Ji Han Da Sima

Chapter 401 Plague Nightmare

AD 217, the nd year of Jian'an, April st.

Sikou, the camp of the Han army.

In the big tent, Huo Jun looked happy and chatted and laughed with Jiang Ji.

"According to the news from the three generals, they went north to relocate the people and defeated the three counties of Xiaxiang, Lingxian, and Quli, and gained more than 3,000 households. The results were quite fruitful!"

Huo Jun sat on the couch and said with a smile: "Moving more than 3,000 households to Huainan will greatly enrich the population of the Jianghuai River. With the help of the common people, and the supply from Jiangzuo in the future, we can protect Huaiyin and Zhongli!"

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and said: "The Jianghuai River is vast, thousands of miles from east to west, and there are many important military towns. If the king allows it, Xiapi County may be added for border control."

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said: "I will report this matter to the king. After the king makes a decision, he can decide whether to add Xiapi County!"

There are three counties in the Jianghuai region, namely Lujiang County, with the governor Huo Du; Jiujiang County, with the governor Jiang Ji; and Guangling County, with the governor Liu Ji. Previously, there was a governor of Xiapi in Yaoyao, who was appointed by Changxi. The three counties of Jianghuai and Jianghuai did not belong to Yangzhou, but belonged to Xuzhou in the Southern Han Dynasty. Huo Jun was the governor of Xuzhou.

Now Huo Jun went north this time. Although he failed to capture Xiapi, he extended the front to the north for more than a hundred miles. Except for Shouchun, the Huainan area was entirely under the control of the Southern Han Dynasty.

The territory expanded, and with the Huainan land of Xiapi County, it was not impossible for the Southern Han Dynasty to actually reestablish Xiapi County. Of course, since the people are sparse, it is not impossible to continue to govern Guangling and Jiujiang counties.

Everything must be considered from the Jianghuai military and political perspectives to consider whether it is necessary to add Xiapi County. After all, in troubled times, there must always be a carrot pit to satisfy the meritorious generals of the Southern Dynasty.

For example, the generals who followed Huo Jun in his southern and northern campaigns formed a Jianghuai military group with complicated interpersonal relationships because they fought in the Jianghuai River all year round.

Among the generals who followed Huo Jun, except for Huo Du and Jiang Ji who were promoted to prefect, Xu Sheng and Gao Xiang had to worship Tinghou. Such an ordinary official position can no longer meet the needs of the generals. Jiang Ji said this to Huo Jun, it was nothing more than a subtle reminder.

After saying that, Huo Jun looked at the people in the tent and said with a smile: "I have written down the detailed process of this battle and sent someone to hand it over to the king. After reading it, the king was greatly impressed and ordered his followers to come and reward you."

"Your Majesty's kindness!" the generals said with a smile as they cupped their hands.

Before he finished speaking, Huo Fan walked into the tent with the letter in hand.

"Captain, your Majesty and Deputy Governor Lu ordered someone to deliver a letter!" Huo Fan handed over the letter and said.

Huo Jun used a knife to open the ink pad and took out Liu Bei's letter first.

In Liu Bei's letters, he mostly described the reasons why his subordinates were not optimistic about continuing the Northern Expedition and suggested that Liu Bei withdraw his troops. For example, Shouchun was difficult to conquer, an epidemic broke out in the army, and Cao Cao's troops were numerous.

Of course Liu Bei also knew these objective conditions, but Liu Bei was unwilling to withdraw his troops. Liu Bei wanted to choose Pang Tong's suggestion and confront Cao Cao until the autumn, and then make his next judgment.

But the news from Lu Su from Bagong Mountain put Liu Bei in a dilemma. Therefore, Liu Bei wanted to ask Huo Jun for his opinion on whether to withdraw his troops and return home.

Touching his mustache, Huo Jun was thoughtful.

After a while, Huo Jun looked up at Jiang Ji and asked, "Does Zitong know about the epidemic in the army?"

Jiang Ji nodded slightly and said: "I have heard a little bit. Since the king led his army to station in Shouchun, due to the low-lying terrain and frequent rains, the hands and feet of the soldiers were swollen first, and then the heat and cold struck. The doctors often had poor medical skills and prescribed medicines. It’s ineffective, so many soldiers are sick.”

"What's wrong?"

Jiang Ji thought for a while and said, "Maybe it's typhoid fever or malaria."

When he mentioned malaria, Jiang Ji looked unhappy and said, "If it's malaria, it might become a big epidemic!"

Not only did Jiang Ji look unhappy, Huo Jun also looked downcast, sighing and saying: "I hope it's typhoid fever, not malaria. If it's malaria, it's not a good thing for the country or the army."

Malaria is the malaria of later generations. In ancient Chinese, a minor disease is called a disease, and a serious disease is called a disease. Therefore, malaria was called malaria in ancient times.

Malaria has been recorded since the pre-Qin period. After thousands of years, malaria is still tormenting mankind. Whether it is cinchona, or drugs such as artemisinin, they can only suppress malaria but cannot eliminate it.

As for cinchona, it is produced in the South American continent and was introduced to China during the Age of Discovery. However, as the drug resistance of malaria increases, the effect of cinchona gradually weakens, and it is no longer enough to treat malaria.

Therefore, in ancient times, those who contracted malaria would almost die a hundred times and only have one life. For example, when Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty contracted malaria, he would have died of malaria if he had not received the golden pheasant cream presented by the missionaries.

Feeling a little heavy, Huo Jun opened Lu Su's letter.

Huo Jun frowned when he saw the letter written by Lu Su. In the letter, Lu Su pointed out directly that the army generals had been diagnosed with malaria, not a disease such as wind and cold.

In his Bagong Mountain camp, the number of sick soldiers was increasing day by day, and malaria was gradually spreading. Lu Su was worried that a further plague would form and spread to all armies. Moreover, Lu Su felt that he was not in good health. On the day when he wrote the letter, he seemed to be suffering from malaria and was shaking from the cold.

Holding the letter, Huo Jun couldn't help but be startled!

"Captain!"

Jiang Ji saw that Huo Jun looked strange and asked, "Did Zijing mention malaria in his letter, or was it something bad happened at the Battle of Bagong Mountain?"

Huo Jun put down the letter, exhaled, and sighed: "According to what Zijing said, it's not the wind and cold, but malaria. And Zijing seems to have malaria, and the situation is not optimistic." "What?"

Jiang Ji was surprised and said: "Zijing has always been in good health and is good at bow and horse. Why is he suddenly suffering from malaria? Could it be that the plague has spread widely in the Bagong Mountain camp? How is brother Bochong doing now?"

Huo Jun stood up from the couch, his face full of sorrow.

The word plague hung over his mind like a nightmare. The plague that spread all over the world in his previous life and the horrific plague in the first year of Jian'an were deep in his memory.

In the first year of Jian'an, there was a great epidemic in Nanyang. Not only did his parents fall ill and die, but his fiancée and her family who lived in Fancheng also suffered many casualties.

Now malaria appears in the army, and Lu Su has already contracted it. What about his brother Huo Du?

According to the previous letter, my brother said that he was fine. Now I can only hope that my brother is safe and not infected with malaria.

"Withdraw troops!"

Huo Jun put his hands behind his waist and said in a deep voice: "We cannot continue to confront Cao Cao now. We must withdraw our troops. If we do not withdraw in time, how many soldiers will die in the Huai River?"

"When malaria is most prevalent in the summer, if it is not handled properly, not only will the king's army suffer heavy losses, but the people of Wu and Chu will also suffer from the plague. It will be difficult to save the time, and two of the three will die. Only every household will weep. !”

Although Huo Jun has no medical knowledge, he is lucky that Mr. Tu won the award and has a rough understanding of malaria out of curiosity. Malaria is spread through blood and mosquitoes, not through the air or saliva.

The only way to prevent the spread of malaria today is to eliminate mosquitoes. During the march, in order to conveniently obtain water sources, they only camped near mountains and rivers, which greatly facilitated the spread of malaria.

The sanitary conditions and living environment during marching operations are far inferior to those in camps after returning home. At the same time, the army is a crowd-gathering organization with densely populated areas. Mosquitoes breed in large numbers in swamps, which greatly facilitates the spread of malaria.

Especially in midsummer, the Jianghuai area is sparsely populated all year round, and countless mosquitoes live in the mountains and forests. In an era without mosquito nets and mosquito coils, mosquitoes would be a nightmare for many people.

Everyone is equal before malaria. It doesn't recognize your identity. Once you get it, it basically means you have to report to the underworld.

No matter what, the fight cannot continue. If the fighting continues, not only the soldiers will be infected with malaria, but also the people in Jianghuai and Huaihe River will be infected with malaria. At that time, the Jianghuai epidemic spread to Wu and Chu. It was undoubtedly a catastrophe for the Southern Han Dynasty.

After pondering for a long time, Huo Jun said: "I will leave the camp tomorrow and rush to the Chinese army to persuade the king's troops to return to the court to eliminate the malaria to avoid the formation of a plague."

"In the meantime, the soldiers in Sikou were temporarily commanded by Zitong. Any mosquitoes they saw were killed immediately and more mugwort was taken to repel mosquitoes. The soldiers of each battalion were strictly ordered not to bare their arms to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes."

"Mosquitoes?" Jiang Ji asked with a puzzled expression.

"Exactly!"

Huo Jun looked serious and said: "Mosquitoes not only suck human blood, but also animal blood. The blood of humans and animals are incompatible and converge in the mosquito's body, breeding the evil spirit of malaria. Mosquitoes containing evil spirit bite the flesh and blood, and the evil spirit invades The human body, this is where the old man got malaria!”

Huo Jun's mixture of ancient and modern medicine made Jiang Ji stunned.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Ji suddenly rolled up his sleeves, revealing the redness and swelling of mosquito bites on his wrists, and asked nervously: "Captain, Ji was injured by a mosquito this morning. I wonder if there is malaria in it?"

Seeing Jiang Ji like this, Huo Jun suddenly couldn't laugh or cry and said: "The evil energy of malaria is difficult to see with the naked eye. According to the current situation, mosquitoes containing evil energy should be born in the west of Huaihe, and mosquitoes in the east of Huaibei should be less likely to contain the evil energy of malaria. But I The army is located in the lower reaches of the Huai River, and we must be prepared for the fear of evil spirits spreading eastward."

Hearing Huo Jun's explanation, Jiang Ji felt relieved.

"The governor is well aware of malaria. Is there any prescription to cure it?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun's face became solemn again and he sighed: "Although I know the origin of malaria, I don't have a cure for malaria."

Hearing this, Jiang Jin's expectant eyes dimmed again and he said: "Only by looking at the good doctors in the south can we find a cure for malaria."

Huo Jun said softly in that low and inaudible voice: "Artemisinin?"

Then, Huo Jun shook his head secretly. How can malaria be cured without artemisinin refined by modern technology?

The ingredients in artemisinin can cure malaria, but it has not been widely spread, which may prove that artemisinin treatment methods are extremely immature or have serious risks.

However, no matter what, the only thing left to do now is to persuade Liu Bei to withdraw his troops and minimize the losses caused by malaria.

Patting Jiang Ji on the shoulder, Huo Jun said: "After tomorrow, the army will have Zitong in charge. The army's camping regulations must be strictly observed and must not be changed without authorization. Mosquitoes will be killed to prevent the spread of malaria."

"Since the Commander-in-Chief knows the dangers of malaria, he should be more careful when traveling westward," Jiang Ji said.

"good!"

(End of this chapter)