Chapter Forty-Five: A Guest

"Lord Gu, d-do you mean these people's plague can be cured?" Guo Yunlong asked with wide eyes, looking extremely astonished.

Not just him, but the surrounding Liaoning garrison soldiers were also struck dumb as if by lightning. Before the invention of the microscope, the existence of bacteria was entirely unknown, let alone the principles of infectious diseases.

Without understanding the principles, fear naturally arose easily. Especially in the recent years since Emperor Chongzhen ascended the throne, warfare had been frequent north of the Yellow River, with plagues running rampant to the point where nine out of ten homes stood empty.

With a terrifying mortality rate, rapidly spreading epidemics, and sheer ignorance, the vast majority of people regarded plagues as punishment from the heavens.

Therefore, when plague broke out within the army, everyone panicked to the point of being willing to bury the sick soldiers alive. Hearing Gu Zhenhua's words, these men clutched at him like drowning victims grasping at a straw, fixing burning gazes upon him that made Gu Zhenhua feel rather uneasy.

"Brothers, although I understand some of the principles behind plagues, I do not yet have the ability to cure them."

Upon hearing this, the crowd instantly lowered their heads, their last shred of hope shattered once again!

"However, these brothers do not have the plague."

"What?" Hearing this, Guo Yunlong nearly leaped up from the ground and hastily asked, "Lord Gu, you aren't joking, are you?"

Before Gu Zhenhua could reply, Medical Officer Sun nearby became somewhat flustered and hurriedly chimed in, "Hmph, I examined the condition personally; how could I be wrong? These soldiers fell ill abruptly, infecting one another, with incessant vomiting and diarrhea—how can these not be symptoms of a plague? Spouting such nonsense is simply laughable!"

"The laughable one here is you!"

When Gu Zhenhua was in the service, he had come into contact with knowledge regarding biological warfare, and the plague was one of its primary forms. The plague was originally transmitted by rat fleas, with an incubation period in the human body of three to five days and an extremely high mortality rate; once infected, nine out of ten cases proved fatal. Clinically, apart from severe intoxication symptoms, it involved high fever accompanied by chills, shivering, swollen lymph nodes, and could present with vomiting, diarrhea, hepatosplenomegaly, and bleeding manifestations.

The condition of these soldiers was completely different from the plague; it was definitely not the plague!

"Although plagues involve symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea, these are not the primary symptoms. The stricken brothers have no fever, and even when coughing up phlegm or vomiting, there are no traces of blood in the vomit. Based on these two points, the claim of a plague falls apart. As for the so-called contagion, I'm afraid it also doesn't hold up to scrutiny. If it were truly contagious, the onset of illness should be sequential, with at least two or three days between cases, rather than everyone falling ill all at once."

Gu Zhenhua explained it very clearly. Although Guo Yunlong and the others did not understand medicine, they could not help but harbor doubts from the start.

"Lord Gu, what do you suppose has happened to our brothers?"

"If I am not mistaken, there were impurities in the food or drinking water, causing collective food poisoning. While this condition is very serious, it is certainly not a plague, let alone reason enough to bury everyone alive."

"You quack! I'll tear you to pieces!"

The ones who cared most about Gu Zhenhua's words were the fallen soldiers themselves. Their lives were hanging by a thread, and had it truly been the plague, they would have been buried alive.

Upon hearing that it was a misdiagnosis by a quack, Hu Shan instantly struggled to his feet, wobbling as he lunged toward Medical Officer Sun. The other soldiers, who had been tormented into extreme weakness, also crawled up and rushed forward together.

"Commander Guo, quickly stop these madmen! My diagnosis is absolutely correct. How can you stop believing the medical officer's words? This is utterly absurd!"

Medical Officer Sun was still putting up a stubborn front. Unable to make a hasty decision, Guo Yunlong could only look to Gu Zhenhua. Gu Zhenhua waved a hand and said, "Brothers, do not rush. Think carefully: since yesterday, has there been any problem with the food you ate or the water you drank?"

"L-Lord Gu, this humble subordinate remembers now—the water we drank yesterday did indeed have a somewhat foul smell." Hu San said, struggling to speak.

Gu Zhenhua nodded. "Take me to the water source to have a look."

Guo Yunlong and his men surrounded Gu Zhenhua in a disorderly clump, escorting him to the bank of a small river where the water appeared clear and flowed gently by.

"Lord Gu, this is where the water was drawn."

Gu Zhenhua squatted down, cupped some water in his hands, and sniffed it. There seemed to be a faint, imperceptible stench.

"Let's go upstream and take a look."

Gu Zhenhua led the group about a kilometer upstream until they reached a bend in the river where numerous fallen leaves had accumulated and rotted, giving off a pungent odor.

Gu Zhenhua casually picked up a branch and pushed aside the decaying leaves to reveal the carcasses of two dogs submerged inside, bloated to the point of resembling balloons.

"The root of the problem is right here," Gu Zhenhua said. "The brothers fell ill because they drank unclean water. However, everyone must also be aware: if those were not dead dogs, but dead rats or corpses infected with the plague, coming into contact with them could very well lead to a plague infection."

"Lord Gu, how should we treat this, then?"

"It's simple. Boil some nonglutinous rice porridge with green beans and red dates, and prepare some saline water as well. Have everyone drink plenty of it, and they will recover in a day or two. It's just that during this time, they will inevitably have to make a few extra trips to the latrine. But everyone must remember this: no relieving yourselves everywhere, and you must never contaminate the water source. Furthermore, drinking water must be boiled, and strict personal hygiene must be maintained."

"Th-that will do it?" Guo Yunlong asked in astonishment. "Don't we need to prescribe a few doses of medicine?"

"We can prescribe some medicine for diarrhea, that will do. But I don't know much about this, so we had better ask the doctor."

At that moment, Yue Polu had already grabbed Medical Officer Sun by the scruff of his neck and dragged him over.

"Did you hear that? Your chance to redeem yourself through meritorious service has arrived. Quickly prescribe medicine for the brothers."

"Military officer, this subordinate doesn't, doesn't know how to prescribe medicine."

"You don't know?!" Yue Polu grabbed the fellow by the chest and demanded harshly, "Didn't you claim to be a disciple of Mr. Wu Youke, treating the plague in Shanxi and being exceedingly capable? How can you not even know medicine for diarrhea?"

Since Gu Zhenhua had already found the root cause of the illness, Medical Officer Sun had completely lost his composure by now. Trembling, he stammered, "This subordinate did indeed watch Mr. Wu treat the plague, but I only knew how he quarantined and separated people; I didn't know what medicines should be used. This subordinate felt that quarantine wasn't as fast as burying people alive, and so, and so..."

Before he could finish, Yue Polu's heavy fist smashed fiercely into the bridge of his nose, sending blood spraying everywhere and knocking him flying several meters away.

"Bastard! Daring to trifle with the brothers' lives, I'll beat you to death!"

Not just him, but a large crowd of surrounding soldiers surged forward, raining blows and kicks down upon him. After shouting a few times, the skinny Medical Officer Sun fell silent, practically beaten into bean paste by the soldiers' heavy fists.

"Commander Guo, this fellow is clearly a fraud. How did he ever sneak into the army?"

Guo Yunlong gave a bitter smile. "Lord Gu, being a soldier is hard. Even soldiers desert from time to time, let alone military doctors; anyone with even the slightest bit of skill looks for other prospects. When this fellow arrived, he put on a very bold front, and we thought he genuinely had skills, so we treated him like a treasure and kept him in the camp, never expecting he would almost cause a catastrophic disaster!"

Gu Zhenhua also sighed. "Over the next few days, I will teach everyone some basic emergency knowledge and hygiene rules. I won't claim anything else, but it should increase the survival rate of the sick and wounded by at least thirty to fifty percent."

"Many thanks, Lord Gu!"

Guo Yunlong dropped to one knee. Previously, he hadn't thought much of Gu Zhenhua, but this time his gratitude was entirely sincere, without a trace of pretense. Former military doctors had always guarded their skills jealously, unwilling to pass on their trade secrets to anyone. That Gu Zhenhua was willing to impart life-saving skills without hesitation commanded genuine respect. The others followed suit, a vast sea of men kneeling together.

"Lord Gu, your kindness in saving our lives is unforgettable. From this day forward, whatever your orders may be, your subordinates will go through fire and water without hesitation!"

"Through fire and water, without hesitation!"

Most of these soldiers were upright, hot-blooded men. Gu Zhenhua had saved over a hundred lives and was now going to teach them useful knowledge; he was practically their second parent. Everyone thanked him and held him in deep affection from the bottom of their hearts. Although he might not yet match Wu Sangui in influence, Gu Zhenhua now carried considerable weight among them.

Under Gu Zhenhua's guidance, the soldiers were fed thin porridge and given saline water to drink. By evening, some of them had finally stopped having diarrhea and regained their spirits.

The crisis was finally resolved, and the title of Loyal and Brave Earl worn by Gu Zhenhua now carried the halo of a miraculous physician—shining brilliantly!

The army finally returned safely to Shanhaiguan, and Gu Zhenhua's two thousand men were temporarily stationed in the western part of the city.

Just as he finished setting up the camp, Gu Zhenhua went to check on the sick soldiers again, finding that they had basically recovered.

"Lord Gu, I'm all better now. How about we try wrestling again?" Hu Shan said with a crafty grin.

"No problem, do you think this earl is afraid of you?"

"Brothers, rest up well, and let's show the earl what we've got when the time comes!" Over a hundred men answered in unison, filling the tent with laughter.

Gu Zhenhua left the soldiers, and just as he returned to his tent, Guo Yunlong was waiting at the entrance with an elderly Confucian scholar in his fifties or sixties.

"Lord Gu, this is Mr. Li Jibo. He used to be the grand tutor for the general."

"Greetings, Mr. Li." Gu Zhenhua hurriedly saluted Mr. Li Jibo, and the old man returned the courtesy.

Guo Yunlong smiled and said, "Lord Gu, Mr. Li's son suffered an arrow wound a few months ago, and he would like to ask you to take a look at it!"

Hearing this, Gu Zhenhua gave a bitter smile and said, "Commander Guo, do you really take me for a miracle worker?"

"I think you're even more miraculous than a miracle worker!"

"Hahaha." Gu Zhenhua laughed heartily. "Very well, I will go take a look, but please don't hold out too much hope."

Seeing Gu Zhenhua nod, Guo Yunlong became exceptionally excited. Yet Mr. Li Jibo beside him showed no expression, silently observing Gu Zhenhua for a few moments before speaking: "Lord Gu, this old man has a few private matters I wish to discuss with you."