Rule the Ming Dynasty Alone

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, the spread of this smallpox epidemic and the number of deaths it caused were unprecedented. More than half of the cases in the region even died, 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 a fruitful trade in the Indian Ocean.

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

This trade went very smoothly. 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 so 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 ruptured and pus leaked out, and his body became increasingly weak. Fortunately, the pustules began to shrink and dry up, the redness around them 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 squad 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 who was 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.

No……

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.

There are now rumors in Sulu that Wen Xiangming is the most savvy businessman in Sulu. He has made a lot of money in 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 gradually found out, the people present seemed very excited, as if the fat pig raised at home had finally come to the time of slaughter.

They, the participants, could not get the meat, but they could also get a little soup from it, so they were all very excited.

Poof!

Wen Xiangming had felt that his health had gradually improved these days, but at this moment, his blood surged, and then he fainted.

He finally defeated the disease and came back from the gates of hell, but he saw his family die tragically in front of him. Everything seemed so cruel.

Although Wen Xiangming's wealth had been found out, and this wealth seemed very considerable, the "punishment" against him by the Sulu Kingdom would not stop.

The square in front of the East Palace.

Since the national teacher had found the culprit of the epidemic, especially the other party was an evil pagan, it attracted a large number of people to watch.

"Burn him to death!"

"He brought disaster to our Sulu!"

"Burn him to death, burn all his sins!"

...

When seeing Wen Xiangming being brought up, many people protested on their own, as if they wanted to personally put an end to Wen Xiangming, the evil pagan.

Wen Xiangming is now ashamed, and in the face of the protests of a large number of people, his mouth is more of a self-mockery. He not only mocks the ignorance of these people, but also mocks his own stupidity.

As a shrewd businessman, how could he not know that his illness was not the main reason, but that he had earned too much money through maritime trade over the years, but he had no umbrella in the country.

Even if he did not return from the disease this time, these greedy people would have already killed the donkey. I laughed at the sea merchant Yan Tu from the Malani country for spending so much money to buy Ming nationality, but he was the one who was sober in the world, and the clown turned out to be me.

"Tie him up and prepare for execution!" The captain of the escort waved his hand and said coldly.

Originally, he was planning to squeeze more wealth from Wen Xiangming. After all, it was hard to guarantee that the other party would hide money somewhere else, especially since Wen Xiangming's eldest son was missing. But burning Wen Xiangming to death was the order of the national teacher.

Wen Xiangming was tied to a log, with bundles of firewood under his feet. This was to burn him alive. But at this moment, he was also ashamed.

Born in such a country, even if he escaped this time, he didn't know what crime he would be pushed here next time. Moreover, his family was killed, and his heart was broken.

"Set fire!"

With a sound, a torch was thrown into the firewood pile.

The firewood at this time of year was very dry, and the firewood pile quickly burned. These dry firewoods burned cracklingly, which made people tremble in their hearts.

"The disaster is gone!"

"We are safe!"

"Thank you, the national master, for helping us to avert the disaster!!"

...

Seeing that the fire had already started, the people around were also grateful, and many people thanked the national master they trusted.

Woo...

The horn of the conch sounded, and when the fire completely surrounded Wen Xiangming, the national master, who was dressed very strangely, led a group of people to sing and dance to drive away the disaster.

Wen Xiangming saw that the fire was about to devour him, and at this moment he hated this country very much in his heart: "Take away my family wealth and destroy my whole family! Although I die today, Sulu will be ravaged 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 onlookers 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 sea merchant in Sulu. The smallpox virus sent back to Sulu was not just one channel. In fact, the smallpox virus has been sent back to China from multiple channels recently.

The current maritime trade is not just the Ming Dynasty's trade with other countries. In fact, there are also exchanges between countries, and some sea merchants from Kalimantan are also carriers of the smallpox virus.

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

Smallpox is a highly contagious disease with high transmission and high mortality.

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, and the highest record reached 97%.

In fact, what is even more terrifying is that even if your body produces antibodies and successfully survives, there will be marks on your body, and even your eyes will go blind.

Moreover, once you are infected with the disease, some external factors cannot be ignored, and the practice of Sulu burning Wen Xiangming to death is not an isolated case, and it is even a very common practice among the ruling classes of various countries in Southeast Asia.

Nanyang merchants actually live at the bottom of society. The wealth in their hands has always been coveted, and now is the best time for those in power to rob them without any effort.

"Let me go!"

"I really don't want to die!"

"Master, please save me!"

...

The number of abnormal deaths in Nanyang is rising steadily. At this time, Nanyang's understanding of infectious diseases is limited, and they are like 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 was killed, the spread of the smallpox virus would 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, a smallpox epidemic in Sulu caused a direct 30% decline in the population, and the epidemic was far from over.

A relatively 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 plan is destined to be impossible to succeed, and the current epidemic in Nanyang may last for several years.

It’s just that in a few years, how many young people in the labor force will die, and how will their national strength 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)