Chapter 21 Departure All three hundred and sixty-one members of the Zhang family perished…

Chapter 21: Departure. All 361 members of the Zhang family died...

As the carriage returned to the city, night was falling. They managed to enter Chang'an City just before the gates closed.

After successfully winning over Zhang Zheng and the others, Jiang Congyan felt a slight relief from her heavy heart. This way, even if she married into the northern deserts, having loyal soldiers by her side would provide more security and make things easier.

Her words today were not just to make them follow her, but also sincere. If they were unwilling to go north with her, she would not force them, nor would she blame them. In the distant and desolate lands beyond the Great Wall, she needed absolutely trustworthy and loyal people by her side.

After agreeing to head north together, Jiang Congyan promptly wrote a letter to her grandfather in Liangzhou, explaining the situation of Zhang Zheng and the others, and requesting that he take good care of their families. She also had the soldiers write letters home to send together, as they did not know when they would return to the Central Plains. Additionally, Jiang Congyan took some money from her private funds and distributed it to the soldiers to send to their families.

Following these actions, everyone felt deeply indebted to her, wishing they could repay her with their lives.

When they returned to the residence of the King of Chu, night had fully fallen. In the deep blue sky, a crescent moon shone faintly, surrounded by countless stars.

Chang'an is a city on the ground, and the Earth is a star in the sky.

The entire city of Chang'an lay silent in the boundless night, with only the surrounding city towers and some large mansions still dotted with candlelight. Jiang Congyan's room was lit with several candles, making it as bright as day.

After a long day of travel, Jiang Congyan quickly ate some porridge and flatbreads upon returning, but she did not rest immediately. Instead, she asked Ruo Lan to bring out a box of account books and casually sat cross-legged on the bed, flipping through them one by one.

She maintained impeccable etiquette in public, but in private, she was more relaxed. After all, kneeling in formal posture was too harsh.

In her youth, her health was poor, and her grandfather did not insist on strict etiquette, only hoping she would grow up happily and healthily. It was only later, when she needed to socialize, that she seriously learned some etiquette from Ruo Lan.

Ruo Lan's heart was akin to that of the Marquis of Liangzhou, as long as the young lady was happy, she was content. Thus, in private, she never restrained Jiang Congyan, making her even more carefree.

By candlelight, Jiang Congyan carefully examined the account books in her hand, which recorded her earnings from recent years.

Part of it was the original estate of the King of Chu's residence, which had been managed quite successfully under her care, such as the manors in the suburbs and several residences. Another part was other industries she had transformed, such as the Guiyuan Winery and today's Heqing Silver Tower, as well as a few medicinal shops and restaurants.

These industries were not only for profit but also served as her laboratory.

The disinfecting and sterilizing properties of alcohol were highly effective against battlefield wound infections. Due to the era's technological limitations, even with theoretical knowledge, mass production was challenging. If cost was not a concern, repeated distillation could yield high-concentration alcohol, but the cost was too high, requiring a lot of manpower and resources for minimal returns, which was not cost-effective and did not have much impact. She could only slowly explore and improve efficiency within limited conditions.

Despite this, when the Marquis of Liangzhou discovered that the alcohol she distilled was highly effective against wound infections and pus, he was overjoyed and praised her endlessly.

As for the silver tower, she originally intended to research iron smelting technology, but later realized she was being naive.

The current iron smelting technology was transitioning from the stir-frying method to the pouring method. The stir-frying method could produce high-quality steel, but the process was too complex and required highly skilled blacksmiths, making it difficult to mass-produce and meet the weapon needs of the lower-ranking soldiers. The pouring method could improve the quality of steel while greatly reducing the complexity of the process. If successful, it could significantly enhance social productivity.

However, although she had the silver tower, it was far from iron smelting. The engineering and equipment involved were beyond the capabilities of a small silver tower. As for conducting experiments in Liangzhou? Ha! Liangzhou had countless spies from the Emperor of Liang. If he found out that the Zhang family was researching iron smelting, he would likely send troops to Liangzhou the next day on charges of rebellion.

Thus, this matter was left hanging, and Jiang Congyan could only verify theoretical knowledge in small workshops and conduct small-scale experiments. When the time was ripe, perhaps it could be scaled up, but even then, she needed to be extremely cautious.

On the other hand, the development of medicine was not restricted, which satisfied her somewhat.

At this time, physicians were still of low status and often associated with witchcraft. Many common people could not distinguish between witch doctors and physicians when they fell ill, resorting to drinking talisman water and performing exorcism dances to drive away evil spirits and cure diseases.

Jiang Congyan's health was poor, and the Zhang family sought famous physicians for her, eventually inviting Zhang Yuan. Upon hearing his name, Jiang Congyan knew Zhang Yuan would not leave Liangzhou.

Historically, Zhang Yuan was a renowned physician, especially skilled in internal medicine. It was said he was a descendant of Zhang Zhongjing, the Medical Sage. Zhang Zhongjing pioneered the "Treatise on Cold Damage and Miscellaneous Diseases," in which the principle of syndrome differentiation and treatment is the fundamental principle of clinical Chinese medicine and the soul of Chinese medicine.

The Zhang family had specifically invited him to Liangzhou to treat Jiang Congyan after hearing of his reputation.

After diagnosing her condition and prescribing medicine, Zhang Yuan wanted to leave Liangzhou to continue his travels as a physician, but the Zhang family persuaded him to stay, offering gold and silver, rare medicines, and even claiming that their shared surname was a sign of fate, wearing him down.

But Zhang Yuan still insisted on leaving, until Jiang Congyan had a conversation with him.

She talked to him about modern medicine, human anatomy, and molecular biology, which were entirely new concepts. Human anatomy had precedents, but molecular-level theories were like fairy tales to him.

At first, Zhang Yuan could hardly believe it. Only after verifying each detail did he realize there was such a miraculous aspect to medicine. He was instantly amazed, feeling the world had turned upside down.

Of course, Jiang Congyan was just pulling his leg. Although she had been hospitalized for many years due to illness, during which she self-studied some medical knowledge and occasionally listened to others discuss medical conditions, she had never actually practiced medicine. She hadn't even performed animal trials, so how could she possess genuine expertise? However, this didn't stop her from using her half-baked theoretical knowledge to shock this ancient man from a thousand years ago.

Later, she had a magnifying glass crafted from clear crystal. Seeing it, Zhang Yuan was completely captivated, and thus Jiang Congyan managed to keep him in Liangzhou.

Jiang Congyan didn't keep him to treat her own illness but to test whether she could advance modern medicine.

Often, the birth of a new theory outweighs its later development. As long as the seed of the theory is planted, it will eventually grow into a towering tree with lush branches and leaves.

Several years later, the land became increasingly turbulent. Even though Liangzhou had strong soldiers and sturdy horses, it was ultimately just one state. After the fall of Liang, Liangzhou was left isolated and without support, like a lone boat floating on the vast sea, eventually submerged by the surging waves.

All 361 members of the Zhang family perished.

These ten short words were the tragic ending written in the history books for the Zhang family.

Jiang Congyan was deeply worried that she couldn't change history, and that Liangzhou would eventually be engulfed in war. She could only keep striving, leveraging her limited knowledge to add a brick or a tile to Liangzhou, so that when the overwhelming flood came, there would still be some remnants left, providing a place for people to take shelter.

Zhang Yuan stayed in Liangzhou, persistently testing medical theories and compiling some of them into specific guidelines that could be applied to the Liangzhou army. He had two sons: the elder, Zhang Fu, and the younger, Zhang Cheng, both of whom inherited his medical skills. Zhang Fu was particularly interested in the modern medicine Jiang Congyan spoke of. Two years ago, he followed her to the capital and settled in one of her medicinal shops. Jiang Congyan visited him frequently over the past one or two years to discuss medicine. This time, Jiang Congyan wanted to take him with her.

"Aunt, tomorrow you will send a message to Zhang Fu and ask if he is willing to go north with me. Just send the message; there's no need to force him," Jiang Congyan said.

Zhang Fu was quite different from Zhang Zheng and others; he was not a Liangzhou family general.

Then, Jiang Congyan turned to the final portion of her assets—those kept in the shadows.