Penicillin

Beside these wounded soldiers, a dozen or so elderly doctors were moving among them.

Some were taking pulses, others were removing bandages and examining wounds. An old doctor was using tweezers to hold a small cotton ball dipped in clear medicine and gently wiping it on a wounded soldier's wound. The wounded soldier cried out in pain, and the old doctor scolded, "What are you yelling for? If we hadn't had this medicine last month, your arm would have been amputated long ago," and then continued wiping.

Liu Mu stood at the door, not going in immediately. He was looking around the room. He saw white cotton cloth on the walls, white lime water on the bluestone slabs on the floor, and a glass bottle with a stopper in the corner containing a pale yellow powder.

These seemingly insignificant things were more valuable to him than an army of 100,000, because they could save lives.

Steam locomotives can be built, but building things like ten-thousand-pound forging hammers can only increase the empire's strength.

The changes that occurred in this room will allow Liu Mu to live a long and peaceful life, as will his descendants.

After all, in this day and age, even a common cold or fever can kill a person, let alone other unseen things.

Just then, an old man with a goatee, white hair and a youthful face stood up from beside the patient and walked towards Liu Mu. He was wearing a faded blue cloth robe with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. There were several old scars on the back of his hands, and his nails were neatly trimmed.

This man was named Fu Shan, a native of Shanxi. He was a renowned folk healer with unique insights into both internal medicine and surgery.

When the secret guards found him in a village near the southwestern battlefield, he was using his own prescription to change the dressing of a wounded Wu Sangui soldier who had been routed.

The guards ordered him to enter the capital and the palace, but he sat on the threshold with his legs crossed and said to them, "If you dare to forcibly take me away, I will have your emperor kill me once I enter the palace."

The secret guards were all loyal subjects handpicked by Pan Feng, and they were immediately intimidated and dared not touch him. They could only rush to report to Liu Mu, who then sent a message: "I have a cure for all diseases here. If you don't want to come, then so be it!"

When Fu Shan heard the words "cures all diseases," he was initially dismissive. However, as a renowned physician, he was tempted. After all, the emperor was the supreme ruler; why would he deceive him? So he packed his bags and left with his bodyguards.

After arriving at Xishan, Liu Mu poured out all the medical knowledge he had to him.

For example, inflammation is not a problem with the wound itself, but rather the growth of invisible fungi on the wound. Killing the fungi will prevent the wound from becoming infected.

The substance that kills fungi is found in the white bloom on grape skins and on moldy oranges. By cultivating the mold and then extracting it, you get penicillin.

After listening to the theory, Fu Shan didn't sleep for three days, repeatedly studying the vague theory, and then began to try it day and night.

As for whether it's fake or not, he's been a doctor for so long, and many people have died inexplicably in front of him, even though they could have survived if they had followed the prescriptions.

When Fu Shan saw Liu Mu enter, he didn't even bow. He immediately pulled Liu Mu's sleeve and led him to a wounded soldier. He grabbed the soldier's left hand and rolled up his sleeve. The wounded soldier had a wound the size of an infant's fist on his arm. The edges of the wound had dried up and a ring of pink new flesh had grown. There was a small pit in the middle, but the area around it was not red or oozing pus. It was clean.

"Your Majesty, this was caused by a musket shot. After the bullet was removed, the wound festered for a full twenty days. In my thirty years of medical experience, this kind of injury only has two outcomes: either the arm is amputated, or one is left to die. But after using the penicillin you mentioned, combined with my unique herbal decoction, it healed in just half a month! Only half a month!"

Fu Shan became more and more agitated as he spoke, his goatee trembling. He released the wounded soldier's arm and picked up a glass bottle from the table, which contained about half a bottle of pale yellow powder.

He carefully held the bottle up to Liu Mu, as if displaying a rare treasure. "This is it. Don't be fooled by its appearance; it looks like moldy flour. Sprinkle it on wounds, and it's more effective than anything else."

"Especially the grapes sent from Yili, the grapes grown on their skin are more potent than those grown on orange peel. I tried seventeen times before I figured out the right ratio."

"However, this thing is too delicate. It can only be stored in glass bottles. It loses its effectiveness when it comes into contact with iron. It is also afraid of heat. In the summer, it will lose its effectiveness after being placed under the sun for the time it takes to drink half a cup of tea. I can only keep the jar in well water and immerse the bottle in water to keep it cool. I treat it like an ancestor."

"Make a note of the ones that are sensitive to heat, we'll figure out a way later." Liu Mu took the glass bottle from Fu Shan and waved it in the sunlight streaming through the window. "We'll figure out how to purify and store it; the key is you've already done it." He handed the bottle back to Fu Shan, his gaze lingering for a moment on the nearly healed gunshot wound. "Keep going. Ask Ouyang Jing for all the grape skins, orange peels, and wounded soldiers you need!"

"Fu Shan, your name will be on the first page of medical books when people open them hundreds of years from now. There will be something called penicillin, and the inventor of it is you, Fu Shan."

"Fu Shan, your name will be on the first page of medical books when people open them hundreds of years from now. There will be something called penicillin, and the inventor of it is you, Fu Shan."

Fu Shan stood there, stunned. His goatee twitched again, and his eyes suddenly stung. He quickly turned around, put the glass bottle back on the shelf, and wiped his eyes with his sleeve while facing away from Liu Mu.

Ouyang Jing stood at the door, his reading glasses still tucked into his breast pocket. He looked at Fu Shan's back through the lenses and chuckled, because he understood.

For renowned doctors like Fu Shan, fame and fortune are like fleeting dust. What they pursue in this life is nothing more than curing diseases and leaving a name for themselves. Otherwise, why would they write books?

Liu Mu turned around and glanced again at the white cotton cloths on the wall and the medicine bottle soaking in the basin in the corner. Suddenly, he said to Ouyang Jing, "Ouyang Jing, this must be kept secret. If we don't have enough wounded soldiers, notify Zhao Lie, and he will find you the best ones!"

Ouyang Jing nodded upon hearing this, and at the same time silently mourned for Japan, wondering to himself how much His Majesty the Emperor must hate the Japanese to do such a thing.

……

Next, Liu Mu went to Xishan Mine, the largest coal and iron ore mine around Beijing. Although its quantity was not as large as Datong's, it was enough for the needs of the time.

When Liu Mu arrived at the largest mine pit, he saw that the surrounding area was filled with overseers who carried long knives at their waists and held leather whips.

Hundreds of Han Chinese people were making honeycomb briquettes above the mine pit, and at the same time, they put the dried honeycomb briquettes into large carts one by one.

Once loaded, the workers loosen the latches on the truck, then give it a gentle push, and the truck speeds along the tracks, over all the mountain roads, all the way to the foot of the mountain.

The honeycomb briquettes from Xishan were only supplied to the area around Beijing, so the price was not very high. The daily requirement was no more than ten copper coins.

In other places where coal is scarce, it was extremely precious before the advent of railway transportation.

"You shorty bastards, hurry up and do your job for me!"

Just as Liu Mu was about to leave, he heard a shout coming from below the mine.