Practicing Medicine in the Tang Dynasty

Chapter 44

When Chen Hanshan and Wu Yi, the master and apprentice, came back after collecting the pox paste, the sun was already sinking in the west, and the evening sky at the other end was a stroke of ink dipped in ink, and a faint moon cut a shallow water mark.

Wu Yi put down the medicine box on his back, scooped half a bowl of clean water in the water tank, sprinkled a few grains of salt into it, and based on his own experience, he managed to make half a bowl of "physiological saline".

Then solemnly took out the medicine bottle, poured the salt water into it, and shook it to dilute it.

After these simple steps are completed, it is only necessary to dip the diluted pox syrup in the nostrils of the dogs used as the experimental party, and then the reaction of the dogs can be observed.

He finished his work swiftly, and then opened the courtyard door to look for the experimental dogs prepared by Xu Ziwen and Wu Xu. Looking from a distance, there were two dog pens about one person tall separated from each other in the west courtyard. Unexpectedly, these two people There are also times when it is reliable.

Taking a closer look, Wu Yi gave a big jump.

Xu Ziwen and Wu Xu brought ten huge and mighty wolfhounds from nowhere, all of them had black heads and erect ears and swung a big, thorny tail. There was a chilling coldness in it.

The leading male dog looked up, his cold eyes fixed on Wu Yi's thin and thin body, his naked eyes showed disdain and hatred, his long tongue casually licked his sharp canine teeth, like a dog preparing to go to a fierce fight The best fighters carefully observe their opponents while sharpening the secret weapons in their mouths.

...Wu Yi didn't expect that the Beagle, a well-recognized and excellent experimental dog breed, had been introduced in this era, but this kind of wild wolf dog is obviously not a good partner for vaccination experiments.

Shen Hanshan seemed to have spent all his expressions on his wife, and walked slowly up and down following Wu Yi's footsteps. When he saw these frightening wolf dogs, he didn't even move his eyebrows.

It's no wonder that these wolfhounds don't take him seriously. In the eyes of these fighting beasts, this is just a wooden pillar that looks a bit like a two-legged beast. It's not worth talking about, and there is no need to talk.

Seeing Wu Yi coming, Xu Ziwen and Wu Xu threw the key at Wu Yi's feet: "Wu Yi, we have prepared the dog, and the rest is up to you!"

As he spoke, he slipped away as quickly as oil on his feet, leaving only a muddle-headed Shen Hanshan, a messy Wu Yi in the wind, and ten vicious dogs with gritted teeth and fierce eyes.

"Doctor..." Wu Yi poked Shen Hanshan's back, pulling him back to reality from his obsession with his wife's family.

Shen Hanshan seemed to be chiseled out of the ice sculpture, and suddenly smiled: "These two bastards, at this critical moment, they still want to plot against you."

After all, he frowned, and had already thought of a countermeasure: "Go to the county prince and ask him to bring out the strongest wine in the mansion."

-

Shen Hanshan's so-called strong wine is not the kind of fermented glutinous wine that the ancients often drank, but it is three points stronger than the Penglaichun that Wu Yi once drunk, the strongest wine in the county - Pao Datou[1]

The so-called "cannon to the head", pour it down in one gulp, like a firecracker in full bloom, making people dizzy and dizzy, and you can't tell the north, south, east, and west; if you drink a cup, sparks will fly in your brain, and you will fall to the ground within three steps.

Wu Yi looked at the big wolfhounds in front of him who swayed at two steps and three times, and fell at five steps, with their tongues twitching to the ground and sneering away. He couldn't help but think of the vicious-looking husky that he raised when he was a child in his previous life...

Just as he was about to laugh, Shen Hanshan had already begun to do some oatmeal. Wu Yigang wanted to reach out to help, but he stepped aside and said, "Go and watch the dogs that don't need to be vaccinated."

They are all drunk and dreamy in the circle, so there is nothing to see.While Wu Yi stretched out the tongues of these drunk dogs one by one and hung them on the teeth to prevent the dogs from suffocating due to the tongue falling back, he quietly looked at his own doctor.

Shen Hanshan scraped off the diluted pox paste with a small piece of wood, carefully put it into the dog's nostrils little by little, lowered his eyebrows, and was meticulous, as if he was doing the most important thing in the world.

When he finished checking one by one, the moon in the sky had climbed to the top of the dome, and the clear moonlight shrouded the faces of the master and the apprentice like a layer of mist that could not be dispelled.

Wu Yi looked at his teacher's face through the thin moonlight. Normally, he was always slovenly and cynical, but now that he is temporarily employed by the imperial physician here, he even took care of it a little bit.

From this point of view, Shen Hanshan can be regarded as a handsome man, except that the tall and straight nose has a slightly curved nose hook, like a small and sharp machete, and also like a sharp eagle beak, so When he spoke, often before he opened his mouth, he breathed, as if he was about to throw a knife.

With such a cold and arrogant face, the usual informality has become amiable, but now that he has torn off his usual unruly demeanor, he looks even more cold and solemn than Zhang Qiren.

Noticing Wu Yi's gaze, Shen Hanshan staggered two steps forward, and he was that unruly old alcoholic again.

"This cannon hits the head...it's amazing." He belched and let out a mouthful of alcohol, which made Wu Yi feel a little smoky. "Let's go... let's go to the meeting hall."

Wu Yi supported Shen Hanshan, who had drunk three sips of fine wine at some point, and helped him all the way to the front hall.

Under the lamp in the hall, Li Hong was actually still studying seriously, with lowered eyebrows and flickering lights reflected in his eyes.

Wang Chongzhang, Zhang Wenguan and other people also held various agricultural books and read non-stop, and the team of imperial physicians and doctors had obviously just struggled out of the vast medical scriptures, and all of them had pale faces and tired eyes.

Li Hong closed a half-read "Qi Min Yao Shu" in his hand, rubbed the corners of his sore eyes, and smiled slightly at Wu Yi, the master and his apprentice: "Is the matter settled?"

Wu Yi replied for the drunk Shen Hanshan: "It's all done, I don't think there will be dogs with pox in a few days, and then we will know whether the water seedling method is effective."

Li Hongwei nodded, and turned his gaze to Zhang Qiren: "Did Mr. Zhang find the formula to crack smallpox?"

Zhang Qiren stood up with a stick, with a look of shame on his face: "Smallpox is coming fiercely. In addition to decocting Xiaojing and taking it with ice packs to cool down, maybe you can get a little bit of life. If you talk about the solution, I'm sorry that the old minister is incompetent."

Li Hong's eyebrows were fixed, and he said with relief: "I checked the medical books and found that smallpox is a captive sore. It came from the barbarians, so there are few records in ancient books. It is true that it is necessary to find out the solution overnight. It's too strong."

Zhang Qiren sighed: "The barbarian is strong, and Xiao Jing is decocted, and three of the ten middle schools can be good. However, the people in my dynasty have been famine for three years, and the camp and guards have been weak. How can we compare with them?"

Several old doctors agreed one after another, and they really had nothing to say except clapping their hands and sighing.

"Then we can only wait for the news from Dr. Shen." Li Hong ordered, "Your Majesty, please get someone to post an announcement asking every household to decoct and consume Xiaojing to prevent smallpox infection."

This time the prince who called out was the prefect Wangling, he was running around, sweating profusely, falling on a pair of broad shoulders, it was tiresome to watch.

He hurriedly said: "I would like to obey Yi's order."

Li Hong asked again: "Have you done what you were asked to do?"

Wang Ling replied: "The gates of the city have been closed, and the gates have been ordered to quarantine and release people. I have ordered people to return to Chang'an on flying horses. I think there will be an answer within three days."

"How is the epidemic situation in Meizhou itself?"

"I have found out that 79 families have children with smallpox, and there are [-] other families that are still under suspicion. I still have to ask you masters to identify them."

Only then did Li Hong nod his head slightly: "Your Majesty handles affairs properly and capablely, and many advisers under my command are inferior to you."

These words were not a polite compliment. Although Wang Ling ate his belly, it did not hinder his swiftness in handling affairs. Li Hong also valued his shrewdness and ability, so he tolerated his thieves.

No one was corrupted in the whole court, and I am afraid that all three will not be found. As long as he is worthy of the extra official salary he gets, he would rather turn a blind eye and close one eye.

Wang Ling hurriedly kowtowed to thank him, but before his head touched the floor, Zhang Wenguan helped him to stand up.

"I have thought carefully about what the prince proposed to let the people abandon their fields to protect their land."

He threw the "Qi Min Yao Shu" at the foot of the royal mausoleum: "According to the prince's wishes, post a notice that every acre of land abandoned will get grain for one stone, and those who cultivate and have no land for others will get one acre for each person." It also subsidizes a stone of grain."

Wang Ling went there in a hurry that day, and now he was rushed back after finishing his work, thinking that he was going to open his private warehouse, but he was frightened for a while and froze in place, neither nodding nor shaking his head.

Li Hong smiled, picked up the small copper scissors on the table, cut off the candle tears, and threw them into the burning flame again.

The flame suddenly dimmed and then brightened, pulling Wang Ling's heart up and down, as if what the knife cut was not the candle, but the granary his family kept in the basement.

Does not reheating the spilled candle imply that he is returning the grease he has scavenged from the people? !

His heart was tense for a while, and Zhang Wenguan couldn't hold back his hands and laughed out loud.

"Zhang Gong..." Wang Ling was still a little puzzled, what's so funny about that.

"Don't worry, prince." After all, Xiao Dezhao is a philanthropic person, and he did not tease him with his master, "His Royal Highness has already sent someone to fly a pigeon to pass a letter, to open the East Palace Granary to help Meizhou. Following the example of Donggong, all the ministers will follow suit."

Although his words were gentle, there was another layer of mystery - the officials followed suit, shouldn't you be the first to start, the prefect of Meizhou?

The prince and the two old ministers were smiling, it turned out that they had already missed his family's rich granary!

But these words are really hard to refute, even the current prince is willing to donate his furniture, how can you allow a little eunuch to hide his granary privately?

Seeing that everyone was looking at him with burning eyes, Wang Ling had only one leader, helplessly "leading the way".

"I...although I am not a wealthy family, I still have a little food surplus. I am willing to follow the example of the East Palace and donate food to the people to protect people's livelihood!"