Twenty-four years ago in the summer, John Tong set foot on the territory of the Ming Empire for the first time - Oyster Mirror [Macau].

At that time, after a long voyage of more than a year, he took off his monk's robe as soon as he got off the ship, lived in a Chinese-style house, and began to study Eastern philosophy and Confucian scriptures.

By that time, Matteo Ricci had already died and was buried in China.

Matteo Ricci's successors and a group of fanatical Catholics believed that Matteo Ricci's "Confucian" strategy was a betrayal of Catholicism, strictly forbidding Catholics to worship their ancestors, triggering the famous Nanjing case, which made Catholicism lose its foothold in Chinese mainland, and also undermined the favor and friendship of Ming scholars towards Matteo Ricci.

It was under this circumstance that Tang Ruowang entered the Ming Dynasty, relied on Western science Jishu to gain the trust of the government and the opposition, and entered the Qintianjian with the help of Xu Guangqi. In the ninth year of Chongzhen, John Tang was ordered to cast 20 cannons in two years, and at the same time translated a large number of Western practical technologies.

Because of the merits of Tang Ruowang, in the eleventh year of Chongzhen, Emperor Bixia gave the four words "Qin Bao Tianxue", and made plaques and distributed them to the Catholic churches around the country to hang.

Now, the "Chongzhen Almanac" that he participated in editing has come to an end. The new almanac was developed in a way that was a combination of East and West, far superior to the traditional almanacs that had been used before.

At this juncture, John Tang was not curious that Emperor Bixia would summon him. But he never understood that the eunuch who came to announce the decree used "His Royal Highness the Prince's decree." He was eager to meet the crown prince, who was known as a prodigy and had a great insight into science, but his status as an official of the Qin Heavenly Prison prevented him from doing so.

The Ming prince could theoretically summon all the officials and issue his own "decree" at the same time. However, due to the uniqueness of imperial power and the reverence for the monarch's father, the crown prince after the middle of the Ming Dynasty rarely used this right. Of course, this has a lot to do with the unfortunate encounters of the princes of the Jiajing and Wanli dynasties.

"Biography, Qin Tianjian Tang Ruowang has come to see you!" The eunuch's voice sounded the official summoning of the lord.

Tang Ruowang tidyed up his appearance, followed the steps of the Confucian ministers, and cautiously and humbly stepped into the Qianqing Gate.

This gate was the dividing line between the inner court and the outer court, and John Tang had never heard of a foreign minister being able to enter this gate. It seems that because of the problem of imperial rule, a group of ministers rushed in and drove away a concubine who was in power behind the scenes, which became a "palace transfer case" that has not been settled so far.

When John Tang trembled and fell to the ground, and when he was ordered to raise his head, he finally saw the rare emperor Bixia and his family.

The supreme family of the Ming Empire.

His mind went blank.

"John Tang," Chongzhen asked the chamberlain to show the foreign monk the part related to the Black Death, "Is this article exaggerated?" ”

With trembling hands, John Tang took the new book full of ink, and read ten lines at a glance, and his heart was shocked when he read it quickly. It was hard for him to imagine that many people did not even know how many countries there were in Europa, and that someone could explain the origin of the Black Death so thoroughly!

Is it a message from the church? weishenme I haven't seen it? Tang Ruowang hesitated in his heart and read it again. He soon discovered that the names of places and countries listed here were not the standard translations of the Church, or even the translations that the Ming scholars were familiar with. This almost transliterated translation, when read carefully, is not Latin, but somewhat like an English island accent.

"Dear Bixia," John Tang put down his book, "and the record here is not exaggerated, I am afraid it is a bit too conservative. ”

"Conservative?!" Chongzhen was shocked.

"When the Black Death spread, every household died. Wherever there was a dead person, a 'P' was written on the outer wall with black paint. John Tong wrote a letter P in the air and continued: "According to our history books, the whole village and the whole town died at that time. The great Florence, which is the Florentine in this book, is almost empty. ”

The hearts of the emperor and the empress were pinched at the same time: "Isn't this a disaster for the country!" ”

"Exactly." John Tang lowered his head.

"Bixia, the prince must not go out to raise the army!" Zhou Hou trembled and looked at Chongzhen.

Chongzhen was also shaken. He was stubborn, but not persistent enough.

Especially when it comes to national issues.

- Seems to have gone too far.

Zhu Cihong originally wanted Tang Ruowang to prove the terrible extent of the epidemic in Beijing, but who knew that it really scared the emperor and empress. This is also a frustration, later historians only estimated the average mortality rate at that time, and the terrible memories left by the hard-hit areas will definitely be exaggerated.

Although John Tong was a native of Cologne, Germany, most of the seminaries he attended in Rome were there to carry on that terrifying memory.

"Father," Zhu Cihong said, "This plague has indeed had a great impact on Europa, but it may not be so lethal in Beijing. ”

"Nonsense!" Zhou Hou angrily reprimanded: "With the same disease, if you can kill the Taixi people, can't you kill the people of the Ming Dynasty?!" As long as I am still your mother, you will not want to leave the palace one step! Zhou Hou felt even more deceived by his son, and couldn't help but be more angry.

"The queen mother is angry." Zhu Cihong walked out, shook his head disappointedly at John Tang on the side, and said, "Mr. Tang only knows one and doesn't know the other. The Black Death was great, but it was in Europa, not in the Ming Dynasty. For one, the plague originated in Central Asia. When the Mongols marched westward, they used trebuchets to throw the corpses of people and rats into the city, and they died at every turn. However, the Mongols themselves did not catch the plague because of this, let alone the total destruction of their entire army. ”

Chongzhen saw that his son quoted scriptures and scriptures, and he couldn't help but nod slightly, and said to the queen: "It seems that this plague is really because of people, and listen to what the prince says." ”

Zhu Cihong finally breathed a sigh of relief and continued: "Second, at that time, Eurobane was under the extreme rule of Catholicism and was burning witches. ”

"Your Highness!" Seeing that Catholicism was involved, John Tang's heart was cold, and he hurriedly shouted: "Now our church already knows that the plague has nothing to do with witches. "He didn't want the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty to think that Tessie was a barbaric land. In fact, the scholars of the Ming Dynasty themselves had this kind of prejudice, and it took Matteo Ricci a lifetime to be recognized by those proud scholars.

Zhu Cihong glared at him, ignored it, and continued: "Witches have a habit, that is, to raise cats. The Europa people regarded cats as servants of witches, messengers of the devil, and believed that the plague was brought by cats, so they killed cats all over the city. As a result, rats have no natural predators in the city and reproduce faster. ”

Chongzhen nodded: "In that case, let the cat room send some cats that can catch mice to each palace." ”

"Third," Zhu continued, "the plague still invades from the skin, blood, mouth and nose, as long as the fleas with the plague are not allowed to bite, and wash and bathe frequently, even if they are infected with the plague bacteria, they may not be infected." And Europa at that time was traditionally unbathed. ”

"Not bathing?" The attention of the week was diverted.

"At that time, our doctors thought that people would get sick from bathing." John Tang felt his blood surge, and his face was hot.

"Even now, that's what the Europa people think." Zhu Cihong maliciously exposed John Tang.

Tang Ruowang can't deny that he also developed the habit of washing his hair and taking a bath after he arrived in Daming.

"With these three points, Erchen believes that even if the plague spreads in Jingshi, it can be suppressed." Zhu Cihong stepped forward and said: "Now many fools and fools think that this is a powerful ghost asking for their lives, which makes people's hearts turbulent. Erchen thought that the original source was the foundation, and the relief of medicinal materials was only a branch, so he asked his father Bixia to send his sons, Bixia, to preside over the disaster relief and epidemic prevention. ”

There was silence in the nave.

After a long time, Chongzhen looked at Zhou Hou, whose eyes were red, and said in a deep voice: "Are you sure that you will not be infected with this plague?" ”

"Erchen has already said in the "Treatise on Epidemic Prevention"," Zhu Cihong said, "There are leather gloves, cotton carbon masks, large blouses, and no matter how many cats are raised, and they wash and bathe frequently, they will definitely not be infected with the plague." ”

- If I were to die, I would rather die of the plague...... It's better than being robbed and robbed and dying in vain!

Zhu Cihong said secretly in his heart.

"Bixia," Zhou Hou said, "since the prince has already written the article clearly, why not let the lieutenant do it?" Could it be that the Ming Dynasty was already short of manpower, so much so that the fifteen-year-old prince did it himself! ”

- It seems that this time it really scared my mother.

Zhu Cihong was helpless, rolled his eyes, and said: "Queen Mother, this matter is really only for the sons to do." ”

"Arrogance!" Zhou Hou said.

"Mother, this plague will change, and only the sons know about it." Zhu Cihong knew that there was more than one kind of plague, and the bubonic plague should be the best to deal with at the moment, as well as a small amount of pneumonic plague, and when the pneumonic plague expanded greatly in the future, I am afraid it would be really difficult to suppress it.

"How do you know? What books did you read? Let the Imperial Doctor read it! Zhou Hou raised his eyebrows and didn't let it go.

"There is no legend in the book," Zhu Cihong grinned, "It was obtained by Erchen observing the plague bacillus." If the Imperial Doctor is allowed to look at it again, I am afraid that they will not be able to protect themselves. ”

Zhou Hou, who has always been gentle and dignified, felt itchy teeth for the first time, his hands trembled, and he couldn't say a word.

"Father, mother," Zhu Cihong said, "as long as I am allowed to allocate manpower, material resources, and financial resources, this plague will definitely be contained." Otherwise, if it drags on for a few more months, Erchen won't dare to say anything. ”

In a few months, the weather will turn cold, and the plague epidemic will enter a low period, and I am afraid that there will be no need for the prince to raise the army.

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