HCB Chapter 172 Three cobblers stand up to Zhuge Liang
Chapter 172 Three cobblers stand up to Zhuge Liang
Regardless of past and present lives, wars are not just about the number of heads fought, but also about supplies. Even if we win, the various grain collections will probably overwhelm the common people.
What's more, according to Mr. Meng, those young princes were still focusing on seizing the throne at this time, and each of them was standing in a prefecture city.
There are also bandits causing trouble here, and they are all claiming to be the king. The situation is really chaotic and cannot be any more chaotic.
So after much thought, Shen Zhiqiu decided to take a gamble. If he won, he could take his family to the northern border and give them time to grow.
As long as he is given a few years, even if there is chaos in the north again, he will be able to find a way to protect himself and others.
As the saying goes: Three cobblers are better than one Zhuge Liang. Since one person can't make up his mind, let's discuss it together.
Shen Zhiqiu also specially asked someone to call Mr. Meng and his two sons, mainly because this person knew more about the matter.
It was this shout that shocked Mr. Meng.
He had previously thought that although this group of people were not well dressed, the leader was definitely a very capable person. Now they also understood this.
The whole family fled from famine, and they didn't even harm the little kids they were holding.
Just imagine how much effort it takes to make clear arrangements for nearly three hundred people.
It can be said that the Meng family had already thought highly of Shen Zhiqiu before, but after dinner that night, someone invited them to come over to discuss something.
Originally they really wanted to come and take a look, but in fact they thought that this group of people were planning to live in seclusion in the mountains.
At that time, Mr. Meng was discussing with his two sons whether they should go with them so that they could be looked after by more people.
When I got there, I realized that they had come up with a plan in such a short time, and that this plan might actually work.
You have to know that their family has been traveling with the group with horse carriages for nearly a month, and they still have no idea what to do. Most of the refugees who were traveling with them along the way chose to go up the mountain or hand over their young women.
The few scattered families left are simply unable to hand over their relatives, yet are unwilling to go up the mountain to become bandits.
After all, in Mr. Meng's view, some things are the bottom line. Even after death, the purity of the ancestors cannot be tarnished.
But this group of people just arrived today, and after just listening to them introduce the situation, they came up with such a good idea.
This was not what shocked him the most. What shocked him the most was the recipe for Pueraria wine.
You have to know that this is a secret method that has been passed down from generation to generation, and according to the leader, Pueraria wine has the effects of relieving muscles and reducing fever, dispelling wind and cold, promoting fluid production and quenching thirst, raising yang and stopping diarrhea, and unblocking blood circulation and activating collaterals.
Moreover, they did not hide anything from them and acted very generously, which showed that they did not take this method seriously.
Or maybe it could be said that this group of people are too loyal, and it is very rare for them to do this for their fellow tribesmen, not to mention that there are three other people with other surnames in this village.
In fact, Mr. Meng thought that the leader saw it clearly. He knew that there was gain only when there was sacrifice. Only by giving up this method could everyone be saved.
I guess many people can understand the truth, but not many can do it, so I really admire Shen Zhiqiu.
However, Shen Zhiqiu and Shen Youyou didn't really think so. They were willing to come up with this method because information spread very slowly in ancient times. Even if they planned to make Pueraria wine in the future, it would not have much impact.
Even if it does have an impact, they can still do other things. As long as people are alive, can they die from holding their urine?
Shen Zhiqiu thought more deeply. He didn't think these people would have a good ending. They might be killed in a fight with other bandits or soldiers from somewhere.
Even if he doesn't die, it's fine. I believe that even the mountain king won't spread this recipe widely.
What secret method did the ancients have? They kept it tightly covered.
Of course, it is also possible to kill those who offered the recipe to silence them.
But there was no need to worry for the time being, because until his own men had fully mastered the skills of brewing wine, they were all safe.
Shen Zhiqiu thought that he had plenty of ways to make them go out on business trips while he was brewing wine.
What's more, they didn't plan to stay for long. When the time came, they would trick that mountain king into celebrating the successful brewing of the first batch of wine and then tie them all up.
He could even be more ruthless and kill the mountain king and his confidants directly, and the recipe would still be his.
As for Mr. Meng, they also knew the recipe, but he only talked about the benefits of the recipe but did not tell the method of making it. Even if Mr. Meng had bad intentions, he had a way to deal with it.
So there is no need to hide anything. The reason why we asked Mr. Meng and others to join us is because they know the situation in the mountains better.
After listening to Shen Zhiqiu's idea, Master Shen said, "Little Sanzi has told you everything that needs to be said. Who goes up the mountain and who stays down the mountain? It's difficult for both groups.
Those on the mountain are in danger of losing their lives, but people from the mountain will also arrive in the coming days. After all, we have left behind quite a few along the way, and there may be more. When we see that we have fewer strong laborers, they may really attack us."
The old man is worthy of being the patriarch. His thinking is much clearer than others and his summary is quite accurate.
At the same time, Li Jingshu was worried and talked to her daughter: "Daughter, are you sure about this idea?"
Shen Youyou was also in a bad mood, mainly because she felt that her father would definitely go up the mountain.
But she dared not show anything, fearing that her emotions would be too obvious and affect her mother.
Shen Youyou shook her head and said, "I don't know either, but as long as we are careful and cautious, there should be no problem."
Doctor Guo also said, "I can make the drug, but one thing is, if we want to make so many people unconscious at the same time, the dosage must be very large. We can't make so much drug in a short period of time. If the dosage is not enough, the effect will be hard to say."
Through Grandpa Guo’s narration, Shen Youyou also learned that the ancient "knocking drug" was actually a kind of "anesthetic."
Grandpa Guo said: In a medical book, it is recorded that "Shenxianzui, Yabululu, Mandragora and other medicines and foods can make people light and able to see gods and ghosts."
The Compendium of Materia Medica written by Li Shizhen in the Tang Dynasty recorded that "Laughing and drinking wine makes people laugh, dancing and drinking wine makes people dance, and people can play with it. I have tried it and it is verified."
Shen Youyou thought, just like what was said in "Water Margin": After taking this medicine, there would be no reaction even if Sun Erniang cut you into meat buns, not to mention the surgery which was only performed under short anesthesia.
However, later generations had evil intentions and gradually used this medicine for robbery, robbery and murder.
Grandpa Guo also said that there are three ingredients in the knockout drug. One is the black grass, which contains aconitine, which can paralyze the human nervous system.
Another kind is Datura, which is recorded in Compendium of Materia Medica: "Pick this flower in August and pick the flower of Hemp Seed in July, dry it in the shade, grind it into powder in equal parts, mix it with hot wine and take three grams of it. After a while, you will feel dizzy as if drunk. It is advisable to take this first before cutting sores or moxibustion to reduce the pain."
Sima Guang's "Shushui Jiwen" records that "Wuxi barbarians rebelled, and Qi lured them out with gold, silk, official titles, and then held a banquet, gave them mantra wine, and made them drunk, and then killed them all."
All of this emphasizes the anesthetic effect of Datura.
Another kind is Yabululu. Among them, Wucao and Datura can be found in the mountains of many regions.
As for the Yabululu, also known as the "ghost ginseng", it is produced in the Western Regions, is highly poisonous, has a hypnotic and anesthetic effect, and is said to be able to bring the dead back to life.