Chapter 126: One Difficulty After Another

Zhang Aiqing, I know this is not an easy matter; please tell me in detail what difficulties you have encountered.

He kept his voice as gentle as possible; Zhang Shi is currently my most capable aide, and we must not damage his confidence.

Zhang Shi strove to calm himself and then said slowly, "Your Majesty, the biggest problem now is our superficial understanding of penicillin. We lack even the most basic observational tools, so we cannot know how the mold grows or how it exerts its effect."

"When culturing the mold, I have tried various methods, using moldy bread and fruit, but the mold's growth remains unstable, sometimes good, sometimes bad."

"And when extracting penicillin, it is even more difficult; without proper tools and methods, it is impossible to isolate pure penicillin from that complex mixture."

Zhang Shi's words were filled with helplessness and despair; each problem seemed like an insurmountable mountain blocking his path.

Liu Ju nodded slightly, his gaze firm, and said, "I understand, Zhang Aiqing; you need not blame yourself excessively. I will fully support your research and must quickly overcome this difficulty."

Immediately Liu Ju rose and said, "Take me to your laboratory to have a look."

After receiving the order, Zhang Shi felt anxious and fearful, and led Liu Ju to the somewhat disordered laboratory inside the Imperial Medical Bureau.

As Liu Ju stepped into the laboratory, a mixture of medicinal herb smell and an unknown odor assailed him.

The interior was dimly lit; sunlight filtering through several narrow windows was fragmented by layers of equipment and piles of books and bamboo slips.

In the corner, several Imperial Physicians were busy around an old table, some stirring liquid in ceramic jars, others meticulously recording something, their expressions solemn and focused.

Upon seeing the Son of Heaven arrive, the Imperial Physicians hurriedly knelt to pay their respects, their movements somewhat panicked.

Liu Ju slightly raised his hand to signal everyone to rise, his gaze slowly sweeping across the entire laboratory.

Only to see the walls covered with various strange sketches, the floor littered with bottles and jars of assorted sizes and shapes, some containing turbid liquid, others holding moldy food, many jars still bearing dried stains.

A young Imperial Physician clung to a crude stirring rod, his eyes full of helplessness and dread; he dared not meet Liu Ju's gaze, lowering his head instead.

He kept blaming himself inwardly: "We are so incompetent, we have disappointed Your Majesty; the southern war is urgent, yet we have made no progress—what shall we do?"

Another, older Imperial Physician trembled slightly, his voice choking with sorrow as he said, "Your Majesty, we are incapable; we have yet to overcome the penicillin problem, delaying the Southern Great Development, and truly deserve death."

Their hearts were full of guilt, feeling they had betrayed the Son of Heaven's trust and further delayed affairs of state.

Liu Ju's expression softened as he said, "You need not blame yourselves so; such a problem cannot be solved overnight. I know well your efforts and sacrifices, and I understand that the Southern Great Development is not being delayed intentionally by you."

While speaking, Liu Ju secretly thought, "These Imperial Physicians have indeed done their best; perhaps the direction and method of this research need adjustment."

But after all, he is not a professional physician; he merely had a superficial understanding of penicillin's discovery from reading web novels.

Only when he truly began working on it did he realize its difficulty; it could be said to be a heavenly chasm, truly insurmountable.

Yet the development of penicillin is urgent; we must produce it no matter what.

Saying this, he walked with steady steps to where the mold cultures were placed, bent down, and carefully observed the sometimes-good, sometimes-bad mold samples, his brow slightly furrowed.

He thought to himself, "The mold's growth is unstable; surely the culturing environment or materials are at fault."

Next, Liu Ju went to the area for extracting penicillin, where various crude devices for separating penicillin were set up; he lightly picked up a stone mortar, examined it for a moment, then asked Zhang Shi:

"Zhang Aiqing, have you tried different temperature and time controls during extraction?"

Liu Ju thought, "Perhaps these seemingly minor factors could greatly affect the extraction outcome."

Zhang Shi's heart stirred; he had never considered the problem from this angle, and for a moment he was at a loss for words.

He secretly regretted, "Why didn't I think of these details? Your Majesty is indeed wise, able to consider problems from different angles."

Liu Ju then looked at the containers holding various mixed materials and said, "This mixture is complex; perhaps before separation we should first classify and purify the materials more finely, which might reduce the difficulty of separation."

The Imperial Physicians gathered around, listening attentively to Liu Ju's every word, hope beginning to glow in their eyes.

After Liu Ju finished checking each step, he looked at everyone again, his gaze firm and encouraging, and said, "Setting aside professional expertise, I am not as knowledgeable as you; however, I have read some books of itinerant Daoist practitioners that recorded similar methods, so you officials may try them."

"Everyone must continue to strive; I believe that if we work together, we will surely overcome the penicillin obstacle, clearing the way for the southern war and the great development."

The Imperial Physicians felt a warm current rise in their hearts upon hearing this.

The method Liu Ju had just proposed is indeed feasible.

After Liu Ju left, the Imperial Physicians swiftly took action.

They followed Liu Ju's suggestion, first finely classifying and purifying the various materials used for culturing the mold.

Zhang Shi personally led the team, carefully examining the moldy bread and fruit, removing impurities, and reconfiguring the pure portions into a culture medium.

For temperature control, they set up several simple stoves and basins in the laboratory, adjusting the charcoal fire and the basins' positions to try different temperature environments.

A young Imperial Physician was responsible for recording each temperature change and the corresponding mold growth status; he stayed by the petri dish all day, his eyes fixed on the slightest variations, his pen never stopping.

After several days and nights of effort, they finally saw some breakthrough progress.

The mold's growth became more regular than before, and the colony shapes more stable, no longer alternating between good and bad as before.

When extracting penicillin according to the new method, impurities were markedly reduced and the purity of the isolated penicillin significantly increased.

The Imperial Physicians' faces showed smiles long absent; they seemed to see success beckoning not far away.

However, the good times did not last.

Just as they prepared to expand the experiment scale and turn the isolated penicillin into a usable medicine, a new problem arose.

They found that the existing containers for holding penicillin were too poorly sealed; during storage, the penicillin easily contacted air and deteriorated. Moreover, when further concentrating the penicillin from solution, they lacked equipment that could withstand high temperatures without reacting with the penicillin.

Zhang Shi looked at the predicament before him, his brows locked tight, his heart filled with helplessness.

He and the Imperial Physicians searched the entire laboratory, even trying containers of various shapes and materials, but none met the requirements.

Zhang Shi sighed and said, "What can we do? Success was in sight, yet we are stymied by these crucial materials and equipment."

Everyone looked at each other, at a loss for what to do.