Serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. The emperor is easy to talk to now, but who knows if he will think his daughter was taken advantage of in the future?
The Empress personally took Ruozheng's hand and said, "It's alright. She should kneel. A teacher for a day is a father for life. Miss Ruozheng is very talented. I and the Emperor are very relieved to entrust Jinlan to your teaching. From now on, she will be just an ordinary disciple by your side, not a princess of Beiyan."
The Empress made it very clear that the princess's status was reserved for outsiders, but she, as the master, was an exception.
Ruozheng felt a warm glow in her heart. Before she could say anything, she saw Princess Jinlan kneel down respectfully, offering her a cup of tea and saying, "Master, please have some tea."
Seeing this, Ruozheng stopped refusing, took the teacup, took a sip, and then had the maid beside him bring over a box.
She handed the box to Jinlan and said, "My dear, this is a gift from your master."
Jinlan was quite surprised. She opened it and found a small crossbow inside.
Ruozheng explained, "This is my improved crossbow. It's small and portable, suitable for girls. It can hold twenty iron nails at a time, and you can launch it with a light press."
As she spoke, she demonstrated it to Jinlan.
Because this small crossbow doesn't require much strength and can be accidentally activated at any time, there's a hidden latch on the handle that needs to be opened before it can be used.
Ruozheng picked up the small crossbow, casually aimed it at a lantern outside, and with a whoosh, the lantern's string was cut, and it fell to the ground, deformed.
Everyone exclaimed in surprise, never expecting that such a small crossbow could be so powerful.
It also has a long range; it can easily reach within 100 meters!
If this thing were made on a larger scale, could it be used on the battlefield?
The emperor's eyes sparkled. Although there were already small black balls made by Jiang Jiuniang on the battlefield, wouldn't it increase the survival rate if the soldiers were equipped with such weapons?
Thinking this way, the emperor felt even more that his daughter had chosen an excellent teacher, and that the useful things she learned could be applied to the court in the future, truly a one-time solution for all his problems.
Ruozheng had no idea that the emperor was suddenly so happy because he felt that his daughter had gotten a good deal by becoming his disciple. After returning the bow and crossbow to Jinlan, he said a few words about his requirements for her, and the discipleship ceremony was considered complete.
Afterwards, the palace arranged song and dance performances and delicious meals, which everyone enjoyed while eating and watching.
Zhu Zhu also arrived. When she saw that Ruo Zheng had taken on a little apprentice, she shook her head, indicating that she didn't have the patience to teach others like that. She said that training soldiers in the military camp had almost driven her to the brink of collapse.
At the banquet, Jiang Jiuniang stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, the medical school that I have always wanted to establish is scheduled to be set up before the end of the year. Your Majesty can begin making the arrangements."
The emperor had previously stated that he would cover all the expenses of the medical school.
The emperor, of course, would not forget, and said, “You have done all this for the people of Beiyan. This money should come from the national treasury. The outstanding students selected later will have priority to enter the palace and be assigned to local areas. If there is anything you need, go directly to the Ministry of Revenue for arrangements, and the Ministry of Revenue will do its best to handle it.”
The emperor's intentions were laid bare: this medical school was a place specifically for cultivating talent for the country, a public property, and could not become the Lu family's private property.
This originally went against Jiang Jiuniang's wishes, but thinking that the emperor was also thinking of the people, she still agreed.
In this way, Jiang Jiuniang was no longer the employer, but a person hired by the emperor and entitled to a salary.
This is not bad, Jiang Jiuniang accepted it optimistically.
"Does His Majesty mean that in the future, imperial medical clinics should also be established in prefectures and counties so that people can seek medical treatment at any time?"
Jiang Jiuniang looked at the emperor with a smile, wanting to confirm her guess.
"Yes, but this matter cannot be rushed. I will make arrangements for each of you after your first batch of students have completed your training."
The emperor readily admitted that medical practices in the countryside were backward and that people had short lifespans. He wanted to ensure that people could eat and sleep well and have something to rely on when they fell ill.
Jiang Jiuniang nodded and said, "This matter involves a wide range of issues. I will write down some of my views when I return today and present them to His Majesty. It will not be too late for His Majesty to make arrangements."
Given the Emperor's lavish treatment of the Lu family, it's understandable that Jiang Jiuniang would offer him some benefits. However, establishing a medical school and local clinics is no simple matter. After all, the emergence of such places would significantly reduce the business of private clinics and might even lead to conflicts. These issues need to be carefully weighed.
Jiang Jiuniang was an expert in this field, so the emperor naturally listened to her and readily agreed, and the banquet continued.
After returning home that evening, Jiang Jiuniang first discussed the plan with Ruozheng and drafted a first draft. After Ruozheng went back to rest, Jiang Jiuniang showed the first draft to Lu Baichuan so that he could see if there were any flaws.
He was an official in the imperial court and knew more about many things than she did, so he could offer some advice.
After Lu Baichuan read it, his expression indeed turned somewhat unpleasant.
“Your plans are all good, cultivating talent and helping the national treasury to generate profits, but the initial investment is too large, leaving the national treasury empty, and the Ministry of Revenue may not be satisfied.”
Jiang Jiuniang had also thought about this, but the significance of the medical school was extraordinary. Everything that was needed had to be of the best quality, after all, human life was at stake, and there was no room for carelessness.
"Then what should we do?"
Jiang Jiuniang was very distressed. She had long known that this thing was extremely expensive, so she had always wanted to do it herself. After all, she had that batch of treasures, and she had plenty of money. But the emperor insisted on getting involved and wanted to turn it into a government industry. However, the national treasury was empty and there were many places to spend money, so it simply could not support the expenses.
But the emperor's heart is always with the people's best interests at heart. Isn't this putting people in a difficult position?
Lu Baichuan was also troubled: "Logically speaking, our family can donate some silver, but if we do that, the other ministers will be unhappy. In the end, the Lu family will have to take the blame even though we did a good deed, which is not worth it."
"I will discuss this with the Emperor at the morning court tomorrow. If it really doesn't work out, our family can continue to manage this business. However, expenses such as those for local medical clinics will have to be covered by the Ministry of Revenue."
Anyway, everyone is doing it for the good of the people, and this can also be considered as helping the emperor share his burdens, so the emperor can understand.
Jiang Jiuniang nodded: "Okay, but I hope you will say it at the morning court tomorrow, so that everyone knows that it was because the national treasury couldn't come up with so much money that our Lu family took it all on. Don't make it seem like we got a great deal. If we put in money and effort but don't get any credit, that would make me furious."
"Okay, I'll handle it."
The two quickly washed up and went to bed, knowing they would have another tough battle to fight in the court the next day.
As expected, when the people in the court first heard that the emperor wanted to use the national treasury to support the expenses of an entire medical school, they were immediately in an uproar. They said that the island nation and the Eastern Court were eyeing the country covetously, and the national treasury was empty. If the money was really used for these things, wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?
Lu Baichuan was not angry, and proposed another method: all expenses of the medical school would be covered by the Lu family, but the local medical clinics would be subject to the arrangements of the imperial court.
Before the emperor could even speak, someone else stood up to express their dissatisfaction.
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