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

Chapter 66 Control Group Experiment

Jianghuang Hutong.

Renmin Pharmaceutical Factory No. 1.

Emperor Wanli looked at Zhang Yunxiu with a strange expression; the boy's appearance was quite unique.

Her clothes were pure white, covering her from head to toe without leaving any gaps, and even the leather boots she wore had their straps tightly tied.

Of course, the strangest thing was the bird-beak mask, which looked inexplicably comical on Zhang Yunxiu's face.

But what Emperor Wanli was most concerned about was the efficacy of allicin, and he grabbed Zhang Yunxiu and asked him anxiously.

"Does allicin really work?"

Zhang Yunxiu pointed to the petri dish in the emperor's hand and said, "Does Your Majesty still need to explain? Didn't Your Majesty see the experimental results?"

Emperor Wanli shook his head: "The experiment is certainly gratifying, but what I need is to solve the plague."

"Is that so?" Zhang Yunxiu pretended to be embarrassed. "This humble subject has prepared a control group for the experiment. If Your Majesty is interested, you may come and take a look."

"Experimental control group?"

Emperor Wanli's eyes lit up; it was another new piece of knowledge.

As they spoke, the two left the workshop. Zhang Yunxiu led the way, while Zhang Cheng followed at a distance, nervously observing any unusual movements around them. Naturally, when the emperor left the palace, he was protected by many guards in secret.

Fortunately, the streets of Beijing are now sparsely populated.

After walking a short distance, Emperor Wanli stared at Zhang Yunxiu's attire and suddenly realized something.

"and many more!"

He suddenly called out to Zhang Yunxiu, looked him up and down at his clothes, and said in an annoyed tone.

"You, Zhang Yunxiu, are quite cautious in your actions, having arranged multiple layers of protection to avoid being affected by strange energies or germs."

“Well…” A hint of embarrassment flashed across Zhang Yunxiu’s face beneath his beak. “Your Majesty is wise; this humble subject is simply feeling a bit cold.”

"Excuses! How dare you, Zhang Shiyuan! You are clearly deceiving the emperor!" Emperor Wanli said angrily. "I remember you said that the plague was caused by strange energies of heaven and earth, entering through the mouth and nose. I don't care about these reasons, you must arrange a solution for me!"

The emperor wasn't stupid; walking into the street like that was no different from suicide.
Zhang Yunxiu was speechless. The emperor looked exactly like his childhood friend, a shut-in from his later life.

With no other option, he had to return to the workshop and find a spare protective suit.

It would have been a pipe dream for Ming Dynasty technology to produce meltblown fabric.

Ordinary masks can provide some protection, but their effectiveness is ultimately limited.

For the sake of his own life, Zhang Yunxiu specifically sought out Zhao Rui, a textile merchant, and asked him to rush to make the protective mask according to the blueprints. However, the craftsmanship was ultimately limited, and only two masks were made in a few days.

This protective mask is shaped like a medieval European "bird beak mask," but its internal structure is more intricate, featuring a special filter layer filled with carbon powder and peppermint cloves.

With Zhang Cheng's assistance, the Wanli Emperor finally put on the protective mask.

For a time, the supreme ruler of the Ming Dynasty at the end of the 16th century, wearing a bird-beak protective mask, a white protective suit, and leather gloves, looked just like a witch doctor in medieval Europe.

Zhang Yunxiu's facial muscles twitched. He couldn't imagine what his father, Zhang Juzheng, would think if he saw him dressing the emperor in this outfit.
Won't she get so angry that she faints on the spot?

He tentatively inquired, "What does Your Majesty think?"

The Wanli Emperor stretched his body and found it not restrictive, but rather novel and interesting.

A muffled voice came from inside the mask: "It's alright, just a little hard to breathe. There's a pleasant fragrance, but I feel good."

"What the hell does this feel like!" Zhang Yunxiu's expression was priceless.

The two people, wearing bird-beak masks, walked through the streets of Xianyifang, looking extremely eerie.

Especially that bird's beak; the unsuspecting common people were terrified and ran away at the sight of it, almost thinking it was a plague god descending upon the streets. Fortunately, there weren't many people walking around on the streets of Xianyifang these days, otherwise it would have definitely caused quite a commotion.

Before leaving Xianyi Ward, after circling around one street, Zhang Yunxiu and Emperor Wanli saw two medical clinics at the alley entrance, with plaques hanging above them.

One was called "Renmin First Medical Hall", and the other was called "Wanmin First Medical Hall".

The former had a long line of people waiting outside, all seeking medical help; the latter had its doors wide open, but was deserted, with only a few people coming and going.

The Wanli Emperor was somewhat surprised: "This is your control group?"

“Exactly,” Zhang Yunxiu explained, shaking his head. “This Renmin Medical Clinic uses modern treatments. Patients admitted to the clinic are isolated and treated according to their mild, moderate, or severe symptoms. Allicin is used as the main treatment drug. Patients wear masks and are separated into different courtyards for protection and isolation.”

He pointed to another clinic.

"This Wanmin Medical Clinic, like most medical clinics in the capital, uses the traditional method of decocting medicine."

"Compare the two?" Emperor Wanli was not stupid and immediately figured out the intention behind it.

“Exactly,” Zhang Yunxiu said confidently. “Only by comparing them can we see the difference. They all invested the same amount of money, and the doctors they hired were also very similar.”

Over the past few days, the cure rate among the patients treated at Wanmin Medical Clinic with traditional medicine has been less than one in ten.

However, the cure rate for those treated at Yu Renmin Medical Clinic was a remarkable 60%!

In reality, the situation was not as easy as he made it out to be.

At first, the people of Xianyifang did not believe in any so-called "isolation treatment," let alone the idea of ​​using foul-smelling garlic sauce to cure diseases; it was simply unheard of.

Some people even believed that Zhang Yunxiu was a demon reincarnated, and that he opened this clinic to practice "witchcraft" and specifically capture ordinary people to be used as materials for making medicine.

This is why Renmin Medical Clinic, which adopted "modern medicine," initially had very few customers.

However, Renmin Medical Clinic was cheaper, so many poor people still frequented it.

However, over time, some people were surprised to find that those who received treatment at Renmin Medical Clinic not only did not disappear, but were able to recover quickly.

Compared to so-called demonic possession and witchcraft, survival is the most important thing!
If you're already dead, what's there to fear from demons?
The people may be ignorant, but they are not stupid. They voted with their feet. At first, there were only a few people trying it out, but more and more followed. In the end, Renmin Medical Hall became the first choice for the people of Xianyifang!
Just as the two were talking, Zhang Cheng, who had been ordered to investigate two medical clinics, hurriedly returned.

He covered his mouth and nose, looking extremely disheveled, his face as if he had eaten a bitter melon.

When he returned, his eyes were filled with resentment as he looked at Zhang Yunxiu.

Emperor Wanli was eager to understand the people's thoughts, but as an emperor of noble birth, he could not easily take risks, so naturally, he had to do it on behalf of the people.

There were only two protective face shields in the workshop, how could it be his personal eunuch?

The imperial decree was difficult to disobey, yet he was forbidden from inquiring about the illnesses among the patients in the clinic.

Seeing the other person rushing over, less than ten meters away, Zhang Yunxiu quickly reminded him.

"Eunuch Zhang, you can just stand over there and talk."

Emperor Wanli reacted instantly and quickly instructed Zhang Cheng, "Zhang Banban, you stand there and talk, so as not to spread germs."

They even took two steps back, as if avoiding a plague.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Cheng's facial muscles twitched slightly; he dared not show the slightest disobedience.

The emperor is of inestimable worth; if he were to contract the plague, even ten Zhang Chengs would not be enough to atone for his sins.

He glared fiercely at Zhang Yunxiu, making a grudge, before reporting it to the emperor.

"Your Majesty, I have gone to two medical clinics to inquire about the people's conditions."

(End of this chapter)