Chapter 463: Anesthetic

Nanzhao Kingdom.

South of Liangshan.

North of Jiaozhi.

Its specific geographical location is in the Dali of Yunnan in later generations.

The Erhai region is where the capital of the Nanzhao Kingdom is located.

The Nanzhao Kingdom was an ancient kingdom that rose in Yunnan in the eighth century. It was originally founded by the Mengshe tribe leader, Piluo Ge. In the long river of history, there were six weaker small states in the Erhai region, each led by a king, known as the Six Zhao. Among them, the Mengshe Zhao was located to the south of the other Zhao, hence it was called "Nanzhao"! In this world, following the Chen Family's entry into Nanzhao and their subsequent rebellion to seize the throne, the Nanzhao Kingdom began to strive for prosperity and strength. It also received investiture from Longyan, and by clinging to Longyan's coattails, it became powerful.

Later, the Nanzhao Kingdom gradually annexed the other five Zhao, unified the Erhai region, and became a dominant power for a time in this land of Yunnan.

Chen Bing is the current king of the Nanzhao Kingdom.

Today.

He looked at the letter in his hand, his whole body trembling, and the atmosphere in the entire Wanggong turned grim and murderous.

Following that, he roared in anger: "Bastards, bastards! They are all a bunch of bastards! My son, my son Ran'er, Ran'er..."

This Nanzhao king, already fifty or sixty years old, had tears streaming down his face.

Chen Ran was a son born to him in his old age, so he loved him dearly. He even loved him more than many of his other sons, which is why he, who had always admired Longyan Culture, had sent his favorite son to Wangbei Academy since he was young...

Hoping he could complete his studies and return to inherit the throne.

Never did he expect, never did he expect...

"Prefect Liu, I, Chen Bing, and you are irreconcilable enemies!"

"Irreconcilable!"

Thinking of this, Liu Zheng became even more excited.

Action speaks louder than words!

Although a large fire had caused quite a loss of poppy in this farm, it was currently summer, the harvest season for poppy, and there was still plenty of stock in every corner. It was enough for him to use for purification!

In his previous life, Liu Zheng did not have a medical background.

But he knew that opium, if used well, was an angel, and if used poorly, it was a devil!

The seventeenth-century English physician and founder of clinical medicine, Thomas Sydenham, praised it: "I cannot help but loudly praise the great God, the creator of all things, for bringing comfort to human suffering in the form of opium. Whether in terms of the number of diseases it can control or the efficiency with which it can eliminate them, no other drug has the value of opium."

"Without opium, medicine would be nothing but a cripple."

This medical master thus also earned the nickname "the Opium Philosopher."

Now, the trajectory of this world should have just reached the seventeenth century, the stage where clinical medicine began to develop.

Why was Liu Zheng determined to take Liangshan? Because the medicinal value of this opium could also play a huge role in war! For pain relief, anesthesia, and such surgical procedures, this purified opium would be of immense help!

He started again.

Carefully carrying out his purification work.

"Prefect Liu!"

"You come out here!"

"You come out, come out!"

Jie Yu could no longer hold back; she could not stay for even one more day! Are you going to the Academy to propose marriage or not! Are you going to take care of your brother's marriage or not! What kind of misfortune has she brought upon herself? Not only did she take the initiative to come down the mountain, but she was also slapped in the face by this Prefect Liu several times, and now, he still won't come out to give her an explanation...

This...

"Can you shut up?"

Liu Zheng opened the window of the room and frowned.

"You, you, you..."

Jie Yu was so angry she could barely breathe.

Liu Zheng said indifferently: "If you have things to busy yourself with, then go back first. I will go to the Academy, hmm, when I have time..."

Bang!

The window closed again.

Jie Yu felt dizzy, nearly exploding with rage.

Pei Yanran suppressed her laughter and hurriedly tried to persuade her from the side.

Who would have thought that at this very moment, Liu Zheng's door opened, and he was seen holding a small bottle, shouting at Qin Zhangfeng: "Zhangfeng, have Cheng Kai carry a severely wounded person over! No, don't carry them, I'll go over..."

He was in a great hurry.

Liu Zheng had been busy with this matter for the past few days, leaving himself looking disheveled.

Fortunately, Qin Zhangfeng and the others were already used to it.

Only Jie Yu and Pei Yanran looked at each other, seemingly feeling that they had discovered yet another strange habit of this Prefect Liu...

A severely wounded person?

Hearing this, Jie Yu smiled faintly: "Prefect Liu, this is exactly what I wanted to talk to you about today... A few days ago, my junior brother on the mountain sent a letter, learning that the Liangzhou Army had many wounded in this great battle. The Dean has instructed that Prefect Liu may bring the wounded up the mountain, and the many physicians at our Academy can help treat them."

She looked at Liu Zheng proudly, not forgetting to add a few words: "The soldiers of Liangzhou are brave and skilled in battle; don't you want to think of them?"

"You?"

Liu Zheng rolled his eyes.

Jie Yu would not have it: "What about me... I am talking about our Academy, the Academy!"

Liu Zheng shook his head.

It was not that he did not believe in the Academy, nor that he did not believe in traditional Chinese medicine. It was just that there were priorities in all things. For war casualties, he was more inclined toward Western medical treatment. With bandages and alcohol entering the army, the mortality rate of the Liangzhou Army's wounded had already been greatly reduced.

If he could add opium for anesthesia and pain relief, he believed the survival rate could be improved even further.

But at a time like this, to rely on traditional Chinese medicine to save emergency cases...

That is clearly not very realistic.

"You, what kind of attitude is this..."

Jie Yu was furious.

Liu Zheng gave a cold laugh: "Yu Shi, I remember we had a wager; the loser must unconditionally agree to one request from the other, is that right?"

Jie Yu was stunned and nodded.

Liu Zheng said: "Good, then could you please shut your mouth now?"

"You, you, you..."

Liu Zheng shook his head; by this time, he had already brought Qin Zhangfeng, Pei Yanran, Pei Qianyun, and the others to the camp tents of this farm. After a great battle, there were countless wounded; this was the most direct agony brought about by war. Among them were those missing arms or legs, those who had lost an eye, and those with their bellies ripped open.

Arriving at the scene, it was a shocking sight that one could not bear to look at directly.

Many people were in unbearable pain.

Many people were wailing and begging to die while the army physicians were applying medicine.

Many people were biting into their bedding while having their dressings changed, drenched in sweat, fainting several times...

Some people's wounds were already festering; when the physicians used high-concentration Alcohol to disinfect them, they were all in excruciating pain.

Some people were gulping down wine to avoid the pain...

Ten thousand!

In this great battle, thirty thousand of the Liangzhou Army survived, ten thousand of whom were wounded!

The invincible Liangzhou Army grew and endured through these trials time and time again.

"Young Master!"

"The Young Master is here!"

"Young Master!"

Liu Zheng's arrival made these people burst into joy one after another.

Many of them wanted to endure the pain and stand up.

Liu Zheng's eyes grew hot: "Everyone, don't get up, don't get up, don't mind me..."

But the scene still had a bit more laughter and a bit less wailing because of his arrival.

What a lovable group of people they were.

Liu Zheng asked the physician nearby: "How is the situation?"

The physician sighed upon hearing this: "Young Master, it is the same as always; many people, after using the anesthetic powder, just, just, just, cannot wake up again..."

"Ah!"

The others were fine.

Hearing this, Jie Yu could not help but cover her mouth, forcing herself not to cry out.

Liu Zheng took a deep breath.

The anesthetic powder of this era was a reduced version; Hua Tuo's anesthetic powder had long been lost. Not to mention the effectiveness of these various versions of anesthetic powder... even if it were Hua Tuo's anesthetic powder, Liu Zheng, coming from a later age, would not believe it was truly that miraculous. Did such an anesthetic, which could achieve full anesthesia through oral administration without nursing measures like tracheal intubation, and which was guaranteed to be safe and effective, really exist?

"Try this..."

He handed the liquid he had purified over the past few days to the physician.

The others all looked over in a flash.