As this person said, at the same time, Emperor Chongzhen was in the Wenhua Palace, convening all the important ministers to discuss the flooding in the south.

The lower reaches of the Yangtze River are the prosperous areas of the Ming Dynasty, and the tax is heavy, and the loss this time is not heavy. This made Emperor Chongzhen a little helpless, this year is a year when the overall situation of the Ming Dynasty has improved, why didn't God let it go, and came to make trouble again?

But if you really think about it, it's actually normal. When is the rainy season in the south? There are also typhoons, there are always a few landfalls in a year, and every time it lands, it will bring serious disasters! Even in later generations, with weather forecasts, the floods of the Yangtze River and the typhoon have brought huge disasters to mankind.

After Wen Tiren finished reading the recital of the southern disaster, he closed the recital and handed it to the attendant who came over and presented it to the imperial front.

Emperor Chongzhen's face was a little heavy and said: "Ladies and gentlemen, this disaster is different from the previous two years, the number of people affected by the disaster, and the wide range of areas, it is very rare. Do you have a good way to alleviate the pain of the people? ”

Many ministers in the palace looked at each other, but no one spoke for a while.

In fact, there are basically rules and regulations for flooding in the south, and it used to be as it was, and there was not much of a deal. After all, the south is much better than the north, and as long as people are willing to live, they will eventually find something to eat. Unlike the barren north, there is no food under the disaster, and the cannibalism often evolves into popular rebellion, rebellion, and so on.

"Your Majesty, according to the old practice, you can reduce money and grain, order the local government to provide disaster relief, and the rich families will contribute money to tide over the difficulties together." The head of the household is still the book, and he said solemnly.

Emperor Chongzhen listened, nodded, and still looked at the courtiers below.

"Your Majesty, the south is flooded, but you can worry about the plague!" Wen Tiren, who is a southerner himself, knows more, so he added: "When the local government is strictly ordered to bury the corpse in time, and if the epidemic is discovered, it must be isolated in time." ”

As soon as Emperor Chongzhen heard this, he immediately thought about it, and immediately ordered: "In the place where the decree is transmitted, the people affected by the disaster must boil water to drink, and it is strictly forbidden to drink boiled water, and when there is a plague disease, you must wear masks, wash your hands, and preferably wear gloves, and you must pay attention to mosquitoes, insects, rats and ants, and you must eliminate ......"

Hearing the emperor say these words, the courtiers below all looked at him in surprise, and most of them had surprised expressions on their faces.

Emperor Chongzhen also noticed it, and couldn't help but say a little inexplicably: "What's the matter, could it be that I said something wrong?" ”

Xue Guoguan, an assistant minister who has always had a big mouth, listened to it, and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, mosquitoes, rats and ants are annoying, and it is understandable to prevent and eliminate them. But why is it strictly forbidden to boil water to drink? Nowadays, the weather in the south is hot, and drinking a sip of cold water can also relieve the heat. When those people heard the government's announcement, they didn't know what it meant, and they were afraid that they wouldn't care! ”

When Emperor Chongzhen heard his words, he saw that the other courtiers were also nodding slightly, and he was stunned for a moment, then he came back to his senses and couldn't help but suddenly realize. These things, which were common knowledge in later generations, turned out that at this time in the early seventeenth century, no one knew about them!

Imagine that at this time, there is no microscope and no microorganisms can be seen, so naturally you don't know about this situation.

In the original history, in the last years of Chongzhen, there was a nationwide war, and corpses were everywhere, resulting in the destruction of lives and plagues. It can almost be said that in the last years, there was a nationwide outbreak of plague.

Speaking of which, the Ming Dynasty finally perished, but in fact, it also died on the plague. When Li Zicheng attacked Beijing City, it was actually impossible for him to capture Beijing City with his siege level at that time, at least he himself thought so, so he also put forward the proposal of sealing the king and making peace, and even going to fight for the imperial court. However, at that time, there was a plague outbreak in Beijing, and the defenders at the head of the city were basically all recruited, and there were almost no Ming troops who could stand at the head of the city. In this way, Li Zicheng unexpectedly picked up a big bargain.

However, there was also a saying at the time that the bigger bargain was picked up by Jianyu. When Li Zicheng's army entered the city of Beijing, he came into contact with those people and was also infected with the plague. However, it was still in the incubation period, so I didn't notice it at the time. Then Wu Sangui led the Qing troops into the pass, and Li Zicheng led the troops to fight, but just as the plague broke out, there was Li Zicheng's army in history, and the army was defeated like a mountain, all the way to retreat, retreating to 108,000 miles away, and there was no power to fight back at all.

At that time, Jianyu had realized this, so he didn't dare to enter Beijing City, he waited for a while, and after the weather cooled down, he entered Beijing City, but was escaped by Jianyu, so as to pick up the biggest cheap, which really made future generations sigh, this Jianyu really took shit luck!

In this context, Wu Youke, a famous doctor of a generation, summed up some methods of prevention and control of the plague after obtaining many cases, denied the old view that the cause of the epidemic is "not the time but the air", and founded the theory of warm epidemic, which is at least 200 years ahead of the Western world.

Emperor Chongzhen thought about it, and felt that it was necessary to talk about it well, so he put on a serious face and said seriously: "Plague is mostly infected by viruses or bacteria, and its transmission method may be water. If boiled, it can kill most of the viruses and bacteria in the water. Don't question my words, don't look at the water as if it's clean, but that's just the appearance, and one day, when you have the corresponding tools, you will be able to see how much is in the so-called clean water......"

The reason why he added a sentence saying not to question was because he saw that the faces of the courtiers below were suspicious. He has no way to prove it at present, so he can only emphasize it with the authority of the emperor.

"There are also some ways for the plague to spread, that is, it is transmitted through blood, and mosquitoes can also spread the plague after biting a sick person and then biting a normal person. Rats, flies, etc., is also a truth, they may carry viruses, bacteria, etc., if you live in this kind of mosquito, rat and ant in a place with a lot of mosquitoes, rats and ants, it is easy to be infected. There is also air and water, and it looks like there is nothing, but in fact, there are many things in the air......"

Speaking of this, he suddenly remembered the movie "Da Ming Tribulation" that he had watched in later generations, and when Wu Youke saw the sunlight shining through the crack in the window, he was inspired by the dust flying, so Emperor Chongzhen said again: "If Qing and others don't believe it, I can prove this to Qing and others." ”

Hearing this, these highest-ranking civil officials of the Ming Dynasty, who can be said to be the most knowledgeable scholars, are very curious, and their understanding and concepts have always been subverted by His Majesty today?

Thinking so, they wondered what they could see next.