Chapter 249: Let the death row prisoners do meritorious service in clinical experiments, the King of Jin accidentally rescued Nanxiong Marquis Zhao Yong
"Then we have to take measures in advance, at least to vaccinate all the soldiers participating in this war before they go out."

Looking at Lan Yu, whose eyes revealed a hint of panic, he was obviously shocked by the vicious scheme of the Northern Yuan Dynasty described by Zhu Gang.

The other party has worked hard to get this opportunity to achieve success, so naturally they don't want to fail due to any omissions.

When Zhu Gang returned to Kunning Palace, Zhu Yuanzhang and Concubine Guo Hui were sitting there drinking tea.

The two of them drank tea and chatted in a harmonious atmosphere.

Zhu Gang looked at this scene and couldn't help but feel a warm feeling in his heart.

He knew that although Zhu Yuanzhang was an emperor, he also had an ordinary person side and liked to enjoy the warmth and tranquility of his family.

At this time, Old Zhu saw Zhu Gang coming in, smiled and motioned his third son to sit down, and handed him a cup of hot tea.

Zhu Gang took the teacup and looked down, only to see hot steam coming out of the cup, rising like clouds.

The aroma of tea is so refreshing that it makes people feel relaxed and happy.

Looking at the tea soup again, it is bright jade yellow and as crystal clear as amber.

The tea leaves deposited at the bottom of the teacup are curled like fishhooks, with white hairs visible and tight tea leaves.

They are like sleeping elves, waiting to be awakened.

Zhu Gang took a sip of tea, feeling its unique taste.

The tea soup tastes sweet, mellow and has a long aftertaste.

He closed his eyes and savored the tranquility and beauty.

“Good tea!”

Zhu Gang has never been a pedantic person, nor does he have the habit of forcing himself to endure hardship.

It has been such a long time since we traveled back to the Hongwu period of the Ming Dynasty. As His Royal Highness the Prince of Jin of the Ming Dynasty, he can enjoy "wild" luxury goods everywhere.

Besides, these things don’t cost money, so there’s nothing wrong with enjoying them.

Being a king of the frontier is hard enough, and it is free to improve your quality of life. No one can find any fault with Zhu Gang.

"This is the tribute tea sent by the state below. If you like it, take some with you when you leave later."

There is a plot in "Kangxi's Private Visits" where a young eunuch used tree leaves as tea for the emperor in order to enrich himself and kept it a secret from Kangxi for 30 years.

However, if someone dared to do this before the Hongwu period, it would be tantamount to forcing Zhu Yuanzhang to use the "Nine Clans Separation Method".

However, according to Zhu Gang's understanding, the tribute tea that Zhu Yuanzhang mentioned should be Duyun Maojian produced in Qiannan, Guizhou.

According to historical records, Duyun Maojian was not among the five tribute teas of the Ming Dynasty.

After all, Guizhou became one of the thirteen provinces of the Ming Dynasty after the imperial court implemented the policy of converting natives into officials in the eleventh year of Yongle.

Could it be that Zhu Yuanzhang has already begun planning to incorporate the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau into the territory of the Ming Dynasty?

Although Zhu Gang's mind was full of thoughts, he never forgot the purpose of his return.

"Father, the tea matter is easy to deal with. I came back this time to ask for your order."

Looking at Zhu Gang with expectation in his eyes, Zhu Yuanzhang said in a somewhat unhappy tone: "I am stingy with myself and those civil and military officials, but I have never been stingy with you sons.

Just say what you want. We don't like or feel happy if you beat around the bush! "

Zhu Gang smiled and said, "I want some death row prisoners for clinical trials of vaccinating against smallpox.

By the way, give them a chance to ask for amnesty, so that they can make up for their mistakes."

Zhu Yuanzhang immediately became interested. He frowned and asked curiously, "Oh? Clinical trial? What does that mean?" Zhu Gang quickly explained, "The so-called clinical trial is to let some volunteers try new drugs or new treatments.

This is to see whether the drug or therapy is effective and safe.

If we want to promote vaccinia, we need to conduct a large number of clinical trials to ensure its safety and effectiveness."

Zhu Yuanzhang nodded and then asked: "How do you plan to select these volunteers?"

Zhu Gang replied: "I think we can select some of the prisoners who are about to be executed as experimental subjects.

These death row inmates are facing the death penalty anyway, and now they have the opportunity to participate in this great cause, not only to contribute to medical research, but also to give themselves a chance to redeem themselves.”

After listening to Zhu Gang's words, Zhu Yuanzhang nodded slightly to show his agreement.

He thought the idea was creative and practical.

Zhu Yuanzhang then immediately issued an edict to grant Zhu Gang a group of death row prisoners and specially pardoned their death sentences.

After receiving the imperial edict, Zhu Gang expressed his gratitude and then took the death row prisoners to the designated location to begin clinical trials of cowpox.

While counting the death row prisoners, Zhang Long, the commander of the Hidden Dragon Guard, unexpectedly discovered a special person.

"At that time, Nanxiong Hou served as a lieutenant general and followed my cousin Li Wenzhong in the Northern Expedition and successfully captured Yingchang.

In this battle, Nanxiong Hou's contribution even exceeded that of his cousin Li Wenzhong, who was the main general.

The Northern Yuan Dynasty suffered heavy losses in this battle and was forced to withdraw its main forces to the northern desert.

Our Ming army was able to push the defense line to the north of Yingchang. The Yuan generals Jiang Wenqing and Yang Sizu, due to the remaining momentum of the battle, were forced to lead more than 5 people to surrender to the Ming.

However, just after the victory, Nanxiong Hou made a serious mistake and secretly took in some local slaves.

When my father learned about this, he was very angry. Although Marquis Nanxiong made great contributions in the battle, my father still thinks that your behavior is unforgivable.

When rewarding meritorious officials, my father canceled his original idea of ​​conferring the title of Duke on Marquis Nanxiong.

In the end, you were only conferred the title of Nanxiong Marquis, with an annual salary of 1,500 dan, and a red-lettered iron certificate that exempted you from death and allowed you to inherit the throne."

Zhao Yong, who had been implicated in the "Hu Weiyong case" and had become a prisoner, couldn't help but burst into tears when he heard Zhu Gang recounting his merits and demerits in the past.

"In the first year of Hongwu, His Majesty ordered me to serve as the Crown Prince's Deputy Secretary. Now I have failed His Majesty's grace and deserve death!"

In fact, the reason why Zhu Gang treated Zhao Yong differently was mainly because the other party still played a crucial role between the 14th and 23rd year of Hongwu.

In the 14th year of Hongwu, Zhao Yong was ordered to quell the rebellion of bandits and barbarians in Fujian and Guangdong.

Within a year, all the bandit leaders were eliminated. Not only did he disband the bandit groups, but he also incorporated more than 10,000 water dwellers into the Ming navy.

During the Guangzhou uprising launched by the "pirates" Cao Zhen and Su Wenqing, together with the peasants Shan Zhidao, Li Ziwen and others, Zhao Yong, who was responsible for suppressing the rebellion, captured more than 10,000 bandits.

Thousands were killed and more than ten thousand households were persuaded to surrender.

After his triumphant return, he was generously rewarded by Zhu Yuanzhang.

That winter, Zhao Yong went to Shanxi to handle military affairs and pacify the border.

In the 20th year of Hongwu, he served as the Left Lieutenant General and followed Yingchuan Hou Fu Youde to attack Nahachu.

In the 23rd year of Hongwu, Zhao Yong followed Prince of Yan Zhu Di in the northern expedition as the left deputy general and subdued the Northern Yuan Taiwei Nairbuhua.

Although some historians in later generations questioned that this was a story fabricated by Zhu Di in order to increase his own achievements after usurping the throne, this does not affect the outstanding contribution of Zhao Yong, Marquis of Nanxiong, in the military struggle in the early Ming Dynasty.

(End of this chapter)