Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 35 Is it right just because it has always been this way?
The fourth brother, Zhang Jianxiu, immediately introduced the younger brother.

"Last year, a plague broke out in various places, especially in Datong Prefecture and Taiyuan Prefecture, where nine out of ten households were infected and many died."

Those who contract "big head plague" experience redness, swelling, heat, and pain in their head and face, eventually suffocating and dying.
Those people we just saw looked like they had these symptoms!

As he spoke, Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu felt itchy all over, as if some unclean thing had clung to him.

The Embroidered Uniform Guard was responsible for investigating unusual activities in the streets, whether there were any plots of rebellion, and also for issuing warrants for wanted criminals of the imperial court.

Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu has met many people, so he naturally has some understanding of this "Big Head Plague" (a nickname).

After his fourth brother's description, Zhang Yunxiu got a general idea. He quickly searched his memory and finally understood what the disease was.

The so-called "big head plague" is what later became known as mumps and epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis.

In traditional Chinese medicine, it is called "excessive heat and toxins attacking the head and face".

This epidemic is more deadly and painful than the common flu. Patients often have persistent high fever, and with facial swelling and a little redness and swelling in the throat, they gradually have difficulty breathing, and in severe cases, they suffocate and die.

For a moment, Zhang Yunxiu's thoughts began to wander.

These days, he has been dealing with court disputes, but he has forgotten the millions of ordinary people of the Ming Dynasty.

In fact, the fall of the Ming Dynasty was accompanied by a series of natural and man-made disasters. There were more than fifty recorded large-scale plagues during the Ming Dynasty alone.

The total number of disasters, including droughts, floods, locust plagues, and earthquakes, exceeded one thousand, which is simply astonishing.

During the Wanli reign alone, there were several recorded plagues: a major plague in the capital in April of the seventh year of Wanli's reign; a major plague in Longping in the spring of the ninth year of Wanli's reign; a major plague in Xiong County in the spring of the ninth year of Wanli's reign; and a major plague in Hejian in the ninth year of Wanli's reign, resulting in numerous deaths.
In this era, there were no effective drugs to deal with various plagues and infectious diseases, and there was also a lack of understanding of how plagues spread.

When people encounter a plague, those with some money can still get some medicine and try anything as a last resort, but ordinary people without money can only tough it out.

"What are you thinking about?" Seeing Zhang Yunxiu lost in thought, his fourth brother, Zhang Jianxiu, gestured with his hand in front of him.

Coming to his senses, Zhang Yunxiu asked, "Isn't the imperial court going to do anything about it? Are they just letting the plague rage in the capital?"

Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu looked at him like he was an idiot and said, "The imperial court is in charge, how could it not? The imperial court has its own laws and regulations for disaster relief, exempting taxes in the affected areas, and distributing rice porridge and the like, all of which are ways to deal with the epidemic."

"Is it useful?"

"Whether it's useful or not, the imperial court also has pharmacies for the benefit of the people, but there are too many sick people, and even the officials can't take care of them, let alone these commoners."

Those who were lucky enough to survive the illness could still manage to grab a few mouthfuls of rice porridge as alms; those who were unlucky didn't make it and didn't even have the strength to come and collect the alms.

As a member of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu had a very detailed understanding of the affairs of ordinary people. He had seen too many unfortunate people in his daily life and had long been used to it.

Once Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu started talking, he continued, while Zhang Yunxiu became more and more silent as he listened.

"The people suffer when the dynasty prospers, and they suffer when the dynasty falls. These days, the four seasons are in disarray. Even in Lingnan, it snows in March. The capital is considered relatively better off. Last year, nine out of ten households in one county under the jurisdiction of Datong Prefecture were deserted. It was a truly tragic situation. We have survived this plague, but it is still the first hurdle. Great disasters are followed by great plagues, and great plagues are followed by great disasters. When these two are combined with man-made disasters, it is common for people to sell their children and even eat each other."

As Zhang Jianxiu recounted the story, countless historical materials flooded Zhang Yunxiu's mind.

In the ninth year of the Jiajing reign (1520), a major plague struck Nanhe County, resulting in the deaths of many people.
In the thirty-third year of the Jiajing reign (1554), Xingtai County was struck by a malaria epidemic, which resulted in many deaths.
The most alarming event occurred more than sixty years later in the sixteenth year of the Chongzhen Emperor's reign, when the plague was recorded in the capital.

“Last year, a great plague broke out in the capital, with the dead lying in rows, nine out of ten houses empty, and some households even wiped out, with no one to collect their bodies.”

In an instant, all fantasies about talented men and beautiful women, and powerful and noble figures were shattered.

This is the true history, and this is where ordinary people truly stand in history.

In comparison, the later online praise of the lives of the ancients and the use of the past to satirize the present is utterly ridiculous.

"Fifth brother? Fifth brother? Zhang Shiyuan?" Zhang Jianxiu sensed something was wrong with his younger brother. "What are you thinking about?"

He understood his younger brother's feelings and immediately comforted him.

“You are still young. I used to find such news shocking, but I got used to it after a while. How many people have died in this world?”
It's not just the plague. Go to the border towns and see how many villages have been plundered and slaughtered by the Tartars. In coastal areas, villages have been harassed by Japanese pirates, and often entire villages have been wiped out.

We can't help them, nor can we afford to. Living our own lives well is better than anything else. Let people like Father worry about the affairs of the court.

Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu was absolutely right, but it was precisely because he was so right that Zhang Yunxiu, the soul from the future, became even more silent.

Fearing that his younger brother might be obsessed, Zhang Jianxiu continued to comfort him, saying, "You are better at studying than I am. You can quote classics without fear in front of your father. You should know that this is how it is in history books. Ordinary people are just passing through and don't even leave their names behind. This has always been the case."

Zhang Jianxiu emphasized this sentence again.

But as if a certain string in his soul had been touched, Zhang Yunxiu looked up at his fourth brother and asked.

"Is this the way it has been throughout history, and therefore correct?"

"This"

Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu was speechless for a moment, then sighed and said.

"I can't argue with you, but the principle is the same. If you go to the officials or the old men in the court, they will say the same thing."

There are too many refugees and pitiful people in the world; we can't save them all.

Zhang Yunxiu fell silent for a moment, then pulled back the carriage curtain and looked at the endless funeral procession and the sobbing that lingered in his ears, muttering to himself.

"Fourth Brother, don't worry. I haven't even taken care of our own family matters yet, so I don't have the mind to worry about world affairs. If you can't even sweep your own house, how can you sweep the world?"

Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu glanced at his youngest brother, unsure whether his brother's words were insincere.

The carriage stopped outside the Meridian Gate. Zhang Yunxiu and his companion did not receive the same treatment as Zhang Juzheng and could only walk into the palace, led by eunuchs.

The journey was rather dull, so Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu changed the subject with a smile.

"Shiyuan, my life and fortune are in your hands. You must manage that pharmacy well."

Just now in the carriage, after much persuasion, Fourth Brother Zhang Jianxiu wrapped the silver notes in several layers of clean cloth before Zhang Yunxiu finally accepted them.

The money wasn't much, around three thousand taels, but it was all his wealth.

Compared to last time, this time I'm truly all alone.

It can only be said that money can make people blind. Zhang Yunxiu's aura of founding a newspaper was just too great, and Zhang Jianxiu couldn't help but be tempted.

Zhang Yunxiu was feeling a little down, but he wasn't a sentimental person. Rather than getting bogged down in internal conflicts, he preferred to solve problems through action.

Hearing how much his fourth brother cared about this matter, Zhang Yunxiu couldn't help but feel a bit mischievous.

He laughed and said, "Don't you know my abilities, brother? I guarantee it'll be a highly profitable business!"

"Then I'm relieved." Zhang Jianxiu patted his younger brother's shoulder, feeling a little emotional. "Our family is full of bookworms, and now only you are a bit clever. I think the eldest brother is indecisive, the second brother is reckless, and the third brother is unwise. The only heroes in the Zhang family are you and me!"

Zhang Yunxiu shuddered, thinking about the words he had said to his older brother in front of Zhang Juzheng last time. He wondered if they had heard about it.

Feeling a little guilty, he still said, "Fourth Brother, you should read less of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms'."

By the Wanli era, the novel *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* had already been completed. Military men like Zhang Jianxiu clearly preferred *Water Margin* and *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* to romance novels featuring talented scholars and beautiful women.

Zhang Jianxiu glanced at the eunuch leading the way and lowered his voice, saying, "Seriously, our family will really have to rely on you from now on. Shiyuan, you must make sure you get on His Majesty's good side."

Zhang Yunxiu nodded and lowered his voice, saying, "Fourth Brother, don't worry, I will definitely do my best to deceive His Majesty."

　Note 1: "A great plague broke out in Datong, with nine out of ten households falling ill. Those infected died one after another. In families of several members, if one person contracted the plague, one or two out of ten, or even the entire family, would not survive." This passage is from the "Treatise on the Five Elements" in the History of Ming.

　　Note 2: Deng Tuo, *A History of Famine in China*

　　Note 3: "History of Ming Dynasty·Five Elements Chronicles", "Longping County Chronicles", etc.
　　
　
(End of this chapter)