Wind Rises in North America 1625

Chapter 170 A Ming Dynasty doctor's mentality gradually changes

Under the constant urging of the young man behind him, Cai Wenshui reluctantly turned his eyes away from the magical perspective mirror on the table, with a shocked expression still on his face.

Oh my God, it turns out there really are “bugs” in the water!

So, if you drink it in one gulp, hundreds or even thousands of insects will enter your stomach.

When he thought of this, he couldn't help but look back at the middle-aged man on the podium in front of him who was called a "miracle doctor" by the locals.

Not only does he have great skills in medicine, but he can also create such a magical device that can see into tiny things. It's impossible not to be convinced!

Cai Wenshui was from Pi Island. He used to be a doctor and opened a clinic to treat the military and civilians on the island. He was respected and welcomed by the local people.

But he also has another identity, that is, the uncle of Chen Jisheng, the former general of the Left Association of Dongjiang Town.

Well, this title is actually not accurate, because his sister is just one of Chen Jisheng’s many concubines. According to the formal clan relationship, they are not relatives at all (in the Ming Dynasty, the brothers of concubines were generally not considered relatives).

There are at least eight or nine cheap uncles like him in Dongjiang Town, and they are not even worthy of being in public.

However, considering his relationship with Chen Jisheng, many officials and generals on Pi Island still had some intention of taking care of him, but it was not to the extent that he could "rise to fame" by relying on his sister's identity.

However, in April, a mutiny broke out on Pi Island. Liu Xingzhi and his brothers killed Chen Jisheng and launched a bloody purge of his close associates.

After killing Chen Jisheng's relatives, the bloody knives were placed on the heads of these affiliated personnel.

At this moment of panic, the versatile "Master Shen" on Pi Island took advantage of Liu Xingzhi's absence from the island and persuaded Liu Xingji, who was temporarily in charge of military and political affairs, to pack up all these "rebels" and send them to Qiming Island in exchange for the much-needed food and firearms.

Cai Wenshui felt lucky about the result, but at the same time, he was also sad.

Leaving the homeland of China and coming to this wild continent is like leaving one's country and home, how confused and sad it is.

When he arrived at Shixing Port, he heard that he was a doctor and was immediately taken away by the local manager to meet Dong Xinping, who was in charge of medical administration and epidemic prevention.

After practicing medicine for more than ten years, Cai Wenshui has treated at least seven or eight hundred patients, if not a thousand. He is still somewhat confident in his medical skills.

This place is far away from our Ming Dynasty. The surroundings are desolate and look like a wild and remote place. I don't think there are any doctors here.

Then, after I arrive, I should be treated with great courtesy, right?

However, after some communication, he found that his proud medical skills were not up to par in the eyes of the other party, and many of his medical theories, prescriptions, and treatment methods were crushed by the doctor Dong, who pointed out many of his absurd and useless "tricks".

Even the seven or eight young medical apprentices following behind him could offer some unique insights into many diseases and treatments.

Soon after, the medical officer Dong asked him if he had any unique medicinal prescriptions to share with everyone for appreciation.

Cai Wenshui was unwilling to share the prescriptions he had summarized and researched over many years of medical practice, and he refused and declined for various reasons.

Although, after an in-depth communication, you seem to have great medical knowledge and can explain various bodily functions and diseases of the human body in detail, it is still unknown how much real knowledge you have.

You want to get the secret recipes and techniques that I rely on for my livelihood from me, but how can I make a living with them in the future?
However, seeing his refusal, the medical officer Dong immediately changed his expression and severely reprimanded him for his self-righteous behavior, saying that his behavior was not conducive to the development and progress of the medical profession, and that it disregarded the lives and health of thousands of people.

Think about the ancients. Through continuous research and exploration, they successively wrote many classic medical books such as "Huangdi Neijing", "Nanjing", "Treatise on Febrile Diseases", "Shennong Bencaojing", etc., which benefited future generations.

More recently, Li Shizhen spent more than twenty years writing the book "Compendium of Materia Medica", which included sixty categories of medicines, totaling more than 1,800 kinds, and attached more than a thousand pictures of medicines, and more than 10,000 prescriptions.

Mr. Binhu (Li Shizhen's pseudonym Binhu) took great pains to write and publish these classic books that were the culmination of pharmacology several years ago and made them public. Did he ever have any selfish thoughts?
When he was very angry, Doctor Dong directly threw a handwritten copy of "Qiming Medical Science" compiled by them in front of him, asking him to study and appreciate it carefully, to show his selflessness.

Fearing such pressure, Cai Wenshui had no choice but to hand over his collection of over thirty prescriptions and medical secrets. However, due to the other party's profound medical knowledge, he did not dare to write anything casually to fool the other party.

Now that we are here, the lives of ourselves and our families are in their hands.

If they discover that the prescription is wrong and has harmed the patient, they might hold him accountable and impose severe punishment.

However, he still had some careful thoughts and did not reveal all the important prescriptions and secret techniques, but memorized them silently in his heart.

Soon, Cai Wenshui was recruited into the medical administration and epidemic prevention department and became an "official doctor."

In the following days, in addition to following medical staff to diagnose and treat patients who came for treatment, he also frequently participated in and accepted the learning of new medical knowledge.

It's true, over the past month, his horizons have been broadened. He has learned a lot of treatment methods that he had never heard of before. Some theories and knowledge even overturned the traditional concepts he had established in his more than ten years of medical practice.

Medical Officer Dong seemed to have no intention of keeping anything to himself, and he patiently taught all kinds of knowledge and treatment methods to more than ten medical staff and apprentices, including him.

Even when they still couldn't understand certain medical theories and treatment methods, Medical Officer Dong was even more anxious than them, explaining them over and over again, and sometimes even providing on-site hands-on guidance.

"In today's world, many people die from organ failure or other complications caused by aging. However, in many places, such as the Ming Dynasty, infectious diseases are the source of human suffering. I believe that everyone here has more or less experienced or heard of the horrors of epidemics, such as plague, cholera, and smallpox. These often wiped out entire prefectures and counties, killing tens of thousands and filling the air with fear and anxiety."

"In fact, these infectious diseases are a direct consequence of the development of civilization. Specifically, the domestication of animals and their living close to us allowed diseases to cross species barriers and infect us humans."

"You might not know this, but it was cattle that introduced tuberculosis and smallpox into the human reservoir of pathogens, and horses that brought viruses from inside our noses. Yeah, colds and flu. Also, measles came from dogs and cattle, and influenza came from pigs and poultry."

"In this context, urban living, where people live in densely populated areas, can lead to the rapid spread of diseases through contact or airborne transmission, while poor sanitation and contaminated environments can contribute to the prevalence of waterborne diseases."

"You all just observed the various bacteria in the water through this microscope. You know that some seemingly pure water sources can breed a large number of pathogens. If you don't take precautions, these disease-causing bacteria can easily enter your mouth and then be stored in your stomach."

"A week ago, I explained to you all how cholera works: Vibrio bacteria rapidly multiply in the nutrient-rich small intestine, attacking the intestinal lining with targeted toxins, causing diarrhea and helping the organism spread to new hosts. Many intestinal infections share a similar mechanism and can easily be spread this way."

"The transmission route is through the disgusting feces we all excrete every day. Simple prevention techniques, then, are all about breaking this cycle. At an individual level, the most effective way you can protect yourself from potentially life-threatening diseases and parasites is to wash your hands frequently, especially after defecation and urination."

"..."

Like the other apprentices, Cai Wenshui sat upright and listened attentively to the lecture by Medical Officer Dong, not daring to be distracted at all for fear of missing out on any useful points.

He had never seen or heard of this knowledge in any ancient medical books.

But his subconscious mind told him that many of the medical arguments taught by Doctor Dong were likely correct.

The perspective mirror that can see "swimming insects" in the water has proved this.

To cure diseases and save lives, we must eliminate the "toxic insects" in the patient's body and leave behind the "beneficial insects" that can promote the health functions of the human body.

He felt that after studying under the brilliant medical officer Dong for a year or two, he might be able to acquire medical skills that were more "advanced" and practical than what he had accumulated in the more than ten years he had spent practicing in the Ming Dynasty.

Why do the few secret prescriptions and techniques I have hidden seem a bit absurd and ridiculous?

After flipping through the Compendium of Materia Medica they brought back from the Ming Dynasty, they found that several of the prescriptions they were proud of had many similarities with some of the prescriptions listed in the book, and some of the treatment methods in the book were even more effective.

Alas, I am so ashamed!

I'm afraid that as they say, medicine and pharmacy should not be kept to oneself, but should be promoted with an open attitude, and work together for the prosperity of medicine of the Miao people of China.

(End of this chapter)