The Ming Dynasty began from Sarhu

Chapter 503 Master Zhang

In August of the third year of Taichu, the heavy rain that had ravaged Liaodong for more than half a month finally stopped and the weather became dry again.

The surging waters of the Hunhe and Liaohe rivers began to recede, and large areas of the exposed riverbeds were exposed to people like huge wounds, along with the corpses of drowned animals.

After just a few days of exposure to the sun, a disgusting stench emanated from the Hunhe River. Large numbers of dead fish, rats, and livestock floated on the river surface. The further downstream one went, the more floating corpses there were. Finally, at the confluence of the Hunhe River and the Yalu River, an area of more than ten miles in radius... it was like hell on earth.

Just as Liu Zhaosun said, the river god is accepting sacrifices from humans.

But such a cruel sacrifice is not what the emperor wants.

The rice paddies along the Hun River were reduced to a swamp, drowning over 20,000 mu (approximately 1,000 acres) of newly formed rice. The remaining young rice seedlings were used as food for war horses. Over a dozen official roads connecting Shenyang to surrounding prefectures and counties were completely destroyed by the floods, leaving carriages carrying food, fodder, and military equipment stranded in Shenyang. Xie Yang personally led the engineers to work day and night to urgently repair the roads, finally restoring Shenyang's access to the rest of the country by the end of August.

Farmers' associations across the country suffered heavy losses in the floods, grain production decreased, and granaries and warehouses were destroyed. Emperor Wu Ding pursued the governing philosophy of strengthening the trunk and weakening the branches, and six to seven tenths of the local grain taxes each year had to be handed over to the central government to guarantee the empire's huge treasury expenditures.

There was not much money and food left in various places, and most of it was taken away by the Eastern Expedition Army. There was not enough food all of a sudden, and the big pot meals of white flour buns and pork stewed with cabbage were difficult to eat.

On the second day of August, just as the flood receded, Kaiyuan prefect Lu Xiangsheng brought officials from Fushun, Tieling, Qinghe and other places to Shenyang to ask for help from Emperor Wu Ding, requesting the court to open the granaries and release grain to provide relief to farmers' associations in various places to prevent the people from starving to death.

Liu Zhaosun decisively rejected Lu Xiangsheng's request. The Eastern Expedition Army was still short of food and fodder, so how could there be any surplus food for the people?

Unable to beg for food, Lu Xiangsheng lingered in Shenyang and refused to leave. He lived in the Guangjimen city cave every day (the guild hall in the city had been destroyed by wind and rain), sleeping in the open air and in a difficult situation.

Compared with the possible famine in various parts of Liaodong, Emperor Wuding had more difficult problems that needed to be solved urgently.

Even more troublesome is the plague.

Due to continuous heavy rains and the backflow of water from the Hunhe River into the city, the water in Shenyang was at its deepest, almost submerging half of the city gates, and even the Huangji Palace was not spared.

Hundreds of poultry carcasses floated on the water. The once bustling North-South Street looked like a dead zone. When the flood receded, the bluestone slabs of the street were covered with silt and smelled terrible. Flies and crows were flying everywhere.

The common people sealed their doors and windows, not because they had modern knowledge of epidemic prevention, but because the stench that permeated the entire city was so unpleasant that even a three-year-old child knew that if he smelled it for a second longer, he would be infected with the plague.

Emperor Wu Ding ordered workshops to urgently produce 100,000 simple masks, and civil officials went door-to-door to distribute them. These simple masks, essentially two layers of cotton cloth, would likely be ineffective in preventing the spread of the virus if a plague truly broke out, and their psychological impact would be greater than their actual effectiveness. Citizens were also ordered not to leave their homes unless absolutely necessary, and if they did, they had to report to the baojia (military police) in advance.

Of course, for the civil officials and pacification soldiers who were active outside and who maintained order, Emperor Wuding drew on the experience of epidemic prevention in medieval Europe and made them wear a bird-beak mask. Inside the mask were spices and herbs that could purify the air (mainly Houttuynia cordata, licorice, Bupleurum chinense, etc.). The bird-beak mask was similar to the gas mask of later generations and could play a virus defense function to a certain extent. However, because the cost of a pair of bird-beak masks was too high, with the current financial resources of Da Qi, it was impossible to fully promote it.

As soon as the flood receded, the Ministry of Revenue joined forces with the pacification troops and organized a large number of people to enter Qixing Mountain north of Shenyang to collect medicinal materials such as mugwort, honeysuckle, bupleurum, scutellaria, houttuynia cordata, polygonatum, and licorice.

These herbs were either used to make decoctions for the people or burned directly, filling the North and South Streets with unpleasant smoke and stench.

In addition, officials from the Bingmasi cleared a large number of houses in the north of the city, which was on higher ground, to accommodate patients who might be infected with the plague.

On the tenth day of August, Emperor Wu Ding issued an edict that all officials should work from home and all citizens in the city were not allowed to go out unless necessary. The fruits, vegetables, firewood and rice needed by each household were to be distributed uniformly by the military and household officials. In this way, Liu Zhaosun began the first lockdown of the empire in the secondary capital of the Great Empire in the first half of the seventeenth century.

The time traveler has been in this world for many years and has witnessed all kinds of disasters, even the overclocked version of the Wanggongchang explosion. He should have been accustomed to it, but when he recalled the great flood at the turn of summer and autumn in the third year of Taichu many years later, he still felt a lingering fear.

Just like the scene of the Ten Commandments described by Francisco, endless disasters are tirelessly ravaging the land.

At the end of July, several incidents of farmer groups defecting occurred in Jinzhou, southern Liaoning. The overwhelmed farmers killed the grain collection officers and fled in Fujian ships, planning to defect to the Southern Ming. However, the Fujian ships they were on were sunk by the patrolling navy when approaching Weihaiwei.

In August, more than 30 people from the Liaoxi Chamber of Commerce absconded with money and were chased to Yipanshi by troops sent by Zheng Yishi, where they were all killed.

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Under immense pressure, Emperor Wu Ding was forced to issue another edict of self-criticism, revealing his true feelings to the people of Great Qi. The edict was written in the voice of the young Emperor Liu Kan. The full text is as follows:
"For three years I have inherited the great cause. Mindful of the sudden power bestowed by Heaven and the heavy trust bestowed upon me by my father, I have worked with vigilance day and night, never daring to neglect my duties. Yet, disasters have struck frequently, and alarms abound in the north and south. I have been unable to punish the people, and those who have been appeased have rebelled, even some, incited by them, forgetting their allegiance to the enemy. As the people's parent, I cannot protect them; and as the people are my children, I cannot embrace them.

The people of Liaodong, the sun and the moon have been predicting misfortune. In one year, the drought demon arrives, in the second year, locusts appear, and in the third year, the country becomes a swamp. Alas, the people of Liaodong are so innocent, yet they have suffered such a great disaster. This has affected the harmony of heaven and earth, and has brought resentment from their families. It is all my fault..."

This was the second time in his life that Emperor Wuding issued a self-criticism edict. The entire text was filled with sorrow and sincerity, and was full of guilt and repentance.

Of course, these are just formalities, because Liu Zhaosun does not think that he has any fault, and he does not believe in cause and effect or the interaction between heaven and man.

All this was just to appease the subjects.

On the third day of the eighth lunar month, the Emperor Retired, accompanied by the two Empress Dowagers, went to the Daqing Palace to pray for the people and inspect the surrounding disaster situation. The Daqing Palace Taoist temple complex in the western suburbs of Shenyang had been largely demolished by Kang Yingqian's men as early as the first year of the Wuding reign. The bricks, stones, and timber from the temple were taken to Shenyang to support city defenses. The few scraps of stone tablets and stone blocks that survived were taken back by nearby residents to pad their pig pens.

Only a few thatched huts were left for Master Zhang to live in.

At that time, Prime Minister Kang believed that Taoists should be pure-hearted and not be greedy for material desires, and a few thatched huts were enough for them to practice.

Zhang Zhenren sat cross-legged on the Yin-Yang Baji cushion, with sunlight pouring down from the cracks in the thatched roof. In the dim vestibule stood a wooden statue of Zhenwu Emperor, and millions of dust particles danced in front of the statue.

Emperor Wuding looked up at Zhang and his party, and was surprised to find that after all these years, the real person was still the same young man with white hair and youthful face, without any change.

Thinking that he still owed the Qing Palace a golden statue, Liu Zhaosun's tone suddenly became humble.

"Master, where are the other fellow Taoists? Where are your two Taoist children?"

Liu Zhaosun vaguely remembered that in the 47th year of Wanli's reign, when he came to the Daqing Palace to pray for Jin Yuji, the incense here was still very prosperous. There were at least 800 crooked Taoist priests waiting for the corpse and chanting scriptures in the front and back yards.

Now looking around the Taoist priest, all his disciples are gone, and Master Zhang is left alone, looking so pitiful.

"Dust to dust, earth to earth. From the vast expanse of water, I only drink from a single ladle. My disciples are free to come and go. Let them be."

Emperor Wu Ding looked around and saw that the thatched house was dilapidated and he felt quite ashamed.

"I thought you had already passed away after giving up fifty years of your life, but I didn't expect you were still alive. How kind of you."

Wu Xiao, who was accompanying him, saw that Taoist Zhang was so rude and presumptuous of the emperor. He was about to draw his sword and scold him, but Emperor Wu Ding smiled at him and said:
"Today we are all donors, and Master Zhang is the ferryman. Moreover, we have something to ask of others, so we should not be rude."

Wu Xiao put the knife back into the sheath and retreated.

"Master, you're joking. Perhaps it was a reversal of fate that helped me survive the disaster at Wanggongchang and live a few more years."

Liu Zhaosun clasped his hands together and looked at Zhang and his group with a pious face. He seemed to be back to many years ago, when he followed the Wudang Taoist priests to eat and drink for free in Junzhou.

Taoist Zhang stood up from his cushion like a crane, and looked up and down at Emperor Wuding, pretending to be surprised.
"Ah, wonderful! Choosing friends is in sleeping, and seeking wealth is in the nose. After not seeing you for several years, the donor has indeed met with the wind and clouds, and leaped into a dragon. This has increased more than just a few years of life. Dragon eyes and phoenix pupils, sun horns and crescent moons, these are extremely precious physiognomy. I have never seen such a thing. Let alone a few years, dozens, even hundreds of years are possible."

Liu Zhaosun laughed and spoke as if he could really live forever.

At that moment, he didn't care whether Master Zhang was talking nonsense or not. He presented a box of gold and silver, explained his purpose, and asked the Taoist to perform a ritual for Liaodong, pray for the people of Daqi, and eliminate disasters.

Zhang Zhenren said: "Your Majesty asked me to perform a ritual, so I will do my best. I am an outsider and have no interest in material things. I only have one request."

"It's okay to tell it to the real person."

Zhang Yihang said with a pleasant face, "I would like to go to Taihe Mountain (Wudang Mountain) and choose a secluded place to practice cultivation."

Emperor Wu Ding was stunned on the spot. He never expected that Taoist Zhang would want to usurp the throne and go to Wudang Mountain to compete for the position of the leader.

It should be noted that after the last major purge, the incense offerings to Wudang Mountain were almost cut off, and the Quanzhen Taoist priests were either killed or captured. It seemed that they really needed a highly respected Taoist priest to lead them in their practice.

After hesitating for a moment, Liu Zhaosun agreed to Taoist Zhang's request.

From now on, Master Zhang will be the imperial court's trusted confidant in Wudang Mountain...

At that moment, Master Zhang followed Wu Xiao into Shenyang City, where he performed good deeds for seven days and nights, distributing talismans and amulets to ward off disasters and diseases.

I don't know whether it was Master Zhang's magic that worked, or Emperor Wuding's epidemic prevention strategy of isolating all plague patients at home (referring to burning all plague patients to death) that was effective.

In short, by the end of August, the plague in Liaodong was completely eliminated and the military and civilians were safe.

Soon the Immortal left the court, rode on a crane and went to Wudang Mountain to compete for the position of the leader.

(End of this chapter)