Chapter Eleven: Rescue and Treatment of the Wounded
In the city of Gaoling, after returning to the city, Liu, Guan and Zhang's faces were gloomy, all silent. Zhang Fei's iron fist was clenched tightly, his steel teeth gritted. This Xu Feng, not very old, not very capable, yet scolded so viciously, but it seemed there was some reason to it. The Yellow Turbans outside the city were indeed poor commoners. Although they themselves had high martial arts skills, taking action against these people was somewhat cruel, even a bit despicable.
"Second brother, have we really done wrong?" Zhang Fei turned around and asked Guan Yu.
"Third brother, don't speak rashly. We're helping the imperial court to quell the rebellion and eliminate the rebels, what's wrong with that?" Liu Bei rebuked ahead of time.
"Big brother, but..." Zhang Fei wanted to say more, but seeing Guan Yu gave him a glance, he hastily swallowed his words back.
Taking a glance at Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei let out a light sigh, turned his back to the two of them, and his face grew increasingly cold. "You're detestable, Xufeng! This move of yours is indeed vicious, even my second and third brothers were almost swayed by you. I, Liu Bei, swear to take your head."
On this day, within a hundred miles of Zhuo County, all the pharmacies were in an uproar. The Yellow Turbans stormed in, and the pharmacists were frightened to the point of collapse. They thought they had encountered bandits, but these people were indeed ruthless. Without saying a word, they moved out all the medicinal herbs from the pharmacy, not even sparing the warehouse in the backyard.
The owner of the pharmacy, seeing this scene, was desperate and thought his business was over. He was considering whether to end his life when the leader of the group left a heavy bag of money behind. When he opened it, the pharmacist burst into tears of joy, turning sorrow into happiness. As long as they were willing to pay, he didn't care if they took everything away, even if they used it as firewood.
The owner of the pharmacy was frightened, but fortunately, it was not serious. However, the nearby doctors were in trouble. The people of Xue City were indeed efficient and took away the doctors without saying a word, just like bandits. Not only did they not spare the doctors, but even the veterinarians who treated animals were not let off. After all, it was a chaotic era, and there were not many doctors to begin with. Hou San thought he was clever and felt that having these veterinarians might not be a bad thing, perhaps they could help out.
Half a day's work, all the nearby doctors were "invited" to the Yellow Turban Army camp, and the medicine was piled up like a mountain. Where did the money come from to buy the medicine? The Yellow Turban Army had robbed so many rich households before, so they didn't have to worry about money or food.
"Hey, what are you doing? I haven't done anything wrong, please spare my life!" The tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans' camp was in an uproar. These doctors had never seen such a scene before. Faced with the armed and armored soldiers, they were all scared out of their wits, hastily kneeling down to beg for mercy, shouting "Spare our lives!"
"Ah." Glaring at Xue Cheng, Xu Feng said to the guests with a hint of politeness, "Sorry everyone, I'm afraid I've been too hasty in inviting you here. My brothers under me are all rough men, so if there's any disrespect, please forgive us. I assure you, we mean no harm, and you can rest assured. We have many injured brothers here, and I hope you can lend a hand to help treat them. Thank you."
"This..." Seeing Xu Feng's friendly attitude and gentle tone, the crowd was no longer as panicked as before, but the Yellow Turban camp, filled with a solemn and murderous atmosphere, still made everyone feel uneasy.
"Don't worry, once you help me treat the injuries of my soldiers, I will let you go. We, the Yellow Turbans, are here to stand up for the people and oppose the corrupt government. Don't you support what we do?" Xu Feng persuaded again.
"Okay, I'm willing to stay."
"I'm willing too." Someone took the lead and soon many people nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry, this is a medical bill, I, Xu Feng, won't shortchange any of you. Everyone please rest assured, our Yellow Turbans are not bandits or robbers."
"General Xu, we trust you. We will go and treat the wounded brothers." Xu Feng's words dispelled everyone's doubts. These doctors were mostly from humble origins and knew that the Yellow Turbans were indeed fighting on behalf of the people against the imperial court. With Xu Feng being so polite and reasonable, they no longer had any worries.
"Alright, Xú is grateful to everyone here, and Xue Cheng will take them to get treatment for the brothers."
Promise
Seeing these men enter the wounded brother's tent and busy themselves, Xu Feng finally let out a sigh of relief.
Xu Feng was inspecting the camp while thinking of a plan to break into the city. Although there were not many defenders in Zhuo County, after all, there were three formidable opponents. These three men had fought fiercely today, and Xu Feng did not dare underestimate them. It's said that a tiger is hard to defeat by a group of wolves, but looking at the disorganized soldiers beside him, Xu Feng let out a light sigh: "But these people are just a flock of sheep."
However, with 20,000 people, even if each person spits a mouthful of saliva, it would be enough to drown the city of Zhuo in the ocean. Xu Feng was well aware of this numerical advantage, and it was the only thing he could take advantage of.
Looking at the distant Gaoyang City watchtower, the soldiers guarding the city on top of the tower were waiting in a strict formation, some patrolling and others on high alert, without any slackness. After this battle, Xufeng knew that there were no more than 2,000 defenders inside the city, with a ratio of ten to one. With a flicker of his eyes, a sly smile appeared at the corner of Xufeng's mouth.
"Just wait and see, I will definitely eat in Zhuoxian County."
After a day of busy treatment, most of the wounded soldiers received proper care. Xu Feng stayed in his tent for a night without sleep. The wounded soldiers were moved by Xu's kindness and vowed to follow him to death once they recovered from their injuries, charging into battle bravely to repay Xu's great favor today.
Those doctors who were invited, Xu Feng did not go back on his word. Not only did he give them a generous diagnosis fee, but also advised them kindly, hoping they could stay in the army and contribute their efforts. Most of them had wives and children at home and didn't want to come here to take risks. However, there were still many people who were convinced by Xu Feng's character and willing to stay.
"Xu Feng, you're as thoughtful as I expected. General Zhou was remiss." On the second day, after hearing his subordinate's report, Zhou Cang hastily summoned Xu Feng and couldn't help but loudly praise him as soon as they met.
"General, you're injured. These trivial matters can be handled by me. Why don't you focus on recovering your body first?" Xu Feng said with concern, glancing at Zhou Cang's wounded chest.
Zhou Cang waved his hand hastily and changed the subject, saying seriously "It doesn't matter, Xu Feng. Do you have a good strategy for breaking this city?"
"General, the enemy is only two thousand people, and we have more than twenty thousand people under our account. General, just take good care of your wound, and leave the matter of breaking the city to us." After thinking for a night, Xu Feng had already made up his mind and took the initiative to ask for the task.
"Alright, all the soldiers are at your disposal. Now that you're a deputy general, how can the general not have a good horse? Someone, bring me my Xiliang horse." Zhou Cang ordered his subordinate.
Promise
Not much effort was required, a fine steed was led out by a soldier to the outside of the tent. "Come, come, come, take a look at the warhorse I've chosen for you, are you satisfied?" Zhou Cang pulled Xu Feng along, smiling as they walked out of the commander's tent.
