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“Why? Your Majesty, why is this?”
Huang Tingzhi murmured, as if spellbound. Following Xiao Ming’s instructions, he had learned to use the thermometer and read the numbers on it.
A series of thirty-seven degrees, thirty-eight degrees, thirty-nine degrees corresponded to the varying severity of the patients’ conditions.
“Elder Huang, please first attend to the patients in the medical clinic. After you’re done, I will explain in detail,” Xiao Ming said calmly.
He had achieved his goal. By using the thermometer, he had piqued Huang Tingzhi’s curiosity, and the subsequent teaching of Western medical theory should proceed smoothly.
Huang Tingzhi was startled, then remembered that there were three patients waiting for him in the medical clinic. He immediately returned to his seat to attend to them.
After seeing off the three patients, Huang Tingzhi immediately seemed impatient.
Xiao Ming remained very composed. He said, “Elder Huang, let’s go to the medical academy’s lecture hall. I will discuss this medical art in detail with Elder Huang.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Huang Tingzhi now felt not only the respect of a subject for his monarch towards Xiao Ming, but also an indescribable admiration mixed in his heart.
In his opinion, Xiao Ming was not only the Emperor but also a great master of medicine.
The two went to an empty lecture hall. At this point, Xiao Ming used the technology crystal to thoroughly explain the function of the thermometer to Huang Tingzhi, and also detailed the relationship between human body temperature and illness.
“A normal human armpit temperature is thirty-six to thirty-seven degrees. Generally, fever is divided into low-grade fever, moderate fever, high fever, extremely high fever…”
Huang Tingzhi listened intently throughout Xiao Ming’s explanation. Under the influence of the technology crystal, he easily remembered what Xiao Ming said.
“I never thought such a miraculous thing existed in the world. I’ve lived my entire life for nothing,” Huang Tingzhi said with excitement, appearing somewhat fanatical.
He had thought that he had reached the pinnacle in the field of medicine, but now he realized that he had only touched upon the surface.
“This is just the simplest medical art. As I understand it, if one masters even more advanced medical arts, one can even perform blood transfusions to save lives, operate to remove foreign objects from the head, and even help pregnant women in difficult labor to deliver the fetus without harming their lives…” Xiao Ming continued to stimulate Huang Tingzhi.
If the thermometer only made Huang Tingzhi feel surprised, Xiao Ming’s words now horrified him.
Because the things Xiao Ming mentioned seemed no different from murder in his eyes.
“I, your old servant, know myself to be of limited talent and narrow knowledge. I hope Your Majesty can give me some guidance,” Huang Tingzhi’s attitude now became extremely humble.
Xiao Ming wore a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. Previously, relying on his medical skills, Huang Tingzhi had been somewhat arrogant due to his talent. Now, after a few words of instruction from him, Huang Tingzhi finally realized that there was always someone greater.
“Elder Huang need not belittle yourself. The medical arts of the Great Yu Empire have their own strengths. If Elder Huang is interested in the medical arts I speak of, I will make more time to discuss them with Elder Huang.”
Xiao Ming was full of confidence. After all, the existence of the technology crystal made him a walking library.
“I can’t ask for anything more,” Huang Tingzhi immediately beamed with excitement.
After discussing the thermometer, Xiao Ming handed the microscope to Huang Tingzhi, telling him to put it in the laboratory and explaining its function.
Having initially piqued Huang Tingzhi’s interest in Western medicine, Xiao Ming did not linger. He planned to return and write down some Western medical theories, and then give the books to Huang Tingzhi in a few days while also explaining them.
Xiao Ming departed. Huang Tingzhi’s expression immediately became strange. He peeked around. After seeing Xiao Ming and his entourage walk away, he immediately scurried to the laboratory, not at all like a man over fifty.
Upon reaching the laboratory, he immediately picked up the thermometer to measure his own body temperature and also fiddled with the microscope according to Xiao Ming’s method.
Throughout the process, a childlike smile remained on his face.
Meanwhile, Xiao Ming and Qian Dafu, protected by imperial guards, headed towards the military workshop. He intended to inspect the production of firearms during this period.
Although the northern war had consumed a considerable amount of their ammunition and weapons, it was not without gains. The annihilation of the Princes of Yan, Liang, and Zhao provided him with a large number of armors, swords, matchlock guns, and cannons.
Among these, the armors and swords were sent to the steel workshop for smelting, while the matchlock guns and cannons were sent to the military workshop for remelting and remanufacturing. Therefore, the military workshop currently did not lack materials.
“Your Majesty.”
Xiao Ming’s arrival simultaneously startled Song Changping and Chen Qi. The two, along with the core personnel of the military workshop, came to greet him.
Ordinarily, Xiao Ming rarely visited the military workshop unless there was a specific reason, and this time was no exception.
Waving his hand, Xiao Ming excused the two from formalities. As he entered, he noticed that the sound of the steam engines was more intense than before. Needless to say, the military workshop must have acquired several more steam engines.
He said, “These steam engines should be prioritized for your use. You must not be careless in manufacturing firearms. This time, I have two purposes for coming. One is for rifled muskets. According to General Niu, in this Western expedition, the rifled muskets clearly showed an advantage over matchlock guns. They could gain a certain advantage in range, and even directly break the enemy’s formations. Therefore, I have decided to equip the army with rifled muskets on a large scale. Can your military workshop do this?”
“Yes,” Song Changping said firmly. “We have now manufactured sixteen thousand more rifled muskets. However, if we equip the army with rifled muskets, the workshop will have to invest more artisans into producing conical bullets.”
Xiao Ming nodded. The difficult part about rifled muskets was the bullet problem. These were consumables, and their production was far from as fast as round bullets produced by freefall.
“Allocate a thousand artisans to be responsible for bullet production. Each artisan should be able to produce and polish an average of three conical bullets per day, right? That’s three thousand bullets a day, and ninety thousand bullets a month. This should be enough,” Xiao Ming said.
Song Changping nodded and said, “Previously, it would certainly have been impossible to allocate a thousand men, but now that steam engines have idled many artisans, it is possible to gather these thousand men.”
“Hmm, expedite this matter. Although Prince Zhao and his son have already been beheaded in the East Market, and the domestic enemies have been eliminated, powerful enemies from outside the pass have arrived,” Xiao Ming said thoughtfully. The barbarians had always been a thorn in the Great Yu Empire’s side. Until this thorn was removed, the Great Yu Empire could not be said to have truly risen.
After a pause, he said, “This time, I have one more thing to instruct you. From now on, you must manufacture this weapon.”
With that, Xiao Ming began to draw on the ground. This weapon looked like a flintlock gun, but it was much larger than a normal flintlock gun. Its length was almost comparable to a cannon. This was a heavy smoothbore gun intended for countering cavalry charges.