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Kang Myeong-gill was trusted by King Jeongjo since he was the Crown Prince.
“When the first signs of rosacea appeared, I prescribed Indongda (忍冬茶) and half a pill of Daakshitha (大安神丸). On the seventh day, I prescribed half a tablet of Daeanshinhwan (大安神丸) and honeysuckle (金銀花) and black plum (烏梅). On the eighth day, the fever on Your Highness’s skin subsided and the spots disappeared, so I stopped taking the medication.”
All the herbs that Kang Myeong-gil mentioned were of a cold nature.
The Crown Prince first showed symptoms of measles on May 3, the 10th year of King Jeongjo’s reign.
“That’s right. But two days later, the crown prince’s condition suddenly worsened. What medicine did you give him then?”
“I prescribed Saengmaeksan (生脈散) for the first day, and for the next two days during the critical period, I used Gyeongokgo (瓊玉膏) and Buja (附子) to restore yang.”
Saengmaeksan was used when vital energy was damaged by heat, causing shortness of breath, weak pulse, thirst, or persistent sweating. Gyeongbokgung was a tonic that restored vital energy and strengthened qi and blood.
However, the rich refer to herbs that have a fever-inducing property, such as Cho-o (草烏) or Cheon-o (川烏), and are mainly used for stroke, neuralgia, and arthritis.
This herb is odorless, numbs the tip of the tongue, has a spicy taste, is hot in nature, and is toxic.
“Hmm, I applied the yang-replenishing method to restore yang energy in an emergency situation, but the rich especially have a fever. Whose prescription was it?”
“This is what the doctor Lee Haeng-neul insisted on, and it was prescribed as a last resort. I agree.”
“Are you saying that the Crown Prince stopped breathing after that prescription was given?”
“Yes, Your Highness the Crown Prince’s condition was so sudden that I couldn’t do anything.”
“Have you investigated the women in my office?”
“Yes, they are all friends who have been with me for a long time, so I didn’t find anything suspicious.”
“So you’re saying there was nothing special about the herbal medicine?”
“No poisons like sap frost were found in the herbal medicine.”
Emergency was a compound made by boiling arsenic, and was known to be used in poison, but the method of making the poison was kept secret.
“What on earth drove the Crown Prince to death?”
“It is difficult to make a conclusion because the Crown Prince’s body has recovered.”
If the Crown Prince had just died, it would have been possible to detect the symptoms in his body, but his body had completely recovered, making it difficult to detect any symptoms.
“Is it true that the Crown Prince’s breath stopped at that time?”
“Yes, I’m sure he stopped breathing and lost his pulse. I checked several times.”
“Well, the Crown Prince’s recovery was a gift from Heaven. However, the fact that the Crown Prince, who was regaining his health, suddenly took a turn for the worse and died means that a villain was clearly targeting him.”
Jeongjo was confident.
He too had to overcome several near-death experiences to reach his current position.
‘If you couldn’t do anything, then you must have used poison… … .’
Jeongjo opened his mouth, looking as if he was thinking about something for a moment.
“If you were to put poison in the Crown Prince’s medicine, what would you use it for?”
“Your Majesty, such an impious act is absolutely unthinkable.”
“So, didn’t you say ‘if’? Who said you were the culprit?”
Kang Myeong-gil, who had been hesitating for a moment, opened his mouth at Jeongjo’s words.
“If you say so, then it would be better to use the poison of the river pig, which is colorless, odorless, and tasteless…….”
Exposure to pufferfish poison can cause respiratory distress, abdominal pain, and low blood pressure, leading to death.
widely!
“That’s right! Didn’t you say that the Crown Prince wasn’t breathing properly before he died?”
Jeongjo said, striking the scriptures.
“Yes, you showed such symptoms.”
“Sangho! Find out if anyone has ever cooked a meal in the palace!”
Sangho was a eunuch who managed King Jeongjo’s bow and arrows and was a man with outstanding martial arts skills and keen eye.
Moreover, he was secretly in charge of King Jeongjo’s escort.
“yes.”
A small sound disappeared along with the answer.
“I will never let this happen to me.”
King Jeongjo, who had great love for Crown Prince Munhyo, was more indignant than when he tried to take his own life.
* * *
The day after King Jeongjo allowed him to enter Gyujanggak, Crown Prince Munhyo headed to Gyujanggak as soon as he had his first breakfast in the morning.
The first meal of the morning was a simple meal to satisfy hunger with porridge or rice cake soup as soon as one woke up in the morning.
“This is the Gyujanggak, the institution that leads this country. Hmm, even the smell of the books is different.”
Prince Munhyo expressed his feelings as he entered Gyujanggak.
The Crown Prince brought only the eunuch Seo who accompanied him and the guard Juk.
“I greet you, Your Majesty the Crown Prince.”
Jeong Yak-yong, who was standing guard at night, hurriedly lowered his head when he saw Crown Prince Munhyo.
‘Hey! Jeong Yak-yong didn’t enter government service until three years later… … Why is he here?’
“You haven’t left the office yet?”
Prince Munhyo, who recognized Jeong Yak-yong’s handsome appearance at a glance, smiled brightly and asked.
Jeong Yak-yong had originally passed the civil service examination in 1789 and entered the government service.
“Yes, I was just tidying up some work that needed to be done. But how did you manage to come here at such an early hour?”
Jeong Yak-yong was very curious about the crown prince’s visit.
I had heard that the Crown Prince had barely escaped the brink of death due to Hong Jin.
“From now on, I plan to pave the way for academic study here with you.”
“Yes, what do you mean?”
The Crown Prince had already been appointed as the Crown Prince’s assistants, Lee Bok-won, the Prime Minister, and Kim Ik, the Yeongdonnyeongbu.
“I have permission from Abama to enter this place. Please take good care of me.”
“Your Majesty, are you asking me a favor? That is a truly absurd request.”
When Crown Prince Munhyo bowed his head to greet him, Jeong Yak-yong bowed even more and looked embarrassed.
“The teachings of the ancient sages are important, but I have come to realize that if we fail to learn new knowledge and new cultures in this rapidly changing world, this country will not be able to move forward in the right direction.”
‘Huh! What’s going on? The young crown prince is discussing new knowledge…?’
“What do you mean by new learning and civilization?”
“In a word, it’s about utility and welfare. Isn’t everything we learn and practice ultimately meant to enrich the lives of the people?”
‘Wow! Even at such a young age, you think ahead of His Majesty… … .’
Jeong Yak-yong, who was speechless at the crown prince’s words, blinked in surprise.
What Prince Munhyo was talking about was something that not only Jeong Yak-yong, but also Park Ji-won, Hong Dae-yong, Park Je-ga, and Lee Deok-mu, who studied with him at Gyujanggak, had been insisting on until their mouths were worn out.
They argued that the most important thing to do was to achieve prosperity for the country and comfort for the people through the practice of welfare.
“Your Majesty, you are truly right. I feel it was truly disloyal of me not to have realized that you were so considerate of your people.”
Jeong Yak-yong bowed his head deeply again and spoke to Crown Prince Munhyo with sincerity.
And then an unknown hot energy rose up and shook his chest.
“That is not disloyalty. Please tell me more in the future.”
Prince Munhyo’s small hand grabbed Jeong Yak-yong’s hand and helped him up.
“Haha! This gentleman deserves to be shocked. But is it because of me that history has changed?”
I thought that the reason I was able to meet Jeong Yak-yong sooner than expected was because the resurrection of Crown Prince Munhyo, who was supposed to have died, had an impact on history.
‘He will become a great king, no less than His Majesty. No, he will certainly accomplish even greater things… … .’
“If you desire the knowledge of my humble beliefs, I will do my best to assist you.”
That was when.
“Dasan has been acting like a clown since morning… Your Majesty! My lord, Bak Je-ga, has committed a great act of disloyalty!”
Park Je-ga, who had just entered Gyujanggak, heard Jeong Yak-yong’s voice and said something that seemed to be a joke, but was startled when he saw Crown Prince Munhyo.
dump!
As soon as Park Je-ga saw Prince Munhyo, he fell prostrate and could not raise his head.
I never dreamed that Crown Prince Munhyo would be in Gyujanggak.
Sometimes, as a joke with Jeong Yak-yong, he would imitate the way Jeongjo and the Crown Prince spoke, which also played a part in making jokes.
“Hahaha! Are you back now?”
Prince Munhyo laughed out loud as if nothing had happened to Park Je-ga’s words.
“Your Majesty! Please kill me!”
The taxidermist didn’t know what to say.
“If we kill a great national leader for this reason, who will be able to handle the many tasks that lie ahead? Get up quickly.”
‘A big worker? Me?’
Park Je-ga was skeptical of Prince Munhyo’s words.
I had seen Prince Munhyo from afar a few times, but this was the first time I had spoken to him in person.
However, the first thing the crown prince said to Park Je-ga, who was of illegitimate birth, was that he was a great worker.
‘What does it mean to have a lot to do?’
“Cho-jeong (楚亭), what are you doing? Didn’t His Majesty speak?”
When the stuffed animal didn’t move, Jeong Yak-yong spoke as if giving it a hint.
Chojeong was a stuffed animal.
“Your Majesty, what should I do next?”
Park Je-ga, who usually couldn’t contain his curiosity, quietly got up and asked Prince Munhyo a question.
“Shouldn’t the prosecutor implement the measures advocated in the relief plan?”
By order of King Jeongjo, officials were ordered to submit measures to correct the current evils, and the petition that Park Je-ga suggested was to eliminate discrimination based on social status, encourage commerce and industry, make the country rich and improve the lives of the people.
To achieve this, he argued that accepting the advanced civilization of the Qing Dynasty was a top priority.
‘Huh! How could Your Majesty know the solution? Surely not! You understood it all and spoke of it… . . . ‘
The taxidermist’s eyes grew even rounder.
The rescue measures he advocated were so radical that they were difficult to accept at the time.
King Jeongjo also couldn’t readily accept Park Je-ga’s claims. Moreover, few people understood his meaning.
* * *
Prince Munhyo’s visit to Gyujanggak was, in a word, a great shock.
All the people who entered the palace one by one and entered Gyujanggak were surprised by the appearance of the crown prince, and were even more shocked by what he said.
“Well, I roughly conveyed my intentions to the people I was going to be with… but my brain wasn’t like this…?”
Even after entering Crown Prince Munhyo’s body, the contents of the books he had previously read were still in his head.
Moreover, the learning that Prince Munhyo had learned came to mind as it was.
“Is it because of the light I saw then? Or did something change when I came here?”
I couldn’t tell exactly what had happened, but it was clear that something had changed in my body.
“It seems like things have changed for the better. Anyway, I heard measles was a major problem… but it’s so bad that it’s causing public concern.”
Measles spread to Joseon in the 17th century, causing repeated epidemics every ten years, reaching a peak in 1730, killing 10,000 people.
Nine out of ten people who came into contact with someone with measles became infected, and the mortality rate among infected children was extremely high.
Because of this, Crown Prince Munhyo also became a victim of measles.
“At this time, they probably didn’t even know that measles was transmitted through a virus… and since people’s nutritional status was poor, their immunity would have been low, and it would have been difficult to overcome the disease.”
Joseon, unaware of the existence of the virus, confused it with measles and smallpox, which causes smallpox.
Not only was the exact cause of the disease unknown, but there was also no effective treatment.
“Vaccination would be best, but these days, it’s not the time to try that. Well, there was someone who knew the most about measles… who was it?”
Even in this day and age, there was someone who discovered the exact symptoms and treatment for measles.
“That’s right! Lee Heon-gill had a pretty good grasp of measles. But is he still alive?”
The knowledge I learned and the contents of the books I read during my time in the Department of Oriental History at Korea University came flooding back to my mind.
“Still, he’s the only person who’s accessed a cure for measles, so finding him is our top priority. And we’ll need to make masks and soap to prevent the spread of the disease.”
Measles was transmitted through the air and droplets.
If you experience any suspicious symptoms of measles, such as fever or rash, you must wear a mask and minimize contact with other people.
However, when a measles epidemic broke out in Joseon, the first thing they did was to hold a memorial service in Wangsimni, Hongjewon, and Seokwoo to appease the spirit of the plague and the people.
“Hello! Is anyone here?”
It wasn’t the time to be thinking about this and that.
It was a matter of life and death for many people, and Crown Prince Munhyo also suffered from an illness, so it had to be resolved quickly.
