People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 6 Brothers in Suffering
"Zhongjing, you have been behaving strangely lately. You either stare blankly at your palm or stare at a drop of water without moving your eyes. What's wrong? Are you worried about something?"

It was freezing cold in the early morning. Under a simple thatched hut made of branches and leaves, two people were sitting in front of a campfire to keep warm.

One of them was sitting cross-legged on the ground, staring in a daze at the dewdrops on the leaves next to him. He was Zhang Zhongjing, who helped the Yellow Turbans save many people.

Hearing the question, Zhang Zhongjing turned his head and took a look. Sitting next to him was a fellow captive of the Yellow Turbans like himself.

His name was Ju Su, with the courtesy name Gong Yu. He came from a noble family in Guangping, Jizhou, and served as the Beijia of Jizhou.

When Zhang Jue launched the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Jizhou was at the center of the vortex, and Ju Su was inevitably captured by the Yellow Turbans.

The two men were captives and gradually became familiar with each other. Now seeing Zhang Zhongjing's strange behavior, Ju Shou was naturally a little confused.

"Nothing, I just heard some medical theories from Xu Chen and had some insights, so I tried to study them. But it's hard to figure out what to study, which is really frustrating."

Zhang Zhongjing sighed. After hearing this, he also felt that he seemed to be a little obsessed recently. Even though he couldn't see anything, he still couldn't help staring and observing.

When he heard the name "Xu Chen", Ju Shou immediately knew who it was. He was the figure who had suddenly become famous among the Yellow Turbans in recent days. It was said that he had obtained some method revealed by God to quell the plague, which attracted those ignorant bandits to pursue him.

Ju Shou disagreed with this. He thought it was just an old trick of the bandit chief Zhang Jue. These guys could only use this method to fool people.

"Zhongjing is a scholar who is well versed in medicine. How could he be fooled by Taoist tricks?" Ju Su found it a little difficult to understand. He didn't think that someone like Zhang Zhongjing would believe in such tricks.

Zhang Zhongjing shook his head, and was at a loss for words. In the end, he just asked Ju Shou a question: "Gong Yu, do you think there is a microscopic world beyond the limits of human vision?"

At this point, Zhang Zhongjing pointed to the dew on the leaves: "Just like this drop of water may be a world, there may be countless microorganisms living in it that you and I cannot see."

Upon hearing this, Ju Shou frowned. As soon as he heard it, he guessed that this was probably some medical theory of Xu Chen. He subconsciously felt that it was a bit absurd. How could such a drop of water contain the world?
But before he was about to speak, his eyes fell on the drop of dew and he was silent again.

He inexplicably felt that this statement seemed to have some artistic conception, of course, it was just some artistic conception.

"Whether it is true or false, as long as we can't see it, it is meaningless. The words of Taoism are illusory and Zhongjing should not be trusted lightly." After pondering for a while, Ju Shou gave his answer.

Zhang Zhongjing was somewhat disappointed when he heard this, but Ju Shou was not familiar with medicine after all, so it was not surprising that he could not appreciate the beauty of this microscopic theory.

"I think Xu Chen may not be as simple as you think. This theory may seem far-fetched, but it is consistent with medical theory. It is definitely not some mysterious Taoist technique."

"So what? The Yellow Turbans are now doomed. How can these few remnants resist the imperial court's encirclement and suppression? No matter how simple he is, he is just a rebel. In the end, he will inevitably lose his head. Why bother with him?"

Ju Shou was not in any mood to discuss Xu Chen. He just analyzed the current situation calmly, and there was some disdain in his tone.

"Although the Yellow Turbans have managed to escape the plague, they still have to leave the forest eventually. Outside, there are soldiers waiting in formation. They will die anyway."

Zhang Zhongjing was speechless for a moment when he heard this. What Ju Shou said was indeed right. The Yellow Turbans had escaped the plague, but they would have to take on the next tough battle.

It is now impossible for the Yellow Turbans to move directly from the mountains. Marching in the mountains is difficult in itself, and the Yellow Turbans are even more unable to sustain themselves due to the lack of military rations. Therefore, the only way they have is to break through the Han army outside head-on.

Zhang Zhongjing didn't think that the Yellow Turbans in front of him could defeat the Han army outside. As a prisoner, Zhang Zhongjing certainly hoped to be rescued by the officers and soldiers, but it would be a pity if Xu Chen was executed. In a micro-view, he still wanted to communicate more with Xu Chen.

While the two were talking, the Yellow Turban soldiers who were guarding them came over.

Because Zhang Zhongjing had treated Huang Jin before, Huang Jin nodded politely at Zhang Zhongjing.

But when facing Ju Shou, he became ferocious.

"The leader has ordered that from today onwards, no one is allowed to light a bonfire in the forest. You must put out the fire immediately. You can only light it when you are allowed to do so!"

Zhang Zhongjing and Ju Shou both frowned when they heard this. This was not good news.

Ju Su said: "It's cold this season, how can we endure it without a bonfire?"

The Yellow Turban soldier snorted coldly, "You are so precious, right? We Yellow Turbans are still suffering from the cold. The leader said that most of the bonfires must be cut down now!"

As they were under the eaves, Ju Shou had no choice but to nod with an unpleasant expression: "We understand, we will put out the bonfire immediately."

The Yellow Turban soldiers were satisfied. After glaring at Ju Su, they staggered to a distance and sat down, staring closely at the captured Han officials.

Zhang Zhongjing was confused. If he simply did not allow the captives to light a fire, it could be explained as torturing the captives to force them to obey the Yellow Turbans.

But if even the Yellow Turbans themselves didn't know most of it, he wouldn't know what Xu Chen's purpose was in making such a fuss. Isn't this just looking for trouble?
However, after thinking for a moment, Ju Su seemed to have figured something out. His face changed slightly and he looked worried.

"Perhaps what Zhongjing said is right. This Xu Chen is really not simple. If the officers and soldiers are careless, they may suffer a great loss here!"

……

Outside the woods, there is a camp surrounded by the Han army, with a thousand soldiers stationed inside. There are often small teams patrolling outside, and most of the soldiers inside the camp are also practicing drills.

This Han army was well-disciplined and well-trained, and looked much stronger than the scattered Yellow Turbans in the forest.

These were the one thousand elite cavalrymen left here by Huangfu Song, the Left General of the Han Dynasty. Convinced that the Yellow Turbans were carrying the plague, Huangfu Song naturally would not deploy too many troops here.

As long as the Yellow Turbans are kept under control, they will be mostly wiped out by the plague in due time. Leaving behind a thousand elite cavalry will be enough to finish them off. Even if there are any accidents, the cavalry can maneuver freely to advance and retreat and protect themselves.

The Han army general in charge of this unit at this time was Fu Xie, the guard general under Huangfu Song.

Fu Xie, who had been waiting here for more than ten days, had almost run out of patience. Although he did not rush into the forest rashly, he could still tell the movements of the Yellow Turbans from the smoke from the campfires in the forest every day.

More than ten days later, Fu Xie discovered that the number of the Yellow Turbans' bonfires had decreased dramatically, and today there were only a few left. This made him excited.

"It's so cold, but the enemy army doesn't light a campfire. Most of them must have died of illness. If that's the case, then our army should go into the mountains!"

(End of this chapter)