The Wanli Emperor of the Ming Dynasty was extremely rebellious

Chapter 172: Completely Unemployed
Wanli had been busy in the Baihe Valley for more than a month and had not yet started making medicine.

As for the reason, it was not that he forgot, but it took time to prepare the medicinal materials.

The medicine he wants to make is not just a small amount, ten thousand doses of each type are far from enough.

There were 140 prefectures, 193 states, and 1,138 counties in the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. Ten thousand doses would not be enough to provide ten doses for each county.

What he wants to do is to develop an industry rapidly, not promote it slowly.

In the next two years, he planned to open pharmacies all over the two capitals and thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty. It would be a joke if there were only a few doses of each medicine in one county. It would not be enough to open a store, not even a hundred doses.

In other words, at least hundreds of thousands of copies of each medicine must be made, and millions of copies of the commonly used ones must be made.

So many medicines require a lot of medicinal materials. Even if they buy all the medicinal materials from all the medicine shops in the capital, it will still not be enough.

More importantly, almost no one grows uncommon medicinal herbs nowadays, and they basically rely on farmers to go into the mountains to collect them. What they can buy is probably only enough to make a few or dozens of doses, which is not enough at all.

Therefore, they had to wait until all the military headquarters and guards received the Compendium of Materia Medica, and then go into the mountains to collect a large number of medicinal herbs, dry them, and transport them to the capital before they could start making medicine.

This process will not take more than a month.

However, after the first batch of medicinal materials were delivered from the vicinity of the capital, Wanli decided to make some samples first.

After all, mass production of medicines requires the use of water-powered machines. If you rely on manual labor, you probably won’t make any money.

He also had to consider what kind of machinery to equip the water truck with.

Early in the morning at about noon that day, he summoned Li Shizhen and his son, the Wan brothers, and Yongnian Earl Wang Wei to the main hall of the original county government office.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on the large table in the middle, waiting for him to speak.

This time, what was placed on the long table was not a map, but several kinds of medicine.

In fact, the Ming Dynasty had already had ready-made medicines a long time ago, but the appearance and packaging were really not very good.

These medicines are the most common ones on the market, such as Liuwei Dihuang Pills, Niuhuang Jiedu Pills, Ejiao Cake, and Guiling Paste.

If people in later generations heard about these medicines, they would probably think that Liuwei Dihuang Pills and Niuhuang Jiedu Pills were both soybean-sized pills, and that donkey-hide gelatin cakes and tortoise jelly were both beautifully packaged in glass bottles or iron boxes.

The medicines on the table today are completely different from those in later generations.

Liuwei Dihuang Pills and Niuhuang Jiedu Pills were both wrapped in oil paper. They were quite large, bigger than quail eggs. Donkey-hide gelatin cakes were also wrapped in paper. Turtle Jelly was better, and it was also packed in a quite large porcelain bottle.

Wanli picked up a Liuwei Dihuang Pill, opened the oil paper and took a look. Wow, it was just as big as a small egg. If he swallowed it in one gulp, he would probably choke to death.

This is the most common beeswax pill these days, wrapped in a thin layer of beeswax for sealing.

He was quite puzzled and asked, "Why is this pill so big? Doesn't it have to be broken into small balls before it can be eaten?"

Li Shizhen nodded slightly upon hearing this and said, "Yes, Your Majesty, this cannot be swallowed directly. It is too big. You have to break it into small pieces when eating.

As for why it is made so big, it is mainly to save beeswax. Each pill costs only a few cents. If it is pinched into the size of a soybean, it will not only be time-consuming and laborious, but also waste beeswax.

Beeswax is more expensive than the medicine itself. If we make it into small pills, we won’t make any money, we’ll even lose money.”

Upon hearing this, Wanli frowned and said, "Such a big one only costs a few coins, how can we make money?"

Well, you said you wanted to make and sell medicine, but you can't make much money from selling medicine.

Li Shizhen said helplessly, "After deducting the cost, the gross profit of this pill is only one or two cents. It's really not very profitable."

Wanli thought for a moment, then asked, "What are the main effects of these medicines?"

Li Shizhen said without hesitation: "Liuwei Dihuang Wan nourishes yin and tonifies the kidney. It is suitable for symptoms such as kidney yin deficiency, dizziness, tinnitus, soreness of waist and knees, bone steaming, hot flashes, and night sweats.

Niuhuang Jiedu Pills clear away heat and detoxify, and are suitable for symptoms such as internal heat, sore throat, swollen and painful gums, mouth and tongue ulcers, and red and swollen eyes.

Donkey-hide gelatin cake replenishes blood and qi, nourishes yin and moistens the lungs, nourishes the liver and kidneys, and can also moisten the intestines and promote bowel movements.

Guiling Gao clears away heat and dampness, nourishes yin and strengthens the kidneys, nourishes the skin and refreshes the mind.”

These are the medicines they want to make.

The question is, with this introduction, can this medicine be sold at a reasonable price?
Moreover, these things are available on the market and everyone knows the price, so we have to try something new.

Wanli frowned and pondered for a while, then asked: "These are for the common people. We need to make some for the rich. Doctor Li, which medicine for replenishing qi and blood is the most expensive? Which medicine for beauty is the most expensive? I'm talking about medicinal materials."

This one.

Li Shizhen pondered, "If we talk about expensiveness, wild ginseng is the most expensive among the herbs that replenish qi and blood. Wild ginseng can greatly replenish vital energy, restore the pulse and strengthen the body, nourish the spleen and lungs, and promote the production of body fluids and blood. Those under a hundred years old are about the same price as silver, but those over a hundred years old are ridiculously expensive.

As for beauty products, the most expensive one would probably be pearl powder. Pearl powder can calm the mind, improve eyesight, eliminate cataracts, detoxify and regenerate skin, and moisturize and remove blemishes. The price of pearls is generally similar to that of silver, but some are ridiculously expensive. It all depends on the size and roundness of the pearls."

Wanli nodded slightly, then asked, "Do you have a recipe for wild ginseng and pearl powder?"

Such expensive herbs are used to make medicine?

The Wan brothers were stunned.

Li Shizhen pondered, "Wild ginseng and pearl powder can be taken directly without any other medicine. In my Compendium of Materia Medica, I actually added several herbs to the Liuwei Dihuang Pills to make them more tonifying for Qi and blood. It's called the Shiquan Dabu Pills, and the main ingredient is Codonopsis pilosula. If wild ginseng were used instead, the Qi and blood tonifying effect would naturally be even stronger."

As for pearl powder, I think taking it with a small amount of wild ginseng powder will make your complexion even more rosy, but that's not a prescription."

Ten-ingredient tonic pills?
This name is not high-sounding enough and cannot be sold at a high price.

Wanli thought about it carefully and then asked, "Can the Ten-Herbs Tonic Pills be made golden? Would it be okay to add a little more dry flour or dry rice flour to the pearl powder and wild ginseng powder?"

what?
These medicines will turn black when boiled together. It is impossible to boil them into golden yellow.

Li Shizhen pondered for a long time before carefully saying, "Your Majesty, hay and astragalus are both golden yellow. After the Ten-Herbs Tonic Pills are made, can we coat them with a layer of hay and astragalus powder?"

If it is not golden enough, we can add some golden pollen, which will not affect the medicinal properties.

As for adding dry flour or dry rice flour to pearl powder and wild ginseng powder, there is definitely no problem, but if you add too much, the medicinal effect will not be as good. "

This medicine doesn't need to be very effective, as long as it looks good and is effective when taken.

Wanli pointed at the large porcelain bottle shaped like tortoise jelly and said, "You don't seal porcelain bottles with beeswax because porcelain bottles are too expensive, right?"

Li Shizhen nodded repeatedly and said, "Yes, no matter how small the porcelain bottle is, the same process is required. It costs a few coins each. If I use a porcelain bottle to store medicine worth a few coins, I will lose a lot of money."

Wanli asked again: "You have a recipe for tiger and wolf medicine, right? I mean for sexual intercourse."

Of course there are such things, there are quite a few in the palace.

Li Shizhen and his son and the Wan brothers all nodded slightly.

That'll do.

Wanli explained in detail: "Ten-in-one tonic pills with wild ginseng added are changed into Golden Pills, pearl powder and wild ginseng powder mixed with dry flour or dry rice flour are changed into Silver Pills, and the most powerful Tiger and Wolf Medicine is changed into Dragon Pills, and the less powerful ones are changed into Tiger Pills.

Make some of these expensive medicines first, and you can handle the other medicines for common symptoms. Don't worry about the sealing issues; I'll make bottles and cork them for you."

Uh, isn't this a waste of time?

Should we first make a medicine that can’t cure any disease?

Li Shizhen and his son and the Wan brothers looked at each other and nodded.

This is actually not considered as not doing their job properly, because after all, what they are doing is still making medicine.

Wanli was completely unemployed.

He actually brought Yongnianbo Wang Wei to Zhou Danquan's glass processing workshop and asked directly: "Mr. Zhou, can you find some clay, a fist-sized piece will do? I want you to make something."

This clay was easy to find, and Zhou Danquan soon ordered someone to find a lump of it.

Wanli found a broom with a bamboo handle in the yard, ordered someone to saw off a piece of it and split it into two parts, and then found a wooden stick slightly smaller than the bamboo joint. Then he personally took the clay and stuffed it into the split bamboo joint.

To put it simply, this clay is mud, a special kind of mud.

He actually came here to play in the mud.

Yongnianbo Wang Wei and Zhou Danquan were stunned when they saw this.

Wanli clamped the wooden stick with two bamboo joints filled with clay, carefully put them together, squeezed them hard, and then opened the two bamboo joints. Pointing at the clay on the wooden stick, he said, "This is the kind of bottle I want you to make. You can make it in porcelain or glass, but it doesn't need to be this big. It only needs to be the size of a thumb and about the same length as a finger.

I'm just giving you an example. You'll need to use copper to carve the mold, and you can cut more semicircular grooves in the mold so you can make more at a time. The bottom of the bottle should be semicircular, and the mouth of the bottle should be curved to make it easier to cork and seal it."

Uh, this.

Zhou Danquan pondered, "Your Majesty, do you mean to make a bottle that's similar to an old-fashioned gun barrel, just not as long?"

Correct.

This thing was actually called a test tube in later generations, and it was not used to seal medicine.

However, this thing is the easiest to process.

This type of bottle does not have the bulge in the middle of a porcelain bottle. It is straight and is best processed in batches using a mold.

Wanli nodded and took them to where the glass samples were placed to take a closer look.

Then he picked up a pale blue glass disc and asked, "Is it okay to add some gold dust to this?"

Zhou Danquan nodded repeatedly and said, "No problem, adding gold powder is the same as adding porcelain glaze."

Wanli nodded slightly, and then explained in detail: "Make four kinds of bottles of the same style. One is the blue one with gold powder added inside, and the other is the transparent one with silver powder added inside. You don't need to add too much, just make it look like stars.

There's also the worst kind of glass, the hazy kind that's not very transparent, and then there's porcelain. Is there a problem with that?"

This thing is so simple.

Zhou Danquan nodded without hesitation: "No problem."

(End of this chapter)