"This chaotic age of Rome truly resembles our Huaxia," Zhang Zhongjing said, his hands never stopping as he spoke, offering a rare evaluation.
For the old gentleman, matters outside medicine were not his main concern, yet he still roughly understood the vague course of history behind them.
The timing of decline was similar. The length of the chaos was similar. And now even the rise of religion and the state of epidemics appeared strikingly alike.
Although the specific symptoms did not quite match the cold damage illnesses of earlier times, if the root cause was cold, then to physicians of the Han dynasty, it was still classified as cold damage.
At the same time, Zhang Zhongjing felt deep admiration for the depth of medical research in later generations.
He secretly resolved that once today's affairs were concluded, he must seek out Mister Kongming to discuss and jointly study these medical doctrines.
For something to be carried forward for over a thousand years, the length of time alone was already sufficient proof of its value.
As for the new doctrines developed after later generations abandoned the old ones, Zhang Zhongjing did not dare to covet them for now.
Just as the strategists and their lord had once sighed, even if they now possessed the Heavenly Palace of later generations, it would still likely be impossible to reproduce even one hair out of nine oxen by mobilizing the strength of the entire nation.
Medicine was no different. Like an infant learning to walk, one must first crawl, then walk, and only then think of running.
To rush for quick success and immediate gain was not the conduct of a benevolent person.
Zhang Zhongjing had only now cautiously given his judgment, but what astonished Liu Bei even more was the system of ancient Rome described by the descendant:
"Public food distribution?"
It was a completely unfamiliar compound term, but when broken down word by word, its meaning was not difficult for Liu Bei and the others to grasp.
The Book of Rites says: when the world is for all.
Then could this term not be understood as food distributed from what belongs to all under Heaven?
Previously, when Liu Bei learned of later generations' systems, he was merely briefly astonished. After all, separated by a thousand years, the evolution of state institutions was not something he could infer.
But ancient Rome existed in the same era as Han. And judging by the written record, even amid great epidemics and chaotic times, such food distribution was still being carried out.
This was a system completely different from that of Han, yet seemingly effective for centuries. At this moment, Liu Bei was truly both shocked and curious.
Kongming, while equally amazed by the grand scale of ancient Rome, also raised a doubt:
"Such food distribution must surely distinguish between identities."
Otherwise, if everyone could eat without restraint, then Arabia would never have risen. Why not all go to ancient Rome and live off distributed food?
Moreover, for an empire to carry out such a system, it must also have corresponding methods of collecting food.
Food could not appear simply because the emperor spoke. Even in the West, grain could only be grown from the land.
So how ancient Rome possessed such vast and stable grain reserves and sources became the point that most intrigued Kongming.
That map had been carried by Kongming with extreme care out of Chengdu. Previously, he had guarded it cautiously in Hanzhong, and only after Tong Pass was recovered, the Three Qins pacified, and the eight hundred li of Guanzhong firmly secured did he finally bring the map over. It now hung behind him.
Turning around, the first thing Kongming saw was the southern territory of ancient Rome, where the climate was even hotter than Rome itself.
Now that they knew Jiaozhou had Champa rice that ripened every fifty days, and that there were rich and fertile lands like India, then perhaps Rome's southern regions producing abundant grain was not so strange after all.
And furthermore, this enormous lake later generations called the Mediterranean must provide shipping advantages far beyond those of Han's rivers.
It had previously been measured. The distance from north to south across this great lake was about eight hundred li. Transporting supplies by ship would be extremely advantageous.
Even so, everyone could not help but feel envious.
This only strengthened Jian Yong's resolve deep in his heart.
Once Lord Xuande had settled all major affairs, he, Jian Yong, would surely travel west.
If the Tang had Xuanzang journeying to India for scriptures, then he, Jian Yong, would follow later generations and go to Rome to obtain the essence of Western science, bringing it back to strengthen Han.
Even if it meant being buried in a foreign land, he would not regret it.
As for the rise of religion mentioned at the end, Zhang Fei could only sigh:
"Rome and our Great Han are truly like brothers born of different wombs."
Pang Tong and others of keen and agile minds were even more alert. Though there were differences of East and West and differences of institutions, how similar the direction of history was.
…
Looking at the descendant's few meaningful lines about the rise of religion, Sun Simiao fell silent for a moment, then suddenly grew curious:
"Emperor Cheng of Han was foolish. How then did he manage to imprison that demonic Daoist Gan Zhongke to death?"
After all, Sun Simiao roughly remembered Emperor Cheng's deeds. Incompetent governance, neglect of state affairs, empowering maternal relatives and breeding Wang Mang's usurpation, strangling his own son and ultimately leaving no heir.
And yet such a foolish ruler in his later years loved sacrifices, ghosts, and the pursuit of immortality. The Taiping Jing concocted by Gan Zhongke even drew on Confucian prophetic theories and had considerable skill in that regard.
At least the heavenly court and divine lords he spoke of were widely believed by the common people even today, proving his abilities. And yet he died at Emperor Cheng's hands?
Li Shimin merely smiled faintly and said meaningfully:
"Gan Zhongke falsely claimed the Mandate of Heaven and sought to coerce the Son of Heaven."
"For one like Emperor Cheng, indulgent and pleasure-seeking though he was, he instead understood the Mandate of Heaven all the more clearly."
Li Shimin was unwilling to elaborate further. He simply smiled and changed the subject:
"I wonder what relationship this Byzantine Empire in the West has with ancient Rome at this time."
At the same time, he resolved that once maritime expansion bore fruit, he would certainly dispatch skilled scribes to the West to compile their history.
When that was sent to the descendants, would it not surprise them?
As for the descendant's casual claim of distributing food to everyone, Li Shimin did not believe it at all. He was more convinced that there must have been significant restrictions.
Yet this only made him more curious about the West.
What amused Li Shimin most, however, was the evaluation of Sima Yi:
"Fantasy literature… hahahahaha."
[Lightscreen]
[During this same period, in the face of epidemics, something of nearly identical nature was also quietly rising at the same time.
In the East, this thing shaped the image of the Wei and Jin eccentrics. It spread among nobles and famous scholars, circulating across this land for over a thousand years.
Its name is still recorded in historical texts today, leaving an indelible mark. It was called Five-Stone Powder.
In the West, this kind of substance was crowned with a supremely exalted name: the universal antidote.
And its main ingredient is something anyone who has read history textbooks today is familiar with: opium.
The precise origin of Five-Stone Powder is no longer verifiable. It was more likely derived from folk alchemists of the Han era, and some even speculate it originated from the Way of Great Peace.
Because Five-Stone Powder was named for its five mineral components, it bore a straightforward and plain name, not quite the style of alchemists patronized by the nobility.
Its widespread popularity was also due to epidemics. Initially, during outbreaks of cold damage at the end of Han, patients would suffer intense chills.
Five-Stone Powder was extremely hot and dry in nature. One of its short-term toxic side effects was mental confusion, and this mind-altering sensation deeply fascinated famous scholars.
Do you remember that Wei-Jin scholar we mentioned earlier?
The one who brazenly asked, "Why have you all come into my trousers?"
That was a classic symptom of excessive consumption of Five-Stone Powder.
Taking Five-Stone Powder caused the body to overheat. Thus, for Wei-Jin scholars, stripping naked after taking it became a form of refined elegance.
Long-term consumption led to worsening chronic poisoning. Skin gradually became so fragile it could not tolerate coarse clothing, and thus "meeting naked" also became a kind of scholarly elegance in the Wei-Jin era.
This addictive drug permeated the entire chaos of the Wei, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties, bringing endless suffering.
The history of opium in the West is even longer. At least according to Western research, traces of poppy cultivation date back to around 4200 BCE.
One of the cradles of Western civilization, the Euphrates River basin, also shows evidence of poppy cultivation from 5400 years ago. Ancient humans then called the poppy the "plant of joy."
Three thousand seven hundred years ago, Assyrian physicians believed poppy could cure all diseases. They prepared plant-based drinks, of which 115 varieties contained poppy.
Because of its "cure-all" properties, poppy was revered as a divine miracle in the ancient West. Ancient Greek coins bore poppy imagery, and ancient Rome carved poppies on tombstones, showing their reverence.
Ancient Egyptians 3500 years ago recorded in the Ebers Papyrus that poppy was applied externally to treat wounds and even fed to infants to prevent nighttime crying.
Because of its hallucinogenic properties, poppy quickly became associated with religion, cloaked in sacred significance.
Around 120 CE, the king of Pontus in Central Asia formulated the earliest version of the "universal antidote," said to grant immunity to all poisons.
After entering ancient Rome, this formula was personally modified by the notorious tyrant Nero, greatly increasing the proportion of poppy. It soon became an imperial elixir for Roman emperors, known as theriac.
Thus, it was unsurprising that the famed physician Galen later prepared a more potent universal antidote using poppy juice for Emperor Marcus Aurelius to combat epidemics.
This opium preparation was also used on Commodus, the last emperor of the Antonine dynasty, with unknown results.
Later European rulers such as Charlemagne, Alfred the Great, Henry VIII, and Elizabeth I were all devoted users of theriac.
Among the populace, matters were even more obvious. Common people already had habits of consuming opium products. Chaos and epidemics placed them in circumstances identical to those of the Han populace.
In the end, opium products with hallucinogenic effects remained active in the West until the seventeenth century.
Only then did physicians clearly point out the dual effects of opium: while treating illness, it inevitably caused addiction, ultimately poisoning the body.
This addictive property later became a powerful weapon of colonial aggression. Mass dumping of opium could swiftly plunder colonial wealth and addict the populace, stripping them of resistance. This led to the Opium Wars, which inflicted deep wounds upon modern China.
Even today, opium products remain active among Western civilians, while Five-Stone Powder has long vanished into the river of history.
What no one expected was that climate also played a significant role in eliminating this early ancient addictive drug.]
Those who felt this most deeply were the people in the Ganlu Hall.
After all, the current Imperial Physician Sun spent much of his daily life, beyond healing and medical research, publicizing the dangers of Five-Stone Powder.
Because of this, among Tang nobles and officials, some still consumed Five-Stone Powder, but they no longer openly promoted it.
Yet judging by the descendant's meaning, Sun Simiao was not only correct, but his warnings might even have understated its harm.
However, the descendant was somewhat evasive about the exact nature of the harm, leaving the people of Ganlu Hall momentarily at a loss.
They were told it caused endless damage, but how exactly did it do so? And how could something similar inflict such deep suffering upon an entire nation?
Li Shimin turned his gaze toward Sun the Medicine King, and the others followed.
Judging by later generations' reverence for medicine and their praise of Zhang Zhongjing, it was likely that Sun Simiao was, in some sense, a "forerunner" of the Tang era.
Sun Simiao took a deep breath, having made his decision.
"How poisonous Five-Stone Powder truly is will be clear in two months."
The gathered gazes gradually dispersed. At the same time, Sun Simiao quietly moved closer to Li Shimin.
"May I request several monkeys?"
The implication was clear. Earlier, when the light screen discussed Galen's achievements, Li Shimin had understood.
Monkeys closely resemble humans. Thus, for testing medicines, monkeys could be used first.
Li Shimin waved his hand in approval, even saying that several were not enough and granting at least forty or fifty. Sun Simiao could only smile wryly and thank him.
At this moment, Li Shimin felt a slight sense of pride in the current Zhenguan governance.
Because of its effectiveness, there were now very few death-row prisoners in the imperial prison.
And with Sun the Medicine King's need for dissection, these prisoners were periodically executed and their bodies sent under various pretexts to the new Imperial Medical Office.
As a result, death-row inmates were nearly exhausted.
Otherwise, why use monkeys? Testing drugs directly on condemned prisoners would suffice.
Having temporarily resolved Sun Simiao's matter, Li Shimin was once again amazed.
Later generations compared Five-Stone Powder to opium derived from poppy. Though he did not know why it was called opium, the attitude clearly showed their similar nature.
Li Shimin had seen "scholars" who indulged in Five-Stone Powder under the guise of elegance. Their madness was terrifying.
Thus, he could not imagine the entire West consuming this substance for five thousand years, continuing even into the era described by the descendants.
Wait.
Li Shimin tapped his head, suddenly alert.
He had been wondering about the harm of opium, but thinking about how later generations already knew opium was harmful yet it still persisted endlessly was proof enough of its power.
The Tang emperor hissed softly, growing even more curious about Sun Simiao's experimental results.
Small doses of Five-Stone Powder generated heat to ward off cold illness. Regular use produced madness praised as Wei-Jin elegance.
Then what would happen with frequent, heavy consumption? What would the final result of this so-called addiction be?