Sima Jin asked Wang Lu and Bai Qi for instructions, called Meng Ao, and divided the work with him: he was responsible for the command of the Shicheng front line, and he was responsible for the command of the Danshui front line. Every night they would meet in Baiqi's big tent on the hillside and exchange information.
Bai Qi and others' report on the outbreak of the epidemic had been sent to Yuancheng on Pegasus two days ago. The King of Qin wrote back: "I have ordered Hedong to look for medicine, and I will arrive in Changping soon."
But the doctor did not come. On the one hand, the epidemic situation was serious everywhere, and on the other hand, the doctors were also worried that entering the military camp would cause unclear explanations. However, one of Duan's doctors provided a folk remedy, decoction of Imperata cognac roots may be useful.
King Qin asked Hedong to organize people to dig Imperata roots in the wilderness, and at the same time passed the news to Bai Qi and others, asking them to also look for it. Sima Jin immediately ordered the soldiers training in Gaodu to immediately search for the roots of Imperata cognac.
Everyone knows thatch, which is used to build houses and keep out rain. Now we need to dig out its roots to treat diseases. Many people find it useful. This is much better than going to the front line to fight. Everyone dug up all the grass roots nearby in one day. In the evening, everyone washed them with water, filled them in large jars, and carried them to the front line.
Gaodu is not far from the front line and can be reached in one night. The Nanjun army approached the water tower and tested the medicine first. Smoke also rose from the Qin army camp, which had been without fireworks for a long time. Many soldiers drank it while it was hot. They all felt hot and sweaty all over their bodies. Their fever seemed to have subsided and their spirits became stronger. Those who were seriously ill drank it, but they were between useful and useless.
Bai Qi and Wang Lu both drank the medicine. Wang Hao felt much better, but Bai Qi was still drowsy. Wang Hao feels that the medicine is still useful, but those who are seriously ill may need to take more. While he asked Gaodu to find more grass roots to send, he also asked Hedong to search for grass roots.
Pi Wan had found a lot of them in the mountains near Anyi, and personally escorted the team to Changping. On the way to Duanshi, he found more thatch. He asked nearby residents to dig up thatch roots and bought them when he returned, paying a pound a pound.
From Anyi to Changping, the first place we arrived at was the camp of King Taniguchi. But Wang Hao had already gone to the Nanjun Army on the edge of Danshui River. The five officials in charge of military affairs here naturally knew Pi Wan and took him to the camp. Pi Wan asked him to arrange for people to cook the medicine quickly.
After resting for a night, Pi Wan took the transportation team and set off to purchase Mao Gen. Pi Wan was prepared in advance. There were a lot of thatch roots growing along the mountainous terrain. He had people arrange to dig them out in advance, and he only had to go and buy them. Therefore, medicinal materials are continuously delivered. Taniguchi's medicinal materials are guaranteed.
The worst thing is that in Shicheng, you have to do everything yourself, and you have to be careful of Zhao Jun's troubles; and there is a lack of cooking equipment! Meng Ao urgently asked Wang Hao for help, and Wang Hao asked Pi Wan to transport medicinal materials and water bottles to Shicheng. But after only transporting it once, Meng Ao realized that this method was not enough to solve the urgent problem. Firstly, the journey was too long, and secondly, medicines were urgently needed at the mouth of the valley. So after accepting the water jar, Meng Ao could only think of another way.
There is a large amount of cogon grass in the back mountain, but there is a lack of manpower to mine it. With no other choice, Meng Ao could only mobilize the lightly wounded and sick to dig out, and promised them priority in giving them medicine when they returned. Due to their lack of physical fitness, Meng Ao devised a two-person digging method, digging back the roots and grass together, which can be used as fuel. Each person digs a dozen trees and lets them go back.
Using this method, tens of thousands of plants were dug up for the first time, and they were boiled and made into soup for people to drink. In the afternoon, more people set out to dig for medicine, and more people used the medicine after returning.
There was smoke everywhere in the camps of the Qin army, and the air was filled with a faint fragrance of medicine. Zhao Jun observed it and reported it to Zhao Kuo. Zhao Kuo supported the sick body and went to watch. You can smell the medicinal fragrance in the air without paying special attention. A retainer said: "Qin people raised fire to decoct medicine, not to cook food. They also used medicine to drive away epidemics."
Zhao Kuo was anxious and asked, "What day is it?"
The retainer said: "It will be dark in September!"
Zhao Kuo said: "I am exhausted! There is nothing I can do!"
The retainer said: "The Qin people are suffering from an epidemic, and Zhao Yuan is about to arrive. Isn't it amazing!"
Zhao Kuo had already judged from the movements of the Qin army that Zhao Yuan was unlikely to come. If King Zhao had sent troops in October as agreed, Handan would have been in turmoil now, and the gathering of tens of thousands of troops was no joke. When the Qin army receives news that Zhao Jun is coming for reinforcements, it will definitely adjust its deployment urgently. However, there was no movement from the Qin army, indicating that Zhao did not even recruit new troops.
But Zhao Kuo did not express his judgment and said: "The Qin army is facing an epidemic, and this is my opportunity. If we take advantage of this opportunity to attack it, we will defeat it."
The retainer said: "No, the soldiers are all sick, how can we fight?"
Zhao Kuo said: "Both I and I are sick, but we are trying to encourage Yu Yonger!"
The retainer said: "I have been on a hunger strike for several days and it is difficult to walk. I am incapable of fighting!"
Zhao Kuo said: "If he is not sick, he will naturally not come out. Since he is sick, I only eat less, so I have to fight."
The retainer said: "All the generals are sick, who can rule them all?"
Zhao Kuo said: "I am leading him, so why bother?"
The retainer said: "No, the general is responsible for an army. How can he be as brave as an ordinary man?"
Zhao Kuo said: "If God doesn't dare, there will be disaster later! You go to all the armies, and those who can carry halberds will fight!"
Seeing that Zhao Kuo could not be persuaded, the retainers had no choice but to ask: "But where does it come from?"
Zhao Kuo pointed to the small hill and said, "You can get out from there."
The retainer said: "I see that the Qin army in the back mountain is small and weak. If we charge them, they will be defeated."
Zhao Kuo said: "From the back mountain, we went to Shangdang. Now Shangdang is uninhabited for a hundred miles, and there is no land for plunder. We are fighting for our lives. If they are followed by a small army, I will disperse. We should go straight to the backbone and reach the high capital." The city of Gaodu is thin but the people and the food and grass are extensive. If you take it and eat it, you can revive it. Then you can either support Changping or return to Handan. It's up to me."
The retainers had no choice but to disperse to various armies and recruit soldiers who still had some physical strength.
In the camps close to the Qin army, there are still some capable soldiers who are on guard against the Qin army's attack, but they are also very weak. The retainers first visited the sick generals and told them Zhao Kuo's decision: At present, the Qin army is also caught in the epidemic and a large number of people are sick; as long as we concentrate all our forces, we will be able to deal a cruel blow to the Qin army. A hard blow to turn the situation around. Most of the thousands of people will have given up hope in the situation and tell the visiting retainers, "But if it is useful, everyone will obey!" The retainers could only go down to the camp in person and coax out some soldiers who could still fight.
There were only five retainers who were not infected. After running for a day, they managed to bring out thousands of people and concentrated them again in the southern camp. The camp in the south was also in vain, and they watched indifferently as these soldiers camped in the open space around them.
Zhao Kuo recruited soldiers in the camps around the main tent. He has more appeal than the retainers, and has recruited about 2,000 people.
Most of the 500 people in Zhao Kuo's camp have fallen ill, and only a hundred can barely stay on duty. Zhao Kuo said to them: "I will break the siege myself, but all those who can bear halberds will stand up!" Almost all the soldiers in the battalion stood up and lined up.
At night, the soldiers who were mobilized (or volunteered) to break out were gathered in front of the southern camp. Zhao Kuo ordered that the entire army's leather armor and leather benevolence be collected. These things are precious items, only owned by a few wealthy children. After collecting them all night, they could only get more than a thousand.
Zhao Kuo ordered them to be cut into small pieces and simmered in a cauldron.
The fire from the stars illuminated the sky, the water in the cauldron boiled, and a faint aroma of meat floated out. The soldiers of the Zhao army knew that they could have one last meal before dying in battle.
Those leather armors had been worn for a long time, and almost all of them were infested with lice, but the hungry soldiers couldn't care less about them. Their eyes were all shining, and they looked longingly at the flickering firelight and listened. The gurgling sound of boiling water, smelling the aroma wafting out, make me forget both things!
Zhao Kuo stood on the mountain, letting the cool breeze blow, so that he could wake up and become more awake.
After simmering for an hour, the team leader added water to the cauldron. After boiling, he served each person a bowl of soup and a piece of skin. Even though it had been simmered for an hour, the leather was still hard to chew. But everyone was determined to bite off the skin bit by bit and eat it.
The soup in the cauldron reached the bottom after each person had a bowl. The team leader continued to add water, boiled it, and gave each person a bowl, but no more skins. He said that the night was over and he had a rest and would eat again the next day.
Zhao Kuo looked at the hill in the distance and recalled that he had played drums there with great enthusiasm and directed the Zhao army to attack the Qin army's camp. The bloody scenes came to mind again, and the shouts and screams on the battlefield, the clash of weapons, the sound of bowstrings and arrows piercing the air, rang vividly in my ears.
Zhao Kuo's leather armor has been sent down below for the soldiers to have dinner. He only wears two layers of thin autumn clothes. It was still hot when he set out, but now it can no longer be described as just cool, but a bit cold.
The retainers brought him a bowl of porridge. There was almost no millet in the porridge, and there were some unknown wild vegetables floating in the black color. It was bitter and hard to swallow. Zhao Kuo took it and swept it all away. He asked his retainer: "Does Mr. Wu An look at me?"
The retainer didn't know what to say, so he replied: "Maybe!"
Zhao Kuo said: "If I go to Lord Wu'an, what will he do?"
The retainer said: "I heard that Lord Wu'an is very brave and has the ability to combine with others, so he will fight hard!"
Zhao Kuo said: "If I have to fight with Lord Wu An, I will not hate him to the death!"
Another retainer said: "Mr. Wu An may be ill and die."
Zhao Kuo said: "Wu An Jun is a hero. He died on the table safely. Even if he is sick, he must fight!" After a long time, he said again: "Wu An Jun is a man who is slaughtered. I will slaughter him, what can I do?"
The retainer said: "The general will do what he wishes!"
Zhao Kuo said: "That's not what I want. Kuo is Wu'an's enemy! Kuo and you met in Changping, Chang Sijun will capture me with a strange plan. Since the dawn of time, there has been no peaceful time. However, you have no plan in the end! Chang Sijun will capture me." In times of peace, Kuo will attack you with troops, but it is not the case that you will attack Kuo with troops. If I can trap you in the second month of Changping, that will be enough for me. I will take care of myself! What more can I ask for! One day I will have a quick battle with you, What a joy!”
Zhao Kuo seems to be talking to himself and to others. His eyes are bright and he holds a halberd in his hand, standing tall and proud. When all the retainers saw it, they were all moved.
