Da Ming: The system granted me immortality; I clock in every day.

Summer of the thirteenth year of the Yongle reign.

Although the summer in the north is not as hot and humid as that in the south.

But the scorching sun still baked the bluestone pavement of Shuntian Prefecture until it was burning hot.

The main halls of the Forbidden City are already taking shape, with their huge glazed tiles reflecting a dazzling golden light under the sun.

Inside the Wenhua Hall, a cool breeze emanated from the ice mirror.

Crown Prince Zhu Gaochi sat at the head of the table, listening to a burly old general with a full beard report on military affairs.

This veteran general was none other than the top military officer of the Ming Dynasty who had just returned from suppressing the rebellion in Jiaozhi.

Zhang Fu, the Duke of England.

Zhang Fu spent his life conquering Jiaozhi, striking fear into the hearts of the southern barbarians.

It was the sharpest sword in Zhu Di's hands.

However, at this moment, the face of this veteran general was filled with undisguised sorrow and anger.

"Your Highness, my return to the capital is not to claim credit for myself, but to plead for the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers in the southern borderlands!"

Zhang Fu's voice was as loud as a bell, causing the bronze crane incense burner in the hall to hum.

"The rebels in Jiaozhi are not a concern; I can easily annihilate them with my troops. However, the climate in the southern border is hot and humid, and the deep mountains and forests are filled with miasma. Most of my Ming soldiers are northern men, unaccustomed to the climate and environment."

"In the past two months, a terrible disease has broken out in the army. Soldiers are suffering from alternating chills and fever, and vomiting incessantly. More than a thousand people have died or been wounded! The few quack doctors sent by the Imperial Medical Academy have prescribed only mild and ineffective remedies."

"If this continues, our army will suffer more than half its losses before even engaging in battle!"

Zhu Gaochi frowned as he listened, his chubby fingers pinching his brow hard.

The war in Jiaozhi is my father's bottom line; we absolutely cannot withdraw our troops.

When the generals fell ill, the Imperial Medical Academy was helpless, and even the Crown Prince, who was in charge of the country, was powerless to help.

"Duke of England, please calm down. I have already issued a royal edict to search among the people for miraculous doctors and famous medicines that can cure this malaria."

Zhu Gaochi sighed.

Zhang Fu snorted coldly, clearly dissatisfied with this method that was too far-fetched to solve the immediate problem.

But when facing the Crown Prince, he could only suppress his anger and sit aside, sulking.

At this moment, Gu Yannian was holding a stack of accounts from the Ministry of War regarding the loss of weapons in the southern border region.

We walked from the side hall into the main hall, preparing to file it into storage.

His steps were extremely light, as if they had no weight.

As they passed by Zhang Fu, the intense stench of blood emanating from him and the murderous aura accumulated from years of battle made even ordinary eunuchs' legs go weak.

However, Gu Yannian's physique and spirit, which were as high as a thousand points, made him completely immune to this aura, and he remained calm.

He had intended to leave the ledgers behind and not meddle in other people's business.

But when he heard Zhang Fu describe the symptoms of "alternating hot and cold," a corresponding term immediately popped into his vast memory bank.

malaria.

In this era, malaria was called "shivering sickness".

It is very easy to break out in the hot and humid southern regions.

Common herbs are difficult to eradicate.

But as a time traveler with modern knowledge, Gu Yannian naturally knew what the effective medicine for treating malaria was.

Artemisia annua.

To be precise, it is artemisia that has been soaked in cold water and juiced.

It was clearly recorded in Ge Hong's "Elbow-Side Emergency Prescriptions" from the Eastern Jin Dynasty.

However, many traditional Chinese medicine practitioners in later generations have become accustomed to boiling the herbs over high heat, which has destroyed the effective components in Artemisia annua and greatly reduced its efficacy.

Gu Yannian stopped in his tracks.

He looked at the Duke of England who had devoted himself to the Ming Dynasty, and then thought of the thousands of low-ranking soldiers who might have died unjustly in foreign lands because of malaria.

A rare feeling of compassion welled up in my heart.

"Fine, let's just consider it acting on behalf of Heaven and accumulating some good karma."

Gu Yannian silently said something to himself.

He walked to the desk beside him, put down the account book in his hand, and picked up a brush from the brush washer and dipped it in ink.

Zhang Fu was already feeling very agitated when he caught a glimpse of a minor official in a green robe writing something nearby. He immediately became furious.

"Your Highness, the military situation is urgent. This lowly clerk who only knows how to copy and write should be dismissed to avoid him overhearing military secrets."

Zhu Gaochi glanced at Gu Yannian and waved his hand.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. This is Gu, the registrar of the Wenhua Hall. He's a very reliable person and keeps his mouth shut. He's just organizing the accounts; he won't get in the way."

Zhang Fu pursed his lips and said no more.

A moment later, Gu Yannian picked up the sheet of Xuan paper that had just been written on and gently blew the ink dry.

He did not hand it directly to Zhang Fu, but instead walked respectfully to Zhu Gaochi and presented it with both hands.

"Your Highness, while I was sorting through the old files of the Ministry of War, I came across a record of the customs and products of the southern frontier in a local gazetteer from the previous dynasty. It seems to be somewhat related to the illness mentioned by the Duke of Ying. I have taken the liberty of copying it down for Your Highness's perusal."

Gu Yannian spoke in a calm tone, as if he had only completed a trivial task of copying.

Zhu Gaochi took the Xuan paper with some doubt.

Although Zhang Fu was a rough man, he couldn't resist his curiosity and leaned over to watch.

On the Xuan paper, two lines of text were written in neat small regular script.

"For treating various types of malaria with chills and fever: Take a handful of Artemisia annua, soak it in two liters of water, squeeze out the juice, and drink it all. Remember, do not boil it over a fire, as boiling water will destroy its medicinal properties; you must use cold water to squeeze out the juice."

"Artemisia annua? This cheap weed that grows all over the mountains can cure this deadly miasma?"

Zhang Fu stared wide-eyed, his face full of disbelief.

The precious medicinal herbs of the Imperial Medical Academy were useless; how could a handful of wild herbs cure the disease?

Gu Yannian took two steps back and lowered his head slightly.

"This humble official is ignorant of medicine and is merely following the instructions in the book. The ancient texts state with certainty that many people in the south suffer from this disease and that this method is the cure. I thought to myself, artemisia is readily available and can be obtained for free, and it is easy to extract the juice with cold water."

"In a large army, we might as well try anything, even a few doses, as there's no harm in it."

Zhang Fu stared at Gu Yannian with wide eyes for a long time.

This veteran general, who has been through countless battles, has a keen intuition.

He felt that this seemingly ordinary civil official possessed a profound and unfathomable quality.

The prescription is stated with such certainty, even specifying concrete details such as "do not boil it over fire," so it certainly doesn't seem like a fabrication.

"Very well! I will immediately dispatch this uteronomy 800 li express to the Jiaozhi camp!"

Zhang Fu turned to look at Gu Yannian.

"You, clerk, do have some discernment. If this method can truly save the lives of my soldiers, I will personally recommend you to the Emperor!"

Gu Yannian remained calm and composed.

"You flatter me, Your Excellency. I merely happened to come across the fragments of the scroll and dare not claim credit for it."

Several months later, the battle report of the great victory in Jiaozhi arrived back in Shuntian Prefecture along with the falling leaves of late autumn.

The battle report specifically mentioned that a miraculous ancient remedy was found to cure the fever and chills that broke out in the army.

The soldiers were saved by drinking the juice extracted from Artemisia annua, and their morale was greatly boosted.

They wiped out several of the rebel strongholds in one fell swoop.

In the Fengtian Hall, in front of the Yongle Emperor, Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo loudly praised the Wenhua Hall clerk who provided the prescription.

However, when the imperial edict of bestowal of honors was delivered to the Wenhua Hall...

However, it was discovered that the clerk named Gu Yannian had already requested a full month of sick leave from the Ministry of Personnel because he had "caught a cold and was bedridden."

Zhang Fu personally brought several top-quality, century-old ginseng roots to the Gu residence in Xuanwu Ward to visit the ailing patient.

Pushing open the dilapidated courtyard gate, one could see a woman with delicate features and quiet demeanor brewing herbs in the yard, emitting a strong bitter smell.

The woman was Shen Wan.

She told Zhang Fu that Lord Gu was seriously ill, could not be exposed to the wind, and was even unable to get up to receive the imperial decree.

Zhang Fu listened through the window to the realistic, violent coughing sounds coming from inside the room.

Helplessly, he put down the old ginseng and left with a sigh.