Transmigrated into a female county magistrate during a famine, leading her country to prosperity

Chapter 515: Imperial Hospital Reorganized into the National Medical Bureau

Let’s do another calculation.

Two taels of silver can be used to see doctors 400 times at Tongan Medical Clinic!

Suppose a person lives to be a hundred years old, and starts seeing a doctor from the year he is born and continues to see the doctor until he is a hundred years old, then he can see the doctor four times a year.

In the eyes of ordinary people, isn't this a living medicine jar?

Imperial Physician Lu knows the market situation better than any other official. The common people at the bottom of society may not be able to go to a clinic once a year.

He also knew better that a consultation fee of five cents per consultation was almost impossible to survive among ordinary people, let alone in the capital - doctors also had to eat and run their shops.

Ji Benchang felt that he had guessed the emperor's thoughts again.

"Your Majesty, the fact that ordinary people have difficulty seeing a doctor and that medical treatment is expensive was mentioned by officials as early as when Taizu was in power. However, at that time, wars were frequent and the matter was delayed again and again, and it has not been resolved to this day. Now that the national situation is somewhat stable, I think it is necessary to bring this matter up for further discussion."

Not wanting to solve a problem and not being able to solve it are two different things.

Many people cannot afford medical treatment and can only endure, delay treatment, and wait to die.

But in the eyes of some people, those who died were just ordinary people - people who couldn't even afford to treat their illnesses and could only wait to die, their families must have no assets at all. What help could such people bring to the Great Zhou?

To die is to die.

Cockroaches are good at giving birth to baby cockroaches. If one dies, there is still a nest of baby cockroaches. It doesn’t matter.

But this is ultimately the idea of ​​a minority. Ji Benchang understands best that people are the foundation of a country. Regional development and grain and tax collection are all accumulated by millions of people.

Collecting less tax grain from one, ten, or a thousand households will not have any impact on the Great Zhou, but what about ten thousand or a hundred thousand households?

The tax grain from ten thousand households is enough to support a war of moderate size.

Therefore, this matter was mentioned by officials during the Taizu period. Regardless of the original intention, it was essentially for the good of the people.

The emperor closed his eyes and said, "Some officials mentioned it at that time, but since I ascended the throne, no one has mentioned it. Until now, it is still Shen Aiqing who has started it."

She didn't even mention it or report it, but just started it directly.

Doctor Lu looked down at the reflective gold bricks with mixed feelings.

The purpose of studying medicine is to save people, but since he was admitted to the Imperial Medical Bureau and stepped up from being a medical assistant to a supervisor in the hospital, the words "saving people" have become increasingly distant from him.

He was a medical officer kept by the royal family. He could not save the world, he could only do his best to take care of the emperor's body.

He also guessed what the emperor was trying to do, but for some reason, he felt a little timid for a moment - it was too far away, after so many years, and suddenly someone mentioned the word "saving the world", which made him dazed, a little flustered, and a little at a loss.

The officials were also confused about this matter and did not know how to answer.

Since the founding of the country by Taizu, this department has not been established, nor has an official been sent to specifically manage this matter. Now that the emperor suddenly mentioned it, countless doubts emerged in the minds of all officials.

Who will do it? The Imperial Medical Bureau? How will it be done? Will the imperial doctors consult with the common people?

It is really difficult for them to connect the words "imperial physician" and "common people".

"Lü Fugong." The emperor suddenly called out.

"The old minister is here."

"The Imperial Hospital has been officially reorganized into the National Medical Bureau. I order you to be the director of the National Medical Bureau and set up branches of the National Medical Bureau in various prefectures, and bring private clinics under the jurisdiction of the National Medical Bureau. The reform is not something that can be done overnight. As for how Tongan County did it... the details will be discussed later."

Even Doctor Lu was stunned when he heard this.

National Medical Bureau? Since it is a "bureau", the highest official rank is not the fifth rank of the director, but the fourth rank of the order.

Where did the National Medical Bureau come from in the past? Today, His Majesty, for the sake of Tongan County and the people, opened his mouth to reform the Imperial Hospital.

What should he do next? This was unprecedented, and Doctor Lu felt confused and bewildered.

There was joy - he had been locked in the "cage" of the Imperial Hospital for decades, and suddenly he could spread his wings and fly high to fulfill his dream of being a doctor and saving lives?

What he was more worried about was - all things are difficult at the beginning, so how should he start?

The officials were even more confused.

The Imperial Hospital said it would change its appearance, so it changed its appearance? But...

"Your Majesty! I have something to say!" Censor Cai Qicheng stepped forward with a serious expression. "The Imperial Hospital was originally established for you and the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty. How can it also take care of the people?"

The person who treated the emperor went to manage a local private clinic? It sounds a bit weird.

The emperor was not angry when he heard this, but just asked: "If the National Medical Bureau is not reformed, does Cai Qing have a better way to sort out the uneven quality of folk medical clinics?"

"This..." Censor Cai paused, "I haven't thought of a better way yet, but I think that your majesty's health is of utmost importance. Is it a bit too much for the imperial physician to go to the people to manage a clinic?"

Are they using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?

How could the emperor not know what he meant? He smiled and asked back, "I only said that the Imperial Hospital would be reorganized into the National Medical Bureau. When did I say that the imperial doctors in the palaces would be directly sent to the local areas? Director Lu, tell me, how many imperial doctors are there in the National Medical Bureau now, and how can they be assigned to the local areas?"

Doctor Lu was suddenly called upon and his mind started working quickly.

"Your Majesty, the Imperial Hospital... no, the National Medical Bureau, now has 18 imperial physicians, plus clerks and medical staff, a total of more than a hundred people."

There are only eighteen imperial doctors. This number of people is not enough to share.

Doctor Lu felt that he had found the key to the problem, which was also the first step in the reform of the National Medical Administration.

He suppressed his excitement, raised his head and said, "Your Majesty, I have a solution!"

"explain."

"I think that for the sake of the people, the Imperial Hospital does need to be reformed. But there are not many imperial doctors in the palace, and the health of your majesty and the queen is of paramount importance. We cannot leave the capital."

"But in the past, the Imperial Hospital had a three-year 'examination and admission' rule. Therefore, I think that the examination and admission can be made once a year. After the children of doctors and civilian doctors pass the examination, they will be assigned by the National Medical Bureau."

In previous years, the "examination for admission" of the Imperial Medical Service was to select medical practitioners for the Imperial Medical Service. However, after the Imperial Medical Service was changed to the National Medical Bureau, there were more positions and naturally more people were needed.

The emperor had this in mind, and said with a smile: "The selection of imperial physicians is rigorous, and many people failed in previous years. The local branch offices... are not a bad place to go. What do you think?"

If we look at it this way, the officials really can't find any reason to complain.

Keeping useful people in the court and assigning them to local areas to serve the people wholeheartedly can also show the abilities of those children of medical families. It is a way of training, which is good no matter how you look at it.

Moreover, Doctor Lu thought more, but did not dare to say it out loud.

As a doctor, he naturally understands doctors better. Not everyone with medical skills would try their best to come to the Imperial Hospital.

Many doctors do not want to be trapped in this world, but walk around the world to save people. These people often care more about the people. If we can give them this opportunity...

I'm afraid that the medical science of the Great Zhou Dynasty will flourish.