Chapter 146: Medical Academy

Yan Ning looked at the reactions of the ministers and asked curiously, "Could it be that the governance in various regions is not considered good?"

The Minister of Revenue hurriedly said, "No, no, it is all very good, I just felt it was a bit sudden."

Yan Ning then did not pursue the question further.

Early the next morning, after Yan Ning got up, she had nothing to do and strolled to a teahouse.

Perhaps she could hear some gossip.

However, she didn't hear any gossip, but instead heard quite a few people muttering that the price of Glazed Glass had dropped.

"I used to buy a Glass Pen and take it to the town to sell, and I could almost sell it for double the price, but now I can earn at most twenty or thirty taels, and some masters send their servants to buy them, so they can't take advantage of any cheap prices at all."

"Be content with having a few dozen taels of silver; it will be harder and harder to earn money in the future."

Yan Ning curled the corners of her mouth.

She knew that once Glazed Glass was sold to a certain quantity, the price would basically not be too high.

Especially after the roads were built.

Yan Ning continued to listen.

"This road really makes me love and hate it at the same time; it is convenient for me to transport goods, and I used to be able to make a profit on the side, but now I can't."

"This road is built well."

Yan Ning turned her head to look over and saw a middle-aged man in brocade clothes sighing with emotion.

Someone asked, "Why is everyone else worried about the drop in the price of Glazed Glass, yet you think this road is built well?"

The middle-aged man sighed, "With this road, it is much more convenient for us to go to the Capital. My wife contracted a stubborn illness, and it is inconvenient for male doctors to examine her, so we had to come to the Capital to find the goddess doctor at Jishitang. Tossing back and forth was unbearable, but fortunately, this road has been built."

"This is indeed much more convenient."

The middle-aged man continued to sigh with emotion, "Although Jincheng cannot compare to the Capital, in such a large Jincheng, one cannot even find a female doctor. If it weren't for Doctor Qian at Jishitang in the Capital, I fear my wife would have lost her life."

The people around looked over in surprise, "It was actually that serious?"

The middle-aged man sighed and shook his head, "Doctor Qian said it was just a minor illness, and as long as the medicine was prescribed according to the symptoms, it only took one day to get better. There are really too few female doctors. I heard that someone had the same illness as my wife and never managed to get it treated, and the person has already died."

The men around also felt some sympathy.

The people in the Capital sighed with emotion, thinking it was fortunate that they were in Jingdu, and if the women in their families had any problems, they could directly invite Doctor Qian back.

Those in other places were the ones who had it miserable.

Yan Ning tapped her fingers on the table and began to ponder.

If a country wants to be well-established, it must certainly develop the medical industry; at the very least, it must not let a minor illness or pain drag on until it becomes serious.

In ancient times, female doctors were rare. Firstly, medical families passed their knowledge to sons and not daughters, and secondly, there was a distinction between men and women, making it inconvenient for male doctors to teach female disciples about acupuncture points.

If they were men, they could start teaching acupuncture points as soon as they took off their clothes.

This was truly a bit tricky.

Yan Ning thought for a moment; why not start a medical School, where as long as one studies diligently, tuition and miscellaneous fees can be waived.

Yan Ning guessed that the Doctor Qian they mentioned should be Qian Ruofang.

If she wanted to open a medical School, she would definitely need a reliable doctor to teach, and Qian Ruofang was a good candidate.

However, Yan Ning was not in a hurry to talk to Qian Ruofang about this matter; she had to mention it at Court, as it was, after all, a government-run Medical Academy, and it had to be funded by the national treasury.

The next day at Court, Yan Ning brought up this matter.

However, just bringing up this matter was not enough; after all, the national treasury was needed for everything, and the Minister of Revenue would come to cry poverty again.

There were no major events at today's morning assembly.

Yan Ning was just about to open her mouth to say she wanted to start a Medical Academy, but before she could say it, she was rejected.

She could not say it directly.

Yan Ning thought and thought, and she finally found a reason.

Yan Ning said with a smile, "I think that since the national treasury is abundant now, why not develop the shipbuilding industry and establish a Maritime Silk Road."

The Minister of Revenue was puzzled, "What is the Maritime Silk Road?"

Yan Ning explained, "It is going out to sea to trade with foreigners, mainly selling silk, tea, and porcelain, which is called the Maritime Silk Road."

The more Yan Ning spoke, the more excited she became, "If we can establish a long-distance fleet, we can better understand foreigners and also profit from it."

The Minister of Revenue hurriedly said, "This, this, this, how can this be? Your Highness, do you know how much a ship costs? To set up a fleet, this is outrageous!"

Not to mention whether there were foreigners, whether the foreigners had silver to trade with them was also a problem.

The Daxia dynasty had not even developed its interior well, yet she was thinking of going to foreign lands; this was bound to be a loss.

Yan Ning continued, "I think it is very good. As long as we can trade with foreigners, we will definitely be able to recoup our costs."

"Besides, know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win every battle."

The Minister of Revenue was almost ready to kneel to her, "Your Highness, this matter really won't work. Besides, our Daxia dynasty does not yet have an army skilled in water warfare..."

Yan Ning thought for a moment, "Then let's train one now, and when the time comes, let them go on a voyage to the Western Oceans together."

The Minister of Revenue winked at several colleagues, but who knew that none of those people received it, and one by one they all remained silent.

The Minister of Revenue thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, how about this: let us first train the navy, and after training for a year or two, we will consider forming a fleet to go to the Western Oceans."

The Crown Princess had a whim, and after two years passed, she would definitely not remember it.

Yan Ning raised an eyebrow, not expecting the Minister of Revenue to actually loosen his stance.

She agreed, "That works too."

At this time, Yan Ze said, "Everyone, is there anything else?"

Yan Ning stood out.

"I want to build a Medical Academy."

"I think that for many women's illnesses, it is inconvenient for male doctors to examine them, so I want to open a Medical Academy where only girls can attend."

Yan Ning continued, "Of course, in order to lower the threshold for enrollment, the silver for hiring doctors and all kinds of miscellaneous fees must be completely waived. Besides these, there is also the money for rewards given to students each semester; all of these will be borne by the national treasury."

The Minister of Revenue asked, "How much silver will be needed for one year?"

Yan Ning thought for a moment, "Let's start with a pilot program first, around one thousand taels of silver."

The Minister of Revenue hurriedly said, "This is a major matter that benefits the country and the people; no matter how difficult the national treasury is, this matter must be done well."

I beg you, please go do something else that doesn't cost so much money; the treasury really cannot withstand any more tossing and turning.

Seeing him be so straightforward, Yan Ning revealed a smile.

It really is something; every time she suggests an idea, even if it costs only a few hundred taels of silver, the Minister of Revenue cries poverty.

However, every time she proposes an even more money-burning plan, no one opposes the cheaper plan anymore.

For example, building the Cement Road.

At first, the Minister of Revenue strongly opposed it, but after she brought up the money-burning Railway, the Minister of Revenue no longer opposed building the Cement Road.

Yan Ning looked at this stingy old man, the Minister of Revenue, and sighed in her heart.

After the morning court session, Yan Ning went directly to where Qian Ruofang was.

Seeing her come over, Qian Ruofang's eyes lit up, "His Highness is looking for me, has something happened?"

Yan Ning then recounted the conversation from the teahouse that day.

"I am preparing to open a Medical Academy that only women can enter, and I would like to hire you as a teacher; are you willing?"