After hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen was about to talk to Liu Weichao, so he quickly replied: "Now many officials from various government offices have begun to return to the government offices to work, and they have paid some of the money they should pay for corruption. But I feel that it is not enough.
…”
Hearing this, Liu Weichao was a little speechless. It seems that Emperor Chongzhen was crazy about money. Not to mention that things will turn to the extreme, and repeated oppression is inappropriate in today's situation, right?
Thinking like this, he wanted to remind Emperor Chongzhen not to go too far.
Unexpectedly, Emperor Chongzhen went on to say to him: "...I have personally vaccinated cowpox in front of them, and everyone in the palace has also been vaccinated. However, not to mention other places, just here in the capital, there is no cowpox."
What's the news? Therefore, I am going to issue a decree that all officials who come back to work must be officials who have been vaccinated against cowpox. The reason is very simple. I don't want to delay the Yamen's affairs because of smallpox."
Having said this, he paused, looked at Zhu Cihong next to him, and then added to Liu Weichao: "The deeper reason is that I want them to publicize the fact that I took the lead in vaccination against cowpox. I am now regarded as
I understand, how can I sweep the world if I don’t sweep one house? If I can’t control the capital, how can I control the world? They used to care about party strife, and I have to make them obediently do things according to my wishes!"
After listening to these words, Liu Weichao finally understood that he had misunderstood Emperor Chongzhen.
He agreed with Emperor Chongzhen's idea, so he nodded and said: "Well done, this is also the beginning of rebuilding your prestige. I support you in doing this, well done!"
Hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen couldn't help but laugh.
Rebuilding the emperor's prestige was his original intention.
In the past, he issued several self-incriminating edicts in succession. Who had ever done this to the Ming Emperor? Let the world think that he, the emperor, was incompetent?
This is actually something he can't bear, but under the previous situation, there was nothing he could do!
What is wrong is only the fault of the ministers, and the emperor cannot make mistakes. In his case, the emperor stepped forward to take the blame, and the ministers hid behind him.
I really can’t see what responsibility those ministers have!
Of course, it is also very possible that he himself appointed treacherous ministers as his cronies and rejected loyal ministers.
But no matter what, the past has passed, and now it is time to reshape the emperor's prestige!
According to reports from Zuo Maodi and others, epidemics in various parts of the Ming Dynasty were actually very serious due to natural and man-made disasters.
And smallpox is also one of the plagues that has changed rapidly.
Emperor Chongzhen took the lead in inoculating cowpox to prevent smallpox. As long as it is proven to be true, his prestige will definitely be greatly improved; even if it is not true, if the emperor takes the lead in doing it, it will definitely increase his prestige.
And these were all the thoughts of Emperor Chongzhen.
At this time, after Liu Weichao finished speaking, he remembered something and reminded Emperor Chongzhen: "There is a very important reason why the capital was attacked by bandits. It was because there was a plague in the capital at that time, and many people died. The capital could defend it."
There are almost no soldiers left..."
"What?" When Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he was immediately shocked and asked quickly, "What is the plague?"
After hearing this, Liu Weichao said: "The plague is the Black Death. It is spread by rats, so it is called the plague... Oh, wait a moment..."
As he said this, he remembered that plague was the name of later generations, while the Black Death was the name of Europe. Emperor Chongzhen didn't know it, so it wasn't surprising.
Therefore, Liu Weichao immediately searched Baidu, and then continued to say to Emperor Chongzhen: "The plague is what you called pimple plague, pimple disease, epidemic disease, etc. at that time. It is a very serious infectious disease. The patients first develop in the armpits and thighs.
Intermittent nucleation, or vomiting of light blood will lead to death, and will not be affected by drug bait..."
"Ah..." Upon hearing this, Emperor Chongzhen's face changed drastically. He immediately interrupted Liu Weichao and said, "Yes, yes, yes, there is this kind of plague. Now it has appeared in all provinces and prefectures, and it is most harmful to the people..."
According to historical records, the plague was rampant in the late Ming Dynasty, and it actually started during the Wanli period.
Generally speaking, any severe drought is likely to be followed by an outbreak of plague.
The reason is that drought leads to less food, the rats are weak and have reduced immunity, and drought and lack of water also cause the plague bacteria to multiply at a faster rate. People eat rats, eat food in rat holes, etc., which also speeds up the spread of plague.
spread.
The reason why Emperor Chongzhen was so excited was because he was frightened by the plague.
Not to mention the distant past, just in the past few years. For example:
In the thirteenth year of Chongzhen, there was a serious epidemic in Shunde Prefecture, Hejian Prefecture and Daming Prefecture, and it was an epidemic of severe infectious diseases. "The plague spread, and eighty-nine people died."
In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen's reign, in Daming Prefecture, "there was no rain in spring, locusts ate all the wheat, plague was widespread, fifty-six out of ten people died, and the year was very bad." There are many similar records in Guangping, Shunde, Zhending and other prefectures.
Not long after that, in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, another epidemic broke out in the provinces of North China, and people died day and night. Even in the capital, a large number of people died.
The Black Death wreaked havoc in Europe, plunging Europe into the ignorant Middle Ages.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the plague raged in the East and destroyed an empire.
At this time, Emperor Chongzhen asked Liu Weichao with very expectant eyes: "Can this plague be cured?"
"It can be cured in my era!" Liu Weichao replied after hearing this. Seeing Emperor Chongzhen's happy look, he had to hit him and said, "But in your era, the level of science was limited and there was no rule of law!"
Emperor Chongzhen was a little dumbfounded when he heard this, and he was very unwilling to accept it. He quickly asked: "How could it be possible? Why don't you tell me how to treat it? Maybe I can do it here too?"
In the final analysis, he was still holding on to a sense of luck, hoping that Liu Weichao was wrong.
In fact, this kind of plague is more terrifying than smallpox. Often when one person gets this plague, his whole family will die, and the mortality rate is much higher than that of smallpox.
When Liu Weichao saw Emperor Chongzhen like this, he sighed and said: "In my world, the most important way to treat this disease is antibiotics. It is a very tiny microorganism that can destroy the Yersinia pestis that causes plague..."
At this point, he remembered something and added: "That's the microscope. You should be able to see it with a higher magnification. Streptomycin was isolated from the soil, which is the most effective drug for treating this plague. In addition, streptomycin was isolated from the soil.
, as well as anti-infective penicillin, etc., all of which can only be separated by understanding the microscopic world..."
Liu Weichao briefly explained the concept of bacteria and some common understanding of bacteria.