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

Chapter 61 Wanli Emperor's First Encounter with Bacterial Culture Dishes (Please continue reading!)

"What happened to Physician Yang?"

Just as he was about to ask Yang Jishi why he was there, Emperor Wanli suddenly remembered that a few days ago, in a moment of folly, he had actually asked Yang Jishi to help Zhang Yunxiu make medicine.

However, Emperor Wanli felt no remorse. This Yang Jishi, relying on the Empress Dowager's decree, dared to take the opportunity to "discipline" him, the emperor.

He had already had enough of being disciplined in the Hanlin Academy and in front of Zhang Juzheng and Empress Dowager Li.

How dare a mere imperial physician abuse his authority?
But then I thought, Yang Jishi is a royal physician, yet he was assigned to make garlic in a small workshop. Isn't that a bit unreasonable?
Emperor Wanli asked, "Shiyuan, tell me what happened? You asked Imperial Physician Yang to help you make medicine, how did he end up messing with garlic?"

In Emperor Wanli's mind, medicine making should be a refined and elegant process, involving elegant alchemy in front of a furnace or studying ancient books to find the most wonderful prescriptions.

Why does Yang Jishi look like an old farmer?
“Your Majesty, this is the process of making medicine,” Zhang Yunxiu explained. “Your Majesty knows that Physician Yang comes from a family of physicians and has been well-versed in traditional Chinese medicine since childhood. He has profound attainments in medicine, so I asked Physician Yang to assist me in completing the most exquisite steps of making garlic extract.”

He glanced at Yang Jishi and said, "If His Majesty hadn't spoken, why would I entrust such medical secrets to someone else?"

You can say that the imperial physicians of the Imperial Medical Academy are pedantic and that traditional medicine is ignorant, but you can't say that these imperial physicians are incompetent.

Historically, Yang Jishi was quite accomplished in acupuncture, even devoting himself to its study. His book, "The Great Compendium of Acupuncture and Moxibustion," can be considered essential reading for acupuncture practitioners in later generations.

Imperial physicians like Yang Jishi lacked proper guidance.

That is, to abandon the study of the mysterious and esoteric theories of ancient Chinese medicine and instead conduct experiments in a down-to-earth manner with a scientific spirit.

In Zhang Yunxiu's view, if Yang Jishi could really devote himself to research, then the Ming Dynasty might not be unable to produce a pioneer of modern medicine!
Not only in the field of medicine, but also in many other fields such as agronomy, astronomy, mathematics, and military technology, the Ming Dynasty did not lack talent in these areas.

People like Li Shizhen, Xu Guangqi, and Zhao Shizhen are all historically renowned figures.

It's not that they lacked ability, but rather that they were limited by the times and lacked proper guidance towards modern science!

This is Zhang Yunxiu's role!
He had good intentions, but Yang Jishi did not see it that way. He prostrated himself on the ground and wept bitterly before the Wanli Emperor.

"Your Majesty, you must do justice for this old minister! Zhang Shiyuan is extremely vicious and his crimes are beyond description! The day he left the palace, he kidnapped this old minister and brought him here. He beats and scolds him at every turn and insists that this old minister do some kind of experiment for him."

If the old minister disobeyed even slightly, he would not give him food and would threaten him, saying that if he did not listen to him, misfortune would befall the old minister's family, and that he would first castrate the old dog in the house, turning it into a castrated dog.

Yang Jishi burst into a wail and wailing, which made the Wanli Emperor's face twitch. He turned his head and said.

"You've bullied Imperial Physician Yang?"

Zhang Yunxiu was startled and said with great grievance, "Your Majesty, please understand. I invited Imperial Physician Yang here and provided him with the best food and drink. There was absolutely nothing lacking. As for threatening him, it was just a joke."

Emperor Wanli said speechlessly, "You even said you wanted to castrate his old dog?"

Zhang Yunxiu argued vehemently, "Your Majesty is unaware that this old dog is physically weak. If he is not restrained, he will likely not live much longer. Castration is necessary for him to live a long life, and it will have its benefits!"

Standing to the side, Zhang Cheng, the father-in-law, had red and swollen eyes like peaches, looking pitiful. Upon hearing this, his eyes widened immediately.

Is this kid subtly insulting me?

"Cough cough cough~"

The Wanli Emperor looked strange, suppressing a laugh, and then pretended to be angry as he spoke.

"How dare you, Zhang Shiyuan! How could you insult Imperial Physician Yang like this? Imperial Physician Yang is a senior member of the Imperial Medical Academy, and I will always remember his kindness. Look at his eyes, they're like swollen puffs, and you didn't even arrange for him to wear protective goggles!"

It turned out that Imperial Physician Yang had been spending the last few days in the laboratory, researching allicin all day long. His eyes had become red and swollen from the fumes, and coupled with his tearful appearance, he was no longer the composed and dignified imperial physician he once was.

Upon hearing this, Yang Jishi felt even more aggrieved and almost burst into tears.

"Your Majesty, please see the truth! This old minister is in agony! Zhang Shiyuan's crimes are heinous!"

Zhang Yunxiu said apologetically, "Your Majesty, the production of these goggles is still limited. Only two pairs have been made. I kept one pair for myself to use in the workshop, and I presented the other pair to Your Majesty. I will certainly make proper arrangements for Imperial Physician Yang in the future!"

"I see~" Emperor Wanli nodded, then reminded him, "Do it immediately, and do not wrong Imperial Physician Yang."

"Yes," Zhang Yunxiu said, cupping his hands in greeting. Yang Jishi began to realize something was amiss, but before he could speak, he heard the Wanli Emperor continue.

"Imperial Physician Yang, there is no need to be alarmed. I have seen that you have managed this laboratory in an orderly manner. It seems that this miraculous medicine will definitely need your assistance. I will remember your kindness by staying here."

The Imperial Medical Academy is full of complicated matters; it's much more relaxed here. From now on, you will work here, still as an imperial physician.

Yang Jishi: "???"

What does that mean? Does it mean I have to stay here forever?
So Your Majesty, you and Zhang Yunxiu are in cahoots!
Instead of escaping his misery, he found himself even deeper into the lion's den, becoming Zhang Yunxiu's regular imperial physician.

He felt bitter, but Emperor Wanli and Zhang Yunxiu did not give Yang Jishi a chance to explain.

"Zhang Shiyuan, you say that allicin is a miracle drug, quickly take me to see it."

"Your Majesty, come with me quickly. Come, come, Physician Yang, make way and kneel on the other side."

The two were laughing and joking, seemingly just fooling around.

Little did Yang Jishi know that his previous use of clay to treat the emperor had already displeased the Wanli Emperor, and his subsequent threats against the Wanli Emperor in the name of the Empress Dowager had further offended the emperor.

Although the emperor appeared to be on Zhang Yunxiu's side, he actually still intended to punish Yang Jishi.

"As I said before, the so-called plague is caused by the strange energy of heaven and earth, so I named it germs."

Your humble servant had someone collect bacteria from the patient's nasal cavity and throat using cotton balls. Then, a culture medium was prepared by boiling minced meat, taro, and rice. The bacteria were cultured in a petri dish; approximately one hundred bacteria were collected.”

Zhang Yunxiu gave the emperor a general overview, following the experimental methods of later generations.

He took out a ceramic petri dish, lifted the lid, and showed it to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, please look. The round, golden-yellow ones with clear boundaries are the germs."

Emperor Wanli glanced curiously at the petri dish, and sure enough, there were tiny golden dots, each about one or two centimeters in diameter.

He was startled and took a step back, immediately covering his mouth and nose as he spoke.

"There are germs inside. Is there a risk of contracting a disease?"

Zhang Yunxiu smiled and said, "Your Majesty is overthinking it. The bacteria in the laboratory are relatively stable. This type of bacteria is different from the plague; it is the root cause of internal heat syndrome. As long as allicin is effective against this bacteria, the heat syndrome can be cured!"

In order to convince the emperor, Zhang Yunxiu exaggerated some of the effects.

In fact, the scope of heat syndromes in traditional Chinese medicine is very broad, but Zhang Yunxiu really couldn't explain "inflammation" to the ancients, so he could only use this concept as a substitute.

The golden Staphylococcus bacteria in the petri dish are actually a pathogen commonly used in modern laboratories.

"Is that so?"

The Wanli Emperor found it increasingly novel. He subconsciously covered his cheek, unable to believe that what had tormented him for so long was this little yellow thing in the dish.

This thing even looks kind of unique; I'd like to try it!
Zhang Yunxiu picked up another petri dish from the ground, opened it, and showed it to Emperor Wanli.

"Your Majesty, please look at this document. After I had someone extract allicin, I boiled and dried a cotton ball, then soaked it in the allicin. After that, I placed the cotton ball in a petri dish. Your Majesty, please look around the cotton ball. A blank area has appeared. This is the area where the bacteria have been killed, which is the best proof that allicin can treat inflammation!"

He actually explained the concept in a simpler way, since it wasn't like he was having the emperor conduct an experiment; all he needed was a general impression.

Emperor Wanli stared intently, and through his goggles, he could clearly see the contents of the petri dish. There was indeed a circle around the cotton ball, and the yellow germs seemed to be afraid of the cotton ball, scattering around it, with a very neat outline.

"It's actually true!"

His eyes widened.

(End of this chapter)