The damage caused by the lumps was far more serious than they had imagined, and it took several years to recover. Because of the rampant disease, many villages and towns became deserted. The number of households dropped sharply, and children were almost extinct. Banditry became increasingly serious, and many bandit leaders even recruited refugees and started uprisings. As a result, wars continued in various places. Large tracts of land were abandoned and no one cultivated them.
There were not enough people, no one was working the fields, local taxes were difficult to collect, the national treasury was becoming increasingly empty, and the Ministry of Revenue could not even pay the army. The army had already lost many soldiers due to the plague, and morale had plummeted. They were also short of food and clothing and could not pay the army. Whenever they were suppressing the rebellion, the army's morale was low, and they acted lazily and procrastinated. A small war often dragged on for months and could not be quelled. Later, some generals even brought their soldiers to join the rebel army.
Therefore, when Yin Chengyu returned to the palace, although the capital was still peaceful and prosperous, the court's control over the local areas was actually much weaker than before. The whole of Dayan was in chaos, with wind and rain.
In order to fill the national treasury, he had to find ways to take money from the pockets of those corrupt officials. But even so, the damage left by the ulcer epidemic that had spread for several years could not be healed in a short period of time.
Until Yin Chengyu's death, Dayan had not yet fully recovered from the epidemic and was no longer as prosperous as it once was.
When the lumps and bruises broke out in his previous life, he was imprisoned in the imperial mausoleum. Although he was lucky enough to escape, he also missed the best time to control it. The neglect of court officials and the indulgence of Emperor Longfeng led to the lumps and bruises that ravaged the entire north and even began to spread to the south. In the following years, the court and the people suffered greatly.
Even if the imperial court later realized the horror of the plague and wanted to contain it, it was already too late.
Now that Xue Shu accidentally discovered the source of the pimple plague early, he must find a way to contain it as soon as possible and never let it spread everywhere like in the previous life.
Yin Chengyu paced a few steps, looked at Xue Shu, and said in a heavy tone: "Master Ziyuan must be found as soon as possible, send more people, and look for him at all costs. If he is still not found..." He paused, his expression cold: "...try to find a replacement."
He knew Emperor Longfeng's temperament too well. Even if he reported the harm of Chenming Geda Plague to the emperor, Emperor Longfeng would not take it seriously. In other words, as long as it did not threaten his throne, he would not care about the lives of ordinary people.
Even if he had a prophet, if he placed his hopes on Emperor Longfeng, he would probably just repeat the same mistakes as in his previous life.
He must get rid of Emperor Longfeng and take control of the country as soon as possible.
"Wei Xihe and his party have already arrived in Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Send him a message and ask him to find out more about the grain merchants, medicine merchants, and grain transport in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, just in case."
If the epidemic in Shanxi cannot be controlled and spreads to the north, it will be necessary to transfer food and medicine from the south to provide support.
Yin Chengyu slowly recalled the methods used to deal with the plague in the past, asked Zheng Duobao to bring paper and pen, and said to Xue Shu: "Tell me the situation in Shanxi in detail again, don't miss anything."
Xue Shu told him as much as possible about what he saw along the way.
Yin Chengyu picked up his pen to write down the key points, but fell into deep thought.
At this time in the previous life, there had been no outbreaks of pimple plague in Shanxi.
According to the records, the first place where the epidemic appeared was Shunde Prefecture, and then Hejian Prefecture and Daming Prefecture successively had small-scale epidemics. The records at that time did not even realize that it was not an ordinary epidemic, but a lumpy plague.
But that should be a year later.
Around February of the 19th year of Longfeng, people in various prefectures in Zhili were infected with the disease. Then in April and May, drought and locust plagues hit Daming Prefecture, which was particularly severe. Countless people died of starvation. Later, the plague took advantage of this to spread over a large area in Daming Prefecture, and then spread to the entire Zhili, and even spread to the capital.
When he returned to the palace in his previous life, the epidemic had been going on for four or five years. After countless deaths, the epidemic had already subsided. Later, he read all the files that recorded the epidemic to trace its origin. No matter where it was recorded, it was not mentioned that the epidemic first appeared in Shanxi.
Epidemics are something that cannot be changed by human power. If an epidemic breaks out in Shanxi in this life, it must have happened in the previous life.
However, the local records of the previous life did not mention that there was an epidemic in Shanxi in the 18th year of Longfeng, so there was only one possibility left - Shanxi concealed the epidemic and temporarily controlled the spread of the epidemic that year.
It is easy to understand why Shanxi concealed the epidemic.
Shanxi Governor Zhou Weishan has reached retirement age, and he has submitted a retirement letter to Emperor Longfeng. He can retire and enjoy his retirement after his term ends at the end of this year. If he reports the outbreak of the epidemic in Shanxi at this critical juncture, not only will he not be able to retire and enjoy his retirement, he may even be punished for his incompetence.
As for controlling the spread of the epidemic, Yin Chengyu tapped the table with his fingers, feeling that this was not what Zhou Weishan had intended.
It seemed as if Zhou Weishan was trying to cover up the epidemic and only brought it under control by accident.
Yin Chengyu picked up his pen again and circled "burning corpses" and "immediate execution of those infected."
"The Treatise on the Origin and Symptoms of Various Diseases says: 'When people are affected by the evil spirits, the evil spirits will spread to others, and even destroy the whole family and spread to outsiders.' The prevention method of epidemics over the years is nothing more than moving the infected to the pestilence area for isolation and then treating them. The Complete Book of Treating Epidemics also mentions 'Do not go near the bed of the sick, which will cause them to get dirty; do not go near the coffin of the dead, which will cause them to smell bad; do not eat seasonal food from the sick; do not pick up the clothes of the dead.' All of these are to avoid the evil spirits. Looking at the current situation in Shanxi, it can be seen that the same method can be followed for the pimple plague."
Since the epidemic in Shanxi was able to be temporarily controlled and delayed until the following year when it broke out in Damingfu and other places, it shows that the ancient method is still useful.
As long as the spread of the epidemic in Shanxi is controlled and famous doctors are summoned to find a treatment, perhaps a large-scale outbreak like the one in the previous life can be avoided.
"The epidemic in Shanxi must be reported as soon as possible so that it can be taken seriously." Yin Chengyu put down his pen and said to Xue Shu, "You go and make the arrangements, whether it's trying to get local officials to submit memorials or letting refugees cause trouble... As long as the movement is big enough, you can do it."
This time, Yin Chengyu will do everything he can to curb the epidemic at its source.
Xue Shu bowed in response, and when he looked up at him, his eyes were burning with passion.
He knew that His Highness would never abandon the people.
As Yin Chengyu concentrated on thinking about countermeasures, he seemed to see the god who descended upon Yutai that year. He stood on a high place, looking cold and desolate, but when he lowered his eyes, his gaze was more compassionate than that of all the gods and Buddhas in the sky.
Gods and Buddhas cannot save the world, but he can.
Only such a person is worthy of being an emperor and worthy of his loyalty.
Xue Shu's heart was tightening, and his blood was filled with unspeakable emotions, like boiling magma surging under the rock layers.
She wanted to pay him homage, but also wanted to pull him into the world and make him her own.
But in the end, he just stared at the man deeply and said calmly: "I will definitely fulfill your mission."
After Yin Chengyu finished explaining the important matters, he remembered what he had said before and asked curiously, "When did you experience a major epidemic? Why have I never heard you mention it?"
Unexpectedly, he suddenly asked about this. Xue Shu lowered his eyes and fell silent.
Those old events from the past years were emitting a foul stench of decay in the invisible corners, and he did not want to mention them to Yin Chengyu.
In this way, it seemed as if he could wash away the mud on his body and get closer to the cold moon in the sky.
Seeing that he was silent, Yin Chengyu narrowed his eyes and looked at him carefully. He had a hunch that Xue Shu was hiding something from him.
He was a little unhappy because Xue Shu had too many secrets.
It was the same in the previous life.
He knew nothing about Xue Shu's past. He didn't know why he entered the palace, nor did he know what he had experienced after entering the palace to climb to a position above everyone else. He also didn't know why he had chosen to be imprisoned in the imperial tomb with nothing.
In terms of looks, neither Yin Chengzhang nor Yin Chengjing is bad, and their status is not lower than his; in terms of ease of control, the fourth prince Yin Chengxu, whose mother died early and who is young, is easier to control.
But he chose him, reached out his hand, and pulled him from one quagmire into another abyss.
Countless times of entrusting him to her, countless times of living and dying together. He was afraid of getting addicted to it, so he could only hold on to him tightly, and constantly warned himself not to take it seriously.
After all, they are not the same kind of people.
But people are not dead things, their hearts also have their own preferences. After years of living together, they have become inseparable, and he can't remain indifferent.
Yin Chengyu's eyes were filled with emotion. After a long while, he said coldly, "If you don't want to talk, then get lost."
Xue Shu pursed his lips, stared at him for a few breaths, but in the end he did not speak, and bowed and left.
It was dark outside and it was just past four o'clock.
But Yin Chengyu could no longer sleep. He wrote down the key points one by one and gradually improved them based on his experience in his previous life.
By the time it was dawn, he had already filled half of the book with dense writing. He put the book away, took out another piece of rice paper, and held the pen over it for a long time before he started writing.
The person in the painting is wearing a gorgeous dragon robe, with a fierce look between his brows.
It was Xue Shu from the previous life.
Yin Chengyu stared at the man in the painting for a long time, thinking of the crisscrossing scars on his chest, his unknown origins, and the pair of black eyes that looked at him as if filled with countless indescribable emotions.
"How many things have you hidden from me?" Yin Chengyu drew a cross on the portrait and said angrily, "One day, I will make you speak it out yourself."
He threw down his pen, crumpled the portrait into a ball and threw it into the paper basket before returning to his inner room to rest.
Ten days later, April 21st.
Sun Yao, the commander of the Andong Zhongtunwei in Taiyuan Prefecture, Shanxi, made an urgent report in 1800 Li, accusing the Shanxi governor Zhou Weishan of concealing the epidemic, disregarding human lives, and embezzling disaster relief supplies. As a result, a major famine broke out in many places in Shanxi. The living either ate rats due to hunger or were burned at the stake due to the disease. In just half a month, tens of thousands of people died. The dead could not be burned in time, and several villages and towns were depopulated, like ghost towns.
Zhou Weishan also forced the soldiers in the garrison to handle the corpses, which resulted in the soldiers being infected with the disease. Now, only less than 4,000 of the 8,000 soldiers are left.
In the memorial, Sun Yao described the current dire situation in Shanxi. Every word was heartbreaking and caused outrage among the entire court.
Grand Secretary Lu Jing and others were concerned about the people and the country, and immediately asked Emperor Longfeng to allocate silver and send more people to Shanxi to provide disaster relief.
But Emperor Longfeng still had doubts: "Why not send someone to verify the situation first? Epidemics happen every year. Sun Yao is violating the law by suing his superiors, and I'm afraid he is exaggerating."
Just as the court was arguing over whether to send people to Shanxi first to verify the situation or to send people directly to provide disaster relief, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture made another report, saying that a group of rats were seen crossing the river in the form of tails, which might be a sign of a disaster.
The author has something to say:
Gou Gou: Love Your Highness a little more every day.
Gou Gou: Your Highness, please be close to me!