"What do you think? What does it mean?" Doctor Li was stunned when he heard that and almost put the moxa stick on Zhao Hao's Dazhui acupoint.

"That's exactly what it means." Young Master Zhao whispered, "I hope I can be hospitalized for a period of time if I'm sick enough, preferably without visitors."

"Isn't that fraud?" Li Shizhen shook his head decisively.

"Mr. Li, please be flexible." Zhao Hao begged, "Now that Lord Hai has taken office, the people of Jiangnan are in a panic. I'm sure many people will persuade me to lobby Lord Hai. I can neither agree nor refuse, so I can only hide for now. After a while, the rumors will be broken by themselves."

"Hmm." Li Shizhen didn't know whether he understood or not, and still shook his head and said, "Young Master, you are right. But a doctor should be truthful, and my medical ethics will not allow it."

"I'll teach you biology later." Zhao Hao had to use his trump card. "It can make your Compendium of Materia Medica more systematic and scientific."

"Colds are originally caused by external factors, but if the pathogens are severe and deep, they spread throughout the meridians and become typhoid fever." Li Shizhen then changed his words and said, "For strong patients, the pathogens will dissipate in a few days and the patient will recover. For weak patients, the pathogens are not easy to dissipate and will linger. We must not take it lightly. It is recommended that you be hospitalized immediately for treatment."

~~

After the moxibustion, Zhao Hao was pushed in a wheelchair by head nurse Wang Tiedan to the small courtyard next to Lin Run's ward and lay on a bed covered with white sheets.

Wang Tiedan tucked in the quilt for Zhao Hao, told him to have a good rest, and pulled the bedside rope if necessary, then went out.

He didn't know whether it was a psychological effect or Li Shizhen's medical skills were too high, but he felt much better. He finally had the energy to review this long conversation with Hai Rui.

There is no doubt that the conversation was successful and strategic. Hai Rui's new policy in Jiangnan can greatly reduce the burden on farmers; secondly, the monetization of taxes and labor service can also stimulate the development of the commodity economy. Zhao Hao and the Jiangnan Company will naturally give their full support.

Moreover, whether it was the Single Whip Law, the equal distribution of land and grain, or even the clearance of illegally occupied land, all of them had to be based on the measurement of land.

Lin Run had already completed the survey of the nine prefectures in Jiangnan, laying a solid foundation for Hai Rui. Hai Gangfeng, with the power of a new official, could even ignore Songjiang and implement the policy directly in the nine prefectures.

This method seemed to temporarily let the Xu family go, but in fact it undermined the Xu family's foundation - the reason why the people of Songjiang were determined to fight against the court with the Xu family was because they were a community of interests.

In the past, in order to avoid taxes and labor service, mainly labor service and various labor-related debts such as service silver and labor silver, a large number of Songjiang people evaded taxes and labor service by making donations and borrowing the Xu family's preferential exemption privileges.

To surrender means to become a slave, and to offer means to donate land and property.

Obviously, this act of making tribute infringed upon the interests of the imperial court and shifted a heavy burden onto the honest people who did not make tribute.

Therefore, surrender is illegal. The "Great Ming Code" clearly states that both parties who surrender will be "beaten 100 times with a stick and sentenced to three years in prison."

The "Regulations on Criminal Interrogation" issued in the 27th year of Jiajing further strengthened the crackdown on the act of surrendering. It stipulated that "the person who surrendered would be sent to the border guards for life in exile, and the head of the person who surrendered would be investigated and punished", which meant that the border guards would also be sent to the border guards for life in exile.

Some people may ask, if this is the case, how dare the Xu family blatantly break the law? Even if Lord Xu is shameless, won't his political enemies report him?

The answer is that it is difficult to report. Because the Xu family perfectly avoided the risk of breaking the law by exploiting legal loopholes...

In this era, it is not easy to cultivate a scholar, and it is difficult to do so with the efforts of a single family alone. Therefore, it often depends on the support of the entire family or even the clan.

After passing the imperial examinations, scholars only enjoyed the privileges for their own families, which was really inhumane. Therefore, the government tacitly approved the donations between relatives.

What if someone who is not a relative wants to make a donation?

The solution provided by the Xu family was to become a son, grandson, or great-grandson of the Xu family and have their names written into the Xu family tree. This way, they would naturally become a member of this happy big family.

Xu Da, Xu Wu, Xu Liu, Xu Ba, Xu Xu, Xu Yang... these are all surnames that were changed later.

But a surname as noble as "Xu" is not something you can take whenever you want. Only if you have made contributions and gained recognition from the Xu family can you be granted the surname Xu.

Most people could only join the Xu family by selling themselves into slavery. Although they went from being free citizens to being slaves, they didn’t have to pay taxes or serve in the military. Wasn’t that great?

In fact, the government is well aware of these two methods, but one is willing to fight and the other is willing to be beaten, and they have not violated any law, so what can you do?

But a single whip law would change the rules of the game.

Simply put, in the past, in order to avoid taxes and labor service, it was very cost-effective to make contributions. But after the reform of the Single Whip Law, all the imperial grain and labor service were included in the land, and the tax was paid in silver. If you have a lot of land, you pay more, if you have a little land, you pay less, and if you have no land, you don't pay.

In this way, the landless peasants would not be able to make a profit, because they would be exploited by the Xu family if they were slaves. If they did not have to pay taxes or serve in the military, who would be willing to be slaves to the Xu family?

Even those small rich peasants with little land found it uneconomical to be slaves to the Xu family, because the tributes they paid to the Xu family exceeded the tax burden after the reform! Naturally, they would feel that they were losing out.

Therefore, when the people of Songjiang see the benefits of the new policy, the thousands of families that depend on the Xu family will surely regret it.

But the Xu family is not the Nine Border Defense Line of the Ming Dynasty, where you can come and go as you please. Then there will be something interesting to watch!

Young Master Zhao seemed to have seen the wonderful scene where those unruly people that the Xu family relied on turned around and attacked the Xu family.

He was so excited that he lay on the bed and danced with joy.

"Oh my, Master is having a fever!" Sister Ma, who rushed over after hearing the news, burst into tears when she saw this scene. She rushed to the bed and held him down, saying, "He was fine at noon, how come he is so sick the next moment?"

"Uh..." Young Master Zhao, who was so proud of himself, blushed immediately. Sister Ma was one of us, so it was nothing. But Gang Leader Chen also walked in behind her.

Now, the steady image that Mr. Zhao had worked so hard to create might be ruined...

But Chen Huaixiu only felt guilty. She thought Zhao Hao's previous excuse was just an excuse. She didn't expect that Mr. Zhao was really busy and tired, and even got sick from exhaustion...

With a slightly sour nose, she asked the head nurse who followed in, "Brother Wang, what disease does the young master have?"

Wang Tiedan picked up the medical record card on the bedside and took a look at it, then said in a muffled voice, "It's a cold, it's a serious illness!"

"Ah..." Chen Huaixiu's face turned pale when he heard the word "typhoid fever". There were too many people who died of typhoid fever in this era. Tears welled up in his eyes and he said, "He is so young, how could he..."

Secretary Ma was also terrified. He hugged Zhao Hao's neck and said, "Don't talk nonsense. The young master will be fine!"

"Both of you should be quiet. Don't believe everything you hear." Head Nurse Wang was in a bad mood and said in a rough voice, "It's a cold or typhoid fever. It's not the kind of typhoid fever you imagine. It usually won't kill people."

P.S. Sorry, I was too excited to write yesterday and I couldn't sleep all night. I felt dizzy all day today and couldn't sleep or write. I only have two updates. I will make up for the one I owe tomorrow.