The towering Qinling Mountains.

Separate north and south.

The hot and humid weather in Bashu has given birth to the splendid civilization of Bashu, but it has also made it difficult for the children of Guanzhong who are accustomed to cool and windy weather.

Sickness comes like a mountain.

Continuous battles and long journeys are very demanding on people's bodies and minds. Before the capture of Shu County, the Qin army was motivated by a goal. Every soldier's heart was burning like a fire. This made

They ignore physical fatigue and discomfort.

When the victory came, the relaxed Qin army generals suddenly lost their vigilance. Physical fatigue and illness came one after another, causing these soldiers who were fearless on the battlefield to fall down.

In fact, as early as when they entered Bajun in May, there were cases of generals falling ill among the Qin army. At first, there were only one or two soldiers in poor health in each battalion. The medical officer thought it was an ordinary ailment.

I didn't take it too seriously and simply boiled some herbs to deal with the problem. As for the effect, it can't be said that it has no effect at all, but there are a few strong people who survived it.

The medical officers in the Qin army could only simply treat some ordinary injuries, and there was almost no way to deal with this sudden large-scale plague.

One after another.

One team after another.

They persisted until the end of June and the beginning of July, when the Qin army returned from the south and north, the number of sick people in the army suddenly increased almost overnight. By the time Li Yuan fell in early July, several generals such as Li Zhongxiang had already been relieved of their duties.

I carried it and marched for several days.

"Marquis Shen, this is a miasma in the south. There is no way to save it. It is better to leave the soldiers who are too sick to march and move out first. Otherwise, the whole army will be completely infected." The medical officer was helpless because he knew some alchemists.

Peng Sheng, who was temporarily appointed by Li Yuan to be in charge of medical affairs, ran to Li Yuan to report the prescription with a sad face.

"Miasma, are you sure?" Li Yuan asked with a solemn expression, staring at Peng Sheng. On a hot day in July, Li Yuan was wearing several layers of thick armor. He was also tortured by malaria. His body was hot and cold, which made him feel uncomfortable.

He, who has always been physically strong, couldn't bear it.

Abandoning his comrades who fought side by side, and then surviving on his own, if Li Yuan didn't have a modern mind, he might have made such a ruthless choice.

But now, having received the modern military education of "never abandon, never give up", he cannot make the decision to abandon his soldiers no matter what. As long as there is still a glimmer of hope, he must go all out. This is the creed that Li Yuan adheres to.

This is also the reason why he is deeply loved by the generals of the Qin army.

"Shenhou, it's absolutely true. Although my subordinates are not good at medicine, I have experienced the power of miasma with my master in the past. If the treatment is too late, I'm afraid Shenhou will also——!" Peng Sheng looked depressed. Just now, he

In the moment of urgency, I forgot that Li Yuan was also one of the stroke patients. It was unwise to let the stroke patients fend for themselves.

"You only need to try your best to treat the seriously ill soldiers, and don't worry about anything else. As for the miasma attack, don't mention it to others. If you let me hear it, be careful about your life." Li Yuan's face darkened and he ordered Peng.

Sheng was a new recruit, and his loyalty still needed to be considered. With no one available, Li Yuan could only keep him while beating him. If Peng Sheng had sense, he should be able to hear Li Yuan's warning.

"My subordinate understands, please rest assured, God Lord." Peng Sheng looked stern, and responded with surprise and joy.

Peng Sheng was surprised that Li Yuan still did not adopt his suggestion. This made Peng Sheng feel great pressure. As more and more sick soldiers became sick, the Qin army's marching speed would be greatly reduced. Under such circumstances, if he wanted to

It is almost impossible to get out of Tan Cang Road.

Fortunately, Li Yuan still wanted to reuse him. He finally surrendered to the Qin State and was appreciated by the young Marquis Shenwu. He was able to follow him to Guanzhong. This was the first among the officials in Shu County. Peng Sheng

I don't want to give up just like that.

"Wait a moment, please quickly pass on my order to the general: the entire army should immediately check for soldiers who are afraid of cold, have headaches, or have fever, and move them to other camps; cold water that has not been boiled is not allowed to be drunk, and the clothes, weapons and other items that the soldiers come into contact with every day should be removed.

It must be soaked in boiling water before use. Anyone who violates this order will be killed!" Li Yuan thought for a moment, stopped Peng Sheng and gave instructions.

Miasma was a type of falciparum malaria in later generations, and isolation was the most important aspect of treatment. After confirming that it was miasma, Li Yuan searched the intestines and finally remembered three preliminary countermeasures.

"My subordinates will do it right now." Peng Sheng responded urgently with a happy face. These preventive measures proposed by Li Yuan gave Peng Sheng another glimmer of hope to get out of the jungle.

This outbreak of falciparum malaria was far more severe than Li Yuan imagined. The great plague that spread throughout the Qin expeditionary army showed its power and terror from the beginning.

Peng Sheng's reminder made Li Yuan suddenly realize that this was not an ordinary disease at all, but a plague. If the spread of malaria could not be prevented, the Qin army, which was invincible on the battlefield, would most likely disappear into the mountains of the Qinling Mountains due to malaria.

.

Hot and humid weather is the cause of miasma. This kind of falciparum malaria spread by mosquitoes is extremely terrible. Not only in the Qin Dynasty, but also in later generations, it is a disease that makes people change their temper when they hear it.

From Jushui to the old road.

The Qin army advanced step by step with difficulty. After being isolated, the Qin army's march slowed down again and again. When the army finally reached the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains, it finally came to a standstill.

Of the five thousand generals, one-third were infected with the plague. Starting from the Battle of Hulao Pass, Li Yuan led the Qin army to conquer the east and west. From the Didao Grassland in the north to the Bashan Shu River in the south, they defeated one threat after another to the Qin Dynasty.

enemy, but cannot defeat the enemy that threatens his body.

Wuzhangyuan.

This place became famous during the Three Kingdoms period because Zhuge Liang, the Prime Minister of Shu, died of illness here. It was called Pi Tuopo during the Qin Dynasty, and later got its name from Hu Hai's saying "Autumn Wind Wuzhangyuan".

The army marched to Wuzhangyuan and could hardly move even half a step. Along the way, six to seven hundred Qin soldiers died of illness. Among them, some of them were in poor physical condition and died in just a few days.

It had been five days since Li Yuan fell ill. Compared with a few days ago when he could still talk to Peng Sheng, he was now close to coma. This news enveloped the Qin army in an aura of death.

In this era of ignorance that had just begun, Li Yuan's battlefield deeds made the army officers and soldiers think that their Shenwuhou was omnipotent and nothing could knock him down. But now, when the disease strikes, even Shenwuhou can't do anything.

July 15th.

The eldest princess Ying Yushu and the chief historian Chen Ping finally arrived at Wuzhangyuan. What they saw was not the joyous scene of the Qin army returning from the triumphal expedition, but a gloomy scene.

When the medical officers who came with them saw this scene, they all took a deep breath. Such a large-scale plague outbreak was a great test for their medical skills. If they couldn't show their skills this time, the medical officers would probably be disappointed. The meal is also over.

"Mr. Gongsun, Li Hou has been unconscious for five days. What is the situation?" Yingyu asked through tears. She wanted to go to Li Yuan to serve her but was stopped by Gongsun Guang, the accompanying medical officer, and could only stay away from him. Take a look, but you can't see what Li Yuan looks like.

"Please rest assured, eldest princess, Li Hou's condition is indeed dangerous, but there is still hope for treatment——" Gongsun Guang said with a solemn expression, word by word.

"Then it's Mr. Lao. Once we rescue Marquis Li, I, the Qin Dynasty, will definitely reward you heavily and write a book for you, so that your skills can be passed down for thousands of years." Yingyu said.

"The eldest princess is interested." Gongsun Guang said with an moved expression.

The land of Qi was in turmoil, and there was no longer a place for doctors to study medical skills with peace of mind. Gongsun Guang returned to the Qin State this time. On the one hand, he wanted to find a country that could provide him with medical skills, and on the other hand, he wanted to join forces with another family in Qi. Gongcheng Yangqing competed to see whose medical skills were better.

Yingyu's suggestion of writing medical books and passing on his medical skills played into Gongsun Guang's mind. People always have seven emotions and six desires. For a doctor, treating patients is the most important thing, and writing books and passing on medical skills is what touches their hearts the most. Gongsun Guang not only I hope to be like the Yellow Emperor who knelt down and worshiped millions of people, but I also hope to be like the miracle doctor Bian Que, who passed down medical skills and medical ethics to future generations from generation to generation, so that his name, Gongsun Guang, can be praised by doctors.

Great doctors like Gongsun Guang are undoubtedly much better at researching Chinese herbal medicine than those who were born halfway, like Li Yuan and Peng Sheng. Under his command, groups of Qin soldiers, led by their respective medical officers, were cleaning At the place where the patient is sick, he can use realgar, atractylodes and other herbs to boil it and give it to the patient.

Under Gongsun Guang's careful treatment, Li Yuan, who had always been in good health, finally saved his life after being in a coma for seven days. However, his body was still very weak and it would take a period of time to recover completely. .

As for the other sick soldiers, most of them have improved. For those soldiers who unfortunately died from the epidemic, Gongsun Guang ordered that their bodies, clothes and other ashes be burned and buried deep in a remote place.

After rescuing Li Yuan's army, Gongsun Guang did not stop and headed south non-stop to Wang Shang, Feng Xuan and other generals stationed in Hanzhong, Ba and Shu counties to see if the plague had spread among their troops.

By early August.

Finally, Li Yuan basically recovered and decided to return to Xianyang. The number of generals who returned with him dropped sharply from more than 5,000 to only more than 2,000.

The power of the plague caused huge losses to this elite Qin army. Li Yuan also returned to Xianyang in a carriage for the first time since joining the army. This time in the summer of the third year of the Qin Dynasty, it was extremely difficult and the Southern Expedition, which almost cost him his life, finally came to an end. Finish.

Occupying Hanzhong, connecting Bashu, and connecting the north and south of the Qinling Mountains, Qin finally had a geographical advantage against the Guandong princes after paying a huge price.

At the same time that Li Yuan unified the western frontier, after occupying Nanjun, Liu Bang, the king of Han, who was eager to get rid of the dilemma of being constantly pursued by the Qin army, also launched a southern expedition. This time, the former Chu king Xiong Xin Zhuguo and Linjiang King Gong Ao Became the target of Liu Bang's attack. (To be continued...)
Chapter completed!