Chongzhen revived the Ming Dynasty

“Public health, public safety.”

"Interesting, Weiwei Temple finally realized this."

Zhu Youjian was very satisfied when he saw the severe crackdown plan presented by the Weiwei Temple.

He placed the sanitation and fire protection departments in the Weiwei Temple, intending to use them for public security.

He was very satisfied that the Weiwei Temple was able to recognize this and give full play to the functions of the two institutions.

Thinking about this, Zhu Youjian gave the order:

"Call the leaders of the Imperial Guards, Imperial Palace, Imperial Hospital, and Academy of Sciences here to hold a meeting."

"Public safety is a major issue and more attention must be paid."

The young eunuch who received the order immediately went to the four yamen to summon officials.

Liu Qiao was very happy when he learned that the crackdown plan he wrote according to Gui Zhuang's suggestions was approved by the emperor.

Thinking of the emperor's regard for young people like Gu Yanwu, he brought Gui Zhuang over and told him:
"This time when I bring you into the palace, you must be careful."

"Don't speak nonsense in front of the emperor. His Majesty hates people like that the most."

"There is not a single fool among the officials in the court. You can't hide your little tricks from them."

Let Gui Zhuang behave himself in front of the emperor, and not use those tactics of a strategist in front of the emperor.

Gui Zhuang was a little embarrassed when he heard this, knowing that his previous false threats had already been seen through by Liu Qiao and others. The reason why he didn't tell him was just to see if he had the ability to solve the problem.

Now that he has demonstrated his worth, he has gained further favor from Liu Qiao.

This made his previous smug mood disappear a lot, and he said gratefully:
"Thank you for your kindness, Weiwei."

"Your Majesty, you must remember this."

Thinking that he was still studying in the academy a few days ago, and now he was going to the palace with Liu Qiao to meet the emperor, Gui Zhuang felt that all this was just like a dream.

He was so happy that he could hardly suppress his excitement. It was not until he used Gu Yanwu, a role model student, to motivate himself that he calmed down a little:
"Brother Gu has been summoned by the Emperor countless times, and there have never been any problems."

"What Brother Gu can do, I can do too."

"Your Majesty is eager to seek talents, and you will not be surprised even if there are minor mistakes."

He followed Liu Qiao into the palace and met the emperor as an accompanying official.

When they arrived at the palace, the meeting had already begun. Since the Imperial Hospital was relatively close, the hospital envoy took the opportunity to report on the progress of a matter:
"Your Majesty determined that Japanese lead is zinc, and pointed out that zinc is useful to the human body. Some children's diseases are caused by zinc deficiency."

"We have tried hard to test it and found that it is indeed effective. However, some people became poisoned after taking zinc supplements. It seems that there is something strange going on."

Zhu Youjian was very curious when he heard this and asked:

"What is the reason?"

“Is it because the lead is not cleaned up, or is it because of excessive zinc supplementation?”

"Or maybe taking other things while taking zinc supplements will interact with zinc and cause human body poisoning?"

These were all his guesses, but the Imperial Hospital envoy denied them:

"Zinc for human consumption does not contain lead, nor is it excessive, and is taken in the same food as other people."

"After careful testing, we discovered that there was something wrong with the zinc we used. Some zinc contains another element, just like zinc hidden in lead. It was formerly called Japanese lead."

This statement quite interested Xu Guangqi, who was in charge of the Academy of Sciences, because one of the current tasks of the Academy of Sciences was to determine the various elements.

They also received the periodic table of elements from the emperor, most of which were previously unheard of.

Hearing that the Imperial Hospital seemed to have discovered a new element, Xu Guangqi asked them:
"What are the properties of this new element? Has it been extracted?"

The Imperial Hospital Envoy said:

"We extracted a little bit, and now we only know that it is highly toxic."

"Its boiling point is lower than zinc. When zinc is extracted, it will be extracted first, so it will be mixed with zinc."

It introduced in detail how this new element was extracted, allowing the Academy of Sciences to conduct experiments according to the method.

Xu Guangqi listened with great interest, while Liu Qiao, Gui Zhuang and others were completely confused. They didn't even know much about zinc, let alone the new elements extracted from it.

Zhu Youjian probably understood what the new element discovered by the Imperial Hospital was. He was so shocked that he broke out in a cold sweat, and was glad that he didn't let anyone take zinc supplements at random:
"Minamata disease and Itai-itai disease are pollution-related diseases in Japan."

"One is organic mercury pollution, and the other is cadmium pollution."

"The new element extracted from zinc by the Imperial Hospital is most likely cadmium."

He said to his ministers:

"The new element is cadmium, which, like lead and mercury, is a toxic heavy metal."

"In the future, we must pay special attention to testing to prevent heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium from entering food, medicine and water sources, causing human poisoning."

He also specifically instructed the Weiwei Temple:

"Cadmium easily accumulates in rice. Eating this kind of rice can cause pain, pain all over the body, and bending and deforming of the limbs."

"The Weiwei Temple is responsible for public health, so we must pay attention to the investigation."

Liu Qiao was confused and didn't understand what the emperor was talking about. But he still said that he had made a note of it and would definitely investigate it.

Zhu Youjian was afraid that he would disagree, so he used the imperial palace as an example:
"The reason why the emperors of the former Song Dynasty often died without heirs was because poisonous substances such as mercury and cinnabar were used when the imperial palace was built."

"The gold-plated and gilded vessels they used also used mercury in their production, which would remain on them."

"So these emperors often died without heirs, but Song Huizong, who lived in Genyue and used gold and silver utensils, gave birth to many heirs."

This royal secret shocked the ministers who heard about it. They didn't expect that there was this reason why the emperors of the Song Dynasty often had no descendants.

Then some people thought of this dynasty. Except for Taizu, Chengzu, Shizong and Shenzong, most emperors lived to be 30 or 40 years old. The previous emperor only lived to be in his twenties and died young without an heir.

Is this the reason? They dare not think deeply about it.

These officials did not dare to do so, but Zhu Youjian himself did. He said to his officials:
"The red walls of the Ming Dynasty Imperial Palace also have the same problems as the former Song Dynasty Imperial Palace."

"Once the red paint falls off, the cinnabar inside may be absorbed into the body, which will have an impact over time."

"There are also gilded vessels, ceramics and other utensils in the palace, some of which were made with mercury and some contained lead."

"These are all things that need attention. I have already ordered the palace to change them."

"Whether it's buildings or utensils, or food or cosmetics, heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium, and arsenic in arsenic trioxide must be eliminated."

This reminded some informed ministers of the emperor's requirement that cinnabar should not be used in newly built palaces and that all brightly colored porcelain should be removed.

They didn't know the reason before, and just thought it was the quirk of the current emperor. Now they know that it is to prevent heavy metal poisoning, and they deliberately avoid this. They decided in their hearts that they would do the same when they return. They would not use gilded utensils or colorful porcelain. Even if they had to use them, they would learn from the emperor and use high-temperature ceramic underglaze colors to prevent lead pollution.

No matter how powerful a minister is, he cannot do this kind of thing alone. They began to realize what public safety is.

Zhu Youjian then continued:
"Adults can still barely hold on even if they inhale heavy metals."

"But the same cannot be said for children. The same dose is highly toxic to them and they can easily die from it."

"Many parts of the palace are old, and the paint and paintings are easy to fall off. There are three main halls being built in front, and the dust is also a hazard."

"None of the late emperor's three sons and two daughters stayed behind. I think this is the reason."

"So I placed my children in the Western Garden to raise them. The buildings there have been renovated so that they can grow up healthily."

"The pediatric department of the Imperial Hospital should also pay attention to the fact that the medicinal materials used for children must not contain any poison."

When these words came out of the emperor's mouth, all the ministers were surprised.

At this time, they thought carefully and discovered that the emperor had four sons and three daughters in just three years, and none of them died young.

This is very obvious compared to the fact that all five of the previous emperor's children died young.

The current emperor has long been aware of the dangers of heavy metals and has deliberately avoided this.

His statement is quite convincing.

Thinking that heavy metals such as lead, mercury and cadmium would hinder offspring, the ministers were afraid and kept this matter in mind.

Although they didn't know how the emperor knew about it, they guessed that it was probably Taizu Chengzu who told him.

Otherwise, how could the emperor know so much about the affairs of the former Song Dynasty?
And as soon as he ascended the throne, he began to renovate the Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Thinking of the three emperors of the Ming Dynasty who lived over 60 years, Taizu and Chengzu were often away from home and spent little time in the palace, and Emperor Shizong Jiajing came from a foreign vassal and lived in the Western Garden all year round. They are even more certain that this is the reason why the emperors of the Ming Dynasty lived short lives.

Thinking of the red walls of the imperial palace, which contained poisonous substances such as cinnabar, they felt that the normally solemn and majestic Forbidden City had now become terrifying.

Grand Secretary Xu Guangqi said:
"There are so many poisonous things in the palace. Your Majesty, please move."

"After the palace is renovated, we will return to the palace."

Liu Qiao and others also made the same request, believing that the emperor should leave.

Otherwise, they are all responsible for turning a blind eye to the danger faced by their king and father.

Not to mention that they had to go to the palace frequently, and the Grand Secretary's office was located in the palace.

Zhu Youjian thought the same thing, but he was faced with a big problem. He sighed to his ministers:
"I also want to renovate the palace."

"But the country is in a difficult situation, where can we get so much money?"

"Now I can only renovate the Yangxin Palace and go to the West Garden from time to time."

"We can only completely renovate the palace after natural disasters have subsided and finances have become more abundant."

These words touched the hearts of all the ministers, and the young Gui Zhuang even shed tears.

He thought to himself that if he knew he lived in a drug den, he would move out without hesitation or rebuild the house from scratch.

However, the emperor knew that the palace was poisonous, but he had to live in it. He even had no money to renovate the palace in order to save manpower.

How could Gui Zhuang not feel that the emperor was kind and was willing to put the people first even at the cost of himself?

For a moment, he could not restrain his emotions and spoke out:
"Your Majesty puts the people first, how can your subjects see you in danger?"

"I beg Your Majesty to move to Qinghua Garden, and we will donate money to renovate the palace."

Upon hearing this, Liu Qiao and others had no choice but to follow suit and request donations to renovate the palace.

Otherwise, not to mention the emperor living in the palace in fear, they also need to pay attention to this when they go to court.

Some people have even decided in their hearts that when they return home, they will scrape off all the red paint in their homes and repaint their homes with non-toxic and harmless red paint.

In order to prevent people from being affected by the red paint containing cinnabar when walking on the streets, the red paint in the entire city had to be repainted.

The officials of the Imperial Hospital even thought of cinnabar and red lead pills in the medicine. They needed to re-check all the medicines containing heavy metals.

……

All of these things cannot be accomplished by one person alone. For the first time, the concept of public safety became clear in the eyes of everyone.

The officials all realized that only by setting up a special agency could they take on this matter. The Public Security Commission, which was established based on the Weiwei Temple, was very necessary.

Zhu Youjian was somewhat moved when he heard that the ministers were willing to donate money to renovate the palace, but he still refused:
“Donations are not necessary.”

"When the finances are sufficient, renovate the entire palace."

"Otherwise, when you scrape the paint, there will be dust everywhere, which will be breathed into your lungs."

"The same is true for the transformation of the capital, which needs to be planned and arranged in a unified way."

He also emphasized:

"The water pipes laid in the capital this time must not contain lead."

"I heard that the Roman Empire in the West was weakened by the barbarians because of the use of lead water pipes."

"When galvanizing iron pipes, we must also pay attention to the fact that the zinc cannot contain toxic heavy metals such as lead and cadmium to prevent drinking water from being contaminated."

We still put the safety of the people first and emphasize public safety.

Gui Zhuang was deeply moved after hearing this and asked the emperor again:
"Your Majesty, please move to Qinghua Garden, which has been renovated."

"My classmates and I once studied in Tsinghua University, where the scenery is beautiful and the houses have been renovated, without any lead or mercury poisoning."

Zhu Youjian laughed, but did not mention the matter of moving. Instead, he said with interest:

"You studied in Tsinghua University, so you are from the Normal School!"

"How is the Normal School doing now? When will the students graduate?"

Gui Zhuang did not expect the emperor to ask this, and answered somewhat at a loss:
"Your Excellency...students...some of my classmates are still studying, some are looking for internships, and many have already started teaching and will graduate next year."

"I am undecided about my character. When I was debating with others at the Golden Terrace, I was hired as the spokesperson for the Weiwei Temple."

Zhu Youjian nodded slightly, knowing that the universities in the capital were now three-year systems, and after two years of teaching, teachers no longer had much to teach.

Except for some people who concentrated on the imperial examinations and needed the school environment, most of the third-year college students had already begun to go out of the school to seek employment.

He was also very concerned about this matter, because he knew that if the employment problem of college students was not solved well, it would be the source of new unrest. These people who gathered in the capital and received professional training could exert great destructive power.

Therefore, he specifically inquired about the trends of the students at Guizhuang, and encouraged the Weiwei Temple, the Academy of Sciences and other institutions to recruit more talents from the students. (End of this chapter)