Maoshan, the camp of Zilharang.

Tens of thousands of Manchu Qing troops, set up plum blossom camp in front of Maoshan Mountain, each other is the trend of corners, the Chinese army camp of Jierharang is located in a small village called Putang, surrounded by mountains, extending in all directions, and there are convenient passages between the battalions.

The dark sky can not see the sun, the distant cannon sound can be faintly heard, the Qing soldiers will collect the corpses for incineration and burial, and light incense, mugwort leaves, rhubarb, atractylodes and other drugs for fumigation, the smoke rises into the sky, Putang Village is filled with a strong smell of medicine, and the stronger smell of corpses is mixed together, into a strange and disgusting taste, difficult to dissipate for a long time.

The room was also filled with the scent of medicine, with a huge tiger skull in the center, wormwood in all other places, large and small evil spirit-warding sacs, and a few pine branches of Masson pine hanging at the door. The pine branches swayed, and a beautiful concubine walked in silently, knelt down in front of Zilharang, and presented a delicate lacquer plate with cups and saucers, and Jilharang took a glass of realgar wine and drank it all, and then picked up a glass of clean water to rinse his mouth, snorted in his throat a few times, and spit it out, and the expression on his face looked better.

He picked up a packet of realgar powder and opened it, picked out some medicinal powder with his fingernails, put it on sesame oil, and smeared it on the position of the person, then got up and put on a hat with a horseshoe wooden sac embedded in it, put on a horse coat with a female green sac, and walked out of the house after dressing neatly, and went straight to the Zhongjun Hall.

A dozen or so famous doctors who had just been transferred from the rear were waiting here, and when they heard the arrival of Prince Zheng reported by their own soldiers, they hurriedly knelt on the ground, all with panicked faces.

After arriving in Gangnam. One of the reasons why the Qing army was reluctant to fight in the summer was the fear of the plague. But I was afraid of something, and an epidemic suddenly broke out in Zilharang's army a few days ago. And it spread rapidly, and the combat of the troops was thus severely affected.

A very important reason why Li Zicheng was able to take Beijing lightly and forced Chongzhen to hang himself was that there was a large-scale plague outbreak in Beijing, and millions of soldiers and civilians in the city were all infected with the disease, and more than 200,000 died...... After Li Zicheng entered Beijing, the Dashun army was also infected with the plague. The combat effectiveness of Yan zhòng declined, and he was defeated by the Qing army at a piece of stone light.

(According to the current popular view, the last years of Chongzhen were the last stage of the Xiaoice River period and the coldest decades in the past 10,000 years, during which natural disasters continued, in addition to the severe blow to agriculture in the Ming Dynasty, the climate of the northwestern and Mongolian steppes also changed drastically, and the rats on the steppe could not mix and migrated south to densely populated agricultural areas.) A large-scale outbreak of plague ensued in Shanxi and Beizhili.

Of course, the plague outbreak was not the core cause of the Ming Dynasty's demise, but only a catalyst for its coincidence. At that time, the epidemic in Beijing was pneumonic plague, which is supposed to be a continuation of the Black Death in Europe in the 14th century. The pneumonic plague bacteria could only survive in relatively low temperatures, and the weather became warmer after the Qing army occupied Beijing, and the pneumonic plague epidemic was quickly controlled...... In short, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had a lot of luck in those years. The flop is all the same, the big three yuan plus the bar on the flower, the Ming side is the big minister, the small minister constantly. You can't win at all. ）

Zilharang was helpless.

The Qing court attached great importance to the danger of the plague. Before the expedition, he made full preparations, and Jierharang not only brought a large number of medicines, but also paid close attention to health and epidemic prevention, but the soldiers of the Eight Banners were all from the bitter cold land of Liaodong, and they did not adapt to the humid and sultry climate in the south, nor were they willing to abide by harsh hygiene habits. (As an aside, the temperature in the north is low, there are fewer bacteria and viruses, and the active period of flies and mosquitoes is relatively short, so the living habits of northerners are relatively extensive...... In fact, if you change your living environment for several generations, everyone will become like each other, so let's understand each other. ）

At first, malaria was caused by mosquito bites, and then a large number of soldiers contracted dysentery and cholera, severe diarrhea, and high fever...... There are too many mosquitoes, snakes and rats in the south, water and food are easy to spoil, the Manchu Qing Dynasty was still a fishing and hunting people who drank blood a few decades ago, Liaodong is a weather of more than ten degrees below zero, dozens of degrees Celsius, many Eight Banners soldiers may not be able to take a bath once a month, and they have never been sick when they drink raw water.

The nature of the country is easy to change, and the importance of some hygiene habits is not understood by Zilharang himself, but those green battalion soldiers have lived here for generations, and they consciously pay more attention to hygiene, and there are not many people who are infected with the plague.

What makes Zilharang feel a little fortunate is that due to the full preparation of the Qing army, various means were adopted to prevent and control the epidemic as soon as it began, isolating patients, burning corpses, fumigating medicines, cleaning the environment, using toilets in a unified manner, etc., and it took all their efforts to barely control the epidemic, and it was not to the point of collapse of the whole army...... Since the outbreak of the epidemic, more than 1,000 soldiers have died in total, and if you only look at the death number, it does not seem too strict compared to the 50,000 army.

But before the epidemic is completely eradicated, Zilharang does not dare to take it lightly, but is more worried.

The longer the battle of Ningzhen lasts, the greater the chance of infection due to the decline of the soldier's physique, and the epidemic will recur if he is not careful, and even more violently outbreak...... The good man can't bear the three bubbles, diarrhea will cause the body to decline, the sick soldiers must recuperate for a period of time to recover their combat effectiveness, although the Qing army has only more than a thousand dead soldiers, the infected soldiers have been tens of thousands, and now the enemy is current, if the plague has not been able to be eradicated, it is really necessary to consider retreating.

Walking into the Zhongjun Hall, Zilharang sat down after arriving at the Shuai case, his eyes swept over the medical officers kneeling on the ground, and said kindly: "Everyone, please get up." The plague is flourishing in our army, and although countless means have been used, it has become more and more intense, do you have a good remedy? ”

"The villain found two doses of good medicine, 'Taiyi Liujin San' and 'Lao Jun Shen Bai Mingsan', which can avoid the evil spirit of the plague."

"Offering a 'tiger head to kill ghosts' can ensure that the army is not stained by epidemics."

"The villain has the ancestral 'dot eye sand', also known as 'people and horses are safe and scattered', which specializes in treating swelling and abdominal pain, and was also used by the Ming army back then, which is quite effective."

"The villain studied hard in medical books and found an ancient recipe of 'Hundred Boiling Soup', please give it a try......"

A group of famous doctors offer good prescriptions, including powders, pills, decoctions, cakes, tinctures, and ointments, which are different for external and internal administration, all of which are prescriptions for diarrhea. Under Zilharang's inquiry, these famous doctors carefully explained their prescriptions, and even quarreled while talking, except for some malaria patients, most of the sick soldiers had severe diarrhea, which could be dysentery, cholera, or typhoid, and the judgments of these famous doctors were not the same.

Zilharang nodded to one of the white-bearded medic officers and asked, "What's the matter with your 'Centaur Disperse'?" ”

The white-bearded man replied: "This medicine is made of musk, borneol, realgar, orpiment, cinnabar water, etc., according to the left of the man and the right of the woman, with a little point in the eye, the epidemic is not stained, and it is especially effective for the scab." ”

Sha gas is often caused by food poisoning, and the doctor's prescription is for diarrhea, although it is not far off.

Zilharang bowed slightly: "Then try it, what is your hundred-boiling soup?" ”

"Hundred boiling soup is the real symptomatic medicine, please also ask the prince to investigate." Another middle-aged medical officer explained: "The 100-boiling soup is made by boiling the earth fire, the nine boiling and nine boiling medicines are the strongest, after drinking half a bowl, rub the abdomen with your hands, and then probe the throat with chicken feathers, urge it to vomit, and the diarrhea stops immediately!" ”

This recipe doesn't sound reliable! Drink a bowl of hot medicinal soup, then rub your stomach vigorously, and then take a chicken feather and insert it into your throat after rubbing your stomach, and after spitting up, you won't have diarrhea again......

Zilharang's face still did not change: "Let's try it together." ”

Traditional Chinese medicine sometimes really can't be explained, and Zilharang can only hold the attitude of a dead horse as a live horse doctor, and give it a try.

"Prevention comes first, treatment comes last, and the most important thing is to control the epidemic." The middle-aged medical officer was encouraged and offered advice: "This epidemic has a poisonous temperament, unlike the six prostitutions, the barracks must be opened and ventilated, swept clean, and the flesh and clothing should be steamed every day to ensure that the officers and men of the three armed forces are safe." ”

The white-bearded man also saluted and said: "In the summer, the plague is great, all because of insects, flies, snakes and rats, and every time I see thousands of red-headed green flies in the camp, all the soldiers and soldiers are infected with the disease, and we should transport dozens of loads of alum to the front of the army to exterminate the flies and ......."

In the afternoon of the same day, Zilharang once again issued a strict order, and launched a vigorous cleaning campaign in all battalions of the Qing army, resolutely eliminating rats, mosquitoes and flies.

After efforts, the epidemic situation of the Qing army was further controlled, and it once again launched a fierce attack on the Maoshan defense line.

In Zierharang's view, Wang Kefan is still besieging Yanling Town but not fighting, in addition to encircling the point to send reinforcements, there is also a possibility, the Chu army due to insufficient troops, can not gnaw Zhu Mala and Mulima, so can only support the Maoshan defense line, and continue to send reinforcements from the rear...... According to the intelligence of the scouts, several follow-up troops of the Chu army entered the mountainous area of Ningzhen, which once again confirmed this judgment from the side.

Against the clock!

Storm the Maoshan defense line with all your might!

Zilharang knew that the decisive moment had arrived. After the follow-up troops of the Chu army came up, they were about to launch a general attack on Yanling Town, whether the Chu army broke through Yanling Town first, or the Qing army broke through the Maoshan defense line first, will determine who is the winner of the Battle of Ningzhen...... As for the possibility of being shut down by the Chu army and beating the dog, there is indeed one, but it is really not big.

The next development of the battle situation was unexpected, after the follow-up troops of the Chu army entered the Ningzhen Mountains, they neither attacked Yanling Town nor put into the Maoshan defense line, but penetrated directly into the vicinity of the 177 Heights, cutting off his supply line.

Really close the door and beat the dog!

Zilharan was not alarmed. (To be continued......)