In 217 A.D., the twenty-second year of Jian'an, April 21.

Sikou, the camp of the Han army.

In the big tent, Huo Jun looked happy and talked and laughed with Jiang Ji.

"According to the news of the three generals, this trip to the north to move the people, break the three counties of Xiaxiang, Lingxian, and Yuan, and win more than 3,000 households, and the results are quite rich!"

Huo Jun sat on the couch and said with a smile: "Moving more than 3,000 households to Huainan will greatly enrich the population of Jianghuai." There are people in it for assistance, and there is Jiangzuo supply in the back, which can protect Huaiyin and Zhongli! ”

Jiang Ji stroked his beard and said: "Jianghuai is vast, thousands of miles from east to west, and there are many important military towns. If the king allows, he may be able to add Xia Pi County for the purpose of the imperial border. ”

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said, "I should report this matter to the king, and after the king decides, I can decide whether to add Xiapi County!" ”

There are three counties in the Jianghuai region, namely Lujiang County, Taishou Huo Du; Jiujiang County, too shou Jiang Ji; Guangling County, too shou Liu Ji. There was a remote setting up of the next Pi Taishou before, and Chang Feng served as it. The three counties of Jianghuai do not belong to Yangzhou, but belong to Xuzhou in the Southern Han Dynasty, and Huo Jun led the history of Xuzhou.

Now Huo Jun is going north this time, although he did not conquer Xiapi, but he has extended the battle line to the north for more than 100 miles. With the exception of Shouchun, the Huainan region was under the control of the Southern Han Dynasty.

The territory was expanded, and the Huainan land of Xiapi County was owned, and it was not impossible for the Southern Han Dynasty to actually restore Xiapi County. Of course, the people are scarce, and it is not impossible to continue to govern the two counties of Guangling and Jiujiang.

Everything should be considered from the military and political angles of Jianghuai to consider whether there is a need to add Xiapi County. After all, in the troubled times, there must always be a radish pit to satisfy the meritorious generals of the Southern Dynasty.

For example, those generals who fought with Huo Jun in the south and in the north, because they fought in Jianghuai all the year round, formed a Jianghuai military merit group with intricate interpersonal relationships.

Among these generals who followed Huo Jun, except for Huo Du and Jiang Ji, who were promoted to Taishou, Xu Sheng and Gao Xiang had to worship Tinghou. Such an ordinary official position has long been unable to meet the needs of generals. Jiang Ji said this to Huo Jun, which was nothing more than a vague reminder.

As he spoke, Huo Jun looked at the people in the tent and said with a smile: "The detailed process of this battle has been fully described and sent to the king. When the king had browsed it, he was greatly amazed, and ordered his retinue to come and reward you. ”

"King Ende!" The generals smiled and said.

Before the words fell, Huo Fan held the letter in his hand and walked into the account.

"Governor, the king and Deputy Governor Lu ordered someone to send a letter!" Huo Fan handed over the letter and said.

Huo Jun used a knife to crack open the ink and took out Liu Bei's letter first.

In Liu Bei's letters, most of them talked about the reasons why his subordinates were not optimistic about continuing the Northern Expedition and suggested that Liu Bei withdraw his troops. For example, Shouchun is difficult to overcome, the outbreak of epidemic disease in the army, Cao Cao's soldiers and other reasons.

Of course, Liu Bei also knew these objective conditions, but Liu Bei was unwilling to withdraw the army. Liu Bei wanted to choose Pang Tong's suggestion and confront Cao Cao until the autumn, and then make the next judgment.

But the news from Lu Su from Bagong Mountain put Liu Bei in a dilemma. Therefore, Liu Bei wanted to ask Huo Jun's opinion whether to withdraw the army and return to China.

Touching his mustache, Huo Jun was thoughtful.

After half a ring, Huo Jun looked up at Jiang Ji and asked, "Does Zitong know about the epidemic in the army?" ”

Jiang Ji bowed slightly, and said: "I have heard a little, since the king led the army to be stationed in Shouchun, due to the low-lying terrain and the rain, the hands and feet of the first sergeant were swollen, and then the heat and cold came. Many of the physicians' medical skills were not perfect, and the prescriptions prescribed were ineffective, so the sergeants were often sick. ”

"What's the disease?"

Jiang Ji thought for a little and said, "Or typhoid fever, or malaria." ”

When it came to malaria, Jiang Ji's face was not very good-looking, and he said: "If it is malaria, I am afraid it will become a big epidemic!" ”

Not only did Jiang Ji look bad, but Huo Jun's expression was also gloomy, and he sighed and said, "I hope it's typhoid fever, not malaria." If it is malaria, it is not a good thing for the country or the army. ”

Malaria is the malaria of later generations, in ancient texts small diseases are called diseases, major diseases are called diseases, so malaria is called malaria in ancient times.

Malaria has been documented since the pre-Qin period, and it continues to afflict humans for thousands of years. Drugs such as cinchona cream and artemisinin can only suppress malaria, but cannot eradicate it.

Cinchona cream is produced in the South American continent and was introduced to China due to the Age of Discovery. However, as malaria resistance increases, the effect of cinchona cream gradually weakens, and it is no longer enough to treat malaria.

Therefore, in ancient times, those who contracted malaria almost died in a hundred lives. For example, Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty got malaria, if he hadn't received the cinchona cream offered by the missionaries, he would probably have died at the hands of malaria.

With a slightly heavy heart, Huo Jun opened Lu Su's letter.

Seeing the letter written by Lu Su, Huo Jun's brows furrowed directly. In the letter, Lu Su directly pointed out that the officers and men in the army had been diagnosed with malaria, not diseases such as wind and cold.

In his camp at Bagong Mountain, the number of sick soldiers was increasing day by day, and malaria was gradually spreading, and Lu Su feared that a further plague would form and spread to all the armies. And Lu Su felt that he was not feeling well, and on the day he wrote the letter, he seemed to be suffering from malaria, and he was so cold that he was swaying.

Holding the letter, Huo Jun couldn't help but be stunned!

"Governor!"

Jiang Ji saw that Huo Jun's expression was wrong, and asked, "Did Zi Jingyu mention malaria in his letter, or is the battle in Bagong Mountain not good?" ”

Huo Jun put down the letter, exhaled a long breath, and sighed: "According to Zijing, it is not wind cold, it is malaria. And Zijing seems to have malaria, and the situation is not optimistic. ”

"What?"

Jiang Ji was taken aback and said: "Zijing has always been strong and good at bowing horses, but now he suddenly got malaria." Could it be that the plague in the camp of Bagong Mountain has dispersed, what is the situation with Brother Bochong now? ”

Huo Jun got up from the couch, his face was already full of sorrow.

The word plague hung over his heart like a nightmare, the plague that spread all over the world in his previous life, and the terrible plague in the first year of Jian'an, were deep in his memory.

In the first year of Jian'an, the Nanyang epidemic. Not only did his parents die of illness, but his fiancée and her family, who lived in Fancheng, also suffered many casualties.

Now malaria has appeared in the army, and Lu Su has already contracted it, so what about his brother Huo Du?

According to the previous letters, the elder brother said that he was in good health. Now I can only hope that my brother will be safe and will not contract malaria.

"Withdraw!"

Huo Jun put his hands behind his waist and said in a deep voice: "At this time, we must not continue to confront Cao Cao, we must withdraw our troops." If the troops are not withdrawn in time, how many sergeants will die in Huaishui? ”

"On the day of the heyday of malaria in the summer, if it is not handled properly, not only will the army under the king's account suffer heavy losses, but even the people of Wu and Chu will also suffer from the plague.

Although Huo Jun did not know medical knowledge, Mr. Tu was fortunate to win the award and had a rough understanding of malaria out of curiosity. Malaria is transmitted through blood and mosquitoes, not through the air or saliva.

The only way to stop the spread of malaria today is to get rid of mosquitoes. In order to obtain convenient water sources, they camped on the side of the mountain, which greatly facilitated the spread of malaria.

The sanitary conditions and living environment during the march and battle were far inferior to those of the camps where the returnees settled, and the army belonged to a crowd-gathering organization with a dense population. Mosquitoes breed in large numbers in the water, which greatly facilitates the spread of malaria.

Especially in the middle of summer, the Jianghuai area is sparsely populated all the year round, and there are countless mosquitoes living in the mountains and forests of Shuize, and mosquitoes will be a nightmare for many people in the era when there are no mosquito nets and mosquito coils.

Everyone is equal in the face of malaria, it doesn't recognize what your identity is, once you get it, it basically means that you have to report to the prefecture.

In any case, it cannot be fought any longer. If the fight continues, not only will the soldiers and soldiers be infected with malaria, but I am afraid that the people of Jianghuai will also be infected with malaria. At that time, the Jianghuai epidemic spread to Wuchu, which was undoubtedly a catastrophe for the Southern Han Dynasty.

After pondering for a long time, Huo Jun said: "I will leave the camp tomorrow and rush to the Chinese army to persuade the king to return to the dynasty and eliminate malaria, so as not to form a plague." ”

In the meantime, the soldiers of Sikou were temporarily led by Zitong, and all mosquitoes were immediately culled and killed, and more wormwood was taken to repel mosquitoes. The sergeants of each battalion were strictly ordered not to bare their arms to avoid mosquito bites. ”

"Mosquitoes?" Jiang Ji asked with a puzzled look.

"Exactly!"

Huo Jun looked serious and said, "Mosquitoes not only suck human blood, but also animal blood. The blood of humans and beasts is incompatible, and it collects in the body of mosquitoes and breeds the evil spirit of malaria. Mosquitoes containing evil qi bite the flesh and blood, and the evil qi will invade the human body, so people get malaria from this! ”

Huo Jun's mixture of ancient and modern medicine made Jiang Ji stunned.

Immediately afterwards, Jiang Ji jerked up his sleeves, revealing the redness and swelling of mosquito bites on his wrists, and asked nervously: "Dudu, Ji was injured by mosquitoes this morning, I don't know if there is malaria?" ”

Seeing Jiang Ji like this, Huo Jun suddenly cried and laughed, and said: "Malaria is evil, it is difficult to see with the naked eye. According to the current situation, mosquitoes containing evil qi should be born in Huaixi, and mosquitoes in Huaidong should contain malaria evil qi. However, our army is located in the lower reaches of Huaishui, and we are afraid that evil spirits will spread eastward, so we must be prepared. ”

Hearing Huo Jun's explanation, Jiang Ji's hanging heart relaxed.

"The Governor knows malaria well, and I don't know if there is a cure to save it?" Jiang Ji asked.

Huo Jun's face became solemn again, and he sighed and said, "Although I know the origin of malaria, I have no cure for malaria. ”

Hearing this, Jiang Jin's expectant eyes dimmed again, and said: "Only among the good doctors in the south can there be a cure for malaria." ”

Huo Jun said softly in that inaudible voice: "Artemisinin? ”

Then, Huo Jun shook his head secretly. Without artemisinin, which is refined by modern technology, how can malaria be cured?

The fact that artemisinin can cure malaria but is not widely spread may prove that artemisinin treatment is extremely immature or that it is seriously dangerous.

However, in any case, the only way to do this is to persuade Liu Bei to withdraw his troops first and minimize the losses caused by malaria.

Patting Jiang Ji on the shoulder, Huo Jun said, "After tomorrow, there will be Zitong in the army." The regulations on camping in the army should be strictly observed, and they must not be changed without authorization, so as to kill mosquitoes and prevent malaria from spreading. ”

"Since the governor knows the dangers of malaria, he should be more careful when traveling west." Jiang Ji said.

"Good!"

(End of chapter)