Chapter 674 All he sought was fame and fortune.
Shi Le'an arrived too late. In the house opposite the residence where the Khan's son, Mark, had been captured, only the bodies of a family of five remained.
Shi Le'an's adjutant stepped forward and examined the corpse. He then turned to Shi Le'an and reported, "General, judging from the congealed blood, these villains must have killed someone when we attacked the other side."
He used a dagger, slashed the neck, and killed her instantly.
Looking at the family, which was clearly a couple with three young men, Shi Le'an could only instruct, "After the people from the Dali Temple have examined the body, give it a proper burial."
"Yes, General."
Fuming with rage, Shi Le'an left the house, mounted his horse, and spurred it on towards the Dali Temple.
Upon arriving at the Dali Temple, after waiting for the official to announce his arrival, Shi Le'an finally met Di Renjie again.
"Minister Di, I have failed your trust. I arrived late and those people got away."
Di Renjie reached out to Shi Le'an, who was kneeling on the ground, and helped him up, leading him to sit in the main hall.
Di Renjie pushed the teacup toward Shi Le'an, "It's not just General Shi's fault. The intelligence I wrote in that short message was also too late, so I also made a mistake."
General, do not blame yourself. Now it is up to the Golden Guard to show their skills.
If it works, we should have results before curfew.
For the next two quarters of an hour, Di Renjie recounted to Shi Le'an the details of the opium case he had learned from Mark and the seven or eight surviving Turks.
It turns out that last year, the Tang Dynasty's use of gunpowder, a revolutionary firearm, caught the Western Turks off guard on the battlefield, fundamentally deterring them from fighting against the Tang Dynasty.
Not to mention, the special forces secretly organized—the very ones Li Dalang had participated in—were able to sneak into the Khan's tent and severely injure the Khan, causing the Khan's three eldest sons, in their struggle for power, to directly agree to surrender to the Tang Dynasty and become vassals again, and were very happy to resume trade with the Tang Dynasty.
While the Turkic tribes were still fighting to the death over who would be the leader, Mark, the son of a female slave and a man on the fringes of power, was approached by a foreigner.
That foreigner was extremely skilled at bewitching people, or perhaps it could be said that Mark was already harboring resentment, and his inner desires were simply brought to the surface after being stirred up by someone.
"If you help us transport this hibiscus ointment into Chang'an, I will wish you success in becoming the Khan!"
Such boasts are not believed by anyone with a brain.
Moreover, this is Chang'an, the capital of the emperor, the most magnificent city with a population of one million at this moment in this time and space.
Was the Jinwu Guard's swords and arrows ineffective in causing the unrest in Chang'an?
Mark initially refused, only saying to the foreigner, "The Han Chinese saying 'wild ideas' refers to you."
Why did Mark actually bring dozens of Turks to Chang'an in the end?
Di Renjie sighed and said, "There are people in the court who are colluding with the enemy!"
"What!"
Shi Le'an slammed his hand on the table, knocking the teacups off the table.
"Minister Di, is this really true?"
Why wasn't that mentioned in the letter? I…
Di Renjie raised his hand to comfort Shi Le'an, telling him to sit down and talk properly.
"To be honest, General, I was also quite shocked when I heard about this from Mark."
General, rest assured, by the time I sent someone to deliver the message to you, the Imperial Guard had already been informed of this treasonous act.
Arresting traitors and collaborators is not our responsibility; others will handle that.
Upon hearing this, Shi Le'an's expression finally calmed down a bit.
"Minister Di, who is this person?"
Di Renjie shook his head and did not answer Shi Le'an's question.
Just as the two were about to discuss the case further, a court official came to report from outside: "Minister, the Imperial Guards have arrived and want to take Mark and the others."
Di Renjie and Shi Le'an exchanged a glance, sensing that there must be a great secret behind the opium case.
In the courtyard of the Imperial Medical Bureau, just as Li San Niang was having a lively conversation with the gathered physicians, the sound of a gong rang out again from the high platform.
Wang Shuzheng flicked the sleeves of his round-necked official robe before walking to the center of the high platform and solemnly addressing the crowd below: "The main matter today is this opium."
From its origins to its effects on humans, the medicinal properties and efficacy of opium are surely already well understood by all physicians.
The doctors in the audience, listening to Wang Shuzheng's words, all had a bad feeling, as if they were about to get into big trouble.
"The annual call for physicians to serve will not have to wait until the second half of the year; now is the time for you to fulfill your duties."
With a "whoosh," a buzzing discussion arose from the hundred doctors in the audience.
"Silence! Silence!"
After everyone had quieted down, Wang Shuzheng spoke again: "A new drug rehabilitation center will be built outside the main camp in the suburbs of the capital, and doctors will be needed to oversee it."
Sure enough, after Wang Shuzheng said this, very few people present were actually willing.
Just looking at the state of those people who were addicted to opium, this is not a job that good people should do. If they are attacked by addicts, who will take responsibility if they get injured?
Wang Shuzheng naturally understood the reluctance of the crowd to come. He gave Yao Shucheng a wink, and Yao Shucheng struck the gong, the "dong dong dong" sound drowning out the crowd's discussions.
Seeing that everyone had quieted down, Yao Shucheng walked to the front of the stage and said to the crowd: "...In this way, as long as you are willing to go, you can endure three months and have a chance to enter the Imperial Medical Academy to study without taking an exam."
Those with exceptional skills could directly enter the Imperial Medical Bureau and be appointed as physicians.
To be honest, those who could work as doctors in Chang'an weren't necessarily extremely wealthy, but they were at least financially secure.
If the financial gain can't tempt you, then the only temptation left is fame.
Entering the Imperial Medical Bureau and becoming a medical officer was something that many doctors in Chang'an City dreamed of.
Wang Shuzheng was sitting in his chair, stroking his beard and looking at the doctors below the stage. He thought to himself with a smug smile, "I don't believe you'd be unhappy about getting a position in the Imperial Medical Bureau!"
As expected, just as Wang Shuzheng and Yao Shucheng had guessed, after the suggestion that he could become a physician in the Imperial Medical Bureau, the doctors in the audience were not as resentful as before.
"That's good."
"You are all skilled physicians in Chang'an. Each of you should return to your clinic after this and discuss the matter; at least one person should submit a report."
After saying all that, the meeting organized by the Imperial Medical Bureau was considered over.
Facing Manager Gao and Tang Mingyue, Li Sanniang said directly, "I was the one who discovered this first. Just give my name in the medical hall."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com