Translator – Xiao He Lian
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Chapter 82
June 23rd, the 17th year of Yuanqing.
The morning sunlight shone across the six streets of Chang’an. As the morning drum sounds, the East and West Markets become lively, with scholars and children of noble families coming in an endless stream. In June, when all the flowers are in full bloom, there are many people who go out, enjoy the flowers and write poems. Looking around, one can see carriages heading to the outskirts of the city one after another.
Lu Yan’s carriage passed through the West Market, drove into Guangde street and stopped in front of the Jingzhao Prefecture.
Sun Xu held several documents sent by various counties in his hand, walked toward Lu Yan, and said, “Lord Lu, this is the record of the county pharmacies you asked for. There is no sign of plague.”
Lu Yan took it and frowned slightly.
He remembered that dream. In it Chang’an was peaceful before June 30th and there was no sign of natural disaster. But after that, the severity of the plague was beyond the imagination of the government and the people. The number of registered permanent residents dropped sharply and tens of thousands of people died in the plague. The once bustling East and West Markets were now empty, and many mansions at the foot of the imperial city were covered with white gauze…
“Lord Lu, there is something I don’t know whether I should say or not.” Sun Xu said in a low voice.
“Lord Sun, just speak frankly.”
“Lord Lu attaches so much importance to the plague, is it because of the fortune of the country predicted by the two Taoists at the beginning of the month?” Sun Xu paused and continued, “But the people from the Imperial Medical Bureau said yesterday that our Jingzhao Prefecture was overreacting.”
Lu Yan raised his head and said, “A few days ago, I retrieved the files from the Imperial Medical Bureau and looked at the records of plagues in our Great Jin Dynasty. There have been about fifteen major plagues, which means one every six years. Lord Sun, do you remember when the last plague broke out?”
Sun Xu frowned and calculated, “It seems to be exactly six years ago, but Lord Lu, this kind of thing is a natural disaster… It is not absolute.”
“Although it is not absolute, it should not be underestimated.” Lu Yan raised his hand and took a sip of tea, and continued: “In the eleventh year of Qingyuan, the plague broke out in Yuanzhou City. The document noted that if one person was infected, one household would be infected, and if one household was infected, the whole city would fall. Six years ago, there were not as many post stations as there are now. After the court received the news, although we immediately opened the warehouses to provide food and sent a lot of soldiers and doctors, it took a full month to travel back and forth. In the end, what happened? The local governor came to report in tears that the Yangtze River area was full of corpses and no one buried them. The cities in Hangzhou and Yue were closed for half a year, and less than 20% of the people survived. And this was only during the outbreak of the plague.”
Sun Xu’s face gradually became serious.
“After the plague, the population dropped drastically, and the people lost their ability to farm. They could only rely on the imperial government’s food aid to survive. At that time, the border was in turmoil and the Turks happened to invade. Our army was not weak, so why did the Right Prime Minister and the Minister of Personnel lead all officials to persuade the Emperor to cease fire while sending envoys to unite with the Uighurs? In the final analysis, it was because our vitality was damaged and we could not afford to fight anymore.”
“Lord Sun, the population of Yuanzhou City is only 20% of that of Chang’an. If something happens in Chang’an, it will be more serious than before and Jingzhao Prefecture cannot escape blame.”
Sun Xu raised his hand and rubbed his face, took a deep breath, and said, “Lord Lu, please don’t scare me. I’m already feeling a little feverish because of what you said.” After saying that, he touched his forehead.
Lu Yan stood up and said in a very low voice: “People from the Imperial Medical Bureau cannot be trusted.”
As soon as he finished speaking, Sun Xu’s eyes suddenly changed, “Lord Lu means…” This sentence made people think deeply.
“Lord Sun, send someone to investigate the places that have been inspected by the Imperial Medical Bureau again
Sun Xu nodded and said, “I understand.”
——
After lunch, Lu Yan closed his documents and went to the East Palace.
When he reached the door, he bowed and said to the eunuch in front of the door: “Lu Yan, the Junior Magistrate of Jingzhao Prefecture, wants to see His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.”
“Please wait a moment, my lord. I will inform you right away.”
“Move aside.” A kind-looking eunuch came up to greet them with a smile and said, “His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said that when Lord Lu comes to visit, there is no need to go through those complicated etiquettes. I will lead the way for you.”
“Thank you, Gonggong1(eunuch).”
“Why did Lord Lu come to the East Palace at this time?” The Crown Prince smiled, his complexion noticeably better than a few months ago.
“Your Highness, I have come today with urgent matters at hand.”
The Crown Prince nodded thoughtfully, “Did you come to inquire about the plague from Doctor Bai?”
Lu Yan nodded.
“That’s great. I also have something to say to you too.” After saying that, the Crown Prince took out a map of the Jin Dynasty, dipped his pen in ink, circled Luoyang, and handed it to Lu Yan.
After looking at it, Lu Yan looked up and met the Crown Prince’s eyes and instantly had a guess.
Since the plague in the dream broke out near Chang’an, he subconsciously concluded that the infected people would appear near Chang’an. However, he had checked layer by layer recently and found nothing wrong. If it was a sudden outbreak then it would not be possible.
Unless, the plague was not in Chang’an from the beginning, but someone brought the plague to Chang’an.
“Your Highness, have you heard any news?” Lu Yan asked.
“Two days ago, I went to the Dali Temple Prison and met Shen Wenqi. I talked to him about the epidemic.” The Crown Prince paused and continued, “He pointed out Luoyang to me.”
When Lu Yan heard the name Shen Wenqi, he subconsciously raised his eyebrows.
The Crown Prince continued, “Since three years ago, the Emperor has always wanted to expand Luoyang and build a palace there. At that time, you should have already returned to the capital. Do you remember this?”
“I remember that Yunyang Maquis strongly opposed this matter despite the public opinion.”
The Crown Prince couldn’t help but smile sincerely when he heard him address Shen Wenqi: “Then do you still remember the reason?”
Lu Yan nodded. “If we want to build a palace, we will have to cut down a lot of trees and do a lot of civil engineering. Yunyang Maquis opposed this because Luoyang is located near the Yellow River and indiscriminate cutting of trees will make disasters of all sizes in the Yellow River more serious.”
“That’s right, the Emperor was extremely displeased with his words at that time.” Come to think of it, the emperor wanted to build a palace for himself, and it would have been fine if he didn’t support it, but he actually said that this move would bring disaster. Who would be happy to hear that?
However, Emperor Chengyuan was also a wise ruler and he knew that Shen Wenqi was born with that kind of personality, so he did not vent his anger on him.
After a long silence, Lu Yan whispered, “But last year, the canal in the west of the city collapsed, the Yunyang Marquis’s mansion was confiscated and the Minister of Works was replaced by the Sun family…”
Lu Yan didn’t say the rest, but both the Crown Prince and he knew it very well.
That Minister Sun really has no talent. If one has to talk about talent, flattery can be considered one. Since he took office last year, the expansion of Luoyang City has begun…
First, a large number of trees were cut down, and then rare stones, fine trees and plants, and rare birds and animals from the north of the Five Ridges were collected to fill the garden. The project was so grand and luxurious that it was breathtaking.
The Crown Prince continued, “Shen Wenqi reminded me that more than half of the plagues in history occurred in the Yellow River Basin. If there is a flood, it will be out of control. He had once improved the flow of the groundwater in Chang’an and it can be divided into branches, but Luoyang has not been improved. If the plague occurs in Luoyang, it will spread to the whole city immediately.”
“Has Your Highness sent anyone to Luoyang?”
“Not only Luoyang, I also sent people to Suzhou and Hangzhou. However, even if we rush, it will take four days for the news to come back from the post station.”
Suddenly, the scene from his dream flashed before Lu Yan’s eyes again. Over a hundred mansions hung layers of white veils and less than half of the officials were present…
He clenched his fists tightly.
Only he knew that if it were the same as in his past life, in seven days, Chang’an City would no longer be able to hold on and there would be no time left.
If there is really an epidemic transmitted from somewhere else, Chang’an must be immediately sealed off.
——
In Anhua Palace, Empress Xu lay on the couch, raised her hand, and whispered, “Where is Zhiyao? Ask her to come over and paint my nails. The Emperor took a look yesterday and said that they were not as good as last time. Change them back for me quickly.”
The Sixth Prince strode into the palace, waved to the palace maids and eunuchs and said, “This prince and the queen mother have something to talk about, please go outside and wait.”
The palace maids and eunuchs bowed and retreated quickly.
Empress Xu saw that his brows were all gloomy, so she asked, “What’s wrong with you?”
“Does your Majesty know where Lu Yan went just now?”
“What are you keeping me in suspense for? Just tell us directly.” Empress Xu pinched a grape and put it in her mouth.
“He went to the Eastern Palace.” The Sixth Prince gritted his teeth and said, “I heard from someone that it was the eunuch beside the Crown Prince who came out to greet him personally. When did his relationship with the Eastern Palace become so good? Did my aunt already choose his faction?”
“Jing’an won’t interfere in these matters.” Empress Xu wiped her hands and continued, “Lu Yan works in Jingzhao Prefecture and is His Majesty’s man. It is inevitable that he will come into contact with various places. Since he walked in from the East Palace openly, it would be just official business. None of this is important. Ye’er, how many days will it take for the people from Luoyang to enter the city?”
“Three days at most.”
“How many people are here?”
“They wanted to send more, but some people with obvious coughing symptoms were screened out. Excluding those who died on the way, there were only about a hundred people.”
“That’s enough.” Empress Xu smiled and took out a list. “Find a female broker and sell these people into the various mansions.”
The Sixth Prince whispered, “Jingzhao Prefecture has deployed troops to stations at the city gates and is conducting a strict inspection. Who does your mother plan to handle this matter through?”
Empress Xu hesitated for a moment and said slowly, “The Sun family.”
The Sixth Prince looked down at the list and asked in confusion, “Mother, why are there people from my faction here?”
“What if the people who are sick are officials who are not on good terms with you? What will His Majesty think?”
The author has something to say:
You and Zhen Zhen will meet tomorrow, I need to push the plot forward quickly.
Reference papers for this chapter:
A Study on Plague and Society in the Tang and Five Dynasties
The Relationship between Ancient Plague and Environmental Change in the Middle Reaches of the Yellow River
