Chapter 244: A Hero's Amputation
"Isolate? How many soldiers should be quarantined? There must be a method for quarantine. And how many troops will be left after the quarantine?" Jiang Xiang asked.
Jiang Xiang was a bit angry this time. He planned to break with the Ming Dynasty completely. He even poisoned everyone, hoping to make them sick and die. This seemed to include himself, so he began to think more about Wu Sangui.
"Let the military doctor count the number of people who need to be isolated first. If the number of people who can continue to leave exceeds 150,000, we will continue to send troops. If it cannot exceed this number, we will not care about turning against the Jianlu." Wu Sangui said.
"Turning against the Jianlu? Do we have the money? Besides, we have no cities to defend, no land to occupy, and no people to use!" Jiang Xiang said.
"We can retreat to Shanxi, which is full of former Ming Dynasty officials. We can organize Shanxi gentry to protect each other, build strong camps, and rescue each other. Even if we rebel, it's better than dying on the way to Xi'an." Wu Sangui said.
Jiang Xiang understood that if he rebelled against the Jianlu, he could hold out for a while and not die immediately. But if he obeyed Duoduo and Ajige, he would die immediately. Rebellion might offer a glimmer of hope, so he might as well rebel! However, this all depended on the results of the military doctor's statistics.
Two hundred thousand men wouldn't all fall ill at once. All military doctors were immediately mobilized and began taking internal census data. The results showed that fewer than thirty thousand people were ill and needed to be isolated.
Wu Sangui breathed a sigh of relief. After all, the cost of rebellion was too high. He rebelled against the Ming Dynasty and then immediately rebelled against the Jianlu. He still wanted to save some face.
Wu Sangui summoned Xia Guoxiang and Jiang Xiang to discuss countermeasures. Wu Sangui said, "Since we are ready to take a gamble, let's march to Xi'an as soon as possible. How about letting Tang Tong lead the vanguard?"
Both of them disliked Tang Tong, and both nodded in agreement.
"Okay! Let Tang Tong be the vanguard, and our three armies will follow behind! If the battle situation is unfavorable, we still have to conserve our strength. At worst, we can rebel against the Jianlu and return to the Ming Dynasty!" Wu Sangui said.
Jiang Xiang nodded and said yes, but in her heart she was thinking: Going back to Ming Dynasty? How dare you come here?
He didn't know that Wu Sangui had received a gift from a secret envoy of the Imperial Guard the previous night. It was medicine that would guarantee that Wu Sangui would not contract typhoid fever or cholera. Therefore, Wu Sangui felt that he could still return to the Ming Dynasty.
Jiang Xiang also received medicine from the secret messenger last night. The secret messenger said, "Master Jiang, this is the antidote that the prince asked me to deliver. I guarantee that you and your family will not get typhoid fever or cholera after taking it!"
"What? The prince's medical skills are so advanced that he can put cholera and typhoid poison into a bottle?" Jiang Xiang said in disbelief.
"Yes! But there are conditions! This poison can only last for ten hours at most after being taken out of the warehouse." The secret envoy said with a smile.
Even though the secret envoy seemed to be revealing some great secret, ten hours was more than enough for this era. No one in this era could create and cultivate viruses. It could be said that Zhao Xiaofei was a devil in Jiang Xiang's eyes.
So what virus did Zhao Xiaofei use? His older brother, Zhao Xiaokun, had set up a modern laboratory to cultivate certain viruses. These were easily treatable by modern medicine, but were plagues in ancient times. Examples included cholera and typhoid. Furthermore, these viruses were contagious between humans and animals.
Jiang Xiang received the medicine this time and swallowed it in front of the secret envoy. After taking the medicine, Jiang Xiang said, "Does the prince have any instructions?"
"Let Wu Sangui send out troops as soon as possible. After the large army arrives in Xi'an, wait for an opportunity to kill Wu Sangui! Afterwards, you will lead the army, whether to escape or attack the Jianlu camp, everything depends on the situation! If you replace Wu Sangui and attack the Jianlu camp. After returning to the Ming Dynasty, the court will definitely confer you the title of Daizhou Earl!" said the secret envoy.
"I understand!" Jiang Xiang said.
So Jiang Xiang decided to push Wu Sangui. He secretly instructed the military doctors under his control to falsify the statistics. They claimed that fewer than 20,000 people had fallen ill, but in reality, the number had reached over 80,000. However, many of the symptoms were mild, invisible to the average person.
So Wu Sangui and Jiang Xiang began to move out, and the battle went smoothly all the way from Yan'an to Tongchuan. Lian Duoduo was very satisfied. At this rate of advance, they would definitely be able to capture Xi'an before the Kenan army broke through Shangluo and Hanzhong.
Zhao Xiaofei was very pleased to receive the military report. He finally took action. So he immediately ordered the army to stop the attack and began to retreat, pretending to retreat to Huguang and Sichuan.
Duoduo was no fool. He sensed that Zhao Xiaofei was trying to harm them. Because the epidemic was so severe in the army, most of the soldiers had fallen ill. Many even died on the road, and Ajige was now like a dead dog, barely breathing his last.
Moreover, these viruses were transmitted to the Dashun Army after Wu Sangui organized the first battle to enter the city. At this time, Xi'an was like a girl who had taken off her clothes in Zhao Xiaofei's eyes. He could do whatever he wanted with her!
Wu Sangui also sensed something was wrong and immediately planned to call a meeting of generals to discuss countermeasures.
At this time, Jiang Xiang was meeting an important guest, who was a court official.
Jiang Xiang said, "Are you sure? I'm afraid that if Zhao Xiaofei finds out, we'll be dead without a burial place!"
"Do you think you can rest assured if you do what Zhao Xiaofei says now? By the time the time comes, you will be eaten alive!" said the messenger.
From the walls of Xi'an, Li Zicheng looked at the camps stretching for dozens of miles and felt a pang of dismay. After days of continuous attacks, the Jian'er seemed increasingly anxious. They seemed to have no fear of losing lives and were attacking with all their might.
He didn't understand why the army of the Ming Dynasty became so powerful when it fell into the hands of the Jianlu.
Niu Jinxing said at this time: "Your Majesty, the Jianlu and these traitorous troops are just trapped beasts fighting desperately. With the loss of human lives, they won't be able to hold out for more than a few days!" After saying that, Niu Jinxing coughed twice.
Li Zicheng saw Niu Jinxing's expression and said, "Prime Minister, go back and have a good rest! Military Advisor Song is here!"
"I'm in good health! I can still hold on! How can a mere minor illness... cough! cough! cough!" Before he could finish his words, Niu Jinxing started coughing violently again.
Now Song Xiance on the side said: "Prime Minister Niu, health is the most important. If you want to be loyal to Your Majesty, you need a good body!" Song Xiance emphasized the three words "good body".
In the camp outside Shangluo City, Zhao Xiaofei finally smiled and clapped his hands in approval, saying, "Great! It's time for us to attack! I want you to capture Shangluo within one day and reach the outskirts of Xi'an within ten days!"
At this moment, everything seemed to be going smoothly for Zhao Xiaofei, but a dangerous disaster was waiting for him.
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