Chapter 2706: Lack of Medicine (for the birthday of book friend "Hongyanzui")
The armies joined together.
Duke Zhao stationed his troops twenty miles away from Anshi City. It was not because he was so careless that he had to station his troops so close, but because Anshi City was keeping its gates closed no matter how people scolded it. He attacked the city twice but failed to capture it, so he had no choice but to lay siege.
Manbao followed the emperor here. All the wounded soldiers were scattered in the city behind. Manbao made some arrangements and only left two students to take care of them, and brought the rest to his side.
After Manbao was assigned his own tent, he first gathered the military doctor and students together to give them a speech, encouraged them, and talked to them about their current troubles and difficulties. Then he took out a cloth bag.
She handed the bag to Zhou Liru and said, "Two pearls per person, not a lot, give them out."
Everyone was stunned, and even after receiving the pearls, they were still stunned. The two military doctors were the first to react and immediately bowed and saluted, "Thank you for the reward, sir."
This is a piece of trophy, very rare. Unless they also rush into the city to look for things, military doctors rarely get a share of the spoils.
Often they are busiest when they attack a city. From the beginning of the battle to the end, their military doctors are busy, especially after the end, when all the wounded are sent over at once.
How could they possibly compete with others for the spoils?
They don't show up when things are being snatched, let alone when things are being divided, so they usually don't get a share.
The military doctor was very happy. Although there were only two pearls, their value was equivalent to three or four months' salary.
Manbao divided the things among them and encouraged them, saying, "Work hard. After we capture Anshi City, if there are any spoils left, I will ask for some from the others."
Qibi Heli seemed quite generous, and General Ashina was also generous, but he was too serious. He did not take the spoils himself, nor did he allow his soldiers to take too much. Basically, they were sealed and handed over to the emperor.
Well, I don’t know if Duke Zhao is generous or not. This time he is the chief steward.
Manbao was thinking, and Zhou Liru said, "Aunt, we don't have many medicinal herbs left."
Everyone then remembered their business and said, "Teacher, we only have two large bags of angelica left, and even fewer herbs to stop bleeding. Now they are attacking the city, so they will need even more herbs."
The casualties in the siege were heavy.
Manbao frowned and asked, "Have you ever bought herbs from the nearby cities?"
Several people shook their heads together. They had no money. This kind of thing was usually handled by the military logistics department, and they were only responsible for reporting.
Manbao said, "I understand. I'll go talk to the chief steward."
Manbao went to find Duke Zhao.
When Duke Zhao saw Zhou Man, he first subconsciously smiled, then thought of something and turned around and left as if he hadn't seen her.
Manbao hurriedly chased after him, "Grand Steward, Duke Zhao, Minister Zhao..."
Manbao caught up with the man, stopped him and asked, "Why are you running?"
Duke Zhao seemed to have just seen her and said with a smile, "It's Lord Zhou. I was lost in thought and didn't notice. What do you want to talk to me about?"
"Something's wrong. Our herbs haven't been delivered yet?"
Duke Zhao smiled faintly and nodded.
Manbao frowned, but without asking about the fault, he said directly: "Then you can ask the logistics department to buy the herbs nearby."
Duke Zhao was stunned for a moment before he asked, "Are there any medicinal herbs for sale around here?"
"We've captured so many cities, there must be medicine in the pharmacies there."
Duke Zhao thought the same and said with a smile, "Please make a list, Lord Zhou."
Manbao was well prepared. He took out a thick, folded list from his sleeve and gave it to him. "I want all the herbs listed above. Buy as many as you can get. I don't limit the quantity."
Duke Zhao sighed and said, "It's unlikely there will be so many. They took a lot of supplies with them when they left the city."
Food, ironware, medicinal materials, even salt and tea were all military supplies, which they took with them when they retreated. Many wealthy families and merchants fled upon hearing the news, so there were not many such supplies in the army.
Manbao said, "Buy as much as you can."
Duke Zhao nodded and asked with a smile, "Master Zhou, how much medicine do you have left?"
"It's not enough to sustain you in a siege. If the medicine doesn't come, I won't have any medicine to stop the bleeding of the next wounded you carry down. I'll have to rely on acupuncture and suturing, but you know that without medicine, this method alone won't work."
Duke Zhao pursed his lips and nodded, indicating that he understood.
Manbao watched him leave, then scratched his head. He went back to gather the military doctors and students and said, "Let's go into the mountains and dig for herbs. Dig up whatever herbs you can find. The most important ones are the ones that can stop bleeding."
The military doctor sighed, "If we don't have the hemostatic herbs, we'll have to use fire and ash to stop the bleeding next time."
That's what the army does when they're short of medicine.
Manbao agreed without objection.
Zhou Liru opened his mouth wide. "But didn't you say that using fire and wood ash to stop bleeding would have serious side effects?"
The former will injure muscles, bones and nerves, while the latter may even worsen the wound.
Manbao said: "Let's focus on the present."
At least it's better than leaving someone bleeding, but this is the only solution.
So without waiting for Bai Shan to find time, Manbao took a group of students and military doctors, as well as the soldiers in the medical tent who were following his orders, into the mountains to dig herbs.
Not to mention, there are quite a lot of herbs in the mountains. After all, everything in this world, even a very common weed, has the effect of stopping bleeding, but the degree of this effect varies.
Basically, I accept all the treasures that come my way. Who cares? Since I see them, I'll just dig them up first.
However, this fresh medicinal material has not been processed or prepared, so its medicinal properties are far inferior to those of the processed ones.
Every day, the Duke of Zhao sent different people to the gate of Anshi City to shout and curse. Sometimes he would order people to launch a siege, and then retreat after consuming a wave of their weapons and defenders.
But siege warfare has always been disadvantageous to the attacker, and the attacker suffers greater casualties.
After fighting twice, the Duke of Zhao gave up and said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, they have supplies. I'm afraid it will take more than two or three months to capture the city."
The emperor said, "It's getting cold. We don't have that much time, and our logistics can't keep up. How long can the food and fodder we captured last?"
Duke Zhao whispered, "Twenty days."
The emperor pursed his lips and said, "If we can't attack by force, then we'll use our wits to defeat them."
He said with a deep look in his eyes: "If we still can't take it after half a month, then we will retreat."
"His Majesty……"
The emperor was even more heartbroken to make this decision, but he had to do so. He could not invest too much in this war and could not let this war have too much impact on the Jin Dynasty.
Wei Zhi, Liu Shangshu and others have already sent letters to give advice.
The emperor frowned slightly. "Liu Hui said that the food and medicine have been sent out. They should have arrived half a month ago."
Duke Zhao was also angry and had no idea what the escorting logistics were doing.
Happy birthday to book friend "Hongyan.zui"
See you tomorrow
(End of this chapter)
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