Doctor Jia soaked Artemisia annua with twice as much water, squeezed it to extract the juice, and then gave it to his second brother. More than half an hour later, the second brother woke up. Li Zhiyun had been standing by the bed, and when he saw his second brother opened his eyes, he said in surprise: "Second brother, are you awake?" The second brother rolled his eyes and looked at the people around the bed, and finally his eyes fell on Li Zhiyun's face. He went up and said in a weak voice: "Fifth brother, what's wrong with me?"
"Second brother, you've been sleeping for several days, and now you're finally awake. It's great!"
The second brother straightened his body and seemed to want to sit up. Li Zhiyun quickly held him down and said, "Second brother, your body is still very weak, so you should lie down." The second brother looked at him and said softly: "Fifth brother, I'm hungry, bring me something to eat."
Second brother wants to eat? That's great! Li Zhiyun quickly sent someone to get the food. The soldiers were already ready, and soon a bowl of millet porridge with red dates was brought over. With the help of a soldier, Li Zhiyun helped his second brother sit up and leaned on the quilt. Then, he sat next to the bed and fed his second brother millet porridge with a spoon.
Artemisinin in Artemisia annua is a peroxide-containing sesquiterpene lactone, which has the effect of intercepting malaria. Artemisinin can directly enter the Plasmodium membrane structure, effectively blocking the nutrient supply that Plasmodium depends on the host's red blood cell plasma, thereby interfering with the function of the mitochondria of the Plasmodium surface membrane, leading to the complete disintegration of the Plasmodium structure. When combined with other drug treatments, Can make the patient fully recover.
After taking the decoction made from Artemisia annua, the second brother's condition gradually improved and he was able to get out of bed and walk around soon. Li Zhiyun helped his second brother walk around the yard and bask in the sun. The second brother had been ill for a long time and was very weak. He couldn't walk after a while.
Li Zhiyun helped his second brother to sit down next to the bench. The second brother pointed to the stool opposite and said, "Fifth brother, you can sit down too." After Li Zhiyun sat down, the second brother looked at him and said, "Fifth brother, I heard from Jia The doctor said, it was you who cured my disease. Why, do you know how to heal?" Li Zhiyun smiled and said, "I don't understand medical skills. But, I found a doctor with superb medical skills and asked him for it. One dose of this medicine cured your illness."
"So that's what happened." The second brother nodded, "How is the situation outside now?"
After hearing this, Li Zhiyun's face darkened and he said: "After our Tang army failed, Xue Ju occupied the two cities of Gaosu and Yiluchuan, and blocked the road to Chang'an. Therefore, we cannot return to Chang'an for the time being..."
While the two were talking, there was sudden chaos outside the yard. In addition to people making loud noises, there were also the neighing of war horses and the sounds of chickens and dogs barking in the village. Li Zhiyun listened for a moment and said to Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu who were standing across the yard: "You two, go out and take a look to see what happened outside."
The two claimed to obey the order and were about to go out when Zeng Chenggang hurried in from outside the yard. He ran to the two brothers, clasped his fists and said, "Two princes, it's bad, the enemy troops have surrounded us!"
When Li Zhiyun heard this, he was shocked and asked hurriedly: "How many soldiers and horses does the enemy have?" Zeng Chenggang said: "The general is not sure. However, it seems that there are many people, at least one or two thousand people."
so much? Li Zhiyun estimated that the enemy's scouts must have discovered that they lived in this village, so they summoned a large number of enemies. While he was thinking about strategies to defend against the enemy, Zeng Chenggang said: "King Chu, the enemy is coming from the southwest. The general will lead people to resist them from the southwest. How about you break out from the northeast?" Li Zhiyun thought for a while and made a decisive decision. Di: "Okay, that's it."
"King Chu, then King Qin will leave it to you."
"Don't worry, it's absolutely fine!"
After Zeng Chenggang left, Li Zhiyun ordered Zhang Zheng to summon all the guards, and asked Cai Hu to find a stretcher. He asked his second brother to lie on a stretcher and be carried by four guards. Liu Shuyi's leg injury was not completely healed, so Li Zhiyun arranged for two guards to protect him. After everything was arranged, everyone left the house and walked along the alley toward the outside of the village.
The enemy troops were numerous. They seemed to have no idea what was true and did not dare to rush into the village rashly, but they had already surrounded Gujing Village like an iron barrel. Zeng Chenggang led his soldiers to attack outwards in the southwest direction, attracting most of the enemies. As soon as Li Zhiyun saw an opportunity, he immediately ordered his team to break out quickly.
Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu led more than a hundred guards and rushed towards the enemy guarding the village. The enemy and we started hand-to-hand combat on the roads and fields. After repeated attacks, they finally tore a hole in the encirclement, fought a bloody path, and led everyone to rush out.
After they got rid of the enemy's pursuit and entered the forest, Li Zhiyun counted the number of people and found that only about twenty people were left.
The team marched in the mountains and dense forests. Finally escaping from death, Li Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief and ordered everyone to stop and rest. At this time, Zhang Zheng came over. His armor was stained with blood, all of which had been spattered on him when he broke out of the siege.
"Your Majesty, what should we do next?" Zhang Zheng asked worriedly.
Li Zhiyun thought for a while and said: "There are enemies everywhere now, and we have nowhere to go. It seems that we can only go to Jingzhou." Zhang Zheng pondered for a moment and said: "Jingzhou seems to be in the northwest, far away from here. At least more than a hundred miles. As far as I know, you can take the main road or the small road to Jingzhou. However, the main road must be blocked by the enemy."
"Then let's take the path."
The second brother's stretcher was parked on a piece of grass nearby. Li Zhiyun walked over, sat down on the ground, woke up his second brother who was sleeping on the stretcher, and said: "Second brother, I just discussed with Zhang Zheng and we are going to Jingzhou. What do you think?" Brother thought for a while and said: "Liu Gan, the governor of Jingzhou, is loyal and reliable. He has three thousand men under his command, so he should be able to defend Jingzhou. I think he can."
"Okay then, it's settled!"
The team rested for a while and then set off again. They trudged on the rugged mountain road and climbed one mountain after another. When the sun set, they saw a village appearing in the valley in front of them. At this moment, this small mountain village with only a few dozen households was bathing in the afterglow of the sunset, and smoke was rising from the roofs of every household.
After everyone walked for a day, they were hungry and thirsty. Li Zhiyun decided to camp in this village tonight. After the team entered the village, they borrowed several houses from the villagers and settled down. Then, they bought some grain and vegetables from the villagers and cooked a sumptuous dinner, which was enjoyed by everyone.
After the meal, Li Zhiyun discussed with Zhang Zheng and decided that wandering around in the mountains like a headless fly like today was not possible and that he had to find a guide. With a guide, they won't get lost. He asked Zhang Zheng to ask around the village to see if anyone knew the path to Jingzhou. As a result, Zhang Zheng actually found one, and that person agreed to be a guide.
The guide was a man in his twenties who seemed quite smart and talked a lot. It was night, the sky was clear and the moon was white, the wind was calm and the clouds were calm. Li Zhiyun and Liu Shuyi were sitting in the yard, chatting with the guide. The guide said that he had been doing business with his father since he was a child, so he knew the way to Jingzhou. His father passed away a few years ago, and he also married a wife, so now he no longer does business, but stays at home and cultivates the land.
The guide told Li Zhiyun that there were many mountains and valleys along the trail to Jingzhou, making it very inconvenient to carry a stretcher. When Li Zhiyun heard this, he frowned and said, "Why, my second brother can't sit on a stretcher?" The guide nodded. Liu Shuyi on the side asked: "Is it okay to ride a horse?" Li Zhiyun also looked at the guide. He felt that Liu Shuyi was right. The second brother's health had recovered and he should be able to ride a horse.
"Not even on horseback," said the guide.
"What? You can't even ride a horse? Is the mountain road so rugged that even horses can't walk?" Li Zhiyun asked strangely.
"No." The guide explained, "You can't ride a horse in the mountains because the horse will get distracted and easily stumble. If it falls off the cliff, it will be troublesome. You can only ride a mule in the mountain because the mule never gets distracted. So, you didn't see Those merchants who traveled in the mountains all rode mules?"
So that's what happened? Li Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief, he had learned a lot. However, a mule is expensive, and they don't have enough money to buy a mule. It seemed that the only option was to trade horses for mules. When they broke through, they lost almost all their horses, with only two remaining. Early the next morning, Li Zhiyun traded his two remaining horses for a big green mule with a family in the village.
After the mule was brought in, Li Zhiyun helped his second brother sit on it and sent two guards to protect it. After everything was ready, the team left the small mountain village and headed towards Jingzhou under the leadership of the guide.
Zhezhe City is located to the north of Gao'an City and east of Jingzhou City, more than a hundred miles away from the two cities. It is a large city with 100,000 households. In order to compete with the Tang Dynasty for the world, Xue Ju moved the capital of the Qin State from Qinzhou to Zhezhe City.
On this morning, the streets were full of cars and horses, and pedestrians were everywhere. The shops on both sides of the streets were doing brisk business, and the hawking sounds of roadside vendors kept coming and going, creating a bustling scene.
With a few cracks of riding whips, seven or eight war horses galloped over. The rider on horseback ignored the crowds on the road and the speed of the horse did not slow down at all. He was simply running rampant, scaring pedestrians to dodge and get out of the way.
The leader, Xue Rengao, was galloping when he suddenly pulled the reins and stopped the horse. He turned the horse's head and looked back. One of the attendants drove his horse closer and asked with concern, "Prince, what's the matter? What are you looking at?"
"The little lady who passed by just now is pretty and pretty."
"Oh? Where is it?" he said, stretching his neck and looking around.
Xue Rengao pointed with the riding crop in his hand and said, "That's it!" He followed the direction he pointed and saw a man and a woman walking on the roadside a dozen steps away from them. Judging from the back, the woman has a slim waist and a graceful figure, so she must be pretty good-looking.
"Prince, if you like it, why don't you capture him and take him back to the mansion." He said flatteringly.
