"It's a huge waste of money..." Zhu Su touched his chin.
"If Your Highness wants to take back his life, it's not too late." Wei Guan advised. "As long as you claim that today is His Highness's extra favor and allow the hungry people to have a full meal, the normal rations will resume tomorrow."
"Veteran, please mobilize more officers to prevent anyone from making noise and causing chaos. In this way, you don't have to waste food..."
"No." Zhu Su shook his head and interrupted Wei Guan's persuasion.
"This king is not willful. It is imperative and necessary to keep the people full."
"Master Wei, please take a look...is this place a place where people should live?"
Zhu Su pointed around with a serious look on his face.
"this……"
Looking at the sewage-filled roads and crumbling shacks, Wei Guan's face turned red. "Your Highness, are you blaming the old minister for his incompetence? I just said that Suzhou Mansion has done its best..."
"I don't blame you. There are tens of thousands of people living here, and it's rare for the police officers of Suzhou Prefecture to be able to maintain public order. Naturally, it is impossible to provide good hygiene for the victims, build houses and build roads."
"If we can continue to barely maintain it, it will be considered a success. However, the population here is densely populated, but the conditions are so difficult."
"With the current conditions, if we don't clean up in time, after some time, the epidemic will definitely spread!"
"Epidemic...epidemic?" Wei Guan was surprised.
"Why is Your Highness so sure?" Dai Sigong, who had been following Wei Guan silently without saying a word, suddenly said. Although his face is old, his peaceful eyes are indeed very lively. "Could it be that Your Highness knows the cause of the epidemic?"
"Mr. Dai, don't you know?" Zhu Su asked strangely when he saw him speaking. "It's said that 'disease enters through the mouth'. If this place is so dirty, won't there be diseases?"
Dai Sigong shook his head, "It is said in Ge Hongzhi's "Emergency Prescriptions": 'In his years, there is malaria and ghost poison.' The epidemic is probably brought by malaria and ghost poison. But why does the so-called malaria arise? Old age I also don’t know.”
"How else could it be born? It's just that the living environment is too dirty, the human body's immunity is weakened, and it is caused by infection with the virus." Zhu Su said seriously.
"Immunity... immunity? What is that? What is a virus?" Dai Sigong was slightly startled, with confusion on his face.
Zhu Su was stunned for a moment, but he didn't know how to explain it. After thinking for a while, he said: "Well, viruses can be understood as the so-called 'disease and ghost poison'. In fact, they exist among all the dirt, snakes, insects, rats, and ants."
“If you want to avoid contracting diseases, you must be physically strong so that you can be resistant to diseases. This is immunity.”
"Secondly, these dirty places also need to be thoroughly cleaned up, and regulations should be formulated to teach people not to drink raw water, wash hands and bathe frequently, etc."
"Both of these require the people to have strength to do it. If your stomach is not full, how can you get immunity? If you don't have strength, how can you contribute to completely cleaning up this place?"
Wei Guan was stunned for a while. Zhu Su's words were clear and logical. Although he wanted to refute, he didn't know where to start. Dai Sigong was thoughtful, and there seemed to be light flashing in his eyes, but he was still dubious.
At this moment, Gou'er, the accompanying eunuch behind Zhu Su, said: "When he was in the capital, this is what my Highness asked the villagers of Bifeng Imperial Manor to comply with."
"In previous years, during autumn and winter in Zhuangzi, people often suffered from abdominal pain and epidemic fever. Since Your Highness implemented this method, the number of sick people in the village has dropped sharply."
"It is already known to everyone in Yingtian City that the people in Bifeng Imperial Villa rarely suffer from the epidemic. If you two don't believe it, you can find someone to inquire about it."
"Really?" Dai Sigong looked shocked, "I heard that His Highness received knowledge from strangers. Could it be that there are also medical skills in it?"
"His Royal Highness's medical skills are indeed superb, and this poor monk can prove it." Yao Guangxiao also clasped his hands together. "Old Duke Cao had a sore in his mouth and couldn't eat. The imperial doctor couldn't cure it. Your Highness gave him some frost made from watermelon, and the medicine cured the disease."
Yao Guangxiao was talking about what happened before Zhu Su left Beijing. When Zhu Su first came out of the palace in the past, he made many medicinal materials by himself and still remembered the making methods. Among them is Watermelon Frost. Li Wenzhong's father, Li Zhen, suffered from ulcers in his mouth and did not want to eat. Over time, he even lingered on the sick bed. Li Wenzhong and Li Jinglong, father and son, were filled with sorrow and had to return home to attend to his illness.
Zhu Su went to Cao Guogong's mansion to visit and saw that Li Zhen had a mouth ulcer, so he took out the watermelon cream he made. As expected, the medicine cured the disease. Both Li Wenzhong and Li Jinglong were overjoyed.
Combined with the previous methods of willow bark, fetal anatomy, and the alcohol disinfection used to treat sword wounds "stabbed by Zhu Xian", Zhu Su's "barefoot doctor" medical skills have gained a reputation among a small group of people. . At least, Yao Guangxiao and other people who lived in the imperial village highly respected him.
"It's so!" Dai Sigong was even more delighted. He looked at Zhu Su with an expression eager to ask.
Zhu Su smiled at him. I originally wanted to tell Dai Sigong everything about my half-assed medical skills to see if I could improve this famous doctor's medical skills to a higher level.
But now is not the time. He turned to Wei Guan and said: "I know that if Suzhou government changes its established policy, there will be many dangers..."
"I have been entrusted by Your Majesty with a place in the palace, so I should dedicate myself to it..." Wei Guan shook his head. "It's just that your highness can really teach the rich people in this city to open warehouses and store grain? If you rely on your own strength, you may cause trouble again..."
"It's okay. I have a clever plan..." Zhu Su smiled kindly. "Don't forget, I also studied under the great Confucian Master Song."
"Convincing people with virtue, I understand it, I understand it very well!"
"Don't worry, Prefect Wei."
"That's good..." Wei Guan was dubious.
…
The officials from Suzhou Prefecture did indeed bring the food, and they set up pots and cooked it in the open space. The victims were immediately excited. What's more, they even went into groups to bow and bow to Zhu Su and others in the middle. If it weren't for the guards around Zhu Su who helped the officers maintain order, the situation would have even gotten out of control.
Zhu Su looked at the people who were grateful to him and was touched in his heart. But he understood better that today the people would be grateful for an extra mouthful of food, and tomorrow they would riot in anger because they had no food to eat.
This is understandable, life is busy, and the only goal is to have enough food to survive.
There is still a lot to do, and now is not the time to be complacent, but rather to take action to thoroughly ensure the subsequent supply of food.
When Zhu Su returned to Shen Garden, he immediately summoned the two brothers Shen Rong and Shen Wang. Shen Wang went to the glass shop in the city, but the owner of the family, Shen Rong, stayed in the garden. After hearing Zhu Su's call, Shen Rong did not dare to neglect and came to Zhu Su on crutches.
"Your Highness has urgently summoned the old man, what are your orders?" Shen Rong felt worried when he saw Zhu Su's uneasy expression. asked Zhu Sudao cautiously.
"Mr. Shen, I want to ask you this."
"How much grain do you still have in the Shen family's granary?"
Zhu Su asked him.
(End of chapter)
