Ming Dynasty: Traveling through the harem, Zhu Yuanzhang was dumbfounded

Chapter 162 Progress in Smallpox Vaccine

Chapter 162 Progress in Smallpox Vaccine
“Nephew Yang, there are some things that only you and I need to know. There is no need to make them public. You should know this, right?”

“Yes, yes! Uncle Hu is right. It’s getting late. Look at the sky. It’s almost dark. I have to get up early tomorrow. How about this? I’ll take both the things and the people. As for the matter, Uncle Hu, don’t worry. I’ll do the work. You just keep it in mind. I promise to do it beautifully for you. Zhou Shizhong will be absolutely safe!”

“Thank you for your hard work, nephew. The people below are troublesome and I have to come out to clean up the mess myself. Now I have to ask you, nephew Yang, to make a trip in person. It is really unspeakable. I have prepared the things downstairs. You can ask my housekeeper to get them later. As for the other items, they will be delivered later. You can take care of them yourself.”

“Uncle Hu, don’t worry. I will go back and arrange for someone right away.”

Yang Chen said, already impatient to stand up and leave, leaving Hu Weiyong behind him, bowing to him from behind and saying:
“Okay! Goodbye, nephew Yang. Uncle Hu, I won’t see you off.”

“No problem, no problem. Uncle Hu, you can enjoy the rest slowly. I’ll take my leave first!”

After both parties achieved their respective goals, they naturally went about their own business. There was no reason for Yang Chen to continue chatting nonsense with Hu Weiyong.

Yang Chen left Yanxiang Pavilion very quickly and ordered Chi Lin to take away all the things, including the concubines given to him by Hu Weiyong.

Going to Zhenjiang Prefecture would require a lot of manpower. He originally planned to spend some money to recruit people. Now that he could ask Hu Weiyong to send a few women over, Yang Chen had no reason to refuse such a good thing.

As far as he knew, all the concubines of the imperial court were women who had been examined and had clean backgrounds. They were much more sensible and obedient than those women of ordinary people.

Sitting by the window, Hu Weiyong saw with his own eyes that Yang Chen took away all the bags, and a very satisfied expression appeared on his face.

“This guy is just like a golden toad, blinded by money, much simpler than those people with dirty hearts. Zhou Shizhong is such a bastard, he actually made me clean up his mess to this extent, damn it.”

Thinking of Zhou Shizhong, Hu Weiyong made a decision in his heart.

Starting today, he would tell everyone that they could not stand firm in resisting Zhu Biao’s three strategies.

This young prince wants to achieve some results. Now is not the time to go against the other party, but to cooperate secretly.

Wait until the time is ripe and then unite to resist. There is no other way. If we don’t show this prince some results, he will definitely take ruthless measures. Once a conflict arises between the two sides, given Zhu Yuanzhang’s protective temper, no one can withstand his anger.

He would not engage in any peace talks with the aristocratic families represented by Hu Weiyong. In Zhu’s eyes, if one did not listen to him, there would be only one outcome!
dead!
No matter how stupid Hu Weiyong was, he knew that he could not offend Zhu Yuanzhang’s beloved son. As the communicator between the emperor’s orders and the grassroots, Hu Weiyong could use his authority to do things that benefited himself, but he would not be stupid enough to exercise absolute control.

Especially when Zhu Yuanzhang was still alive.

Yang Chen left Yanxiang Pavilion, brought Chi Lin and various secret guards, and followed the fat butler to a small alley.

“Hey, Lord Yang, these are the things that Minister Hu gave you. Lord Yang can count them now.”

In a carriage pulled by two horses, the fat butler took out a metal key from his arms and handed it to Yang Chen.

After taking the key and playing with it for a while, Yang Chen inserted it into all the wooden boxes without hesitation, turned it slightly, and with a click sound, the wooden boxes were opened.

With the help of torches, the wooden box was filled with all kinds of gold, silver and jewelry, including ten East China Sea night pearls and half-meter-high white jade, ivory and red coral carvings.

Any one of these things can be exchanged for tens of thousands of taels of silver.

Chi Lin had seen big scenes before, but even so, he couldn’t help but drop his jaw in surprise, muttering softly:
“I have only heard that these precious things were tributes from small countries to Your Majesty, but I never thought that the Prime Minister could also own them. It is really amazing.

Master, let’s put all these things away. Your Majesty won’t be angry, right?”

As a retired veteran of the frontier army, Chi Lin knew very well that the emperor he served hated corrupt officials the most and would kill anyone who was corrupt. Based on what he had seen, the emperor could have killed hundreds of people for corruption.

He subconsciously gave a kind reminder, hoping that his master would not go astray.

Yang Chen clasped his hands together, closed all the boxes, and glared at the fat butler.

Seeing Yang Chen’s expression, the fat butler immediately knew that the other party was warning him to leave quickly.

Understanding the meaning, he turned and left.

When the other party disappeared around the corner, Yang Chen glanced at Chi Lin and said calmly:

“Since they gave me some things, I have no reason not to accept them. Besides, you know how much money it costs to do what I do. I can’t do what His Majesty has asked me to do without these funds.

I pay your wages out of my own pocket, including various rewards, which cost a huge amount of money every month. The imperial treasury is now in a difficult situation. If I don’t use some means to obtain this money, the mansion would have collapsed long ago.

We are using the corrupt officials’ money to run our own business. Standing in front of the people of the world, what money can’t we use?
Anyway, the Crown Prince and His Majesty are behind this, so you can just rest assured and leave the rest to me.”

Chi Lin is a rough man after all, how could he possibly understand the logic? Anyway, he just needs to understand that it is okay to spend the money, and he will take care of the rest himself.

Chi Lin, who didn’t understand, shook his head.

He didn’t understand the interest structure behind this, but he only needed to understand one thing.

Follow the master! Eat meat three times in three days!

Chi Lin arranged for an attendant to board the carriage to transport the things back to the mansion, and they would set off for Zhenjiang Prefecture together tomorrow.

Another younger guard with a sword looked at Yang Chen and bowed:
“Sir! What about the six official concubines outside the street corner?”

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on the women standing restlessly at the corner of the street. They were all of excellent appearance and beauty. The moment Yang Chen left Yanxiang Pavilion, they were also packed up and sent away by the owner of Yanxiang Pavilion.

The indenture also fell into Yang Chen’s hands.

Looking at the women who were anxious and at a loss, Yang Chen walked forward.

Faced with Yang Chen’s arrival, the six women were all worried and afraid.

Without exception, all women who were accepted by the Jiaofangsi were relatives of officials with extraordinary backgrounds. Among them were some children left over from the previous dynasty and even aristocratic women.

Two of the six were older, but according to today’s age standards, no matter how old they were, they were only in their early twenties.

Yang Chen has done some research and found out that nowadays the average childbearing age is around 17 or 18 years old, and a woman is considered a young woman at the age of 25.

The situation was even more exaggerated during the Three Kingdoms period, when young women basically referred to women in their early twenties.

The six concubines had met many dignitaries, but they had almost never had the opportunity to meet someone like Yang Chen, who was both young and powerful.

Now that the other party is approaching, the girls aged seventeen or eighteen are naturally frightened. No one knows what is waiting for them.

No matter how worried they were, no one dared to run, because the long swords equipped on Chi Lin and others’ waists were very sharp at first glance, and the physiques of several secret guards were also very capable. If they were not careful, the white knife would go in and the red knife would come out easily.

Three steps away from the other party, Yang Chen paused before asking:

“Who is the oldest among you?”

“it’s me.”

When questioned, the charming young woman immediately stepped forward, carrying a pipa.

“What’s your name?” “Lü Xuefei”

Yang Chen didn’t waste any words and directly asked the other party’s name.

The woman reacted very quickly. She was not frightened nor was she slow to react because of the oppressive aura of Yang Chen.

“Okay, Lu Xuefei, right?”

Yang Chen glanced at her, then glanced at everyone again.

“Listen to me, everyone. As imperial concubines, you have been given to me by Prime Minister Hu as maids. From now on, I hope you will behave yourself and not have any inappropriate thoughts. Otherwise, you should know what to do in this chaotic world.

The skin on your face will only become a burden. Not only will it not be of any help, it will also harm you.

I’m giving you a choice. Follow me and I won’t treat you unfairly. Otherwise, don’t blame me for being rude to you!”

Yang Chen knew that these concubines all had extraordinary identities, and some of them were arrogant. If he did not use his power as a superior to put pressure on them, they would definitely have some thoughts of escaping.

When he gave the reminder, many people looked at him with fear.

The goal is achieved, and the next step is to give them candy.

“Don’t worry, my mansion is different from those psychopaths. As long as you work hard, I will have money and freedom. If you have nothing to say, just follow my guards back. When you return to the mansion, someone will naturally arrange for you.

And you, Lv Xuefei, you will be the leader of the six people, is there any problem?”

“No, Concubine Lu Xuefei obeyed the master’s orders.”

“Master? You learn very quickly.” Yang Chen thought to himself.

No wonder the woman who exudes the charm of a young woman just from her looks is not only obedient and sensible, but also a fast learner. The other party must have known from Chi Lin’s address to her that everyone in his mansion calls him Master.

With a wave of Yang Chen’s hand, the six of them were taken back to the suburban mansion by the carriage arranged by Chi Lin.

At the same time, the entire mansion had been cleaned up, and the things that Hu Weiyong had originally promised were also located at the back door.

Yang Chen ordered his men to collect them and bring them to Zhenjiang Prefecture tomorrow.

In the dark night, Weizhou Prefecture, which is three hundred miles away from Nanjing City, Yingtian Prefecture, is less than a hundred miles away from Ningguo Prefecture, the city guard prefecture of Nanjing City.

Zhu Biao was wearing a clean white suit and a very modern white cloth mask on his face. If Yang Chen was there, he would be able to see that the style of the mask was completely cut and made according to the pattern he had drawn.

“Your Highness, look, there are one hundred women on the first floor. They are all refugees who fled to the north from Guangzhou, Fujian and other regions. After I gathered them together, I used many conditions to satisfy them to become our experimental subjects.

According to the envelope Yang Sheng wrote to me, all we need to do is infect them with the juice extracted from cowpox, and then wait for the changes to occur.

I have tried it. When all 100 women were infected with cowpox, they were almost all immune to smallpox. Except for a few who were still infected with smallpox, the rest were almost fine. “

The person who accompanied Zhu Biao and introduced the current situation was the head of the Imperial Medical Bureau, Dai Sigong.

Ever since Dai Sigong was appointed as the person in charge of breaking through the cowpox vaccine, he has been staying in a suburban isolation site established by Weizhou Prefecture.

There are 300 armored infantrymen stationed here. No one is allowed to enter without the order of the prefect and the permission of Dai Sigong.

As a well-known medical expert among the people, Dai Sigong naturally had many friends, including doctors and physicians who worked to protect the people from smallpox.

The moment they heard that Dai Sigong had a way to cure smallpox, they all dropped their work and rushed to Weizhou Prefecture.

So this place responsible for the smallpox vaccine was established.

It’s a pity that Dai Sigong only learned a little from Yang Chen, and usually relied on the envelope to understand how to deal with it.

For example, alcohol can be used to temporarily make masks and outerwear that can prevent viruses.

The white Hu clothing Zhu Biao was wearing at the moment was the same as the one Dai Sigong was wearing.

After learning that one out of a hundred women was still infected with smallpox, Zhu Biao felt a little defeated and wanted to know the reason.

“How could a woman who had received the cowpox vaccine still get smallpox? Aren’t those strong men who had received the cowpox vaccine all fine? Why would such changes occur in them?”

The cowpox vaccine needs to be administered to his mother, and Zhu Biao does not want his mother to have any health accidents at that time.

Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that the smallpox vaccine can be safely administered.

The strong man was fine, and the children between five and ten years old were also fine, but the woman was the only one who had a problem.

In response to the inquiry, Dai Sigong quickly explained:
“Prince, it is like this. According to the information given by Yang Sheng, cowpox itself is a type of smallpox. For those with weak constitutions, smallpox is undoubtedly also a disease. Since it is a disease itself, there is a risk of it becoming serious.

The old minister judged based on the women whose illness became more serious that these women had been in poor health before, so after being infected with cowpox, their symptoms would be more serious than others.

Fortunately, the old minister took action in time and prepared some relatively simple strengthening soup for them to drink to strengthen their bodies, and to reversing the yin and yang of their internal organs to expel the cowpox, thus avoiding the risk of the women not being able to survive in the end. “

“In the final analysis, it was the Ming Dynasty that failed to provide these disaster victims with adequate food, which led to their physical weakness.”

After understanding the whole cause and effect, Zhu Biao couldn’t help but clench his hands that were suspended in front of his abdomen and chest. If the Ming Dynasty could feed the people, why would their bodies be so weak?

There is no need to even leave your homeland and migrate to richer places.

Zhu Biao felt very unhappy that as the crown prince of the Ming Dynasty, he had not been able to accomplish anything.

Under the leadership of Dai Sigong, he comforted everyone. The whole building showed an incredible look when they knew that Zhu Biao came to see them.

At the same time, Zhu Biao also made a promise to everyone.

From today on, Zhu Biao will use the silver he brought to increase their food expenses. When the matter is over, Zhu Biao will personally find a new land for them to settle down.

This caused many people to raise their hands and cheer “Long live Zhu Biao”.

To the common people, whether it is the emperor or the prince, they are all the people who rule over them, and there is no difference between them being a thousand-year-old emperor or a ten-thousand-year-old emperor.

However, Zhu Biao seemed unable to control the people’s passionate emotions.

He always felt that he had failed to live up to the expectations of the world.

After leaving this place, Zhu Biao hurried to find Zhu Yuanzhang and Empress Ma.

(End of this chapter)