Hearing the wounded soldiers cry out in pain, the medical officer in charge was furious and berated the logistics department for its incompetence and delays in treating their patients.

The medical officer in charge of the medical shed in Xujia Village was not a military doctor, but a local traditional Chinese medicine doctor.

Because the wounded on the battlefield all have external injuries, the life or death of the injured is determined on the spot, and those who do not die are treated by military doctors immediately.

The wounded who were sent to Xujia Village were those who had passed the brink of death and could be considered to have survived.

However, they will inevitably lose an arm or a leg, and will need a doctor to prescribe medicine to care for them during the later stages of infection and recovery before they can be sent home.

Even after these wounded soldiers were taken to the rear medical wards, they still faced the risk of death.

Since the first batch of wounded soldiers arrived at the medical tent, a total of fifty people have come so far, and three have already been buried outside the village.

In this sweltering weather, the stuffy medical tent was filled with the smells of blood, sweat, and feet—it was an unpleasant stench.

Moreover, there is a shortage of medicine. The wounds of the two patients, whose fever had already subsided, are now red, swollen, hot, and painful, and they are starting to develop fevers again.

With no medicine on hand, Physician Xu could only give the wounded soldiers rhubarb infused in water to treat their diarrhea and fever, which resulted in persistent diarrhea and wound infection. The environment in the medical tent was getting worse and worse.

The most anxious one was Zhang Juntou. Although he was just a platoon leader with a few dozen men under his command, he had received a military order to build a medical tent here.

If something goes wrong, not only will the opportunity to earn merit and be promoted to centurion be lost, but one will also be punished.

Moreover, these wounded soldiers were his comrades. Watching his fellow soldiers leave the battlefield alive, only to die at his hands in the end, would be unbearable for him, and he would never be able to face his colleagues in the army again.

"Old Xu, there's no medicine available right now, can't you use something else as a substitute?"

Zhang Juntou hadn't been getting enough rest these past few days; his face was covered in stubble, and he started shouting as soon as he entered the medical tent.

He had asked his superiors for more than 100, but now that Yuzhou Prefecture had just been captured, the new army was attacking the next prefecture in one fell swoop.

The prefectural governor originally appointed by the imperial court in Yuzhou Prefecture was beheaded, all officials of the six ministries were replaced, and the handover of official duties in the prefectural government was in chaos.

In addition, there was a riot among the displaced people in the city, and the four city gates were kept closed, so the medicine could not be delivered for a while. We had to find a way to get through this period of time ourselves.

Xu Dong, who was in his early thirties, was also in a state of great distress. He had been working at the clinic for ten years. Although he was not a medical expert, he was well-known for his extensive experience in prescribing medicine, which is why he was recruited by the new army to manage this clinic.

Even the most skilled cook can't cook without rice; no matter how good he was at prescribing medicine, he couldn't solve the problem of finding the right herbs: "Squad Leader Zhang, if you don't bring the medicine, I, Xu, am helpless!"

"Those are just grass stems and tree bark. Can't you go up the mountain to find some? The mountain is full of plants right now. Aren't there many medicinal herbs among them?"

Zhang, the squad leader, wiped the sweat from his brow, wishing he could send the doctor up the mountain to find medicine.

The medicine all comes from the mountain, but Xu Dong is quite something; he just sits there, only knowing to reach out and ask me for some.

Hearing that he had to go up the mountain to find the medicine himself, Xu An got angry: "I am a doctor, not a herbalist. I only recognize the herbs that I bring to the clinic, not the herbs that grow on the mountain."

Zhang Jun's face turned red, and he almost choked on his breath: "Medicine is medicine, what's the difference between places? You're a doctor, how could you not recognize medicine?"

Xu Dong gave him a disdainful look: "A soldier's knowledge is limited; it's like a scholar meeting a soldier."

Having spent over a decade studying medical books and principles, and being able to identify commonly used medicinal herbs in pharmacies, I was already a qualified physician and had no time to dig for herbs.

Besides, digging for medicinal herbs is dirty, tiring, and dangerous; it shouldn't be something doctors do in the first place.

"Medicine is divided into superior and inferior categories, but doctors are respected!"

Squad Leader Zhang was absolutely furious. What kind of situation is this? They still distinguish between medical professionals and doctors, all they know is that human life is the most important thing.

In a moment of panic, Squad Leader Zhang grabbed Xu Dong by the neck and said through gritted teeth, "Xu Dong, you're also under orders now. If anything happens to these wounded, we'll both be beheaded."

"You don't want to live anymore, but I do. I still need to get my military pay to go back and support my wife, children, and elderly parents. If you don't go find the medicine, I'll strangle you."

He was a soldier, and he was strong. He pinched Xu Dong so hard that Xu Dong's face turned pale. Unable to push him away, Xu Dong could only keep hitting Zhang Juntou with all his might: "Let go, let go, you brute!"

Commander Zhang let go, and Xu Dong coughed violently a few times. He knew that if he angered this brute, he would suffer. He still had to keep this tough guy in check: "Commander Zhang, don't be in a hurry, let me finish what I have to say!"

"Speak!" Zhang Juntou shouted angrily.

Xu Dong said, "Do you think all the clinics in the city make their own medicine?"

Zhang Jun's eyes widened: "Isn't that right?"

Xu Dong looked disdainful: "A clinic is a clinic, not a pharmacy."

I'm a traditional Chinese medicine doctor, and I'm so busy prescribing medicines and seeing patients every day that I don't have time to process medicinal herbs.

Besides, there are patients here. If I go to dig for medicinal herbs, who will take care of them? If something happens, can you bear the heavy responsibility?

Zhang Juntou moved his mouth and scratched his head, as if Xu Dong really couldn't leave easily.

Xu Dong continued, "Although I have never gone up the mountain to dig for medicinal herbs, I have memorized the Materia Medica and naturally know about medicinal herbs."

Send those migrant laborers up the mountain to search. Once they return, I'll be able to tell who's right and who's wrong!

"that's all?"

Zhang Juntou felt that Xu Dong's words made sense, but something still felt off.

He no longer had time to ponder why Xu Dong said he didn't recognize the herbs on his mountain but did recognize the herbs in his medicine cabinet, and what the connection was between the two.

Fortunately, Xu Dong said he recognized the medicine, so they had the refugees find it.

Xu Dong was telling the truth about this.

Plants are incredibly diverse, growing in different environments and with different forms. Moreover, medicines need to be processed before they can be given to patients.

Therefore, traditional Chinese medicine practitioners must learn the "Compendium of Materia Medica" and understand the pharmacology and properties of medicinal herbs.

Each medicine has a different origin, and its effects will naturally differ.

Achyranthes bidentata from Sichuan and Achyranthes bidentata from Huai, Adenophora stricta from the south and Adenophora stricta from the north, saffron from the west and safflower from the east, Fritillaria thunbergii from Zhejiang and Fritillaria cirrhosa from the west—a difference of just one character makes all the difference.

Prescribing medicines not only involves inquiring about their source and origin, but also involves handling the medicines personally.

However, only a minority of doctors are willing to collect and prepare their own medicinal herbs.

After all, doctors are very busy; prescribing medicine is their main job, and everyone has their own area of ​​expertise.

Knowing that Xu Dong was unreliable, Zhang Juntou was both angry and anxious, but there was nothing he could do.

So, while complaining about these lazy, ignorant fellows who only knew how to use their pens, he asked the doctors, soldiers, and laborers if anyone recognized medicinal herbs.

The medics were responsible for cleaning up after the wounded and taking care of their bodily functions. They were already short-handed and no one knew anything about medicine.

There was no other way but to ask the refugees if anyone recognized the medicine.

Although the refugees were all farmers who dealt with plants every day, and could easily gather a basketful of pig feed, they were completely clueless when it came to medicinal herbs.

Zhang Juntou felt the veins on his forehead throbbing; even a handful of grass couldn't stump him!

Fortunately, after asking around for the last time, some people actually recognized it.

"Commander Zhang, I know about medicine!"

Zhang Jun looked up and saw that the person was not happy: "Li Laoshi, do you really know him, or are you trying to scam another pancake? You should know this is a serious matter. Lying will get you beaten."