The weather in the Ming Dynasty this year was somewhat abnormal. In May, there were heavy rains in Henan and Shanxi, causing the Yellow River to overflow, destroying many farmlands and killing many people.
After entering June, the rainwater moved southward, and there were continuous heavy rains in the Jianghuai area. Flooding occurred in the Huaihe River again, leading to the outbreak of local floods.
If some famines in the Henan and Shanxi areas are acceptable to the court, then the recurrence of floods in the Jianghuai area has to be worrying. The Jianghuai and south areas were the granaries for rice production in the Ming Dynasty and were the main source of finance and taxation. The disaster here
If it is not dealt with quickly, it will cause a series of worrying problems.
In view of this, the imperial court had to take emergency measures immediately. On the one hand, it actively provided disaster relief, and on the other hand, it actively prevented floods. This was an issue related to the livelihood of the people and the stability of the court, and no one dared to take it lightly.
The imperial court decided to send important ministers to lead disaster relief and flood prevention matters, which would be more conducive to the development of relief and flood prevention matters. However, the local officials involved were prevaricating and might even embezzle relief materials.
Li Dongyang, the chief assistant of the cabinet, submitted a memorial to request that he go there in person together with relevant officials from the Ministry of Household Affairs and the Ministry of Works. Naturally, this move was opposed by many people. Many officials, including Yang Tinghe, submitted a memorial to oppose Li Dongyang's visit.
The reason is very simple. Li Dongyang is the chief minister of the cabinet. He is responsible for the unified command of the imperial court, so it is not suitable to go there in person. Furthermore, Li Dongyang's cough and asthma worsened some time ago, and he stayed at home for more than ten days to recuperate. His body has not yet recovered. I learned that there were floods in the Jianghuai area.
The disaster was so serious that he had to go to the rescue line. When everyone saw him again, Li Dongyang was so thin that he was out of shape and his feet were sluggish when he walked. How could he still go to the relief front line under such circumstances?
The ministers objected, and Zhu Houzhao also summoned him to console him. However, Li Dongyang insisted on his opinion and gave another memorial: "Old minister is worried about the disaster and can't sleep at night. The southeast is the warehouse of grain, rice and money tax in the Ming Dynasty. Once it is lost, the foundation of the country will be shaken. Veteran minister
body
As the chief minister of the cabinet, I should go all out, so how can I retreat? The emperor cares for my veteran, and I am very grateful. However, if the veteran stays in the capital, he may die of worry. The veteran is determined to go and begs the emperor for permission. This is the best way to treat the veteran.
love and care.”
Zhu Houzhao had no choice. At this point, there was nothing much to say. Besides, Zhu Houzhao did realize that he needed a person with enough weight and ability to handle this matter. Li Dongyang went there, which can be reassuring.
So he was allowed to play.
On June 20, Li Dongyang led seven or eight relevant officials, carrying a large convoy of supplies, and escorted by soldiers and horses, left the city for disaster relief. Dozens of ministers went to see him off.
Li Dongyang said goodbye to everyone one by one, but did not meet Yang Tinghe or look at Yang Tinghe until he got on the carriage.
After Li Dongyang left, the court entered a brief period of peace, and then was detonated by an incident.
The summer heat in Beijing this year is still as unbearable as in previous years, but heavy rains fall every three days, which has alleviated the summer drought problem that often occurred in the Gyeonggi area in previous years.
The scorching heat of summer also sapped people's passion, and the court also entered a rare period of peace.
On June 18, Zhang Yanling married Xu Youtang into the house and took his fourth concubine. This was actually not a big deal. It was common for rich families to take concubines. But this prince made it known to everyone.
Some are eye-catching.
However, considering that this person is now very popular and always behaves in a high-profile manner, it is not surprising that he would do such a thing, nor is it a sensation.
However, something did happen in the capital that shocked the whole city, that is, Jishitang Medicine Hall officially launched a new medicine called: Cooling Oil.
The development of cooling oil actually started half a year ago. It originated from Zhang Yanling's inadvertent mention of his experience in the mountains and forests when he accompanied the emperor on patrol last year. In the mountains and forests in summer, the heat was unbearable and mosquitoes were rampant. Zhang Yanling mentioned it during a casual chat.
He invented a refreshing oil that was commonly used to repell mosquitoes in later generations. The result was heard by Tan Ruqing, who was very interested and quickly invested in research and development.
The raw materials are not difficult to obtain. Mint, peppermint oil, camphor, camphor oil, clove oil, cinnamon oil, and eucalyptus oil are all available medicines. The difficulty lies in finding the proportion of the mixture.
All Zhang Yanling could provide was the names of the raw materials and the properties of the finished products in his memory. Other than that, there was no other help.
Tan Ruqing and Xiaozhu Master and Servant spent more than five months and made countless configurations, and finally got the properties of the brown paste described by Zhang Yanling.
A few days after Zhang Yanling revolted and returned to Beijing, Tan Ruqing was finally free when she showed the cooling oil to Zhang Yanling and asked him to judge whether it was successful. Zhang Yanling was shocked. Tan Ruqing succeeded again.
Zhang Yanling immediately realized that this thing, like First Aid Powder, definitely has extremely high commercial value. If First Aid Powder is just a medicine and ordinary people’s homes may not always have it in stock, cooling oil is obviously something that ordinary people’s homes can have in reserve.
articles for daily use.
It's the hot summer season when mosquitoes and flies are rampant. The advent of cooling oil can definitely quickly open up the market and become a new hot spot.
So, starting from mid-June, the streets and alleys of the capital once again began to carry out overwhelming poster propaganda.
Large portraits of beauties, handsome young men, smiling silver-haired old men and women, and smiling chubby children filled the streets overnight. The figures in these portraits, without exception, all had their hands full.
Holding a box of cooling oil. In the blank space is written an eye-catching and catchy advertising slogan.
"It is cooling and relieves itching, and you feel refreshed as soon as you rub it!"
"Wipe it and you will feel more energetic, and you will have a worry-free summer!"
“Don’t worry about mosquito bites, cooling oil can help relieve your worries.”
"If you love her, give her a box of cooling oil!"
"..."
In addition to the many publicity points set up at major intersections, there are also mobile carriages with colorful flags with various functions that read "heat dissipation and detoxification, pain relief and itching, refreshing and refreshing, motion sickness due to heat, and headache due to wind heat." are displayed throughout the capital.
Parading, beating gongs and drums, it is very lively.
At the same time as the publicity was high, a three-day trial event started. Coupons were distributed at major streets, and you can enjoy a 50% discount when the coupons are officially released.
What is even more striking is that Jishitang announced a decision. Within half a month, for every box of cooling oil sold, one hundred yuan will be donated to purchase food, tents, raincoats, medicines and other materials to relieve the disaster areas and share the worries of the court. Jishitang points out
No benefit is gained.
This series of publicity actions immediately caused a sensation in Beijing. Not only the lively publicity scenes and various measures, but more importantly, people discovered that this slightly pungent scented ointment can actually relieve itching and repel mosquitoes.
, the effect is remarkable.
Just rub it on the wound bitten by a mosquito, and the itching will disappear immediately, and the mosquitoes will not dare to come near it for a period of time.
What's more important is that a box of cooling oil only costs 500 yuan. Compared with Jishitang's previous new drug first-aid powder, it is extremely cheap.
Starting from the third day, there was a long queue at the entrance of Jirentang. The first batch of 6,000 boxes of cooling oil was completely sold out on the same day. The medicine shop rushed to prepare it, but it could not keep up with the boom in sales. The entire Jishi
The entire hall had to temporarily allocate manpower, and dozens of pharmacists worked overtime to start making medicines.
It was not until six or seven days later that the hot sales gradually calmed down. The number of daily sales dropped to about 3,000 boxes. That was because the first round of explosive buying was approaching saturation. Each household only needed to buy
One box lasts a long time, so the buying momentum slows down.
But even so, within seven days, the sales volume of cooling oil reached an astonishing number of more than 50,000 boxes.
On the morning of July 6th, a donation ceremony was held in front of the Hubu Yamen. Jishitang Medicine Hall fulfilled its promise and donated 7,000 taels of silver from the sale of 70,000 boxes of cooling oil to the Hubu Yamen for the relief of the victims.
In addition, Tan Ruqing also used 3,000 taels of personal savings to donate a total of 10,000 taels of silver.
Amidst the noise of gongs and drums, Gu Zuo, the Minister of Household Affairs, personally took over the plaque with the donation amount written on it from Tan Ruqing, the chief manager of Jishitang. Tan Ruqing personally unveiled the red silk on the trays on the table.
, twenty trays filled with silver were presented to everyone.
Although ten thousand taels of silver is not a particularly huge amount, each plate has five hundred taels and twenty plates of white silver are placed in front of you. The visual impact is very shocking. This is a donation of real gold and silver, which is enough to stimulate the eyeballs.
Gu Zuo gave a passionate praise, praising Jishitang as a conscientious medicine shop that cares about the court and the people of the Ming Dynasty. He said that he would report to the court to praise Jishitang's good deeds.
Tan Ruqing also gave a speech, and her speech was very appropriate. She attributed the donation to the relief work to the good deeds of the people. She said that it was not how good the medicine in Jishitang was, but the kindness of the people was valuable, and she was motivated by doing good deeds.
He just bought medicine. Tan Ruqing also called on everyone in the capital to care about the flood-hit areas in the Yangtze and Huaihe Rivers and actively donate relief materials and money to share the worries of the court and save the victims from the floods and fires.
In the few days after the donation ceremony, either because they were inspired or because they just couldn't ignore it, the princes, ministers, and wealthy businessmen started donation and relief activities.
Within a few days, the Ministry of Household Affairs received nearly 300,000 taels of silver donated from all walks of life in the capital. At a time when relief funds were insufficient, these 300,000 taels of silver relieved an urgent need.
From beginning to end, Zhang Yanling did not show up. But these were all his plans. The cooling oil was successfully launched and sales were booming. This was of course the ultimate goal. But when the court was worried about floods, private participation in relief in this way was
Carrying out business operations through conduct is obviously an act of gaining both fame and fortune.
Although nearly half of the profits from the sales of the cooling oil were donated, it made the name of Jishitang famous, and it was able to contribute to relief, and it also won the recognition of the court. Killing three birds with one stone, why not.