My Portable Ming Dynasty

Chapter 295 Golden Throne and Jade Buddha
When I heard that the Imperial Medical Academy actually objected, I thought, "How dare you, the Imperial Medical Academy, object?"
Several Ming emperors have died from the treatment provided by imperial physicians, yet the Imperial Medical Academy still dares to object?
But the cabinet ministers soon stopped laughing.

Because of the many murky things that happened in the Imperial Medical Academy throughout history, the Jiajing Emperor reorganized the Imperial Medical Academy after taking office.

The specific measures included seeking out traditional folk medical families and ancient medical prescriptions. In addition, Emperor Jiajing himself was knowledgeable in pharmacology, so the Imperial Medical Academy operated well during the Jiajing reign.

Of course, it functioned well during the Jiajing reign, but not necessarily during the Longqing reign.

However, the Imperial Hospital was a taboo subject for the royal family, so officials from outside the court could not express too many opinions in the Imperial Hospital.

Even someone as close as Gao Gong would be suspected by the emperor if he spoke casually about matters concerning the imperial physicians.

Should we just give up on medical school?

Gao Gong felt a pang of embarrassment when he thought about how he had solemnly promised Su Ze.

Should we just give up like this?
Gao Gong was still unwilling to give up. After thinking about it, he felt that the development of practical learning was more important than his own face, so he approached the Grand Secretary Li Chunfang.

"I would also like to help with the medical school's affairs, but the Imperial Medical Academy..."

Li Chunfang had a newspaper tucked underneath his memorial. He had been slacking off in his seat, but when he saw Gao Gong coming over, he quickly messed up the memorial and covered the newspaper underneath.

Upon hearing Gao Gong's request, Li Chunfang offered the same response.

Gao Gong took a deep breath. He didn't know what was wrong with him today; he was so obsessed with establishing a medical school.

In the past, if Grand Secretary Li Chunfang had refused, Gao Gong would probably have turned and left, but Gao Gong still said:
"Your Excellency, Physician Li is establishing a medical college in Jinling, which is a great benefit to the people. I urge Your Excellency to think of another way."

Li Chunfang generally preferred to avoid trouble, but since Gao Gong had made such a plea today, he couldn't very well refuse Gao Gong, as that would make things too awkward. So he could only say:

"Then I'll give it a try."

"Thank you for your help, Your Excellency."

Gao Gong breathed a sigh of relief. Since he had promised to help Su Ze, he had done his best by asking Li Chunfang for help.

If even Prime Minister Lee couldn't solve the problem, then Su Zilin could probably understand.

In Li Chunfang's view, these people were all bothering her, preventing her from slacking off.

But Old Li could only sigh; he knew he had to do the offending thing himself.
-
"Brother Zilin, have you heard?!"

Shen Yiguan rushed into the newspaper office, panting, and spoke to Su Ze.

These days, Shen Yiguan has been busy with his work at the Court of State Ceremonial.

He was transferred from the Ministry of Rites' Department of State Ceremonies to the Court of State Ceremonies. As Wang Shizhen's deputy, who accompanied the Minister of State Ceremonies on two missions to the grasslands, Shen Yiguan naturally became Wang Shizhen's confidant and took on the construction work of the reorganized Court of State Ceremonies.

Now, the Court of State Ceremonial is one of the Nine Ministers' Offices, and has taken over the functions related to diplomatic and tributary affairs, so its authority is much greater than before.

However, many officials in the Court of State Ceremonial were just coasting along, and there were quite a few officials who received special favors from the government.

Ultimately, these responsibilities could only be placed on young officials like Shen Yiguan.

Even in such a busy time, Shen Yiguan still rushed to the newspaper office to gossip, so this news must be quite explosive.

"what news?"

Luo Wanhua was already familiar with this scene, and immediately chimed in.

Shen Yiguan said:
"After taking the medicine prescribed by the Imperial Hospital, Chief Minister Li suffered from persistent diarrhea and had to request sick leave again."

"His Majesty was furious and sent the imperial physician to see the patient again. The physician said that the previous physician had prescribed the wrong medicine and had mixed up the dosage of one of the ingredients."

Luo Wanhua was speechless. Was the Imperial Medical Academy really that poorly run?
Su Ze, however, felt something was amiss, and he said:
"Chief Minister Li is well-versed in medicine; didn't you see that the prescription was incorrect?"

Shen Yiguan had clearly inquired about the details, and he said:

"I heard that this prescription was written a long time ago, but Chief Minister Li never used it. He was feeling unwell yesterday, so he asked his family to decoct it and take it. I never expected that this would cause such a problem."

What a coincidence!

Su Ze didn't know whether it was the system's power or Li Chunfang's cunning and deliberate act of taking the problematic prescription.

But one thing is certain: if the Imperial Medical Academy can prescribe the wrong medicine to the Grand Secretary, how can the Emperor still trust them?

Moreover, the evidence of the Imperial Hospital's prescription error was conclusive this time, and the Imperial Hospital lost its backbone.

As expected, Shen Yiguan said:
"Brother Zilin's memorial has been approved. The Imperial Medical Academy no longer dares to oppose the Medical School's affairs; on the contrary, they actively support it."

Luo Wanhua asked:
Why did the Imperial Medical Academy's attitude change so drastically?

Shen Yiguan said:
"Because Li Shizhen was also a physician."

"Dr. Li also comes from a family of physicians. The imperial physician is worried that the medical school will not be able to be established. Your Majesty should summon him to serve as the Imperial Physician."

Luo Wanhua finally understood.

The more Su Ze thought about it, the more he felt that this was Li Chunfang's doing.

This prescription was given a long time ago but no longer taken. It's likely that Li Chunfang himself realized the problem with the prescription. He was also faking illness at home recently, so there was no need for him to take this problematic prescription.

It's hard to say that it wasn't intentional to suddenly have someone prepare the medicine and then have problems taking it at this time.

Moreover, this time the reason for his illness was quite plausible, allowing Chief Minister Li to continue to slack off at home.

Otherwise, how could he become the Grand Secretary!
Go ahead and study!
At this point, the system displayed a settlement report.

The memorial entitled "On Clearing Obstacles, Revitalizing Education and Medicine to Cultivate Talent" was passed.

The reform of the selection system for successful candidates in the imperial examinations alleviated the pressure of the examinations, allowing talent to flow to the grassroots and frontier regions, marking the beginning of the Ming Dynasty's outward-looking policy.

The policy of dispatching supervisors to academies allowed the imperial court to begin controlling higher education institutions, laying the foundation for the modern university management system.

Jinling Medical College became the first modern medical university and a pioneer in the development of practical medicine in the Ming Dynasty.

[National fortune +3.]

[Prestige +500.]

[Remaining Prestige: 1060.]

Su Ze shut down the system; it was becoming increasingly difficult to extend the reign of the emperor.

However, completing these three tasks would be of great benefit to the Ming Dynasty at present.
-
The last day of October.

After the Fair, the Crystal Palace was opened to the public daily and quickly became a bustling market.

This is where Master Fayan of Lengyan Temple's business acumen is once again demonstrated.

He demolished a row of monks' quarters near the Crystal Palace and transformed them into shops facing the street. He rented these shops to merchants, making the entire Lengyan Temple even more lively.

Now that it's the end of the month and the time for rest, Lengyan Temple is bustling with activity and incense is burning brightly.

However, having a large number of people also presents its own problems.

Li Defu, the head of the outer city patrol battalion, now a police inspector, sat in Abbot Fayan's meditation room.

Li Defu graduated from the police training course and was appointed as the police superintendent of the outer city police battalion, leading the police battalion responsible for maintaining security in the capital region.

As the police force became increasingly professionalized and patrol stations were established in various places, Li Defu also felt the change in the status of the police force, and his position as police inspector became increasingly important.

However, Li Defu personally came to Lengyan Temple today.

"Inspector Li, Lengyan Temple will fully cooperate with the establishment of patrol points, and the temple is also willing to send martial monks to join the joint defense team."

Li Defu was very fond of the sensible abbot of Lengyan Temple.

Lengyan Temple, along with the Crystal Palace and the surrounding shops, already had a larger flow of people than the villages and towns around the capital. Where there are people, there are disputes, so Wang Renzhong ordered the establishment of patrol points within the area.

But with just a word from his superior, everyone below was running themselves ragged. Patrols required office space and manpower, so Li Defu had to coordinate everything.

Fortunately, the abbot was reasonable and offered to provide housing and even volunteered to send warrior monks from the temple to participate in the patrols.

This also relieved the pressure on the police force.

Unfortunately, there aren't many temples outside the city that are as virtuous as Lengyan Temple.

But Li Defu quickly cheered up again.

He said to the monk Fayan:

"Abbot, have you heard? Several temples in the capital region have been investigated by the Ministry of Rites."

Master Fayan put his hands together in prayer position.

Rivals are enemies, and Lengyan Temple and other temples are all competitors. Naturally, he was pleased that the Ministry of Rites was cracking down on them as well.

However, as an enlightened monk, all I can do is chant a Buddhist prayer for my fellow practitioners.

Li Defu felt even happier when he recalled the arrogant demeanor of those temples.

“When we went there a while ago, those temples were arrogant and refused to cooperate with our patrol team.”

"The Ministry of Rites' Office of Sacrificial Rites took action a few days ago, and it turns out these temples are places where filth and corruption are hidden!"

Li Defu realized that criticizing Buddhist temples at Lengyan Temple might not be appropriate, so he added, "Master, Lengyan Temple is a sacred Buddhist temple; I was referring to those other temples!"

In fact, even the monk Fayan was still shaken.

The problems uncovered by the Bureau of Sacrificial Rites and Ceremonies also existed at Lengyan Temple to varying degrees.

The biggest problem was that believers tampered with land to evade taxes and encroached on the land. Lengyan Temple was relatively sensible and donated the extra land to the Crystal Palace, thus escaping disaster.

In addition, Lengyan Temple also responded to the call of the Zhenfu Division and the Civil Affairs Division to voluntarily lower its interest rates in the high-interest loan business that some other temples often engaged in.

This is not to say that Lengyan Temple is noble, but rather that as Lengyan Temple's reputation rises, it should refrain from engaging in shady businesses like usury.

Finally, problems such as unauthorized ordination and lax management of monks' registers also existed at Lengyan Temple. When Abbot Fayan saw the change in the political climate, he expelled all monks without monks' registers from the temple.

Finally, there are indeed no cases of male thievery or female prostitution at Lengyan Temple. After all, Lengyan Temple is a Vinaya school temple, and its rules in this regard are quite strict.

Master Fayan had heard that several temples were engaging in immoral activities, using the guise of believers seeking children to commit obscene acts, and that some Gelugpa temples were even holding some kind of uninhibited assemblies.

So depraved!

The monk Fayan felt no sympathy for his fellow monks, only that the imperial court had acted too late!

However, the monk Fayan was still very curious about how the imperial court would deal with these fellow monks.

Li Defu said:
“The fake monks without monk certificates were forced to return to secular life. The monk certificates of those abbots were confiscated by the Ministry of Rites, and their descendants’ temples were converted into monastic temples.”

Upon hearing the last sentence, even the monk Fayan trembled.

Temples in the Ming Dynasty were divided into two types: temples for descendants, which were passed down from master to disciple. The abbots of these temples were all passed down internally, and when it came to succession, they only needed to register with the local Buddhist and Taoist authorities.

A "forest temple" is a large temple that is usually abboted by renowned monks. Of course, the abbot must be selected and supervised by officials. In some large temples, the abbot must be appointed by the government.

For a Buddhist temple, changing from a temple for descendants to a temple for the masses means that the temple is taken over by the government, and at least in the future it will be subject to supervision and management by the government. This is a punishment similar to confiscating property.

However, this time the Ministry of Rites' Office of Sacrificial Rites acted very quickly and, in conjunction with the police, gathered a lot of evidence in advance.

For example, that Yellow Sect temple was caught red-handed during the Unobstructed Assembly.

With such a heavy hand, the Office of Sacrificial Rites and Ceremonies became famous in the capital.

Of course, the Office of Sacrificial Rites and Ceremonies did not only target Buddhist temples; several Taoist temples in the capital also fell victim to its "poisonous hand".

What the Taoist priests are like is actually of no concern to Monk Fayan; the best thing would be for more Buddhist temples to die.

However, Lengyan Temple was also frightened. This escape did not mean that they would escape every time.

Abbot Fayan asked cautiously:
"Inspector Li, Lengyan Temple also wants to make some more contributions to the imperial court. Please point us in the right direction."

Li Defu was even more satisfied, and it's no wonder that Lengyan Temple remained unscathed during this turmoil.

Since Abbot Fayan was so cooperative with his work, Li Defu was also generous in giving him some information.

"I heard from those officials in the Ministry of Rites that they want to organize a Buddhist monastic community to go to Southeast Asia."

"what?"

Li Defu said, "You know the natives of Southeast Asia, right? Chief Zhang of the Southeast Asia Administration Office submitted a memorial requesting the court to send scholars to educate the natives. But the abbot also knows that no scholar would want to go to Southeast Asia to teach monkeys."

"But education was something that the literati were always talking about, and the Ministry of Rites couldn't shirk it. In the end, the officials in the Ministry of Rites came up with a solution: to send monks and Taoists to Southeast Asia to educate the local people."

Monk Fayan was stunned for a moment and said, "This works?"

Li Defu said:
"Of course, Master, do you know any Western monks?"

“They just chanted scriptures in Southeast Asia, and the locals believed them. Aren’t they just like monks and Taoist priests?”

However, even Master Fayan hesitated to send his disciples to Southeast Asia, as this was no simple matter.

Southeast Asia is so far away that ordinary monks, apart from those who are truly dedicated to spreading Buddhism, would certainly not be willing to go.

Li Defu then whispered:

"Master, please don't spread this around."

Monk Fayan quickly made a gesture to shut up.

Li Defu said:
"Master, as you know, the Ministry of Rites only appointed supervisors for these temples that were converted into jungle temples this time."

Monk Fayan was taken aback.

Li Defu said:
"The Ministry of Rites said that the selection of future leaders for monastic communities should prioritize the propagation of Buddhism."

Abbot Fayan's eyes widened in surprise.

Spreading the Dharma is the top priority.

How could the Ming Dynasty then spread Buddhism?

Since the Yuan Dynasty, the influence of Buddhism and Taoism among the people has been declining.

Propagating Buddhism in the Ming Dynasty? It would be good enough if they could maintain the size of their followers.

Sure enough, Li Defu said, "Overseas also counts."

As expected, the Ministry of Rites encouraged people to go to Southeast Asia to spread Buddhism, and made the results of spreading Buddhism an important criterion for selecting future abbots of Buddhist temples.

That's really appealing!

Although the tradition of monastic communities cannot be passed down from master to disciple, the prospect of managing a large temple is a huge temptation for monks.

If one's disciple is the abbot of another temple, that would be of great help to Master Fayan.

"Thank you, Inspector Li!"

The monk Fayan then personally took out a box and handed it to Li Defu, saying:
"This is a token of our temple's goodwill. This golden throne and jade Buddha was originally enshrined under the golden Buddha in our temple's main hall. It is not a particularly valuable item, but it is made from incense and can protect the home. Please accept it, Inspector Li."

(End of this chapter)