EMHTC -Chapter 144 If You Can’t Handle It, Just Go Back to School for a Meal Card!

【Hmm? How should I reasonably introduce the method for smallpox prevention…?】

【Like in novels, where someone finds an ancient text… Would that work?】

【I…】

The old emperor said, “Today’s banquet ends here. Dou Qing, Qin Qing, and Xie Qing, stay behind to entertain the honored guests. The rest may stay if they wish, or leave if they prefer.”

【Huh? The banquet is over so soon?】

【Does that mean I can go back and start forging now?】

【Woohoo!】

【The sooner, the better. What if just half an hour makes the difference?】

Once the old emperor left, Xu Yanmiao hunched over and carefully slipped away while everyone pretended not to notice.

【Tsk, as expected. Even though the old emperor said the banquet was over, so many people didn’t move. Luckily, I already planned my escape route.】

Officials and Imperial Guards: We see nothing! We see nothing!

The next day, while on duty at the Wuying Palace, Court Attendant Xu presented Emperor Tiantong with an “old book.”

The emperor frowned. “…You’re saying you found an old book that contains a method to cure smallpox?”

Xu Yanmiao was horrified. “Your Majesty! It’s for preventing smallpox!”

Curing smallpox was too outrageous—he had no such ability!

The old emperor nodded while examining the “ancient book,” his expression turning subtle.

Honestly, this forgery was terribly done. Anyone could tell at a glance that it was artificially aged. Compared to his own forgery skills back in the day, it was far inferior!

However…

The old emperor sighed and lamented, “To think an ancient text holds a method for preventing smallpox! So much of our Da Xia’s wisdom must have been lost during the wars.”

He had only said this offhandedly.

Xu Yanmiao: 【Who says otherwise? To make this look convincing, I even used my system to find numerous historical medical cases. Turns out, three hundred years ago, someone had already come up with variolation! Even a form of cowpox vaccination existed —though different from the Western version. Such an important discovery, yet it wasn’t passed down! What a loss…】

【War truly destroys civilization.】

The old emperor fell silent.

For some reason, his mood suddenly felt heavy.

He picked up the ancient medical text that Xu Yanmiao had produced and began reading it with the reverence of someone paying homage to his ancestors.

“Steamed chicken eggs infused with rat meat, white water buffalo lice, white pigeon meat, and centipede—consumed to ensure lifelong immunity from smallpox…”

“Seal two white pigeon eggs in a bamboo tube, immerse them in a latrine for half a month, then extract the egg white and mix with three qian of cinnabar—this ensures one never develops smallpox, or only mild cases.”

“Human urine sediment can prevent smallpox…”

“Bathing an infant in pigeon feather soup can reduce smallpox symptoms.”

“A boiled rabbit head decoction can alleviate smallpox symptoms.”

“Rolling a child in a pigsty can reduce smallpox symptoms.”

“Grinding a white water buffalo louse that once carried smallpox into a powder, mixing it with rice flour to make cakes, and feeding it to a fasting child—this will result in excreting bad toxins and grant lifelong immunity from smallpox.”

“The Dry Vaccine Method… The Wet Vaccine Method… The Pustule-Infected Garment Method… The Nasal Vaccine Method…”

There were hundreds of methods.

Who knew what kind of risks the ancient physicians took to develop smallpox prevention techniques while the disease was rampant?

Finally, the old emperor reached the method Xu Yanmiao had added: the cowpox vaccine.

“…Extract pus from a cow’s lesion and introduce it into a human wound… This method is safer than variolation, causing only mild infection…”

Noticing the emperor’s increasingly complex expression, Xu Yanmiao couldn’t help but ask, “Your Majesty, is there a problem?”

He felt a bit nervous.

Xu Yanmiao always knew the world wasn’t simply black or white. Just because something was useful didn’t mean it would be widely accepted—even if it could save lives.

Some people wouldn’t believe it could save lives.

Some people, for their own interests, wouldn’t want it to be spread.

Some people would reject it simply because they feared change.

Even if he presented data—just like when wheat was first promoted. The court announced to the entire nation that wheat yielded twice as much per acre as millet. Did farmers immediately rejoice and rush to plant wheat?

No.

The court spent four years promoting it, yet only a few regions switched to wheat.

And that was under an ambitious emperor with a posthumous title of “Martial.” Even so, it took hundreds of years for all of China to fully embrace wheat farming.

Xu Yanmiao didn’t even dare imagine—if government promotion took that long, what would happen if the emperor didn’t believe in cowpox vaccination? The method might never spread!

It could even be lost!

—In fact, if Xu Yanmiao had properly studied cowpox vaccination, he would have known that in history, this method was introduced to China twice—and disappeared both times.

The old emperor closed the book and was silent for a long time before saying, “Introducing cowpox pus into a human wound… Isn’t that…?”

He hesitated, trying to phrase it delicately. “Isn’t that too miraculous? How can we put an animal’s pus into a human body?”

He glanced at Xu Yanmiao and sighed. “I trust you. I could even issue a decree to promote this. But many will refuse to believe it—I was a commoner once. They will spread rumors: Receiving cowpox will make you grow cow horns. Convincing people to voluntarily accept this will be extremely difficult.”

Especially since… to put it bluntly, there was no smallpox outbreak at the moment. No one’s life was at immediate risk, so why would they willingly let someone put animal pus into their body?

When the old emperor voiced this, Xu Yanmiao was stunned. “But if we wait until smallpox appears, anyone who catches it will be doomed!”

Variolation only prevents smallpox—it doesn’t cure it!

The only response Xu Yanmiao received was the emperor’s silence and the sadness in his eyes.

“……”

Xu Yanmiao bowed and quietly said, “This minister takes his leave.”

The old emperor, somewhat flustered, called after him, “You… The cart will find its way when it reaches the mountain. Don’t overthink it. I’ll issue a decree for officials to promote cowpox vaccination throughout Daxia. It’s better than nothing.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

Xu Lang entered the Wuying Hall happily but came out with his eyes lowered and lips pressed together, seemingly unhappy.

When the ministers received the news, they were both shocked and confused.

“What happened?”

Wasn’t he there to discuss smallpox? This was such a great matter that could make history and save countless lives—why did Xu Yanmao look so upset?

Some ministers picked a few memorials and pretended to report on affairs at the Wuying Hall. Once there, they feigned surprise at seeing the ancient medical book on smallpox prevention, borrowing it from the emperor for a closer look. After reading it, they immediately understood why Baize (Xu Yanmao) was so distressed.

“The cowpox method, indeed…”

The Assistant Minister of the Ministry of Revenue, Cui Yi, rarely looked so serious. “Your Majesty, I request that we first implement the other methods. As for the cowpox method, we can introduce it gradually.”

Step by step, starting with methods that are relatively more acceptable—such as renzhong bai (urine residue) or pigeon eggs.

… Though, urine residue isn’t exactly easy for people to accept either.

The old emperor nodded. “Then let’s proceed this way.”

Even if it wasn’t as effective as the cowpox method, it could still save lives.

Half an hour later, the guards at the palace gates wore puzzled expressions. “Xu Lang, what are you doing?”

Xu Yanmao was sitting on a wooden cart pulled by a horse, surrounded by boxes upon boxes of items.

He jumped off the cart. “Go ahead and check.”

After carefully inspecting the boxes, the guards allowed him to pass, but their expressions grew even stranger.

Xu Yanmao paid no mind to their reactions. He simply got back onto the cart and urged the driver to continue forward.

—He had imperial permission to ride a carriage within the palace city.

When the carriage stopped in front of Wuying Hall, the old emperor was stunned. “What is all this?”

Xu Yanmao directed the palace servants to carry all the boxes inside. Then, he cheerfully announced, “Your Majesty! I’ve thought of a great way to get people to willingly receive the vacci— I mean, to get inoculated with cowpox!”

The emperor smiled. “Oh? What method?”

With a whoosh, Xu Yanmao flipped open a box, revealing a pile of copper coins that spilled onto the ground with a clinking sound.

The young man grinned. “Your Majesty! I brought all the rewards you’ve given me over the years, as well as the jewelry and treasures the princess gifted me. It should amount to a fair sum.”

The emperor fell silent.

He looked at the young man, who spoke so decisively, his dark eyes shining with determination. “If each person who gets inoculated receives a reward of 300 coins, surely many will be willing to come!”

“I’m willing to donate everything I own—except for my house!”

At that moment, Xu Yanmao seemed to be glowing.

But…

The old emperor felt a pang in his heart. How many people can you save with this money?

He thought this, but he also said it aloud.

Xu Yanmao hesitated before replying, “I’ve spent too much on food and clothes, so right now, I can probably only afford vaccinations for about ten to twenty thousand people.”

Then, he brightened again. “But saving even one person is better than nothing! I’m no savior, but if a smallpox outbreak happens now, at least these twenty thousand people will survive!”

And if he ran out of money and life became difficult… well, he could always return to the modern world.

He still had 200 yuan on his meal card!

The old emperor wanted to tell Xu Yanmao that if smallpox truly broke out, across the entire country—aside from those twenty thousand people—at least 80% of the population would blame him. They would ask why he hadn’t forced them to get inoculated. They would demand to know why they weren’t among those twenty thousand.

But looking at Xu Yanmao’s bright, clear eyes, he swallowed the words back down.

“Enough!” The old emperor knocked Xu Yanmao on the forehead. When Xu reflexively pulled back, clutching his head, the emperor grumbled as if annoyed, “Take your money back. Since when does a young man like you have to use his future marriage savings for matters of state?”

Xu Yanmao’s eyes lit up. “Your Majesty?”

The emperor flicked his forehead again, but his tone softened. “The national treasury still has plenty of money. We’ve also mined a lot of gold and silver from Wokou territory. There’s enough to incentivize the people to get inoculated.”

Xu Yanmao was willing to give up his entire fortune to push this initiative. As the ruler of the empire, with millions of citizens under his care, if he were unwilling to spend money to save lives, he would be worse than a beast.

Besides, the Wokou lands had mountains of gold and silver. Even if he had to “smash” an entire gold mine to fund this effort, it would be enough for every citizen in the country to be inoculated.

This decision earned Xu Yanmao’s enthusiastic cheer: “Your Majesty is wise!!!”

The emperor accepted the praise without hesitation. “Of course I’m wise. If I weren’t, your head would already be rolling.”

Xu Yanmao’s eyes widened in shock.

The emperor picked up a teapot and took several gulps of water before saying heavily, “Spending your entire fortune to save the people—do you realize this is buying public favor? If you encountered a paranoid emperor, do you think he would care…”

Would he care that once you’re dead, there would be no more secrets?

“Would he care that your method prevents smallpox? No. To protect his throne, he would have to kill you.”

“But I—”

“I know you don’t have that intention,” the emperor sighed. “But what about others?”

“I may not have many years left. I trust the crown prince won’t be a foolish ruler, but you’re still young—only twenty. It’s entirely possible you will live to see the crown prince’s son take the throne as well. And who can guarantee what kind of ruler he will be?”

“Xu Yanmiao.”

“You must learn to protect yourself.”