Volume 3: Confrontation! The Run of Civilization Chapter 467 The Rise of the New Wealthy Merchants
After these people left, Zhu Youdong asked Fang Zhenghua to go to the Imperial Hospital to invite Wu Youke over.
In the Ming Dynasty, medical officers held low positions but were heavily responsible and involved in many matters. Therefore, most famous doctors were unwilling to do this. However, after Zhu Youdong became emperor, he gave medical officers extremely high powers and responsibilities. He not only raised the rank of the chief physician from the fifth rank to the third rank, but also granted the Imperial Hospital the authority to manage medical administration, medical affairs, pharmaceutical administration, disease prevention and control, etc. throughout the country - this was to develop the Imperial Hospital into the functions of the Ministry of Health in later generations.
In this way, they could not only control the medical industry of the whole country, but also get close to the emperor, the greatest medical expert of the time. Therefore, most were eager to work in the Imperial Hospital.
The director of the Imperial Medical Bureau at that time was Wu Youke.
"Student greets teacher."
"Hahaha, that's fine. You already knew about the opium incident at today's court meeting, right?"
"The student has already known this, and was just about to ask to see the teacher about this."
"Oh? Are you afraid that I will take a one-size-fits-all approach and completely ban opium?"
"That's right. Teacher, opium can harm people, but it can also save people. We can't generalize, and we can't completely ban its use."
"Of course I understand this, that's why I asked you to come here overnight."
"What does the teacher mean?"
"The Spanish have evil ambitions and have imported opium into the Ming Dynasty. This has given me a warning. On the battlefield, if there is a drug that can quickly relieve pain and stop bleeding, it would be a magical item that can save the lives of soldiers. And this kind of thing must be further refined from opium."
"Huh~" Wu Youke let out a long sigh: "The students said it, the teacher will not make mistakes in medicine."
"Hey, how can we not make mistakes at all?" Zhu Youdong said after being low-key for a while: "I will ask Tian Ergeng and Xu Xianchun to look for poppy fruits. Then I will allocate a royal farm in North Zhili and South Zhili to the Imperial Hospital, and let you grow poppies there. And through experiments, extract and refine better painkillers. Well, I will temporarily name this thing, let's call it morphine."
"Yes, I understand. When I return, I will select a student with good conduct and ability from the Imperial Hospital to take on this task."
"You're right. To do this, one must have good conduct. Also, I can say hello in advance. This thing can only be used for medicine. If I find out that someone takes advantage of their position to smoke it or even sell it, hehe, don't blame me for not respecting the teacher-student relationship."
"Please rest assured, teacher. We will strictly manage the situation. If something like this really happens, there is no need for the teacher to do anything. The students will kill the scum themselves!"
"Okay, I'll remember that. Eh? What time is it? Why are the chickens crowing?"
…
As the morning light gradually brightened, all the shops in Beijing came alive. The flow of people on the street gradually increased. At this moment, the "Nanyue Zhengzong" restaurant opened by Zhu Yunkeng and Zhu Shengmiao, father and son, near Chaoyangmen, was already full of people who came to have morning tea. And Dr. Tea also sat on a high stool and began to read aloud the newspaper.
"…In summary, opium is a great poison that harms the country and the people, so the court must strictly prohibit it and the law must be strict. I only hope that the people of the Ming Dynasty will recognize the serious harm of this substance as soon as possible, cherish life, and stay away from drugs."
Zhang Shize acted quickly, and immediately instructed the Yanjing Daily to change the front page that night. Fortunately, the current printing machinery has unlimited power because of the steam engine, and since it was only the front page that was changed, it was not delayed in publishing the newspaper that morning.
As the "Yanjing Daily" flowed into thousands of households on time, the people who were having morning tea at "Nanyue Zhengzong" had all heard the court's anti-drug order.
"Hey! How dare the Spaniards be so cruel and ruthless that they dare to import such things into our Ming Dynasty? They are really tired of living!"
"That's right. Hey, I say, did you hear that? The emperor is furious. This time, he's going to teach these guys a lesson!"
"Yes, I'm telling you, I heard that the emperor publicly stated in the court that he would send troops to Luzon."
"Ah? There's such a thing? Man, it's not mentioned in the newspaper. How do you know?"
"Hey, some of my relatives attended the grand court meeting yesterday. Well, I don't dare to say more."
The lobby became noisy because of the drug ban, but at the back of the lobby, Zhu Yunkeng and his son Zhu Shengmiao could finally sit in the back hall to drink a sip of tea and take a breath after assisting the chefs in the store to prepare a wide variety of breakfasts.
Yes, it was just an assistant, not the head chef. Because of Zhu Youdong's intervention, the father and son not only got rid of the pressure of repaying the loan, but also completely got rid of Zhu Shengpang to hold them back. In addition, they were the positive role models set up by Zhu Youdong's new policy for the royal family, and the government, Jinyiwei and others also took special care of them. The landlord didn't dare to increase the rent because of their good business, and even those little hooligans in the capital didn't dare to cause trouble.
The catering industry has no loans, stable rents, no corrupt officials or hooligans to interfere, a big reputation, and good food quality - it would be unfair if it wasn't popular.
Therefore, after two years, the father and son managed the restaurant more and more prosperously and made more and more profits. Not only did they allow Zhu Shengpang and Zhu Shengmiao's sons to go back to school, they also bought a farm in Hejian Prefecture in northern Zhili and became small landlords.
However, although life is getting better and better, the father and son still remain true to their nature and insist on working in their own store.
"Father, you have worked hard. This is the wonton noodles I made myself. Would you like to try it?"
"...Mm, smooth and chewy, very good."
After finishing a bowl of wontons, Zhu Yunkeng breathed a sigh of relief: "Miao'er, the Shuntian County Examination will be held in the second half of this year. You don't have to stay in the store for the next six months, right? Your father suggests that you go back to the village, study hard for six months, and strive to pass the examination by the end of this year!"
"Father, I have seldom helped the store recently. You see, the shopping and other things are all handed over to the shop assistants. Most of the time, I am reviewing my lessons. As for going back to the farm to study hard behind closed doors? Father, this article needs to be constantly polished. I don't think it's appropriate to leave so many famous teachers and talented people in the capital and go back to the countryside to study behind closed doors."
"...Well, okay. We are royal family members, royal nobles. In fact, before the emperor's new policy, we were worse than beggars. As a father, I really don't understand the matter of studying. Do whatever you think is best."
"Yes, thank you for your understanding."
"That..." Zhu Yunkeng hesitated for a moment, his eyes looking a little unnatural: "You..."
"Father." Zhu Shengmiao smiled cheerfully, "Big brother is doing well in Fengyang. Yesterday, I went to pay a visit to Eunuch Wang of the Internal Affairs Bureau. According to Eunuch Wang, Big brother has calmed down in the past two years in Fengyang. Whether it is weeding the ancestral mausoleum or wiping the dust of the shrine, he does it very carefully and does not do it perfunctorily."
"Oh, that's good, that's good." After all, he is his son, no matter how bad he is, he is still his son. When Zhu Yunkeng heard this, he felt very relieved and his eyes were a little moist.
"Father, speaking of my elder brother, I have something to discuss with you."
"you say."
"Yesterday, I visited Eunuch Wang Chengen. During our chat, he mentioned something. The court is planning to relocate the river workers on both sides of the canal. These people will eventually go by sea, so a large number of sea vessels will be needed. I think, since we still have a surplus of 20,000 to 30,000 yuan in the store, why not buy two large sea vessels, rent one to others, and donate the other to the court? This way, we can repay the emperor's kindness."
"Miao'er, this is a good suggestion! Even if we don't enter this business, we must buy a ship and present it to the court. If it weren't for the emperor, we don't know when we can get a loan, and the business of this store wouldn't be as good as it is today. We must repay this favor!"
"So." Zhu Shengmiao began to clear the dishes for Zhu Yunkeng: "I plan to go to Lianghuai in person to buy a boat there. Since I'm already in Lianghuai, I'll go to Fengyang to see my elder brother. I'll also bring Zao'er with me, after all, he's his biological father."
"Ah, I just hope your elder brother can reform well in Fengyang and get the emperor's permission to come back soon."
