Chapter 54 Fame Spreads Throughout the Kingdoms "The King of Qin has something wrong with his head."...

"Okay, okay..."

Never mind that, she just said it offhand.

"Since my cousin knows what he's doing, why should I worry?" Banban muttered.

As soon as he finished speaking, he grabbed her hand and pulled her towards himself.

"Ah!" She lost her balance and fell onto his lap. When she came to her senses, she met a pair of leisurely eyes. "What kind of tone is that?"

Banban, still shaken, shoved his handsome face and scolded him angrily, "What kind of tone is that? What kind of tone is that? Why are you scaring me!"

"When did I scare you?" Ying Zheng rested one hand on the table, glancing at her casually. "What brings you to Chengzhang Palace? Qin Ju just said you sent someone to investigate."

"If you don't come yourself, but send someone else, are you perhaps feeling guilty, and startled like a firecracker at the slightest provocation?"

"What firecrackers—" Banban rolled her eyes at him, then got down to business, "I do have something important to say. I intend to open royal medical clinics in various cities of Qin. These clinics will not be for profit, but of course they will charge some money, otherwise they will not be able to operate normally."

"Ordinary people can see a doctor at a low-cost clinic. If they really have no money, they can exchange it for some rare plant or crop seeds or rare items."

Ying Zheng frowned slightly, pondering for a moment, "What kind of seed are you looking for?"

“Cousin is so clever.” Banban hugged his neck, kissed him, and then acted coquettishly. “Actually, there are many native crops on this land. Perhaps we just haven’t realized how useful they are. It would be best if we could find them, but it doesn’t matter if we can’t. With more clinics, the poor can afford medical treatment, which can also improve the livelihood of the people of Qin. Maybe it can even produce more talented people. The royal family will just earn less money, and it won’t cost you any energy, cousin.”

"The owners and odd-job workers of those clinics can all be incorporated into the imperial court. We will give them a fixed monthly salary. Of course, if they have extra income from their clinics, their salary can be halved or reduced accordingly."

Seeing Ying Zheng's displeasure, Banban quickly added, "I've also figured out where the money for those salaries will come from. The royal family can do business too. Since we're recruiting so many doctors and apprentices, we can sell medical books and all sorts of other books. I've already thought of those books!"

"Today I am thinking about type printing. We can carve characters on clay or wooden blocks to make movable type, fix them in a simple printing frame, and print them with ink. This way, we can print books in large quantities without having to write each character one by one."

"Printing technology." What attracted Ying Zheng was not the medical clinic, nor the crop seeds, but the printing technology, whose principles were explained in just a few words.

He seemed to be deep in thought.

“Yes, yes, yes.” Banban nodded repeatedly, her eyes sparkling. “In this way, the printing cost of books will be greatly reduced. We can make more money with the lowest cost, and then invest the money we make to set up clinics, printing workshops, and paper mills.”

"The improvement in medical skills in Qin is also a great thing. With more people, the country will be stronger. When the royal family treats the people, they will have more faith in and love for Qin. The cohesion will be stronger, and more people will want to join the army."

“If my cousin is unwilling to take the risk of withdrawing money from the national treasury, I also have a lot of money. I own countless shops, and I am willing to contribute the funds to do this first.”

After hearing these words, Ying Zheng's expression changed from initial doubt, contemplation, and hesitation to solemnity. "Very well." He gently stroked his wife's face, hesitated for a moment, and looked at her with an expression she couldn't understand. "Your heart that loves the people is something I deeply admire."

“But whether it’s doing business or treating illnesses…” Ying Zheng started to say, but then stopped and gave up, saying, “Fine, fine, whatever you say.”

"Cousin?"

"You can go ahead and do it, but it's definitely not okay to use money from the national treasury to fund it. I won't agree to it, not even to the court officials. This is not a small amount of money, nor is it a small matter."

"Our Great Qin was busy building canals before, and then there was war and turmoil. If we want to give you money to spend, the taxes will have to be even heavier."

Banban was slightly taken aback, and a thought popped into his mind: So his cousin had always known about the suffering of the common people and the heavy taxes.

"If you can really do it, and it's feasible without losing money, the royal family can naturally pay salaries to the medical staff, and I will give you double the reward."

This is a formal physician-official system, and it is indeed no small matter.

Upon hearing permission, Banban squealed with delight, her face flushed with joy, and she hugged his face tightly, showering him with kisses. "Cousin, you're the best!!"

Ying Zheng touched her cheek, a hint of worry appearing between his brows. Finally, he smiled helplessly and drawled, "Why don't you hurry up and tell me about printing?"

Banban immediately snuggled up to his cousin and told him in detail about his vision for printing. Ying Zheng was very efficient, and in just three days, a simplified printing press was made.

Ying Zheng went to see it himself. The first edition was printed with uneven characters, but this was all due to the ink. He and his cousin studied it in their spare time and discovered that adding oil to the ink could make the printing more even and firm, and the color of the characters would also be more natural.

The news that the Queen wanted to open a clinic so inexpensive it was practically charity quickly caused a great stir.

Powerful officials frequently petitioned the Queen, opposing the proposal.

Banban stood by a small door on one side of Xianyang Palace, her figure hidden by a vermilion curtain, so that the officials below could not see her.

An official she didn't recognize stepped forward with his hands clasped. "Your Majesty, you mustn't do this. The Queen's actions show her love for the people as if they were her own children, but all the people are the Queen's offspring. How can she only see the poor and not the rich? For over a hundred years, the foundation of our Great Qin has been here. They have also made countless contributions to Great Qin. If the Queen's clinic opens, what chance will other clinics have to survive?"

Banban paused for a moment, then fell into a puzzled state of mind.

No wonder my cousin hesitated at the time, but eventually agreed; it turns out he had foreseen this day.

Opening free clinics would infringe on the interests of private clinics, which in turn have intricate connections with the powerful and wealthy. Rich people tend to protect each other's interests.

Why can private and public hospitals coexist in modern society?

Her little brain wasn't quite clear yet, after all, her knowledge before transmigrating was only at the junior high school level, but that didn't stop her from resenting the minister who had spoken against her, and she immediately asked the eunuch, "Who is this person?"

“His name is Huo Ziqi,” the pale-faced old eunuch introduced in a low voice. “His family has been merchants for generations. Although the Qin Dynasty values ​​agriculture and suppresses commerce, it does not prevent merchants from entering the court as officials. He is talented and has insightful views on warfare.”

"No wonder they objected." Banban sneered. "So they were worried that if one of them were to fall, the other would be left vulnerable."

"In that case, I am even more determined to make my clinic provide free medical care for the poor!"

After saying that, she stormed off in a huff.

The eunuch shook his head; in his opinion, the queen was just saying that out of anger.

Under the rule of the Qin Dynasty, there were at least 100 military fortresses and passes, and about 800-1000 county towns. If each city were to have a free clinic, there would need to be at least 900 such clinics.

Even if the Queen had immense wealth, she would squander it all, and she might not even be able to do so. Could it be that this clinic is only open for one month?

He was angry and returned to Zhaoyang Palace where he had his period.

When Ying Zheng finished court, he bumped into the royal physician as he was leaving. He grabbed the physician and asked him if the queen was ill.

The physician said, “The Queen’s emotions are fluctuating greatly, and her menstrual period has come early. She is suffering from severe abdominal pain. I have prescribed some gentle and nourishing remedies.”

Ying Zheng went into the inner room and saw his cousin lying on the bed, looking sullen. There was a faint smell of bamboo in the room, which meant that the two Pixiu cubs must have come in and played for a while and had now been taken out by the palace servants.

Upon seeing her cousin, Banban looked listless. "Cousin, it's so hard to do good deeds. You know all this, so why did you agree to my request?"

"Don't be discouraged." Ying Zheng gently stroked his cousin's soft hair, just like when they were young many years ago. "You're going to give up before you've even started?"

"I won't give up!" She jumped out of bed in one swift motion. "Ouch!" The movement was too abrupt, pulling on her lower abdomen, and her face turned pale instantly.

He reached out and pulled his cousin into his arms, letting her sit in his lap, his hands skillfully running through her arms and gently massaging her lower abdomen.

“I will agree because the nobles of Qin do not submit to me. Your idea is very good and can effectively strike at them. With your cooperation from both inside and outside, I will take them down in one fell swoop.”

"You don't know, there are too many forces standing around Cheng Jiao. Besides the Chu faction, there are also these nobles. I haven't even taken power yet, so they don't take me seriously. They bypass me and the Prime Minister in everything they do. It won't be easy to completely subdue them."

"So, this is the reason why Cheng Jiao was destined to die?"

Ying Zheng looked surprised, as if to say, "You just said it so sweetly?"

Banban became curious, "But cousin, wouldn't it be terrible if Chengjiao surrendered and betrayed Qin?"

“Lu Buwei is very clever and will not allow anything to damage the reputation of Qin.” Ying Zheng said in a light tone, with a meaningful snort. “He calculated that Cheng Jiao wanted to break free from my control. In the past two years, he has not encouraged him behind my back. A eunuch came to report that he made wild remarks while drunk, wanting to be granted a fiefdom and take over Empress Dowager Huayang and Lady Han.”

"A state-sanctioned empire? What a boastful tone!" Banban bristled. "What gives him the right? Just because he's arrogant?!"

"..." My cousin's description was also a stroke of genius.

Ying Zheng smiled and said, "So there's no need to pay attention to the criticisms in court. Just do what you're doing."

"Sigh." She sighed seriously, nestled trustingly in his arms, and feigned pitifulness. "I don't understand any of this. What do you think I should do, cousin?"

"The Great Qin has a total of 89 military passes. Each pass can be used to open a medical clinic. The clinics are open to soldiers for free, and ordinary people can receive treatment at half price. If there is a real difficulty, the female officials in the clinic appointed by the Queen can visit and verify the situation. If the situation is true, the medicine can be paid for with rare crop seeds or grain."

Female officer? !

Banban sat up straight in an instant. "Cousin? You listened to everything I told you last time!"

“These female officials belong to the inner palace and cannot enter the court to listen to politics. They are considered as palace slaves sent out to guard various medical clinics. They need to return to Xianyang regularly to report on their duties. In this way, it is legitimate for the Queen to manage them and no one will object.”

She sent her own servants out of the palace to supervise these medical clinics, and no one was allowed to criticize them.

Moreover, the clinic caters to military personnel; what right do they have to obstruct it? Obstruction would likely provoke public outrage.

"In that case, I can open a clinic with the Queen, and we can each split the profits 30/70." Ying Zheng said with interest, "Aren't you happy?"

Happy! Of course I'm happy!

Her stomach pain was gone, and her cheeks were flushed with excitement.

"No, cousin, save your money for the war!" Banban patted her chest boldly. "Since Huo Ziqi said that I, the Queen, have the world in my heart and that all of Qin are my children, it is only natural for me to pay for my own child's medical treatment. I will pay for it!"

"They only like to hear nice things; they're really easy to fool and provoke."

"...Ugh, you're so annoying! I'm not like that at all!"

The news that the Queen was going to open a clinic caused a great uproar. She had already won the people's love by selling iron plows for ten bushels of grain, and the clinic would make her even more famous.

At this moment, in the State of Zhao.

Zhao Yan sat down on the steps of the royal bedchamber, resting his chin on his hand. He sighed deeply, a hint of envy and jealousy showing on his face. "Zhao Zheng gets all the good things. How can he be so lucky? That little Zhao Ji is a woman of Zhao! She was tricked by him into going to Qin and becoming the queen. Where can I complain to him?"

Guo Kai, with his hands tucked in his pockets, accompanied King Zhao in drinking and merrymaking, inwardly grumbling to himself, "Didn't you reject her back then? I recommended her several times, but you were hopelessly infatuated with the mature women in brothels."

“My king prefers ripe flowers to unopened buds. How could he possibly look down on little Zhao Ji? Only the King of Qin—” Guo Kai originally wanted to follow Zhao Yan’s words and insult King Zheng of Qin, but when the words were about to come out, he remembered that the King of Qin and little Zhao Ji were the same age. Haha, then he wasn’t exactly a beast.

Zhao Yan glanced at him, swirling the cup in his hand. "How is he?"

“He has ulterior motives. He must have known from the beginning that Xiao Zhao Ji is exceptionally intelligent and a rare commodity,” Guo Kai decisively informed. “Years ago, I was ordered by the late king to escort the King of Qin back to Qin. The King of Qin refused to leave without taking Xiao Zhao Ji with him.”

Zhao Yan chuckled, his mustache twitching to one side, as if he could hear his arch-rival's glee. "Oh ho? Really?"

"Indeed, I waited from dawn till dusk, I was so anxious."

"It seems Zhao Zheng is quite the romantic." Zhao Yan rubbed his chin, shook his head, and clicked his tongue in admiration. "However, it's a pity that Little Zhao Ji was given to him."

Thinking back carefully, when Zhao Yan clashed with the King of Qin at Ji Hao's house, little Zhao Ji, though terrified, still rushed out to stand in front of the King of Qin. What did she say again?

Don't bully my cousin!

That's roughly the sentence.

Zhao Yan couldn't remember clearly, but he vividly remembered her stubborn yet beautiful little face and her trembling little legs.

Damn it, the more I think about it, the more I regret it.

Zhao Yan licked his back teeth, his eyes gleaming with hatred. "At this time, all the states are praising the Qin Queen for her virtue and benevolence, which has greatly improved Qin's reputation and attracted scholars from other states to aspire to serve her. How can I sleep like this?"

As the Qin state grew stronger, he found it increasingly difficult to sleep.

King Zhaoxiang of Qin finally died, and then Ying Zheng, the one who advocated offense, came along. Who could stand that?

What's most hateful isn't Ying Zheng, but that Qin has never had a single incompetent ruler since its founding. Could it really be the will of Heaven?

Everything good was directed towards Qin. Even Qin's Prime Minister Lü Buwei, who wanted to write a book and recruit three thousand talented retainers from across the land, was wary! He was truly wary!

Zhao Yan would wake up in the middle of the night in a fit of anger and stare at the Empress Dowager for a long time. Of course, Zhao Yan wouldn't dare to scold the Empress Dowager, so he could only stare at her while she was asleep.

"How come his queen is different from mine? What gives him the right?" Zhao Yan gritted his teeth in hatred. "If I had been more open-minded back then and taken little Zhao Ji as my concubine, none of the subsequent troubles would have occurred."

So annoying.

Guo Kai kept his eyes downcast and cautiously reminded her, "Your Majesty, I'm afraid the Queen wouldn't agree either. When you go to brothels in your spare time, don't we always have to disguise ourselves?"

"How dare you speak like that, you scoundrel? You say I fear the Queen?" Zhao Yan glared, his beard bristling.

"No, no, I had no such intention!" Guo Kai quickly knelt down and skillfully hugged the King of Zhao's leg. "I was praising Your Majesty for loving your wife and children and for your great understanding of righteousness!"

"Let's discuss how to attack Yan," Guo Kai said, wiping his sweat. "No matter what, Yan is currently the weakest of the seven states. If Zhao can annex Yan, its territory will expand and its national strength will increase, so we won't have to worry about Qin."

Zhao Yan snorted and glanced at him, "Do you think the Yan Kingdom is so fragile that I can just kick it and it will be reduced to ashes? Besides... that kid Ji Dan has been close to the King of Qin since childhood. If I raise an army to attack Yan, Qin will definitely send troops to help. At that time, our country will be undefended, and won't it be easily defeated?"

"Hey." Guo Kai gave him a look that said, "You're wrong," and disagreed. "Your Majesty, the King of Qin and Ji Dan are not true friends."

Zhao Yan stopped, looking curious. "What do you mean?"

"The King of Qin is vengeful, narrow-minded, and extremely vengeful. Back then, you only insulted him a few times, but he took advantage of the situation and almost broke your leg."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Yan's face darkened. This was a dark chapter in his life, and the mere mention of it gave him a heart attack.

"Do you still remember Li Xie, the tutor of the Crown Prince of Yan?" Guo Kai asked.

“Li Xie?” Zhao Yan frowned and thought carefully. “I vaguely remember him, the one with sharp edges.”

"..." Guo Kai couldn't help but chuckle.

Zhao Yan: "He's ugly enough."

"He has been sowing discord between the King of Qin and the other hostages behind his back, claiming that he was acting on the orders of the Crown Prince of Yan. Whether the Crown Prince of Yan was actually aware of this is debatable. Why did the King of Qin not react then because he was weak, but not now?"

"The King of Qin has something wrong with his head."

"...Your Majesty, please be serious."

"Alright, I understand what you mean." Zhao Yan said impatiently, "These are just your speculations without any concrete evidence. As the King of Zhao, I cannot risk the entire country. Let's discuss the attack on Yan later."

Guo Kai cried out urgently, "Your Majesty! Your Majesty!"

"If we don't strike first, the Yan state will likely have to ally with the Qin state!"

Zhao Yan's expression froze slightly. "What did you say?"

Guo Kai said earnestly, "Your Majesty, Liu Shao, whom we sent to Yan, has just sent back a message saying that Qin and Yan have been making frequent unusual moves recently. The King of Yan intends to form an alliance with Qin and exchange hostages. If hostages are indeed sent, then the alliance will be considered to be finalized!"

"Liu Shao also said that Prince Dan of Yan has requested to go to Qin as a hostage, and the King of Yan is still considering it."