Chapter 44: The Divine Doctor Gu

  Plague!

  Gu Zhenhua heard this and suddenly felt a little dizzy, the late Ming dynasty was indeed plagued by frequent wars, natural disasters and man-made disasters, especially the plague was terrifying, and some people even attributed the downfall of the great Ming dynasty to the plague.

  After arriving in this era, Gu Zhenhua indeed discovered many epidemics. During his time in the capital city, there were deaths every day, and Gu Zhenhua even flew a flag to transfer the families of those who died from the plague out of the city.

  However, when the plague really appeared around him, Gu Zhenhua still felt a chill in his heart. With the medical level of this era, it was probably impossible to control it. Once the plague broke out on a large scale in the military camp, the entire army might collapse, and no one could escape.

  "How did Po break out and discover the infection of the plague?"

  Yue Po Xu lowered his head, thought for a moment, and then said: "It was around yesterday afternoon when we first heard that other military camps had outbreaks of the plague. Then people in our camp started falling ill, and the number kept increasing. Especially this morning, when we took roll call, over 100 people were bedridden with illness. The military doctor said we need to isolate the patients, but then the news reached the general, who said that the situation is critical and we must deal with it quickly to prevent further infection."

  Yue Po Xu clenched his fist tightly, thinking of the sworn brothers who were together just a moment ago, and now they would be separated by life and death. The heart-wrenching pain was enough to drive one mad.

  It wasn't until now that Gu Zhenhua finally understood. The order to bury him alive was actually given by Wu Sangui, and indeed, benevolence does not control the army!

  However, this decision is also correct. If it's really a plague, those infected soldiers are the source of infection, and decisive disposal is also right.

  "Sir, I heard that the plague is a punishment from heaven. Is it because we did something wrong and offended heaven?" Yue Po asked timidly.

  Gu Zhenhua smiled and said, "In the eyes of God, we are just a crawling insect. Others have too many things to worry about and no time to bother with us. In fact, the plague is not that scary, as long as measures are taken properly, it can still be controlled."

  "Sir, can you still cure the plague?" Yu Po Xu asked excitedly.

  "It's not that it can be cured, but rather that it can be prevented. The plague doesn't come out of thin air, most of the time it's from the rotting corpses of animals or humans, and the bacteria that breed in them, especially those like rats. That's right, pneumonic plague!"

  Gu Zhenhua suddenly remembered that the plague at the end of the Ming dynasty had been unknown for a long time, but it was finally figured out by someone at the end of the Qing dynasty, and that person was Wu Lien-teh!

  When the Russians were building the Middle East Road, they destroyed the natural environment and caused a plague epidemic in Northeast China. Because the symptoms were different from those of the Black Death in the West, Westerners did not think it was the plague. However, after Wu Lien-teh's research, it was confirmed that what appeared in Northeast China was indeed the plague, but it was pneumonic plague, not bubonic plague like in the West!

  This also lifts the veil on the plague at the end of the Ming Dynasty. Thinking about the terrible mortality rate of pneumonic plague, Gu Zhenhua was also frightened to the core. If it really spread widely in the Ganning Army, Wu Sangui would be worried.

  What "Western Army", what "Flying Rat Epidemic", Yue Po Xu is a word that he can't hear, but it doesn't prevent the raging fire of hope from burning in his heart.

  Plop!

  Yue Po Xu suddenly knelt down in front of Gu Zhenhua, knocking his head loudly, and his forehead was red and swollen.

  "Stop! You old masters, don't kneel down at every turn, hurry up and get up."

  "Sir, please, our brothers are about to be buried alive! Can you think of a way to save them?"

  "It's not that I don't want to save the bandits, but once diagnosed with plague, I'm really helpless. Can only offer some suggestions, such as paying attention to ventilation and hygiene, wearing masks, and avoiding infecting others."

  "Come on, no matter what, a dead horse is still a doctor for a live horse, you have to help!"

  Gu Zhenhua also nodded: "Po Xu, you go find some clean gauze first."

  "Alas!" Yue Po Xu got up from the ground and ran off, soon returning with a large bundle of silk fabrics.

  "Is it enough for adults?"

  "Enough is enough! Your mouth isn't that big, do you need to use so many words?!"

  "Shut your mouth?"

  Gu Zhenhua ignored Yue Po's astonished expression, took a piece of gauze, and pulled out a dagger from his boot. He folded the gauze into a palm-sized piece, then tore two thin strips to tie the four corners together, creating a simple mask.

  "It's still pretty good." Gu Zhenhua tried it out and was very satisfied. Immediately after that, he also made one for Yue Po Xu.

  "Bring along and come with me to visit our sick brethren!"

  "What's this thing for?"

  "Haven't you heard of 'diseases enter through the mouth and troubles exit from it'? Put a gate on your mouth, so as not to spread infection."

  Yue Po Xu hastily put it on, and then trotted ahead to lead the way. After passing by several tents, they came to a tent full of patients in front.

  From far away, I heard a heart-wrenching scream, the sound was especially mournful, as if it came from hell.

  "Oh no, I don't want to die! Spare me!"

  "I want to see the general, don't kill me!"

  "Niu San, I've even blocked arrows for you before, we're brothers, can you really just watch me get buried alive?"

  ……

  The cries and wails were endless, and several soldiers couldn't bear it anymore, kneeling in front of Guo Yunlong, sobbing: "Sir, we can't bring ourselves to do it!"

  "We can't help but take them down, if they don't die, everyone will die. Let them rest assured, Ping Xibo has already said that after they die, their families will be taken care of by Ping Xibo, so let's all go with peace of mind."

  Guo Yunlong's words were tough, but his heart was bleeding. These were old subordinates who had followed him for many years and hadn't died on the battlefield, yet they ended up dying at the hands of their own people and being buried alive, which was simply unbearable.

  As the pit was dug deeper, death seemed to be getting closer. Just then, the guard following Guo Yunlong suddenly contorted his face, spat out a mouthful of yellow-green dirty water, and covered his abdomen with one hand before taking off in a sprint.

  One soldier was like this, two soldiers were like this, originally there were over a hundred people who had fallen ill, in an instant there were more than a dozen additional people, Guo Yunlong's face turned green.

  Standing tightly beside him was a middle-aged military doctor, this guy was thin and dry, with two yellow eyeballs rolling back and forth.

  "Guerrilla leader, see? I told you so. This is the plague and it has already spread throughout the entire camp. Act quickly and dispose of all the infected people. Perhaps we can still save more lives."

  Guo Yunlong furrowed his brow and couldn't help but ask: "Sir, don't you have any way to cure the illness?"

  "The plague is a heavenly disaster, a punishment sent down by the heavens. Perhaps my teacher Wu Youke still has the power to turn things around, but I am at a loss!"

  "Alas, it's also their fate. Come on, send our brothers off!" Guo Yunlong said painfully.

  Just then, Gu Zhenhua and Yue Poqiu also rushed over. From a distance, Gu Zhenhua asked, "What's that pungent smell?"

  "Be careful!"

  Gu Zhenhua hastily stopped in his tracks, looked down at his feet, and saw a yellow thing standing proudly before him. Looking around again, he found that the ground was covered with landmines, with almost no place to set foot.

  Where is the military camp, it has become an open-air toilet. Gu Zhenhua frowned and walked in. Just saw Guo Yunlong directing the soldiers to push the sick soldiers into the pit.

  "Oh no, I haven't lived enough yet!"

  The soldiers wailed and wept in pain, but the people around them seemed to be deaf, pushing people inside without hesitation, one after another, like dumping dumplings.

  At this time, Guo Yunlong also saw Gu Zhenhua, especially what made him astonished was that Gu Zhenhua still wore a piece of gauze, covering his mouth and nose, looking very strange.

  "Master Gu, what's going on here?"

  "Master Guo, Master Gu understands the plague." Yue Po Xu excitedly said: "This thing is called a mask, Master Gu said that wearing a mask can prevent infection! All brothers are saved!"

  As soon as Yue Po-wu finished speaking, Guo Yunlong and the surrounding soldiers were all shocked. This lord actually knew medicine too, it was really beyond their expectations.

  Yue Po Xu's excited shouting reignited the hopes of the soldiers in the pit, and a large black man stepped on someone else's shoulders, using all his strength to jump out of the one-zhang-deep pit. He grasped the edge of the pit with his hands, while others kicked his head and trampled his fingers, but he didn't care at all.

  "Master Guo, it's me, Hu Shan! Save me, I don't want to die!"

  As soon as he shouted, all the people in the pit followed suit. Some had been ill for a whole night and didn't know how many times they had run to the toilet, their strength was long gone, but at this moment, one by one, they also took Gu Zhenhua as the last straw to save their lives, shouting desperately.

  "Lord Gu, do you really understand the plague?" Gu Yunlong asked in surprise.

  "Not quite clear, just know a little bit."

  "Since you know a little, don't lose face." The military doctor behind Guo Yunlong sneered and said: "To be honest, my teacher is the famous Wu Youke, who has treated countless epidemic patients in Shanxi and Shaanxi. I learned all these skills from him, how could I go wrong?"

  Gu Zhenhua smiled slightly: "This gentleman, I didn't say you were right or wrong, can't I even take a look?"

  "It's a waste of time, and if more people get infected, I won't dare to take the blame!" The military doctor said with a sideways glance, looking extremely arrogant.

  "Sir, Mr. Sun is a straightforward person, please don't mind him. If you insist on seeing it, then take a look, after all, it's the only hope for my brothers."

  Gu Zhenhua ignored Sun Yiguan and went to the front of the soldiers, checking five or six people in a row. Guo Yunlong and Sun Yiguan followed behind him.

  After a while, Gu Zhenhua finally stood up and sighed: "The ancients said that quack doctors harm people, it's really not false, and they even harmed more than 100 people at once!"