Chapter Seventeen: The Search Party

  Li Ping saw Wu Bing finish his task and asked the question in her mind: "Brother Wu, why can't they use fire to roast?"

  Wu Bing raised his head and found that everyone was looking at him with questioning eyes, wanting to hear what he had to say.

  Heart's words: If I don't make it clear to them today, these people will absolutely not let it go. Alright, I'll also sell my knowledge of first aid that I've learned.

  Wu Bing sat down and, like a teacher speaking to students, said to the crowd: You all listen carefully! This is because the frozen area first constricts blood vessels, and then hinders blood flow. If you use fire to roast the frostbite at this time

  Using hot water to scald or soak can cause the surface blood vessels to dilate while the deeper blood vessels remain constricted. Due to poor blood circulation and hypoxia of subcutaneous tissues, metabolic products cannot be eliminated, which can worsen frostbite and even lead to ulcers. Moreover, frostbite victims often suffer from numbness at the affected area

  Loss of sensation, sometimes frostbite is used to scald the fire and do not know themselves. Therefore, frostbite should not be used to scald the frostbite after local use of hand 'rub' or slowly warm as appropriate.

  And those two who fainted earlier used snow to rub, actually doing so will not only fail to relieve frostbite, but will instead worsen the condition leading to redness and blistering of the skin; soaking the affected area in hot or cold water after frostbite is also incorrect. The correct method is to keep the whole body warm and quickly take care of it properly.

  Move the injured person to a warm environment, remove their clothes and cover them with a blanket. Wrap hot water bottles or flasks in cloth or clothing and place them under the armpits or groin area to rapidly raise body temperature. Alternatively, soak the injured person in 34-35°C water for 5-10 minutes, then increase the water temperature to 40-42°C until they show signs of rewarming.

  After rhythmic breathing stops warming up. The wounded person can drink hot drinks after being conscious.

  Wu Bing looked at everyone with wide eyes and asked: Did you understand what I just said?

  The little nurse said with a twist of her mouth: Some places are clear, some places can't be heard.

  Wu Bing slapped his forehead and thought to himself: I forgot what era I'm in, the poor people of this era are basically illiterate, let alone these miserable 'girls'.

  He hastily said to the crowd: To put it in a more understandable way, it's like taking a piece of frozen meat and roasting it over fire. The outside is charred, but the inside is still frozen. You can peel off the charred part from the meat, but what about human limbs?

  If you peel it off, think about what the consequences are.

  You all remember that the key is to let the frostbite recover, as long as the recovery is successful, it's easy to treat. From now on, when encountering frostbite, just rescue and treat like this, everyone nodded in agreement after listening to Wu Bing's straightforward explanation.

  After a while, the four warriors who were soaking in water said one after another that their legs had regained sensation, but the recovery of leg sensation brought about waves of pain.

  Wu Bing told the four not to panic, as this was a normal reaction, because all four of their "legs" had frostbite, and after thawing out, they would feel pain. After Wu Bing's explanation, the four finally put down their worries, and left some medicinal ointment for the four soldiers to apply to their wounds.

  Two frozen unconscious warriors have also regained consciousness, Wu Bing briefed them on the precautions and went to see the wounded warriors from today's battle. Seeing that their wounds were handled well, he didn't delay any further and returned to rest.

  The sentries dispatched at dawn also returned, and no enemy situation was found. It seems that we have completely lost contact with the enemy. The regiment decided that since we had shaken off the enemy, we would immediately change direction and head west to pursue the headquarters. Wu Bing's three companies became the vanguard of the entire army, opening the way.

  The troops were responsible for reconnaissance and guidance in front of the main force advancing forward.

  Wu Bing led a team of soldiers to open the way two miles ahead of the third company, and instructor Li Ping followed behind, ready to provide support at any time. The crowd continued to move forward with difficulty in the deep mountains and old forests covered with white snow for five days, and did not encounter the mountain-searching Ma bandits again.

  It seems that the enemy has withdrawn cleanly from the main peak area of Qilian Mountain.

  That day Wu Bing led everyone forward as usual, when suddenly a soldier was tripped by something and fell to the ground, followed by a sharp cry of "ah".

  Wu Bing heard the shout and felt a wave of annoyance in his heart, letting others keep watch as he walked to the fallen 'female' soldier and scolded: What are you shouting about? Don't you know the marching discipline?

  The scolded 'female' soldier's face turned pale and stuttered: Battalion Commander, you see.

  Lowering his head to look at the thing that tripped up the 'female' soldier, he was shocked to see a human leg covered in snow. After Wu Bing cleared away the snow, he discovered that it was an injured Red Army soldier who had frozen to death here. Seeing this, Wu Bing suddenly remembered some things he had seen before about

  The data of the Western Route Army contains a description by Ma's bandit commander, Ma Yuanhai, about the difficulties and harsh environment faced by the Red Army when they entered the main peak area of Qilian Mountains at that time.

  The lone army has penetrated deep into the narrow and rugged mountainous terrain of the Qilian Mountains, where the paths are steep and narrow, and logistical supplies are extremely difficult to overcome. Moreover, this region is home to the main peak of the Qilian Mountains, with an elevation of over 6,000 meters above sea level, where snow accumulates year-round and never melts, and in this harsh winter season, bandits roam freely.

  Entering the desolate mountainous area can only lead to a dead end. Moreover, most of the bandits are people who have grown up in the warm climate of the south and find it extremely difficult to adapt to the harsh and bone-chilling weather conditions. Therefore, the timing and geographical advantages are absolutely unfavorable.

  Indeed, in the severe cold of the Western Route Army, there were no cotton-padded jackets, and they did not dare to light a fire for warmth. When the troops stopped to camp overnight, cadres and soldiers would sit back-to-back in groups of three or two under a cliff or withered tree, covering their heads with a piece of sheepskin felt to keep warm. Every morning, there were always

  Some warriors could no longer stand up and were frozen to death on the Qilian Mountains, especially the wounded who died the most. When the Left Wing Army descended from the Qilian Mountains more than a dozen days later, only over 900 people survived out of 1,500.

  It was only because of their arrival that the originally doomed 'Women's' Regiment broke through the siege in an organized manner and managed to preserve itself. Moreover, when crossing the Qilian Mountains, they also brought sufficient supplies to sustain themselves, so as not to let the soldiers die from hunger and cold in the vast primitive forest.

  At that moment, Wu Bing heard a low sobbing sound. Turning back, he saw the 'female' soldiers wiping away tears, and couldn't help but let out a sigh, saying: "You two stand guard, the rest of you search around to see if there are any more martyrs' bodies."

  The crowd searched around and soon found the bodies of eight martyrs. Due to the severe cold, nine bodies still maintained their pre-mortem posture. Without tools, it was impossible to bury them, so Wu Bing had no choice but to let people use snow to bury them together.

  Just as Wu Bing and others were covering the martyrs' bodies with snow, Instructor Li Ping came up with the people of the third company.

  Wu Bing saw that it was Li Ping leading the three companies over, so he said to several soldiers who were burying something in the snow: Don't mention what you've seen for now, I'll report to the battalion commander.

  Seeing Wu Bing leading a few people piling up something with snow, he asked Wu Bing: "Brother Wu, what are you doing?"

  Walked to Li Ping's side, pulled her aside and whispered: Just now we found the remains of nine martyrs, which are being buried. My intention is not to spread it out for the time being, so as not to affect the morale of the troops, first report this matter to the regiment commander before making a decision.

  Li Ping's face suddenly turned sorrowful upon hearing Wu Bing's words, but she still nodded and let the troops quickly pass through here. When the soldiers passed by, although they didn't know what the vanguard team was doing specifically, they also vaguely guessed some of it.

  The march ended early that day, and the camp was set up at the foot of a mountain. That night, Wu Bing and Li Ping found Wang Tuanzhang and others in Commander Xiong's tent. Wu Bing recounted the discovery of the soldier's body,

  Several people in the tent were silent.

  Suddenly, the bear instructor lying on the 'bed' sighed and said: The discovery of the martyr's body indicates that our direction of march is not wrong. It also means that we are not far from the headquarters.

  Commander Wu, you did a great job of burying the martyrs' bodies quietly earlier! If the soldiers see them, it might affect our future march. As the vanguard battalion of the entire troop, if you find any martyrs' bodies, just bury them on the spot.

  Wu Zhengwei said beside him

  Wu Bing and Li Ping stood up at the same time and replied: "Yes"

  Everyone, I have something to say. Wu Bing said.

  Comrade Wu Bing, you speak! said Captain Wang.

  Wu Bing stood up and said: Since we already know the evacuation route of the headquarters, why not select team members to form a small squad to chase after the headquarters day and night. The bodies of martyrs found today have told us that they are in great difficulty.

  If a small detachment is sent out to catch up with them and make them wait in place or return to meet us, it will reduce unnecessary losses.

  If we form a small team, I am willing to search for the whereabouts of the headquarters with them.

  The several leaders present listened to Wu Bing's words and carefully analyzed them, believing that Wu Bing's method was feasible. They thought that only by merging with the headquarters could they reduce their losses.

  After research and decision, Wu Bing was appointed by Commander Wang to form a small team and appoint him as the captain of the team. The team members and equipment supplies were allowed to be selected within the regiment.