Duke of Zhenguan

The court assembly ended abruptly due to Li Shimin's fury.

After the officials dispersed, Li Shimin summoned the high-ranking officials of the Three Departments and Six Ministries, as well as a group of officials from the Imperial Medical Bureau, to a side hall.

Li Shimin sat behind his desk with a gloomy face. The memorial submitted by Physician Liu passed through the hands of the court officials and finally came to the hands of Zhang Shulin, the chief physician.

After reading Physician Liu's memorial, Zhang Shulin was trembling all over.

Zhang Shulin wasn't the only one shocked out of control by the contents of the memorial; there were about thirty people in the side hall, and at least a third of them were pale.

These dozen or so families have all experienced difficult childbirth for some time. Some are lucky enough to save their babies, while others often lose all of them.

And these marriages of the younger generation were all arranged by them personally.

Some things are often just a matter of perspective. No one had thought of this before. After being reminded by Lin Chuan, Physician Liu spent the whole night searching in the Imperial Medical Bureau, finding all the records of difficult childbirth and making a list.

The moment they saw this table, everyone in the side hall could intuitively grasp what it could represent:

Making a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl give birth is tantamount to sending her to the brink of death.

Li Shimin was furious. Last year, one of Li Yuan's concubines died in childbirth, and the child could not be saved.

Just last February, one of his concubines died in childbirth, and the child also perished.

Even Empress Zhangsun almost didn't make it through giving birth to Li Chengqian.

He knew the numbers on the memorial were real when he saw it, and his decision to have Zhang Anan investigate was merely a subconscious reaction in his rage.

Looking at the assembled ministers in the side hall, Li Shimin sighed and said in a deep voice:

"Gentlemen, this matter is not your fault!"

Every new dynasty is built from ruins. Before the establishment of a new dynasty, a large number of people died in wars and disasters, so encouraging childbirth is something that every newly established dynasty does.

At the beginning of the Tang Dynasty, childbirth was encouraged, and special laws were even introduced to stipulate that men and women must get married before a certain age, otherwise the government would force them to marry.

Looking at it now, such laws are not encouraging childbirth and increasing the population at all; they are clearly artificially reducing the population.

In the side hall, Pei Ji and Feng Deyi were among the participants in this law.

So, as soon as Li Shimin finished speaking, Pei Ji and Feng Deyi knelt down before him and said in a mournful voice:

"I'll be punished by death!"

"Lord Pei, Lord Feng, please rise quickly! If it weren't for Physician Liu's memorial, I would have almost made a grave mistake!"

Li Shimin reached out and helped the two up, then said to Physician Liu:

"Physician Liu, you did a very good job!"

"Your Majesty, this matter was reminded to me by Assistant Minister Lin when I was treating the Duke of Yi's injuries today! I dare not take credit for it!" Physician Liu said, bowing.

"Master Lin?"

Li Shimin paused for a moment, then instructed the eunuch standing at the door:

"Go to the Ministry of Works and summon Lin Chuan!"

Half an hour later, Lin Chuan followed the eunuch to the side hall of Xiande Hall and bowed to Li Shimin:

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

"Lin Yuanwailang, this is Physician Liu's memorial to the throne. Take a look!" Li Shimin handed the memorial to Lin Chuan.

Lin Chuan took the memorial and flipped through it. His face was also a little ugly. The data on the memorial was more serious than he had imagined. He originally thought that the probability of a difficult birth was at most one or two percent, or even lower, but he did not expect it to be as high as one in ten.

This data comes from the Imperial Medical Bureau. It should be noted that most of this data comes from the royal family, the imperial clan, and powerful families. They have better living conditions, midwives, and doctors.

What about ordinary people?

"Lin Chuan, Physician Liu said that you reminded him of this matter. Tell me what happened?" Li Shimin asked in a deep voice.

Lin Chuan then repeated what he had said to Physician Liu.

With data retrieved from the Imperial Medical Bureau's files by Physician Liu as evidence, Lin Chuan's words were extremely convincing.

But Li Shimin still wanted to wait for Zhang Anan to investigate before making a decision. After Lin Chuan finished speaking, he said with a stern face:

"This matter requires careful consideration; let's discuss it another day! Let's disperse!"

The ministers left the side hall with heavy hearts. Lin Chuan had only taken a few steps when he was called back by the eunuch.

Upon seeing Cheng Yaojin in the side hall, Lin Chuan had a guess in his mind and bowed to Li Shimin:

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin waved his hand:

"No need for formalities. General Cheng said you've produced a highly potent fire oil; let's take a look!"

"yes!"

When Cheng Yaojin entered in the morning, he handed the items to the eunuch. Li Shimin led the two to an open corner outside the side hall, pointed to a pile of bricks in the corner, and gestured to the eunuch behind him carrying two jars:

"Let's try burning those bricks!"

"Here you go!"

The eunuch trotted over, poured all the dark brown liquid from the two jars onto the bricks, picked up a torch, carefully lit it, and flames shot into the air.

"Your Majesty, why don't you have someone water it?" Cheng Yaojin whispered a suggestion.

Li Shimin nodded and instructed the eunuch:

"Try watering it!"

The eunuch brought over a basin of water and splashed it onto the flames. After the fire emitted puffs of steam, it showed no signs of weakening.

"Splash it again!"

Li Shimin's gaze sharpened, and he gave the order.

The eunuch splashed it again, but the flames still showed no signs of abating.

Li Shimin, a seasoned warrior, immediately recognized this as a powerful weapon used for siege or defense. He frowned and asked:

"This oil doesn't seem to be tung oil, nor does it seem to be soybean oil. What kind of oil is it, and why is it so potent? Is it impossible to extinguish this fire?"

"Your Majesty, this is refined from lacquer, with some sugar and sulfur added! To extinguish this fire, water won't work; we need sand!" Lin Chuan replied.

"Petrified lacquer?" Li Shimin looked doubtful, though he had naturally seen petrified lacquer before.

"Your Majesty, I personally witnessed the craftsmen in my household using stone lacquer to distill it, just like distilling wine!" Cheng Yaojin said, bowing respectfully.

Li Shimin, who had just been feeling down, burst into laughter and patted Lin Chuan on the shoulder:

"You actually managed to turn trash into treasure, Lin Chuan, you're amazing! Really amazing!"

"Thank you for your praise, Your Majesty!" Lin Chuan tactfully cupped his hands in greeting.

"Your Majesty, this thing can be a powerful weapon if used properly. If Lin Chuan were in the army, he would surely deserve the greatest merit and be rewarded, right?" Cheng Yaojin bowed to Li Shimin with a fawning expression.

"Haha, you murderous bastard, are you afraid I won't reward you for your service?"

"Alright, I heard that you and your family are still living in a small alley. There happens to be a house vacant in Tonghua Ward, so I'll grant it to you. Zhijie, take Lin Chuan to the Secretariat to ask Xuanling for an imperial edict later!" Li Shimin laughed heartily.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Your Majesty!"

Unable to refuse the emperor's gift, Lin Chuan quickly bowed and thanked him.

After leaving the palace, Cheng Yaojin led Lin Chuan to the Secretariat and found Fang Xuanling, the Grand Secretary. From drafting the edict to Li Shimin's approval, and finally obtaining the edict stamped with the official seal of the Ministry of Personnel, it only took less than two hours.

As evening fell, officials from the Ministry of Agriculture brought Cheng Yaojin and Lin Chuan to Tonghua Ward, where they found the new residence bestowed upon them by Li Shimin.