Chapter 2104 Request
There are fewer vegetables in spring, but there is a lot of meat. However, the price of meat has gone up a bit recently.
As soon as the meat was brought home, Xiao Qian asked Zhou Dalang and his brothers to chop it up, and then distributed some of it to the Bai family. The rest was either steamed or pickled.
She also cut a few pieces of good pork and hung them in the kitchen to smoke. Everyone in the family liked to eat smoked meat, and it was easy to take out and could be stored in a box for half a year.
Manbao, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang were very satisfied with the meal. Even Bai Dalang couldn't help but bring his wife and son to live with them. They ate for two days before moving back to Changqing Lane.
After Manbao finished eating, she brought two basins of the medicine back to the palace and distributed them directly to her colleagues in the Imperial Hospital. Then she scooped some into a bowl and brought it to Xiao Yuanzheng, smiling and asking him, "Xiao Yuanzheng, have you told His Majesty about the vaccination?"
Xiao Yuanzheng reached out to take the bowl, set it in front of him, and then opened his lunch box to eat his lunch. He said, "As I said, His Majesty has approved it. We are lucky. The Ministry of Justice has already approved three prisoners sentenced to death by beheading. When I asked them to spare their beheading and instead have them hanged, they all agreed."
He said, "But we haven't decided where to place him for the trial yet. It can't be in the Ministry of Justice's prison, or even in the capital."
Manbao pondered and said, "It would be best if it were an independent small village, emptying out the people inside. Except for us, everyone else would just be outside, and they could live their own lives."
She said, "They have all the necessary limbs. If they've only contracted smallpox, we should be able to take care of each other if we stagger our schedules."
Xiao Yuanzheng nodded, "It would be best if we could find someone who has had pox to look after them."
He paused and said, "The capital has counted it before, and the county government still has records, but it's not certain whether they are willing to do so."
The situation in the capital at that time was special. Many people were forcibly conscripted and then sent home after receiving money. However, this time it was an experiment of the Imperial Medical Service, and it was obvious that forced conscription could no longer be allowed.
Manbao thought for a moment and said, "I'll go ask County Magistrate Tang."
The next day, when Manbao went to the Imperial Medical Bureau for class, he wrote a letter to County Magistrate Tang and asked the officials of the Imperial Medical Bureau to deliver it to the Chang'an County Government Office.
In fact, she thought that County Magistrate Tang would just write her a letter, but who knew that County Magistrate Tang came to the Imperial Medical Bureau in person at noon.
"You're going to try vaccination?"
Manbao nodded, "Let's try human pox first. If it's as effective as the rumors say, then we'll look for a safer method for cowpox."
County Magistrate Tang lowered his eyes and thought for a moment before saying, "Alright, I'll go find someone for you."
The county government kept records of those who had had smallpox before and those who had contracted smallpox and recovered. No one could find them more easily than him.
County Magistrate Tang asked, "How much is the wages?"
Manbao really doesn't know about this.
She paused and said, "This is a dangerous thing. Even if they have had the smallpox, they won't be able to go out and see their friends and family for a long time, and the psychological pressure is also great. I will talk to Xiao Yuanzheng and try to give him more. What is the average salary now?"
County Magistrate Tang said, "The wages for servants in the city are between six hundred and eight hundred coins."
Manbao pondered, "So should we pay them nine hundred coins a month, or one thousand coins?"
"Okay," County Magistrate Tang said, standing up. "Talk to Xiao Yuanzheng and try to raise the salary. You also mentioned that they're definitely not willing to care for smallpox patients, especially those on death row. If you offer a higher price, I can find someone for you."
Manbao quickly reminded him, "It's best to have an adult man who is honest and obedient, or an old woman with great strength will also do."
County Magistrate Tang said it was no problem. He took two steps outside before he remembered something and turned back to look at her. "Manbao, so is there really a way to vaccinate against smallpox in this world?"
Manbao said: "Am I the kind of person who speaks nonsense? Of course I am."
County Magistrate Tang couldn't help but sigh at her good fortune, "It seems that God truly loves you. You wanted to travel to the Western Regions to study, and just then, the smallpox vaccination method was discovered there."
Manbao just smiled.
County Magistrate Tang went back to look for someone, while Manbao went back to ask Xiao Yuanzheng for money.
Xiao Yuanzheng was quite generous on this point. He said, "I'll ask the Ministry of Revenue for money right away. Since the Ministry of Justice has agreed, let's get started. I thought about it all night last night and finally found three places. One is the official farmland in Chang'an County or Wannian County. We can build a few houses on the edge to detain people. Another is the Mountain God Temple outside the city of the Ministry of Justice. Sometimes the Ministry of Justice's prison can't accommodate so many prisoners, so they temporarily hold people in the Mountain God Temple. It's spring now, and many prisoners won't be escorted to the capital until the spring and autumn. So the Mountain God Temple is empty right now, and the access control is pretty strict. I think it can be used."
"Another option is to ask His Majesty for a few rooms in the Imperial Manor," he said. "First, it costs money, and Chang'an County and Wannian County may not agree. But they are low-ranking officials, and the Ministry of Justice and His Majesty will definitely bully them. Second, it's easiest and most convenient to take it now, but it will be more difficult to clean up afterward. As you know, smallpox can survive for a long time. I'm worried that they might miss something while living there, and the prisoners who move in during the summer and autumn will bring it out. As for the other two places, after they're done using them, the worst that can happen is that the houses can be demolished and everything burned down."
"The third option is convenient, saves money, and is easy to clean up afterward. As I said, no matter how difficult it is, just burn it. If you don't burn it, it's not difficult to seal it up."
Anyway, the imperial farm is so big that as long as he is told that there is smallpox inside, he would not dare to go in even if he has ten times the courage.
Manbao stroked her chin and thought. She felt that what she lacked most at the moment was time. She had to finalize the trip to the Western Regions before Anxi's letter came back. So she said, "Let's choose the Mountain Temple or the Imperial Manor. You discuss it with the Ministry of Justice first. If it doesn't work out, I'll go to His Majesty."
Xiao Yuanzheng raised his eyebrows, then smiled and agreed after a moment. After she left, he looked at her back, shook his head and laughed, "After all, she's still young and full of energy. How can she be so impatient about something like this? She'll naturally take it step by step."
Having said that, Xiao Yuanzheng still went to the Ministry of Justice to negotiate.
Of course the Ministry of Justice disagreed. Just as Xiao Yuan was thinking, it would be nice to lend it out now, but what if they really got infected with smallpox when they used it later?
Not to mention the patients, the runners in the Ministry of Justice also value their lives, okay?
So they refused outright and refused to agree no matter what Xiao Yuanzheng said.
So Manbao went to check the emperor's pulse the next day. After checking the emperor's pulse, she also went to check the empress's pulse. Finally, she returned to the Imperial Hospital happily and said to Xiao Yuanzheng, "The empress is really reasonable."
Xiao Yuanzheng knew that this was almost the case.
The Emperor had dinner with the Empress that evening. Upon hearing what the Empress said, he couldn't help but blew his nose and said, "I didn't say I didn't agree, but seeing how anxious she was, I wanted to calm her down to prevent her from making any rash mistakes. So why did she come to you?"
See you at 9pm
(End of this chapter)
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