Tianliangyuan

Chapter 203: Destroying a Country with Medicinal Herbs?

Making anti-inflammatory powder is actually not difficult; the main issue is the ratio of medicinal ingredients.

In addition, after much deliberation, Xu Zhaozhao still sent someone to find Princess Leyang.

The reason is simple: Princess Qi's family has been in the medicinal herb business for decades and has many doctors among them.

Xu Zhaozhao knew that she couldn't monopolize the world's wealth and let herself earn all the money, so she approached Princess Leyang, and that's how their cooperation began.

Seeing that Xu Zhaozhao was there to help, Princess Qi simply gave the two pharmacies to Princess Leyang and let her try to manage them.

Although it was said that Princess Leyang was in charge, the managers, accountants, and so on were actually arranged in advance, and they were all trusted confidantes of Princess Qi for many years, just in case something went wrong again.

Anti-inflammatory pills can be made, but the problem is how to guarantee their shelf life?

Ancient pill-making processes were relatively simple, lacking the sterilization and preservation measures of modern pharmaceutical technology. Therefore, pills had a relatively short shelf life.

Some handmade Chinese medicine pills, such as those packaged in wax paper or wax pills, have a shelf life of only one or two months. If they are transported to other places for sale, their medicinal properties will probably be lost before they even reach the destination, or they may even have completely deteriorated.

Prepared Chinese medicine pills that have undergone strict sterilization and disinfection processes can have a shelf life of one or two years, or even up to five years if properly stored.

This is what gives Xu Zhaozhao a huge headache.

How can we solve this problem?

With current technology, the pills are generally sealed and stored in a dry, cool place, avoiding direct sunlight and high temperatures.

Even so, the shelf life is not very long.

This is why in many places, even though the medicine is available, it cannot cure patients.

It's precisely because there are no doctors, or rather, the doctors' medical skills are mediocre, that having medicine but no prescription is useless.

If this problem can be solved, it will be a great blessing for the population of Daxing.

Xu Zhaozhao and several doctors tried many methods, but in the end they could only make anti-inflammatory powder first. This kind of powdered medicine has a relatively long shelf life, but the premise is that it must be sealed and stored. Once the medicine bottle is opened, its efficacy will probably dissipate within ten days.

Even so, it was already quite shocking.

Princess Leyang gradually got the hang of it, realizing how hard it was to earn money and how precious medicinal herbs were to ordinary people.

For ordinary people, if they can barely make ends meet, the illness of a family member is a tremendous disaster.

Because medical care is too expensive.

In addition to the doctor's consultation fee, there are also expensive medicinal materials.

The price of finished drugs is even higher.

"Zhaozhao, do you think there's any way to make medical care affordable for ordinary people?"

With just one sentence, one can see Princess Leyang's kindness and naivety.

Xu Zhaozhao didn't want to discourage her: "That depends on our Emperor."

Xu Zhaozhao didn't say much else, and Princess Leyang could understand.

Ultimately, it is the words and actions of those in power that determine the life and death of the toiling common people below.

Princess Leyang had been in contact with pharmacies for quite some time, but what she knew was still only superficial.

“Zhao Zhao, this anti-inflammatory powder can be mass-produced and sold to every corner of Daxing, but it is expensive and ordinary people cannot afford it. So, can our medicine only be sold to the wealthy? In the end, it doesn’t save the common people.”

“Princess, you are from a wealthy family, but you are still a citizen of Daxing and are also protected by His Majesty. As for the high price you mentioned, we cannot solve this problem for the time being. The cost of the medicinal materials is what it is, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot lower it.”

Medicinal herbs are precious because they are not like cabbages that can be planted anywhere and grow.

Moreover, even for those families who cultivate medicinal herbs, the harvest is not immediate.

Some medicinal herbs may take several years to grow before they can be harvested, so even those grown artificially are still very expensive.

Everyone's just trying to make a living; who doesn't want to live a good life?

“I heard that the Nanzhao Kingdom has sent envoys to pay tribute, and they brought a large amount of medicinal herbs.”

Princess Leyang's eyes lit up: "Medicinal herbs produced in Nanzhao?"

"Yes, not only medicinal herbs, but also other good things. If we can purchase large quantities of medicinal herbs at a price 10% higher than the local price in Nanzhao, we can definitely reduce the cost of the herbs. At that time, the medicine we make can naturally be sold at a lower price."

"Even if the price is low, it's still above the price of rice and grain."

Xu Zhaozhao said helplessly, "My princess! Those are medicinal herbs. They have specific requirements for their growing environment and climate. It is precisely because they are scarce that they are so precious. We cannot reduce the price of medicinal herbs to that of rice and grains."

Princess Leyang realized that she had been too naive.

"That's a good idea. But how many medicinal herbs can we two families buy?"

Xu Zhaozhao's eyes darkened: "Then let's join forces with a few more companies, but this must be done privately and not made public. Otherwise, the people of Nanzhao will find out and deliberately raise the price. Moreover, we need to continuously purchase medicinal herbs from Nanzhao, all kinds of medicinal herbs. It would be great if everyone in Nanzhao started growing medicinal herbs to exchange for money!"

Princess Leyang's eyes widened, and it took her a while to realize what she meant: "You want to starve the Nanzhao Kingdom?"

Xu Zhaozhao chuckled: "How could it be so easy? The method I'm talking about has already been used by our predecessors. Besides medicinal herbs, Nanzhao Kingdom is also famous for its tea. These are quite expensive in Daxing. We might as well buy more."

Princess Leyang felt that Xu Zhaozhao seemed to be implying something, but she couldn't figure it out. When she pressed her for more information, Xu Zhaozhao refused to say anything.

Princess Leyang returned home, but because she had doubts in her mind, she felt uncomfortable no matter how she sat or lay down, so she simply went to find her mother.

King Qi happened to be speaking with his wife, and upon seeing his beloved daughter arrive, he was naturally overjoyed.

Princess Leyang, with a pained expression, voiced her doubts and looked expectantly at her father and mother, hoping they could answer her questions.

To destroy a country with medicinal herbs?

King Qi's eyes lit up, and remembering Xu Zhaozhao's mention that someone had done it before, he immediately thought of the sika deer!

Guan Zhong, a general during the Spring and Autumn Period, used this strategy to defeat the State of Chu, making it famous for its bloodless victory.

The only difference is that Guan Zhong ordered people to buy up large quantities of sika deer from the State of Chu, while Xu Zhaozhao wanted to buy up large quantities of medicinal herbs and tea.

If this continues, the possibility of Nanzhao being destroyed is no joke!

"Leyang, you and your daughter must keep this matter a secret and not mention it to anyone else, not even the Crown Prince. I will go to the palace immediately, and you and your daughter should not discuss this matter any further. There is no need to wait for me."