Dr. Jia soaked the yellow artemisia with twice as much water, squeezed it to extract the juice, and then gave it to the second brother. After more than half an hour, the second brother woke up. Li Zhiyun had been staying by the bed, and when he saw the second brother open his eyes, he was surprised: "Second brother, are you awake?" The second brother rolled his eyes and looked at the people around the bed, and finally his eyes fell on Li Zhiyun's face, and his voice was weak: "Fifth brother, what's wrong with me?" ”

"Second brother, you've been asleep for several days, and now you're finally awake, it's great!"

The second brother straightened up, as if he wanted to sit up. Li Zhiyun hurriedly pressed him and said, "Second brother, your body is still very weak, so let's lie down." The second brother looked at him and whispered: "Fifth brother, I'm hungry, get me something to eat." ”

Second brother wants to eat? That's great! Li Zhiyun hurriedly asked people to fetch food. The soldiers had already prepared, and after a while, a bowl of millet porridge with red dates was served. With the help of a personal soldier, Li Zhiyun helped the second brother to sit up and leaned on the futon. Then, he sat on the side of the bed and fed his second brother millet porridge with a soup spoon one bite at a time.

Artemisinin in Artemisia annua is a peroxide-containing sesquiterpene lactone that has a malarial interception effect. Artemisinin can directly enter the membrane structure of the malaria parasite, effectively blocking the nutrient supply of the malaria parasite dependent on the host red blood cell plasma, and then interfering with the function of the mitochondria of the surface membrane of the malaria parasite, resulting in the complete disintegration of the malaria parasite structure, and then combined with the treatment of other drugs, the patient can fully recover.

After taking the decoction made of Artemisia annua, the second brother's condition gradually improved, and he was soon able to get out of bed and walk around. Li Zhiyun helped his second brother to walk around the yard and bask in the sun by the way. The second brother has been sick for a long time, his body is very weak, and he can't walk after a while.

Li Zhiyun helped the second brother to sit down next to the bench, and the second brother pointed to the stool opposite and said, "Fifth brother, you can sit too." After Li Zhiyun sat down, the second brother looked at him and said, "Fifth brother, I heard from Dr. Jia that you cured my illness." Why, do you know how to heal? Li Zhiyun smiled and said, "I don't know how to use medicine. It's just that I found a skilled Lang Zhong and asked him for a single prescription to cure your illness. ”

"I see." The second brother nodded, "How is the situation outside now?" ”

When Li Zhiyun heard this, his face darkened, and he said: "After the defeat of our Tang army, Xue Ju occupied the two cities of Gaoshu and Yiluchuan, and blocked the road to Chang'an. So, we can't go back to Chang'an for the time being......"

While the two were talking, there was a sudden chaos outside the courtyard, and in addition to the loud noise of people, there was also the neighing of war horses, and the sound of chickens and dogs barking in the village. Li Zhiyun listened for a moment, and said to Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu, who were standing on the opposite side of the courtyard: "You two go out and see what is going on outside." ”

The two of them professed to obey the order and were just about to go out, when Zeng Chenggang hurriedly ran in from outside the courtyard. He ran to the brothers, clasped his fists and said, "Two princes, it's not good, the enemy army has surrounded us!" ”

When Li Zhiyun heard this, he was taken aback, and hurriedly said: "How many soldiers and horses does the enemy have?" Zeng Chenggang said: "The last general is not very clear. However, it seems that there are quite a few people, at least one or two thousand. ”

So much? Li Zhiyun estimated that it must have been the scouts of the enemy army who found out that they lived in this village, so they summoned a large number of enemies. He was thinking about the strategy of defending against the enemy, Zeng Chenggang said: "King Chu, the enemy army is coming from the southwest, and the last general will lead people to resist them in the southwest, and you will break through from the northeast, how about it?" Li Zhiyun thought for a while and said decisively: "Okay, that's it." ”

"King Chu, then King Qin will be handed over to you."

"Don't worry, it's absolutely fine!"

After Zeng Chenggang left, Li Zhiyun ordered Zhang Zheng to gather all the guards, and asked Cai Hu to find a stretcher. He made the second brother lie on a stretcher, carried by four guards. Liu Shuyi's leg injury was not completely healed, and Li Zhiyun arranged two guards to protect him. When everything was arranged, the group left the house and walked down the alley towards the outside of the village.

The enemy army was outnumbered. They didn't seem to know the truth and didn't dare to rush into the village, but they had already surrounded Gujing Village like an iron bucket. Zeng Chenggang led his troops to attack outward in the southwest direction, attracting most of the enemy. As soon as Li Zhiyun saw that there was an opportunity, he immediately ordered the team to quickly break through.

Zhang Zheng and Cai Hu led more than 100 guards and rushed towards the enemy guarding the village, and the enemy and us engaged in hand-to-hand combat on the roads and ridges. After repeated killings, they finally tore a hole in the encirclement, fought a bloody way, and led everyone to rush out.

After they got rid of the pursuit of the enemy army and entered the mountains and forests, Li Zhiyun counted the number of people, and there were only about 20 people left.

The procession marched through the mountains and dense forests. Finally escaped death, Li Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief and ordered everyone to stop and rest. At this time, Zhang Zheng walked over. His armor was stained with blood, all of which had been splashed by the slaughter he had just broken through.

"Lord Wang, what should we do next?" Zhang Zheng asked worriedly.

Li Zhiyun thought for a while and said, "Now there are enemies everywhere around, and we have nowhere to go." It seems that you can only go to Jingzhou. Zhang Zheng pondered for a moment and said, "Jingzhou seems to be in the northwest direction, at least more than a hundred miles away from here. As far as I know, you can go to Jingzhou by big road or by small road. However, the main road must have been blocked by enemy forces. ”

"Then let's take the path."

The second brother's stretcher was parked on a piece of grass next to it. Li Zhiyun walked over, sat on the ground, woke up the second brother sleeping on the stretcher, and said, "Second brother, I discussed with Zhang Zheng just now, let's go to Jingzhou, what do you think?" The second brother thought for a while and said, "Liu Gan, the assassin of Jingzhou, is loyal and reliable. He has 3,000 men under his command, and he should be able to hold Jingzhou, I think he can. ”

"Okay, that's it!"

The team rested for a while and set off again. They trudged through rugged mountain roads, climbed over mountain after mountain, and as the sun set, they saw a village appear in a depression in front of them. At this moment, this small mountain village, with only a few dozen households, is bathed in the afterglow of the sunset, and smoke is rising from the roofs of each house.

After a day of walking, hungry and thirsty, Li Zhiyun decided to camp in this village tonight. After the team entered the village, they borrowed a few houses from the villagers and settled down. Then they bought some grain and vegetables from the villagers, and made a hearty dinner, which everyone had a full meal.

After the meal, Li Zhiyun discussed with Zhang Zheng, and felt that it was impossible to wander around the mountains like a headless fly like today, and he had to find a guide. With a guide, they won't get lost. He asked Zhang Zheng to inquire in the village to see if anyone knew the path to Jingzhou. As a result, Zhang Zheng really found one, and that person also agreed to be a guide.

The guide is a man in his twenties, who looks quite clever and talks a lot. It was night, the sky was clear and the moon was white, the wind was quiet and the clouds were idle, Li Zhiyun and Liu Shuyi were sitting in the courtyard, chatting with the guide. The guide said that he had followed his father out to do business since he was a child, so he knew the way to Jingzhou. His father died a few years ago, and he also married a wife, so now he doesn't buy and sell, but honestly stays at home and cultivates the land.

The guide told Li Zhiyun that there were many mountains and valleys along the way to Jingzhou, and it was very inconvenient to carry a stretcher. When Li Zhiyun heard this, he frowned and said, "What's the matter, my second brother can't sit on a stretcher?" The guide nodded. Liu Shuyi on the side asked: "Then it's always okay to ride a horse, right?" Li Zhiyun also looked at the guide, he felt that Liu Shuyi was right, the second brother's body had recovered, and he should be able to ride a horse.

"You can't ride a horse." Guided by.

"What? Can't ride a horse? Is the mountain road so rough that even horses can't walk? Li Zhiyun asked strangely.

"It's not." The guide explained, "You can't ride a horse in the mountains, because the horse will get distracted, and it is easy for the horse to stumble and get into trouble if you fall off the cliff." In the mountains, you can only ride a mule, because mules never wander. So, haven't you seen those merchants walking in the mountains, all riding mules? ”

So that's what happened? Li Zhiyun breathed a sigh of relief, he can be regarded as a long-term insight. However, a mule costs a lot, and they don't have that much money to buy one. It seems that horses can only be exchanged for mules. When they broke through, they almost lost all their horses, and only two remained. Early the next morning, Li Zhiyun used his only two remaining horses to exchange a big green mule with a family in the village.

After the mule was brought in, Li Zhiyun helped the second brother to sit on it, and sent two guards to protect it. After everything was ready, the team left the small mountain village and headed in the direction of Jingzhou under the guidance of the guide.

Zhesha City is located in the north of Gaoqi City, east of Jingzhou City, more than 100 miles away from each of the two cities, it is a big city of 100,000 households. In order to compete with the Tang Dynasty for the world, Xue Ju moved the capital of Qin from Qinzhou to Zhesha City.

On the morning of this day, the streets were full of cars and horses, pedestrians were weaving, the shops on both sides of the street were doing brisk business, and the hawkers on the side of the road were shouting one after another, a prosperous scene.

With the crisp sound of a few whips, seven or eight war horses galloped in. Regardless of the crowds on the road, the horse's speed did not decrease in the slightest, and it was simply a rampage, frightening pedestrians to dodge and avoid.

Xue Rengao, who was in the lead, was galloping on his horse, when he suddenly pulled the reins and stopped the horse. He turned his horse's head and looked back. A personal attendant approached and said with concern: "Prince, what's wrong?" What do you see? ”

"The little lady who passed by just now is good-looking, beautiful and delicious."

"Oh? Where? As he spoke, he craned his neck and looked around.

Xue Rengao pointed with the horsewhip in his hand and said, "That's it!" He followed the direction he was pointing and saw a man and a woman walking on the side of the road a dozen paces away from them. Judging from the back, the woman's willow has a thin waist and a graceful body, so she must not look bad.

"Prince, if you like it, you might as well grab it and bring it back to the mansion." Said flatteringly.