Chapter 63 - Zhang Yi is confident

 

A few hours later, the letter sent by Ding Qi was almost arriving in Jinhua. In the palace, Feng Long and Yu Lexuan are playing the zither together:

-Yu Lexuan... You will eventually master this instrument. - Feng Long smiles.
-Only because you are the definition of beauty. - Yu Lexuan kisses him.
 -Hahaha, I may look good, but Xia Chunyu is the winner... even though... I find you so much more attractive. - Feng Long kisses him back.
-Maybe because you know me so much... and there's still a vast area to explore inside you... I want to explore every square cun* of it. - Yu Lexuan smiles.

-Let's do it together... every day a bit more. 

The pigeon sent by Ding Qi lands over Feng Long's zither. He smiles:

-Look at that, Yu Lexuan!

-Seems to be a letter from Ding Qi... But he used to send them in the afternoon.

Feng Long carefully takes the letter from the pigeon. He reads it:

-"To your majesty Feng Long, your highness, Yu Lexuan, and Health minister, Zhang Yi, we are happy to tell you that our medicines have been approved for immediate deployment, both formulae seem to significantly reduce the impact of the disease. Our Health Minister, Zhang Xiaofan, validated the medicines in a group of infected people, and they have fully recovered in about three days. Concurrently, we are testing also a medicine sent by his Majesty Meng Zhang, from Jiangxi. Zhang Yi's medicine showed a strong side effect after being taken, but Zhang Xiaofan added a moderator to it, solving this problem. I forget to tell it in my last letter, I apologize. We wish you luck, and if you need our help, I'm ready. Your close friend, Ding Qi, emperor of Huangshan..."

-Zhang Yi... ZHANG YI!!! - Feng Long smiles.

-He saved us again... That's awesome! - Yu Lexuan smiles.

-Let's bring this news to everyone! 

Feng Long is euphoric. Yu Lexuan smiles and accompanies him. He walks to Zhang Yi's room, he was not supposed to be already visiting the patients. Yu Lexuan takes one of Feng Long's hands:

-What are you going to do? I don't know how to properly thank Zhang Yi for it.

-Me neither... I just want to say something.

They arrive at the room. Zhang Yi is sitting at a table, reading one of his books. As he saw Feng Long, he gets up and bows:

-Maje...

Zhang Yi couldn't even finish talking as Feng Long hugs him:

-Zhang Yi, you rock!!! You absolutely rock!!!

-Majesty, what happened? - Zhang Yi feels confused.

Feng Long smiles:

-Yu lexuan, please, give the letter to Zhang Yi. If I say it, he may not believe it.

Feng Long frees Zhang Yi from the hug. Yu Lexuan smiles and gives the letter to Zhang Yi, so he can read it. 

As he does so, his facial expression changes abruptly:

-I can't believe it... It worked... It worked!!! -Zhang Yi smiles.

-Yes, I told you before you'd achieve that... -Yu lexuan smiles.

-I was certain you would succeed on that, Zhang Yi... You are brilliant! - Feng Long moves closer to him.

Zhang Yi hugs both Yu Lexuan and Feng Long:

-I'm glad you believed in what I said... And also for giving me the motivation to do it...

They reciprocate the hug:

-I think Yu Lexuan has helped us more than I did... But this is your merit, Zhang Yi. - Feng Long smiles.

-Your majesty should never forget that you keep me inspired. - Yu Lexuan looks at Feng Long.

-Because you inspire me. - Feng Long blushes. 

Zhang Yi smiles:

-Well, so let's change our plans: start giving it to our population as soon as possible. We know the medicine works, we can start using it.

-I also think so, Zhang Yi. How can we do it? - Feng Long looks at him.

-This time will be much easier, we simply have to give it to people, no need for any kind of training. But, I think it would be good to define some age groups, so we can have better control of the side effects. 

-Yes, maybe we can start with the elderly. Then, the middle-aged, and finally, the young. 

-That's a good plan. 

-And how long to prepare the medicine? Is there anything to feel concerned about?

-Not really much. The medicine is made from readily available components and is easy to manufacture in large quantities. 

-This is nice, Zhang Yi! He faced many problems with the tests because some of the components were difficult to obtain for other people. - Yu Lexuan smiles.

-Yes, I considered this. We cannot rely on exotic components, we needed something relatively abundant, inexpensive. 

Zhong Kunyi was passing by and sees them. He enters the room, and bows to Feng Long:

-Majesty...

-Please, rise... We have good news! - Feng Long helps Zhong Kunyi to rise.

-Really?

-Yes, the medicine created by Zhang Yi, as well as the ones produced in Huangshan, which is similar to ours, worked! 

-Which means the epidemic is... over?

Zhang Yi thinks:

-Well, it will certainly keep us safe, but I don't think it will finish the epidemic forever. 

-Why wouldn't it finish the epidemic, Zhang Yi? - Feng Long asks.

-The pathogen may evolve and override the protection built by the medicine. This is a particular property of pathogens that we cannot avoid... Of course, it can take decades or even centuries until the pathogen can escape the protection, the process is overall very slow. 

-Ah, I'm alleviated!

-But, we face a problem called Hefei. Think about it: a city of seven million, most of the population is very poor and has no way to keep good hygiene. We don't know how much this disease has spread there, maybe 100 thousand cases or more. Every new infection means an opportunity for the pathogen to learn and adapt. 100 thousand opportunities is a lot, and probably the new variant we discovered here is a result of the uncontrolled infection happening there. 

-I understand your concern, Zhang Yi. So, should we be cautious? - Feng Long asks.

-Definitely. We must give this medicine to everyone, but also keep some protocols and restrictions. As our empire opens up, new variants of the pathogen will appear and test our medicine. I expect that some people may get infected and require a physician for care, but most people are likely to feel close to nothing.

-Well, if the number of people seeking health care will drop that much, why bother about protocols? - Zhong Kunyi asks.

-Exactly as I said earlier: the pathogen is in a continuous learning process, he's fighting for his survival and dominance. We must implement strategies to win such a war, which means keeping the pathogen at bay. It cannot survive outside a body for long. 

-I understood.

-So, let's start the campaign. Zhang Yi, how long until we produce enough medicine for our population? - Feng Long moves towards him.

-We already have a good amount. I can produce the remaining in about a day. 

-Fine, so let's get it done. I'll organize a speech in the square and address it. I want to personally give it to our people.

-As your majesty wishes. Give me another day to prepare a larger amount. - Zhang Yi smiles.

-No problem. Well, I'll take my leave then. Zhang Yi, again, I'm glad to have you on my side.

Feng Long bows to Zhang Yi, he quickly helps him to rise:

-Please, majesty, rise... The beauty of governance should prevail... And I will keep standing for your values.

Feng Long smiles, and turns around:

-I'll wait for you. 

-I'll be there for you. -Zhang Yi smiles.

Feng Long winks and moves away. Yu Lexuan accompanies him. Zhong Kunyi looks at Zhang Yi:

-Zhang Yi... How many people had been tested before you convinced Feng Long to give this medicine to everyone? 

-I think about 10, why?

-10? This is statistically a very small group... I'd test at least a hundred people. 

-I know it is not a very large sample, but the results were pretty consistent. And we will start it slowly, giving us time to work out any side effects, but after including the moderator, no one will have the side effects we have experienced. 

Zhang Yi was now very confident his medicine would make Zhejiang dodge the epidemic. But, deep inside, he was very insecure about how effective it could be against the new variants

*One cun is an ancient Chinese unit of measurement equal to about 33,3mm or 1 5/16" in.

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