20demayo Chapter 57 Prescription
Chapter 57 Prescription
Yin'e picked up a brush, spread out a blank sheet of Xuan paper, and wrote four characters at the top.
Feasible prescription.
The first type: Colchicine
He had already purified it once using a traditional method, and the effect was immediate; Lao Jiu's gout was cured in just one hour.
This shows that the direction is correct and the method is feasible.
He could design a more efficient extraction device.
Make a distillation apparatus using ceramic or glass and separate impurities by utilizing their different boiling points.
The rhizomes of autumn crocus contain colchicine, which can be extracted with higher purity through acid water extraction, organic solvent extraction, and recrystallization.
This thing can be priced extremely high; for someone like Lao Jiu, who suffers from a rich man's disease, a pair of these items doesn't seem expensive even at tens of taels of silver.
The second type: Cinchona bark, quinine
He remembered that cinchona bark contained quinine, a highly effective treatment for malaria.
Did cinchona trees exist during the Kangxi era? He wasn't quite sure. But he knew that Kangxi himself had suffered from malaria and was cured by cinchona powder presented by missionaries.
This indicates that this type of tree bark had been introduced to China, but it was extremely rare and only found in the imperial palace.
He could try to get cinchona seeds or bark from missionaries and then try to extract the quinine from them using a method similar to colchicine.
The third method: Iodine tincture, for external wound disinfection.
This is too easy.
Iodine can be extracted from seaweed. In this era, there's plenty of high-proof liquor; dissolving iodine in alcohol creates iodine tincture.
The fourth type: sulfonamides
This is a bit difficult.
Sulfonamides are synthetic antibacterial drugs, and their basic raw material is aniline, which can be extracted from coal tar.
Coal tar is a byproduct of coking in this era and can be found everywhere.
Sulfonamides were the first antibiotics in human history, and before the widespread use of penicillin, they were the most important antibacterial drugs.
If it can be made, even if the purity is not high, the effect will be enough to crush all the "wound medicines" and "hemostatic powders" of this era.
Fifth: Papaverine, an analgesic.
Codeine and morphine found in poppies are by far the most effective painkillers.
If we can control the dosage and strictly control the distribution to relieve pain for critically ill patients, that would be a great merit.
The problem is that he doesn't trust the regulations of this era. If he can make it, others can too. Once it enters the black market, he is creating new opium.
Therefore, it must be done by someone you trust.
The sixth type: acetate, an antipyretic.
He can't make aspirin, but simple acetates, like sodium acetate, can be made with vinegar and baking soda.
It has some antipyretic and analgesic effects, although the effect is far less than that of aspirin, but it's better than nothing.
The seventh method: cowpox vaccination, to prevent smallpox.
Pus was extracted from the pustules on the udder or teats of cows infected with cowpox and inoculated onto the skin scars on the arms of healthy individuals.
Vaccinepox virus and smallpox virus are closely related. Antibodies produced after infection with cowpox can provide lifelong immunity against smallpox.
Finding the sick dairy cow requires luck; you can send people to ranches or cattle farmers in the suburbs of Beijing to search.
The inoculation technique is simple and can be performed by a doctor with a little experience.
As Yin'e looked at the seven things he had written on the paper, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up slightly.
If these things could actually be made, it wouldn't just be a matter of money.
Using chlorhexidine to save someone in an emergency is a favor;
Iodine and painkillers can save wounded soldiers on the battlefield; that is a military achievement.
Smallpox vaccination can prevent smallpox, which is a great act of merit that saves countless lives.
Other things can also accumulate public prestige.
Silver, favors, military achievements, popular support, and prestige.
These things combined form the foundation upon which he stands in this era.
He folded the paper covered in writing and carefully tucked it into his sleeve.
These past few days haven't been peaceful, but they haven't been bad either.
Ever since he voluntarily took on a debt of 300,000 taels of silver at Wei Dongting's memorial, and Kangxi secretly covered the hole for him.
The reputation of "the Tenth Prince's chivalrous deeds" quietly spread throughout the officialdom.
Those court officials who usually wouldn't even give him a second glance have recently been flocking to the Tenth Prince's residence in twos and threes, like bees smelling nectar.
Wang Cheng, the gatekeeper, would collect many visiting cards every day, placing them on a tray and bringing them in—a thick stack.
Yin'e looked at those name cards, but felt little pride.
Previously, the area in front of his mansion was as deserted as the back gate of a temple. Occasionally, someone would come, but it was to ask Yin De for a favor.
It's lively now, but the liveliness came too quickly, making him somewhat uneasy.
The number of carriages and horses in front of the Tenth Prince's mansion gradually increased, showing a trend of rivaling the Eighth Prince's mansion.
He understood the thoughts of those courtiers; they would flock to whoever stood out, not for the person, but for the power they wielded.
Today you are powerful, they come to join you; tomorrow he is powerful, they run away.
Like a reed in the wind, it bends whichever way the wind blows; you can't count on it.
What truly alarmed him was Lao Ba.
Lao Ba, on the outside, looks kind, gentle and refined, and always has a smiling face.
But Yin'e knew that beneath that gentle exterior lay suspicion and sensitivity.
If the eighth brother senses that the tenth brother is stealing the limelight, trying to win people over, or trying to "establish his own faction"...
Yin'e knew without even thinking what the consequences would be.
Thinking about this, he began to feel a little regretful.
During this period, he devoted himself entirely to Batu's affairs and did not visit Lao Ba's residence for several days in a row.
It wouldn't have been a problem under normal circumstances, but it happened precisely at this critical juncture when his reputation for "chivalry" was at its peak.
Even if Lao Ba doesn't say it, what is he thinking?
Do you think he's gotten too big for his britches and doesn't want to follow me anymore?
Yin'e opened his eyes, stood up, and paced back and forth in the study a few times.
He has to go to the Eighth Prince's residence.
For no other reason than to show off in front of Lao Ba, to let him know that Lao Shi is still the same Lao Shi, quick-witted, outspoken, and not full of ulterior motives.
Incidentally, he could also talk about the Crown Prince's residence and casually reveal it to the Eighth Prince.
Firstly, it demonstrates that he stands on the side of the Eighth Prince's faction and is utterly loyal;
Secondly, if the Crown Prince retaliates in the future, the Eighth Prince will be there to protect him.
This is called partitioning, or risk sharing.
Having made up his mind, Yin'e changed into some decent clothes.
He wanted to invite Lao Jiu along, so that the two of them could go to Lao Ba's place together, making the atmosphere more relaxed and easier to talk.
He specially brought a box of osmanthus cakes that the Ninth Prince loved from the kitchen, and also a packet of newly arrived Longjing tea. He carried it in his hand, left the mansion, got into the sedan chair, and instructed the sedan chair bearers to go to the Ninth Prince's mansion.
When the gatekeeper of Ninth Master's mansion saw that it was Tenth Master, he hurriedly came forward, bowing and scraping with a big smile.
Yin'e asked if Ninth Master was there, and the gatekeeper replied sheepishly, "Reporting to Tenth Master, Ninth Master went out and left a little while ago."
Yin'e handed the item to the gatekeeper: "This is for Ninth Master. Keep it safe and give it to him later. Don't break it."
The doorman responded immediately and accepted the food box and tea bag with both hands.
Yin'e turned around and returned to the sedan chair, instructing the sedan chair bearers to change course and head straight for the Eighth Prince's residence.
The Ninth Prince's sedan chair was parked at the gate of the mansion; so he had come here.
Upon entering the mansion, the gatekeeper did not let him go in by himself as usual, but instead respectfully led the way.
If he were to walk by himself as before, he could take out "Overheard" when no one was looking and try to overhear what the Eighth and Ninth Brothers were saying.
But now that the doorman is leading the way, he has no chance to eavesdrop.
Lost in thought, I arrived at the moon gate in the backyard.
He knew he could no longer remain silent.
Then he opened his mouth and shouted loudly, "Myth brother! Ninth brother! I'm here!"