The Overlord of the Red Mansion

Chapter 301 Giving Medicine
A lot of technology is required for pharmaceutical production, and many things are not only used in pharmaceutical production, but can also be used elsewhere.

Jia Rong put aside the beeswax and glycerin used for making medicine.

The glycerin collected by Jia Rong was recovered from the by-products of soap making from animal and plant fats.

Glycerin, soybean oil, gelatin... It is difficult for Jia Rong to collect and make so many props at the same time by himself.

In the past, he was mainly responsible for refining medicine and gunpowder, but now that there is more work to do, he can only leave it to his subordinates.

Training a group of chemists is what Jia Rong wants to do, but it is too dangerous for these people to stay in the capital, so they are arranged to the Northeast.

Jia Rong's busy career left him no time to waste on women. Except for Qingwen, who became pregnant last year and gave birth this year, there were no other new or old pregnancies in the family.

November, the fourth year of Shengrong

"Long live my emperor! Long live!"

"Flat body."

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Jia Rong rarely went to court.

"Is there anything urgent?"

Jia Rong was in a good mood today and asked the others to report the situation first.

The left prime minister stepped forward, bowed and began to report: "Your Majesty, recent reports from various places show that the country is peaceful and the people are safe, the weather is good, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, all of whom are enjoying a peaceful and prosperous era."

There is indeed nothing important recently, and there is nothing special that needs to be resolved for Your Majesty to trouble him.

Jia Rong nodded and looked at the others.

The Minister of Revenue stepped forward and said respectfully: "Your Majesty, thanks to the sales of steel products, tobacco and wine, etc., all state-owned enterprises have steadily paid taxes to the state. This year's tax revenue is stable, the treasury is full, officials in various places are diligent and responsible, and people's lives are prosperous."

"Although there were natural disasters and calamities in a few places, they were all resolved in a timely manner, with warehouses opened to provide relief or the county government ordered to quell rebellions. Now the world is at peace. Long live our emperor!"

Jia Rong nodded slightly, his eyes calm, and he spoke slowly: "I am very pleased. The world is peaceful and the people are happy. This is the result of my and your efforts. However, governing a country is like sailing against the current. If you don't move forward, you will fall behind. You must not slack off."

Jia Rong, who often secluded himself, found it a bit strange to say this, but he was not saying it to himself.

The ministers said respectfully: "Your Majesty, we are willing to die for your kindness!"

The chief steward of the Ministry of Internal Affairs stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, this year's tributes from various places have been delivered to the capital one after another. The cattle and sheep hides from the western Central Asian province, the medicinal herbs and tobacco leaves from Luzon, the bamboo products from Japan, the blankets and jewelry from the Western Regions, the fine horses from the north, and the spices and beauties from India have all been deposited in the warehouse. The abundance of tributes fully demonstrates the loyalty of the subjects from all over the world to Your Majesty."

Jia Rong smiled and said, "The tributes from all over the country are plentiful, which is truly a blessing from heaven. However, I would rather see the people prosper and no one suffer from hunger and cold. You should put the people first, continue to implement benevolent policies, reduce taxes, build water conservancy projects, and expand trade routes so that the people can live and work in peace and contentment."

The Minister of Rites then said, "Your Majesty, recently a foreign envoy came to pay tribute to our dynasty and expressed his wish to establish a friendly relationship with our dynasty and exchange what we have. I have made all the arrangements and am waiting for your instructions."

Jia Rong nodded and said, "The foreign countries' visit is a sign that our dynasty's prestige is spreading far and wide. The Ministry of Rites should properly receive them to show our dynasty's etiquette and tolerance. However, we must also be cautious and not trust foreigners' words lightly. We must always put national affairs first."

The court officials accepted the order and responded in unison: "We will obey the imperial edict and do our utmost to assist Your Majesty and ensure eternal peace in our dynasty."

The emperor gave the ministers a strange feeling today, although everyone believed that he was a talented writer and could speak normally.

But he usually speaks very casually and rarely uses formal written language.

The most troublesome thing is that everyone is used to this, just like shaving their heads and beards, everyone is also used to speaking Mandarin with Jia Rong.

Of course, everyone can continue to communicate in written language. They have all studied hard and passed the imperial examinations, so some of their skills have not been forgotten.

But what happened to the emperor today?
Are we going to talk like this from now on?

Jia Rong rarely shows off his literary talent and most of the time behaves like an illiterate. He does not like to discuss the writings of sages with ministers, and even less likes to discuss things like etiquette and laws.

The advantage is that you won’t be testing other people’s literary talent.

Everyone in the court knew that this emperor was a top scholar, and his literary talent and understanding of articles were definitely not inferior to those old guys in the Hanlin Academy and the cabinet.

It’s just that the emperor has been taking the lead in studying more practical things over the years.

For example, in the fields of craftsmanship, agriculture, chemistry, medicine, etc., in order to make it easier for those craftsmen with low cultural level to understand what was said, both imperial edicts and daily conversations tended to be expressed in more straightforward terms.

Therefore, everyone believed that Jia Rong thought he was clumsy and did not want others to know his opinions or skills, so he deliberately concealed his incompetence.

Seeing that no one else was in trouble, Jia Rong smiled. "Some time ago, due to a shortage of elixirs, some unpleasant things happened."

Everyone knew that it was the Princess of Shu who started the trouble.

You definitely can't blame the emperor for being angry about this kind of thing. It was those people who were seeking death on purpose.

If it were any other emperor, he would have arrested those women and their men and punished them severely.

That is to say, the Holy Emperor does not want to tarnish his reputation and be considered as deliberately eliminating dissidents, so unless they are rebelling and seeking death, he will not easily touch those clans and royal families.

Even the King of Zhou who had the intention of rebellion was only demoted to a commoner, and these traitors were not killed.

Everyone felt that Jia Rong was too merciful and was restrained for fear of his reputation, so he was reluctant to take action against those royal family members who were seeking death.

Jia Rong actually didn't have that idea. He felt deep down that keeping those harmful women was a punishment for others, not for himself.

"I have refined a lot of pills in the past two months. They will probably be almost all ready by the 20th of the twelfth lunar month. I can probably refine about 3,000 pills before the New Year."

"I will keep one thousand pills for myself for emergencies, one thousand pills for the soldiers on the frontier, and the remaining one thousand pills for the civil and military officials and the nobles. If you don't need headache pain relief, you can sell them and earn some money for the New Year. This is originally a reward to show my sympathy for you, my dear ministers."

Hearing that Jia Rong was going to give them the elixir, everyone said in unison: "We thank the emperor for the reward. Long live the emperor!"

Jia Rong smiled and said, "This medicine can only be kept for two years. It's best to use it within a year. If you don't need it anymore, you can just tell the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs and they will exchange it for money. One pill will cost you ten taels of silver."

"It works for headaches, toothaches, stomachaches, and being shot in the stomach or thigh by an arrow. In short, it works for most pains."

"If it doesn't hurt, don't take it. Even though one or two pills won't kill you, taking too many will make you uncomfortable."

"I will not be in the capital during the New Year this year. Those who are on assignment can receive the medicine in advance. I will go to the Ministry of Internal Affairs later. Officials who are on assignment this month will go there to receive the medicine according to their ranks."

"I have been concerned about Wang Ziteng's sudden death while on a mission. Since ancient times, officials who were sent abroad to fight in wars were prone to losing soldiers and generals due to unfamiliar climate and soil. From now on, officials sent abroad will go to the Imperial Hospital for a physical examination before leaving."

"The censors and royal guards from the Inspectorate go there once a month and are always on duty."

Jia Rong brought a lot of benefits to his subordinates, and everyone was grateful.

However, three thousand pills are not enough. This thing can be used as veterinary medicine, and its medicinal effect is very strong!
The analgesic effect is immediate, the pain can be relieved after a few minutes, and the pain is completely relieved after more than ten minutes. The speed of effectiveness is much faster than those of general drugs and is second only to injections.

It is a miracle drug for young people in their twenties who are growing wisdom teeth, middle-aged people with splitting headaches, and elderly people who are suffering from the recurrence of old illnesses.

The side effects are also obvious, but so far few people have died from them.

The emperor ate the most, but his cause of death was definitely not due to the medicine.

The old lady also ate a lot, but it seemed more like she was angered to death by Jia Baoyu, not because of the medicine.

Jia Rong gave the old lady unlimited cigarettes, unlimited alcohol, and enough medicine because he saw that the old lady would not live long.

If Jia Baoyu hadn't caused such a big trouble that made her angry, the old lady might have lived a few more years.

Wang Ziteng and the first left prime minister both killed themselves due to overwork and irregular work and rest schedules.

At present, the only one who really suffers from the side effects of taking medicine, such as gastric bleeding, vomiting blood, memory loss, mental confusion... is Wang Xifeng.

So Jia Rong put Wang Xifeng under surveillance. This woman was always looking for trouble. She secretly withheld the medicine given to others and kept it for herself. She took the medicine whenever she had a slight headache, but she ended up getting herself into trouble.

Jia Rong was innocent in this matter. It was entirely Wang Xifeng's own fault. She used her cleverness in the wrong way.

In order to prevent others from putting the blame on him, Jia Rong quickly frowned majestically.

"I received a report from a spy some time ago, saying that there are still many monks, Taoist priests, and witches who use sorcery to harm people. These people hold a grudge against the court, but they don't have the ability or courage to confront them head-on, so they often use some despicable means, taking advantage of the women in other people's families leaking information to cast curses and harm people!"

"The person who is cursed will not die immediately, but will begin to lose memory and forget what he was doing. In more serious cases, he will have stomach cramps."

"Investigate these scums immediately and kill them without mercy!"

"I will also work with those in the court who are knowledgeable about chemistry and pharmaceuticals to develop a cure. If there is an emergency before the New Year, you can go to the Holy Palace to inform me. If it is a minor matter, Empress Shengren will handle it on your behalf."

Jia Rong continued to blame the bad guys.

The ministers in the court certainly believed the emperor, "As ordered! Long live the emperor!"

(End of this chapter)