“You’re talking about Zhan Xingchang, the Sima of Qingzhou?”
Xiao Ming had some impression of this person. He had been recommended by Pang Yukun and later appointed as the Sima in the Qingzhou government office.
The position of Sima in the Great Yu Empire was relatively minor, roughly equivalent to a modern-day city mayor’s secretary.
“Yes, yes, I think his name is Zhan Xingchang,” Medical Officer Sun seemed to recall.
Currently, among Xiao Ming’s advisors, Pang Yukun was his top civil official, Lu Fei his top military officer, and Li Kaiyuan his top merchant. Beyond these, he truly lacked capable individuals.
In the past, when he hadn’t been involved in governance, he hadn’t noticed this. But now that he needed capable people, he found himself short-handed.
Although Pang Yukun was competent, his abilities were limited. He couldn’t handle everything.
Moreover, Pang Yukun excelled in logistics. He was adept at managing horse administration, agricultural production, and infrastructure construction. However, when it came to handling special events, he often found himself at a loss.
In essence, Pang Yukun was similar to a figure like Xiao He—highly skilled in administrative affairs but not suited to be a strategic advisor.
Simply put, Pang Yukun was somewhat rigid and lacked finesse in political maneuvering.
Almost every scheme against the noble clans had been planned by Xiao Ming alone, with Pang Yukun offering little assistance.
“So, what exactly is impressive about him?” Xiao Ming asked.
“He has many ideas,” Medical Officer Sun said casually, as he didn’t have a deep impression of this Sima. “It’s just that the common folk who come to me for treatment often mention this Sima. They say that a few days ago, Sima Zhan set a trap and captured a group of bandits, which amazed the local people.”
“Really?” Xiao Ming showed interest.
Medical Officer Sun continued, “Indeed, the people spoke of it as if it were a miracle. They said Sima Zhan used some ’empty city stratagem,’ and over a hundred bandits didn’t dare to enter the village. At the time, only Sima Zhan and a few constables were in the village.”
Xiao Ming had been busy dealing with the local noble clans and had neglected many administrative matters in Qingzhou. He hadn’t heard about this incident.
As for why bandits appeared outside Qingzhou, it was simple: these bandits were former militiamen of the noble clans.
When the Wang family was destroyed, some of their militiamen joined the Qingzhou Army, while others became bandits. It wasn’t unusual for a former militiaman to become a bandit leader.
“Hmm, that’s impressive. He has courage,” Xiao Ming praised, though he remained somewhat skeptical.
Recently, he had developed a habit of doubting first and verifying later. At his position, he had to question everything; otherwise, he might die without knowing how.
What others said was one thing, but seeing it for himself was another.
Setting aside the matter of Zhan Xingchang, Xiao Ming asked Medical Officer Sun, “How effective is the maggot treatment for festering wounds?”
Over the past two days, Medical Officer Sun had been using the method Xiao Ming taught. Admittedly, the maggots had cleaned the patient’s necrotic flesh very thoroughly. Now, following Xiao Ming’s instructions, he disinfected the wound with alcohol, covered it with fresh meat, and changed the dressing every three hours.
The patient seemed to be showing signs of improvement.
“Your Highness, where did you learn these… unorthodox medical techniques?” Medical Officer Sun almost called them “unorthodox methods” but quickly corrected himself.
In truth, Xiao Ming was also sweating. He was betting on the fact that the environment of this era was relatively clean, with fewer bacteria on insects. Moreover, the maggots weren’t dug out of a latrine but were found in a rotten egg.
“That’s a long story. I’ll tell you when the time is right,” Xiao Ming avoided explaining.
Medical Officer Sun was frustrated. Since Xiao Ming wouldn’t say, there was nothing he could do. After all, this was the ruler of the six prefectures, a prince of the empire. He couldn’t force him to speak, though he really wanted to.
For Medical Officer Sun, this was undoubtedly a breakthrough in medical techniques.
“However,” Xiao Ming suddenly said, “I can teach you more methods. I’ve established a medical division in the Bowen Academy. If you’re willing to pass on your lifelong knowledge to the students, I’ll teach you. How about that?”
Medical Officer Sun’s expression shifted repeatedly. His skills had been passed down from his father, who had learned them from his grandfather, and so on. Outsiders were never taught.
This was their livelihood, passed down through generations.
“Your Highness, I’m afraid this old man is incapable of that,” Medical Officer Sun politely declined.
Xiao Ming was immediately displeased. Over the past few days, he had discovered a frustrating truth: whether it was medical skills or culinary techniques, these people never shared their knowledge with outsiders. It was always passed down from one generation to the next.
This was why they placed such importance on having male heirs and were extremely patriarchal. Since women rarely engaged in business, skills were only passed down to men.
As a result, these people relied on ancestral skills to make a living, but it also led to a severe lack of social resources.
The reason Medical Officer Sun had become the medical officer was simply that his family was the most renowned medical family in Qingzhou. There was no one else.
“In that case, I won’t force you. But I won’t hide my medical knowledge. Anyone who comes to the Bowen Academy to study medicine will be taught by me. And I believe that once they graduate, they won’t be inferior to your descendants,” Xiao Ming declared.
Sweat broke out on Medical Officer Sun’s forehead. The man before him was someone who had manipulated the noble clans of the six prefectures with ease. How could his small medical family withstand the Prince of Qi’s schemes?
But if he really went to the Bowen Academy to teach, it would violate his family’s ancestral rules. Medical Officer Sun was torn.
Seeing Medical Officer Sun’s hesitation, Xiao Ming thought his combination of carrot and stick was working.
He had only been bluffing. He was human, not a superman. Teaching Lu Tong and others chemistry, and Chen Qi and others physics, had already drained his energy.
He truly didn’t have the strength to lead a medical division now. But if Medical Officer Sun joined, it would be different. At the very least, he could teach some basic medical knowledge.
Xiao Ming only needed to transcribe the medical knowledge from the technology database for him to study.
He didn’t expect Qingzhou’s medical standards to reach any great heights in a short time. He just wanted these people to learn some basic surgical knowledge.
After all, he didn’t want his soldiers to die from minor injuries.
As the two stared at each other, a figure in green entered the medical hall. It was Lü Luo.
She walked up to Xiao Ming and whispered something in his ear. Xiao Ming’s expression immediately turned strange.
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