Chinese Medicine: Starting with Daily Intelligence-Chapter 121: The Foremost Yang-Supporting Formula in History
He scraped some powder from the Rosewood Sculpture.
He mixed it with five other medicinal herbs, following the method for making Calming Pills provided by the intelligence.
This time,
in addition to making a one-month supply for Ma Rui,
he also planned to make some extra to keep in reserve.
He was busy until after eleven o’clock at night.
With the help of the machine, he made three thousand Calming Pills.
Ma Rui took thirty pills a day, which meant he would use nine hundred in a month.
The other herbs weren’t expensive,
but the rosewood alone,
of which he had used a small piece,
was worth a great deal.
All things considered,
Ma Jinhua hadn’t lost much by paying with twenty acres of premium-grade Aconite.
[Time remaining until next intelligence refresh: 23 minutes]
Li Xu simply waited for half an hour.
He saw the new intelligence report.
[Today’s Intelligence: True Martial Soup...]
Li Xu was no stranger to True Martial Soup.
A classic mnemonic verse described it: *True Martial Soup strengthens kidney Yang, with Poria Cocos, Atractylodes, peony, Aconite, and ginger. For Shaoyin abdominal pain with water retention, it calms palpitations, dizziness, and twitching, ensuring health and peace.*
It first appeared in Zhang Zhongjing’s *Treatise on Cold Pathogenic and Warm Pathogenic Diseases* and was hailed as the foremost prescription for restoring Yang for all time, specializing in treating syndromes of Yang Qi deficiency and internal retention of cold-dampness.
True Martial Soup uses Aconite as its "monarch" herb. Aconite is acrid, sweet, and intensely hot—the finest herb for restoring Yang from a state of collapse. Its main functions are to warm the kidneys, support Yang, transform Qi, and promote diuresis.
It uses Poria Cocos and Atractylodes—which are sweet, warm, and dry dampness—to strengthen the spleen and stomach, promote diuresis, and percolate dampness, allowing water and dampness to be expelled through urination.
Ginger, being acrid, warm, and dispersing, serves a dual purpose: first, it warms the spleen and stomach, assisting the Aconite in warming Yang, transforming Qi, and circulating water; second, it helps the Atractylodes and Poria Cocos strengthen the spleen and resolve dampness.
White peony is used on one hand to counteract the hot, dry nature of the ginger and Aconite, and on the other hand, to alleviate abdominal pain.
When these five herbs are combined, they can warm the Yang, promote urination, clear heat, and resolve dampness.
Beyond that, the intelligence report offered no other clues.
Li Xu guessed it was probably related to a patient he would see today.
"Time for bed."
...
The next morning,
when the clinic opened, the young man from Anchi Village came by. He was a sharp one and had bought breakfast for Li Xu.
"Thanks."
Li Xu solemnly handed him the bottle of medicine. "You must give this to Village Chief Ma personally. Don’t let it pass through anyone else’s hands, understand?"
The young man nodded vigorously. "Don’t worry, Dr. Li. I’ll keep it on me at all times, even when I sleep!"
After seeing him off,
Li Xu sorted through the Aconite he had received.
This Aconite was all premium grade and hadn’t been soaked in Daban Liquid.
He took the old Aconite out of the medicine cabinet and examined it closely.
Sure enough, he found some barely visible white crystals on it—residue from Daban Liquid.
He disposed of it all.
Then he put the new Aconite in its place.
There was also the wild Aconite he had dug up yesterday.
He needed to process that today as well.
"Boss, you’re finally here!"
Song Sisi walked in carrying steamed buns, one already stuffed in her mouth. Her cheeks were puffed out as she mumbled, "If you didn’t show up soon, I would’ve thought you’d skipped town."
"I haven’t harmed any patients, so why would I skip town? Finish eating, then tidy up, sweep the floor, and disinfect."
"Mmmph... okay."
...
In the morning,
Aunt Li walked in with a haggard-looking middle-aged man.
The man’s legs trembled slightly as he walked, and he periodically pressed a hand to his lower abdomen, his brow furrowed.
"Xiao Li, this is the relative I told you about, Old Chen," Aunt Li introduced. "This problem has been bothering him for years. Please give him a thorough look."
Chen Dacheng forced a smile and slowly sat down in the chair across from Li Xu, his movements cautious as if he were afraid of aggravating a painful area.
Li Xu observed the patient carefully: his complexion was pale with a dark undertone, his eyelids were noticeably puffy, his knuckles were enlarged, and he had difficulty flexing and extending the joints of his fingers.
Most striking were his swollen lower legs, where the edge of his socks had pressed a deep indentation into his skin.
"Mr. Chen, please tell me about your symptoms in detail," Li Xu said, taking out a Pulse Pillow.
"Sigh, it’s a long story..." Chen Dacheng sighed, his voice hoarse. "It started four years ago. Urination became difficult. The stream was as thin as a thread, and I’d have to stand there for several minutes each time I went to the bathroom. It’s gotten worse this past year. Sometimes my lower abdomen hurts from holding it, but I still can’t urinate..."
After listening to his account, Li Xu began to take his pulse. He found it to be deep, fine, and weak, like a thin thread suspended in a deep well.
Next, he examined his tongue: the tongue body was swollen and large with clear teeth marks on the edges, its substance was pale, and the coating was white and slippery.
"Have you seen a traditional Chinese medicine doctor before?" Li Xu asked.
"I’ve seen several," Chen Dacheng said with a bitter smile. "At first, diuretics like Poria Cocos and Dianthus worked a little, but they gradually became less and less effective. Half a year ago, a doctor prescribed True Martial Soup. I drank it for half a month and felt a little better, but the problem returned as soon as I stopped the medication."
Li Xu’s brow furrowed slightly.
’Judging from the symptoms, this is a classic case of kidney Yang deficiency with internal retention of water and dampness.’
’True Martial Soup warms the Yang and promotes urination. It should be the correct remedy for his condition. Why wasn’t it effective?’
"Can I see your last prescription?" Li Xu asked.
Chen Dacheng pulled a crumpled prescription slip from his pocket.
Li Xu took it and glanced at it. ’Wow, this is from the Guanghe District Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine.’
He looked at it carefully: Aconite, Poria Cocos, Atractylodes, white peony, ginger.
It was indeed the standard formula for True Martial Soup.
Physician: Guo Yu.
’Combined with today’s intelligence, the formula itself is correct.’
’The patient’s condition is suitable for True Martial Soup.’
’Then it must be a problem with the herbs.’
Li Xu put down the prescription slip and said seriously, "Mr. Chen, I still recommend True Martial Soup."
"True Martial Soup again?" Chen Dacheng’s expression immediately turned to one of disappointment. "Doctor, I’ve tried this formula. It didn’t really do much. Can’t you prescribe something else?"
Seeing this, Aunt Li quickly tried to persuade him, "Old Chen, Xiao Li is an excellent doctor. You can’t go wrong listening to him."
Li Xu calmly explained, "Even with the same True Martial Soup, the quality of the herbs can make a world of difference in its effectiveness. I suspect the Aconite you used before may have been lacking in potency."
"True Martial Soup can warm the Yang and promote urination.
Yang Qi is like the sun; it’s responsible for steaming and vaporizing water and dampness, which is how we get sweat and urine.
When Yang Qi is insufficient, you produce less sweat, and your body’s water metabolism is affected.
This can lead to conditions like spontaneous sweating, edema, urinary retention, or frequent urination. Your illness falls into this category, and your symptoms are very typical. There’s absolutely no problem with using True Martial Soup."
"The herbs I have here are all high-quality, especially the Aconite. It’s authentic Aconite from Jiangyou. You’ll see results after just one dose."
Li Xu’s confident attitude swayed Chen Dacheng. "Alright, I’ll give it a try. But don’t give me too much—just two doses for now."
"Fine. You can come back again after that."
After writing the prescription, Li Xu had Song Sisi grab the herbs and gave Chen Dacheng careful instructions: "You must decoct the Aconite first for one hour to remove its toxicity, then add the other herbs and decoct for another half hour. Take one dose per day, split between morning and evening."
"Xiao Li, thank you for your trouble. We’ll be going now."
Aunt Li led Chen Dacheng out.
"Take care, Aunt Li."
After seeing the two of them off, Li Xu’s phone rang.
It was Gu Xiaoya.
"Hello, Dr. Gu."
"Hello there," Gu Xiaoya’s voice was cheerful.
"Dr. Gu, has something good happened?"
"Something great! He was fired from the hospital, and his medical license was revoked—he’s barred from practicing for five years. That woman is also under investigation. I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."
"Congratulations. Are you free today? I’d like to take you out to dinner to celebrate and to thank you for helping me with the eye drops."
"I’m free."
