At night, something odd was discovered in the Jibei Army’s military camp.
After eating dinner and drinking water, most men found themselves unable to lift their hands and feet, their bodies limp and slack, even unable to hold a knife.
A Military Doctor was summoned, who immediately diagnosed, "It seems like food poisoning."
"What kind of poison?" Zhang Cheng was shocked.
"It appears to be the Soft Tendons Powder." The military doctor had some skill indeed.
Zhang Cheng’s face changed as he looked around. Most of the men were lying on the ground, too weak to move, he asked, "How did they get poisoned?"
The Military Doctor also did not know.
"Investigate it immediately." Zhang Cheng ordered.
The Military Doctor examined more than ten individuals, confirming, "General, they’re all the same. It’s the Soft Tendons Powder."
He was puzzled as to who could have silently poisoned them within the Jibei Army’s camp.
"Is the Soft Tendons Powder fatal?" Zhang Cheng inquired.
The Military Doctor shook his head, "It’s not fatal, but if there are only a few people who are poisoned, it’s easy to make an antidote. However, if there are a lot of people poisoned, even if I have an antidote formula, it’s impossible to make enough antidote, my Lord."
The unspoken implication was that any attempts at attacking or besieging their enemies were out of the question.
Zhang Cheng looked around, most of the men had collapsed, and more were slowing falling incapacitated.
He looked furious, "Has anyone found out the cause yet?"
No one answered him; they hadn’t found out yet.
Suppressing his anger, he quickly went to Zhang Yun’s camp. He saw Zhang Yun lying on the bed, his face pale. His expression changed, "Were you affected too?"
Zhang Yun nodded, pointing to the food on the small square table, "Uncle, it’s the food."
Zhang Cheng recalled, having been busy with troop deployment and taking care of the injured, he hadn’t had time to eat. Whereas Zhang Yun, whose injuries were more severe and who wasn’t the commander, didn’t have to handle these tasks and thus had time to eat first.
His face looked extremely grim, "I’ve already commanded the men to investigate it."
"I assume about seventy-eight percent of the soldiers are affected? Now, the priority should be to order those who haven’t eaten to hold off for now," Zhang Yun pointed out.
Zhang Cheng nodded, "I’ll go and give that order right away."
So, Zhang Cheng left Zhang Yun’s camp and ordered the entire army to refrain from eating and drinking for the time being.
The Military Doctor quickly went to the Food Camp, checked the food, and also inspected the water they had drawn. Indeed, it was discovered that the food was poisoned, sourced from the water.
The Military Doctor reported to Zhang Cheng, "General, the problem lies with the water."
Zhang Cheng’s face changed instantly, "Is it that river?"
"It should be." The military doctor was also unprepared for someone to use the river as a means of poisoning; such a wide and long river, with slow-moving water beneath the winter ice, how much poison must have been poured into it to contaminate the entire river’s water source?
"Look into that river immediately," Zhang Cheng ordered.
Consequently, an immediate investigation of the nearby river was conducted.
The soldiers fetched the water from the river, and the Military Doctor tested it. They quickly came to a conclusion, "General, the problem lies with this river."
Zhang Cheng’s face turned ashen; he’d never suspected that someone would contaminate the entire river. How many days must the culprit have planned for this, and he’d been utterly unaware? He’d truly been caught off guard.
He was livid. He returned and consulted Zhang Yun, "The issue lies with the river. The whole river’s water source has been poisoned with Soft Tendons Powder. Our Jibei Army, with 200,000 troops needs to eat and drink. Even the warhorses in the army can’t live without water."
Zhang Yun had seen the river before, "To poison the whole river, that’s truly devious."
Zhang Cheng nodded.
"It must be Zhou Gu," Zhang Yun stated.
Zhang Cheng also suspected the same, but even after searching the forest for two days, they didn’t find any trace of him. Now, he doesn’t know when Zhou Gu managed to poison the river. He couldn’t even begin to imagine how much poison and herbal medicine had to be used.
"Uncle, how many of us are still unaffected?" Zhang Yun asked.
"Less than 50,000. And more are gradually showing symptoms." Zhang Cheng was almost suffocating with frustration. Since the Food Camp made food in batches, and the soldiers ate in shifts, the remaining unaffected ones were those who ate late.
"Less than 50,000 should still be enough to siege the city," Zhang Yun suggested.
Zhang Cheng was startled and reiterated, "More are gradually showing symptoms, based on the precipitous circumstances, we can only get a rough estimate."
"But within Nanping City, after enduring two sieges, they’re teetering on the brink," Zhang Yun said. "Uncle, go and check how many men are unaffected. If we can take Nanping City, the Military Doctor can then fetch the antidote from the pharmacies within the city."
Zhang Cheng thought it made sense, "I’ll go now."
Fen Ling was keeping a constant watch over the movements in Jibei Army’s camp. When reports of the soldiers being poisoned spread inside the camp at night, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and shared the news with Su Rong and Zhou Gu.
Both Su Rong and Zhou Gu heaved a sigh of relief at the same time. They were facing a 200,000 strong Jibei Army. If it weren’t for their exceptional strategy in these dire times, they wouldn’t have been able to delay them.
Zhou Gu ordered, "Investigate further to see how many soldiers within the Jibei Army are poisoned. There is a risk that if the Jibei Army acts quickly and realizes that the water is poisoned, a portion of the soldiers might be saved."
Fen Ling nodded, he had also anticipated this, "We have already initiated further investigation."
Su Rong contemplated, "The Soft Tendons Powder is a common poison after all. As long as the Military Doctor in the Jibei Army has some skill, they would be able to identify it. If half of the Jibei Army is unaffected, then Nanping City is still at risk."
"Correct," Zhou Gu nodded. "Even half of the army would be enough to take Nanping City."
"Once they seize Nanping City, they can easily find a large quantity of common herbs from the city’s pharmacies to produce an antidote," Su Rong sighed. "We must devise another plan."
"Let’s first assess the situation in the Jibei Army’s camp. Then, we’ll send a letter to Ning Chi. No matter what, we must defend Nanping City to the brim. We cannot let the Jibei Army breach Nanping City. We can’t let them find herbs to make antidotes within the city." Zhou Gu thought, if the Jibei Army’s remaining numbers are low, he might have to take his men and help defend the city.
Or should he take the opportunity to kill Zhang Cheng and Zhang Yun?
It wasn’t impossible.
The Jibei Army’s camp spiraled into chaos because most of the soldiers fell prey to the Soft Tendons Poison. It didn’t take long for the infiltrators, skilled in stealth and reconnaissance, to relay the message back that likely seventy-eight percent of the Jibei Army had succumbed to the Soft Tendons Poison. Judging from the situation, only a few tens of thousands of soldiers seemed to be unaffected. The exact numbers could not be ascertained.
Zhou Gu roughly estimated, "Forty to fifty thousand soldiers."
"This number might seem small but compared to Nanping City, it’s still a lot." Su Rong said.
Zhou Gu nodded, "But it’s manageable as the number isn’t that big. It’s easier to handle than two hundred thousand soldiers."
"We must immediately send a letter to Ning Chi. Let the hawk deliver it. No matter what, we must defend Nanping City. Even mobilize the city dwellers. As long as we can hold off until the antidote arrives, the danger to Nanping City can be lifted," Su Rong commanded immediately.
Zhou Gu shared the sentiment. Instantly, he wrote a brief note, tied it to the hawk’s leg, and released it.
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