The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 938 The Great Qi Calamity

The telegram arrived in Tianxin City, and the situation was not optimistic. Liu Xuan couldn't sleep all night.

On the front lines in eastern Guangdong, the soldiers eagerly awaited their chance to make a name for themselves, but the British did not land. Instead, they were met with a terrible plague.

From late spring to late autumn, an epidemic swept across the southeastern coast, with the virus following the wings of mosquitoes, flying throughout the humid and hot region.

Later historians referred to it as the "Great Qi Calamity".

At the time, most people believed that this was the work of Europeans, especially the British.

Poisoning.

The imperial propaganda machine was firing on all cylinders. Under the influence of newspapers and societies (in the literal sense), by the end of the year, even the most remote and isolated farmers in the empire would, in private, speak mysteriously to others:

"Did you know? That 'Ji Gong eating cold duck' virus was deliberately spread by those foreign devils!"

From the very first day that Ji Kong Kun Duck Cold Duck was introduced to Da Qi, it was renamed "Ji Gong Gnawing on Cold Duck".

Tianxin City strongly supports this move to shift the blame westward. If the spread of the epidemic must be attributed to a culprit, then it would be best if it were a foreigner.

Nothing is easier than hating the British, especially during wartime.

If the public doesn't hate the British, they'll probably have to think about other things.

~~~~~~~~~~~
In a telegram, Cui Jianren, the Governor-General of Guangdong Province, reported to Tianxin City that due to a lack of epidemic prevention materials and necessary treatment methods, two or three out of ten of the more than one thousand soldiers guarding Dapeng Fortress had fallen ill, two or three out of ten had deserted, and the remaining soldiers were like frightened birds, living in constant fear.

Of the three thousand Sichuan soldiers who were originally ordered to aid eastern Guangdong, more than half of them fell ill en route, and the rest scattered and disappeared without a trace.

In short, Guangdong was out of ammunition and food, and could not continue. Given this situation, it would be defeated on its own even before the British invaded.

At the end of the telegram, the governor implored the emperor, hoping that His Majesty could persuade Parliament to increase material aid.

Before the parliamentary trial of the Governor-General of Guangxi Province had even ended, telegrams from other provinces pleading for help began to fall like snowflakes on the Emperor's desk. Telegrams like the one from Cui Jianren arrived almost every day.

Governors from various regions tirelessly demanded cannons, herbs, alcohol, cotton quilts, and various minerals and antiques from Tianxin City.

If herbal alcohol might have some effect in preventing and controlling the epidemic, what about minerals and antiques?

The vassal lords clearly regarded the emperor as a major enemy, and many of them, thinking they might as well try their luck and ask Tianxin City for money, hoping they might actually get it.

Liu Xuan was shocked by the despicable and shameless behavior displayed by the vassal lords.

They were baffled by the Imperial Army's utterly ineffective fighting capabilities.

Before this, the Qi army was an invincible force—at least that's how it was reported in the newspapers of various vassal states.

They conduct various exercises and parades year-round, and they are able to defeat the seemingly invincible Blue Army (the hypothetical enemy they practice every autumn).

They can march with the most perfect steps, and they can keep their quarters impeccably clean...

Their every move becomes the focus of public opinion.

However, now that the British have actually arrived, the wolf has come. How will they behave?
It's hard to say.

Not to mention dealing with these invisible and intangible viruses.

~~~~~~~~~
That night, Liu Xuan had a nightmare.

In his dream, he encountered his ancestor.

Emperor Taizu Liu Zhaosun said with a gentle smile:

Has my long-cherished vision of a utopian world been realized?

Liu Xuan was speechless.

Has the Great Qi surpassed Britain?

Liu Xuan was speechless and said nervously, "Grandpa Emperor, our soldiers are fighting against the Europeans."

"Combat?" Liu Zhaosun's tone became serious.

"Have we won?"

Liu Xuan stammered and changed the subject.

"How can a monarch be considered a qualified monarch if he cannot protect his subjects? Can you defend against the British? Can you defend against the epidemic?"

Now, the British have entrenched themselves in the Zhoushan Islands, seemingly rooted to the spot and never intending to leave. Several counter-offensives were launched in eastern Zhejiang, all of which resulted in heavy casualties.

The pandemic is becoming increasingly rampant.

Faced with Emperor Taizu's probing questions, Liu Xuan was speechless.

Finally, before his figure disappeared, the Taizu Emperor, in a resounding and majestic tone, instructed his descendants:
"My child, you should personally lead the army into battle."

"My child, you should personally lead the army!"

Liu Xuan woke up in terror, his head and body covered in sweat, his breathing rapid, and his face deathly pale.

The dim incandescent light illuminated the emperor's pale face. The empress, still sleepy, asked, "What did you dream about this time?"

"The God of War asked me..."

"What God of War?"

The emperor quickly changed his tune, saying, "The founding emperor questioned me, why didn't we fight? Why has the emperor of Great Qi become a mascot in Tianxin City?"

The Empress murmured, "You don't need to worry. Dreams are always the opposite of reality. As for the epidemic, you should ask those old guys in the Imperial Hospital."

Yes, we should ask the old folks at the Imperial Medical Academy; they always have ways to control the epidemic.

Liu Xuan thought of a famous doctor from many years ago named Wu Youke.

~~~~~~~~
The following morning, Liu Xuan put aside all his affairs and skipped the imperial military conference that had been held for six consecutive months. Instead, he sent the chief eunuch to summon the doctors from the Imperial Hospital to the palace for a meeting.

A dozen or so imperial physicians, dragging their aged bodies, struggled to get out of bed and hurried towards the Qianqing Palace. They remained silent the entire way, simply following behind the Grand Eunuch Liu Chengen.

Like an enemy.

The emperor, who had been waiting impatiently in the Qianqing Palace, kept urging those around him:

"Haven't those useless cowards arrived yet?!"

"Didn't those useless bastards come?"

Yes, in Liu Xuan's eyes, these famous doctors with superb medical skills and miraculous healing abilities were all useless.

Liu Xuan firmly believed that if it were because of the misdiagnosis by these quack doctors, the previous emperors of the Great Qi Dynasty could have lived much longer.

The emperor had no goodwill toward the doctors in the Imperial Medical Academy, which is a major reason why he has refused to summon them even as the epidemic continues.

"Go check if those good-for-nothings have arrived yet."

When the emperor asked for the third time, those useless bastards finally arrived.

The imperial physicians stood helplessly at the entrance of the main hall, their faces showing embarrassment, probably because they had heard the emperor's curses.

"Ahem...ahem." Liu Xuan cleared his throat, looked around, and got straight to the point:

"Since the Great Qi went to war with Britain, the imperial army has been invincible, defeating the British in Annam, the Gulf of Tonkin, Dapeng, Zhoushan, and other places, annihilating tens of thousands of enemy soldiers, and then advancing into the southeast..."

Perhaps feeling that the lie was too exaggerated, the emperor added: "However, just when we were about to defeat the British, the Kyrgyz virus arrived, and countless soldiers on the front lines were infected. You all know that Heaven has forsaken us, and it is not our fault in the war!"

"So," Liu Xuan paused for a moment, then continued, "I have summoned you here today to ask you a question: how should we control the epidemic and save millions of people from this suffering?"

"Speaking is no crime. Gentlemen, please speak freely. As long as what you say is practical and feasible, I will recommend it to Parliament and the Prime Minister. Once adopted, the country will reward you handsomely."

The aging and senile imperial physicians breathed a sigh of relief; it turned out the emperor hadn't summoned them to make them scapegoats.

Since it's advice, that makes things easier.

Encouraged by Liu Xuan, everyone began to present their respective treatment plans.

A younger imperial physician stepped forward first and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to say."

Liu Xuan said with a gentle smile, "Please speak."

"The situation is very urgent now. We need to isolate the infected patients as soon as possible. That is to say, anyone who is infected should not be allowed to come into contact with others. In addition, we must completely eradicate mosquitoes and purchase large quantities of mugwort and other supplies. As far as I know, Annam province has a lot of mugwort..."

The emperor nodded slightly, unsure whether he supported the young good-for-nothing's viewpoint.

However, before Liu Xuan could speak, a royal physician immediately stepped forward to refute him, saying, "This statement is completely wrong. The various vassal states may not support the epidemic prevention strategy. Even if they have the courage, their financial resources may not be sufficient. Do you all know how much each province has to spend just on purchasing mugwort?"

The crowd immediately began to whisper among themselves.

A buzzing sound reached the emperor's ears.

"The mugwort is secondary. How will the frontline supplies be handled if so many people need to be quarantined? Not to mention that the British will take advantage of the situation."

"That's not true. Don't you know that this disease was brought by the British? If anyone should be taking advantage of someone's misfortune, it should be us, not them..."

Having received the emperor's guarantee that "those who speak out will not be punished," everyone became increasingly unscrupulous, daring to say anything.

"In my opinion, it would be better to implement herd immunity, that is, give them some common medicines, such as Tiger Balm or Chrysanthemum Qingwen Dali Pills, to give them some psychological comfort, like Cao Cao's method of quenching thirst by looking at plums in the Eastern Han Dynasty. It's not too late for us to make our move after this extreme cold has subsided..."

Another person immediately retorted, "Isn't this treating human life like dirt? What kind of 'Chrysanthemum Detoxifying Pill' are you? Aren't you afraid of being drowned in the spittle of hundreds of millions of people?"

"What do you mean by 'treating human life like dirt'? Is this disease fatal? Besides, we're just dealing with a bunch of ignorant people. As long as the council steps in to explain, and some respected figures clarify things, they'll believe it even if you say the sun rises in the west tomorrow morning..."

The debate continued until noon that day.

There are still no results.

Just as Liu Xuan said at the beginning, the doctors in the Imperial Medical Academy were mostly useless.

Left with no other choice, Liu Xuan had to order all of them to leave the Qianqing Palace.

The emperor then realized that epidemic prevention was not an easy task.

Especially in the context of war.

Two weeks later, the British changed their strategy.

The East India Company governor, through the Ainu as an intermediary, tentatively requested peace talks from Tianxin City.

The British gave the reason for the ceasefire as the British could not bear to see the people of Qi suffer.

However, Parliament decisively rejected the British request for peace.

It's obvious that, according to the laws of the Great Qi, the parliament can continue to exist during wartime. However, if the war ends and a new parliament comes to power, the outcome may be beyond their control.

Both the parliament and the emperor now need a reason, a reason to continue the war.

As long as the war continues, the war laws can continue to be enforced. The power of the monarchy and parliament will remain unchecked.

Liu Xuan was well aware that he coveted power.

He also knew that this war was turning countless young people into cannon fodder and stepping stones for him.

He felt no remorse.

The opposition may not know that the emperor's original intention in maintaining the war was not merely to strengthen imperial power.

In other words, strengthening imperial power was merely a means to implement new policies.

His Majesty the Emperor is a man who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals, and now we need to overthrow him.

The opposition had ample reason to pursue their strategy, but the empire could not withstand any more turmoil.