Nanming: I can build wonders

Chapter 18 The Capital Earthquake

The capital in July of the 18th year of Kangxi was not as hot as in the 21st century, because it was the Little Ice Age at this time, and the global temperature was extremely cold.

The end of the Ming Dynasty and the beginning of the Qing Dynasty happened to be the coldest time of the Little Ice Age, with constant natural disasters, drought in summer, severe cold in winter, reduced food production, and a sharp drop in population. Therefore, some scholars in later generations believed that the demise of the Ming Dynasty was also related to the climate, which happened to make the Qing Dynasty Picked up a great deal.

As early as a few months ago, Zheng Kezang purchased the historical materials of 1679 with brilliant points, and found that the Qing court at the end of July in the lunar calendar would encounter a major earthquake. He had an idea and consulted with his father-in-law Chen Yonghua to make a wave for the Qing Dynasty. Rumor offensive, suppress Kang Mazi's arrogance.

[At the entrance of a roast duck shop in Beijing]

"Xizi, have you heard? Recently, there are rumors that God doesn't like the emperor, and the punishment will be sent down. At the end of the month, the capital will turn around." A man with triangular eyes in a long robe and mandarin jacket with a money rattail braid said to his companion. said suddenly.

"A-Lin, I've heard about it too. It's been rumored recently, and our sage is very angry. Now the Eight Banners Infantry Battalion is arresting people everywhere, saying that the pirates in the southeast are spreading rumors. I think it must be so. .” Xizi, the man on the other side, replied.

"Your Majesty is wise, with our Heavenly Soldiers of the Eight Banners of the Qing Dynasty, even if the earth dragon turns over, it can be suppressed." Alin laughed loudly, full of pride for the Eight Banners, others thought he was a child of the Eight Banners without knowing it.

"That's right, what do we coat slaves worry about? If we really turn around, those people outside the capital will be overjoyed." Xizi said with emotion.

When the Qing army occupied the capital, they forcibly ordered all the aborigines in the capital to be expelled from the city, and all the good places were occupied by the Eight Banners.

Of course, not only the capital, the Qing army's occupation of land in other places was even more brutal. The capital was already considered civilized, and there was no mass killing.

"Xizi, don't talk about these unlucky things, come and try this authentic roast duck. It's a time-honored brand that existed in the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty. It's a first-class delicacy. You can't eat it anywhere else, only a veteran like me. I just found out." Following the words, the two happily ate the roast duck, as if everything was going well.

"Alin, look at the huge sandstorm in the northwest, let's go home, this roast duck is uneaten." For some unknown reason, the sudden flying sand made the two coat servants less interested, but this was just start.

Just when the two were about to get up and go home, there was a sudden bang, like thunder, the capital was shaken, and the roast duck shop collapsed in an instant.

In this way, a major earthquake hit the area around the capital. The epicenter was in Sanhe and Pinggu. Liaoning, Shandong, and Henan provinces, totaling more than 200 states and counties.The loss of life and property caused by the earthquake, due to the limitations of the technical level and social conditions at that time, there is no exact statistics.

In the next two days, aftershocks continued in the area of ​​Dajing, and the walls of Tongzhou, Liangxiang and other places all collapsed, and the cracked ground turned into a stinky canal, until yellow-black water and black gas came out.

It was summer at this time, and even in the Little Ice Age, the weather was hot, and the dead bodies everywhere decomposed quickly, so that the filth and stench filled the streets, and the scene was appalling.

[On the Jingshan Mountain in the West City]

This is where Kang Mazi temporarily took refuge.

"Reporting to the emperor, the university scholar Le Dehong was crushed and injured, the cabinet scholar Wang Fuzheng, the right concubine of Zhangchunfang Hanlin Academy attendant Zhuang Jisheng were crushed to death, and 43 members of Wang Guangyu's family, the former prime minister of the Ministry of River Industry, also died. The epicenter." Nalan Mingzhu, a scholar in the Hall of Martial Arts, knelt on the ground and reported to Kangxi the situation of the minister's casualties with a sad face.

"Try to find their corpses and bury them generously." The emaciated Kangxi replied weakly. Kangxi had been tortured to the core these few days. After finally the San Francisco was basically pacified, there was a sudden earthquake. The most annoying thing was that there was another Rumors said that he offended the heavens and punished him from the heavens. Kangxi thought to himself: Is this really the punishment from the heavens?It must be a coincidence that the child is silent and strange.

"Distribute 10 taels of silver to relieve the victims of the disaster, and order officials of all sizes not to deduct relief food and salaries privately. Otherwise, those who are greedy for a dollar will be killed, and those who are greedy for a hundred dollars will be implicated in the nine clans. In addition, officials, gentry, rich people, and the people are called on to donate together to help the relief." Kangxi decreed road.

"Abiding by the order." Mi Sihan, Minister of the Ministry of household affairs, replied.

At the same time, Kangxi picked up a brush and wrote on the Edict of Sin: Since I have been in the imperial court, I have been diligently pursuing it, hoping to be in harmony with the heart of heaven and peace in the world. , The politics is not coordinated, the ministers and workers of all sizes are unable to work together, resulting in the disharmony of Yin and Yang... This is a statement that sins against oneself, and it is also a statement that is public, and it is even more shocking. I am terrified, and I speak here.

No matter what, first issue a sinful edict to silence the mouths of the people of the world, and then use disaster relief operations to restore people's hearts and turn bad things into good things.

Unlike Kangxi, who had a headache, the situation on Zheng Kezang's side is very good.

Since July, under the instructions of this Zheng Kezang, a Taoist rumor has been rampant: Sanqing Daozu Tuomeng told His Royal Highness Jian Guo that the establishment of slaves has no morals and is extremely cruel. Turn over.

This rumor spread widely in Dongning Mansion, and some of the ordinary people believed it, but some knowledgeable officials scoffed at it, saying that Zheng Kezang was playing with fire. If nothing happened to the capital of the Tartars, the prestige of the supervisor would plummet.

However, the development of the matter was beyond everyone's imagination. It was already August that the news of the earthquake in the capital reached Yizhou Island, and the effect on Dongning Mansion was no less than that of a real earthquake.

[Dongning Prefecture Shijing Street]

"Old King, have you heard that there was a big earthquake in the capital of the Tartars, and many Tartars died. The Taoist ancestor of the Sanqing Dynasty appeared, and the dream of His Highness Jian Guo is true." An old man waved his crutches and said excitedly .

"Really, I heard that the government has put up notices, and even the emperor of the Tartars has committed a crime and confessed to the Taoist ancestor of the Sanqing." Another old man affirmed.

There are countless conversations like theirs in Dongning Mansion, and ordinary people in the streets and alleys rush to tell each other.

The news went crazy, Zheng Kezang was in the limelight for a while, and everyone was talking about His Highness Jian Guo appearing, causing some ordinary people who originally believed in Buddhism to consider switching to Taoism.

Now the people of Dongning Mansion have regarded him as Emperor Han Guangwu of Ming Dynasty, that is, the great magister Liu Xiu, the kind who can summon meteorites.

Even during the court meeting, the group of old men under Zheng Jing looked at Zheng Kezang with a little respect, obviously they had taken him seriously, and they no longer regarded him as a brat.

"Qinshe, you have beautiful hands!" Chen Yonghua exclaimed in relief.

Zheng Kezang waved his hands, nonchalantly, and said, "Father-in-law, it's not worth doing a little trick. Today I want to take my father-in-law to see a novel thing—cement."

"What is cement"

(End of this chapter)