, the number of new patients has been greatly reduced, social order is stable, various daily supplies are sufficient, and people live without worries."
"At the same time, patients have received timely isolation and treatment, and the mortality rate has been greatly reduced."
Mao Jijiang, Emperor Hongzhi, seemed to be in a good mood, and he quickly jumped out and said, looking triumphant, but he had no idea that Emperor Hongzhi was already furious at this moment.
"Shandong and South Zhili have achieved remarkable results in epidemic prevention?"
When Emperor Hongzhi heard this, he immediately asked: "Have I heard that the price of food in Jinan City has risen to more than 200 yuan per catty?"
"Food prices in cities such as Nanjing, Suzhou, and Yangzhou in southern Zhili have also risen sharply. In some cases, they have increased by more than ten times, and in some cases, they have increased by twenty or thirty times."
When everyone heard what Emperor Hongzhi said, their eyes suddenly opened slightly, and they looked at Emperor Hongzhi again. He was staring at Mao Ji at this moment, like a ferocious beast that chooses people to devour, and it was seriously glowing red and cold.
"Your Majesty, the Chief Envoy of Shandong Province Tang Mu and the Chief Envoy of South Zhili Province Xu Ming called to say that prices are stable and grain prices have not increased significantly."
As soon as Mao Ji heard this, his back felt cold and cold sweat broke out on his forehead. In fact, he didn't know what the situation was in Shandong and Southern Zhili. He would respond in whatever way the officials below said.
"Does it mean what they say?"
Emperor Hongzhi asked coldly: "Take a good look!"
Emperor Hongzhi found out the telegrams sent from Shandong and Nanzhili and threw them to Mao Ji.
Emperor Hongzhi, who was always good-tempered, was really angry this time.
This Mao Ji, who slipped up at this critical moment, Jinan City is already in dire straits, and yet he even said that order was stable and prices were stable, was simply telling lies.
And here in South Zhili, South Zhili is considered the base camp of conservative officials. The local salt merchants and grain merchants in South Zhili have traditions. How can they let go of such an opportunity to make a fortune?
Under the collusion of officials and businessmen, they made a fortune wherever they went due to the epidemic. The disaster relief grains sent by the court were directly resold. The price of grains changed day by day and had already risen to the sky.
In some places, it is even impossible for people not to buy it. They force people to buy a certain amount of food and store it at home. The euphemistic reason is that it is to reduce the number of people going out to gather. Only with food can they feel safe at home.
Many people actually don't need that much food at all, or they already have enough food at home, but no, they still have to buy high-priced food.
"I~I really don't know!"
Mao Jizhan picked it up cautiously and read it quickly. He broke into a cold sweat and his face changed drastically.
"You all should look at it, all of you should look at it!"
Emperor Hongzhi looked at Mao Ji and then motioned for everyone else to look at him as well.
When everyone heard it, they picked it up out of curiosity and read it quickly.
"Oh my God!"
"There are really people who are not afraid of death and are dedicated to enriching the country."
"It's already reached this level. Under the strict orders of the imperial court, you still dare to act against the will and make money wantonly. You are simply looking for your own ideas."
When everyone saw it, they couldn't help but be shocked. These officials below were really doing whatever it took to make a fortune.
This Tang Mu not only ignored the epidemic, but even kept his family's factories open day and night, and also directly annexed several factories in the name of the epidemic.
What is even more abominable is colluding with profiteers, deliberately driving up food prices, suppressing honest businessmen, finding a name for these honest businessmen to be imprisoned in prison, and then working with those profiteers to make a fortune for the country.
The disaster relief grains sent by the imperial court made him directly transfer them to grain merchants and sell them at high prices.
What this has done is simply appalling and unbelievable.
After reading this, everyone felt chills on their spines. No wonder Emperor Hongzhi was so angry. The key is that Emperor Hongzhi still knew the situation in various places clearly. If the same was true in the places he was responsible for, it would be over.
