Qin Dynasty: Who offended my frail and sickly minister?

Li Si paused, turned around, and his gaze swept suspiciously over Zhou Wenqing's face:

"Brother Zicheng, what do you mean by this? What could possibly be wrong with the academy?"

His brows furrowed slightly, as if he were deep in thought.

"Could it be...?"

Li Si remembered the manuscripts that Xia Wuqie had carefully taken away, and suddenly slammed his hand down:

"I understand! Brother Zicheng wants to allow physicians to also enter academies to lecture and debate, thereby passing on their medical skills, right?"

He was stunned as soon as he said those words.

Li Si started pacing back and forth in his study, hands behind his back, sometimes looking up at the beams, sometimes looking down at his toes, his brows furrowed so deeply they could trap a fly.

"This...this is really difficult! This...this..."

He muttered to himself as he walked, speaking rapidly, like beans being poured out:

"Even the Jixia Academy in Qi, which accommodates debates from all schools of thought, truly has no reason to allow physicians to sit and discuss doctrines. This... this is truly a matter of medicine; it's a skill, not a philosophy!"

"If we were to admit these physicians into the academy and spread their knowledge to scholars throughout the land, our Qin academy would be inferior to Jixia Academy before it even stands up. What would we do then?"

Zhou Wenqing held his teacup, listening to his rambling, feeling somewhat conflicted.

If this were said in later generations, it would probably baffle many people. How could having more knowledge lower the school's prestige?

But at this moment, that's the truth.

The Way is the Way, and the Technique is the Technique. Governing the country and bringing peace to the world is the Way, while practicing medicine and helping the world is the Technique.

The reason why the Jixia Academy was so sought after by scholars was that it was a place where they could freely discuss the way of governing the world.

How to govern with benevolence, how to follow the example of the former kings, how to determine yin and yang, and how to distinguish between name and reality—these are the "Dao," major issues concerning the rise and fall of the world and the governance and chaos of the monarch.

To have a debate there is an honor, an opportunity to make a name for oneself. If one wins the debate, one might even be favored by the king and rise to the top in one step, receiving a promotion and a noble title.

And what about the physicians at this time?

In the eyes of the world, it is a magic trick, a skill. No matter how respected a doctor is, it is still just a way to make a living.

Those who discuss the Way are scholars.

Those who learn a skill are craftsmen.

The difference between a scholar and a craftsman is immediately apparent.

Li Si sighed, walked back, leaned back in his chair, and rubbed his temples. "Brother Zicheng, your idea is good, and the medical classics are good, but putting them into an academy... is difficult. I'm afraid we need to plan this carefully."

Zhou Wenqing calmly picked up the teapot, refilled the cup of tea in front of Li Si, and pushed it towards him.

"Brother Gu'an, don't rush, have some tea."

Li Si had no interest in drinking tea, but seeing Zhou Wenqing's calm and composed demeanor, he still picked up the teacup, took a sip, and looked at him expectantly.

Zhou Wenqing smiled slightly:

"Brother Gu'an, you're being a bit too hasty. When did I ever say that the difference between these academies lies in their medical specialties?"

Li Si's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.

Wrong again?!

He slammed the teacup down on the table, his face filled with a resentful expression that said, "I'm not playing anymore."

"Brother Zicheng! You're caught in this dilemma, neither here nor there, it's driving me crazy! Just give me a straight answer!"

Zhou Wenqing put down his teacup and lightly tapped his finger on the stack of manuscript papers:

"So it's my fault now? These manuscripts have been sitting here for so long, it's clearly Brother Gu'an who's been making wild guesses, he hasn't given me a chance to speak at all."

Li Si was speechless, opening his mouth but unable to find a word to refute it.

After a long pause, he slapped his thigh and resignedly moved forward:

"Alright, alright, I was wrong! Let me see, what earth-shattering masterpiece does Brother Zicheng have this time?"

Zhou Wenqing didn't keep him in suspense and pushed the stack of manuscript papers over.

Li Si took it and looked down at it.

The first one is an oiled paper umbrella. The method of making the umbrella involves refining tung oil, selecting the materials for the umbrella frame, and combining pictures and text. It can withstand three days of rain without getting wet, and you can also write poems on it. It can provide shade on sunny days and shelter from the rain on rainy days, suitable for both sunny and rainy days, and combining elegance with style...

Li Si raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and continued reading.

The second item is a folding fan, its frame made of elegant bamboo, its surface covered with paper. It makes a "whoosh" sound when it opens and closes. It can be painted or inscribed with poems, and is adorned with jade-decorated silk ribbons. When closed, it fits easily in one hand; when opened, a gentle breeze blows. When held by a refined scholar, it exudes an air of elegance and nobility...

Li Si's brow twitched, and he continued flipping through the pages.

The third item is an ink stick, made from lampblack ink and pine soot ink. The ingredients are mixed in the correct proportions, then glued, pounded, and molded. The resulting ink is as hard as stone, as black as lacquer, and has a texture like rhinoceros horn. It grinds silently and applies to paper like jade. The ink has distinct layers and will not fade for a hundred years. One such ink stick can be passed down to one's descendants...

Further down, you'll find all sorts of novel creations: kites, fruit wine, soap, candles, maltose...

Li Si became increasingly alarmed and confused as he read on, especially when he saw the last two items—alcohol.

Distillation initially yields "wine," which is then purified by further distillation to obtain "alcohol," which is flammable upon contact with fire and burns without smoke or odor.

What attracted Li Si's attention the most was the following passage.

Its most important use is in saving lives and treating the wounded. Wounds and ulcers are often caused by uncleanliness. Washing with alcohol can kill the putrefaction and greatly reduce the risk of ulceration. Before suturing knife and arrow wounds, wiping them with alcohol will speed up the healing process. Doctors' hands and needles and thread can be soaked in alcohol to disinfect them. The military always keeps this item on hand, and the survival rate of wounded soldiers can increase by 30%.

When Li Si saw this, his heart pounded hard.

My mind went blank with a buzzing sound, followed by a complete blank—as if something had been pulled out of my body, leaving only an empty shell stuck in the chair.

"The survival rate of wounded soldiers can increase by 30%."

Those nine words were branded into his eyes, one by one, burning his eyes until they ached and swelled.

"Hey! Brother Gu'an! Calm down! Calm down!"

Zhou Wenqing quickly leaned over and waved his hand vigorously in front of Li Si's eyes. Seeing that Li Si didn't react, he slapped him on the back.

"Didn't you say you could handle it?! Snap out of it! Snap out of it!"

One by one, they all went to his study and pulled him out, which was quite a show!

Li Si was jolted forward by the slap, his eyes darting around before he finally regained his senses.

He turned his head slowly, looking at Zhou Wenqing, and forced out a sentence from his throat, his voice dry and hoarse:

"Brother Zicheng... what exactly are you... trying to do?"

The scope was too broad; he couldn't figure it out at all!

"It really is for building a university, I told you!"

Zhou Wenqing touched his nose, feeling unusually guilty. He had indeed pulled out quite a lot of things this time, and the impact was probably a little bit huge.

Seeing that Li Si was still stunned, he dared not keep him in suspense any longer and quickly asked, "Brother Gu'an, in your opinion, if I were to sell these first few items I wrote, would anyone be willing to pay a high price, or even an astronomical price?"

"More than willing!" Li Si snapped out of his daze, his voice rising eight octaves. "They're practically craving it! They're going to fight over it like crazy!"

"These things, whether they flaunt integrity or offer practicality, all strike at the heart of the aristocracy and the wealthy. I guarantee they'll sell just as well as fine paper and salt!"