Time passed, and it was the height of summer.

Midsummer is the season for viruses and mosquitoes, and malaria spreads unscrupulously and widely. However, for the Southern Han sergeants, malaria was gradually coming to an end.

Fifty days of collective quarantine, no communication with the outside world, eradication of mosquitoes, strict control of hygiene, isolation of malaria patients. For tens of thousands of soldiers of the Han army, it is undoubtedly a long anomaly.

During this period, both the high-level and grassroots soldiers of the Southern Han Dynasty were worried about being bitten by mosquitoes and suffering from incurable malaria.

During this period, there were many sergeants who tried to escape the camp or tried to resist due to the long-term quarantine and the harm caused by malaria. This kind of disrupting prevention and control was fortunately suppressed by the army.

Those who harassed them should have been beheaded according to military law. But Huo Jun knows that under malaria and isolation, soldiers with fragile hearts are easy to be unable to bear the pressure. With mercy in his heart, Huo Jun spared him the death penalty and imposed a cane punishment.

Lessons from strict control are also learned in order to release excess energy for the sergeants. Huo Jun ordered that each battalion headquarters should regularly carry out Keju competitions, and at the same time organize confrontations between the battalions, and the winning battalion could have additional meals.

With the Keju League, the soldiers practiced and practiced martial arts in the morning, and bowed to each other in the afternoon, gradually forgetting the haze of the army being shrouded in malaria.

In order not to let the soldiers be under so much pressure, Liu Bei appropriately inspected the battalions and visited the soldiers who were injured in the previous battle. Knowing that the king was isolated from the people and had never left the soldiers, the morale of the army rose again.

And as time went on, fewer and fewer people were newly infected with malaria, and people gradually forgot about malaria. After all, there is no need to fight, no need to march, practice martial arts every day, play juju, and eat two meals a day. In addition to not being able to see his family, he began to enjoy the days of quarantine.

Of course, malaria camps are different from ordinary isolation camps, and most of them are far away from the large army camps. In order to avoid panic, only four or five hundred people lived in each camp. Because of malaria, the sick sergeant was depressed. During this time, there were many rumors of healing, and they tried to ensure their faith.

Malaria, which is transmitted by mosquitoes, has a high mortality rate, but it is much easier to deal with than some airborne plagues.

Killing mosquitoes, paying attention to hygiene, and relieving pressure, under Huo Jun's excellent ability to coordinate and cooperate, the 60,000 or 70,000 troops were arranged smoothly.

At the end of today's quarantine days, except for a small number of soldiers who need to continue to be quarantined, most of the soldiers of the Northern Expedition can follow Liu Bei back to China.

In the Han army camp, there was a lot of laughter and laughter of soldiers, and the soldiers in each camp were packing up, of course, not everyone was happy.

In the remote tent, Zhou Shufang was sorting his luggage alone. Compared to the previous bustle when the embankment was built, he and three other colleagues were left in the tent.

Under malaria, not only Zhang Wuchang was taken away, but also his comrades-in-arms in the same army. After they were left in the malaria camp, he lost news of them. Half a month later, he received a notice that four of his fellow soldiers had died of illness.

He didn't attract mosquito bites since he was a child, but he lived alone under the malaria of four people in the same army. Tongwu is the same township, four fellow villagers probably died of illness, only he is the only one left, today is the end of isolation, will return to the hometown, there is a lot of emptiness in the heart.

Five left home and one returned home. Cry out for sorrow, this cover or the misfortune of troubled times!

Zhou Shufang was silent, first packed his luggage, and then sorted out the clothes of the four fellow villagers.

Although the corpses were burned in the fire, the clothes they left behind could be given to their families for burial. Bringing back the clothes of the soldiers who died of illness or war to their hometowns came from Huo Jun's strong recommendation.

Troubled times return to troubled times, but we must always have a heart of care for the soldiers. Otherwise, you treat the sergeant like a mustard, and how can the sergeant fight for you?

"Where is Uncle Zhou?"

Just when Zhou Shufang was tidying up the clothes of his fellow villagers, Huo Yuan suddenly broke into the account.

"General!"

Zhou Shufang looked for prestige, saw Huo Yuanqi and his person, immediately put down the package and saluted him.

Huo Yuan glanced at Zhou Shufang a few times and said, "Wu Chang Zhang Xuanno, you will be the Wu Wu Wu Commander in the future." ”

"Huh?"

Zhou Shufang's young face showed a look of confusion, and said: "General, the servant has not been in the army for a long time, and I am afraid that it will be difficult to be the commander of the army. ”

Huo Yuan handed the paperwork to Zhou Shufang and said, "There is only one person left in Bingwu today, and you are the only one who can be the commander of the army." Of course, when you return to your hometown this time, you need to enrich the soldiers. ”

"No!"

Zhou Shufang was stunned, and out of his desire for the Wu Commander, he reached out and accepted the warrant.

After a pause, Zhou Shufang asked: "Dare to ask the general, where should I get the pension that the governor said?" ”

"The local county and township officials should allocate money to support the living. If the local officials are greedy for money, they can return to the army and report to me. Huo Yuan said.

After speaking, Huo Yuan took the left and right out of the camp tent.

The pension system is not unique to the Southern Han Dynasty, as early as the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. For example, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Wu Qi's military book emphasized that "there is a family of death, and the messenger is sent every year, and his parents are given to him, and he will not forget it." ’

Cao Cao's rapid rise from the Central Plains is related to his early establishment of the pension system for sergeants, that is, 'mourning the dead, compensating the living'.

In the early days, Liu Bei was in exile in the Central Plains, a pure grass platform team, and lacked organized army logistics. It wasn't until Xiajiangdong that with the help of Huo Jun and Xu Shu, the pension system was created.

After Zhuge Liang came out of the mountain, according to the previous pension system, he improved the logistics of the army under Liu Bei's account. Liu Bei's ability to rise rapidly from Jiangdong and achieve strategic steps such as Cao Cao in the north, succeeding Jingzhou, and swallowing Bashu in the west in more than ten years has a great relationship with Zhuge Liang's help him improve the army logistics.

In the Southern Han Army, whether it was death from illness or war, all those who died due to military operations could receive pensions from the local government. In addition to the normal pension, his wife and children are exempt from taxes for 16 years, and their livelihood is guaranteed as much as possible.

After carefully understanding the pension system, Zhou Shufang put down the worries in his heart, and it is enough for those who died of malaria to have the same pension treatment as those who died in war!

The soldiers of each battalion packed up and prepared to return to China, but Huo Jun, who was responsible for supervising the treatment of malaria, could not return to China, and was now saying goodbye to Liu Bei, who was about to return to China.

The sun shines brightly on the earth, and the fertile water is sparkling.

On the riverside, Huo Jun and Liu Bei strolled together, and the attendants behind them each led their war horses.

Liu Bei held the hilt of his sword and sighed: "There have been no new deaths in more than ten days, and the malaria has subsided, so Lai Zhongmiao should supervise the treatment." ”

"Thanks to the concerted efforts to fight malaria, this is not the work of Jun alone." Huo Jun said modestly.

Liu Bei stopped and looked at Huo Jun's angular face, couldn't help but be curious, and asked, "Zhong Miao is proficient in Tao strategy and Qi governs government affairs. The upper knows the changes in the situation of the heavens, and the lower dawns of the epidemics in the mountains and rivers. The energy in the chest covers what ordinary people can have, and I don't know where the learning of a lifetime comes from? ”

After a pause, Liu Bei smiled and said: "Wandering around the world alone, there are many handsome talents, but those who can be compared with you should be there in this world!" ”

has been a colleague with Huo Jun for more than ten years, Liu Bei thought that he could see Huo Jun's ability, but Huo Jun could always give him a surprise. For example, when malaria broke out, Huo Jun actually knew about malaria. even wrote the "Epidemic Control Sutra" that can save hundreds of people, and his talent is beyond Liu Bei's cognition

Huo Jun kept smiling and said, "Kong Ming sits alone in Longzhong, discusses the changes in the world with the Magi, meets the Ming Lord, and uses what he has learned in his chest. In the market, merchants, travelers, and warlocks shuttle back and forth, and Jun is not ashamed to ask, plus browsing group books, so that there is a learning from today. ”

"Kong Ming?"

Liu Bei muttered, and suddenly felt glad and said: "Wandering alone in the Central Plains, living in Jingchu." Fortunately, assisted by Zhong Miao and Kong Ming, there are no two gentlemen who are not prepared for the next day. ”

"The king praises falsely, Jun is ashamed!"

Huo Jun said: "If the king appreciates it, Jun and Kong Ming are afraid that one of them is an official in the market, and the other is farming and fishing in Longzhong. There are many thousands of horses in ancient times, but there are few Bole. ”

Thanks to Liu Bei's words of appreciation, what Huo Jun said is true.

Although Liu Bei has deficiencies in treating people with rewards and punishments, he can recognize people, can use people, and dare to use people. Don't underestimate this quality, whenever you meet a suspicious and controlling monarch, you will inevitably have a fierce collision with Huo Jun.

If a monarch wants to establish a career, in addition to ability, he must be broad-minded and able to tolerate what others cannot tolerate.

The core figures of Shu Han, such as Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Fa Zheng, Wei Yan and others, which one is a person with a flawless temperament?

Not to mention these people, even ordinary people have temperament.

If it weren't for Liu Bei's open-mindedness, tolerance of everyone, and entrustment of important tasks, how could he come to the foundation of Shu Han?

Those who have achieved great things are not broad-minded, how can they gather people?

Therefore, those who achieve great things, whether Cao Cao or Liu Bei, are broad-minded. However, in comparison, Liu Bei is especially better than Cao Cao.

Where does it win?

Liu Bei dares to believe in people and dare to use people; Cao Cao was worried about the rebellion of the generals, and forcibly promoted the Cao generals to guard the frontier.

The difference between Cao and Liu made Huo Jun thank Liu Bei for his appreciation. If it is Cao Cao, it is estimated that Huo Jun will now wipe his ass for the Cao family, how can he have today's glory?

Liu Bei nodded with satisfaction and said with a smile: "I have been fighting in the Central Plains for many years, and I hate a place without roots. Wandering to the south, it will eventually become a foundation. The Northern Expedition failed, but with the concerted efforts of the monarch and the ministers, there was hope for the recovery of the Central Plains. ”

Then, Liu Bei changed his words and said: "Now the malaria will disperse, and the army will return to the country." Zhong Miao still needs to stay in Hefei, which is a lot of hard work. However, Zhong Miao has the heavy responsibility of the country, so he must not enter the malaria camp lightly. ”

"Jun remember!" Huo Jun replied.

Zero growth for half a month means that the route of malaria transmission is cut off. However, it does not mean that malaria has dissipated, and there are still malaria patients. How to deal with and treat malaria patients has always been Huo Jun's top priority.

The total number of people suffering from malaria in the Southern Han army was nearly 7,000, and more than 5,000 died of malaria. However, there were no people who recovered during this period, and with the joint efforts of the doctors of the Southern Han Dynasty, more than 20 people with extremely mild symptoms recovered.

There are still more than 1,000 people living in the malaria camp today, and these people need Huo Jun to stay behind to clean up the aftermath.

"That's right!"

Liu Bei stopped and said, "I want to let Shiyuan be the deputy governor of Jianghuai, I don't know why Zhong Miao is like this?" ”

"Kong Ming sent a letter to persuade Gu Na to enter the country. Zishan served as the assassin and sat in Jiaozhou for many years, and he had to make peace with Jiaozhou. Therefore, under the selection of Gu Shen, Shi Yuan may be appointed as the deputy governor of Jianghuai and assist Zhong Miao in governing Huai. ”

Huo Jun pondered for a while and said, "Kong Ming persuaded the king to take Jiaozhou into governance, and Jun thought it was feasible. Shixie has been entrenched in Jiaoling for a long time, and Jiaozhou is bright and dark. If you have a level crossing, you should be able to strengthen our country. ”

After a pause, Huo Jun said: "However, if you want to recruit Jiaozhou, it is really the best plan to move troops when Shixie dies of illness. Shixie's body is generous and has won the hearts of the people, and it is not suitable to use soldiers easily. If the king hastily seeks friendship and fails to get down the mountain quickly, there will be great chaos. ”

"Today's attack on Jiaoling, when you take it by surprise, you should fight quickly. If you see things late, it will be difficult to succeed, and you will suffer defeat! ”

As the overlord of Jiaozhou, Shi Xie sat on the five counties of Jiaozhou except Cangwu before Buqi went south. and Buqi seized Nanhai County, and Shixie had four counties in his hands.

Shi Xie's nest was in Jiaozhi (now Hanoi), separated from the mountains and mountains from the two counties of Cangwu and Nanhai in Liu Bei's hands. If he couldn't get down to Jiaozhou quickly, wait for Shixie to react and gather the strength of Jiaozhou to resist, Huo Jun was worried that he would fall into the rainforest and fight a tug-of-war.

If it is a tug-of-war, due to Cao Cao's relationship in the north, the Southern Han will not be able to draw a large number of troops to the south, and it will be a nightmare at that time. not only seriously shook Liu Bei's prestige, but also affected the Northern Expedition later.

In history, Sun Quan entered Jiaozhou early, but when he started in Jiaozhou, he waited until Shixie died of illness. Taking advantage of the fact that the Jiaozhou group of dragons had no leader, the Shishi counties in various places guarded their own policies, and only then did they eat Jiaozhou.

Hearing this, Liu Bei nodded in agreement and said, "What Zhong Miao said is really a good plan, and it should not be too late to cut Jiaoling today." ”

"Write down Huo Du's advice left and right!"

"No!"

Then, Liu Bei shook his head and sighed, and said: "As I get older, I forget more things, and I can only do it with pen and ink." ”

Standing beside Liu Bei, Huo Jun caught a glimpse of the gray hair on Liu Bei's sideburns, and he had gained something in his heart.

It's not that Liu Bei doesn't want to wait for Shixie to die, but that Liu Bei is getting older. Now that he is fifty-seven years old, in order to leave room for future generations to make mistakes and a more stable territory, Liu Bei must attack the local separatist forces.

After all, Liu Bei seems to be sitting on the six states of Yi, Jiao, Yang, Jing, Liang, and Xu, but in fact, Liu Bei has risen too fast, and there are still some independent forces under his rule. Such as Jiaozhou Shishi, Liangzhou Shen, Yizhou Nanzhong old local forces.

As the most powerful local force under Liu Bei's rule, the Jiaozhou Shi clan must be the first to be eradicated, and it is impossible to leave it to the successor Liu Chan to deal with.

As for Shi Xie, who was twenty-four years older than Liu Bei, it was beyond Liu Bei's consideration, after all, Zhao Tuo, who had previously seized Jiaoling, had ruled for eighty-one years. Zhao Tuo survived Ying Zheng, Liu Bang, Lu Pheasant, Liu Heng and other Central Plains rulers, and lived until the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty.

And Liu Bei is no better than Sun Quan, Sun Quan is forty-five years younger than Shi Xie, so he naturally has the confidence to survive Shi Xie. And Liu Bei has fought all his life, and there are many swords and arrows on his body, and he knows his own body.

Of course, the external environment is also different, in history, after Sun Quan seized Jingzhou, he fought with Shu Han in the west, and Cao Wei in the north, how could he have the energy to take care of Jiaozhou.

The current Liu Bei is different, except for the Northern Wei Dynasty, there are no other opponents. In order to consolidate the rule of the Southern Han, he had to make a move to Jiaozhou.

(End of chapter)