Chapter 1053

Pan Yun had never had any connection to medicine in her past life, yet she knew that in the future, the smallpox vaccine had been developed through cowpox—but she didn't know exactly how the breakthrough was achieved.

Since there had been prior attempts at cowpox inoculation here, but with low success rates, it was clear that cowpox was still very dangerous at this time.

Pan Yun looked back and forth between the two, hesitating: "Have you both decided? Smallpox is highly contagious, and neither of you has ever had it."

She said: "Though my cultivation is high, I am powerless against disease—if you contract smallpox, you must gamble with fate."

Tao Yanbai turned to glance at his junior sister, then spoke solemnly: "Junior Aunt, if we can develop a vaccine to prevent and treat smallpox, I would not regret dying ten thousand times."

Seeing Miao Zhen quickly said: "Me too!"

Her eyes sparkled with excitement, showing not a trace of worry for the future: "Preventing and treating smallpox— isn't that more interesting than becoming an immortal? Junior Aunt, our Mount Sanqing has always been a Daoist medical sect—if we can relieve this great suffering of the world, hehehe, my Third Brother and I will surely be remembered through the ages!"

Pan Yun nodded firmly: "You two will be remembered through the ages—even more so than I."

Seeing Miao Zhen looked skeptical.

Pan Yun ruffled her hair: "Truly—in the historical records, I might be labeled a traitor, a national villain, a heretic—but you two will be hailed as legendary physicians, like Bian Que and Hua Tuo."

Both their eyes gleamed, their spirits ignited with determination.

Looking at their still youthful faces, Pan Yun decided she would draw more talismans for them over the next two days.

Others might not know the power of Pan Yun's Peace Talismans—could they not know their strength?

Tao Yanbai and Seeing Miao Zhen each wore one around their necks, tucked one on each side of their clothes, and placed another beneath their pillows—total protection.

Pan Yun installed a foot-powered generator on the top floor, connected to wind blades on the roof.

The turning wind blades would drive the generator on the top floor; if the wind was insufficient, they could pedal it themselves, and beside it stood a telegraph machine.

Zhao Shizhu had successfully sent and received five telegrams already—the rest he must master on his own.

Pan Yun left him a copy of the Analects and a copy of the Thousand Character Classic—most of their codebook now came from these two texts.

For public channels and ordinary messages, they used the Thousand Character Classic; for military intelligence, they used the Analects.

Different intelligence channels used different texts.

Pan Yun said: "It's good that Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai stay here—if you have questions, ask them."

Zhao Shizhu looked concerned: "What if these devices break? We don't know how to fix them…"

Pan Yun: "Just tap them."

Zhao Shizhu: "Huh?"

Pan Yun: "If tapping doesn't work, unplug the wires and plug them back in—one at a time, don't mix them up. As long as the motor can store and output electricity properly, nine out of ten problems can be fixed. The remaining one percent… I trust the Great Ming Ministry of Works didn't build machines this feeble."

Zhao Shizhu had nothing to say.

Seeing Miao Zhen patted her chest: "Uncle Zhao, don't worry—I'm familiar with this!"

Tao Yanbai nodded: "When our Mount Sanqing's magical artifacts stop working, we just tap them to dust them off—and they work again."

Pan Yun: "Sometimes it's just a dust problem."

Seeing Miao Zhen urged Pan Yun: "Junior Aunt, hurry off—we'll teach Uncle Zhao well. Sending telegrams is a minor thing, you don't need to worry about it."

Pan Yun looked at them deeply and said: "Don't be reckless—contact me immediately if there's danger."

Seeing Miao Zhen agreed, pushing Pan Yun away.

Once Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen had left, Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai were free—they immediately slung their medicine chests over their shoulders, led their horses, and headed out of the city to visit the tribes.

Someone had said that this summer, a young man in a household had developed smallpox and been abandoned on the mountain to die—but he had survived. Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai wanted to go see him.

A merchant in the city delivered grain and salt to nearby tribes every winter in exchange for their cattle, sheep, horses, and furs; hearing that Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai wished to visit the tribes, he came to them immediately and warmly invited them to join his caravan.

Zhao Shizhu met with the merchant, spoke with him, and agreed.

"You're physicians—you once cured him. He's grateful, but also wants to take advantage of you."

Seeing Miao Zhen: "Take advantage of us?"

Zhao Shizhu nodded: "His caravan already has a physician—the crew feel safer, so their wages are reduced. When you arrive at the tribes, you'll be more welcome too."

Seeing Miao Zhen was displeased: "How can that be? We treat patients without issue—but how can he cut the crew's wages because of us?"

Zhao Shizhu smiled: "I told him that too—he's already agreed not to reduce their pay. You're traveling with him as partners: they protect your safety, and if anyone in the caravan falls ill, you treat them—but they pay for the medicine separately."

Seeing Miao Zhen nodded: "That's fair."

So, right after Pan Yun and Seeing Miao Zhen departed, Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai followed the caravan, braving snow and wind to visit the nearby tribes.

Cotton cultivation was widespread in the Great Ming—the founding Emperor had ordered every household to plant a set quota of cotton, and those who planted more could be exempt from taxes—so ordinary people could spin their own cloth and sew their own cotton robes, pants, and quilts.

Mount Sanqing Temple was a Daoist monastery, but it also grew rice and cotton at the mountain's base.

Yet the cotton yield was small—each year's harvest, after paying labor fees, barely sufficed for one quilt, so the cotton robes they wore were all store-bought.

The only problem with store-bought robes was that the cotton stuffing always felt thinner than what they stuffed themselves.

Seeing Miao Zhen now felt hers wasn't warm enough.

Fortunately, the small town had many fur coats, and they weren't expensive—she and Tao Yanbai each bought fur garments and trousers; once worn, they felt warmly enveloping.

Not just walking—even sitting in the cart felt like carrying a brazier; if they stepped out and walked a bit, heat rose visibly from their bodies.

The merchant glanced at their flushed faces and sighed enviously: "You've got such strong bodies~~"

He spoke in Uyghur, but Seeing Miao Zhen and Tao Yanbai understood.

The two walked past without reaction, climbed onto the cart—one on each side—and sandwiched him between them, curiously asking: "Are there bandits on the road? I've heard there are horse thieves on the grasslands."

The merchant chuckled: "There are—but they dare not rob me. I give them money every year; if they rob me, they lose a steady income."

"Are the tribes we're going to far?"

"Not far."

"Do they stay there all year?"

The merchant: "Of course not—cattle and sheep follow water and grass, so herders must migrate. But every autumn, they drive their herds back to camp near the city, so they can sell their animals to merchants and buy grain and salt."

The merchant also told them that larger caravans head out in late summer to chase these herders, selecting the fattest cattle and sheep; now, the ones he was choosing were the last adult animals—harder to transport, but much cheaper.

"Pity the Khan is planning war with the Great Ming these past two years—otherwise, these cattle and sheep could be sent to the Great Ming and bring huge profits."

Miaohe said: "The Great Ming really does like the cattle and sheep on the grasslands, especially mutton — every winter they drink lamb soup. Why must you all insist on attacking us?"

"I don't know, it's not me who wants to fight. I don't like waging war. The Great Ming has never harmed me, and besides, the Great Ming's Emperor is also our Oirat's Emperor, isn't he?"

"Right, we're one family," Miaohe hummed, "It's all because of Esen — that fellow is truly insufferable."

The merchant smiled and said nothing more.