Chapter 103: Artemisinin

The evening sun's afterglow fell upon the great tent.

Liu Ju sat upright at the head, discussing with the officials the reconstruction of the disaster area; the atmosphere wasn't exactly relaxed, but it was still orderly.

Just then, a figure stumbled into the hall—it was Zhang Shi.

His clothes were disheveled, hair messy, face full of fatigue and anxiety; as soon as he stepped into the great hall, he 'thud' knelt on the ground, tears and voice flowing as he shouted: "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"

Liu Ju's formerly calm expression instantly hardened; he leaned forward slightly, his gaze like a torch toward Zhang Shi, his voice carrying undeniable authority:

"Zhang Shi, why are you in such a sorry state? What exactly happened to make you so flustered?"

Zhang Shi caught his breath, quickly organized his thoughts, then reported to Liu Ju in full detail the dire situation of malaria rampant in the disaster area, and how Imperial Physician-in-Chief Shen Hong, ignoring scientific treatment, instead led the populace in superstitious rites, obstructing normal medical aid.

His voice was filled with anger and helplessness; when he grew excited, his body couldn't help but tremble slightly.

Upon hearing this, Liu Ju's face turned instantly dark; he slammed the armrest of the throne, and a 'bang' echoed through the empty great hall.

"Absurd! Simply absurd to the extreme!"

Liu Ju shouted angrily, his eyes blazing as if to set the whole hall ablaze, then bellowed in a low voice: "Shen Hong, as Imperial Physician-in-Chief, not thinking to save people with medicine, but instead playing these superstitious tricks, disregarding the lives of the common folk—he is misleading the state and harming the people!"

The officials in the hall, hearing this, all showed looks of shock and anger.

Prime Minister Tian Qianqiu frowned, his hands trembling slightly, and said with anguish: "Your Majesty, this is truly outrageous! Malaria already comes like a flood; if we cannot treat it scientifically in time, who knows how many more common folk will die. Shen Hong's action is undoubtedly adding frost to the snow for the disaster-area populace!"

Zhang Tang was even more furious, his face flushed red; he 'swish' drew his waist sword and slammed it heavily onto the table before him, shouting loudly:

"Such a foolish fellow as Shen Hong dares to act so recklessly! Your Majesty, I beg leave to lead troops immediately, apprehend Shen Hong and punish him according to law, to uphold the nation's statutes!"

The other officials also chimed in, some indignant at Shen Hong's foolish conduct, others worried anxiously about the safety of the disaster-area populace.

The atmosphere in the great hall instantly grew tense.

Liu Ju took a deep breath, striving to calm his inner anger.

He knew well how terrifying malaria would be in an era of low medical standards.

When Liu Ju arrived at the medical station, he saw a miserable scene.

He immediately ordered the arrest of Imperial Physician-in-Chief Shen Hong and had him executed on the spot.

Then he looked at Zhang Shi and said: "Zhang Shi, you did right. We should rely on science and medicine to treat patients, not superstition. Continue to be in charge of epidemic prevention and control; I will fully support you."

Zhang Shi looked gratefully at Liu Ju and said: "Your Majesty, I will surely not disappoint your expectations; I will do my utmost to heal the patients."

Liu Ju nodded and said: "Good. Now we must quickly develop an effective drug to control the spread of the epidemic. Artemisinin, have you heard of it?"

Zhang Shi replied: "Your Majesty, what is artemisinin?"

Liu Ju slapped his forehead; this era indeed had no artemisinin, at most a decoction made from qinghao.

He summoned the medical officers of the Imperial Medical Institute, explained what qinghao was to everyone, then immediately ordered them to organize the populace to gather it.

At the same time, he set up a simple laboratory at the medical station, and, relying on his modern memory, proposed the idea of using qinghao extract to treat malaria.

Li Shinian stood in the crude medical tent, looked around, and seeing the people suffering groans from malaria, a strong sense of responsibility welled up in his heart.

After some research and discussion, under Liu Ju's edict, they decided to attempt extracting artemisinin—this was the sole lifeline they could currently grasp.

"Esteemed colleagues, malaria runs rampant, the people suffer; as Imperial Physicians we bear the duty to save lives and heal wounds. Now, extracting artemisinin may be the key to curing malaria; even if the road ahead is thick with thorns, we must not retreat!"

Zhang Shinian's voice was firm, his eyes revealing unquestionable resolve.

The Imperial Physicians nodded in unison, their eyes flashing with determined light.

They swiftly took action, then, with the aid of a crude distillation apparatus, began the difficult extraction of the active ingredient.

Inside the medical tent, the furnace fire blazed; the distillation apparatus emitted a 'hiss', the Imperial Physicians' foreheads beaded with fine sweat, their eyes fixed on the device, missing no slight change.

However, the road of research was never smooth. Upon the first extraction, when Li Shinian, full of anticipation, gave the extract to the patient to take, his heart was full of hope, believing he had found the magic weapon to defeat malaria.

But as time passed second by second, the patient's symptoms showed no improvement whatsoever, still suffering high fever and agony.

"How could this be? Have we taken the wrong direction?" said one Imperial Physician, face full of dejection, voice tinged with despair.

Zhang Shinian furrowed his brow, his eyes revealing a hint of unwillingness: "No, we cannot lightly give up. This is merely a minor setback; we will surely find the source of the problem."

Immediately afterward, they began a second attempt.

This time, the Imperial Physicians were extra careful, meticulously adjusting each step.

Yet fate seemed to enjoy playing tricks; due to a deviation in temperature control, the heat became too high, destroying the active ingredient in the qinghao.

When they saw that the extracted substance differed greatly from expectation, everyone's spirits sank to the bottom, and the medical tent was filled with a heavy sense of oppression.

"What can we do? We've already failed twice—can we still succeed?" said a young Imperial Physician, voice trembling, eyes full of confusion.

Zhang Shinian took a deep breath, steeled himself, and said: "Your Majesty said that failure is the mother of success; each failure brings us one step closer to success. We cannot be knocked down by present difficulties; we must persevere!"

Although Zhang Shinian continually encouraged everyone, the consecutive failures still dealt a heavy blow to the Imperial Physicians' confidence.

During the third attempt, Zhang Shinian improved the distillation apparatus, full of hope for a good result.

But when the extracted liquid was given to the patient, the effect remained poor.

This time, the Imperial Physicians' faces were written with fatigue and helplessness, some even began to doubt their own abilities.

"Sir, we've already failed three times—should we continue?" said an elderly Imperial Physician, wearily walking up to Li Shinian, voice tinged with helplessness.

Just then, Liu Ju strode steadily into the medical tent.

His gaze swept over each Imperial Physician, his eyes full of trust and encouragement:

"Continue. Each failure is a step closer to success.

You bear the duty to save the populace; I, the emperor, believe you will surely succeed!"

Zhang Shinian lifted his head, looking at Liu Ju's firm eyes, a warm current rose in his heart.

He gritted his teeth, nodded, and shouted loudly: "Your Majesty is right; we cannot give up!"

However, the following several attempts still yielded little effect, and the atmosphere in the medical tent grew increasingly grave.

The Imperial Physicians' faces were filled with anxiety and fatigue, their eyes hinting at bewilderment, unsure whether this path could still be traversed.

Just when everyone was at a loss, Liu Ju proposed a bold idea: "Perhaps we can soak qinghao in alcohol, then perform low-temperature distillation; alcohol can dissolve the active ingredient in qinghao, and low-temperature distillation can avoid destroying the medicinal potency."

Zhang Shinian heard Liu Ju's words, his eyes lit up as if he had seen a glimmer of light in the darkness.

He excitedly said, "Your Majesty is wise! This method might work; let's start trying it right away!"

The imperial physicians rekindled their hope; they swiftly took action and conducted experiments according to Liu Ju's proposal.

This time, they were especially careful, repeatedly verifying each step and meticulously recording every datum.

After numerous adjustments, finally, the pale yellow liquid slowly flowed into the glazed bottle.

At that moment, the medical tent fell silent; everyone's eyes were fixed on that bottle, as if witnessing the birth of a miracle.

Zhang Shinian carefully poured the liquid into the glazed bottle, his hands trembling slightly, his eyes full of anticipation.

He knew that this bottle of liquid carried the hopes of countless people, the fruit of their countless days and nights of effort.

"Quick, give it to the patient and see how it works." Zhang Shinian's voice trembled as he handed the glazed bottle to the imperial physician beside him.

After the ten patients in the first trial took the extracted artemisinin, something miraculous happened.

Their high fever visibly subsided, and their complexion gradually returned to a healthy flush.

Those who had been at death's door regained vitality and hope in their eyes.

"It works! It really works!" an imperial physician jumped up excitedly, tears glistening in his eyes.

Zhang Shinian watched the patients' conditions improve, his joy like a bursting flood, surging and tumultuous.

He turned to look at Liu Ju, his eyes full of admiration and gratitude: "Your Majesty, without your guidance, we could never have developed artemisinin."

Liu Ju patted his shoulder and said gently, "Your effort and talent are the key. I merely provided a direction."

After the news spread, the entire disaster area erupted in excitement.

The disaster victims flocked to the medical tent, their eyes filled with hope, as if they had seen the dawn of rebirth.

A healed old man knelt before Liu Ju, tears streaming down his face: "Your Majesty, you are our savior! You gave us a second life!"

Liu Ju hurriedly helped the old man to his feet and said gently, "Sir, please get up. This is the achievement of the imperial physicians; I merely did what I ought to have done."

The disaster victims spontaneously knelt and shouted, "Long live Your Majesty! Long live the Great Han!"

The voice rang through the heavens. Liu Ju stood among the crowd,

His gaze swept over every grateful face, his heart filled with relief.

He knew that in this battle against malaria, they had finally won.

With the widespread use of artemisinin, the epidemic was effectively controlled.

Once lifeless, the disaster area gradually regained its vitality and energy.

The people's faces lit up with smiles again, and life slowly returned to normal.

Zhang Shi's fame also spread, and the disaster victims called him "Shenyi," filling them with reverence and gratitude.

A few days later, the epidemic completely subsided.

Following Liu Ju's imperial decree, Zhang Shinian meticulously recorded the method of extracting artemisinin and the experience of treating malaria, completing the "Sweet Wormwood Antimalarial Method".

He hoped this precious document would be passed down to future generations, offering reference and aid in combating malaria and other epidemics, so that more people could be spared the suffering of disease.