Chapter 21: Generous Prince Yu
Chapter 21: Generous Prince Yu
After confirming that he was fine, Zhu Zaigui was in a very good mood.
At this time, Zhu Zaigui also happily waved his hand, "Meng Daban, go to the accounting office and give Doctor Li five hundred taels, oh no, one thousand taels for the consultation fee!"
When Zhu Zaigui said this, not only Li Shizhen was stunned, but even Meng Chong was confused.
Zhu Zaigui may not know what kind of financial situation the palace has, but he knows it very clearly.
Everyone has seen the scenery of the palace, but how many people know the bitterness of it?
Although the prince has been crowned and lived in the palace for ten years, all his expenses are dependent on the funding from the Ministry of Revenue and the rewards from the palace.
This money is only a few thousand taels of silver a year.
Compared with those local princes who owned large industries and large tracts of land, Zhu Zaigui's Prince Yu was no different from a beggar.
Now Zhu Zaigui is going to reward one thousand taels of silver with a wave of his hand. Does this mean that nearly half of the cash flow of the palace will be spent in one go?
Li Shizhen bowed quickly and said, "It is my duty to treat Your Highness. How dare I ask for a reward?"
But Zhu Zaigui didn't think so. He said, "This is what Doctor Li deserves. When Doctor Li starts to compile the Compendium of Materia Medica in the future, how can he be without money? Although I can't help him with other things, I am still relatively well-off financially."
When Zhu Zaigui said that he was financially well-off, Meng Chong almost cried.
Li Shizhen could not resist Zhu Zaigui's suggestion and could only bow back and say, "Thank you very much for your reward, Your Highness."
Zhu Zaiqi grinned, "If you encounter any difficulties or need anything in compiling the Compendium of Materia Medica in the future, you can tell me. I will do my best to help you complete this extraordinary book. It can also be regarded as a contribution to the people of the Ming Dynasty."
Li Shizhen was even more moved after hearing this. Ever since Zhu Zaigui told him the idea of "Compendium of Materia Medica", he could not sleep all night, thinking about the mistakes in the medical books he had read over the years, as well as the results in his own practice.
Li Shizhen also felt that it was necessary for him to reorganize these medical books handed down from generation to generation and correct the obvious errors and misrepresentations in them.
Now with the idea of "Compendium of Materia Medica" reminded by Zhu Zaigui, the fog that Li Shizhen had been unable to clear up was suddenly dispelled.
So now Li Shizhen could not contain his excitement and wanted to resign from the Imperial Medical Office immediately and return to his hometown in Hubei to prepare for the compilation of "Compendium of Materia Medica".
Li Shizhen was moved and said, "With the help of Your Majesty, even if I spend my whole life, I will not disappoint Your Majesty's expectations. I will definitely compile the Compendium of Materia Medica and benefit the world!"
Zhu Zaigui said excitedly: "Great! When I think that I have the honor of witnessing the birth of a great medicine saint in my lifetime, I feel extremely excited!"
Although Gao Gong, who was standing by, did not know what the relationship between Zhu Zaigui and Li Shizhen was, after listening to today's conversation, he also understood that Prince Yu valued this Imperial Physician Li very much and even spared no expense to support him in compiling medical classics.
Moreover, from their conversation, Gao Gong could also feel that the pharmacopoeia that Prince Yu wanted Li Shizhen to compile was a peerless one. Once completed, this pharmacopoeia might really earn Li Shizhen eternal fame.
Gao Gong felt extremely excited when he thought that a small imperial physician could be discovered by Prince Yu with his discerning eyes.
Everyone knew how smart the former Crown Prince Zhuangjing was, but Gao Gong had never really felt how smart and what a ruler he was. But after staying with Prince Yu for less than half a day, Gao Gong felt that Prince Yu was different and had a kind of magnanimous and selfless spirit, which Gao Gong thought was the spirit of a ruler.
So it is understandable that Gao Gong was very excited.
Meng Chong did not dare to expose the shortcomings of the palace at this time. He could only obediently go to the palace's accounting office and pay out one thousand taels of silver in cash according to Zhu Zaigui's instructions, and then command four eunuchs to move the money over.
After all, one thousand taels of silver is not a small amount. Although there are money houses in the Ming Dynasty that issue some silver bills that can be redeemed immediately, there are not many large-scale banknote houses. Moreover, Prince Yu is of such a high status that how could he possibly deposit his wealth in other people's money houses?
Therefore, Zhu Zaigui's reward to Li Shizhen was a real reward, which was directly in the form of cash.
The visual impact of this one thousand taels of silver was still very considerable. Although converted into the calculation unit of later generations, it was only about a hundred kilograms of silver, but it was the first time that Zhu Zaigui had seen so many kilograms of silver placed together.
Zhu Zaigui looked at the four eunuchs carrying the silver and ordered, "Help Doctor Li deliver it to his home. If there is any mistake in the process, I will not forgive you."
The four young eunuchs responded to Zhu Zaigui's orders pitifully.
After Li Shizhen expressed his gratitude again and again, he finally left Prince Yu's Palace with four young eunuchs carrying 1,000 taels of silver with great emotion.
Gao Gong also stood up and bowed to Zhu Zaigui at this time, "Your Highness's compassionate heart is something I admire the most. If Imperial Doctor Li can really compile the Compendium of Materia Medica for Your Highness and benefit the world, Your Highness's virtue will shine through the ages!"
Zhu Zaigui waved his hands and said, "This is not my credit, this is all Li Shizhen's credit. I am just going with the flow and helping him realize his dream. Moreover, with his skills and abilities, even without my help, after dozens of years, he can still compile the Compendium of Materia Medica and become the shining star in the history of our Ming Dynasty!"
Zhu Zaigui spoke the truth, but it sounded different to Gao Gong.
Gao Gong thought that this was Zhu Zaigui's selfless spirit of not competing for credit with his subordinates. Just imagine, how rare and how convincing a good lord would be to have a lord who does not compete for credit with his subordinates and can give them full trust.
Now Gao Gong felt that he had finally met his match, so at this moment Gao Gong looked at Zhu Zaigui with a bit of respect and doting in his eyes.
And this doting look is because Zhu Zaigui is only thirteen years old now, while Gao Gong is almost forty years old.
With this age difference, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say they are father and son in an ordinary family.
Moreover, Gao Gong had no children up to that point, so when he saw such a young student with such a promising future and a kind heart, how could he not take good care of him with all his heart?
Moreover, in the original historical time and space, even if Zhu Zaigui did not show his current ability, Gao Gong still treated Prince Yu as before. In addition, due to the fact that "the two dragons did not meet" in the Jiajing Dynasty, Zhu Zaigui did not receive any care and love from his father. Therefore, the relationship between the two can be said to be like that of father and son. If anyone dares to hurt Prince Yu, Gao Gong will definitely fight to the death.
So with these relationships and historical relationships superimposed on each other, Zhu Zaigui excitedly stepped down from the stage when he first met Gao Gong, personally greeted him and called himself "Little King".
It can be said that Zhu Zaigui was very excited even when he saw Gao Gong for the first time, because he knew that Gao Gong was the most selfless person to him in the entire Jiajing Dynasty.
(End of this chapter)