Brother, stop curling up! You're curling up like the founder of the Han Dynasty!

Chapter 219 Liu Bei agrees to a hunting expedition, Liu Bei sets up a medical school (Seeking monthly votes and updates)
The seventh day of the twelfth month in the second year of the Chuping era.

Liu Bei returned to Luoyang with his mother and Gongsun Zan's wife and children, and submitted a memorial posthumously conferring upon Gongsun Zan the titles of General Who Conquers the North and Marquis Within the Passes.

The imperial court then reviewed Liu Bei's merits in suppressing the bandits, and Liu Bei presented a memorial on the merits of his generals, distributing the credits to them.

Liu Bei is now a Grand General, Minister of the Imperial Secretariat, Imperial Uncle, and Marquis of Guanzhong. No matter how many more merits he has made, he cannot be further ennobled. Therefore, he distributes his merits among his generals.

However, although Liu Xie granted the request, he felt quite uneasy.

Back in his palace, Liu Xie confided his worries to Empress Dowager Fu Shou: "Your Majesty has rendered great service, and there is no one left to bestow titles upon you. If you were to destroy Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu as well, what would I do then?"

If Liu Bei did not have the surname Liu, Liu Xie could still marry Princess Wannian to Liu Bei as a sign of imperial favor.

However, Liu Bei's surname was Liu, his title of Grand General represented the pinnacle of martial prowess, his title of Minister of the Imperial Secretariat represented the highest level of civil service, and he also held the status of Imperial Uncle, making it impossible for Emperor Xie to bestow favors upon him even if he wanted to.

Seeing that Liu Xie was upset, Fu Shou got up and massaged Liu Xie's shoulders, whispering, "Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are powerful and cannot be destroyed in a short time. If Your Majesty does not want your uncle to continue to make meritorious contributions, you can lead the expedition in person in the future."

"The emperor himself will lead the expedition?" Liu Xie was taken aback and said, "There are many trusted advisors in the court. Even if I had such an intention, how could the ministers agree?"

Fu Shou continued, "The ministers disagree because they believe Your Majesty has not displayed the courage of an emperor. But if Your Majesty had displayed the courage of an emperor, would the ministers all have listened to your imperial uncle? Your Majesty should go hunting to observe the situation."

Liu Xie hesitated for a moment: "Empress, hunting is probably not the proper way. Besides, I am only eleven years old, and I have only learned the basics of riding and archery. How can I use hunting to show off my martial prowess?"

Fu Shou laughed and said, “If Your Majesty wishes to hunt, someone will bring the prey to Your Majesty. Why worry about your lack of skill in riding and archery? Ancient emperors would search for crops in spring, hunt in summer, hunt in autumn, and hunt in winter: they would go out to the suburbs in all four seasons to demonstrate their military prowess to the world. Now that the world is in turmoil, it is the perfect time to use hunting to practice military skills. How can Your Majesty hesitate?”

Liu Xie rose and paced back and forth, carefully weighing Fu Shou's proposal.

a long time.

Liu Xie asked, "If I propose a hunting trip but the Grand General forbids it, what should I do?"

Fu Shou laughed again: "The Grand General is loyal to the country, how could he disagree? Your Majesty only needs to raise the matter during court tomorrow, and the Grand General will surely grant it."

After carefully considering the matter, Liu Xie's eyes also showed determination: "If it is as the Empress predicted, I will definitely show my imperial courage in the hunt, and in the future, when I want to personally lead an expedition, I will be able to get the consent of my ministers."

After accompanying Liu Xie to rest, Fu Shou got up and went to a secluded spot, instructing her maid, "Go quickly to find the General of the State. His Majesty will propose a hunt in the main hall tomorrow."

Fu Wan, the Assistant General, married Liu Hua, the eldest daughter of Emperor Huan of Han, Liu Zhi. Fu Shou was not only the Empress but also the daughter of a princess.

What Fu Shou said today was not what Fu Shou thought, but rather what Fu Wan and Liu Hua secretly instructed him to do.

The reason for this was that Liu Bei's new policies were also a form of extortion and plunder of the imperial relatives, which greatly displeased Fu Wan and Liu Hua.

Therefore, after learning from Fu Shou that Liu Xie often worried about Liu Bei in private, he specifically instructed Fu Shou to find an opportunity to let Liu Xie go hunting to show his imperial courage.

According to Fu Wan Liu Hua's understanding, although Liu Xie was young, he would eventually have to rule in his own right. As an emperor, one must have the courage of an emperor to deter disobedient subjects.

Upon receiving Fu Shou's message, both Fu Wan and Liu Hua were overjoyed.

Liu Hua said excitedly, "Tomorrow at court, General, you must do your utmost to support His Majesty's hunt. Do not let His Majesty miss this opportunity. You must seize the important task of arranging the hunt. Only in this way can we give His Majesty the chance to display his imperial prowess!"

Liu Xie was not skilled in riding and archery. If we wanted Liu Xie to show his imperial prowess, we had to resort to deception. The only person who could do this was Fu Wan, so that the secret could be kept.

Fu Wan also said, "Don't worry, Madam. As long as His Majesty proposes it tomorrow, I will definitely be able to take on this important task. The Imperial Uncle's prestige is too high. Even Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are no match for the Imperial Uncle. The Imperial Uncle is only thirty years old now. If the Imperial Uncle were to destroy Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, I'm afraid that the Imperial Uncle would be the one to make decisions in the court for the next thirty years. His Majesty, the Son of Heaven, would not be able to make decisions on any matter, and we would not be able to benefit from it either."

Liu Hua's tone turned displeased: "I am, after all, Princess Yang'an. Even employing a servant requires signing an employment agreement. I cannot beat or scold him at will, nor can I delay his wages. If I beat him to death, I will be punished. This is simply outrageous!"

Imperial relatives and nobles enjoyed the most privileges.

As a result, Liu Bei simply eliminated all privileges without discrimination.

Whether you are a member of the imperial family or a high-ranking official, as long as you live in the Han Dynasty, you must abide by the requirements of the new policies.

If a princess who is used to being domineering can no longer even scold or beat her servants, is she still a princess?
In other words, in the past, when Liu Hua beat and scolded the people in the mansion, they had to endure it because they were slaves and had no choice but to accept it, as their lives were not in their own hands. But now, if the people in the mansion don't want to stay anymore, they can directly ask to leave on the grounds that they can't stand the beatings and scoldings, and Liu Hua cannot stop them.

After a while, Liu Hua naturally couldn't stand it anymore.

The same applies to Fu Wan.

Having been waited on hand and foot, it's hard to adapt when there are no servants in the house.

After discussing with Liu Hua, Fu Wan went out of the mansion to find Liu Ai, the Junior Steward, and Zhong Ji, the Grand Herald, to discuss important matters together.

After Liu Ai participated in supporting Liu Xie's ascension to the throne, he rose through the ranks from Attendant-in-Ordinary to Junior Attendant, where he was responsible for managing Liu Xie's private finances and daily life.

Zhong Ji rose through the ranks from Attendant-in-Ordinary to Grand Herald, in charge of diplomatic etiquette.

They were all high-ranking officials among the Nine Ministers.

Those who participated in supporting Liu Xie in the past include Liu Bei, who was a Grand General and Minister of the Imperial Secretariat; Gai Xun, who was the Governor of Xu Province; Cao Cao, who was the Governor of Yan Province; Zhou Bi and Liu Dai, who were already dead; Liu Biao, who had surrendered to Yuan Shu; and Wu Qiong and Xu Jing, who are currently Ministers.

Fu Wan was not close to Wu Qiong and Xu Jing, but he had a very close personal relationship with Liu Ai, the Junior Chamberlain, and Zhong Ji, the Grand Herald. In addition, neither of them participated in the rebellion led by Wang Yun in the past, so they were not easy to arouse suspicion.

Upon hearing Fu Wan's plan, Liu Ai and Zhong Ji immediately agreed to the request.

Although neither of them would be foolish enough to respond to Wang Yun's rebellion, their past cooperation with Liu Bei in supporting Liu Xie was merely for mutual benefit, and given the opportunity, they would like to take it a step further.

Moreover, there would be no danger in responding to Liu Xie's hunting expedition.

Inside the General's Mansion.

Liu Bei and the newly appointed Imperial Physician Hua Tuo sat around a fire and chatted.

Hua Tuo's medical skills are indeed amazing.

He simply went to Xiapi to treat Gai Xun and cured Gai Xun's carbuncle.

Gai Xun recovered from his illness, so the matter of replacing the governor of Xuzhou had to be dropped. In order to appease Sun Jian, Liu Bei again praised Sun Jian for his merit in defeating Zang Hong and appointed him as General Who Guards the South, while still serving as the Prefect of Guangling.

Liu Bei appointed Hua Tuo as the Imperial Physician Director in order to restructure the internal management of the Imperial Physician Directorate.

Currently, the Imperial Physician's office has two main divisions of labor: the Imperial Physicians responsible for diagnosing diseases and the Pharmacy in charge of drug prescriptions.

The imperial physicians were not only responsible for diagnosing the illnesses of officials in Luoyang, but also for managing medical affairs in local counties and prefectures.

Each prefecture and county had a chief physician who was responsible to the imperial physician; in the pharmacy, the chief physician was in charge of medical affairs, and the pharmacy storehouse stored medicines. In addition to the assistant physician and the assistant physician, the imperial physician also had an imperial physician supervisor, and below them were assistant physicians and clerks, with 293 assistant physicians and 19 clerks.

Judging by the configuration alone, it can be described as having a wealth of talent.

However, the corruption of officials also led to a mixed bag of quality within the Imperial Physicians' Office, with many unqualified individuals filling the position.

In addition, Liu Bei intended to establish medical education and engage in medical teaching practice.

During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, with the changes in society, politics, economy, and culture, the medical field broke away from the father-to-son system of royal officials and established a system of apprenticeship.

However, the traditional apprenticeship system could no longer satisfy Liu Bei's expectations for the field of medicine.

Now that Liu Bei controls Yongzhou, Sili, Yanzhou, Xuzhou, and Yuzhou, he still can't find ten skilled doctors.

Previously, when I chatted with Hua Tuo in Qiao County, I learned from Hua Tuo about twenty highly skilled doctors, but these people were all folk doctors.

In other words, the corruption of officials at the end of the Han Dynasty had far-reaching and pervasive effects.

Hua Tuo was initially unwilling to accept Liu Bei's offer of service, partly due to his distrust of the imperial court. It was only after he truly understood Liu Bei's character that he agreed to serve as the Imperial Physician.

By inviting Hua Tuo to his residence, Liu Bei also intended to change this bad practice and rebuild the medical system.

Although Liu Bei reduced the deaths caused by war through various means, there were still many deaths caused by non-war factors, and he could not completely eliminate the occurrence of plague.

During the late Han Dynasty, tens of millions of people died from the plague.

Liu Bei also had to prepare a response in advance.

Therefore, after eliminating Yuan Shao's forces south of the Yellow River, Liu Bei focused his attention on improving people's livelihoods.

We not only have to deal with droughts and floods, but also with plagues.

Among the knowledge Liu Bei possessed, the earliest person to propose establishing medical education and engaging in medical teaching practice can be traced back to the 20th year of the Yuanjia era of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. During the Liu Song Dynasty, Qin Chengzhu, the Imperial Physician, was upright, decisive, and skilled in prescriptions. In the 20th year of Yuanjia, he proposed to establish a medical institution to broaden its teaching. At the same time, he also set up medical officials such as Imperial Physician Doctor and Imperial Physician Assistant Instructor.

From the Northern Wei Dynasty to the early Sui Dynasty, it developed into a fairly complete system after the Tang Dynasty.

By the early Tang Dynasty, a relatively complete medical school had been formed based on the development of the "Imperial Medical Bureau" in the Sui Dynasty.

The Imperial Medical Bureau, established in the seventh year of the Wude era, consisted of four parts: administration, teaching, medical treatment, and pharmacy. It had two directors, all of the seventh rank; two assistant directors; four medical supervisors, all of the eighth rank; and eight medical examiners, all of the ninth rank.

The Imperial Medical Bureau was further divided into two departments: Medicine and Pharmacy. Under the Department of Medicine, there were four sub-departments: Medical Science, Acupuncture, Massage, and Incantation.

The medical department alone has twenty physicians, one hundred medical engineers, forty doctors, and two pharmacists; the acupuncture department has one acupuncture doctor, one teaching assistant, ten acupuncturists, twenty acupuncture engineers, and twenty acupuncture students; the massage department has one massage doctor, four massage therapists, sixteen massage engineers, and fifteen massage students; and the incantation department has one incantation doctor, two incantation masters, eight incantation engineers, and ten incantation students.

The Department of Pharmacy was further divided into two prefects, four scribes, eight chief pharmacists, twenty-four apprentice pharmacists, two garden pharmacists, and eight garden pharmacists.

Later medical education was largely built according to the Tang Dynasty's "Imperial Medical Bureau" model, which popularized medical education among the general public and enabled Tang Dynasty's medical technology to reach the pinnacle of the world.

When we talk about the prosperous Tang Dynasty, it was prosperous in every aspect.

Although Liu Bei dared not claim that he could bring the Han Dynasty to its peak, he did want to set a precedent to benefit future generations.

Hua Tuo was the person Liu Bei chose to reorganize the Imperial Medical Bureau.

Liu Bei needed to utilize Hua Tuo's superb medical skills to establish a medical school and cultivate more professional talents.

If Jingzhou weren't currently under Yuan Shu's control, and Liu Bei hadn't been unable to find Zhang Ji, he would have invited Zhang Ji to Luoyang as well.

After carefully explaining his plans for the Imperial Medical Academy, Liu Bei earnestly said, "I can assure you that I will do my utmost to prepare the necessary funds, supplies, manpower, and resources for the establishment of the Imperial Medical Academy."

"I don't need you to report the progress to me, because I believe this is a great undertaking that will make everyone in the Imperial Medical Bureau famous for eternity. I, an outsider, only need to prepare everything you need."

To be fair.

Hua Tuo's willingness to come to Luoyang as the Imperial Physician showed that he believed Liu Bei was indeed a great general who cared for the country and its people, completely different from those mediocre and corrupt officials who only knew how to fight for power and profit and ignored the suffering of the people.

For this reason, Hua Tuo also brought his three most capable disciples, Fan A, Wu Pu, and Li Dangzhi.

To Hua Tuo's surprise, he had only been the Imperial Physician for a few days and hadn't even fully familiarized himself with the internal procedures when Liu Bei threw a huge burden at him.

This disrupted all of Hua Tuo's plans when he first arrived in Luoyang.

But the mountain that Liu Bei threw at Hua Tuo stirred his heart.

There have always been great Confucian scholars whose students are all over the world, but never great physicians whose students are all over the world.
Among the three religions and nine schools of thought, medicine is only among the middle nine, and its status is even lower than that of commerce.

Even doctors who entered the imperial court's official system were often looked down upon.

In addition, medicine is a skill that requires exceptional talent and has a low return on investment, unlike Confucianism, which can cultivate a large number of disciples with just a few books and a few words.

Even a physician as skilled as Hua Tuo only had three disciples over several decades.

It wasn't that Hua Tuo didn't want to take on more disciples; firstly, he couldn't find too many outstanding students, and secondly, he couldn't afford the expense of training them.

However, if Liu Bei rebuilt the Imperial Medical Academy, all the money, food, manpower and material resources would be provided by the court. Hua Tuo would only need to find suitable people to study medicine and teach and practice, which would increase efficiency by more than a hundred times.

Thinking of this, Hua Tuo was even more excited. He stood up and bowed to Liu Bei, saying, "Your humble servant Hua Tuo will certainly not fail the trust placed in you by the Imperial Uncle!"

Liu Bei then summoned Zhuge Liang and said to Hua Tuo, "This is my student Zhuge Liang. He has a photographic memory and is well-versed in various miscellaneous subjects. He can assist the Imperial Physician in handling specific matters."

Having Zhuge Liang assist Hua Tuo in setting up the Imperial Medical Bureau was both a training opportunity for Zhuge Liang and a chance for him to learn some medical principles from Hua Tuo.

If Zhuge Liang had any hidden ailments, Hua Tuo could also provide timely diagnosis and treatment.

As Liu Bei's most promising disciple, Liu Bei did not want Zhuge Liang to die young.

Although Zhuge Liang's early death was related to his decision-making on everything, big or small, sometimes one has no choice but to make decisions in adverse circumstances. Since one cannot change the environment, one should adapt to it.

Making Zhuge Liang even stronger than ordinary military generals naturally gave him more energy to handle more complex and mentally demanding military and political affairs.

After finalizing the plan to restructure the Imperial Medical Bureau, Liu Bei sent a memorial to the Secretariat, intending to finalize the matter during the court session the following day.

(End of this chapter)