Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 163 The cruel reality

An inn surrounded by soldiers.

Zhu Biao returned here immediately after leaving the place where the smallpox vaccine was experimentally conducted.

Sitting on a chair, holding an ancient book in his hand, the contents of the book were mostly filled with things that most people would consider to be strange and cunning.

At this moment, Zhu Yuanzhang was watching with great interest and did not feel any discomfort at all.

At the same time, Zhu Biao also told him what he had just seen and heard.

"Father, I have investigated the cowpox and smallpox incident. Just as Yang Chen said, after being infected with cowpox, most people were safe and sound. When they were exposed to smallpox and infected again, the impact of smallpox on them was almost negligible. If they had not been vaccinated against cowpox, those infected with smallpox would have suffered from hot and cold for three days, followed by dizziness and unbearable body heat, blisters on the skin, and pox that could never be cured.

Nowadays, the most that people who have been vaccinated against smallpox feel is a feeling of discomfort, and then they just have to endure it. Once they get through it, the smallpox will disappear naturally, just like a common cold."

This time, Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma left the capital and headed south to see how magical cowpox was.

They were worried about leaving their men alone, so they planned to leave with the whole family, freeing up the forces in the capital and letting Yang Chen deal with Hu Weiyong alone.

It now seems that this decision was the right one.

Upon learning that cowpox was indeed effective, Zhu Yuanzhang's old face revealed a long-lost smile.

"Well, well, well, this smallpox that has plagued the people of the Central Plains for a thousand years was unexpectedly eradicated by me, Zhu Yuanzhang. Biao'er, you also have a share of this credit. In the future, you and I, father and son, will leave a good reputation in history that will surpass the honor of all emperors.

This is a reputation that has saved so many lives!"

Zhu Yuanzhang had always hoped that the hat of the beggar emperor could be taken off his head. Now that cowpox appeared, his dream would be closer.

At that time, he would lead the royal family to voluntarily infect themselves with cowpox, and then announce it to the whole world, letting the people know that their emperor was an emperor who was willing to stand up bravely when the people were in danger, rather than an emperor who would only hide.

If I could reach this point, I would definitely be able to further win the hearts of the people.

As an emperor, after establishing his career, he would try every possible means to make his name as glorious and beautiful as possible after his death.

"Okay, Chongba, you look like you've seen it. If someone doesn't know you, they'd think you've come back from the future."

Empress Ma, who was fed up with her husband's failure to recognize herself, interjected with a remark that was like pouring cold water, instantly cooling Zhu Yuanzhang's enthusiasm.

"Biao'er, you just went to see those women and children who were vaccinated with cowpox. How are they now? Have any accidents happened?"

According to Empress Ma's understanding of her son, if the news was all good news, it would be impossible for him to come back with a sullen face.

The only explanation that could be given is that there is something else going on besides what has been said above.

Facing his mother's question, Zhu Biao paused before explaining:

"Mother, as I just said, almost all the people are fine, but there are still many people who are weak because they didn't have enough food to eat. Even though cowpox has given them immunity, they still can't resist smallpox, which is such a scourge, and they feel a little uncomfortable.

As the crown prince, I feel very sad when I see this. I don't know how to ensure that the people have enough food to eat.

If they don't have enough food, their health will naturally be bad. As the highest class in the Ming Dynasty, it would be very uncomfortable for me if I can't do anything."

In today's era, even though Zhu Biao knew that he could not resist the tide of the times and understood his own identity and class, he still wanted to do his best to do what he could for the people.

However, he used to sit in the center of the imperial court, and the sufferings of the people were reported to him by his subordinates.

It's far less shocking than seeing it with your own eyes.

When visiting the peasant women who were willing to undergo the cowpox experiment, Zhu Biao asked them why they were willing to do such a dangerous thing. You know, vaccination with cowpox is a road to facing an unknown death. Once there is any danger, even the imperial physician cannot snatch them back from the hands of the King of Hell.

Facing Zhu Biao's question, the woman simply said naturally:
"Prince, my husband and I fled here from Fujian. On the way, we entrusted the second, third, and fourth children to others for burial. The only one left was the eldest child who was very strong. If we hadn't met the imperial physician who was recruiting people and said that we would have clothes to wear, meat to eat, and a warm bed to sleep in, I'm afraid we, the lowly people, would have died long ago."

In the eyes of women, nothing like cowpox or smallpox is as real as having a full meal before death.

For those who rushed to participate in the cowpox experiment, they seemed to have almost forgotten the last time they felt full.

Because of this, the moment he learned the truth, Zhu Biao could no longer hold back his tears and expressed his condolences before leaving.

He had not expected that the lower class people actually lived such a miserable life. They asked someone to bury their children, but it was actually eating their own children!

Human flesh is called rice meat among the people. Fujian has many mountains and is not suitable for farming. Although it is close to the sea, it is often invaded by pirates. The Ming navy can only stay in Wenzhou Prefecture, Quanzhou Prefecture and other areas.

To protect the safety of the main cities, there is no time to kill the enemy in other places.

Moreover, the pirates' ships were far more flexible than the Ming navy, and even if they arrived, they would not be able to catch up with the enemy.

These truths hurt Zhu Biao all the time.

"There are many diseases among the people. We are not gods. We can only try our best to do what we should do. Biao'er, don't take everything on yourself. If you fall ill, Xiongying will be very sad."

Queen Ma also knew that her son cared about the people, but she was well aware that human power could not resist the general trend in certain situations.

That's it for now.

Zhu Yuanzhang couldn't bear to see his son immersed in grief, so he changed the subject and said:

"Okay, Biao'er, let's leave the Imperial City temporarily this time. First, we want to create an opportunity for Yang Chen. According to the news sent back by the Royal Guards, Hu Weiyong is almost going crazy. Yang Chen is also leaving the Imperial City and heading to Zhenjiang Prefecture."

When Yang Chen was mentioned, Zhu Yuanzhang's face immediately changed and he sneered:
"This guy is so greedy that he has accepted two gifts from Hu Weiyong in a row. He first asked for two female servants, and now he has accepted six concubines from the Jiaofangsi. He is not worried that he will burst because he can't eat enough."

"He did this because you didn't give him money. He had no other choice but to accept Hu Weiyong's gift. This was his only option. Chongba, you can't blame him."

Empress Ma knew what Yang Chen had done, and instead of being angry, she spoke for him. This instantly made Zhu Yuanzhang unhappy, and he quickly retorted:
"Sister! You don't know that this guy accepted nearly one million taels of silver in bribes from Hu Weiyong! One million! This is a considerable amount, and he took it all!"

Zhu Yuanzhang could understand why Yang Chen accepted Hu Weiyong's bribe, but he did not expect that Hu Weiyong would be so willing to spend money and give away one million taels of silver with just a wave of his hand.

On the one hand, he grumbled to himself about Hu Weiyong's greed, and on the other hand, he was a little surprised that Yang Chen took all the money.

Zhu Biao seemed calm.

"Father, Brother Yang told me that scientific research is very expensive. I'm afraid this one million taels of silver won't last for too long. Money is going to be spent anyway, so why not use it on Brother Yang? As long as this money can bring benefits to the Ming Dynasty, it will be worth it."

Since both sons spoke for each other, Zhu Yuanzhang had nothing to say.

The topic immediately turned to Japan.

"I won't ask about him. You are in charge now. As long as Yang Chen is not out of your control, I won't ask even if he makes a scene. But there is one thing I want to discuss with you two, Sister Biaoer. Since you are all here, I won't waste my words.

Sister, you must have known about the gold and silver islands in Japan. You two have read a lot of books. When is the right time to set out to conquer Japan? Why don't you pick a time now?"

At the beginning, Zhu Yuanzhang discussed with a group of generals to send people to attack Japan, but unfortunately they never had time to set a time.

Firstly, many of the generals tried to shirk responsibility on this matter. In their opinion, attacking Japan would be tantamount to seeking death. Except for Lan Yu, Li Wenzhong and others who were not so afraid after hearing Yang Chen's explanation of the climate, the other generals were more timid than each other.

They were afraid that this unfounded divine wind would swallow them up.

Now that his sister is here, Zhu Yuanzhang decided to discuss a time to set off. As for who will go, he will summon everyone and select the soldiers and generals, and it will all depend on luck.

"The sea area between Japan and Ming is very far away, but we can start from Tsushima Island and Jeju Island in Goryeo. Didn't Yang Chen say that Japan's Gold and Silver Islands are very close to these two places? We can find them as long as we go there.

When will we leave? I think it will be in October.”

It was a rare opportunity for Empress Ma to make a decision herself, so she naturally enjoyed it.

Regarding the climate issue, Yang Chen taught Zhu Xiongying, and Zhu Xiongying turned around and told Queen Ma. Therefore, Queen Ma knew exactly when the wind and waves would be strong in this sea area and when the probability of typhoons would be small.

"Since the sister said October, then October, it happens that the Mid-Autumn Festival has passed during this period, and then the third brother can also set off at the same time to go to Nanyang to find the Guano Island of Wanli Shitang."

Zhu Yuanzhang stroked his beard and spoke softly, telling his original plan.

The three of them could not come to an agreement on who would be the first to leave for Japan because it was already late. They came here to observe the cowpox epidemic. Zhu Yuanzhang personally confirmed that there was no problem with cowpox. Then the royal family and others represented by him would go for vaccination.

The time is tentatively scheduled before the Mid-Autumn Festival.

The next morning, Yang Chen led everyone in his mansion away before the sun rose.

By the time the people around him reacted, he had already left the imperial city.

The team left the east gate of the imperial city in a mighty procession and soon drove onto the road built in the modern era.

This road is very solid, and the surface is not bumpy and is relatively flat, so horse-drawn carriages, ox-carts and other means of transportation can travel very smoothly here.

Riding a fast horse from the capital to Zhenjiang Prefecture, if we really want to be fast, it only takes two hours at full speed.

But they had too many things to move, and it would take them at least until sunset to arrive.

Along the way, Yang Chen was thinking about a question, that is, is there any way to increase the current carrying capacity of the Ming Dynasty.

His first idea was to build a steam engine and load it onto a train, directly ushering the Ming Dynasty into the steam locomotive era.

Not long after this idea came up, Yang Chen rejected it himself.

The reason is simple. With the current industrial capacity of the Ming Dynasty, it is impossible to forge a steam locomotive in a short period of time.

Even if it can be made into a shape, the lifespan of this train will definitely not exceed twenty years.

Therefore, he had to find another way. After thinking about it, Yang Chen could only think of one way.

"Horse-drawn Tramway"

A train is built with a steam engine that pulls the entire train, while a horse-drawn carriage replaces the steam engine with horses as the power source. The train is smaller and the size of the tracks remains the same.

Before the advent of true trains in the 19th century, horse-drawn trams were the mainstream form of rail transportation.

With the same horse power, a carriage on tracks can pull a weight twice the surface area of ​​land, which is not only more stable but also faster.

Once Ming Dynasty can use trams on a large scale, it means that Ming Dynasty's ability to transport troops and supplies will increase several times compared to now.

When steam engines are successfully manufactured in the future, these remaining rails can continue to be used and follow the trend of development. There will be absolutely no problem with this.

Having made up his mind, Yang Chen couldn't help but sigh in his heart:

"Ah! This is another expensive business, but it doesn't matter. When I manage Zhenjiang Prefecture well, the poisonous salt mine there will be turned into treasure and become a good thing for me to make a fortune. Anyway, the prince has already handed the salt permit to me, so I can do whatever I want next."

With this in mind, the rest of the journey went much smoother.

He thought the journey would be extremely smooth, but when he was about to reach Zhenjiang Prefecture and there was still 50 miles to a wide road, Yang Chen found that there were more and more hungry people on the roadside.

He could understand that there were disaster victims on the roadside in this era. Many people started looking for other ways out after their hometowns became unsuitable for survival.

But these people are very strange. They look like locals, but they end up leaving their hometown.

You have to know that this is the imperial city under the feet of the emperor. No matter how bad it is, it should not be so bad that there is no food, drink, or land to farm.

thump!
"Report to Captain Chi!
Someone fainted in front of us. She was standing on the street. When she saw us walking forward, she came towards us, as if she wanted to ask for some water. But she fainted before she could even open her mouth. Should we leave her aside?"

An assistant guard leading the way saw someone blocking their way, he just took a look and turned around to ask Chi Lin what to do.

The guard leader Chi Lin sat on the horse with his huge body. With just a quick glance, he could see clearly that the person lying on the ground was a woman.

Compared to other victims who were naked, this woman's clothes were quite decent. At least it could be judged that she had been wealthy in the past. After all, ordinary people would not have such good clothes.

Although this material has been almost worn out.

"Help her up, don't hurt her, carry her to a dead tree on the side of the road and let her lie down. Whether she lives or dies depends on her fate."

Yang Chen was somewhat horrified that Chi Lin did not choose to rescue the other person.

(End of this chapter)