Da Ming: Father, step aside, I'll be the prime minister!

Chapter 142 The Visit of Li Shizhen, the Sage of Medicine

The obituary was very detailed, recording Shen Yousong's entire journey in great detail.

It is said that when the boat was sailing on the river, it suddenly encountered a violent storm and waves. Surprised, Inspector Shen accidentally fell into the water. A month ago, the weather in Shanxi was still cold, and Inspector Shen caught a cold. Although he sought medical treatment locally, the medicine was ultimately ineffective.
The four words at the end of the article, "How sad! How painful!", are really jarring.

Zhang Yunxiu looked up at his father with a complicated expression, and saw a forced smile on the latter's face.

"The Provincial Surveillance Commissioner of Shanxi, a high-ranking official of the third rank, in the prime of his life, unexpectedly drowned. How can this not be a cause for lamentation? Is it not a case of Heaven being blind?"

Ancient medical standards were indeed poor. After falling into the water in cold weather, one was very susceptible to catching a cold. If one encountered a few incompetent doctors, even the most powerful person could die.

The emperors Zhengde and Tianqi are prime examples, not to mention Shen Yousong, who was merely a provincial inspector of Shanxi.

In ancient times, dying from illness after falling into the water was a very difficult cause of death to find out.

The cause of death seems reasonable, but the reason for the reason is too suspicious.

Why did he happen to fall into the water and die of illness? And why did he happen to fall into the water and die just when Zhang Juzheng was about to thoroughly investigate the Shanxi merchants?

Even in a province like Shanxi, which is close to the capital, if local officials are truly in cahoots, sending out more officials will only result in a few more deaths.

Finally, Shanxi found a few scapegoats, and the matter was hastily resolved in the imperial court.

But where could Zhang Juzheng find so many officials who were capable of handling affairs and whom he could trust?
This is a deadlock that is difficult to resolve.

Zhang Juzheng stopped talking and then instructed his youngest son.

"You need not worry about such things. After the plague is over, there are tens of thousands of refugees gathered outside the capital. How can they all be incorporated into the capital's garrison? If this continues, it will surely cause trouble."

You have the means; first, think about how to settle the displaced people.

"Refugees?" Zhang Yunxiu casually stuffed the obituary into his pocket, his tone resolute. "Father, don't worry, I've already made plans."

Zhang Juzheng glanced at his young son with a complicated expression, but no longer doubted his words.

Zhang Yunxiu patted the obituary in his arms and said with an increasingly determined look in his eyes.

"We cannot let Inspector Shen die in vain, nor can we let the innocent people who suffered at the hands of the White Lotus rebels endure such misery. Father, rest assured, I will take steady steps and make these filthy merchants pay for their crimes in blood!"

Zhang Juzheng looked up at his young son, his eyes filled with a mixture of relief and worry.

But this time, the smile on his face was natural and warm.

"I am well aware of Shiyuan's talent, but please remember to be mindful of this in all things from now on."

Seeing that his father was about to nag again, Zhang Yunxiu narrowed his eyes and said.

"Now that we've finished discussing official business, Uncle Zhang, please come with me back to the clinic so you can receive proper treatment!"

The smile on Zhang Juzheng's face suddenly vanished.

"Young sir, I am not a fraud. I am indeed Li Shizhen, and I have come to visit your esteemed institution to witness the power of modern medicine."

"Ouch~ everyone, please be gentle, I do have some hidden ailments in my back!"

"Please wait a moment, I have a travel permit to verify your identity."

Outside Renmin First Medical Hall, a commotion arose as several tall and burly officers carried an old man out, as if they were slaughtering a pig.

People passing by couldn't help but stop and watch.

The guards inside the clinic were all strong and capable men selected from the Beijing Garrison, yet they lifted the old man like a chick.

They weren't particularly rude; they simply placed the old man on the ground outside the gate.

Inside the clinic, Yuan Zongdao slowly walked out, his face filled with anger as he spoke.

"You old man, you are really unreasonable. The clinic is already overwhelmed with work, yet you still want to cause trouble. Those symptoms are clearly faked. The clinic has no time to argue with you!"

Since the Renmin Medical Clinic was destroyed by fire, many doctors have come from afar wanting to "challenge" the clinic.

Some of these people wanted to steal a few medical skills, while others wanted to use the name of Renmin Medical Hall to swindle and cheat.

Therefore, clinics usually just kick such people out of the clinic.

"Little Teacher"

Li Shizhen blushed.

I thought that with my little tricks, I could easily deal with these young people who were new to medical school.

But to their surprise, the other party had sharp eyes and saw through it in no time.

Now he was utterly speechless.

He gave a wry smile and said, "Young sir, please forgive me. I was a bit presumptuous. I have my travel permit to verify my identity. You will know once I see the imperial physicians Yang Jizhou and Luo Junde in your esteemed residence."

"How dare you see the two vice presidents?" Yuan Zongdao felt extremely annoyed. He was already overwhelmed with patients, and now someone was coming to cause trouble and waste his time.

He thought for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and said.

“Your travel permit just now clearly belonged to someone else. It must have been forged. You two officers should send this person to the Shuntian Prefecture government office for a thorough interrogation.”

"This"

Li Shizhen was in an awkward position; he had traveled all over the country, but this was the only place where he had suffered a setback.

You can't blame them, though. It was their own fault for insisting on an anonymous consultation, wanting to test the clinic's credentials.

"Yes! Send him to the authorities!"

Upon hearing that this old man dared to forge travel permits, the onlookers were filled with righteous indignation.

In the clinic, patients relied on household registration certificates, travel permits, and other documents to prove their identity.

This old man actually dared to forge travel permits? To ordinary people, this is tantamount to encroaching on their medical resources.

The captains also looked at Li Shizhen and said, "Old sir, come with us. If you are innocent, you will be fine."

"I am truly Li Shizhen!"

Li Shizhen was filled with bitterness. How could he not even prove his own identity?
Just as Li Shizhen was about to be taken away by the captain, a carriage slowly came to a stop in front of the clinic.

Upon seeing the carriage, Yuan Zongdao immediately went to greet it.

He bowed expectantly towards the carriage and said, "Master, you've finally arrived. There are some urgent problems with the penicillin research that need to be solved. Also, regarding the kidney-cutting therapy you mentioned, several pigs have already died from it. And..."

As Zhang Yunxiu stepped out of the carriage, he felt a chill run down his spine upon hearing these words. He recalled how he had single-mindedly dedicated himself to promoting modern medicine, passing on all the scientific knowledge he had learned in later generations to his apprentices.

Now things have turned around. As long as he doesn't go to the clinic for a few days, a bunch of apprentices come knocking on his door.

When will Master come to the clinic?

"Master, our research has run into problems again!"

"Master, this patient's illness is truly difficult to resolve; we still need your intervention."

He was completely stumped by the questions.

Although he was annoyed by the questions, Zhang Yunxiu still had the clinic on his mind.

He felt gratified to see one "brand new" medical technology after another being developed.

Therefore, having just finished the court assembly yesterday, he rushed here early this morning without stopping.

Seeing Yuan Zongdao's devout expression, Zhang Yunxiu waved his hand and said.

"Alright, alright, then take me to the research institute!"

Yuan Zongdao's eyes lit up immediately, filled with a thirst for knowledge, and he quickly replied.

"Alright! This student will lead the way for Master!"

After taking a few steps, hearing the commotion in the crowd, Zhang Yunxiu turned his head to look behind him and asked curiously.

"What happened?"

Yuan Zongdao quickly explained, "It's nothing serious. He's just a charlatan who came to the clinic to impersonate the medical sage Li Dongbi. He probably wanted to swindle us out of our medical skills. I had the officer take him to the Shuntian Prefecture government office."

"A con artist?"

Zhang Yunxiu looked at the figure in the crowd from afar and couldn't help but frown. He turned to Yuan Zongdao and said.

"There's no need to condemn them outright. It depends on whether they have a good heart. If they are sincere in their studies, our clinic will welcome them with open arms."

However, if anyone tries to use our medical skills to swindle and cheat people, we will not tolerate it!

Several cases had occurred previously involving numerous quack doctors practicing medicine in the capital under the name of Renmin Medical Hall. The Imperial Guards had already arrested more than a dozen of them, which is why Zhang Yunxiu gave special instructions.

“Master is absolutely right.”

Yuan Zongdao bowed and said.

"The student kept this in mind, so when he first recognized him as a doctor, he did not reprimand him. However, this person was a wolf in sheep's clothing and secretly took pungent and warm medicines to pretend to have a fever from the plague! He also fabricated many other symptoms!"

He said confidently, "Fortunately, the student practices medicine in the triage area on a regular basis and has seen countless cases. How could his little tricks possibly fool my eyes?"

This is the benefit of having more patients. In the past, people couldn't afford to see a doctor, and ordinary doctors would see no more than forty or fifty patients a month. But now, doctors at Renmin Medical Center can see more than a hundred patients a day.

Not to mention, Yuan Zongdao was in the triage area, so he could come into contact with more patients and see more symptoms.

His medical skills have also become increasingly refined.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yunxiu narrowed his eyes and said, "You're saying this person claims to be Li Shizhen? And can use various medicines to fake all kinds of illnesses?"

"That's exactly right!" Yuan Zongdao said excitedly. "This boy is truly despicable; I was almost tricked by him!"

But Zhang Yunxiu suddenly turned around and shouted at the captains.

"and many more!"

"Master?"

Yuan Zongdao was startled, thinking that the hot-tempered Zhang Yunxiu was about to attack the old man in a fit of anger, and instinctively rushed forward to stop him.

You should know that when this master gets angry, he dares to hit even the Minister of Rites!
Who knew that Zhang Yunxiu would simply stop the captain escorting the old man and stare intently at the old man's appearance.

Yuan Zongdao's heart skipped a beat, and he knew something was wrong.

Did I make a mistake?

Zhang Yunxiu carefully examined the old man, and found that his features bore no resemblance whatsoever to Li Shizhen in later textbooks.

That's true. Most of those illustrations were drawn by later generations based on their imaginations, so how can they be taken seriously?
But whether the other party is Li Shizhen or not is just hearsay.

So Zhang Yunxiu narrowed his eyes and asked directly.

"Are you Li Dongbi?"

The old man raised his head and calmly looked back at Zhang Yunxiu.

"Young man, I am Li Shizhen."

After saying that, he sighed softly and gave up on making any further explanations.

Now that things have come to this, he only hopes to go to the Shuntian Prefecture government office to explain the whole story and clear his name.

Zhang Yunxiu stared intently. He continued, "In the letter Mr. Li sent me the other day, he mentioned something that could replace black incense as a pain reliever for cuts and cauterization. May I ask what it is?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shizhen immediately raised his eyes and looked at the young man again.

A careful examination of his attire revealed that he possessed an extraordinary bearing and that his attire was certainly not that of an ordinary official.

Hope flickered in Li Shizhen's eyes, and he felt as if a glimmer of hope had appeared in the darkness!
He immediately replied, "I received a letter from Magistrate Zhang inquiring whether Datura seeds can be used as an anesthetic. In my reply, I mentioned that Datura seeds can be used as an anesthetic, and there are many precedents in folk medicine of using Datura seeds to make stinky hemp seed soup."

However, datura seeds are highly toxic. If a high-quality anesthetic is to be produced, it should still be made with agarwood as the main ingredient, with other auxiliary ingredients acting as supporting ingredients. The combination of these ingredients is appropriate, and the dosage should be controlled each time to mitigate the addictive nature of agarwood with prolonged use.

Zhang Yunxiu listened without showing any emotion.

This question was a trap he had set. If the other party was a fake, they would definitely follow the conversation and mention "Datura".

At that time, Zhang Yunxiu would swing the hilt of the sword at his waist and smash the man's head.

However, it was clear that the person's answer was perfect, exactly the same as the content of the letter.

After confirming that the old man before him was indeed the real person, Zhang Yunxiu finally smiled and turned to give instructions to the captains on his left and right.

"Hurry up and untie them! The world-renowned medicine sage Li Shizhen has also come to our Renmin Medical Clinic!"

(End of this chapter)