Capital, outside the imperial city.
"Wang Chengen, don't go back to the palace yet. Go to Shuntian Prefecture Government Office."
"Yes, sir." Wang Chengen ordered the team to turn around and slowly move towards the Shuntian Prefecture government office.
The Ming Dynasty had 153 prefectures, and the highest administrative chief was called a prefect. The chiefs of Shuntian Prefecture in Zhili and Yingtian Prefecture in Nanzhili were called prefectural governors.
The prefect was an official of the fourth rank, and the mayor was an official of the third rank.
Other third-rank yamen used copper seals, only Shuntian Prefecture used silver seals, which was on the same level as the governors and provincial governors of the frontier provinces.
Wang Tingmei, the prefect of Shuntian Prefecture, had received the news long ago. He, along with the prefectural chancellor, the governor, the assistant prefect, the prosecutor, the Confucian professor, and the calendar official, knelt outside the yamen to welcome him.
"Long live the emperor."
"Everyone, please stand up!" Chongzhen did not dismount immediately, but sat on the horse and observed for a while.
Wang Tingmei was about forty years old. His thin body was covered with a clean and tidy bright red official robe. He had black and shiny hair and handsome features, giving people a feeling of being energetic and capable.
Looking closely at his eyes, he saw a look of fatigue.
The runners under him were not much better. They all looked pale and thin, and it was unclear whether they were suffering from malnutrition or just recovering from a serious illness.
If we talk about which government office has the most difficult tasks, Shuntian Prefecture would be the first.
There are four nobles in the capital.
The royal family, clan members, nobles, and court officials!
Those who have real power among these people are not afraid of him, but how can he control those who do not have real power and hold higher positions than him?
Looking at the haggard Wang Tingmei, Chongzhen searched for his information in his memory.
Wang Tingmei was a member of the second class of the imperial examination in the 41st year of the Wanli reign, the same class as Zhou Yanru, the chief minister of the cabinet who was sentenced to death. There is not much record of Wang Tingmei in the history books, only that he became the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture in Nanjing on May 14, the 17th year of the Chongzhen reign.
A useful person!
In Chongzhen's eyes, anyone who had not surrendered to the Qing army could be used.
"Your Majesty, we are honored to have you visit the Shuntian government office." Seeing that Chongzhen was sitting on the horse without moving, Wang Tingmei could only salute again.
"Well, I have something important to discuss with you."
Wang Tingmei did not dare to be negligent and quickly dismissed other people and let Chongzhen into the Shuntian government office.
"I wonder what advice your majesty has for you?"
"I ask you three questions, and you must answer them truthfully."
"Yes, I dare not speak nonsense."
"How many people have died of the plague in the capital up to now?" Chongzhen stared at Wang Tingmei's eyes, and the imperial majesty instantly enveloped her whole body.
Wang Tingmei looked embarrassed. It was not that he didn't want to tell the truth, but the data was too difficult to count.
The capital has a population of one million, so it is impossible to check every household, so the information can only be reported step by step.
In the Ming Dynasty, every 10 households formed a Jia, and each Jia had a Jiazhang; every 10 Jia formed a Bao, and each Bao had a Baozheng.
The post of Jiazhang was usually taken by each household in turn, and it was a trivial matter of collecting taxes and labor service, so no one wanted to be one. The post of Baozhang was not taken in turns, and was basically held by the great gentry.
After the data is collected by the head of the village, it is not handed over directly to the yamen, but to the officer in charge of the area, and finally summarized to the yamen.
Regardless of whether the data is true or not, it is definitely very slow to compile such data.
Seeing Wang Tingmei's embarrassment, Chongzhen also realized this problem.
He thought quickly and changed the subject, "About how many? It doesn't have to be too precise."
"Your Majesty..." Wang Tingmei paused for a moment, and when he saw that Chongzhen was not angry, he continued, "I estimate that two out of ten of the one million people in the capital have died."
After hearing this, Chongzhen's mood instantly dropped.
The official estimate is 20 percent, so the actual figure is probably much higher.
According to historical records, the plague in the late Ming Dynasty began in Shanxi in the sixth year of Chongzhen, and spread to Hebei and Beijing in the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, causing the death of a large number of Beijing residents.
Fortunately, the plague had passed its peak in the winter of the 16th year of Chongzhen. Although people were still dying from the plague every day, the scale was no longer as large as before.
Simply put, the people have developed antibodies.
"But don't worry, Your Majesty. According to my observation, the harm caused by the plague is no longer as serious as before and it will soon disappear." Wang Tingmei added when he saw Chongzhen frowning.
Chongzhen narrowed his eyes and asked, "What did Shuntian Prefecture do during this period?"
"I...I dealt with the plague in the same way as during the Chenghua period. I built a Louze Garden outside each of the six city gates: Chongwen, Xuanwu, Anding, Dongzhi, Xizhi, and Fucheng, and provided straw mats and coffins for burying the bodies."
"Furthermore, we searched for famous doctors all over the world. A county assistant in Jiangsu and Zhejiang used acupuncture to treat plague, and it was quite effective. I asked the doctors in the capital to worship him as their teacher so that they can treat the people."
Wang Tingmei lowered her head and spoke in detail with hope.
The losses caused by the plague to the capital can be described as immeasurable. Now that the plague has been brought under control, it is definitely a great achievement. Although he did not want to take credit for it, since the emperor asked, he could not continue to hide it.
"No more?"
"No...no more!" Wang Tingmei saw that Chongzhen not only had no intention of rewarding her according to her merits, but also sounded dissatisfied from his tone.
He suddenly panicked.
"You did a good job..." Chongzhen first affirmed the approach of the Shuntian Prefecture Yamen.
The ancients had limited knowledge of the plague, and all they could do was burn the bodies and seek out famous doctors and good prescriptions. In that feudal and superstitious era, it was already a very remarkable thing for ordinary people to burn the bodies.
After affirming it, Chongzhen changed the subject and expressed his dissatisfaction: "But it's not enough... Tell me, what is plague?"
Wang Tingmei was nervous.
In a moment, he had a deep understanding of the saying "to serve the king is like to serve a tiger".
The emperor first expressed his dissatisfaction, then approved of their behavior, and finally expressed his dissatisfaction again.
The emperor's mind is too hard to guess...
"When rats spread to humans, it's plague."
"No!" Chongzhen shook his head, "The plague is not transmitted to humans by rats, but by fleas."
"Flea?" Chongzhen's remarks made Wang Tingmei doubt his life.
He had never heard of such remarks, and if the person who told him was not the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, he would definitely slap him back.
"Your Majesty...I don't understand."
Chongzhen smiled slightly, "I didn't know it before, but my grandfather the Emperor told me in a dream."
After hearing these words, Wang Tingmei was stunned for a moment.
He was also in the palace during the morning court session today and heard all the conversations between the emperor and his ministers.
Emperor Shenzong first told Your Majesty in a dream that there was silver hidden behind the Hall of Mental Cultivation, and then told Your Majesty that the root cause of the plague was fleas.
What a blessing this is!
The ancients were very awed by the existence of ghosts and gods. After Wang Tingmei recovered from his shock, he immediately knelt on the ground, raised his hands above his head and threw them to the ground, shouting passionately: "God bless the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Shenzong Huangzu bless the Ming Dynasty!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
