After leaving Qianqing Palace, Xian Ruxing thought about Zhu Houcong's appearance before leaving. After all, he felt a little uneasy. He pondered for a long time and finally decided to discuss it with Princess Yongjing.
There was no way, it was not easy for outsiders to get involved in this kind of thing, and the emperor had a special status after all, and his face was also an issue. In the end, after picking and choosing, Fu'an, as his elder sister, was the most suitable.
Fu'an is now temporarily living in the Dagaoxuan Hall. This was originally a dojo built by the young emperor for Xian Ruxing, but because it was farther from the Qianqing Palace than expected, Zhu Houcong regretted it just after finishing the practice and turned around to stay in Qin'an Hall. Although In the end, Xian Ruxing agreed, but the Great Gaoxuan Hall was also vacant. At this time, Fu'an announced that he would become a monk, so he allowed her to live in it.
Thinking of this, Xian Ruxing wanted to give himself a slap in the face. Why didn't you notice it when it was so obvious?
Sighing, he went to the Great Gaoxuan Hall under the guidance of the Taoist boy. After seeing Fu An who was flipping through a book, he vaguely expressed that Zhu Houcong had been in a bad mood recently and hoped that Fu An would look at him and not let him do anything drastic. move.
Fu'an put down his book and asked the palace maid to serve tea to Xian Ruxing. He frowned and said, "In a bad mood? I haven't heard of anything going on in the court. If he is in a bad mood, wouldn't your advice be more effective than mine? Could it be that he is in a bad mood? Are you concerned? Did you two quarrel? No, you couldn’t quarrel according to your personality?"
Xian Ruxing: "..." Sister, you are too smart.
"Pretend I didn't say it, pretend I didn't say it." Xian Ruxing stood up and was about to leave when he heard Fu'an say softly from behind: "He made it clear to you, and then you refused."
Xian Ruxing staggered and almost lost his balance. He turned to look at Fu'an and said in shock: "You...you..."
Fu'an said "It's true" on his face. Seeing Xian Ruxing's horrified expression, he said helplessly: "Others can't see his little thoughts, so why can't our own family also see it?"
Xian Ruxing was a little embarrassed, "Then the Queen Mother also..."
"Hey, the queen mother also knows, and she also concluded that you have no thoughts about my brother." Fu'an nodded, and then comforted: "Don't worry too much, Mu Shaoyi is normal for your Majesty's age, you just need to speak out , he will figure it out by himself after a while.”
"I hope so." Xian Ruxing nodded reluctantly, feeling that the matter was not over yet.
Fu'an persuaded her a few words, then changed the topic and continued: "You came just in time. Didn't you say before that you would introduce something new to me after I finish reading these books? It's almost done now, let's get started!"
Xian Ruxing was stunned for a moment, then realized what the other person was saying.
Since she went out to work abroad, Fu'an can be said to have become the freest person in the entire royal family. She neither had to deal with government affairs nor take care of family affairs, so when she was free, she simply began to study medicine. She had been in poor health since she was a child, and spent all day working with As time went by, I naturally became interested in decoctions and medicines. I knew some pharmacology before, but now that I have time, I am immersed in it all day long. Seeing this, Xian Ruxing briefly introduced modern medicine to her. Although she listened It was a blur, but still full of interest.
So Xian Ruxing asked her to familiarize herself with the medical book she had on hand first, and then they could discuss it after they had read it almost.
I happened to meet him today, so Xian Ruxing no longer hesitated and explained some knowledge points about modern medicine.
Xian Ruxing did not study medicine in his previous life, so he could only start with the most basic blood circulation theory, and then briefly talked about anatomy and scientific epidemic prevention. But these were enough to fascinate Fu'an.
"...You may not understand what I'm talking about. If you want to really understand it, you have to experience it yourself. After all, medicine should be based on experiments, not classics."
Fu'an pondered: "So, I should go find some corpses and dissect them?"
"Let's do it little by little. I'm afraid you won't be able to endure this kind of thing. You should try to see blood first." Xian Ruxing took a sip of tea and continued: "I also have a diagram of human anatomy.
, wait for someone to bring it to you later, and you can study it yourself. If you really can't do it, you can also study pharmacology or epidemic prevention. These two points are equally important now."
Fu'an hesitated and said that he still wanted to try surgery.
Seeing her insistence, Xian Ruxing thought about it and said that he had recently researched some surgical tools and wanted to experiment with them in the next two days, so he asked her if he wanted to go and observe them together.
Of course Fu'an nodded. To be on the safe side, Xian Ruxing went to see Jiang for instructions.
Now Empress Dowager Jiang always felt that she was indebted to her eldest daughter, so she was basically in a state of letting go. After hearing her talk about going to see a doctor, she hesitated for a moment and finally agreed.
The two of them left the palace together, and then Xian Ruxing took her to an alley and knocked on the door of a certain house. The person who opened the door was an old woman. When she saw Xian Ruxing, her eyes lit up and she said with a smile on her face: "Master Immortal
, you are here, it just so happens that the Lu family’s wife is about the same, please come in quickly.”
Xian Ruxing nodded, and together with the confused Fu'an, he washed his hands carefully and put on white clothes.
Hearing the woman's muffled groan coming from inside the house, Fu'an was a little puzzled, "What is going on inside?"
"Having a baby," Xian Ruxing replied confidently, "otherwise, where do you think I would find an operation site? The delivery operation is also an operation."
Fu'an was stunned and said nonchalantly: "We haven't gotten married yet, so wouldn't it be a good idea to enter the delivery room?"
"Ah, it is indeed said that an unmarried woman entering the delivery room will affect her luck and be unable to have children in the future, but this is pure nonsense. Besides, aren't you a monk?"
...Yes, Fu'an realized that she was not getting married, so she was still worried about what this thing was for. So he took a deep breath and followed the two of them into the delivery room.
In the house, a woman wearing only single clothes was lying on a strange bed. When she saw the three people, she immediately became nervous and sweated profusely.
Wen Po lowered her head and glanced, "It's still early, but your fetal position is correct, so nothing will happen to you. There is also a magical artifact sent by the immortal master. Don't worry, you won't be able to bear it for a while and have something to eat."
The woman's surname is Lu, and her husband is an old employee of the Xian Ruxing factory. He was sent to the south to do technical guidance a few years ago. Who would have thought that his wife would be diagnosed with pregnancy just a few months after leaving. Both of their elders are in their hometown of Anlu, so it will definitely be time for them to return now.
It was too late, so I could only write a letter asking Xian Ruxing to send someone to take care of him.
After Xian Ruxing received the employee's request for help, he naturally could not ignore it. Considering the danger of giving birth to pregnant women at this time, he urgently ordered someone to develop forceps.
This thing actually doesn't have much technological content. It's just a clamp composed of two branch leaves that are curved to match the fetus' head. During the birth process, it can pull the fetus' head to assist the mother in giving birth. Yes, it's just such a small thing, but it can
Greatly reduce the mortality rate of pregnant women during childbirth.
Xian Ruxing knew this from reading the biography of a family named "Chamberlain" in his previous life. The Chamberlain family relied on the accidental invention of forceps to become famous in the midwifery industry, but within a few decades it became a local
The wealthy family. However, they strictly kept this a secret. Even the women who gave birth were blindfolded. The purpose was to create a monopoly. It wasn't until the 19th century that someone accidentally damaged the floor of the Chamberlain family.
, the forceps was just discovered underneath, and it was only then that this thing was exposed to everyone.
Xian Ruxing found it interesting, so he paid attention to it. Unexpectedly, he used it after traveling through time.
The invited mother-in-law had 30 to 40 years of experience and rarely made any mistakes. Coupled with the assistance of the forceps, the entire production process went very smoothly.
After finishing the work, Mrs. Wen held the baby in one hand and said to Xian Ruxing with the other: "Master Immortal, this artifact is so useful! I will find a tray for it later, old lady!"
Xian Ruxing raised his eyebrows, "Use it if it's useful. Whatever you use it for, remember to boil it in boiling water for a while to disinfect it before each use."
"Yes, yes," Mrs. Wen nodded quickly. Normally, they would pay more for delivering babies as long as the mother and child were safe. Now that they have forceps, it is estimated that their monthly income will go up in the future.
Xian Ruxing explained a few more words, then turned around to talk to Fu'an, and then saw a dull face.
"Hey, you've come to your senses again!?"
Fu'an woke up from a dream, with a pale face, and said tremblingly: "Is it true that giving birth to a child is such a terrible thing!?"
"Otherwise, what do you think?"
It has dropped a lot. Nowadays, almost no women are studying medicine, and male doctors do not enter the delivery room. If you really make some achievements in the future and train a female doctor, it will be a blessing to the entire Ming Dynasty."
After hearing what she said, Fu'an was stunned for a moment, and his restless heart calmed down. She may have studied medicine just because she had nothing to do at first, but after listening to Xian Ruxing's words and witnessing the birth, she became more and more convinced.
I really want to do something for other people.
Xian Ruxing looked away. She was indeed trying to guide the other party to this path. Mainly, many things in modern medicine are quite treacherous now, and ordinary people simply cannot accept it. Taking this path rashly will probably cause a lot of trouble.
The turmoil. But Fu'an has now become a monk. In this era, monks and Taoists often treated illnesses and saved people. Coupled with her status as a royal family, she would encounter much less resistance than ordinary people when she initiated this change.
Finally, after comforting Mrs. Lu, Xian Ruxing asked Po Wen to stay here to take care of her for a while. After everything was safe, she left with Fu An.
…
Let's not talk about the progress of studies in Fu'an. Since medical care is mentioned, Xian Ruxing feels that it is time to put urban construction on the agenda.
As we all know, the Forbidden City is an extremely great construction project that reflects the wisdom of the working people in ancient my country. Xian Ruxing stopped in and was amazed countless times. Not only is the architecture beautiful, but he also pays great attention to every detail. There are floor drains on all the stone roads, so even if it rains heavily, the roads are extremely dry.
Living here is a kind of enjoyment, but people outside the Forbidden City do not have such a good life.
In fact, the environment in the capital at this time can be described as "harsh".
The first is the smell. Most people at this time had little education, and the phenomenon of open defecation was extremely serious. Not only that, but even the toilet bowl in one's home was sometimes dumped at will without bothering to go to the sewer. The most terrible thing is that because of the superstitious Feng Shui
, many businesses do not stop this behavior.
Xian Ruxing used to like to go to a second-hand bookstore to look for ancient books. He saw many people urinating in front of the bookstore. The boss even said proudly that it was called "a hundred birds paying homage to the phoenix". His store's business was so good thanks to this way of making money. It was disgusting.
She didn't eat all day.
In addition to human excrement, there is also livestock excrement. Especially with the recent development of commerce in the city, more and more animal power is used. Although there are dung pickers to clean it out every day, more of it flows into the ditch, causing blockage.
.
The second is the road surface, because unlike the Forbidden City, which can afford paved stone roads, the outer city of the capital has dirt roads that are muddy every time it rains or snows, mixed with other dirt, and just walking is difficult. In addition, walking on them is difficult.
The drainage system in Shangcheng is not well done. Every time it rains, the water can reach up to the waist. The "Yanshan rain mud blockage" has become the most disgusting thing for people in the capital.
Because of this, a new profession was born called "people carrying people". Every rainy day, poor people would squat in front of restaurants, waiting for rich people to go out and carry them across the street. According to legend, a few years ago a man
Respected officials once wrote an article angrily denounced this matter, scolding them for replacing humans with animals. As a result, when going to court on a rainy day, he accidentally fell into a smelly ditch and almost died. He never asked questions again.
The last point may seem small, but in fact it is the most deadly, and that is wind and sand. Yes, although it is ancient times, the desertification phenomenon on the Loess Plateau is already very serious compared to before. Beijing is a big city that has only emerged in the past hundred years.
Fortunately, in ancient capitals like Luoyang, Xi'an, the surrounding trees have been severely cut down. In addition, the roads are still dirt roads. When the wind is strong, sand and rocks fly around, and people can't see each other ten meters apart.
After Xian Ruxing came to the capital, he often heard the children singing such a jingle, "Wearing a mask in Yanshi, riding a yellow horse, the wind blows up the dust all over the road, when he comes back, he dismounts, his nostrils are as black as smoke", which means don't worry about you
How handsome and elegant an official is, even if he is a nobleman on horseback, if he walks around the city, his nostrils will be as black as chimneys.
Xian Ruxing had previously studied the Great Plague in the late Ming Dynasty. From this point of view, even if people don't eat mice now, given the current sanitary conditions, it will be sooner or later for them to contract infectious diseases.
In order to solve this problem, Xian Ruxing called all her accountants and settled the accounts together. Although there is no detailed data about Beijing, Xianzong built a two-foot-wide stone slab in the imperial mausoleum decades ago.
The road is about two kilometers in total and costs a total of 300,000 taels. In other words, an average of 22 taels of silver is needed per square meter, excluding those who are lining their pockets and those who are on the free payroll. In addition, Xian Ruxing has now invented that besides cement, she is confident that she will
The cost is controlled at around six taels.
Although the price is incredibly cheap, if you want to renovate this city of Beijing, it is initially estimated that it will cost tens of millions of taels of silver.
The annual central tax revenue of the Ming Dynasty has averaged around 6 million since the Tumubao Incident. Last year, when the economy was good and a bunch of new policies were implemented, it could barely reach 8 million. A whole year's tax revenue was used to build the city.
, the court would not agree to it anyway.
Xian Ruxing himself knew this, but this matter had to be done, not only because of the issue of plague prevention and control, but most importantly, in history, Beijing was besieged more than once during the Ming Dynasty, and it had to be rebuilt from the perspective of saving lives.
After much thought, Xian Ruxing went to find Yang Yiqing again.
Although Fei Hong is the chief assistant and Wang Qiong is in charge of the household department, one of them dislikes him and the other is slippery, but Yang Yiqing is more talkative.
When Yang Yiqing knew that she was coming, he did not hesitate and directly asked Xian Ruxing to be led to the front hall. The two exchanged a few words, and Xian Ruxing immediately explained the purpose of her visit.
"My idea is that the imperial court will spend some of the money and then distribute it to the merchants in the form of taxes. After all, they are the ones who benefit the most from building the road."
Yang Yiqing pinched his beard, his eyes were bright, and he asked curiously: "After we left that day, did you meet with His Majesty again?"
"Well, we met." Xian Ruxing paused for a moment, and then continued: "Of course, the people will definitely not be happy if such a heavy tax is distributed all at once, so we can spread the money over five to ten years, so that the burden will be reduced.
Much lighter.”
"Then what? Did you promise him?"
"...No, that's not important. Thank you. In fact, there are more economical ways. His Majesty previously proposed to reorganize the camp. If the craftsmen pay enough silver levy, they can be exempted from the corvee for the year. It has not been implemented yet. If
The imperial court has announced that the craftsmen involved in the road construction this time can be directly exempted from the next three years of labor service, and then the matter will be announced. I think the craftsmen will be more grateful, and if they are managed properly, the construction period can be further shortened."
"Oh, then why don't you agree? Your Majesty is young and handsome, and he loves you wholeheartedly."
Xian Ruxing:==
He sighed and looked at Yang Yiqing helplessly, "If Mr. Ge is like this, then let's talk about it another day. Pindao will leave first."
"Hey - wait, why don't I stop asking? The main reason is not just for myself. If you take the initiative to come to me, everyone in the cabinet will have to ask me tomorrow. The main reason is not to satisfy their curiosity.
"Yang Yiqing said sarcastically.
Xian Ruxing couldn't help but shudder when he thought of a group of senior and powerful old men who were doing nothing else but gathering around to inquire about their relationship status.
Do you want to be so gossipy!?
After coughing twice, Yang Yiqing retracted his inquiry and said seriously: "Although these points you mentioned are good, I personally am still not optimistic about the final success."
"Why?" Xian Ruxing was a little surprised.
Yang Yiqing thought for a moment and said slowly: "There is a saying in the Analects of Confucius, which is called 'Only the superior wisdom and the inferior fool will not change', which means that most people in this world can be changed, but only the superior wise and the inferior will not change."
Stupid people who wait and wait are not easy to change. Although many people in the capital can now recognize a few words, they are only rough in writing. In the final analysis, the people are still ignorant. What do you tell them about epidemic prevention and drainage? These people don't even understand
When it’s not that far away, the only thought is that you have to spend money. So instead of allocating the tax revenue to five or ten years, you can allocate it to one hundred years and let them take out a copper plate from their pockets. The people are not willing to do so.
At that time, if someone with good intentions continues to make such a fuss, the imperial court will easily be blocked and unable to come to power."
"This is below, and let's talk about the top. The places where many officials live now, including the purchased properties, are paved with stone roads. No matter how flooded the capital is, they can't be flooded. For this group of people, they wish that other places were in a mess, so they could control it.
The real estate has become more and more valuable. These people cannot be described as smart, to be precise, they are shrewd. One or two people are very clever, and it is not easy to get them to nod."
Xian Ruxing fell silent after listening to his analysis. He had to say that the other party was much better than him in terms of the human world of this era. He sighed self-deprecatingly, "Good guy, it's really hard to do something."
"You don't have to be disheartened," Yang Yiqing said with a smile while holding tea: "Since we can't build the city, why not just build a new one.":,,.