Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 40 Chen Ce's Reminder

Shuntian Prefecture built temporary shanties on every street, and all the affected people lived in them.

The shantytowns on Zhengyang Street housed about 5,000 disaster victims. Not every house collapsed in this earthquake, and the residences of high-ranking officials were hardly affected. The houses of ordinary people were built in a relatively perfunctory manner. In any era, there has always been shoddy workmanship and it cannot be prevented.

After Chen Ce and Mrs. Wu were arranged here, men and women lived separately according to etiquette and tradition. Chen Ce told the doctor that Wu Shuxian had caught a cold and asked the doctor to treat her well.

Chen Ce, the official in charge of managing the shantytowns on Zhengyang Street, was very familiar with each other. They looked at each other and felt a little embarrassed.

Tui Guan Ning took a deep breath and finally took the initiative to find Chen Ce who was turning around and about to leave.

He ignored the clerks around him and called Chen Ce, "Nephew Chen, are you okay?"

Chen Ce turned back helplessly and said, "Master Ning, I am lucky to be alive."

"Would you like to walk with me?" asked Magistrate Ning tentatively.

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "I'm tired. I want to take a rest and not disturb Lord Ning from doing his work."

Ning Cheng said nothing, but nodded and said, "Okay!"

Looking at Chen Ce's back, Ning Cheng felt guilty. No matter how to say it, he owed him. Regardless of Chen Ce's health, this marriage was a matter of credibility, not a simple engagement.

Deep down, he was unwilling to facilitate this marriage. No father wanted his child to end up as a widow. However, he couldn't say it directly, so he could only remind Chen Ce secretly.

Chen Ce has a high emotional intelligence. He did not embarrass Ning Cheng and took the initiative to tear up the marriage certificate. But in the final analysis, it was all because of himself. Chen Ce just knew when to advance and when to retreat and had a broad mind.

Chen Ce could have insisted on getting married, and Ning Cheng would have finally agreed reluctantly. Otherwise, his reputation would have gotten out, and he would have been criticized by his colleagues for being a dishonest official.

But Chen Ce didn't do these things. At such a young age, he knew how to make choices. This quality alone was enough for Ning Cheng to admire from the bottom of his heart. What a pity...

Ning Cheng shook his head and sighed secretly. He soon got his retribution and was demoted from Tongpan to Tuiguan. He thought that this must be a punishment from God.

It is right to say that it is God, after all, Zhu Houzhao also represents the sky of the Ming Dynasty to some extent!
Five thousand people gathered in the shantytown of Zhengyang Street. Everyone had a simple bed, eating, drinking and sleeping together. All kinds of unpleasant smells gathered in the shantytowns, and occasionally they would quarrel over trivial matters. The clerks handled these quarrels with ease.

There is no civilized law enforcement now. Once the clerk threatens, who would dare to act rashly?

Food, drink and shelter were not a problem; the biggest problem was excretion and going to the toilet. The government did not plan toilets, and the only two or three outhouses were all used by women.

The men used to use the toilet wherever there were trees and grass, which made the smell here even worse.

There was no particular etiquette when eating. The government cooked in a big pot, which was not very good, mostly thin porridge and steamed buns. A few young and strong people were selected to wash the bowls and chopsticks.

Chen Ce saw all of this, frowned slightly, and planned to go back to the shantytown to sleep.

There were constant coughing sounds in the shanties, and doctors were busy shuttling back and forth. It seemed even more stretched to have two doctors per street.

It was night time, and Chen Ce couldn't fall asleep, so he walked outside with his clothes on. The moon was dim and there was still some light outside. The air still smelled unpleasant, and Chen Ce just walked with his hands behind his back.

Ning Tui Guan is a good official. He has not returned home yet so late. It can be seen that he is not just going through the motions, but is really concerned about the situation of the victims.

Chen Ce was silent for a while, walked up to Ning Cheng and called him, saying softly: "Lord Ning, can we talk?" Ning Cheng was a little surprised. After all, Chen Ce was very resistant to him during the day, but now he would take the initiative to talk to him?

Ning Cheng thought for a moment, and said to Chen Ce, "I will arrange two people to take you back to Ning Mansion. How many days will you stay with me first?"

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "Let's not talk about this."

He probably thought that he was not used to living in this kind of environment and felt guilty, so he said these things.

Ning Cheng was a little surprised, nodded and said, "Well, what do you want to ask?"

Chen Ce first asked about the progress of the construction in Huaihua Hutong. Ning Cheng said that the Ministry of Works of the imperial court had hired many migrant workers, and the victims in the shanty towns could also go there to work in exchange for relief and build houses for the imperial court. The imperial court would also provide financial payments. According to his calculations, the houses for the victims could be completed in eight or nine days at most.

The houses today are different from those in the future. It does not take too long to build a simple house.

Chen Ce took a deep breath and said, "Master Ning, do you think this arrangement by the government is appropriate?"

Ning Cheng was puzzled and asked suspiciously, "Is there something wrong?"

In Ning Cheng's opinion, both the imperial court and local officials are doing their best to provide disaster relief. After all, this is under the rule of the emperor, and the emperor is personally supervising it. Who dares not to do their job diligently?
He believed that the government had done a good enough job and had taken all aspects into consideration, and he really couldn't understand what was wrong.

"Are they in a bad mood?" Ning Cheng asked tentatively. After all, people have different opinions, and it is impossible to satisfy everyone.

Chen Ce shook his head and said, "There are too many people gathered together, and various diseases and viruses will spread to each other. Failure to centrally handle feces will accelerate the spread of viruses. Eating together will cause cross-infection of various diseases and accelerate the spread of viruses. If any small plague is unfortunately triggered, it will not be as simple as a geological disaster."

"Disaster upon disaster, the situation will be even more out of control."

Ning Cheng was stunned for a moment. He didn't understand many words, such as what a virus was and what cross-infection was. He didn't quite understand.

But he understood three-quarters of what Chen Ce meant. The virus he was talking about should be a spreading disease, and cross-infection should be human-to-human transmission. Ning Cheng had never experienced a plague, but he had read books, and the occurrence and spread of the plague were recorded in the books.

Chen Ce continued, "There are also river water sources. The water used by the capital is all here. If the water source is contaminated by the virus, it will not only infect the victims, but also Shuntian Prefecture and even the Forbidden City..."

Chen Ce said it nonchalantly, but Ning Cheng's forehead was already covered with sweat.

The officials in the imperial court have considered various situations, but they have not considered the major epidemic after a major disaster!

Yes, with such a large population, there is a possibility of a major epidemic. If the natural disasters are under control and a major epidemic occurs again, it will be truly unacceptable to the court!

His face had become hideous and distorted. He looked at Chen Ce deeply with a complicated look in his eyes, as if he was a little ashamed and a little regretful. Finally, everything turned into a palm and slapped Chen Ce's shoulder heavily.

"My dear nephew! I will commend you to the court!"

After he finished speaking, he no longer cared about Chen Ce, and anxiously left the shantytown on Zhengyang Street with a few clerks and hurried towards Shuntian Prefecture.

Chen Ce knew that if this matter was reported, Ning Cheng might be promoted again, but he really didn't want to become a part of the epidemic. In order to prevent this from happening, he could only inform Ning Tui Guan and ask him to report it to higher authorities.

(End of this chapter)