Wanyan Salihe and his generals rushed to the team. Dozens of Jurchen soldiers were lying alone on the grass. Many people looked at them worriedly from a distance. A Jurchen military doctor was examining them.
Wanyan Sali drank and did not dare to come near, so he waved to the military doctor to come forward.
"What happened to them?"
"Reporting back to the marshal, they all have the same symptoms, high fever, body aches, runny nose and cough, and red and swollen eyes."
Wanyan Sali was startled and asked nervously: "Is this an epidemic?"
"I'm not sure at the moment. They haven't had vomiting or diarrhea. At least it's not like the plague, but they are contagious. They are all soldiers in the same tent. At the beginning, there was only one person, but now everyone is infected."
"Does this disease affect combat?"
The military doctor nodded, "They are in pain and weak all over, and their arms can't even lift weapons. It will definitely affect the battle."
Wanyan Salihe looked back at everyone, lowered his voice and asked: "How serious is this disease? I mean, will soldiers die if infected?"
"Yes! There are already quite a few who have died. Anyone with a slightly weaker body will be more dangerous!"
"Is that contagious?"
The military doctor nodded and looked at the dozens of people on the grass in the distance, "In just one day, all the soldiers in the tent fell."
Wanyan Chishu Lie stepped forward and said: "Marshal, soldiers getting sick is a dangerous sign. We must retreat immediately."
Wanyan Sali was really helpless. He also wanted to test the attack on Xianren Pass. Now that the army was showing signs of illness, he had no choice but to order an evacuation to the east.
Twenty thousand Jurchens turned around and evacuated eastward, speeding up...
The day after the Jin soldiers evacuated, Chen Qing led his army to appear in the Jin soldiers' abandoned temporary camp, and the soldiers dug up more than a dozen Jurchen bodies.
The military doctor stepped forward and said to Chen Qing: "I can basically confirm that these Jin soldiers all died of the same disease."
"Is it a plague?" Chen Qing asked.
"It's not like the plague, it looks a bit like death from a fever."
Chen Qing knew that without antibiotics in this era, an epidemic would cause widespread death, and it would not necessarily be dysentery or cholera, but the same would be true for viral influenza.
He immediately ordered, "Burn the body, dig a hole and bury it deeply!"
Yang Zaixing stepped forward and asked, "Tongzhi, do we want to pursue him?"
Chen Qing was hesitant. He was worried that his army would also be infected with the flu.
The military doctor smiled and said: "Actually, you don't have to worry about it. Every spring we make a large amount of decoction for the soldiers to prevent this kind of fever. Wu Dutong should have a lot of medicinal materials there, such as honeysuckle, isatis root and so on. I can go and get some.
!”
Chen Qing couldn't help but smile knowingly when he heard the names of these medicines. He nodded and said, "I'll write a letter and you can give it to Wu Dutong for me!"
Chen Qing immediately wrote a letter and gave it to the military doctor to take to Wu Jie. He then sent people to Xianren Pass to inform Liu Qiong to lead his army to meet him at Raofeng Pass. He then led 2,500 soldiers to continue chasing eastward.
.
.........
At this time, Liu Ziyu had already come out of Jinniu Road, and he came out with the imperial envoy Li Yuan. Liu Ziyu arranged for Li Yuan to go to Chengdu for temporary refuge. Although Li Yuan was also afraid, he refused no matter what, and must follow Liu Ziyu to Hanzhong.
Considering that Xi County was strong and difficult to attack, Liu Ziyu took Li Yuan to Xi County.
In the lobby, Wu Jie was discussing the military situation with Liu Ziyu. Li Yuan asked very worriedly: "If the situation develops like this, will Hanzhong be completely lost and endanger Bashu?"
Wu Jie smiled slightly and said: "Don't worry, Sir, the situation has been reversed and we will be able to retake Hanzhong soon."
Liu Ziyu's eyes lit up, "Is Chen Qing here?"
Wu Jie nodded, "We arrived three days ago."
Li Yuan asked cautiously: "Before I set off, the officials also asked me to pay attention to Chen Qing. Qin Xianggong hates him, but several other Xianggong admire him. Is he really such a big effect? He can do it as soon as he comes."
Reversing the situation in Hanzhong?"
Wu Jie said calmly: "The biggest weakness of Jin Bing is logistical supplies. This is due to Liu Zhifu, which makes Jin Bing have to rely on supplies from Jinzhou. Not many people can see this, and Chen Qing also sees it.
Arrived, so the night before yesterday, he destroyed the logistics supply team of the Jin soldiers in one fell swoop, burned hundreds of warships, and wiped out five thousand Jurchens. This battle basically reversed the situation in Hanzhong, and the main force of the Jin soldiers had to withdraw even if they did not.
Already."
At this time, the soldiers reported in the hall, "Report to the capital, Chen Tongzhi sent someone to deliver a letter, saying that there is something important!"
"Bring him in!"
Not long after, a man in his thirties walked quickly into the lobby, bowed and saluted, "I am Gu Tingfang, a military doctor in the Qinzhou Army. On the orders of Chen Tongzhi, I am here to deliver a message!"
After speaking, he took out a letter and presented it. A soldier took the letter and handed it to Wu Jie.
Wu Jie opened the letter, read it again, and gave it to Li Yuan.
Wu Jie asked in surprise and joy: "There is an epidemic among the Jin soldiers. Is the news accurate?"
"Reporting back to the capital, it is not an epidemic, but it is also a fatal infectious disease. Infected people often have high fever, body pain, and severe coughing. In particular, high body temperature can be fatal. We have excavated more than a dozen cases of people who died of the disease.
Corpses of Jurchen soldiers.”
Liu Ziyu smiled after reading the letter and said: "The Jin soldiers have leaked houses, suffered from continuous rain, lacked food, and encountered infectious diseases. They should not attack Xianren Pass again. I agree with Chen Tongzhi's judgment. The Jin soldiers want to keep Jinzhou.
But we can't give them that chance."
Li Yuan pondered for a moment and said: "The top priority is not to let the disease spread to Song Jun!"
Gu Tingfang hurriedly said: "Chen Tongzhi also meant this, so he sent a humble official to Xi County to ask for medical support!"
Wu Jie immediately ordered his soldiers: "Take Military Doctor Gu to the warehouse and get whatever medicine you need. Our entire army will also prepare medicine for prevention!"
Gu Tingfang bowed and left. Liu Ziyu and Li Yuan both looked at Wu Jie to see his next action plan.
Wu Jie thought for a long time and said: "I think with Raofeng Pass as the boundary, if the Jin soldiers withdraw from Raofeng Pass, it will be a true retreat. We can return to Nanzheng and rearrange the defense of Raofeng Pass."
"Will Wu Dutong send troops to support Chen Qing?" Li Yuan asked in confusion.
Wu Jie smiled slightly, "His army is all cavalry and is faster. My army would have hindered him in the past, but if he captures Raofeng Pass, I can take over the defense and solve his worries."
...........
Chen Qing's cavalry followed Jin Bing all the way and kept seeing the corpses of those who died of illness buried by Jin Bing. In just three days, more than 300 people died of illness.
But this kind of viral influenza is not a plague after all. Strong soldiers can resist it even if they are infected, but wounded soldiers or the weak often cannot resist it. In the past few days, it is basically wounded soldiers who have died of the disease.
But even so, this kind of death puts huge pressure on the general Wanyan Salihe. More and more soldiers are infected, reaching more than 30%. No one knows who will die next?
The morale of the Jin soldiers was low, and the entire army remained silent. Everyone lowered their heads and hurried on. Almost everyone wanted to fly away from this ominous place in Hanzhong.
This morning, the army finally arrived at Raofeng Pass. Raofeng Pass was still controlled by a thousand gold soldiers. Although there was a secret tunnel canyon through Raofeng Ridge, the secret tunnel could not carry the baggage, and even the war horses could not walk.
It can play a role in capturing Raofeng Pass.
Therefore, Raofeng Pass is still an extremely important pass. It is impossible for the Jin soldiers to abandon it after entering Hanzhong.
The 20,000 Jurchen army passed through Raofeng Pass in a mighty manner. In a mountain col a few miles away, Chen Qing watched the Jin soldiers crossing the pass from a distance.
Of course, he also wants to intercept the Jin soldiers in Xingyuan Mansion, but this is not realistic. There are main Jin soldiers on both sides of Raofeng Pass. If he captures Raofeng Pass too early, he will only be attacked from both sides, and the whole army may be destroyed.
.
If you want to control any pass, the prerequisite is that there can only be enemy troops on one side, and never on the front and rear.
Chen Qing could only wait for the main force of the Jin soldiers to withdraw from Raofeng Pass before attacking Raofeng Pass.
That night, all 20,000 gold soldiers evacuated Raofeng Pass. There were still only 1,000 gold soldiers left in Raofeng Pass. However, 3,000 gold soldiers were stationed below the pass to the east, and another 3,000 gold soldiers were stationed in Jinzhou.
Obviously, Wanyan Salihe was unwilling to evacuate Hanzhong like this. He wanted to control Jinzhou and Raofengguan so that he could have a chance to make a comeback.