Linxia

Chapter 225, Materia Medica

"The cities of Daxia such as Yingtian, Lin'an, and Suzhou all have a population of over one million..." Missy is still deeply shocked when he talks about it.

Fang Lin listened and nodded. Indeed, in Europe at that time, a population of tens of thousands was already considered a metropolis, while in Daxia, a population of tens of thousands was just a small town. Pick any city in the Jianghuai area, and it would be a megacity in the West!
"Fang, when I first went to Yingtian and saw the roads there, I was stunned. It could accommodate fifteen horses running side by side. It was simply unimaginable! And the large ports in Suzhou, the number of merchant ships coming and going was beyond my estimation, and the people engaged in various businesses on the docks were all crowded together..."

Missy wanted to say the word "shoulder to shoulder", but couldn't think of it at the moment, so she used her buttocks instead of her heels, and then, in a clear and melodious voice, she said a proverb to sum it up: "There is heaven above, and Suzhou and Hangzhou below!"

This strange description, coupled with the serious tone of a foreigner, made the guests dining nearby spurt out wine from their mouths and noses. Fang Lin also laughed when he saw it.

Mi Xi shrugged awkwardly and continued to talk about what he had seen and heard, emphasizing the three cities of Yingtian, Suzhou, and the capital: "Yingtian is full of palaces, temples, towers, and bridges. There is simply no similar architecture that can surpass them in our place. In addition, Yingtian has a mild climate, fertile land, and happy people. The people of Daxia that I met are polite and elegant in conversation... In terms of industry, Yingtian has a huge shipyard, as well as weaving, fan making, wine making, book printing and other industries. In terms of prosperity, beauty and grandeur, this city surpasses all other cities in the world.

Suzhou is a city as prosperous as Yingtian, but in a different style. It is located on a calm river, or more properly on a lake, and people here travel on land and water like the Venetians...only the water here is fresh water, and the streets and bridges are supported on deep-rooted wooden piles, like ours. I saw a lot of Portuguese goods coming through Macau, as well as goods from other countries, and there is almost nothing that cannot be bought there.

The capital is the largest city I have ever seen in Daxia. The number of residents in the city and its suburbs is so large, and the houses are arranged in an orderly manner like fish scales, which is unimaginable... The layout of the entire city is like a chessboard... The capital seems to produce nothing, but it lacks nothing..."

Mi Xi talked about these cities and his overall impression of Daxia: "Daxia is unparalleled in the world. Daxia people are very knowledgeable and are well versed in astronomy, geography, literature, and mathematics. The people also have a high standard of living."

Fang Lin listened to what Missy said about Daxia. As a foreigner, what she said should be objective. Today, Daxia is indeed worthy of the evaluation of "unparalleled in the world". Although the Renaissance began in Europe, bringing about a revolution in science and art, it has not yet really opened up a gap with Daxia.

"Missy, in your opinion, what are Daxia's shortcomings?"

Mi Xi thought for a moment and said, "Science is not a research subject among the Daxia people."

When Fang Lin heard this, he looked at the other person and let out a deep breath.

Those who are involved are often confused, while those who are on the sidelines can see things more clearly. Today, Daxia is still considered the center of the world. When Daxia regards itself as the most powerful country in the world and is complacent, the words spoken by a foreigner are like the morning bell and evening drum, and they hit the nail on the head.

'Indeed, Daxia has a civilization of thousands of years and the Four Great Inventions. It was once the center of the world. But behind the prosperity and strength, there is a fatal flaw, or hidden danger, that is, the lack of science and scientific spirit.'

There is no need to avoid this point, nor is there any need to be ashamed to talk about it. Since the Han Dynasty, the Xia Dynasty has only respected Confucianism.

'Respecting Confucianism has its advantages. It has created one prosperous era after another and reached one peak after another. This is beyond doubt. But it also has disadvantages. Confucianism is a castle in the air after all. It is a kind of thought that guides its followers forward like a beacon, and strives to achieve universal peace and prosperity. It hopes that all people in the world can become modest gentlemen, gentle and polite, courteous to each other, and love each other.'

'But the biggest drawback is the closed-mindedness. Scientific and technological innovation is not within the scope of thinking. Throughout Chinese history, almost no emperor has put scientific and technological innovation on the table for study and discussion! '

'Especially in the later period, with the emergence of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the eight-legged essay system, this drawback was infinitely magnified, restricting thoughts and stifling innovation.'

It is no wonder that Missy lamented that "science is not much of a research subject among the people of Daxia."

Seeing that Fang Lin was not angry, Mi Xi continued, "Also, the people of Da Xia are quite proud."

This kind of pride is not deliberately expressed, but deeply buried in the bones. From the Han Dynasty to the prosperous Tang Dynasty, and from the Song Dynasty to the Great Xia of this time and space, the Great Xia nation is indeed a unique one in the world, and all nations come to it and foreign nations submit to it. Therefore, this kind of pride is innate and given by the environment.

Fang Lin nodded slightly, acknowledging this.

The people of Daxia are indeed proud. From the emperor to the officials in the court and the common people, they are all proud when facing overseas. When they mention overseas, their subconscious impression is a barren and desolate place. When they mention people from overseas, their subconscious impression is barbarians.

Take the people in his fleet for example, no matter they were the old sailors or the students who graduated from the "skills training class", none of them were afraid when they heard about going to fight the overseas natives.

How can I describe this kind of pride? It has its benefits, but it also has its dangers.

'Like in the previous life, in the Qing Dynasty, everyone from top to bottom was still arrogant until they were awakened by the powerful ships and cannons of the great powers. Once this kind of pride was shattered, it was replaced by a strong sense of inferiority. Until the 21st century, many people still could not stand up.'

"Finally, I feel that Daxia's etiquette is not very good."

Missy explained: "I'm not saying that being polite is bad, I also praise the Daxia people for being polite, but this kind of etiquette is a bit too much."

Anything, no matter how good it is, will turn into a bad thing once it goes too far.

"Daxia people love dinner parties. No matter big or small, they have to sit down and talk while eating. It seems that as long as they sit down and have a drink, everything can be discussed. As a result, everyone has endless dinner parties... I feel that this is a waste of time and too tiring."

Fang Lin thought about this carefully and found that it was indeed the case. He himself did not notice it, but the bystanders saw it clearly.

He listened to this, thought about it, and suddenly felt a sense of sadness in his heart: "According to the trajectory of time and space in the previous life, at this time the West was experiencing the Renaissance, the explosion of science and technology, the Industrial Revolution was about to begin, the Age of Exploration was entering, and overseas colonies were being opened up frantically... But the once glorious land of the East gradually began to fall behind, and instead entered the pinnacle of feudal rule. In this social environment, the elites of the entire country were either officials or businessmen, working in a small corner of the country, with countless dinners all day long, and favors and relationships everywhere..."

"Ugh!"

Fang Lin sighed. At this moment, no one in the whole Da Xia was as clear-headed as he was. However, the clearer he was, the more powerless he felt towards the reality. This was not something that could be changed by one's own strength. As he had said before, the distorted Confucianism was deeply rooted in this land and could not be reversed by one person.

He shook his head and suppressed these thoughts: "Missy, my friend, there is something I need your help with..."

"A craftsman? Of course."

Missy agreed: "My family has talents in this area, but if you want them to go to sea, you need to pay a very high fee."

"I understand. According to what you say, friendship is friendship and business is business." Fang Lin agreed readily. "Then there's no problem." Missy said that she planned to go back to Taixi in the near future, and they could leave together then.

……

After negotiating the matter with Missy, the main purpose of this trip had been achieved. Fang Lin went back and came to the inn where he was staying, and was approached by Doctor Zhang who had accompanied him.

——Because they were worried about Qiuqiu and her two siblings, they brought a doctor with them. Doctor Zhang even treated Fang's mother for her seasickness.

"Doctor Zhang, is there anything I can help you with?" Fang Lin asked.

Doctor Zhang opened his mouth and said embarrassedly: "I have a good friend, Li Dongbi, who used to work in the Imperial Hospital as a sixth-rank judge..."

Don’t underestimate the fact that the title of Imperial Medical Bureau is just a sixth-rank one, but there is an essential difference between officials who make a living by their skills and other officials. To be able to enter the Imperial Medical Bureau, one is already a nationally renowned doctor. With this title, one will be respected wherever he goes.

"My good friend worked in the Imperial Hospital for three years. After reading all kinds of medical books, he felt that his medical skills were shallow and there were many difficult problems that needed to be verified in practice. He resolutely resigned from the position and returned to his hometown to open a clinic to consult and study medicine. During this period, he left home many times and traveled all over Huguang and Nanzhili. He exhausted all his efforts and wrote the book "Compendium of Materia Medica"..."

"Wait, what did you say? Compendium of Materia Medica?"

Fang Lin had just heard "Li Dongbi" and was not able to react for a while until he heard "Compendium of Materia Medica". Then he suddenly realized, isn't this Li Shizhen?

"Sure enough, this is a time and space similar to the previous life. Many people and things are evolving along the same lines as the previous life, such as the reform of the 'One Whip Law', the appearance of Wei Zhongxian, and the current 'Compendium of Materia Medica'!"

He said this in his heart, and when he heard that Li Dongbi was outside, he quickly invited him in.

Li Dongbi was a thin, handsome middle-aged man with a long beard. He bowed to Fang Lin and told him the purpose of his visit: "I have been practicing medicine for half my life and spent twenty years of hard work to write a medical book called Compendium of Materia Medica. I thought that after the book was completed, booksellers would rush to buy the manuscript so that future generations could have food and clothing without worries. But to my surprise, no one was interested... Even if I went to Yingtian and sold my manuscript to major booksellers for free, hoping to publish it, those booksellers would politely decline..."

Actually, this is not surprising. Popular novels are popular nowadays. Who would devote themselves to reading such a difficult medical book? Since no one reads it, it will lose money if it is published. Which bookseller would be willing to do such a loss-making business?
It can be said that the biggest blow to Li Dongbi was the rejection of his request for publication in Yingtian even though he did not ask for money. He could do without fame and gain, but he could not accept the fact that his life's work was not recognized.

"After leaving Yingtian, I came to the capital again. I thought that private book dealers were unwilling to print, so I went to the government and hoped that the government would provide funding. Who would have thought that the government was also unwilling to accept it..."

Afterwards, Li Dongbi met Doctor Zhang and learned that Fang Lin, the leader of Huai'an booksellers, was also in the capital. So he decided to try his luck with Fang Lin. This was his last hope.

As Fang Lin listened to the other party's experience, he subconsciously recalled Mi Xi's evaluation of the Daxia people, "Among the Daxia people, science is not much of a research subject."

"It's not just science, it's medicine too!" He sighed deeply.

In the land of Daxia, the elites basically all entered the officialdom, such as doctors and craftsmen, who were all from the lower nine classes... In fact, doctors were okay, but craftsmen, for example, mostly could not even read a single word.

Fang Lin was not saying that the craftsmen of Da Xia were stupid. In fact, they were very capable. For example, after disassembling a musket, they could reproduce it purely by hand without an assembly line. However, because they could hardly read and their cultural foundation was insufficient, they could only copy. They knew the results but not the reasons. It was impossible for them to organize and summarize and conduct systematic scientific research.

"Don't worry, sir. I am willing to buy the manuscript of Compendium of Materia Medica. When I return to Huai'an, I will send someone to publish it immediately."

Fang Lin made a promise to Li Dongbi and invited him to bring his family to Huai'an. After arriving in Huai'an, he would do his best to support him in collecting medical books and medicinal materials, conducting theoretical research, solving difficult problems, and practicing medicine.

Over the years, Li Dongbi had run into obstacles everywhere, but now he received unprecedented attention and respect from Fang Lin. He was naturally moved and grateful and agreed.

"This trip to the capital was worthwhile to meet Mr. Li!" Fang Lin was very happy as he held Li Dongbi's wrist.

He meant it.

'On the small hand, with such a famous doctor, the safety of my family is more guaranteed; on the big hand, if I go abroad in the future, he can open a clinic and teach students, and I can support the medical field alone! '

It can be said that in Fang Lin’s mind, this kind of top technical talent is even more important than top strategists.

……

Fang Lin sent Meng Jiang to lead some guards to escort Li Dongbi back to Huguang and take his family to Huai'an, while his own group remained in the capital for the time being.

After all, I have come here with great difficulty, and I must take a good look at this best place in Da Xia. At the same time, I am also waiting for Mi Xi to return to Tai Xi so that we can leave together.

During this period, Fang Lin also tried to seek an audience with Emperor Hongtai through the Jinyiwei channel, but to no avail. It seemed that the other party's physical condition was so bad that he could only leave with regrets.

On this day, Dong Zugao was on leave. Fang Lin and Dong Zugao came back from drinking. When they passed by the lobby of the inn, someone called out to them, "Brother, why don't you come over and have a drink!"

Fang Lin looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small area separated, with a middle-aged man in the center.

This man had a long face, a full forehead, a moustache, and a small tuft of long beard. He was wearing a dark white brocade robe and seemed to have a disease on his body. His face was abnormally pale, his forehead was dark, and his body was thin and could hardly hold up his clothes.

However, there is an indescribable temperament about the other person. His eyes and eyebrows show a feeling of being indifferent and pessimistic about everything, but there is absolutely no trace of incongruity of "a monkey in a human body". People feel that it is as it should be, as if the other person is born with this kind of confidence.

……

(End of this chapter)