"Who is he?"
An epidemic broke out in Muyang County, Donghai Commandery. Yelihu, the deputy general of the Bamu Battalion of the Snow Bear Army, led his troops there. Just as a riot was about to erupt, Yelihu shot and killed one person, deterring the people of Muyang County. A soldier from the Bamu Battalion dragged the corpse over, and Yelihu pointed to the corpse and asked Fu Zhuo, the county registrar of Muyang County.
"I don't recognize him. He's just an ordinary civilian from Muyang County, right?" Fu Zhuo replied.
"A civilian? Do civilians possess such lethal weapons?" Yelihu, as the deputy general of the Snow Bear Army's scout battalion, was naturally extremely meticulous. He had already noticed the short crossbow in the Han man's hand. He took it, examined it closely, and asked coldly.
"This..." Fu Zhuo was speechless. He pointed to the corpse and turned to ask the people of Muyang County, "Do you know him? From which village?"
Many people from Muyang County shook their heads, indicating they didn't know. An old man, however, said, "Master Registrar, they mixed in with the crowd not long ago."
"Mixed in not long ago?" Fu Zhuo asked again upon hearing this. "How many people were there? Where are they now?"
"They slipped away after the soldiers arrived," the old man replied.
Yelihu nodded upon hearing this and didn't take it too seriously, except for the strangeness of them possessing crossbows, such lethal weapons.
After the Xianbei people occupied the Central Plains, they collected all the weapons in the realm. Any weapon longer than a foot was confiscated and stored in the imperial treasury, let alone lethal weapons like crossbows.
"Camp Commander, look, he's a monk!" At this moment, a Bamu Battalion officer who had finished inspecting the corpse said to Yelihu.
"A monk?" Yelihu drew his long saber and pushed aside the messy hair on the corpse's head. Indeed, a precept ring was revealed, and the precept ring was one of the symbols of a wandering monk.
"General Yelihu, judging by this, this person is not from our county. Look at this..." Fu Zhuo was secretly shocked and asked Yelihu.
"Who cares who he is? The Grand Commander has ordered that anyone who dares to cause trouble will be killed without mercy!" Yelihu said coldly.
...
Malaria was rampant. Every household mourned the loss of loved ones, and every room was filled with cries of sorrow. Some families perished entirely, while some clans were wiped out.
Fu Zhuo, Yelihu, and others saw such scenes along the way. White bones lay exposed in the wilderness, and no chickens crowed for miles. Many patients had died along the road and were left unburied in the wilderness. Many more were ill but not yet dead, either gasping for breath at home awaiting the arrival of death, or being helped by their relatives everywhere seeking medical help. Some even wandered around like madmen.
Cries of grief could be heard from almost every household, and the common people were in extreme misery.
"Sir, please save my child. He's dying. I beg you, I'll kowtow to you."
Seeing Fu Zhuo and Yelihu approach, the common people rushed to the roadside, kowtowing and crying for help.
In the past, once malaria broke out, it was almost incurable regardless of the medicine used. Life and death depended on individual fate. Many people knew this in their hearts, but when they saw the disaster relief team from Donghai Commandery arrive, a flicker of hope ignited in their despair.
Sun Yu, the medical official from the Prefect's yamen, felt a pang of sympathy. He sighed and looked at the sky, saying, "It's going to rain. Registrar Fu, quickly arrange for people to set up wooden sheds and establish temporary medical stations."
The weather was unpredictable, and heavy rain could come at any moment. Dark clouds now covered the sky, and a torrential downpour was imminent.
The unpredictable weather would further exacerbate the spread of malaria and infect more people.
"Order everyone to dismount and help," Yelihu, whose face was covered with a cloth, ordered.
Immediately, over a thousand Snow Bear Army cavalrymen dismounted and followed Fu Zhuo and others to set up temporary medical stations. The healthy people nearby also rushed to help with various tools.
"Du Dutai, take your men to set up a few large pots. Remember, the water must be boiled and the food must be cooked thoroughly," Sun Yu instructed Du Li.
Sun Yu nodded and led the medical practitioners, medics, and apprentices who had accompanied him to sort through the medicinal herbs on the carts, and unload the herbs, medical equipment, and other items from the large carts. Once the sheds were set up, Sun Yu prepared to examine the patients.
"Crack! Crack!"
"Whoosh... Whoosh..."
"It's raining, quickly get into the sheds to take shelter!"
Thunder and lightning flashed, and a torrential downpour ensued. Everyone rushed into the sheds for shelter. The temporary medical stations were also packed with patients. Despite this, many sick people were still brought by their relatives in the rain, hoping that Sun Yu and the others could pull their loved ones back from the brink of death.
Inside the medical station, more than a dozen large pots were boiling, steaming hot. Some soldiers from the Bamu Battalion who were helping continuously added firewood. The wet firewood burned, emitting wisps of black smoke.
In addition, dozens of medicine pots were simmering with herbal decoctions. The apprentices boiling the medicine sent the aroma of various herbs to every corner of the temporary medical station.
The anxious common people felt much more at ease upon smelling the aroma of the medicinal herbs.
"There's too much smoke..." Sun Yu, who was taking the pulse of a patient, frowned as he looked at the black smoke in the room.
The billowing black smoke severely interfered with the examinations of Sun Yu and the others.
"General Yelihu, could you... add less wet firewood?" Fu Zhuo, who was also choking on the black smoke, said to Yelihu and the others.
"Alright, alright..." Yelihu agreed with a smile and then berated his subordinates, "Do you hear me? Keep the fire down, add less firewood. You two brutes, are you going to freeze to death if you don't huddle around the fire? If you harm these delicate flowers, I'll deal with you!"
You might as well not have reprimanded your subordinates... Fu Zhuo and Sun Yu both shook their heads speechlessly, then continued to care for the patients.
However, Fu Zhuo and Sun Yu and the others were already very satisfied. They felt that this Yan army was different from other Yan armies. Besides being arrogant and fierce, they did not harass or plunder the common people. They did not disturb Fu Zhuo and Sun Yu and the others in treating the patients, and they were even helping, though perhaps doing more harm than good...
Such an army was not comparable to other Yan armies, nor even to the Xia army. Although the Yan and Xia states had a peace treaty at this time, cross-border plundering was not uncommon. Xia soldiers robbed and plundered the people of Yan, and were even more ferocious than the Hu people.
Then what kind of person was the leader of this army, the Grand Commander of Donghai, Zhou Fugui? Fu Zhuo and the others were extremely curious.
"Camp Commander..." A young soldier from the Bamu Army shrank back and said, "It's raining and windy again. It's too cold without a fire."
This soldier had been recruited in Youzhou and other prefectures and counties; he was not an old soldier who had fought in the north with Zhou Fugui.
"What's so cold about this?" Yelihu said with a laugh. "You haven't been to the north, have you? If you go to the extreme north, you'll know that compared to there, this place is a furnace."
"No way? Camp Commander, are you bragging?" the young soldier said, shaking his head in disbelief.
"Am I bragging?" Yelihu glared at the young soldier and said, "Let me tell you, the north can be summed up in three words. What are those three words? They are cold, flat, and snowy. The cold in the north is different from here. In winter, heavy snow falls, and the snow is several feet deep. The further north you go, the thicker the snow becomes. It's so cold that your bones feel like they're going to freeze stiff, a bone-chilling cold that can freeze off your ears and nose. If you pee outside, it immediately turns into an icicle."
The young soldier felt a chill in his crotch and couldn't help but shrink back and click his tongue in amazement.
"General Yelihu, are you homesick?" another Bamu Battalion soldier asked with a smile.
Yelihu glared at him and remained silent.
Yelihu was indeed homesick. He missed the endless sky, the green grasslands, and the herds of cattle and sheep. Having come south, he didn't know when he would return to the northern grasslands.
While Yelihu was homesick, the medical officials at the Prefect's yamen had already started arguing with some medical practitioners.
"Doctor Sun, is it Plasmodium vivax malaria?" Fu Zhuo asked cautiously, seeing Sun Yu's solemn expression.
Sun Yu nodded and pondered for a long time before saying, "This green and yellow miasma is like the 'Shang Han' (cold damage) north of the mountains. In the Taiyin period, plants do not wither, and the miasma and epidemics do not emerge from hibernation. However, this poison is born from warmth. When the weather gets warmer, it will emerge and infect both humans and animals. It is extremely potent."
"Sir, I'm cold... save... save me." At this moment, some patients lay on the ground groaning in pain. In the summer, they still felt incredibly cold despite being covered with several layers of cotton quilts. Their teeth chattered uncontrollably. Surprisingly, some cried out in the cold, while others cried out in the heat, desperately tearing off their clothes. Some even scratched their skin raw.
Sun Yu looked at the patients, sighed, and continued, "This is the symptom of this disease. It is suddenly extremely cold, then suddenly extremely hot. It begins with the fine hairs, followed by yawning and stretching. Shivering and chattering teeth, accompanied by pain in the waist and back. When the cold subsides, the body becomes hot inside and out, with a splitting headache and a thirst for cold drinks. This is caused by the malaria evil. According to medical records, I preliminarily judge this to be Plasmodium vivax malaria, also known as alternating fever."
"So, it's Plasmodium vivax malaria?" Although Fu Zhuo had some preparation, he still seemed to be asking Fan Yu, or perhaps talking to himself.
Fan Yu nodded. "Yes, Plasmodium vivax malaria is rampant."
"What kind of Plasmodium vivax malaria?" Fu Zhuo asked next.
Although Fu Zhuo was not a physician, he had read some medical books and knew that Plasmodium vivax malaria was divided into many types, each with different consequences. Some people recovered quickly, some recovered after a period of time, but many still died from the disease.
Sun Yu shook his head. "I can't determine it within a short period. I'll need a few more days to make a judgment."
"Doctor Sun, we can wait, but the patients cannot afford to wait," a physician named Huang said to Sun Yu.
"Oh, according to your opinion, how should it be treated?" Sun Yu asked.
"Once diagnosed, it can be treated with herbal decoctions," replied Physician Huang.
"How to diagnose?" Sun Yu frowned.
"Isn't it obvious? The patient's symptoms are right there. It's likely to be cold malaria or warm malaria," Physician Huang replied.