golden scales

() In the summer of 24 years ago, Tang Ruowang set foot on the territory of the Ming Empire for the first time - Haojing [Macao].

At that time, after more than a year of long-distance voyage, 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 classics.

At that time, Matteo Ricci had passed away and was buried in China.

Matteo Ricci's successors and a group of fanatical Catholics believed that Matteo Ricci's strategy of "combining Confucianism" was a betrayal of Catholicism, and it was strictly forbidden for believers to worship ancestors and Confucius, which triggered the famous Nanjing religious case, which made Catholicism lose its foothold in mainland China At the same time, it also destroyed the goodwill and friendship of Ming scholars towards Ricci.

Tang Ruowang entered Daming under such circumstances, gained the trust of the government and the public by relying on Western science and technology, and entered Qin Tianjian with the help of Xu Guangqi.In the ninth year of Chongzhen, Tang Ruowang was ordered to cast cannons. Within two years, twenty guns were cast, and at the same time, he translated a large number of western practical technologies.

Because of Tang Ruowang's achievements, in the 11th year of Chongzhen, His Majesty the Emperor bestowed the four characters "Qin Praise Tianxue", and made plaques and distributed them to Catholic churches everywhere to hang.

Now, the "Chongzhen Almanac" he participated in editing has come to an end.The new almanac adopts the formulation method of combining east and west, which is far better than the previous traditional almanac.

At this juncture, Tang Ruowang was not curious that His Majesty the Emperor would summon him.But he couldn't understand why the eunuch who came to announce the decree used "His Royal Highness's decree." He really hoped to meet the crown prince who was known as a child prodigy and was very knowledgeable about science, but Qin Tianjian The status of an official prevented him from getting what he wanted.

In theory, the prince of Ming Dynasty can summon all officials and issue his own "orders" at the same time.However, due to the uniqueness of imperial power and the awe of the emperor, princes after the middle of Ming Dynasty rarely used this right.Of course, this has a lot to do with the unlucky encounters of the princes of the Jiajing and Wanli dynasties.

"Tell, Qin Tianjian Tang Ruowang is here!" The eunuch's drake voice issued the official summons.

Tang Ruowang finally tidied up his appearance, imitating the steps of the Confucian officials, and stepped into the Qianqing Gate cautiously and humbly.

This gate is the dividing line between the inner court and the outer court. Tang Ruowang has never heard of a foreign minister who can enter this gate.It seems that because of the problem of imperial power, a group of ministers rushed in and drove away a concubine who was in power behind the scenes, which became the "moving palace case" that has not subsided so far.

Tang Ruowang fell to the ground tremblingly, and when he was ordered to raise his head, he finally saw the rare emperor and his family.

The most supreme family in the Ming Empire.

His mind was completely blank.

"Tang Ruowang," Chongzhen asked the servant to show the foreign monk the parts related to the Black Death, "is there any exaggeration in this article?"

With trembling hands, Tang Ruowang took over the ink-smeared new book, glanced at ten lines, and was horrified after reading it quickly.It's hard for him to imagine that many people don't even know how many countries there are in Europe, but someone can explain the origin of the Black Death so thoroughly!

Is it the materials sent by the church?Why haven't I seen it?Tang Ruowang hesitated, and started to read again.He quickly discovered the problem. The place names and country names listed here were not the standard translations of the church, nor even the translations familiar to scholars in the Ming Dynasty.This almost transliterated translation, after careful reading, is not Latin, but somewhat like the British island accent.

"Your Majesty," Tang Ruowang put down the book, "not only is the record here not exaggerated, but I am afraid it is a little too conservative."

"Conservative?!" Chongzhen was quite shocked.

"When the Black Death spread, people died in every household. Wherever there was a dead person, the word 'p' was painted with black paint on the outer wall." Tang Ruowang wrote the letter p in the air and continued: " According to our history books, whole villages and towns were wiped out at that time. The great Emerald, which is Florence in this book, is almost empty."

The hearts of the emperor and empress were picked up at the same time: "Isn't this a disaster of subjugation!"

"Exactly." Tang Ruowang lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, the prince must never go out to appease the army!" Zhou Hou trembled all over, looking at Chongzhen.

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

Especially when it comes to national issues.

——It seems a little too much.

Zhu Cihong originally wanted Tang Ruowang to prove how terrible the epidemic was in the capital, but who knew that it actually frightened the emperor and empress.This is also helpless. Historians of later generations only estimated the average death rate at that time, and the horror memories left by the hardest-hit areas will definitely be exaggerated.

Although Tang Ruowang is from Cologne, Germany, the seminary he studied in Rome probably inherited that horrible memory there.

"Father," Zhu Cihong stood up and said, "This plague has indeed had a great impact on Europa, but it may not be so lethal in the capital."

"Nonsense!" Zhou Hou scolded angrily: "The same disease, can it kill Taixi people but not Ming people?! As long as I am your mother, you will never even think about leaving the palace!" Zhou Hou was more deceived by his son. Feeling, can't help getting more angry.

"Mother, calm down." Zhu Cihong came out, shook his head disappointedly at Tang Ruowang, and said, "Mr. Tang only knows one thing but not the other. The Black Death is severe, but it was in Europa, not Daming. First, the plague originated in central Asia. When the Mongols marched westward, they used catapults to throw human and rat corpses into the city, and they often killed the city. However, the Mongols themselves did not contract the plague because of this. I have never seen the whole army wiped out."

Seeing his son citing the scriptures, Chongzhen could not help but nodded slightly, and said to the queen: "It seems that the plague is indeed caused by people, let's listen to what the crown prince has to say."

Zhu Cihong finally breathed a sigh of relief, and continued: "Secondly, Europa was under the extreme rule of the Catholic Church at that time, and the witch was being burned."

"Your Highness!" Tang Ruo saw that Catholicism was involved, and his heart turned cold, and he hurriedly shouted, "Now our church knows that the plague has nothing to do with witches." He didn't want the emperor of Ming Dynasty to think that Taixi was a barbaric place.In fact, the scholars of the Ming Dynasty had such prejudices themselves, and Matteo Ricci spent a lifetime of energy before he was recognized by those proud scholars.

Zhu Cilang glared at him, ignored him, and continued: "Witches have a habit of keeping cats. People in Europa regard cats as servants of witches and messengers of devils. They think cats bring the plague, so they kill cats all over the city. .This leads to mice having no natural predators in the city and multiplying faster."

Chongzhen nodded: "In this case, let the cat house send some cats that can catch mice to all the palaces."

"Third," Zhu Cihong continued, "the current plague is still invading from the skin, blood, mouth and nose. As long as you don't let the fleas with plague bite people, wash your hands and bathe frequently, even if you are infected with plague bacteria, you may not be infected. ...and Europa at that time was traditionally not bathed."

"Not bathing?" Zhou Hou's attention was diverted.

"At that time our doctors believed that people would get sick from taking a bath." Tang Ruowang felt blood rushing up and his face was hot.

"Even now, the Europeans still think so." Zhu Cihong maliciously exposed Tang Ruowang.

Tang Ruowang couldn't deny that he didn't develop the habit of washing his hair and taking a bath until he arrived in Daming.

"With these three points, I believe that even if the plague spreads in the capital, it can be suppressed." Zhu Cihong stepped forward and said, "Nowadays, many foolish men and women think that this is a ghost killing people, which makes people's hearts turbulent. My minister believes that the root cause is the Fundamentally, the relief of medicinal materials is only a side issue, so His Majesty the Father is invited to send his sons 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 you won't catch this plague?"

"Your minister has already said something in "On Epidemic Prevention," Zhu Cihong said, "If you have leather gloves, cotton masks containing carbon, and large blouses, you will keep more cats and wash them frequently, and you will definitely not be infected with the plague."

——If I have to die, I'd rather catch the plague and die...it's better than being robbed and robbed by people and dying for no reason!

Zhu Cihong thought to himself.

"Your Majesty," Zhou Hou said, "since the crown prince has already written a clear statement, why not let the middle officials do it? Could it be that Daming is so short of manpower that the 15-year-old crown prince has to do it himself!"

——It seems that this time I really scared my mother.

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

"Arrogance!" Zhou Hou scolded.

"Mother, this plague will change, and only my son knows about it." Zhu Cihong knew that there was more than one kind of plague. Right now, it should be the bubonic plague that is the best to deal with, and a small amount of pneumonic plague. When the pneumonic plague expands in the future, I am afraid it will really happen. It's hard to hold back.

"How do you know? What books did you read? Let the imperial physician read them!" Zhou Hou raised his eyebrows and refused to budge.

"There is no biography in the book," Zhu Cihong said with a grin, "I got it by observing the plague bacillus. If the imperial doctor read it again, I am afraid they will not be able to protect themselves."

For the first time, Zhou Hou, who was always gentle and dignified, felt his teeth itching unbearably, his hands trembled, and he couldn't speak a word.

"Father, mother," Zhu Cihong said, "as long as I am allowed to deploy manpower, material resources, and financial resources, the plague will definitely be contained. Otherwise, if it drags on for a few more months, I will not dare to say anything."

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