My father Liu Xuande

Chapter 34 The Real Hua Tuo
In fact, Hua Tuo never told Cao Cao that he needed to have his brain opened.

The story of craniotomy is a fictional element created by Luo Guanzhong in Romance of the Three Kingdoms and is not true.

In real history, Hua Tuo was recruited by Cao Cao because of his medical skills. He then became one of Cao Cao's sixteen extraordinary talents and stayed in Xuchang with Zuo Ci and others, often accompanying Cao Cao.

When Chen Deng first fell seriously ill, it was Hua Tuo who saved him, and also left instructions, telling Chen Deng that his illness would relapse in three years.

Three years later, however, Cao Cao had already transferred Chen Deng from Guangling to become the Prefect of Dongcheng.

During his tenure, Chen Deng's serious illness relapsed, and he sent someone to Xuchang to invite Hua Tuo, but Cao Cao refused to release him.

At this time, Cao Cao was already very wary of Chen Deng.

Because Chen Deng performed so well in Xuzhou, he was not only deeply loved by the people of Guangling, but also twice defeated the Sun family's northward army with fewer troops.

Especially the second time, when Sun Ce personally led the army, they still suffered a crushing defeat.

What worried Cao Cao even more was that Chen Deng was also very close to Liu Bei, like a best friend.

If it were Liu Bei, he would most likely have tolerated it, but Cao Cao was exceptionally sensitive and suspicious in this regard.

Cao Cao was originally a romantic and sensitive person. After he raised an army, he was betrayed repeatedly, which made him increasingly suspicious and cunning.

After transferring Chen Deng from Guangling to become the Prefect of Dongcheng, he still felt it wasn't enough. Seeing this opportunity, he decided to resolve the problem completely.

Without Cao Cao's permission, Hua Tuo could not leave Xuchang to go to Dongcheng to treat Chen Deng, who subsequently died of illness.

Chen Deng's father, Chen Gui, had mentored Hua Tuo and recommended him as a filial and incorruptible official.

Although the plan did not come to fruition, Hua Tuo had in fact become a disciple of the Chen family.

This incident caused Hua Tuo to harbor great resentment towards Cao Cao.

Furthermore, Cao Cao did not actually value Hua Tuo; keeping him by his side was merely a sign of his sycophancy.

Hua Tuo, who was proud of his talent, could not stand this situation. Later, he made an excuse, pretending that his wife was seriously ill, and asked for leave to leave Xuchang.

But Hua Tuo was only on sick leave, and his leave would eventually end.

After Hua Tuo left, Cao Cao repeatedly ordered him to return as soon as possible, but he repeatedly asked to extend his leave and refused to come back.

Cao Cao immediately became suspicious and ordered local officials to investigate. He also issued a secret order that if Hua Tuo's wife was indeed seriously ill, Hua Tuo should be rewarded with 4,000 liters of beans and his leave extended so that his wife could recuperate properly.

But if the illness is false, then arrest Hua Tuo for deceiving his master and send him back to Xuchang.

When the local officials arrived, they found that Hua Tuo's wife was indeed safe and sound, so they sent Hua Tuo to Xuchang prison.

In prison, Hua Tuo was tortured and confessed to his crimes.

Xun Yu wanted to plead for Hua Tuo, asking Cao Cao to consider his exceptional medical skills and plan for the future by pardoning him.

But Cao Cao scoffed, saying there was no need to worry, as there were plenty of cowardly cowards like Hua Tuo.

In the end, Hua Tuo died under torture. When Cao Cao fell seriously ill, did he regret not sparing Hua Tuo's life?

Hua Tuo was naturally unaware of the hardships he would face later, but the desire to serve in the government had troubled him for a long time.

The biography of Hua Tuo records that Hua Tuo was originally a scholar who made a living as a physician, and he often regretted it.

This fully demonstrates that Hua Tuo not only wanted to serve in the government, but also regretted that his medical skills delayed his chance to do so.

Faced with Liu Feng's question, Hua Tuo became uneasy.

After hesitating for a while, he replied, "I do have the desire to serve in the government, but as I grow older, I have nothing of value except for my medical skills, which is truly shameful." Liu Feng nodded and continued to ask, "Master Yuanhua, if there were an opportunity to serve in the government, but you had to exchange your medical skills for it, would you be willing?"

Hua Tuo was taken aback. Although he didn't understand why Liu Feng asked this question, he thought for a moment and shook his head: "I have wandered for half my life and have nothing left but this medical skill."

"When I was young, I entered the medical profession because of my interest, and more than forty years have passed in the blink of an eye. If I were to abandon medicine now, I would have nothing left."

Liu Feng quickly explained, "Sir, you misunderstand. I don't mean to stop you from practicing medicine. Rather, I want you to spread your medical knowledge widely and make your medical skills public."

Hua Tuo's expression changed, and he felt displeased.

At this time, the transmission of knowledge in all walks of life was very cautious. Choosing a disciple was like choosing a son, and there was a rule that the knowledge should not be passed on to more than six people.

Hua Tuo's medical skills were largely the result of his own research, but he was also influenced by this idea.

Now Liu Feng is asking him to make his medical skills public. How is this any different from taking away his livelihood?
How could Hua Tuo possibly be happy about this?

"Sir, please hear me out."

Seeing Hua Tuo's displeasure, Liu Feng quickly continued, "Sir, you have also read the classics and the works of the sages. Imagine if the sages who left behind so many works had kept them to themselves and strictly forbidden others from seeing them, what do you think the consequences would have been?"

Hua Tuo was taken aback for a moment, then said unhappily, "The classics of the ancients are so precious; how can my humble medical skills compare?"

Liu Feng, however, remained calm and asked, "Mr. Yuanhua, is the life of that sage of the past important?"

"That's natural."

Hua Tuo answered without hesitation, already looking down on Liu Feng.

Having met him before, I thought this child was precocious and well-mannered, but why is he talking incoherently today?

Liu Feng continued, "If the sage were seriously ill, wouldn't the medical skills that could save him be important?"

"This……"

Hua Tuo was stumped by the question. He opened his mouth and said this, but couldn't say anything more.

Indeed, if he says it's important, then what he said before was a lie.

If it's said to be unimportant, then it also implies that the lives of the sages were not important.

“Mr. Yuanhua, in my opinion, medical skills are no less important than the classics of the ancients. Both the classics of the ancients and medical skills are things that guide people toward goodness. One guides people to become better in spirit, while the other guides people to become better in body.”

Liu Feng's words struck Hua Tuo's heart like a hammer blow.

In fact, Hua Tuo was somewhat self-contradictory.

From the bottom of his heart, he truly loves medicine, enjoys it, finds joy in studying it, and derives satisfaction from treating patients.

However, his inner scholarly spirit made him feel ashamed of his medical skills, feeling that he was wasting his time on medicine and failing his parents and his own aspirations.

Seeing that Hua Tuo had fallen silent, Liu Feng knew it was time to unleash his ultimate move.

"Sir, I once suggested to my father that we establish a medical profession."

Liu Feng revealed his true intentions: "The task of this organization is to collect various medical techniques, discard the rotten and retain the essential, and then promote them to educate people and train doctors."

“Mr. Yuanhua, our 55 million people of the Han Dynasty are suffering from various epidemics.”

Liu Feng bowed deeply and said, "Sir, do you have no compassion at all, watching the people be deceived by the Yellow Turban talisman water and die from disease?"

(End of this chapter)