The First Gongsheng of Ming Dynasty

Zhang Zhou's workshop for producing penicillin was located in a soy sauce shop.

Because this place has been used for soy sauce fermentation all year round, it has its own bacterial environment. The people who brew soy sauce are more experienced in mold and koji making. In addition, there are some winemaking craftsmen who have passed down the skills from generation to generation. They can teach them the basic theories, so they can better cultivate the bacterial flora and complete a series of purifications.

But it is not easy to accomplish all this.

For the next two days, Zhang Zhou stayed in the soy sauce workshop and didn't even go home.

Ning Tong will tell him about Xie Junnu's condition. Now Zhang Zhou's only worry is that the girl is not suffering from bacterial pneumonia, but viral pneumonia. For him, there is basically nothing he can do.

Fortunately, there were previously Chinese medicine extracted Xiao Chaihu antibiotics and Yuxingcao antibiotics. Although these two pure plant antibiotics did not seem to be perfect in terms of effect, they were able to delay Xie Junnu's condition. This also made Zhang Zhou realize that it was indeed bacterial pneumonia.

The next step is to complete the production of antibiotics in the shortest possible time.

At this time, Xie Qian returned to the capital after a tiring journey, and there was only one day left until the New Year.

"Father." Xie Zheng went out of the city to greet him personally.

Xie Qian waved his hand and said, "I won't go into the city. Let's go to the West Mountain. There's no need to stay in the capital."

It seems that for Xie Qian, the capital is his sad place. A year ago, he was the regent of the Ming Dynasty and the respected Lord Xie. But now he is almost a prisoner and still has to work for the court to atone his sins. His family has also been displaced because of him.

Xie Zhengdao: "When father came back this time, I didn't tell my second brother the specific time, and he thought he would arrive tomorrow, so he didn't come today."

"It's better if you didn't say anything." Xie Qian said, "You have your own things to do, just do your work and don't worry about me."

As he spoke, Xie Qian was ready to get back into the carriage.

Xie Zheng hurriedly said, "The court has issued an edict, saying that you can wait until the fifteenth day of the first lunar month after the New Year to go to Xishan, and you can stay in the capital for the time being."

"what?"

Xie Qian frowned.

How could the imperial court be so humane? Could it be that my old friends helped me?

Xie Zheng then said, "It was Zhang Butang who helped to intercede for me."

"he……"

When Xie Qian heard Zhang Zhou's name, he was speechless.

People didn't help him before, but now the people he impeached are helping him. What kind of thing is this? Who is the righteous party?
"Then...just find a place for me to stay for a few days."

Xie Qian was very evasive towards his son.

It seemed that he was very clear that he was still a criminal. It was rare that his son had been pardoned by the court and promoted to the position of Shaoqing of the Dali Temple. It would be better for him to keep a distance from his son so as not to implicate him.

In this way, everyone in the Xie family will be safe and sound, and only Xie Qian will have to continue to atone his sins.

Xie Zheng said with a bitter look on his face: "There is something I didn't want to tell my father, but it's not good not to tell him now. After Jun Nu returns to Beijing..."

"How is she?" Xie Qian suddenly remembered that his granddaughter was ill before returning to Beijing. "She...she..."

Xie Qian seemed very nervous.

Seeing her son's expression, she was afraid that an accident had happened. If she could never see her granddaughter again, she would be extremely sad. After all, her granddaughter had grown up and had experienced a difficult life in her childhood. If she died when she was about to reach adulthood, as an elder, she would feel even more heartbroken.

Xie Zhengdao: "Junnu is still recovering, but... the situation is not good, it is very similar to when my father was ill."

"Then find Zhang Bingkuan." Xie Qian almost blurted out.

Now he also knew who could help him, and it seemed that only Zhang Zhou had the chance to cure his granddaughter's illness.

Xie Zheng said helplessly: "After returning to Beijing, I have already paid a visit to Zhang Butang."

"What did he say? He refuses to help? No, I know Bingkuan. He is not the kind of person who would watch someone in need without helping." Xie Qian seemed to trust Zhang Zhou very much at this time.

It was precisely because he had stepped down from a high position and become an insignificant person, and had to get along with Zhang Zhou in a different way, that he understood what Zhang Zhou's character was like.

Xie Zhengdao: "Zhang Butang has sent Mr. Ning to visit Jun Nu and brought some magic medicine, but the effect is still not ideal."

"What?" Xie Qian became nervous immediately after hearing this.

I survived by relying on the magic medicine provided by Ning Tong. Now if the medicine is not effective for my granddaughter, I might really have to die before her.

Xie Zhengdao: "The disease is still delayed. It is said that Zhang Butang has not done anything else these days. He has been researching new medicines. He said that there may be results in the next few days. If Jun Nu is blessed by the gods, she may be able to..."

"Bingkuan is researching new medicine for Junnu?" Xie Qian felt even more ashamed when he heard this.

"Yes." Xie Zheng said, "I heard that he hasn't slept for a few days."

"Ugh!"

When Xie Qian heard this, he couldn't help but sigh heavily. He didn't know what to say.

"Father, you..."

"Don't say anything, let's go into the city. I won't see anyone after we get into the city. Let me go see Jun Nu. That child is well-behaved and the most pitiful. I don't want anything to happen to such a smart and lovely child. Let's go."

At this moment, Xie Qian didn't care about his status or his face. He just wanted to go to the city to visit his sick granddaughter.

……

……

Zhang Zhou was making medicine behind closed doors, but there were actually many matters in the court waiting for him to deal with.

After all, it was the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, and even the emperor had something to ask Zhang Zhou these days. Zhu Youtang even planned to invite Zhang Zhou to the palace to celebrate the New Year.

In Zhu Youtang's opinion, Zhang Zhou had done too much for the Ming Dynasty in recent years, but he had not been rewarded properly. This year, he planned to invite Empress Zhang and Consort Xian, as well as his own children, and let Zhang Zhou bring his children into the palace as well. If Zhang Zhou was willing, he could even bring his wives and concubines, and the two families would then sit together for dinner.

For Zhu Youtang, there was no awkwardness between him and Zhang Zhou. He even treated Zhang Zhou as his own brother, even closer than real brothers.

Yang Peng then asked someone to find Zhang Zhou and inform him of this matter.

At this time, Zhang Zhou was still wearing professional protective gear and was in the laboratory. The craftsmen around him had been following him for many years and were quite familiar with him.

Later, after Zhang Zhou knew that Yang Peng had arrived, he also followed him out.

"Sir, what are you doing..." Yang Peng was surprised.

He had looked for Zhang Zhou once before, but the matter was not serious, so he did not go out of his way to see him.

This time, the emperor gave the order, so he had the confidence to come and look for it.

Zhang Zhou asked someone to take off his protective gear, then said, "It's very important when making new medicine."

"What kind of new medicine does it require you..." Yang Peng was also curious.

Zhang Zhou, you are not researching new weapons, but you are researching new medicine here? Are you planning to change your career and become a doctor in the future?
Zhang Zhou sighed, "Some things can't be said openly, after all, it's not done yet. Eunuch Yang, sit down and talk."

"it is good."

Yang Peng sat down.

Zhang Zhou then said, "If this kind of medicine can be developed, it will help reduce wound infection and greatly increase the chances of survival for soldiers who are injured on the battlefield, even seriously."

"Ah?" Yang Peng was shocked.

In this era, soldiers being injured is a very serious matter.

Especially if you get injured in the summer and autumn, not only will the wounds take time to heal, they may also become infected, and a minor injury can be fatal.

As for "scraping bones to heal wounds", it is not uncommon these days. Sometimes some people have high fevers after their wounds become infected, and they can only survive by cutting off their arms. It is common to use a knife to dig out the wound.

Even if some people recover from the illness, they may develop carbuncles and the like. After the wounds heal, they can easily tear and fester again, and may even recur every one or two years.

Zhang Zhou said: "It's this medicine. It's too difficult to make."

Yang Peng said hurriedly: "If you can really make it, it will really be...saving the world from danger, and the soldiers will definitely worship you as a god."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Eunuch Yang, you are too kind. Actually, when I studied this medicine, I thought that in addition to healing injuries, it could also treat many special diseases, such as colds. Many people have died of pneumonia due to colds. If we had this medicine, we might be able to..."

Speaking of this, the first thing Zhang Zhou thought of was that eighteen years later in history, the unlucky Zhu Houzhao died of illness in this way, right?

If you fall into the water and get pneumonia, it must be bacterial. As for whether you were poisoned, Zhang Zhou does not hold conspiracy theories. He thinks it must be the pneumonia that delayed the research.

Yang Peng said: "That's right... I will go back and report to His Majesty. Let His Majesty know the good news."

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Let's wait until the medicine is developed. I'm afraid of disappointing His Majesty."

"Oh, then...will you enter the palace the day after tomorrow?"

Yang Peng asked anxiously.

Zhu Youtang wanted to hold the family dinner at noon on the first day of the new year, so he had two days to prepare.

Zhang Zhou smiled and said, "Please report back to His Majesty. If I can develop the medicine before the day after tomorrow, I will go. Otherwise, I may have to work overtime."

"Overtime? Your choice of words is really... eccentric. However, I still have to mention it to His Majesty. I am also happy about it. With you here, this medicine will be made sooner or later. It will be a blessing for the soldiers of the Ming Dynasty, and it will also be a blessing for the people."

……

……

Zhang Zhou was too embarrassed to say it.

According to the current manufacturing cost of penicillin, the amount of manpower and material resources required to produce a batch is unimaginable. If it is to be used in the market, it must be industrialized, which is difficult to achieve at least within ten years.

After all, the Ming Dynasty's industrialization process was still slow.

Zhang Zhou has been in this world for only a little over four years but less than five years.

It is the autumn of the eleventh year of the Hongzhi reign, and now it is the twelfth month of the fifteenth year of the Hongzhi reign.

What Zhang Zhou can do is only to complete some basic arrangements. What he needs to do more is to discover more talents and advance the ideal in his heart.

After seeing Yang Peng off, Zhang Zhou continued to research new drugs behind closed doors.

Finally, on the morning of the next day, when Zhang Zhou took the opportunity to take a nap, Ning Tong patted his shoulder and woke him up.

"What's wrong?" Zhang Zhou looked at Ning Tong.

Ning Tong said, "In that glass basin, I saw the circle that the master mentioned."

Zhang Zhou stood up, quickly put on his protective clothing, and entered the laboratory.

Then, some circles were seen appearing in the culture dish where Staphylococcus was cultured. This showed that this batch of penicillin was finally effective... Although the amount was not large, it at least showed that this method of culture and purification was effective.

"it is good."

Zhang Zhou picked up the medicine which was placed in a special glass tube and sealed with the latest rubber brought back from America, and he felt a little more pleased.

After nearly a year of hard work and the continuous battles in the past few days, the results have finally come to fruition.

Ning Tong asked: "Can this cure the disease?"

Zhang Zhou said: "Such a small tube of something can be worth a thousand gold coins. A dying person may be saved through this dose of medicine. This is called antibiotics."

Ning Tong asked, "Can one dose save a life?"

"That's the theory," Zhang Zhou said. "It's not suitable for everyone. If you use it too much, people will develop drug resistance. But since no one has used this drug before, one dose is enough for everything."

"That……"

Ning Tong wanted to ask if she could use this medicine on her good disciple?
Zhang Zhou said: "First collect all the medicines and make sure they are sealed. The first batch of medicines must be treasured and cannot be used except in special circumstances. Next is the first test for the patient, and it also depends on Miss Xie's own fate."

……

……

Xie Mansion.

It was early in the morning and not even anyone was awake yet, so the yard was very quiet.

Suddenly there was a knock on the door, waking up the whole family.

Xie Zheng went to open the door personally. When he saw that it was Zhang Zhou, he was almost shocked. After learning the purpose of Zhang Zhou's visit, he did not dare to neglect him and invited Zhang Zhou in.

"I'm really sorry to ask you to examine my daughter in person." Xie Zheng felt a little ashamed.

Asking the current Shangshu, the most powerful official in the Ming Dynasty, to come to his house just to treat his little daughter's illness is a shameless act no matter how you look at it.

Logically speaking, even if his daughter died, he shouldn't trouble Zhang Zhou.

Zhang Zhou said: "Some things are not convenient for me, so let her go in and plant the medicine."

Because it involves injections and other things, there is no time to worry about skin tests and the like, and it even seems like a last-ditch effort.

At this time, Xie Qian also hurriedly got up and ran to the yard.

Zhang Zhou said, "Is Lord Xie also back in Beijing?"

Xie Qian hurriedly asked, "Bingkuan, since you came here in person, why don't you go in and take a look yourself?"

"Father, Zhang Butang said that it's a bit inconvenient." Xie Zhengdao.

Xie Qian sighed and said, "Do you still want to avoid seeing a doctor? It's all for the sake of treatment, so it's better for you to go in person."

The implication was that he didn't quite trust Ning Tong, and that he would only feel at ease if Zhang Zhou personally treated his granddaughter.

Xie Zheng looked at his old father with a strange look and thought, aren't you forcing me?

And you know the process of treating a disease... It involves planting medicine and other things. Are you really comfortable letting a grown man go in?

Xie Qian said: "It's better to hurry up."

Zhang Zhou nodded and said, "That's great. I'll go in and see how she's doing."

Then Zhang Zhou, surrounded by everyone in the Xie family, entered Xie Junnu's ward, which was a temporarily converted ear room. Because she was ill and Zhang Zhou had Ning Tong tell her that she was contagious, her family settled her here and Xie's second wife did some physical cooling for her.

There was no antipyretic medicine. Xie Junnu had been having a high fever for several days. Even though he seemed to be asleep, his face was still trembling slightly. (End of this chapter)