Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 1012 Barefoot Measuring the Sky and Entering the Clouds

"Haven't I told you many times that you must not go down the mountain to kidnap and eat people? The diseases that plague you women and children are caused by eating people."

Furthermore, how could the Han people on the plains let this go so easily? You took one of their lives, so they will make you pay with ten lives.

If there's no food, go hunting in the mountains and exchange it for grain at the foot of the mountain. Bird feathers from the mountains are also valuable. If all else fails, go down to the foot of the mountain to work or farm. Taiwan is a vital transportation route between the north and south, and there's no shortage of food, especially pure Champa rice. Why resort to cannibalism?

Qian Duanli and Lu Jiuyuan had arrived at the largest wooden house. Although their clothes were still dirty, they had washed their faces and heads with water so that they wouldn't look too disheveled.

They were staring in disbelief as the young man stood before a group of savage leaders and shouted orders.

The savage leaders looked embarrassed, their faces turning purple in the torchlight, but they didn't dare to utter a single word in rebuttal.

A moment later, one of the chieftains spoke in broken Chinese: "Great Shaman, we don't want to eat them... but we want... to... leave some children..."

Lu Jiuyuan's face turned green.

The young man covered his forehead and said, "Abang chieftain, I told you, I'm just a doctor, not some great shaman, and I don't communicate with your ancestors..."

The chieftain immediately nodded: "What the great shaman said is true, what the great shaman said is true..."

Faced with the incoherent Chinese, the young man could only sigh helplessly. He turned to look at Lu Jiuyuan and Qian Duanli and nodded slightly: "I am Song Yunlu, assistant professor of the third surgical group of the National Medical College of the Great Han Dynasty. My current duties are to be the planning supervisor of the Treasure Island Hospital, the deputy envoy for the procurement of diseases in the surrounding areas of Treasure Island, and the barefoot envoy of the countryside."

May I ask your esteemed names and where you are from?

To be honest, Lu Jiuyuan had never heard of any of these official titles, but that didn't stop him from immediately bowing and saying, "Young Master Song, my name is Lu Jiuyuan, and I am from Fuzhou, Jiangxi. This gentleman is Qian Duanli, and he is from Lin'an Prefecture. We came to this island to relax, but we never expected to encounter such a thing. We were able to escape this disaster entirely thanks to the kindness of Young Master Song."

Song Yunlu waved her hands repeatedly, saying she didn't deserve such praise, but in her heart she thought the two of them were talking nonsense.

At that time, Taiwan was not fully developed, wild men roamed the mountains and forests, and there were countless infectious diseases. What was there to relax about?
However, everyone has their own secrets. Song Yunlu is just a doctor, not a seasoned criminal investigator. Why would she bother with this?

"Please don't be so polite, gentlemen. I've already found out that the Yunshan tribe only wants to strip you of your clothes, not your skin." After saying this witty remark, Song Yunlu's expression turned serious: "If possible, please stay another night. I will send you out first thing tomorrow morning, as the mountain roads at night are too dangerous."

Qian Duanli, still shaken, nodded repeatedly upon hearing this.

At this moment, the two young girls who had just been there also came in, each carrying a bowl of coarse rice, and offered it to the two scholars.

The two women seemed unwilling to give up, staring intently at the two scholars while constantly flaunting their hips.

After all, the Song state also considered appearance when selecting officials, so both scholars were handsome. Even though Qian Duanli was older, he was still considered a handsome old man, not to mention Lu Jiuyuan, who was in his prime.

However, the two were young and the mountain hunters and fishermen lived a life of constant hunger and had very flat figures. How could two well-traveled noblemen be interested in them?
Even after being hungry for half a day, this bowl of brown rice in front of me seems even more tempting, doesn't it?
Qian Duanli said in a low voice, "Lu Liulang, I only know that the Japanese have a tradition of letting our Song Dynasty scholars stay overnight and having children with their offspring. How come these savages from the island of Treasure Island also have this tradition?"

Lu Jiuyuan suppressed the urge to roll his eyes, utterly helpless against this untimely Xifu Prime Minister.

Is this the time to be discussing this, still in the so-called Yunshan Tribal Hall?

"Mr. Qian, please be careful with your words."

While the two Song Dynasty officials were whispering to each other, Song Yunlu continued her conversation with the chieftain, Abang: "Chieftain, how effective was the medicine I brought? Have those people recovered from their malaria?"

Ah Bang immediately trembled with excitement, even the tattoo on his face quivered: "The great shaman really can bring clouds from the sky. After drinking the flower water, he recovered."

Just as Song Yunlu was about to speak, Lu Jiuyuan abruptly stood up, holding the wooden bowl: "Malaria?! Is Young Master Song referring to miasma malaria?"

Furthermore, malaria is a disease that existed almost simultaneously with the development of the south. It is recorded in the Tang Dynasty that "瘴" and "疟" are two separate names, but they are actually the same. It may be cold first and then hot, or hot first and then cold. In Lingnan, it is generally called "瘴", while in Jiangbei it is generally called "疟". This is due to the difference in dialects, not because it is a different disease.

In their struggle against malaria, the ancient Chinese people developed a set of empirical medicines. For example, long-term consumption of Job's tears could lighten the body and ward off miasma. Eating betel nuts could also help overcome miasma. Other substances, such as realgar and atractylodes, were often burned and used as fumigation to repel mosquitoes and eliminate miasma.

But this is ultimately just prevention. Once you actually get malaria, you can only relieve the symptoms with medications like Changshan Decoction. You have to tough it out on your own; there's no way to completely eradicate it.

Otherwise, Han Yu would not have written such farewell lines as "Knowing you have come from afar with good intentions, please collect my bones by the pestilential river" when he was exiled to Lingnan.

Hearing Song Yunlu's conversation with this old man, who was talking about medicine for treating malaria, and that it was given to the Taiwanese savage tribe by the Great Han National Medical College, was indeed quite unbelievable.

Lu Jiuyuan also coveted these medicines immensely.

Song Yunlu gestured for her to calm down, then continued to ask, "Abang, how are the artemisia I asked you to plant when I came last time? Have they all dried in the shade?" Abang immediately turned around, muttered a few words, and then someone brought over a large basket of dark-colored things that seemed to float on the ground.

Song Yunlu reached out and pulled out a handful, examining it closely under the torchlight. She then said, "It needs to be air-dried for another twenty days. Next time, chop it even finer. Then, as I said before, soak it in strong liquor. If you can't find strong liquor, water will do. After drinking it, there's a 50% chance it will cure malaria."

Ah Bang immediately changed from sitting cross-legged to kneeling on the ground, wanting to kowtow, but Song Yunlu stopped him: "Ah Bang, I don't stay in any tribe for long. I still have many things to do today. Don't kowtow."

Ah Bang listened intently to Song Yunlu's words, and after a long pause, he nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, the Great Shaman said yes."

Lu Jiuyuan remained holding his rice bowl, somewhat embarrassed, but this did not stop the old and young of the Yunshan tribe from entering the hall one after another.

Song Yunlu opened the medicine box she carried with her, and several Han Chinese martial artists who had been watching coldly for a long time also spread out their brushes, ink, paper and inkstones, and began to write by the light of the torches.

They actually started the consultation on the spot.

Ignoring Qian Duanli's subtle signals, Lu Jiuyuan carried the wooden bowl closer.

It seems that only Abang in the Yunshan tribe can speak Chinese, so the savages have to communicate with Song Yunlu through him.

However, Song Yunlu is quite knowledgeable and has accumulated some experience on the island over the past few months. She can often quickly diagnose the illness just by looking at the position the patient is gesturing with their hands.

"Bring me the torch. Bear with it, your wound is inflamed, I need to cut away the rotten flesh."

"This is top-quality wound medicine. Here are three doses for you. Change one dose every three days."

"...You must have eaten something wrong. Use this croton seed powder to induce bowel movement."

Lu Jiuyuan listened quietly from the side and discovered that Song Yunlu was not using any advanced medical skills. Even he, a scholar-official who had only read a few medical books, could perform the procedure.

However, as he watched the wild people of Yunshan leave in high spirits, he suddenly realized something.

For wild men, even the most basic medical skills are beyond their reach.

At this time, the Yunshan tribe was still mostly in a state of enduring minor illnesses and seeking divine intervention for serious illnesses, with shamans and doctors working hand in hand.

Didn't you hear the chieftain of Abang call Song Yunlu the Great Shaman?
The day's consultations did not end until late at night, when Song Yunlu and her team were utterly exhausted.

Song Yunlu forced herself to look at Lu Jiuyuan and said, "Mr. Lu, I'm sorry to have kept you waiting."

Lu Jiuyuan's eyelids were also drooping, but he still couldn't wait to ask, "Does the Great Han Dynasty actually have medicine to treat malaria now?"

Song Yunlu nodded: "Yes."

"Then could you... uh..."

Lu Jiuyuan's eyes nearly popped out when he saw the books extended in front of him.

"This is the 'Barefoot Measuring the Sky Manual,' a medical book distributed to every barefoot practitioner by the medical college. It contains treatments and prescriptions for all common ailments, including the Artemisia annua-based medicine for clearing away miasma. The preparation steps are detailed, and you can take it and try making it."

"This...this is so precious...how could you...just give it to me like this?"

"It is precisely because it is so precious that we must spread the book throughout the world so that more people can see it," Song Yunlu said with a yawn. "If it weren't for the fact that no one in the mountain tribes of this island is literate, I would also give them a copy."

“My emperor said that Confucius taught without discrimination, and doctors should also practice medicine without discrimination. Human life is more precious than a thousand pieces of gold, and medical schools should benefit the world.”

Lu Jiuyuan held the book in his hands, opened and closed his mouth several times before finally saying in a muffled voice, "Liu Dalang... uh, King of Han... Emperor of Han, do you also know medicine?"

Song Yunlu immediately perked up, a smug look on his face that belonged only to a former official of the Yuan dynasty: "If Mr. Lu were to ask others about this matter, they might not be able to find out the truth. However, I was taught by Xu Gong, the deputy director of the Department of Surgery at the Medical College, and I know the whole story in great detail. This Artemisia annua-based malaria-clearing pill was something that the Emperor and my mentor came up with together."

Lu Jiuyuan had never heard of the name of the medical school's top talent, but since the other party had mentioned his lineage, he had to praise him: "I wonder where this Master Xu is. With such great merit, I should personally pay him a visit."

"Oh, so you haven't seen me lately. My mentor must be taking care of his pregnancy."

"what?"

(End of this chapter)