"I ask you a few questions, please think about it."
After Chongzhen finished speaking, he stood up and walked to the edge of the platform to look at the ministers.
"First, what percentage of infants and children under five years old died in Ming Dynasty?"
"Secondly, can the people of Ming Dynasty get medical treatment, get sick, and get cured?"
"Third, when marching and fighting, apart from those who are killed directly during the battle, which one has the highest death rate?"
"Fourth, how many plagues have occurred in the Ming Dynasty in the more than two hundred and sixty years since Taizu founded the country?"
"Who can answer these questions for me?"
Facing Chongzhen's burning eyes, the ministers felt that their breathing was a little tight.
After a while, Sun Chengzong said in a deep voice: "Your Majesty, I forgive you for being stupid. I can't answer the first question, but I know a little bit about the second, third, and fourth questions."
"Okay, then I will tell you the answer to the first question!"
Chongzhen said in a deep voice: "I sent people to the Imperial Hospital and the capital to investigate. The mortality rate for infants and children under five years old reached 25%!"
"Two and a half?"
"so tall?
"How can it be?"
Everyone's faces were filled with shock, and then their colors suddenly changed.
If there is a place with the most doctors and the best medical skills, it is the city of Beijing where the emperor has the most.
At the feet of the emperor, hundreds of officials and wealthy businessmen gathered, seeking money and power. Ordinary people were much wealthier than families in other states and counties.
The city of Beijing has reached 25%, so wouldn’t it be higher in other places?
Reaching 30%, 40%, or even 50%?
They really didn't pay attention to this data. Maybe local officials knew it, but even if they knew it, they couldn't solve it.
This powerlessness makes them even more uncomfortable.
After being silent for a while, Chongzhen said: "Tell me the next three questions!"
Sun Chengzong took a deep breath: "The common people can see the disease, but they can't see the disease and cannot afford it. There are doctors in every state, county and town, but the level is uneven.
Some unscrupulous doctors prescribe three or even ten doses in order to make a profit.
There are also some wandering doctors who are not very good, but they are eloquent and cheat money and things.
The disease was not cured, money was lost, and some even lost both life and money. "
Perhaps after hearing about the death just now, Sun Chengzong's mood fluctuated a bit, and there was obvious anger and murderous intent in his voice.
"As for the third problem, in addition to those who died directly in battle, wound infection led to loss of limbs and death, which resulted in the largest loss of personnel."
"The fourth question is about plagues. During the Ming Dynasty, there would be one plague every two years on average. There could be as many as two to three hundred times of various plagues. It was just a matter of the infected area and the number of people."
When the plague was mentioned, everyone's expressions suddenly changed, and their expressions were so gloomy that they could shed tears.
To be able to achieve this position, one must have read all kinds of ancient books and history books. There have been too many injuries caused by plagues in history.
It is said that tyranny is more ferocious than a tiger, but the plague is like ten or a hundred evil tigers.
As long as ordinary people are infected with the plague, everyone in the village will regard them as a scourge, and even their relatives will call them a broom star.
Plague represents death. Compared with plague, war can only be regarded as child's play.
For example, official statistics at the end of the Han Dynasty were 56 million people, but by the beginning of the Jin Dynasty, the population was only 16 million.
War, famine, and plague caused the loss of 40 million people, and 20 million people died from the plague. How terrible.
The end of the Han Dynasty was too far away, and the historical records are untrue, but the recent one was the great plague in the late Yuan Dynasty. There was a severe drought in Huaibei, and there was no harvest, and then the plague broke out.
There were fourteen people in Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang's family, and he was the only one who survived.
If it hadn't been for the plague, Zhu Yuanzhang might not have raised an army.
"I tell you why we established a medical school. The establishment of a medical school is to bring together the strengths of all schools to improve the chances of treating diseases and saving lives.
For example, increasing the survival chances of newborns and children can increase the population,
In the future, when the Ming Dynasty conquers the surrounding areas, will it need a population? It is not only to occupy resources and land, but also to assimilate local people.
If effective wound medicines, hemostatic medicines, etc. are developed, will there be fewer soldiers in the army who die due to lack of timely treatment?
With fewer deaths and lost limbs, will the burden on families be reduced? Will the burden on the court be reduced?
For example, we conduct research on various plagues and find treatments. If influenza, plague, smallpox, malaria, cholera, etc. occur someday, and we have prescriptions, will it save many lives? "
Yes, one of the main reasons for establishing the medical school was to deal with the plague that occurred in Beijing fourteen years later.
He had never experienced the plague and didn't know what it looked like, but he read historical records that the plague broke out in Beijing that year.
Then it swept through the three provinces of Shaanxi, Shanxi, and Hebei, killing tens of millions of people in three years. In Beijing, the phenomenon of "children in the neighborhood were completely stunned" appeared.
The plague continued until the city of Beijing was destroyed in the 17th year of Chongzhen's reign. The once prosperous city of Beijing became a dead city where "people and ghosts are mixed, and people dare not walk in the sunset."
Although Chongzhen is now preparing food, he doesn't know if he can change the plague in the future. He can only set up a medical research institute to study prescriptions for plague.
Secondly, he wants traditional Chinese medicine to flourish, go to the whole world, and occupy the top of the world's medical care.
Traditional Chinese medicine is the treasure of the Chinese nation. Japan in later generations is seizing important markets, Westerners are studying acupuncture technology, and China is formulating various standards for traditional Chinese medicine.
Various unscrupulous merchants of medicinal materials provide various fake and inferior medicinal materials, hindering the development of traditional Chinese medicine.
The teaching of traditional Chinese medicine is even more nonsense. It seems to be systematic, but in fact there is no system at all. Those who teach diagnosis only teach diagnosis, those who teach clinical medicine only teach clinical medicine, and those who teach traditional Chinese medicine only teach traditional Chinese medicine.
Students can only rely on themselves to understand and integrate the knowledge they have learned, but everyone's understanding is different and what they understand is different, so there are various debates.
There is no continuity, the theory is fragmented, and it is out of touch with clinical practice. It can only talk but cannot cure diseases.
In ancient times, the master led the apprentice, and the apprentice followed the master. After three years, he could treat patients independently, which was much better than that of later generations.
Everyone's expressions were solemn, but their eyes reflected the light of hope.
This young new emperor really has the world at heart. He sells fields to the people, abolishes military households, conducts agricultural research, and medical schools. Everything is considered from the perspective of the people.
"On behalf of all the people in the world, I would like to express my gratitude to Your Majesty for His grace on behalf of the people of Ming Dynasty!"
After Sun Chengzong finished speaking, all the other ministers also knelt down. This kneeling was to worship all the people in the world.
Chongzhen was very satisfied with the reaction of the ministers.
After convincing the ministers and uniting the front, this matter will be much easier to handle.
"Everyone, get up. Don't thank me in a hurry. The success of the Medical Research Institute depends on the medical experts. The others will retire and return to their duties. The cabinet will follow me to meet the medical experts who have been invited to the capital!"
