Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 901: Chapter 36: Smallpox Prevention (Part 3)

"What’s the matter?"

Zhao Yao raised his voice and called out, "Tong Xi! Tong Xi! Tong Xi!"

Hearing Zhao Yao’s loud call, Tong Xi hurried over: "Your Highness, what’s wrong?"

"Go and call Doctor Tong."

"Your Highness, Doctor Tong is probably having lunch right now."

"Let him find me after he’s had lunch."

"Yes."

"Why are you looking for Doctor Tong?" Lian Fang asked with concern, "Are you not feeling well?"

"No, I’m fine. I’m looking for Doctor Tong to discuss the establishment of a hospital, that is, a medical hall." Zhao Yao looked at the mushroom hot pot in front of him and said to Lian Fang, "I’m worried that during the trade conference, some people might not handle the mushrooms well and get food poisoning. We need to arrange for doctors in advance. Didn’t I tell you before, I want to build a large medical hall and medical college in Lingnan, so that people there can afford medical treatment and learn medicine properly."

Lian Fang nodded, "The hospital you mentioned."

"Yes, I’ve been too busy lately and forgot about building the hospital. Luckily, I remembered now, and there’s still time to build it."

"If you’re worried about guests getting mushroom poisoning, it’s best not to serve mushrooms."

"As long as the mushrooms are fully cooked, they won’t cause poisoning. I’m just afraid that some people might be impatient and eat them before they’re fully cooked. So, to be safe, it’s better to be prepared." Zhao Yao continued, "Moreover, many people experience acclimatization problems the first time they come to Lingnan." Many who accompanied Zhao Yao at the beginning experienced such problems, suffering from vomiting and diarrhea, with some falling seriously ill for a long time.

"Didn’t you say that the climate in Annan is similar to Lingnan? They shouldn’t have acclimatization issues when they come here."

"Better safe than sorry, it’s still wise to prepare in advance." The issue of building a hospital is important, and Zhao Yao was afraid of delaying further. He hurriedly finished his lunch and went to the council hall.

Doctor Tong came quickly, and was greatly surprised when Zhao Yao mentioned establishing a hospital. In fact, Zhao Yao had talked to Doctor Tong about building a hospital and a medical college long ago, but after arriving in Swamp Prefecture, Zhao Yao was nowhere to be seen due to busyness, never mentioning it again, making Doctor Tong think he had forgotten.

"A hospital can’t be built overnight, and must be built properly. So for now, just use Renhe Hall as the hospital." Renhe Hall was the largest medical hall in Swamp Prefecture, originally opened by a relative of a local official. When Zhao Yao eradicated the officials, Renhe Hall was implicated, but Zhao Yao did not order its closure.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Next, Zhao Yao discussed in detail with Doctor Tong how to build the hospital.

Zhao Yao’s respect for medical skills and doctors filled Doctor Tong with emotion and gratitude.

In the capital, doctors were looked down upon by officials, and even the Imperial Physician had few who respected them. Doctor Tong had once been the most famous doctor at Anhe Hall in the capital, with superb medical skills, but because he spoke the truth, he offended a powerful figure, was beaten severely, and forced to leave the capital. That’s when he was found by people from the Han Prince Mansion and assigned to practice medicine in Lingnan.

Although Lingnan was remote, it had many complex diseases, and Doctor Tong enjoyed researching various peculiar illnesses. After arriving in Lingnan, he found many diseases there that he had never seen or heard of before. Over the years, he and other doctors had consistently researched treating the unique diseases of Lingnan. Their efforts paid off as they had cured many strange maladies in Lingnan over the years.

After discussing the establishment of the hospital, Zhao Yao realized that spring was approaching, and his expression became serious: "Spring is the most likely time to get sick. Every spring in Lingnan, many people fall ill, often with strange diseases, and the worst part is that some of these diseases are highly contagious. You need to prepare for prevention in advance."

"You’re right, Your Highness. I was originally planning to start preventive measures in a few days." Doctor Tong had learned about early prevention from Zhao Yao.

"In two days, hold a free clinic at Renhe Hall, and also teach the people how to prevent diseases." Zhao Yao remembered the issue of eyesight and added, "Also, offer free eye tests to the people."

"Yes, Your Highness." Just after speaking, Doctor Tong remembered that many people in Lingnan contracted smallpox every spring and quickly reported the matter to Zhao Yao. Every year, many people died of smallpox in Lingnan. Of course, aside from Lingnan, many inland regions also had high mortality from smallpox.

If Doctor Tong hadn’t mentioned smallpox, Zhao Yao would not have remembered.

"Cowpox can prevent smallpox."

"Cowpox to prevent smallpox?" Doctor Tong was bewildered, "Your Highness, I don’t understand what you mean." What is cowpox? How can it prevent smallpox? Smallpox had been considered incurable throughout history; prevention had never been heard of.

Zhao Yao explained in detail to Doctor Tong how to perform cowpox inoculation. After hearing this, Doctor Tong was extremely excited: "Your Highness, this...this..." He was so excited that he couldn’t even form a complete sentence.

"Once you’ve handled the matters at Renhe Hall, I’ll arrange for you to experiment with cowpox at Nanshan." Zhao Yao said with certainty, "Cowpox inoculation will surely prevent smallpox, so you need to develop the cowpox."

Doctor Tong didn’t understand why Zhao Yao was so adamant, but he trusted Prince Han’s words. Without absolute certainty, he would never make such claims.

"Rest assured, Your Highness, even if it costs me my life, I’ll develop the cowpox." If cowpox could indeed prevent smallpox, it would be a monumental achievement. If he succeeded in developing it, he would surely be remembered in history.

"I believe you will succeed!" Forgetting such a significant matter as cowpox inoculation was indeed unacceptable. Fortunately, Doctor Tong brought it up today, otherwise, who knows when he would have remembered.