Chapter 269

Chapter 269

Can a strategist not ascend the throne? Volume 8: Chang’an Discusses Wine, Golden Autumn Brings Change Chapter 269: The Change in Xuzhou

The book it belongs to:


Can a Strategist Not Ascend the Throne?

Chapter 269: The Change in Xuzhou

But to be precise, before the various items from Bingzhou could be sent to Chang’an, Zhang Zhongjing was already greatly surprised by Qiao Yan’s division of the medical academy.

Nowadays, although people’s respect for physicians has increased due to frequent epidemics and military affairs, the status of physicians is still not very high.

Ordinary itinerant physicians in the surrounding villages treat whatever illnesses they encounter, with few specializing in any particular field.

However, when the Chiyang Medical Academy was established north of Chang’an, Qiao Yan had already pushed through the classification of various departments despite opposition.

If it were divided too finely, such as into otolaryngology, it would be overkill, so the final classification settled on five categories: general, gynecology, pediatrics, military, and equine, corresponding to the different target groups that physicians need to treat.

General, as the name suggests, is a standard training system for rural physicians, corresponding to the increasingly comprehensive “Emergency Prescriptions” mentioned.

According to Qiao Yan’s explanation to Zhang Zhongjing, these physicians also have a supervisory role.

While practicing at their respective locations, they must always be vigilant for any infectious diseases and ensure timely reporting.

Gynecology, needless to say, is a department specifically established for treating gynecological diseases. This category will prioritize the training of female physicians to avoid situations where patients avoid treatment due to modesty.

The textbooks for this department include a collection of gynecological cases accumulated since the establishment of the medical system in Leping and the “Treatments for Women” handed to Qiao Yan by Zhang Zhongjing after his arrival in Chang’an. Further developments will depend on the capabilities of these female physicians.

The need for pediatrics is also easy to understand, as children’s medication dosages differ from those of adults, but not every physician has the time for such in-depth research.

Additionally, under Qiao Yan’s directive, midwives have also been included in this category.

Military is entirely for the needs of marching and warfare, aiming to quickly train a batch of military physicians in an assembly-line fashion.

These physicians must be more skilled in treating and dressing wounds, responding to common battlefield injuries like fractures, and also meet the physical fitness requirements for military physicians on the move.

The last category, equine, is indeed a bit surprising.

But when Zhang Zhongjing inquired about this, Qiao Yan replied, “Horses are crucial to the military. Since there are military physicians for humans, why not equine physicians for horses? We can’t have those skilled in treating humans suddenly switch to treating horses.”

Wu Pu, who was on his way to Chang’an, sneezed.

But this kind of talk doesn’t matter much, as Qiao Yan wouldn’t transfer him to the equine department.

Wu Pu looked at his companions, well-equipped with instruments and tightly packed medicinal materials, so there shouldn’t be any problems.

At most… Hua Tuo didn’t come.

This is explainable.

Originally, Hua Tuo should have been in charge of the medical academy, but he couldn’t come temporarily.

When Hua Tuo first arrived in Leping, Qiao Yan mentioned using cowpox instead of smallpox to prevent smallpox.

However, Hua Tuo had been busy with the “Emergency Prescriptions” until recently, and only in the past six months did he have time to delve into this research. Now that he has made some progress following Qiao Yan’s ideas, he is reluctant to move, saying he will come to see the medical academy when it is inaugurated.

Thus, Wu Pu is leading the team now.

He was once transferred by Qiao Yan to research military emergency kits, but in the Chiyang Medical Academy’s plan, Wu Pu was assigned to the general category, with Fan A, who is still treating Yuan Shu in Runan, leading the military medical efforts.

The heads of gynecology, pediatrics, and equine departments are yet to be filled.

Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing are both named as deans of the medical academy, preparing for the future division into internal and external medicine.

There’s no rush now.

Wu Pu looked around the team and spotted Qiao Zhen.

After Qiao Yan separated from the Leping Qiao clan and cut ties with the Yanzhou Qiao clan, since Qiao Lan and Qiao Ting were on special missions, from an outsider’s perspective, the only one under the Leping Qiao clan besides Qiao Yan herself is Qiao Zhen.

But what surprised Wu Pu was that as a “rare species” in Qiao Yan’s separated clan, Qiao Zhen’s presence is still quite low.

After Wu Pu invited her again, she agreed without much thought, officially transitioning from a Leping Academy disciple to a medical academy disciple.

As Wu Pu approached, he saw her holding a map of the Chiyang Medical Academy’s layout.

“Why are you looking at this?” Wu Pu asked.

“I’m thinking about the lord’s ideas. Across a wide road from the five departments are the medicine warehouse, pharmaceutical bureau, and herbalist training ground, which are not surprising, but the leper colony and the charity house behind them, the former for isolating epidemic patients, the latter for long-term residence of homeless patients…” Qiao Zhen frowned, “Is the lord too worried?”

Theoretically, when the military situation in the world is not so severe, epidemics won’t spread to a terrifying extent.

So, with Qiao Yan currently halting military actions, prioritizing the development of the three provinces’ livelihoods for further recuperation, it seems unnecessary to set up formal medical academy-affiliated institutions like the leper colony and charity house.

Even if patient isolation is needed, some prevention areas could be opened under the existing categories.

But Qiao Yan seems unsatisfied.

“Perhaps the lord thinks that the life-and-death responsibilities of physicians cannot tolerate any negligence,” Wu Pu replied.

Having followed Qiao Yan until now, they have all learned one thing: to rationalize the lord’s actions.

After all, the medical academy’s establishment in Chang’an is a groundbreaking event for medical researchers like Wu Pu.

Now, he is full of motivation to make a career, so he wouldn’t see any problem with this setup.

Not to mention setting up a charity house here, even if a panda house were to be established, he wouldn’t mind.

“By the way,” Wu Pu changed the topic, “since the lord hasn’t decided on the heads of gynecology and pediatrics, this is your chance. Instead of pondering the lord’s potential intentions, think about whether you can secure a position. Don’t let the newly recruited physicians from Guanzhong take the lead!”

Wu Pu naturally favors his own people.

Qiao Zhen is patient and meticulous, and with enough diagnostic experience, she would be excellent in either gynecology or pediatrics.

Receiving his encouragement to boost competitive spirit, Qiao Zhen smiled, “Master Wu, instead of considering this, perhaps you should think about how to get along with Dean Zhang when you meet him. That’s the lord’s biggest task for you, right?”

Qiao Yan clearly values Zhang Zhongjing, a renowned physician from Jing Province, but with Hua Tuo absent due to cowpox research, Wu Pu’s pressure has increased significantly.

This isn’t just about hierarchy and medical experience; more importantly, it’s about how Zhang Zhongjing’s knowledge of prescriptions, Bingzhou’s medical system, and the newly classified five departments can quickly integrate and operate.

Wu Pu stroked his chin, realizing this is indeed a crucial matter.

Fortunately, as a competent physician, he has no trouble communicating with people.

But what he didn’t expect was the scene when he met Zhang Zhongjing.

Wu Pu had learned the Five Animals Play from Hua Tuo and naturally had a decent physique.

So, when various items from Bingzhou were transported to Chang’an and the medical academy was short-staffed, it shouldn’t be strange for him to help move some things, right?

Before unexpectedly bumping into Zhang Zhongjing, Wu Pu thought so.

Now, though…

Zhang Zhongjing’s gaze fell on Wu Pu’s left hand, holding a life-sized wooden mannequin with acupoints marked all over its body. Just moments ago, when they were still some distance apart…





He almost thought that what Wu Pu was holding was a person.

And in Wu Pu’s right hand, he was carrying something that looked a bit like a trumpet but clearly wasn’t.

On his right shoulder, there was also a sack, bulging and obviously filled with quite a few things.

This first encounter with Wu Pu really gave Zhang Zhongjing quite a shock.

It’s hard to say whether Wu Pu’s current appearance was more outrageous or Yuan Xi’s when he returned to Ye City.

Zhang Zhongjing couldn’t help but ask, “What are you doing?”

The two had never met before, but that didn’t stop Wu Pu from guessing Zhang Zhongjing’s identity based on his demeanor and the fact that he appeared here.

Thinking that he couldn’t leave a bad impression on a future colleague, Wu Pu steadily held up the things in his hands and replied one by one: “This is a model of meridians and acupoints, used for teaching students. The lord once asked if we should make a skinned version, but unfortunately, there wasn’t enough time. Maybe we can try it after we get to Chang’an.”

He then raised his right hand, “This is a medical stethoscope, used for auscultation. The lord said there’s still room for improvement, but we’re lacking some materials. It was originally developed to address the issue of male doctors examining female patients, but now it seems we don’t need to rush.”

“And this last one…” Wu Pu tried to bend his hand back and patted the bulging sack, “These are the uniform templates for the medical academy. We still need the lord to make a decision, especially on the patterns to be embroidered on the uniforms.”

Wu Pu continued to explain, “We have two ideas. One is to use a balance scale for weighing herbs as the emblem, symbolizing that doctors from here will never shortchange patients in prescriptions and will always measure with a compassionate heart. But this tool is also used by butchers, so it might cause confusion.”

“The second idea is to use herbs as symbols, like using cassia seeds to represent clarity and precision in diagnosis. But… if we follow this logic, there are so many herbs that could be chosen, not just cassia seeds.”

Wu Pu sighed helplessly.

Although this is a kind of happy trouble, it still feels quite challenging.

Zhang Zhongjing also couldn’t decide immediately.

He replied, “How about you put these things down first, and then we can choose?”

He couldn’t help but feel that Wu Pu’s current posture looked quite strenuous.

From Wu Pu’s tone, Zhang Zhongjing had already guessed his identity, and it was precisely because he guessed who Wu Pu was that he couldn’t help but marvel in his heart—

The people from Bingzhou are really different, even the doctors are unlike those from ordinary places.

Just as he thought this, he saw two more people carrying heavy jars walking towards them.

As soon as they saw Wu Pu, they loudly asked, “Teacher, where should we put this set of organ models?”

Zhang Zhongjing: “…”

Now he knew what Wu Pu meant by “skinned.”

And Zhang Zhongjing had a feeling that this was just the beginning.

Wu Pu turned around and instructed his disciples to put the jars in the newly built ice cellar of the medical academy, then turned back to Zhang Zhongjing and replied, “You’re right, these things are quite heavy. Let me put them down first, and then we can talk in detail.”

If at first, Wu Pu felt a bit awkward because of the strange way he met Zhang Zhongjing, now that they had exchanged a few words, he let go of that awkwardness and decided to just go with the flow.

After all, as long as the goal of establishing the Chiyang Medical Academy was achieved, it was fine.

Zhang Zhongjing was silent for a moment before replying with a “Okay.”

As he said this, he couldn’t help but glance at the moving team behind him and then at his own arm, feeling that he had lost in some way.

But who could say that this wasn’t a successful and harmonious meeting between northern and southern doctors?

By the next day, when Qiao Yan came to inspect the medical academy, Zhang Zhongjing and Wu Pu were already directing the construction workers to meticulously divide the areas of the academy.

In this June, the establishment of the Guanzhong Medical Academy and the art academy was in full swing, and the work on farming and irrigation never slackened. The noble families who had obtained the soy sauce recipe also began the process of making soy sauce.

Also in this June, Yuan Shao began to try equipping his cavalry with horseshoes. Based on his subordinates’ judgment, they tried crossbreeding the horses sent from Youzhou to Ye City with some warhorses from Qingzhou to produce mules, while also assigning some people to study garlic extract, high-proof alcohol, and soy sauce.

In a sense, Yuan Shao’s situation could also be described as bustling.

As for whether the direction was right, that was another question.

But some places were particularly quiet.

This, of course, wasn’t referring to Cao Cao’s Yanzhou.

The construction of the new road in Chang’an and the subsequent series of displays had stimulated not just Yuan Shao, but also Cao Cao.

He thought that he couldn’t afford to be unable to answer his son Cao Pi’s questions when he brought him back someday, and he vaguely felt that Qiao Yan’s foresight wasn’t useless, so he continued to refine and accumulate in Yanzhou.

His situation could only be described as seemingly inactive.

This also wasn’t referring to Liu Biao’s Jing Province.

Although Liu Biao had sent his eldest son to Chang’an and maintained a decent relationship with the Chang’an court, he should have been able to relax.

However, Sun Ce in Jiangdong was growing stronger, like a beast that could pounce on him at any moment, making it hard for Liu Biao not to feel a sense of crisis.

Whether the court’s deterrence could suppress Sun Ce’s desire to avenge his father’s death was hard to say, given the distance from the emperor.

So this year, Liu Biao expanded his naval forces again to prevent Sun Ce from heading west after capturing Kuaiji.

This place could be described as having undercurrents beneath a calm surface.

The truly quiet place was Xuzhou.

Back when Yuan Shao refused to grant Yuan Shu the title of provincial governor, and the two brothers fell out, Tao Qian also went from being the governor of Xuzhou to the provincial governor.

Under his leadership, the Taishan bandits, the powerful families of Xuzhou, and the Buddhist followers had eliminated all external threats in Xuzhou.

Logically, this should have been the time for him to either further improve internal governance or show ambition in external relations.

But Tao Qian did neither.

He was already over sixty.

At this age, he couldn’t be considered old in politics, as figures like Lu Zhi and Zhao Qi were still strong, but compared to Qiao Yan, Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Sun Ce, he was indeed a bit elderly.

Moreover, Tao Qian didn’t have a descendant capable of inheriting Xuzhou.

He looked around Xuzhou.

Since he recommended Chen Deng of Xiapi as the Agricultural Officer, Chen Deng had been reclaiming land, building irrigation systems, and thanks to favorable weather, achieved a bountiful harvest of rice.

Now, Ze Rong in Guangling was gathering Buddhist followers to build temples, turning some wandering bandits into laborers, creating a prosperous scene.

The people he appointed, like Lu Su, Zhao Yu, and Wang Lang, were all skilled in governance, ensuring that Xuzhou had no public grievances for years.

He then looked outside Xuzhou.

To the north, Yuan Shao was keeping an eye on Gongsun Zan and Qiao Yan’s movements, but paid no attention to him.

To the south, Sun Ce was heading south, and any other moves would likely be against Liu Biao, not him.

In short, whether inside or outside, Tao Qian was as safe as could be.

He was old, so why not take a break and wait for the outcome between Chang’an and Ye City?

After all, everything he had done in Xuzhou had already lived up to the title of Provincial Governor.

But what he didn’t know was that in this peaceful quiet, there was a not-so-peaceful voice.

The owner of this voice said to his subordinate, “Do you think I can replace old man Tao Qian?”