"That's all."
Kongming nodded calmly.
The so called Barefoot Doctor's Manual that later generations casually mentioned was not something Kongming could summon out of thin air. Since it did not exist yet, he could only make it himself.
So he once again consulted Divine Physician Zhang, asking him to organize common illnesses frequently suffered by the local populace into a handbook for soldiers to study.
The requirements were not high.
They only needed to recognize illnesses, make basic diagnoses, and prescribe appropriate medicine.
Zhang the Divine Physician treated this matter with great seriousness. He even slowed down his work on the Treatise on Cold Damage, which made Kongming repeatedly apologize for the trouble.
After seeing the diagram of the obstetrical forceps earlier, and discussing it with Zhang Zhongjing, Kongming suddenly realized that veterinary care was also desperately needed by the people.
At that moment, the barefoot doctor system finally felt complete.
Able to treat people.
Able to save livestock.
Able to teach village children basic literacy during spare hours.
Such a barefoot doctor alone could change the fate of an entire village.
Compared to other reforms, training such doctors was not especially difficult. Back in Jingzhou, Kongming had already begun selecting quick minded veteran soldiers and teaching them to read. That group now happened to be perfectly suited for this role.
What was harder were matters like funding, grain supply, road repairs, examinations, and discipline.
But those worries could wait.
He thought far ahead, yet wrote only a few brief lines on paper. Even so, Lu Su could no longer restrain himself.
"This plan of yours is deeply considered," Lu Su said. "Why is there only half of it?"
Kongming smiled faintly and tapped the low table with his fingers.
"Just watch for now. The other half can wait until tomorrow."
Lu Su grew impatient.
"Why tomorrow? We can discuss it tonight."
Kongming replied with unexpected seriousness.
"One should rest early at night.
Only with a well nourished body can illness be avoided.
Only with health can one save the people from fire and water."
Lu Su was instantly rendered speechless.
Pang Tong chuckled quietly from the side. By instinct alone, he felt that the day of working alongside Lu Zijing was not far off.
…
As the scenes on the light curtain shifted again and again, Li Shimin sat on his couch without the slightest reaction. He only dropped a single sentence.
"Truly foolish and cowardly."
Failing to distinguish loyalty from treachery was foolish.
Letting power slip away was cowardly.
And Li Shimin felt he had finally seen through it.
Li Xian may have restored the Tang in name, but in truth he was still a perfectly standard Wu Zhou emperor.
For a moment, Li Shimin did not know whether to blame Zhinu for failing as a father, or to condemn Wu Zetian for poisoning the court.
But regardless of the cause, one thing was clear.
This Son of Heaven was profoundly unqualified.
His interest quickly faded, and his attention drifted away from the light curtain entirely.
A sentence spoken earlier by Changsun Wuji suddenly surfaced in his mind.
"Evil unaccumulated is not enough to destroy a man."
And the moment of destruction had already been mentioned before.
The Tanglong Coup.
Li Longji killing Wu Yanxiu at Suzhan Gate.
Suzhan Gate lay northwest of Taiji Hall. To the south were layers of palace compounds. To the north was Xuanwu Gate.
It seemed that Li Longji had learned from Li Chongjun's mistake of killing Wu Sansi first.
Or perhaps he had truly studied Li Shimin's own fratricide.
But how exactly did this Xuanzong, the third son of the Prince of Xiang, rise up?
The light curtain answered.
[Lightscreen]
[In the sixth month of the year 710, Emperor Zhongzong of Tang, Li Xian, suddenly died in Shenlong Hall.
The Old Book of Tang merely recorded his sudden death, offering no detailed cause.
Li Longji, Li Xian's nephew, stated with absolute certainty that Li Xian had been poisoned by Empress Wei and Princess Anle, and that purging the court was an act of revenge for his uncle.
As for the truth?
Li Xian's Ding Mausoleum had been looted five times throughout history. His remains were long gone, making any toxicological examination impossible. Whether he was poisoned could never be confirmed.
Modern historians tend to believe that Zhongzong truly died suddenly.
From a practical standpoint, ancient poison refinement was crude. If one truly wanted to poison Li Xian, slipping poison into a cake would not suffice. One would need to mix cake into poison.
More importantly, while alive, Li Xian behaved like a fool. He himself was the greatest source of power for his wife and daughters. Poisoning him would have been unnecessary.
That very year, a man named Lang Ji from Dingzhou submitted a memorial forcefully condemning Empress Wei's disasters.
Empress Wei informed Li Xian, and Lang Ji was beaten to death. Li Xian did not even ask a question.
A month later, another fearless man, Yan Qinrong of Xuzhou, submitted a memorial viciously denouncing Empress Wei and Princess Anle.
This time Li Xian personally issued an edict ordering Yan Qinrong to be beaten to death.
Less than half a month later, Li Xian died suddenly.
By logic or emotion, Empress Wei and Princess Anle had no need to poison him.
But for Li Longji, declaring that Li Xian had been poisoned was the most perfect source of legitimacy for a coup.
Unlike the opportunistic Li Chongjun, Li Longji grew up under Wu Zetian's overwhelming authority.
As a child, he personally witnessed how his grandmother purged the former Tang imperial clan and ministers alike. Rolling heads were the most common decoration of her reign.
When Wu Zetian proclaimed herself emperor, Li Longji was six years old. Needing the imperial heirs as bait to keep the Wu clan obedient, she ordered Li Dan and his sons placed under house arrest for nearly ten years.
Li Longji's biological mother, Consort Dou, had also been conveniently eliminated by Wu Zetian. Li Longji was nine at the time.
Only at fifteen, when Wu Zetian began preparing for her end, did she finally remember Li Dan's family, releasing them and bringing them to Mingtang to swear oaths. Only then did Li Longji's life approach normalcy.
After the Shenlong Coup, Li Longji benefited from his father Li Dan's status, being appointed Deputy Director of the Armory Bureau, in charge of weapons storage.
From that position, he witnessed Li Chongjun's failed rebellion and death at close range.
By 710, at twenty five years old, Li Longji saw the massive upheaval caused by Li Xian's death and keenly sensed opportunity.
After Li Xian died, Shangguan Wan'er first announced the will appointing Li Dan as regent.
Empress Wei's faction immediately leapt out, demanding that the Empress Dowager rule from behind the curtain and that the Prince of Xiang be sent aside.
Empress Wei showed not the slightest restraint.
The next day, Li Chongmao was established as Crown Prince. Four days later, Li Chongmao ascended the throne, and Empress Wei was simultaneously appointed to rule from behind the curtain.
With events progressing so smoothly, Empress Wei's faction quickly grew intoxicated with success.
Li Xian's body was not even cold when loyal ministers like Zong Chuke and Princess Anle submitted memorials citing prophetic texts claiming that "the Wei clan should replace the Tang mandate."
The Tang Empire, restored for only five years, once again teetered on collapse.
At this critical moment, Li Longji finally stepped onto the stage of history.
His early preparations closely resembled those of the unfortunate Li Chongjun.
Li Chongjun had rebelled because the Imperial Guards fell from heroes to criminals and were filled with resentment.
Years later, those guards had not improved at all. Empress Wei's confidants, believing they were about to gain dragon following merit, beat and cursed the guards at will. Hatred between the two sides ran deep.
At the same time, Li Longji exploited his control over the armory, spending years cultivating relationships with several guard commanders. This became his first foundation.
With the Imperial Guards in hand, control of the armory, and familiarity with Xuanwu Gate, success should have been guaranteed.
Yet Li Longji still felt it was not enough.
He decided to seek a heavyweight ally.
His paternal aunt.
Princess Taiping.]