Chapter Fifty-eight The Wolf's Ambition Manifested
Song Chen went to the Northern Jin Dynasty, thinking of coming back to see Qin Wanwan as soon as possible. He never thought that there would be many changes and affairs during his trip, and it would be two years since they were separated.
When Song Chen came back from the Northern Jin Dynasty, he wanted to take a detour to see Qin Wanwan, but he received an urgent report from the court that Emperor Wen of Jin was seriously ill. As regent, Song Chen had to rush back to prepare for Qin Wanwan.
Wanwan's things can only be handed over to others and cannot be given away in person.
But returning to the court was the beginning of all the troubles.
Emperor Wen of Jin Dynasty was seriously ill and bedridden, and the regent oversaw the country. The first thing he did was a snowstorm.
Thirteen of the sixteen cities in the north were submerged in snow. Heavy snow fell continuously for a month, burying the entire city.
Not only can't get out from inside, but you can't get in from outside either. It's so white that you don't even know where to dig to save people.
Finally, we waited until the snow had subsided and sent troops to rescue the people. It took half a month to dig out the people, but most of them were corpses. According to statistics, there were tens of thousands of casualties.
In order to provide disaster relief, Song Chen almost couldn't sleep. He prepared relief materials, mobilized an army to rescue, and personally went to the Northland three times.
However, even though he tried his best, he still couldn't stop the evil in people's hearts. Even in the face of natural disasters and human lives, corrupt officials still emerged in endlessly, and sneakers abounded.
He acted vigorously and resolutely, promoted heavy codes, and governed the officialdom of the North with a strong hand. He could finally breathe a sigh of relief. This was all in the first month of the next year.
He even spent the Chinese New Year in the heavy snow in the North.
When he thought everything was on track, he returned to the court, but before he could return to Fengyang, something happened again.
After the heavy snow closed the city, some people who didn't have much food in their homes ate it quickly. They were so hungry that they even turned to cannibalism.
In the face of natural disasters, it is not unusual to do anything in order to survive.
The government usually turns a blind eye to this kind of thing. Is it possible that the law can also punish others and say that you can't eat people and you should starve to death?
During famine years, human bones were boiled into soup and eaten by exchanging children. This has been done since ancient times. It is not to destroy human nature, but just to survive.
If not, he would probably have died long ago in the face of natural disasters.
Therefore, when hearing these things, the government would at most sigh a few times, and others would be a little surprised and frightened, but they would not ask for guilt or murder.
However, this time something big happened precisely because of these people.
It is said that a man has been suffering from fever since he was rescued from a natural disaster, and has been dying intermittently.
At that time, many people had fevers, and he was not targeted, but he was different from others. After the fever, his body was covered with red spots that did not disappear for a long time.
The red spots became more and more numerous and then started to fester.
Maybe he had a fever, and he didn't feel any pain when it ulcerated. Until ten days ago, he accidentally took a piece of flesh from his body, and the pain was heartbreaking.
Some people mocked him as retribution for eating human flesh. He was so angry that he rushed over and bit the person with a ferocious face.
The man was rescued by joint efforts, but he started to have a fever that night, and red spots appeared on his body the next day, which was exactly the same as the man's previous symptoms.
Not only him, but everyone who participated in the demolition that day also contracted the same disease.
I developed a fever and developed erythema. After five or six days, the erythema almost covered my body, and then began to fester and peel off the skin and flesh.
No medicine could prevent the disease from getting worse, and then it spread more and more, until now there are thousands of people infected.
This is not just a disease, but an epidemic.
The regent is not a doctor, so there is no need to go back. He just immediately arranges for the imperial doctor to go there.
And because he had just come out from there, he did not enter the palace because he was concerned about the emperor's dragon body. He stayed in a villa outside the palace specifically to deal with the plague.
It has been two months since the plague was brought under control, but the matter has not yet been completely resolved.
Nearly 130,000 people died from the snowstorm, about 40,000 died from the epidemic, and there were others who died from various causes. Taken together, there were 200,000 people. The north is sparsely populated, so this number is equivalent to three cities in the north.
The entire population suffered huge losses.
After the beginning of spring, efforts were made to resume production, and then for the sake of official order, examinations were held.
During this period, Emperor Wen of Jin's health improved somewhat, but within a month, he was assassinated and fell down again.
Not only did the regent fail to return his rights, he was forced to stir up trouble again. He claimed to be the regent, but in fact he exercised the power of the emperor.
In the current overall situation, many people may not be able to be of great use, but they are good at whims and conspiracies.
Not everyone in the government and the public admired the regent, there were also many dissatisfied families or officials who wanted to cause trouble.
Soon some bad remarks came out, saying that only the regent was heard in the court, but Emperor Wen of Jin was not seen.
It was clear that Emperor Wen of Jin was in poor health, but they could still blame the regent for this crime.
Why did Emperor Wen of Jin suddenly fall seriously ill at such a young age?
Although the two brothers have a deep love for each other, their hearts are very different. How can they have any feelings when they are separated at a young age?
When he was seizing the throne, the regent was the one who contributed the most, but in the end Emperor Wen of Jin became the emperor. Was he really unwilling at all?
Over the years, Emperor Wen of the Jin Dynasty retreated again and again, leaving most of the government affairs to the regent, which may have long ago fostered his ambitions.
Holding the emperor hostage, the wolf's ambition is clear.
Many people suspected that Emperor Wen of Jin's illness was closely related to the regent, and that his purpose was to seize the throne.
Even in the previous incident involving the little prince, because Song Chen personally rescued him, many people suspected that he was the one responsible for the murder, in order to shift the blame to the eldest princess.
After all, Emperor Wen of Jin only had one son. Once the young prince died, wouldn't his only heir be his biological brother?
The regent's hands were stained with blood. Which time did he not kill them all? There were so many relatives who were killed at will. How could such a cruel person not have the heart to kill a child? It's a joke.
Due to the power of the regent, everyone was just guessing behind the scenes at first, but I don't know when it started, but it became generally accepted.
Those who support the regent want to hug him tightly, try to follow the dragon's rule, and encourage him to rebel openly or covertly.
Those who did not support it would openly and subtly mock him, and secretly give the emperor a letter to express their loyalty. As long as the emperor gave the order, they would do their best to help the emperor to clear his side.
The two factions were fighting overtly and covertly, could Song Chen not know? But he never expressed his position from the beginning to the end, he just guarded the court conscientiously.
Finally, Emperor Wen of Jin could not bear it anymore.
Emperor Wen of the Jin Dynasty's poor health did not happen in a day or two. He was abused by the late emperor since he was a child. Although he managed to survive because of his youth, the root of the disease was left behind.
Not only physical abuse, but also various drugs that damage the body. The residual properties of the drugs cannot be eradicated. It is only a matter of time before his body is drained.
The emperor's health was a matter of national importance. Because the court was unstable and the eldest princess and others were eyeing it, it had to be kept secret. Only the imperial physician could take care of it privately.
After so many years, things seemed to be improving a bit, but then the incident about the little prince happened.
When anger attacks the mind, everything is in vain, and the body naturally becomes more and more exhausted.