Tang Dynasty: A Guide to Avoiding Pitfalls for Li Er at the Start

Chapter 33 You guys aren't from my hometown, are you?
"Young Master Wen, can boiled silk be used to save people?"

Seeing the servants setting up a large pot outside, Duan Zhixuan looked at him blankly.

"It's for sterilization. It's very complicated, you wouldn't understand if I explained it to you." Wen He shook her head and waved to a servant who seemed to be in charge, not far ahead.

The servant nodded, bowed, and quickly approached him: "This humble servant, Atu, greets young master."

His eyes gleamed with excitement as he cast a thrilling glance.

Seeing his appearance, Wen He knew she had come to the wrong person. This person looked well-dressed, but his status did not seem to be high.

Otherwise, why would he be so excited to be called over?

But he's too lazy to dwell on it now.

"Please tell them that everything used for bandaging wounds needs to be boiled for half an hour, uh, half of half an hour."

"Uh, isn't that just the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn?" Duan Zhixuan asked, puzzled as to why he had to say half of half an hour.

But he was soon relieved.

Wen Xiaolang looks quite young, so he must not know about this matter yet.

Wen He really wasn't quite sure; one incense stick's time was equivalent to fifteen minutes in later times.

Atu nodded earnestly in agreement, and when he turned to instruct others on their tasks, his back was straight.

"Sigh." Wen He sighed as she watched his retreating figure.

If he hadn't revealed his identity to Li Shimin, their positions would definitely have been reversed if he had met Atu on the street.

Even a seventh-rank official is subject to the prime minister's authority, let alone the servants of the Prince of Qin's household.

He turned around and saw Duan Zhixuan staring at him expectantly.

"What's wrong?" Wen He asked.

"Is that all?" Duan Zhixuan was a little incredulous. Didn't they say before that it would require stitches or something?
"Disinfect the needle and thread first, then have someone stitch up the wound. Whether it will survive is up to fate. By the way, does the Prince of Qin's mansion have wine, preferably sake?"

Wen He thought that perhaps he could extract the alcohol. Distillation wasn't difficult, it just took time.

Jing Junhong is definitely impatient now, but disinfection is still necessary afterwards.

Using alcohol is safer than high-temperature disinfection.

"Huh?" Duan Zhixuan was surprised. Did he have to drink alcohol to save someone?

"Sake should be available, but wouldn't rice wine be even better? Your Highness also has wine from the Western Regions, which tastes exquisite."

As he spoke, he smacked his lips, his mouth watering.

"I'm here to save lives, not to drink. Yellow wine is fine, any kind of wine is fine, bring it over."

The alcohol concentration of wines produced during this period was not high, and a large amount of wine would be needed to extract even a small bottle of alcohol.

Upon hearing this, Duan Zhixuan smiled awkwardly, bowed to Wen He, and immediately went to find someone to bring him the wine.

"Wait a minute, there's no rush..." Wen He tried to call out to him, but he disappeared in the blink of an eye.

He chuckled helplessly.

Even if we bring the wine over now, he won't be able to distill the alcohol in a short time.

"Who is this guy? He seems like a hothead."

Judging from his relationship with Cheng Zhijie, this person must be of a high status, but he looks young, so I don't know who he is.

"That is Duan Zhixuan, the Second Right Protector of the Prince's Palace," a Xuanjia Guard announced.

Wen He was stunned for a moment.

This is Duan Xiong, Duan Zhixuan, who was later compared to Zhou Yafu by Li Shimin.

He joined the army at the age of fourteen and fought alongside Emperor Yang of Sui against Goguryeo. Later, he followed Li Yuan and captured Qu Tutong at Tongguan.

No wonder he dared to stop Cheng Zhijie just now.

"Now that he's gone, who among you can make decisions?" Wen He looked at the group of Xuanjia Guards.

They stared at Wen He and collectively shook their heads.

"Go to anyone in the front yard and have them find a coroner."

"Ah, what does my lord need a coroner for? That's for examining corpses."

The Xuanjia Guards' gazes towards him changed.

Could it be that they thought General Jing was beyond saving, so they sent a coroner to help collect the body?

"Aren't we going to call a coroner? You guys will be stitching up the wound later?"

Wen He raised an eyebrow at them, and the several Xuanjia guards quickly shook their heads and stepped back.

They are not afraid to fight on the battlefield; they won't even blink when they cut off someone's head with a single blow.

But to ask them to sew flesh onto a living person...

The thought sent chills down their spines. "Then hurry up and go!"

"Yes, yes, I will go right away."

He quickly agreed and ran towards the front yard.

"Young sir, may I speak with you in private?" The two physicians suddenly approached.

Looking at them, Wen He blinked a few times, thinking to herself, "Could it be that we're about to have a face-slapping scene?"

He couldn't help but imagine a scene where the two old military doctors scolded him for disregarding human life and recklessly saving people without any medical knowledge. Then he refuted them and finally saved Jing Junhong's life. The two doctors were so ashamed that they covered their faces and wept.

Many novels in later generations were written in this way.

He secretly touched his hands, preparing to enter battle mode.

"Young master, your medical skills are so advanced, I wonder where you learned them. We have heard about them before. As for the suturing, if I am not mistaken, you had the servants boil it at a high temperature to prevent insects, right?"

As he stroked his beard and spoke, Wen He's eyes widened.

This old man is no ordinary person.
"Imperial Jade Liquor?" Wen He blinked rapidly.

The two physicians looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What wine?"

"Okay, I guess I was overthinking it... Hydrogen, helium, lithium, beryllium, boron!"

"What?"

"Carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine, neon, you really don't know?"

The two physicians looked at him strangely, as if they were looking at someone who was having a fit of hysteria.

Wen He sighed. It seemed she had been overthinking things.
He thought one of the two was from his hometown, but it seems he was overthinking it.

No time traveler is as destitute as they are.

He gave an awkward smile, cupped his hands in greeting to the two men, and said, "I wonder how you came to know about bacteria... and tiny insects?"

"This matter was mentioned in the book 'Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases' written by Chao Gong and Wu Gong, the Imperial Physicians of the former Sui Dynasty. In addition, the method of suturing has been used by our predecessors, but unfortunately it was disliked by Tao Hongjing, which made people afraid. We dare not use it without permission."

The old man looked rather helpless as he said this.

They had actually thought of using this method earlier, but if word got out, they feared they would be looked down upon by their peers.

"Lord Chao, Lord Wu, are you referring to Chao Yuanfang and Wu Jingxian?"

"Exactly."

“So it’s them.”

Wen He was no longer surprised.

Both of them were extraordinary individuals, and their work, "Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases," was considered a remarkable book in later generations.

It lists the causes and symptoms of diseases in various departments such as internal medicine, surgery, gynecology, pediatrics, ENT, oral and dental, and bone and joint injuries, and discusses the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, health care, guided massage, and surgery of some diseases.

It is the first monograph in history to systematically summarize the etiology, pathology, and symptoms of diseases.

Unfortunately, much of the content was destroyed in later generations.

In particular, the content compiled by Wu Jingxian was lost during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and by the Song Dynasty, only the version written by Chao Yuanfang remained.

During the Qing Dynasty, when the Siku Quanshu was being compiled, there were even attempts to alter the author's name, and it is rumored that some of the content was deleted or changed.

In later generations, it is said that only that island nation possessed a complete version of the Tang Dynasty text.

The Japanese envoys to Tang China during that era stole quite a few good things!

"Where are Master Chao and Master Wu now?" If possible, Wen He would love to see the original contents of "Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases" with his own eyes.

"Master Wu passed away a few years ago, and Master Chao also went into seclusion, no longer concerned with worldly affairs. However, the Taichang Temple has an original copy of the Treatise on the Causes and Symptoms of Various Diseases, but we are of lowly status and rarely get to see it."

They both couldn't help but smile wryly.

Upon hearing this, Wen He stroked his chin and pondered.

It would be a pity if such works were lost like those of later generations.

This kind of book should be given to every medical officer.

I remember Changsun Wuji asked me about papermaking before, and Li Er will definitely mention it after he finishes this period.

We'll mention movable type printing at the same time.

As he was thinking about this, he suddenly heard a series of hurried footsteps.

"The wine is here. Where is Young Master Wen? How much do you want to drink? Today I've brought you all the wine from the Prince of Qin's mansion, as long as you can save General Jing!"

A roar, like a lion's howl, shook Wen He's eardrums.

May I ask if I can have some monthly passes?

Are there any handsome, dashing, charismatic, universally loved, and irresistibly charming readers who could give me a monthly ticket?
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(End of this chapter)