"Wang Dong, I feel uneasy watching the Jin soldiers tormenting the people."
"You have no troops and no power now, so there's no point in being anxious. You'd better be patient for now. Once the Jin soldiers attack the Song Dynasty again and wipe out the royal family, you can do whatever you want... Shixun, be patient. Let the Jin soldiers run rampant for a while. At the end of the year, we'll settle all the old and new accounts together."
"Yeah!" Zhang Shixun said, standing up, "I'm going back to Zhang Xiaozhuang."
Wang Dong didn't keep him and asked Xiao Qian to pack a bag of food for him and put it on the horse's back.
Zhang Shixun returned to Zhang Xiaozhuang and saw Gao Yanei as soon as he entered the gate.
"Oh! My brother, you've made me wait so long." Gao Yanei grabbed his hand and said, "Old He is dying. Go and say goodbye to him quickly."
Zhang Shixun was surprised, "What happened to Lao He?"
"He had an arrow wound on his arm, it was swollen like a bucket, and he was unconscious."
"Where is he?"
"At my place."
"Take me there quickly."
Historically, the imperial court temporarily recruited 10,000 new soldiers and gave them to He Guan, ordering him to lead the troops to defend the Yellow River.
As soon as Liang Fangping's side was defeated, the new soldiers led by He Guan also fled at the news, and it was impossible to suppress the rebellion.
He Guan had no choice but to retreat back to the capital. As a result, the emperor refused to let him into the city. The meaning was very clear: since you have failed the emperor's order, don't come back and die outside.
He Guan fought with the Jin soldiers outside the city for several days with hundreds of his personal guards. He was wounded in several places and died of his injuries.
He Ji was also wounded by an arrow in the arm and eventually died.
Logically speaking, the wound on the arm would not be fatal unless it became infected and caused sepsis.
Zhang Shixun speculated that He Ji's wound must have been infected.
Following Gao Yanei to his residence, He Ji was indeed in a coma.
Zhang Shixun checked his wound and found that it was indeed ulcerated. With a slight squeeze, pus flowed out.
He turned to look at Hei Wuchang and asked, "Do you have any antibiotics with you?"
"have!"
"Give it to him."
Hei Wuchang said nothing, took out a first aid kit from his body, opened it, took out a syringe from it, and stabbed it into He Ji's buttocks.
Zhang Shixun began to clean He Ji's wound, removing the necrotic tissue and rinsing it repeatedly before bandaging it.
After he finished, Gao Yanei asked, "Brother, can Old He be saved?"
"I shouldn't die."
In this day and age, bacteria have no resistance and antibiotics are certainly very effective.
Sure enough, by the evening, He Ji's fever subsided and he woke up.
When he woke up and saw Zhang Shixun, he grabbed his hand and said with tears in his eyes: "Traitorous ministers have ruined the country, traitorous ministers have ruined the country."
Zhang Shixun said with a sullen face, "A foolish ruler is even more detrimental to the country. The new emperor has entrusted the elite imperial guards to the eunuch Liang Fangping, while shoving a bunch of untrained recruits into the hands of General He. It would be strange if he didn't suffer defeat."
Zhang Shixun patted his hand gently and said, "Brother He, don't think too much for now. Just take good care of your injuries."
He Ji looked at his arm and asked, "I'm afraid I can't save this arm, right?"
"Don't worry, I can keep it safe. It won't interfere with your archery in the future."
He Ji shook his head and said sadly, "My father told me before he died that the descendants of the He family would no longer work for the Zhao family."
The fact that the old general could say such words shows how disappointed he is with the emperor.
Zhang Shixun comforted him, "Brother He, take care of your health first. Coming to me is like coming home."
"Um!"
Coming out of the room, Zhang Shixun asked Gao Yanei, "Has your father returned to Beijing?"
"Hey! How did you know?" Gao Yanei looked at him in surprise. "My father returned to Beijing yesterday, and no one knew about it yet."
Zhang Shixun glared at him and said, "Zhao Ji is no longer the emperor. Anyone who still follows him is either a madman or a fool... Your father is so cunning, he will definitely not follow him anymore."
Gao Yanei gave a thumbs up, "You are worthy of being called a living immortal."
Then he recounted in detail how his father followed Zhao Ji south.
It turned out that Zhao Ji and his entourage arrived in Sizhou via Bozhou and Fuli, and joined forces with the victorious troops led by Tong Guan.
Tong Guan led cavalry, while the imperial guards were mostly infantry. In order to escape faster, Zhao Ji ordered Gao Qiu and his 3,000 imperial guards to garrison on the north bank of the Huai River, and not to cross the pontoon bridge to the south. He only allowed the Shengjie Army led by Tong Guan to accompany him south.
The imperial guards stood on the floating bridge, wailing and begging Zhao Ji to take them with him. In order to prevent Gao Qiu's imperial guards from following Song Huizong south, Tong Guan ordered the Shengjie Army to shoot the imperial guards who tried to cross the bridge. The guards were shot by arrows one after another, and the death toll was as high as over a hundred.
"My father was so angry that he claimed to be ill and returned to the capital."
Gao Yanei grew increasingly angry as he spoke, and finally couldn't help cursing, "You thief! You're really just destroying bridges! My father has been with him for most of his life, and now he abandons me without even a hint of hesitation."
Zhang Shixun thought to himself that your father wasn't a good person either, but he said, "Perhaps Zhao Ji's actions are exactly what your father wants. You can take this opportunity to leave him... Yanei, Zhao Huan is just as narrow-minded as his father. Just wait and see. Anyone who is determined to follow the old emperor will not have a good end. In addition, Zhao Huan has killed Wang Fu, Tong Guan, Liang Shicheng, Li Yan, Zhu Zhen and others in order to clip Zhao Ji's wings. As for your father, it's better to let him keep a low profile."
Gao Yanei said with a bitter face: "My father has no choice but to keep a low profile. He is really sick this time and has been bedridden since he came back."
Zhang Shixun asked, "What disease does your father have?"
"He was dizzy, had dizziness, palpitations, insomnia, and lost his temper easily. He even smashed all the teacups in the bedroom."
"Have you seen a doctor?"
"The doctor examined my father and said that he had hyperactivity of liver yang and prescribed him a lot of medicine."
"Let him rest in bed and recover slowly." Zhang Shixun was helpless.
Gao Qiu's series of symptoms are all manifestations of hypertension.
Even in later generations, there is no good way to treat this disease. It is nothing more than taking medicine to lower blood pressure and treating the symptoms.
"Alas!" Gao Yanei sighed, "Brother, after all this, my father has become disheartened and no longer wants to get involved in court affairs."
Zhang Shixun glanced at him and said, "Even if he wanted to participate, he couldn't. He is Zhao Ji's man. He should be thankful that Zhao Huan didn't kill him."
"My dad said the same thing."
"He has self-awareness."
Gao Yanei looked lost, and after a while he said, "After this disaster is over, I will retire and return to my hometown with my father."
"Return to the countryside?" Zhang Shixun couldn't help laughing. "Yanei, that word doesn't seem quite right."
"Why is it inappropriate? Don't forget, I am still the First Army's Du Yuhou."
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