People in the Three Kingdoms: Starting from Preaching

Chapter 81: Rich but Stingy
Compared to penicillin, the production of allicin is more realistic and feasible, and even in the Han Dynasty, the conditions for its production were fully available.

Xu Chen was able to produce allicin thanks to Taoist Zhang Jiao, who left behind a set of ready-made distillation equipment for alchemy. The Taoist's expertise was very helpful and saved him a lot of effort.

Garlic was introduced to the Western Regions by Zhang Qian, and it is not actually a cheap thing today. However, if the allicin extracted from it is really useful and can save wounded soldiers, then it would be worth it.

With the distillation equipment, you can also make anhydrous ethanol. You just need to mash the garlic and put it into the distiller, add anhydrous ethanol and slowly heat and distill it, and you can get allicin.

Now that the thing is ready, Xu Chen has no idea whether it will be effective or not.

"Then you will have to trouble Zhongjing to observe more in the future. If the number of patients with golden ulcers is very small after using allicin, it means that it is effective. I have recorded the method of preparing this substance, and it can be copied in large quantities for medical treatment in the future. It can be regarded as a magic weapon of my Yellow Turban."

Xu Chen bowed and spoke to Zhang Zhongjing with an expectant look on his face.

Zhang Zhongjing packed up his things, put on his backpack, and smiled faintly.

"It's not hard work. Treating illnesses and saving lives is the job of a doctor. Besides, this trip to the military camp to treat the wounded has greatly helped me to study simple treatment methods. These tried and tested methods can be recorded in the "Barefoot Doctor's Handbook" in the future."

Xu Chen nodded, but he did not let Zhang Zhongjing go. Instead, he took him to patrol the military medical camp.

The two of them also discussed some treatment methods from time to time, which also surprised Zhang Zhongjing very much.

In fact, after getting to know him, he had discovered that Xu Chen didn't know any medical skills, but he could always come up with some novel and useful treatment methods.

For example, the stitching technique I just learned was something I tried following his advice, and now it seems to be quite useful.

For example, the nursing that Xu Chen emphasized very much, helping patients stay clean and recover after treatment, although these behaviors are not considered medical treatments, they can indeed greatly improve the physical and mental health of patients, and Zhang Zhongjing saw this effect.

For Zhang Zhongjing, who regarded medicine as his pursuit, he was naturally very happy to discuss these things with Xu Chen.

Xu Chen, however, wanted to make the most of the great god Zhang Zhongjing. If he could perfect the mechanism of military doctors so that the soldiers could feel enough care on the battlefield, it would be of great help in motivating morale and retaining combat effectiveness.

The two men's conversation not only discussed medical and technical issues, but also touched upon the management issues of the military medical camp.

It just so happened that Zhang Zhongjing was a scholar himself, and was not unfamiliar with talking about these things. So after the two of them summarized the existing problems and experiences in the military camp, regulations for the military medical camp came out one after another.

What Xu Chen needs is to develop the military medical battalion in a regular manner.

Now that the army is still on the march, Xu Chen has no choice but to wander around the military camp leisurely. Now that he has to set up camp and defend it, he is really too idle. He has to find something to do.

The first day passed and night fell before Xu Chen left the military medical camp and ordered the entire army to light a fire and cook.

The first day of the Yellow Turbans' arrival was so peaceful, which was something Xu Chen and his men had not expected when they set out on the expedition, and neither had Zhang Chun and the others in the city.

Early the next morning, when Zhang Chun led everyone to the top of the city wall, they looked at the Yellow Turban camp in the distance.

Although they were far away, they could vaguely see the defensive formation of the Yellow Turbans. There were people moving around in the military camps and tents, and craftsmen were working on the large engineering equipment. Even when they were stationed, the Yellow Turbans still maintained sufficient preparations for war, and they still looked powerful from afar.

Although the Yellow Turbans' 9,000 troops were unable to completely lay siege to the city, a thousand cavalrymen were divided into several groups and patrolled in various directions of Pinggu, completely blocking the entire city.

This situation made Zhang Chun silent for a moment.

Although it’s good that the Yellow Turbans are not in a hurry to attack, it seems that they have completely given up on siege, which is not a good thing!

Zhang Chun looked around and saw that all the soldiers guarding the city were delighted. He knew why they were so happy.

How can we not be happy if we can just make money without fighting a war?
But this made Zhang Chun unhappy. You have to fight, and more people will die. Just don’t let the Yellow Turbans break through the defense line. How can you just waste time like this? If no one dies, I don’t know how much more money I will have to pay!
He turned to look at Tian Chou beside him and said, "The Yellow Turbans are only surrounding but not attacking. What's going on?"

Tian Chou only hesitated for a moment, then said, "I'm afraid the Yellow Turbans, seeing that it's difficult to capture the city, are planning to besiege it and attack its reinforcements."

"Besiege the city and attack the reinforcements." Zhang Chun thought it made sense, but he frowned immediately afterwards: "How dare the Yellow Turbans be so arrogant? When the reinforcements arrive, it is still unknown whether they will besiege the city and attack the reinforcements, or we will attack from both sides."

Tian Chou added: "In that case, we will see the truth then."

Zhang Chun glanced at the soldiers who were at ease on both sides, but shook his head: "No, I can't wait!"

When Tian Chou heard this, he immediately understood that Zhang Chun was unwilling to give more reward money.

The powerful families have a deep foundation far beyond the imagination of ordinary people. When Emperor Lingdi sold official positions and titles, they could easily spend hundreds of millions or even hundreds of millions of money. For example, Cao Song, the father of Cao Cao, later spent hundreds of millions of money to buy the position of Taiwei. All the wealth in the world was amassed by them for their own use.

If Zhang really had to use up all his family fortune, it would be enough to deal with these few soldiers, but the more money he had, the more stingy he would be. He would never want Zhang Chun to spend his money on the peasants.

Tian Chou advised, "The battle is the most important thing. Wait for the reinforcements to arrive and then join forces to attack. This is the best time to defeat the bandits. As for the matter that the general is worried about, there are other ways to deal with it."

Zhang Chun's eyes lit up when he heard this: "Zitai, why don't you tell me in detail!"

Tian Chou smiled faintly, then said: "When the reinforcements arrive, the general can reward the defenders instead of the attackers, and drive the soldiers to kill the bandits desperately. From the momentum of the Yellow Turbans' attack on the city yesterday, we know that the enemy is fierce. If both armies fight to the death, the result will be tragic. This way, we can defeat the bandits and reduce expenditures. Why not do it, general?"

In other words, the two men were far away from the soldiers, otherwise, if these words were heard, who knows what the soldiers would think.

However, when Zhang Chun heard this, his eyes suddenly lit up. This was exactly what he was worried about. After hearing what Tian Chou said, he immediately relaxed. As long as enough people died, he wouldn't have to pay much money.

After a brief battle with the Yellow Turbans yesterday, he could see that they were very brave. This was not good news for him yesterday, but reinforcements would arrive in a few days, and he hoped that the Yellow Turbans would be more powerful.

Without the worry of the Yellow Turbans breaking into the city one day, Zhang Chun immediately became a qualified cold-blooded aristocrat.

No matter how many soldiers die in the war, we won’t feel sad because we can just recruit more later. The money is ours!

(End of this chapter)