NOVPUBChen Xi directly summoned his capable subordinate, Chen Dao, leading a hundred city management officers to take all the high-rank civil officers of Fenggao away, regardless of their willingness, as the annual health examination had to be carried out.
It should be said that Zhao Yun and Hua Xiong were indeed Chen Xi’s capable subordinates, but unfortunately, Zhao Yun and Hua Xiong were both taken by Liu Bei today to reorganize the army’s appearance. After all, Chen Xi had always instilled in Liu Bei that under no circumstances should he give up military control, and Liu Bei had executed this very well.
However, since Hua Xiong, as a part-time trusted aide, had left, it was only natural for Chen Xi to have someone else to replace him. Thus, Chen Dao was recommended over.
The first time Chen Xi heard about Chen Dao from Hua Xiong, he was quite surprised, but after confirming that this was indeed the historical Chen Dao who had utilized the elite troops of Danyang to train the White Spear Soldiers in Xuzhou, Chen Xi’s interest was piqued.
These were the super soldiers who, after Liu Bei’s disastrous defeat in Yiling, had fought a rearguard action alone, held off the Wu Army, and returned alive. Though it is said that the infantry of Wu State were generally used by Wei Kingdom’s generals for grinding experience, what about Zhang Babei, Mann Shushi? Could they compare with Commander-in-chief Sun Quan and Commander-in-chief Lu Xun?
With such a fierce man in mind, Chen Xi didn’t hesitate to write a document for Liu Bei, and then Chen Dao became a Military Marshal, not the kind previously where Hua Xiong would just put some people under Chen Dao’s command, but a Military Marshal with an organization of five hundred to a thousand men.
A group of people, regardless of whether they were willing or not, were driven by Chen Xi towards the Fenggao storage area. Hua Tuo had opened a small clinic there, which, according to rumors, had already been taken over by Hua Tuo, along with the people from Chen Xi’s previously commissioned clinic.
By the time Chen Xi and his entourage arrived, there were only a few scattered patients, and Liu Yan mentioned Hua Tuo was nowhere to be seen.
"Where is Physician Hua?" Liu Yan asked in surprise. "Could he have gone out to make house calls?" After inquiring with a guard, they learned that Hua Tuo was currently organizing the inventory of medicinal herbs.
"Come, let’s see how much we have in our strategic reserve?" Chen Xi gestured, and a swarm of people moved toward the direction of the warehouse. Having stayed in one place for so long, it was only right for them to come out and meet Hua Tuo, the key figure as Chen Xi had put it.
Pushing open the grand doors of the warehouse, the scent of medicinal herbs rushed out, mixed with a hint of mold. Seeing the piles of herbs filling up the warehouse, Chen Xi felt overwhelmed. When the materials were first being collected, ginseng was brought in baskets hung from willow branches, and there were even more miscellaneous herbs. Eventually, the entire warehouse was filled to the brim.
Chen Xi stared at the figure of Hua Tuo, busy organizing the herbs, with a sense of familiarity and scratched his head, wondering if they had met before.
"Physician Hua, we’ve come to see you," Liu Yan called out loudly upon seeing Hua Tuo’s busy figure.
Hua Tuo turned his head to see a large group of people blocking the way and couldn’t help feeling a bit irritable. He hadn’t understood what Liu Yan meant when he said he could use the strategic reserve of Qingzhou, but he went into the warehouse with the document two days ago while running out of medicine during a consultation. Hua Tuo was shocked and had cursed it as a squandering of heavenly resources.
Although he cursed it, his hands didn’t stop moving quickly to categorize the herbs, knowing that if they continued to pile up, many would lose their potency. It was then that Hua Tuo understood what Liu Yan meant by the strategic reserve—three huge warehouses full of various medicinal herbs!
"Old master, it’s good to see you again," Chen Xi said with a sudden start when Hua Tuo turned around. He instantly remembered when he had met this physician—it was the one who had treated him without revealing his name and to whom he had given a horse as thanks. No wonder it had been a cure; it turns out his luck back then was pretty good!
"You are..." Hua Tuo frowned, finding Chen Xi somewhat familiar but unable to recall where he had seen him. It was unlikely for Hua Tuo, who spent his days saving lives, to remember a patient like Chen Xi.
"How is my Blue-Maned Horse doing?" Chen Xi asked with a smile on his face.
"Oh, I remember now, you’re the scholar from Yingchuan." Upon mentioning the horse that had been a great help to him, Hua Tuo recalled who he was.
"Yes, I didn’t expect to see you again. How are our strategic reserves in Qingzhou?" Chen Xi said proudly.
"A reckless waste!" Hua Tuo spat out four words.
"Is that not a bit too harsh!" Chen Xi said discontentedly, "I’ve collected so many medicinal herbs just in case an epidemic breaks out, so we can have them on hand immediately. If we had to gather the herbs then, who knows how many people would die. And here you are, accusing me of being wasteful."
"You are Chen Zichuan? From what you’re saying, your idea is quite good. Sadly, herbs and grains aren’t preserved the same way. You’ve collected three large warehouses of various herbs, and if their properties remained intact, it could help hundreds of thousands of people. But with the way you’ve carelessly stored them, if even half of their potency is retained, that would indeed be fortunate. You haven’t processed them at all," Hua Tuo said, slightly startled as he looked at Chen Xi. No feudal lord had ever so openly declared his actions were aimed at preventing an epidemic.
"Oh, please enlighten me then, elder," Chen Xi said, lowering his stance.
"I’m in the process of doing so," Hua Tuo sighed, "but the quantity is too much for me to categorize by myself."
"That’s easy. You just need to tell us how to store them properly, and I’ll print out instructions for the soldiers. Then, you can oversee them. It took three months to gather so many herbs, but with several hundred people, it will only take ten days to sort them out," Chen Xi said nonchalantly, somewhat speechless at Hua Tuo’s stubbornness.
"…" Hua Tuo was surprised. He had always gathered, prepared, and prescribed herbs alone, never realizing he could ask for help.
"It’s simply a matter of strength in numbers. At most, you alone can save a hundred, maybe a thousand people. An individual’s power is always limited. You should be writing books, setting down in writing the methods you know for treating and saving lives, even summarizing what medicine to take for certain symptoms, instead of doing these futile tasks," Chen Xi said with a shrug.
Hua Tuo was struck, as if by lightning. He had already been amazed by the three large warehouses filled with various herbs, realizing he might never gather that many in his lifetime, nor would he need that much. Chen Xi’s words now made him understand what he truly ought to be doing.
"What you say makes sense. It’s a pity we medical practitioners are lumped in with those practicing witchcraft, and people’s natural inclination is to hide illnesses and avoid doctors," Hua Tuo sighed.
Chen Xi turned his head and glanced at the crowd, noting their awkwardness. Wasn’t he talking about them?
"Can’t you prove that those who oppose you are wrong?" Chen Xi said nonchalantly, "As long as you prove you’re right, why worry about others not believing you? Nail those doubters to the pillar of shame. Wouldn’t it be an honor for you to be remembered through the ages and establish the medical family lineage, ranking even above Bian Que?"
(Continued in the next episode. If you like this work, welcome to vote for it on Qidian (qidian.com) with your recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com)
