Chapter 380: The Marinated Han Chang'an

For everyone in Han Chang'an, almost no one paid attention to the Seven Sons of Jian'an at the first time, and no one made fun of Cao Pi for imitating the braying of a donkey.

There is only one thing that makes them pale:

In the 22nd year of Jian'an, there was a great epidemic!

And it is unprecedented, a pandemic among pandemics!

Among them, Liu Bei's face was the most serious, because he was considered an elder among everyone present. The outbreak times of these epidemics that were casually listed by later generations were all Liu Bei had personally experienced or heard about.

Liu Bei only needed to recall the series of years marked by numbers to match them in his memories.

In the fourth year of Jianning, the ground cracked in Hedong, rain and hail fell, and mountains and rivers burst out. After that, a great epidemic became rampant.

There was a great epidemic in the first month of the second year of Xiping, a great epidemic in the spring of the second year of Guanghe, a great epidemic in the spring of the fifth year of Guanghe...

For Liu Bei, those were unbearable memories, but there was another major epidemic in the 22nd year of Jian'an?

Unconsciously, Liu Bei turned his stiff neck and looked towards Doctor Zhang. After all, it was already the 18th year of Jian'an, and the time of the great epidemic recorded in later history books was only four years later.

Zhang Zhongjing's brows were furrowed and his face was serious. He raised his head to meet Liu Bei's earnest gaze, as well as the gazes of Jian Yong, Fa Zheng, Pang Tong and others.

Even Zhang Fei held back his voice and muttered cautiously:

"Doctor Zhang, is there really going to be a big epidemic in four years?"

Zhang Zhongjing could only remain silent about this. He was neither a sage nor a miraculous person. He was just a doctor who suffered from typhoid fever and was determined to cure diseases and save people. How could he know what would happen in the future?

At the critical moment, Kong Ming came to the rescue, shaking his head and saying:

"Because of what we are doing now, the things in this world are different from what future generations know. How did Duke Zhong Jinggong know about it?"

Liu Bei agreed with this. After all, according to the time known to later generations, he should still be fighting fiercely in Yizhou at this time. Who would have thought that he would be sitting in Chang'an against the Sun Cao Alliance at this time?

With the knowledge of later generations and the combined efforts of everyone, the generals of the Han Dynasty were defeated and Sun Cao was defeated in Jing.

In this case, Sun and Cao should not confront each other at Ruxukou. Then this big epidemic...

"This pandemic still has the potential to break out."

After careful consideration, Zhang Zhongjing spoke carefully and ruthlessly wiped out the trace of luck in Liu Bei's heart.

Doctor Zhang did not need to explain this in detail, Kong Ming sighed and explained:

"Records from later generations all show major epidemics. However, from the Jianning year to the present, has the epidemic stopped for one year? It is just that these few times have harmed the people more severely, so they are recorded in the annals of history."

Everyone also nodded silently to this, especially those who live in such troubled times.

Fortunately, in cities and counties with names, epidemic outbreaks will be reported at all levels. In remote villages, the entire village may die at the beginning of the epidemic, and it will not be until merchants passing by a few years later that they learn of the village's demise.

There are so many things like this. ơɱ

Now that he has said this, Kong Ming sighed and continued:

"I have studied with Divine Doctor Zhang and found that almost all previous major epidemics were accompanied by natural disasters."

Then he counted on his fingers and said:

"In the year 171, the ground cracked in twelve places east of Hedong. The cracks were ten miles and one hundred and seventy paces long, and more than thirty paces wide. They destroyed countless houses and fertile fields."

"In 173, the Beihai ground cracked, and the Donglai Beihai Sea overflowed. The seawater was everywhere, and fertile fields were destroyed."

"In 179, there was a great epidemic in spring. In February and April of 178 the year before, the ground cracked. There was a locust plague in winter, and the plague came."

There is no need to say more later. The military advisor has said it all, and everyone present understands it.

Natural disasters cause people to become refugees, and people suffer from epidemics. The refugees carry the epidemic further, and eventually the epidemic arises on its own.

"After a long time of turmoil, the seventh son of Jian'an died indirectly at the hands of Cao Cao?" Zhang Fei couldn't help but ask.

After all, if Cao's army did not attack south, it would be difficult for the epidemic to break out in such a big way.

If Cao's army had not dispatched troops, it would have been difficult for the epidemic to be brought back to Yecheng, and in the end it would have been impossible to end.

Ignoring his third brother, Liu Bei looked at the military advisor and nodded slowly. He understood the meaning.

If the epidemic is not prevented and treated, there is no need to wait until four years later. Every subsequent war may lead to a major epidemic.

From this point of view, the selection of military doctors needs to be put on the agenda sooner, and Liu Bei has concerns in his mind.

Pang Tong and Fazheng also understood at the same time, but Fazheng immediately had a terrifying thought in his mind:

This Cao Cao was good at killing miracle doctors before and ignored the prevention and control of epidemics. Isn't it okay...

Immediately Fazheng shook his head, Cao Cao's subordinates were also Han'er, and now that Sun and Cao had joined forces, there was nothing they could do to their lord. Why use this underhanded trick of killing one thousand enemies and damaging eight hundred?

[When talking about the great epidemic during this period, many people often talk about typhoid fever.

It should be noted that typhoid fever in the Han Dynasty is completely different from the typhoid fever we know now.

Limited by their knowledge, the ancients often regarded disease triggers as pathogens. Cold is not cold, but a general term for all diseases caused by external evils.

Even after more than a thousand years, we in modern times have no way of knowing what kind of plague broke out in the Han Dynasty. It is more likely that it was a compound plague that was a mixture of multiple diseases.

Because it is easy to find out when you open the history books that the explosive population growth and lack of public health in the Eastern Han Dynasty were probably the biggest causes of early epidemic outbreaks.

It was okay in the Western Han Dynasty. According to the literature records at that time, the population of Chang'an, the capital, reached its peak of nearly 500,000, but it did not last long and was still within the carrying capacity of the capital.

In the Eastern Han Dynasty, on the basis of inheriting the foundation of the previous dynasty, the external enemies were destroyed, the internal culture was improved, and the population began to grow rapidly.

According to the records of the Later Han Dynasty, in the fifth year of Yonghe, that is, in 140, Luoyang had 280,000 households and a population of one million; Chang'an had 50,000 households and a population of 300,000.

The first problem that the huge population needs to face is the problem of garbage disposal.

Domestic sewage is relatively easy to deal with, because these two cities are close to the river and the surrounding water system is well developed. It is not a problem to dig more ditches in the city and pay attention to dredging.

What is more troublesome is the treatment of solid waste. For the people at that time, it is nothing more than throwing, burying and escaping.

Among them, the most used is burying. This method is still used even in modern times, but we have a special sanitation department to classify the garbage and use different treatment methods according to the type of garbage.

For the ancients, it was all buried. Dig a deep pit, and the neighbors will directly dump the garbage into it. When it is almost flush with the ground, add a layer of covering soil, and then dig a new garbage pit in another place.

The bad consequence brought about by this is the pollution of groundwater. According to our modern archaeologists, Han Chang'an is located on the first terrace of the Wei River. The main components of the ground are silt, clay, and gravel layers of the Wei River alluvial deposits. Such geological conditions are rich in water, but the permeability is also very good, so that garbage and sewage can quickly penetrate into the groundwater, and finally the infiltration cycle makes the groundwater continue to deteriorate.

This garbage disposal method has made the environment of Han Chang'an so bad that it is unbearable by the time of the Northern and Southern Dynasties. In the history books, it is directly cursed:

The capital is large and populated. After years, the bottom is blocked and the narrow is filled. The filth and evil gather and cannot be discharged, so the water is mostly salty.

Faced with this piece of land that already has a smell, Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty, Yang Jian, simply abandoned the old site and built a new Daxing City on the southern slope of Longshouyuan in the southeast of Han Chang'an City. He also dug several ditches into the city to solve the water problem, and also formulated strict laws prohibiting the disposal of garbage.

This is the later Tang Chang'an City. 】