The Han Army was defeated, and the video ended.
Inside the study in Guangzong City.
Zhang Jiao trembled slightly with excitement.
He finally understood why the Rebel Army Group had said this reward was better than Liu Bang's-the gunpowder formula revealed in the video alone was a priceless treasure!
He immediately picked up his brush and recorded the gunpowder-making method revealed in the video on a sheet of silk.
"Seven parts saltpeter. If no saltpeter is available, scrape soil from a dry latrine and refine it into soil saltpeter. But how do you refine soil saltpeter?"
"One and a half parts sulfur, one and a half parts charcoal ash. Mix evenly. Strictly avoid sparks and violent jolting... I haven't remembered anything wrong, have I?"
After recording this information on the silk, Zhang Jiao grew worried again.
"I don't know whether this gunpowder can really be made or whether it's something invented for the video. If it's fictional, then all my joy will have been for nothing."
After watching several videos in the Rebel Army Group, Zhang Jiao had come to understand that some events and objects in them were fictional. The scene in an earlier video depicting him summoning lightning, for instance, had clearly been invented by people of later generations.
Thus, he worried that this time-travel story and its gunpowder were also inventions of later generations.
Meanwhile, after the video finished playing, Liu Bang also took up a brush and recorded the method for making gunpowder on fine silk.
By the time both men had finished recording it, the group was already processing Zhu Yuanzhang's reward.
[Administrator: Congratulations to Zhu Yuanzhang for answering three questions correctly in a row during "Rebel Army Q&A" and earning one major reward!] [Administrator: Zhu Yuanzhang, please select one of the following three questions for this group to answer. (You have ten breaths to choose. After ten breaths, this group will answer one question at random.)] [A: How can medicine be given due importance and developed?] [B: How did Zhu Di become the Yongle Emperor?] [C: Some people in later generations claimed that "the Ming really fell because of Hongwu." Which current Great Ming state policy has the greatest flaws?] (Note: this is the view of certain people in later generations and is not necessarily correct.)
Seeing this string of messages in the group, both Liu Bang and Zhang Jiao were momentarily stunned.
They had never imagined that the best reward would actually be the Rebel Army Group answering a question directly!
Even with the restriction that they could only choose one of three questions, it was still an enormous benefit!
Zhu Yuanzhang was also stunned for a moment, then overjoyed.
But as he looked at the three questions, he found himself in a dilemma.
The answers to all three were important to him.
The first question might involve how to defy heaven and change the fates of Zhu Xiongying, Empress Ma, and Zhu Biao, extending their lives.
The second had almost become a knot in his heart. It concerned not only his attitude toward Zhu Di, but also the future succession to Great Ming's throne.
As for the third question, he very much wanted to know its answer too.
"Great Ming really fell because of Hongwu? Impossible, absolutely impossible!"
"Judging by that earlier quick-response question, Great Ming had at least six or seven more emperors after me. Counting my fourth son, that makes seven or eight. The dynasty must have lasted at least a hundred-odd years, right?"
"Even if Great Ming really did fall more than a hundred years later, how could that be laid at my door?"
Seeing the sand that represented the passage of time in the group rapidly dwindling, Zhu Yuanzhang had no time to ponder the third question further. Instead, he considered which one he should choose.
"My fourth son's question isn't really all that important. As for Great Ming's most flawed state policy, I can wait for another chance to ask about it."
"But the first question concerns the lives of Xiongying, my wife, and Biao'er. If I miss this chance and fail to save their lives later, I'll regret it for the rest of my life!"
With that thought, Zhu Yuanzhang made his decision.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: I choose A!]
The front hall of Changle Palace.
Liu Bang was rather surprised by Zhu Yuanzhang's choice, then stroked his beard and smiled.
"Old Zhu quibbled over every little thing when we were forming that three-way alliance, and he managed to establish Great Ming with a rebel army. I thought he was a man who valued his realm above his family."
"I never imagined he'd set aside questions about the imperial succession and how long his dynasty would last, and choose A instead."
Earlier, Zhu Yuanzhang had approved the plan Xiao He, Zhang Liang, and the others had discussed: establishing a Medical Academy modeled on the Jixia Academy. Considering that he must also have consulted his advisers in Great Ming, he surely already had plenty of ideas about how to give medicine due importance and develop it, and might even have begun making arrangements.
Yet Zhu Yuanzhang still chose to hear the Rebel Army Group's answer.
That showed just how much importance he placed on this question, and how desperately he wanted to prevent his eldest grandson, empress, and eldest son from dying prematurely of illness.
"It seems Old Zhu is a man of deep feeling too."
Elsewhere, Zhang Jiao was also slightly surprised that Zhu Yuanzhang had chosen A, but he did not dwell on it. Instead, he focused his attention, eager to see how the Rebel Army Group would answer and how its response would differ from the suggestions of Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and the other two great advisers of the early Han.
The imperial palace of Great Ming.
Inside the Western Side Hall of the Hall of Heavenly Favor.
Zhu Yuanzhang stared intently at the group chat window before him. Alongside his anticipation, he felt somewhat torn between hope and fear.
"I hope the Rebel Army Group's answer is much better than the suggestions of Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and the others. If its answer is worse than that Medical Academy plan, I'll have suffered a huge loss."
As Zhu Yuanzhang was thinking this, the administrator's message appeared in the group.
[Administrator: Zhu Yuanzhang, would you like to view this group's answer to the question alone?] [Zhu Yuanzhang: No need.]
For reasons similar to Zhang Jiao's, Zhu Yuanzhang also chose not to view it alone.
[Administrator: To give medicine due importance and develop it, you must first understand what medicine actually is.]
What was medicine actually?
All three men were taken aback. Wasn't medicine simply a field of learning for saving people?
[Administrator: Medicine is a multidisciplinary field concerned with human health and life. It combines natural sciences, social sciences, and humanities to form an academic and technical system that safeguards the health and lives of individuals, populations, and humanity.]
Zhu Yuanzhang could not help blinking as he read.
Although the passage seemed straightforward and he recognized every character, why did putting them together make it seem so profound that he could barely understand it?
Was he not clever enough?
Liu Bang and Zhang Jiao had similar thoughts. Both stared blankly at the words in the group.
Coming back to his senses, Zhu Yuanzhang immediately took out paper and a brush and swiftly copied down the text. He might not understand it at first, but he could copy it down and ponder it slowly, or give it to scholars and renowned physicians to study.
[Administrator: Medicine encompasses various fields, including basic medicine, clinical medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, and Chinese materia medica. Basic medicine primarily includes anatomy, physiology, biochemistry, pathology, and other disciplines. Clinical medicine places greater emphasis on practical application and includes internal medicine, surgery, obstetrics and gynecology, pediatrics, and other disciplines.] [Zhu Yuanzhang lives in the early Ming era. At that time, only traditional medicine-that is, traditional Chinese medicine-existed, and it had not yet fully matured. Therefore, much must be done to develop medicine.] [First, a Medical Academy can be established with the goal of comprehensively studying medicine and improving its standards. For example, it can investigate the existing medical system in depth and establish a more scientific and complete system.] [This Medical Academy can recruit renowned physicians from across the realm who aspire to study medicine and solve difficult medical problems. Based on their abilities, they can be awarded the titles of Medical College Academician, Medicine Professor, Medicine Doctorate, or Medicine Graduate Student. A Medical College Academician's rank and salary can match those of a grand secretary, a Medicine Professor's those of an academician, and so on.] [The Medical Academy must be divided into specialized branches, such as a College of Internal Medicine, College of Surgery, College of Pharmacy, College of Pathology, College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and so forth. Human energy and lifespans are limited. Some physicians must be allowed to specialize in a particular medical field for it to develop rapidly and attain depth.] [In addition, medicine schools must be established in every province, prefecture, and county, recruiting children and adolescents for education and training to build up a reserve of medical talent.] [Public and private medical clinics must also be established throughout the realm. Besides giving common people more avenues and places to seek treatment, these will allow medical students to undertake internships after completing their studies, with experienced physicians guiding newcomers as they accumulate clinical experience.] [To accomplish these three tasks, all physicians nationwide must also be registered and managed. Once conditions are ripe, physicians can be required to undergo assessment and grading before being permitted to practice and see patients, thereby strengthening their oversight.] [Besides the measures above, the most important step in giving medicine due importance and developing it is to raise physicians' social standing, making it at least equal to that of scholars. Without this, neither the Medical Academy, medical clinics, nor medicine schools will be able to recruit enough talented people.]
When the three men first saw the administrator mention "establishing a Medical Academy," they felt somewhat dismissive. Wasn't that what Zhang Liang, Xiao He, and the others had suggested? Could this administrator be copying them outright?
But as the administrator continued, they realized that its "Medical Academy" merely shared a name with the one Zhang Liang and the others had proposed. In practice, it was far more complex, almost an entirely different institution.
By the time the administrator introduced concepts such as "medicine schools" and "public and private medical clinics," all three men were thoroughly convinced.
Yet the administrator's messages in the group continued.
[Administrator: The above can be considered the "internal work" of developing medicine. Alongside it, some "external work" must also be done.] [Establishing a complete medical system comprising medical colleges, medicine schools, public and private medical clinics, and other institutions will undoubtedly cost a great deal of money, and require substantial ongoing investment every year-certainly no less than Great Ming currently invests in Confucian education.] [This requires the Great Ming court to secure greater fiscal revenue each year. How to increase fiscal revenue, however, lies outside the scope of this answer.] [Furthermore, a craftsman who wishes to do his work well must first sharpen his tools. For medicine to make truly great strides, natural sciences must also be developed. At a minimum, you must be able to develop and manufacture the equipment needed for medical research and the treatment of certain illnesses, such as basic surgical instruments, microscopes, and chromatographs.] [In short, developing medicine in the early Ming is a heavy burden with a long road ahead!]
Upon reading this, Zhu Yuanzhang instinctively asked a question.
[Zhu Yuanzhang: What are basic surgical instruments, microscopes, and spectrometers?] [Administrator: This answer has concluded, and Zhu Yuanzhang's reward has been redeemed. The Rebel Army Group will close after a period of time. Members who wish to converse should make the most of the time remaining.]