In fact, to be honest, the island of Taiwan at this time was of little significance even to Gao Pragmatic. He had to send people to Taiwan largely due to his territorial views.
Not only are they sending people around, they are also considering how to develop and immigrate to Taiwan.
After all, "Taiwan has been an inalienable part of China since ancient times." It's okay if I don't come, and it's okay if I don't have the strength. But now that I'm here and have the strength, I have to confirm this matter!
Besides, it’s not that Taiwan cannot develop. The main reason why this place has not developed until now is that there are not enough Han people.
As for why there are so few Han people, there are two main reasons. One is that the mainland imperial courts in the past dynasties did not pay attention to this wild land - Hainan Island is so close and has not been developed much, let alone Taiwan Island, which is further away?
The second is the environment in Taiwan, which was still very difficult during this period. The first is the heat. The island of Taiwan is extremely hot and humid at this time, even hotter than Guangdong and Guangxi at almost the same latitude, and even hotter than Annan. The pirates have no choice but to have a place to stay as their lair, so they don’t have to worry about much. Otherwise, who would come here?
Secondly, tropical diseases are serious. At this time, Taiwan had not experienced much development, with tall trees and dense grass, mosquitoes plundering wildly, and miasma that was several times more severe than that of Guangdong and Guangxi - after all, both Guangdong and Guangxi had been developed for two thousand years, and Taiwan was still in its original state. As for malaria, it goes without saying. This kind of mosquito is almost as big as a child's palm, so getting malaria is a common occurrence.
Malaria, even in the 21st century, is a serious problem ravaging Africa. Kang Mazi, the Tatar chieftain, contracted malaria during a war against Galdan. Given his status, he almost died. Ordinary people What else can you get if you get it?
It is easy to occupy Taiwan, but it is difficult to defeat malaria, because Gaowu Shi does not have cinchona at hand, let alone artemisinin. In what era did we have that technology?
Although the mortality rate of malaria is not particularly high in the eyes of later generations - 400 million people around the world are infected with malaria every year, and about two to three million die. But you must know that there will be cinchona in future generations, and malaria is not incurable.
However, cinchona is said to have been discovered by the Spaniards in South America through the local Indians in the 17th century. It was not introduced to China until at least the end of the 17th century. At that time, cinchona bark was basically used for treatment. It was not until 1820 that a Swedish scientist extracted the active ingredients of malaria and made it into a finished product.
In other words, the Spaniards, who have occupied most of the Americas, may not even have cinchona, so where can they find it? Moreover, even if he were asked to look for it in South America, he would not be able to find it because he had no idea what a cinchona tree looked like.
Oh, it's over, there's nothing left to do.
It’s true that when a book is put to use, you will regret it less. No matter how good your brain is, it can’t compare to someone carrying a system with them.
How about instead of looking far away from the near and consider artemisinin?
There is no hope of refining it. Is it okay to just use Artemisia annua—that is, Artemisia annua?
When Ms. Tu Youyou won the Nobel Prize, it was reported nationwide, and she was also very concerned about artemisinin. Although Gao Pragmatic didn't know much about medicine, he vaguely remembered that artemisinin was the most important thing. The initial source of inspiration was a record in an ancient Chinese medical book, but unfortunately he could not remember the title.
But since it is recorded in ancient Chinese books, now he has a big advantage to take advantage of - Li Shizhen was won over by him to teach students in the capital! Such an awesome person, a master who could write "Compendium of Materia Medica", must have heard or read that ancient book.
Since that ancient book has been circulated in later generations, it must be at least not Bian Que's Nei Jing and Wai Jing, nor Hua Tuo's "Qing Nang Shu". It is even less likely to be lost in the Ming Dynasty. Ask Li Shizhen, maybe it will work wonders .
So Gao Pragmatic specifically told Gao Qi not to aim too high, and to try his best to explore in "sparse forests and mosquito-free areas" along the coast. It was strictly forbidden to go deep into the inland, especially dense forests, to commit suicide. He would wait until he contacted Li Shizhen to discuss everything.
Gao Qi is his servant, and now he is the confidant of "Wang Pang Danming". He told him not to go deep into the interior. I believe he will not disobey. Now he is waiting for Li Shizhen's reply.
However, Gao Pragmatic did not wait for Li Shizhen's reply in Guangxi because an accident happened.
Well, it wasn't Li Shizhen who had an accident, it was Gao Pragmatic who had an accident - the emperor ordered that Gao Pragmatic resign early and use the merit of "redefining Annan" to return to Beijing to accompany the emperor to pay homage to the Ancestral Temple!
Complain to the Ancestral Temple?
Offering sacrifices to the Imperial Ancestral Temple is nothing new, nor is it uncommon. For example, when Li Chengliang beheaded hundreds of Mongolians in Liaodong, the capital also wanted to complain to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.
However, sacrifices to the Ancestral Temple are divided into grades. Generally speaking, there are three grades: large sacrifice, middle sacrifice and group sacrifice. Li Chengliang's kind belongs to the group priests, that is, officials do it on their behalf, go to the Ancestral Temple to make sacrifices, and show that their descendants have performed well. Look, old man, you have killed so many Mongolians. Do you think these heads are cute?
That's probably what it means.
As for the central sacrifices, some of them were performed by the emperor himself. However, the emperors in the Ming Dynasty were more assertive. In fact, most of them still assigned officials to perform sacrifices.
But if it is a great sacrifice, then the emperor has to do it himself, and the ministers are not qualified to do it for him.
For example, sacrifices are held every year in the four seasons of spring, summer, autumn and winter on the first day of the lunar calendar. Tablets from various places in the Imperial Ancestral Temple must be brought to the Xiang Hall, and the emperor will come here in person to worship his ancestors. Known as the "Four Meng Shixiang", or simply Xiangji, the vegetables and fruits that were in season at that time were sacrificed to the ancestors. This cannot be done for you. As long as the emperor can still move, he must come in person.
The memorial ceremony must be held only when there are important events in the country. For example, in the simplest example, when the emperor ascends the throne or the emperor's wedding, or when a queen is appointed, the sacrifice must be performed in the dormitory of the Imperial Ancestral Temple. This is called Offer sacrifices.
But this time Gao Pragmatic's "redefinition of Annan" seems not to be particularly important to the Ming Dynasty. This is just to defeat the Annan people, not the Mongols. The Ming court does not seem to have How come they have such high regard for the Annan people, but it’s their turn to make sacrifices?
Gao Pragmatic was a little confused, but Zhang Ren reminded him. Zhang Ren said: "There is no need to worry about seeking truth. I think the court's move is very fair. The purpose of 'Redefining Annan' was to avenge the emperor's ninth generation. I heard that the emperor got He was extremely excited when the news came out, which shows that the emperor really believed that this matter was a great achievement and worthy of being sued to the Ancestral Temple in person.
Secondly, there is the matter of the chieftains of Guangxi moving to the town. Think about it, before they moved the town, the court was in a dilemma as to how to deal with a mere Bazhai land. But once they moved the town to Annan, the Bazhai land was easy to deal with. Song changed his position to a floating official position, and even Liu Zhijun of Zhaoqing did not object again, which shows the importance of this matter. So...congratulations on seeking truth, the Sacred Heart is the most important! "
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