Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne

Chapter 937: Chapter 54: Cowpox Inoculation (Part 2)

Hearing Zhao Yao’s words, Doctor Tong felt deeply moved. His eyes turned red with tears, his voice choked, "Your Highness, this is what we should do."

"I will report truthfully to my father about what you have accomplished during this period. I believe he will certainly reward you dearly," Zhao Yao continued, "and of course, I will also reward you generously."

Doctor Tong said excitedly, "Thank you, Your Highness."

"The success of cowpox vaccination will save many people’s lives in the future. This is a great merit, and you will leave a significant mark in history books."

"Your Highness, it’s all thanks to your blessings. If it weren’t for you, we couldn’t have developed cowpox." They, as doctors, did not think of using cowpox for smallpox prevention, but Your Highness did.

"Write a detailed report on cowpox vaccination, and I’ll send it to the capital."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"By the way, my father might summon one of you back to the capital. See who would be suitable to return to teach the Imperial Physicians cowpox vaccination." Zhao Yao added suddenly, "If any of you want to return to the capital, just let me know, I won’t stop you."

Upon hearing this, Doctor Tong was shocked. He hurriedly said, "Your Highness, we are not ungrateful people and have no intention of returning to the capital. We were once marginalized and unable to survive in the capital, it was you who took us in and trusted us. We are willing to always follow you."

"You misunderstood me..."

Doctor Tong rudely interrupted Zhao Yao, "Your Highness, although the capital is prosperous, we do not wish to return. Since arriving in Lingnan, we’ve grown fond of this place. We wish to follow you in building hospitals, establishing a Medical College, and teaching medical skills to the people of Lingnan. Please don’t leave us."

"Since you don’t want to go to the capital, then stay in Lingnan," Zhao Yao smiled, "I would love for you to stay in Lingnan to help me build hospitals and establish a Medical College."

"Your Highness, rest assured, we will never leave Lingnan."

"Choose two people, then go to the capital to teach the Imperial Physicians cowpox vaccination." Although the report will detail the cowpox vaccination process, experienced doctors must still be sent to the capital to teach the Imperial Physicians hands-on, otherwise there’s no telling what might go wrong if they have to figure it out themselves. "After successfully vaccinating using cowpox, don’t rush back to Lingnan. First, reunite with your families, and wait until I return to the capital next year, then you can come back to Lingnan with me."

Doctor Tong looked puzzled, "Your Highness, you plan to return to the capital next year? What for?" He remembered that a prince cannot leave the fiefdom without the emperor’s summons.

"To get married," Zhao Yao said helplessly, "I must return to the capital next year for marriage."

Only then did Doctor Tong recall that their prince was still unmarried, "Your Highness should indeed get married, and the Han Prince Mansion needs a female lead."

Zhao Yao waved his hand, not wanting to discuss his marriage further.

"Now that cowpox vaccination is successful, start vaccinating children from tomorrow." Adults don’t need cowpox vaccination. Even if vaccinated, it won’t have much effect. It’s more effective to vaccinate children. "You can vaccinate them until they reach adulthood."

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Oh, now that cowpox vaccination is successful, you can start making deworming pills." Mentioning deworming, Zhao Yao remembered seeing children with round bellies from the other day... best not to think of it, or he’ll feel sick again. "Now that you have white sugar, try adding it to the pills to make them more palatable for children." Lingnan is crawling with insects and the climate is warm, so there are many parasites, and many locals have many worms in their bellies.

Although medicine can dispel worms, it’s too bitter. Zhao Yao wished to recreate the pagoda candy from the world of Zhao Yao in his dream. Sweet pills would surely delight the children.

"Yes, Your Highness."

Zhao Yao gave a few more instructions and then left the farm in Nanshan. Instead of returning to the Han Prince Mansion, he headed to the North Mountain.

He arrived just in time, as the craftsmen of North Mountain had successfully developed handguns. After several experiments, the result was more handy and reliable than previous firearms, with fewer mishaps.

Originally planning to stay in North Mountain for a few days, he remembered He Lianfang and Uncle Gao had been waiting eagerly for the handguns, prompting Zhao Yao to hastily return to the Han Prince Mansion with the finished handguns.

He Lianfang had been waiting for Zhao Yao. As soon as he saw him, he hurriedly asked, "Did you really succeed with that cowpox vaccination you talked about?" He had previously heard Zhao Yao mention the cowpox vaccination experiment and understood the significance of its success.

"Yes, very successful. We’ll start vaccinating children aged six or above tomorrow," Zhao Yao said joyfully, "With this, those children won’t contract smallpox."

"Only vaccinating children, what about adults?"

"Adults don’t need vaccination, as it won’t be effective. It’s better to vaccinate the children."

He Lianfang nodded, "Vaccinating the children is indeed good."

"Another good thing happened, care to guess what it is, Uncle?"

He Lianfang speculated it had something to do with the farm since Zhao Yao had been there.

"Did you get the silkworms to spin silk on the farm?"

"No." Zhao Yao didn’t tease He Lianfang further and instead pulled two handguns from his bag, placing them in front of He Lianfang. "The handguns are finished."

Seeing the handguns made He Lianfang’s eyes immediately brighten with excitement. He eagerly picked up one to examine closely, then asked Zhao Yao to take him to the courtyard as he wanted to test it.

"How do you find the handgun, Uncle?"

He Lianfang, unable to part with it, exclaimed, "It’s wonderful, truly amazing!"

Seeing He Lianfang’s love for the gun brought joy to Zhao Yao’s heart as well.

"This is the first version; it will be improved in the future." As the current handgun was somewhat bulky, future versions needed to be smaller.

"This is just the first version?" He Lianfang was surprised.

"Yes, improvements can be made, making it even better than the one you hold now." Zhao Yao, considering the high production costs, frowned slightly, saying, "The manufacturing cost of the handguns is too high. It would be better to produce fewer handguns in the future and focus on making more firearms."

"Do as you see fit." He Lianfang, now having a handgun, no longer urged Zhao Yao for an improved version.

"I need to write a report for my father. Tong Xi, go find Uncle Gao."

An hour later, Uncle Gao returned to the Han Prince Mansion and, upon seeing the handgun, excitedly shouted around the courtyard. Just like He Lianfang, he couldn’t part with it; he was constantly admiring, touching, and even kissing it throughout dinner.

Fortunately, the bullets from the handgun were spent; otherwise, Zhao Yao was truly worried Uncle Gao might accidentally fire it.

In the distant capital, the Emperor received Zhao Yao’s report. It mentioned successfully diverting swamp lake water to Swamp Prefecture, and he suggested applying this method at West Lake in Quanting County.

After reading, the Emperor immediately summoned the Minister of Industry.

Reading Zhao Yao’s report, the Minister of Industry’s hands trembled with excitement, continually praising Prince Han as a genius.