As Liu Bang took Chen Ping by the arm and headed cheerfully toward his residence, in another spacetime, Zhang Jiao felt his eyelids grow heavy as mountains the instant the Rebel Army Group closed, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Once asleep, he knew nothing until the next morning, when Chu Yan woke him to eat and take his medicine.
After finally managing to wake, Zhang Jiao discovered a faintly glowing letter before his eyes.
It was the Spacetime Letter Zhu Yuanzhang had sent the previous night!
It contained not only the diagnoses, treatments, and prescriptions provided by Great Ming's renowned physicians for his illness, but also thoughtful descriptions of every medicinal ingredient's appearance, source, and preparation.
"Some medicinal ingredients a thousand years from now really do have different names from those used today. There are even several that don't exist in our time. Fortunately, Brother Zhu included detailed descriptions, or I would have struggled to understand what all these ingredients were."
Moved, Zhang Jiao wanted to write a "letter" thanking Zhu Yuanzhang.
But he had only one Spacetime Letter, and using it like this would be too much of a waste. He could only set the thought aside and save it for a moment of need-for instance, if he were about to die before the next group chat opened.
Gathering himself, Zhang Jiao forced himself to stay alert and called, "Chu Yan."
"Your disciple is here. What are your instructions, Teacher?" Chu Yan approached the curtains and asked.
"Go fetch the General of Human Heaven."
"Yes."
Before long, Zhang Liang, who had been commanding the troops on horseback, hurried over.
"Elder Brother, you're awake? Is there something you need to tell me?"
In those few moments, Zhang Jiao had fallen asleep again, so Zhang Liang had to call to him several times before he woke.
He forced his eyelids open and said, "I have two formulas here that might cure my illness. Write them down, then send men to gather all the ingredients."
Delighted, Zhang Liang quickly asked an attendant for a writing brush and wooden tablet. "Please go ahead, Elder Brother."
Zhang Jiao said, "The first formula describes how to prepare and use allicin..."
Zhang Liang's eyes shone as he finished listening and writing, though he was also somewhat curious.
He had followed Zhang Jiao for years, and what little medical knowledge he possessed had been taught to him by Zhang Jiao, so he knew his brother's medical abilities quite well.
Yet allicin had numerous uses, and he had never heard Zhang Jiao mention it before. Wasn't that strange indeed?
The treatment and prescription Zhang Jiao described for his illness were even more novel, with several medicinal ingredients Zhang Liang had never heard of. Even the familiar ingredients were prepared in remarkably unfamiliar ways.
Zhang Liang was certain that none of this was knowledge Zhang Jiao had possessed before.
Could Elder Brother have received guidance from an immortal while gravely ill and unconscious?
If that's true, this treatment and prescription really might cure him. I must arrange for men to gather the ingredients as soon as possible.
The Yellow Turban Army that had left Guangzong numbered over a hundred thousand and naturally carried a considerable supply of medicinal ingredients. But several ingredients in Zhang Jiao's prescription had never existed before, so they could only send men to search for them.
Fortunately, they were already close to the eastern foothills of the Taihang Mountains. There were more medicinal ingredients in the mountains, so they should be able to gather everything the prescription required.
After the morning court, Zhu Yuanzhang went to the Western Side Hall of the Hall of Heavenly Favor, intending to review memorials as usual.
But he had barely sat down before his craving for cricket fighting returned, clawing at his heart like a cat.
He tried hard to distract himself by thinking about other matters.
I wonder whether Zhang Jiao has found all the ingredients in that prescription. If he's already taken the medicine, how well is it working?
And that Microscope-I wonder when they'll succeed in making it.
The Maritime Prohibition... To remedy the flaws in that policy, we must start building a navy capable of ranging across the oceans now. But seagoing ships for a navy are so expensive. I really can't bear to spend that money.
Then Zhu Yuanzhang recalled what yesterday's group chat had revealed: a few dozen Japanese raiders had ravaged more than twenty prefectures and counties in the southeast, even reaching the walls of Jinling to flaunt their might. His anger surged again, diminishing even his desire for cricket fighting.
I cannot let Great Ming suffer the humiliation it endured in the original history's Thirty-Fourth Year of Jiajing! The Maritime Prohibition must be revised, and the Ocean Navy must be built!
In any case, building enough warships for a navy will take at least three to five years. We can begin making preparations now.
With the Rebel Army Group at my disposal, perhaps I'll obtain a way to greatly increase Great Ming's annual revenue in the future.
Having decided to revise the Maritime Prohibition and establish the Ocean Navy, Zhu Yuanzhang began considering the flaws in the Guard Posts system.
As he fought the negative effect compelling him to engage in cricket fighting while pondering affairs of state, he worked inefficiently, but time seemed to fly. Before he knew it, noon was approaching.
Zhu Yuanzhang was just preparing to attend the noon court when Yunqi entered.
"Your Majesty, Assistant Commander Mao has returned to report the completion of his task."
"Oh?" Zhu Yuanzhang was genuinely delighted. "Send him in at once!"
"Yes."
As Mao Xiang followed Yunqi into the side hall, the pleasing chirping of crickets rang out within it.
Zhu Yuanzhang's gaze immediately settled on the several small, delicate cricket cages Mao Xiang carried.
"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Mao Xiang set down the cages, bowed, and clasped his hands. "Your humble servants searched the capital and its surroundings for most of the day and all night, and finally obtained these five exceptionally gifted crickets. We have named them the 'Five Tiger Young Generals' and present them to Your Majesty!" (Storytelling performances and variety plays adapted from Three Kingdoms stories already existed during the Song and Yuan dynasties.)
"Excellent!" Zhu Yuanzhang walked over, gesturing for Mao Xiang to rise, then picked up one of the cages and examined the cricket inside with a broad smile.
Seeing how delighted Zhu Yuanzhang was, Mao Xiang felt that his gamble had paid off.
Zhu Yuanzhang inspected all five crickets in turn. Finding each lively and imposing, he nodded in satisfaction, then asked, "How much did these five crickets cost? You didn't trouble the common people, did you?"
Mao Xiang replied, "Your Majesty, two were purchased from residents of the capital. Including their cages, they cost a total of one hundred strings of cash. Your humble servants caught the other three in the countryside, so they cost nothing."
Zhu Yuanzhang said, "You handled this task well-Yunqi, take my written order and collect three hundred strings of cash as a reward. Divide it among Mao Xiang and the Imperial Guard men who accompanied him!"
Yunqi replied, "Yes."
A reward of three hundred strings in paper currency was not particularly large, but it represented imperial favor.
Thus, Mao Xiang happily thanked him. "Thank you for your reward, Your Majesty!"
"Remember, not a word of this is to get out!"
"Your humble servant will remember."
After Mao Xiang left, Zhu Yuanzhang happily began fighting crickets in the Western Side Hall, looking for all the world like a child with a new toy.
It was the first time Yunqi had seen Zhu Yuanzhang behave this way, and he found it quite remarkable. But mindful of his duties, he had to speak up. "Your Majesty, it is time for the noon court."
Teasing a caged cricket with a twig, Zhu Yuanzhang said without looking up, "There are no important military or government matters today anyway. Go announce that the noon court is canceled."
"Yes!"
At noon, Zhu Yuanzhang ate lunch in Empress Ma's Kunning Palace as usual. Without even taking a short nap, he returned to the side hall of the Hall of Heavenly Favor to continue playing with his crickets.
At the midpoint of the shen hour (a little after four in the afternoon).
Zhu Biao arrived at the Western Side Hall and was greeted by a sight that left him stunned.
An exquisite fighting cage sat on the imperial desk, with two imposing crickets locked in a fierce, evenly matched battle inside. Beside it, Zhu Yuanzhang held a grass stalk, prodding and directing them.
"Oh, Guan Yu, get in there and fight! You're Guan Yu! How can you be afraid of Zhang Fei?"
"If you won't fight, Zhang Fei will come after you... Yes, Zhang Fei, teach Guan Yu a lesson for me!"
Zhu Biao stood staring blankly for quite some time. When he came to his senses, he found that Zhu Yuanzhang seemed not to have noticed his arrival. With an odd expression, he could only bow with clasped hands and speak up to interrupt his father's amusement.
"Father, your son has an important matter to report."
"Father?"
"Father?!"
Zhu Biao called three times in succession, finally having to raise his voice.
"If you have something to say, say it. I'm not deaf!" Zhu Yuanzhang looked up at Zhu Biao impatiently, then returned his gaze to the fighting cage.
Zhu Biao could only say, "Didn't someone previously give you a proposal concerning 'development medicine,' Father? Much of its terminology was difficult to understand."
"But today, two renowned physicians privately reported to your son together, saying they may know what 'anatomy' means."