Rule over Ming Dynasty

The East China Sea Governor's Palace has been moved from Sanji Island to Kyushu Island. Now the Ryukyu Governor's Palace is located on Jilong Island. The layout of one south and one north completely controls the East China Sea.

Since the fleet of the Ryukyu Governor's Palace can rush to the East China Sea at any time, Xu Shiying no longer has any worries, but he is not worried at all about the ragtag Japanese anti-Ming allied forces coming to die.

While the East China Sea was being ravaged by artillery fire from the Ming Dynasty fleet, the situation in the Southeast Asian countries was not optimistic and even seemed more severe.

In this era of low productivity, labor is actually the greatest wealth, otherwise there would not have been a very active slave trade in the Age of Navigation.

The smallpox plague was like an invisible undercurrent.

Since the second half of this year, the epidemic has been raging across every inch of Southeast Asia. It does not distinguish between rich and poor, high and low, and wantonly destroys people's lives.

It is precisely because of this characteristic that when faced with the smallpox spread from the Indian Ocean, the nobles of Kalimantan chose to flee far away, even giving up their official positions and leaving.

“On Sumatra, the death toll from smallpox in July exceeded 20,000!”

“In Sulawesi, the death toll from smallpox in August exceeded 30,000!”

“In Mindanao, more than 50,000 people contracted or died from smallpox in September!”

……

Unlike any previous disease, this smallpox epidemic was unprecedented in its spread and death toll, with more than half of the cases in the region dying, and the highest mortality rate was 97%.

Of course, the information in this era was very limited, and no one knew how to conduct statistics. So when the people of Sumatra were talking about flowers, Sulu still didn’t know what kind of flower smallpox was?

Wen Xiangming is a businessman from the Sulu Kingdom. He has been wandering overseas for many years, but he has gradually accumulated a certain amount of wealth and fame. He has just returned from the Indian Ocean trade with a full load.

Although they could no longer engage in the spice trade after the Indian Ocean Governor-General implemented military control in Malacca, the pearls of Sulu were very popular with Tianzhu.

This trade was very smooth. I unexpectedly collected a herd of cattle on the other side of the Indian Ocean, returned to Nanyang and sold them to Ming merchants, and made a huge profit from the Ming merchants.

Cattle were of almost no value in the Sulu Kingdom, but they were regarded as treasures in the Ming Dynasty. Even the law of the Ming Dynasty did not allow the private killing of farm cattle, and even princes had to be punished.

When he returned home, he didn't notice anything strange at first, but soon after, he began to feel unwell. First I had a headache and fever, and then a dense red rash appeared on my body.

Wen Xiangming thought he had caught the cold, but he thought that his body was still strong and he could get through it as long as he gritted his teeth. But the red rash quickly turned into pustules and the pain was unbearable.

At this moment, he also realized his own fragility, but he would rather spend a large amount of money in exchange for health.

The family hurriedly invited the most famous local wizard. After carefully checking Wen Xiangming's condition, the wizard confidently prescribed medicine for Wen Xiangming to take.

Wen Xiangming's physical condition became worse and worse, and the wizard's treatment did not work. On the contrary, when his family wanted to invite a wizard again, they found that the wizard had already contracted the same disease and died.

"The wizard is dead?"

"What kind of disease is this serious?"

"It's over, I'm afraid you'll die if you contract this disease!"

……

When they saw that the most powerful wizard in the country was unable to heal himself, many people began to pay attention to this strange disease that had become popular recently, and a panic quickly spread.

Some wealthy nobles gritted their teeth and left the country by boat with their families and treasures.

Wen Xiangming's condition deteriorated rapidly, the pustules burst and pus leaked out, and his body became increasingly weak. Fortunately, the pustules began to shrink and dry up, the surrounding redness disappeared, and gradually dried up and formed thick yellow-green scabs.

The mortality rate of smallpox virus is 30%. Wen Xiangming is undoubtedly a lucky person in front of the virus.

"What are you doing?" an armed team suddenly broke into Wen's house, causing Wen's family and servants to panic.

The leader was the captain of the Dongwang Guards, one of the three kings of Sulu. He pointed at Wen Xiangming lying on the bed and said: "The national preceptor learned from divination that he is an evil heretic who has brought disaster to Sulu. Today he will be killed." Burn him to death in exchange for God’s protection!”

"No!" When the wife heard that she wanted to burn her husband to death, she was frightened and stepped forward to stop him.

Wen Xiangming noticed something was wrong in the captain's eyes and was suddenly shocked.

puff!
The guard captain stabbed Wen Xiangming's wife with a sharp knife, and then coldly ordered: "This is an evil house, kill them all, no one will be spared!"

Wen Xiangming will naturally be burned alive, but none of Wen Xiangming's family members will be left behind. Instead, they will all be killed.

With an order, the massacre began immediately.

Do not……

Wen Xiangming, who was lying on the hospital bed, saw his youngest son being killed with his own eyes, and suddenly screamed with his eyes splitting.

"Search!"

After killing all the Wen family members, the guard captain immediately ordered a search for Wen Xiangming's property.

Now there are rumors in Sulu that Wen Xiangming is the most business-minded businessman in Sulu. He has made a lot of money from maritime trade over the years, and he has so much money that he can't even fit it in his house.

Although Wen Xiangming is not as rich as his country, he must have considerable wealth. In fact, the purpose of this divination by the Imperial Preceptor was not only to find the root cause of the new epidemic and explain it to the people, but also to swallow up Wen Xiangming's personal wealth.

"My dear, these are all silver dollars!"

"Look, there's a lot of gold in here!"

"Haha...this is indeed a fat sheep!"

……

As the money hidden by the Wen family was unearthed one after another, the people present seemed very excited, as if the fat pigs raised in the family had finally come to be slaughtered.

The participants needed not to get a share of the meat, but they also got a little bit of soup, so they were very excited.

puff!
Wen Xiangming had felt that his health was getting better these days, but at this moment, his energy and blood surged, and then he fainted.

He finally overcame the disease and came back from hell, only to see his family members die tragically in front of his own eyes. Everything seemed so cruel.

Although Wen Xiangming's wealth has been found, and this amount of wealth appears to be considerable, the "crime and punishment" against him in the Sulu Kingdom will not stop.

East Palace, square in front of the gate.

Since the National Preceptor had found the culprit of the epidemic, especially when he turned out to be an evil heretic, a large number of people gathered to watch.

"Burn him!"

"He has brought disaster to our Sulu!"

“Burn him to death and burn away all his sins!”…

When they saw Wen Xiangming being brought up, many people voluntarily denounced him, as if they wanted to kill Wen Xiangming, an evil heretic, with their own hands.

Wen Xiangming is now devastated. Faced with the condemnation of a large number of people, he is more of a self-mockery. It not only mocks the ignorance of these people, but also mocks one's own stupidity.

As a shrewd businessman, how could he not know that the main cause of his illness was not that he had made too much money through maritime trade over the years, but he had no protection in the country?

Even if he didn't come back from the disease this time, these greedy people would have already killed him. At my own expense, I made fun of Yan Tu, a maritime merchant from Malani country, who spent so much money to buy a Ming Dynasty certificate. It turned out that he was the sane person in the world, and the clown turned out to be me.

"Tie him up and prepare for execution!" the escort captain said coldly with a wave of his hand.

Originally, he planned to extract more wealth from Wen Xiangming. After all, there was no guarantee that the other party would hide the money elsewhere, especially Wen Xiangming's eldest son, who was missing, but burning Wen Xiangming to death was the order of the Imperial Master.

Wen Xiangming was tied to a log stake with bundles of firewood at his feet, intending to burn him alive. It's just that when things got to this moment, he was also despairing.

Being born in such a country, even if I was lucky enough to escape this time, I don't know what kind of crime I would be charged with next time. What's more, his heart was broken when his whole family was killed.

"set fire!"

With a crash, a torch was thrown towards the pyre.

The firewood at this time of year is very dry, and the pile of firewood burns quickly. The dry firewood crackles and makes people's hearts tremble.

"The evil is removed!"

"We're safe!"

"Thank you, Imperial Master, for helping us to resolve the disaster!!"

……

After seeing the fire had already started, the people around were rejoicing, and many of them thanked the national master whom they trusted.

Uh...

The conch horn sounded, and when the fire completely surrounded Wen Xiangming, the weirdly dressed National Preceptor led a group of people to sing and dance to ward off the disaster.

Seeing that the fire was about to devour him, Wen Xiangming felt an incomparable hatred for this country: "Take away my family's wealth and destroy my whole family! Even if I die now, Sulu will be plagued by the disease for three years!"

"Ah? Is he cursing us?"

"Damn, this is indeed an evil pagan!"

"It's over, I seem to feel uncomfortable too!"

……

The people watching heard Wen Xiangming's last curse. Although most people condemned Wen Xiangming, some people suddenly found that something was wrong with their bodies.

Wen Xiangming was not the only maritime trader in Sulu. The smallpox virus that was transmitted back to Sulu was not just one channel. In fact, the smallpox virus had recently been transmitted back to the country through multiple channels.

Today's maritime trade is not between the Ming Dynasty and various countries. In fact, there are also exchanges between various countries, and some maritime traders coming from Kalimantan are also carriers of the smallpox virus.

Wen Xiangming was more like the amplifier of the epidemic. More and more people began to find themselves feeling unwell, and the initial symptoms of smallpox, fever and rash, gradually appeared.

Smallpox is a highly contagious and highly fatal disease.

Although the official data given is a mortality rate of 30%, the medical conditions during this period were worse, so the mortality rate was actually higher, with the highest record reaching 97%.

In fact, what is even more frightening is that even if your body produces antibodies and successfully survives it, it will leave marks on your body and even cause blindness in your eyes.

What's more, once you contract the disease, some external factors cannot be ignored, and Sulu's practice of burning Wen Xiangming to death is not an isolated case, it is even a very common practice among the ruling classes in Southeast Asian countries.

In fact, Nanyang businessmen also live at the bottom of society. Their wealth has been coveted to begin with, and now is the best time for those in power to loot it effortlessly.

"Let me go!"

"I really don't want to die!"

"Master, please save me!"

……

The number of abnormal deaths in Nanyang is rising steadily. Nanyang in this era has limited knowledge of infectious diseases, and they seem to be in a slave society, so many people are even killed directly by their masters.

Although this method seems very bloody, directly killing all infected people is actually the most effective solution to the current backward medical situation.

If every infected person is killed, the spread of the smallpox virus can naturally be completely blocked.

Of course, the scary thing about smallpox is that the virus is highly resistant and can survive in dry and low-temperature environments for several months to a year and a half. This is also one of the reasons why it reoccurs in many areas.

As October approaches, this low temperature provides a breeding ground for the smallpox virus.

Naturally, the epidemic in Sulu will not end just because they kill Wen Xiangming, nor will it be stopped just because they kill a group of infected people. In fact, the situation is getting worse and worse.

More and more people were infected with smallpox, and then they were labeled as evil heretics.

It is very ironic that some people applauded when they watched Wen Xiangming being burned to death, but within a few days they were visited by members of the royal guard, and they became the new protagonist from a spectator.

Originally, the smallpox epidemic was terrifying enough, but now coupled with human factors, the population of Sulu is gradually withering like a sea of ​​blooming flowers.

In October, the smallpox epidemic in Sulu caused a direct 30% drop in the population, and the epidemic was far from over.

A rare scene occurred in the Sulu Kingdom. When they saw King Dong contracting smallpox and dying, the East King and the West King chose to take their families northward. They went to the capital of the Ming Dynasty in the name of paying tribute.

Although this is the place where they rule, it seems so insignificant in front of life, not to mention that this trip is mainly to avoid disaster. If the Sulu Kingdom really became a hell on earth, then they would not mind settling in the Ming Dynasty like the Dongwang branch.

As the smallpox virus spread to the Marani country on Luzon Island, the entire Southeast Asia was under the clutches of the smallpox epidemic, and a large number of people died every day.

Even if there is no treatment for smallpox in future generations, the current global vaccination program is destined to be impossible to succeed, and the current epidemic in Nanyang may last for several years.

But in a few years, how many of their young labor force will die, and how their national strength will be reduced, everything seems so bleak.

Facing this smallpox epidemic, not only ordinary people are very worried, but their rulers are also worried, and this year their willingness to pay tribute to Beijing is stronger than ever.

The Indian Ocean and Southeast Asia suffered from such a severe smallpox epidemic, and a large number of people died from the smallpox virus. Naturally, such an important matter was reported to the emperor. (End of chapter)