My father, King Chu, was besieged at Gaixia

Chapter 77: Prodigal Behavior
After punishing Ding Gu, Xiang Chang abandoned him and a group of noble generals and ignored them. Xiang Chang asked Tian Jian to help Xiang Xi, and the group left in a hurry.

Ding Gu whipped Xiang Xi so hard that his cheek was torn apart. With the current level of medical care, scars are inevitable, but with timely treatment, the scars will be smaller.

Seeing Xiang Chang and Xiang Xi heading straight for the wounded camp, the wounded soldiers winked at Ding Gu and pointed in the direction Xiang Chang was going with their mouths:
"General, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and go to the wounded camp for treatment. If you don't apply antidote to the wound on your face, it will fester and your whole face will be ulcerated."

Ding Gu was shocked when he heard this. The other noble generals also realized that Xiang Chang had taken Xiang Xi to treat his scars. They couldn't help but feel jealous when they thought that Xiang Chang, as the eldest son of the Great Chu and the future king, was so concerned about the stupid and stupid person. It would have been fine if he had promoted him to the rank of General of the Central Army, but he was so close to him.

"Let's go, let's send Lieutenant General Ding Gu to the wounded camp and see if the 'detoxifying medicine' is really that mysterious?" The noble generals agreed and surrounded Ding Gu and went to the wounded camp.

The Wounded Soldiers Camp was located in a large independent area in the northeast corner of Gaixia City. All the noble generals had been there before, and they all frowned when they thought of the indescribable experience they had when they set foot there before. Chaos, blood, stench, wailing, dirtiness, death... these were their inherent impressions of the Wounded Soldiers Camp. When they thought about setting foot in such a disgusting place again, they instinctively resisted.

There is no doubt that the former camp for wounded soldiers was more accurately called hell.

It's not that we can blame the wounded soldiers for the bad environment. In this world, even the lives of ordinary soldiers are worthless. For example, the lives of soldiers in the baggage camp are so cheap that they are much cheaper than those of expensive war horses, not to mention those of cows and mules. They eat worse than pigs and work harder than donkeys. They have no status at all and will be whipped if they make the slightest mistake.

Is this also why the clansmen, generals, and guards who followed Xiang Ju to surrender to the Han army were thrown into the baggage camp of the rear army, and were so horrified that they cried and howled to return to the Chu state even if they died when they saw Xiang Chang as if he were their father? Is this also why Xiang Xi's guards, upon learning that they were demoted to the baggage camp, were so distraught that they almost peed themselves on the spot?

After all, the baggage camp is an auxiliary force, which is extremely useful. Even if it has no status, at least it can have a bite to eat. Even worse than this, and the worst thing in the military camp, is the wounded soldiers.

Currently, generals and officers above the rank of captain of a thousand soldiers in the army can still enjoy certain treatment when they are injured. However, ordinary soldiers, even cavalrymen or low-level officers, once injured, especially those with broken limbs and unable to fight on the battlefield, will be directly abandoned by the army and thrown into the wounded camp and no longer cared for.

However, when the noble generals arrived at the wounded camp, they could not help but stare wide-eyed in surprise. They saw that the original hellish scene was gone at all. A large area of ​​courtyards where the wounded lived were all opened up, becoming spacious and transparent. The ground was covered with a thick layer of flat yellow sand, and countless mats were neatly placed in rows and rows. Under the mats were cowhide, dog skin, wolf skin and other leather pads to prevent moisture.

Above the mats, wooden sticks supported cloth to form awnings to provide shade and protect from rain.

As for the corner of the yard, ropes were stretched in a crisscross pattern, on which were exposed to the golden autumn sun, pieces of cleanly washed cloth and white silk, which were then blown by the autumn wind, making a whistling sound.

The nobles and generals had no idea what to do with these strips of cloth and white silk. But seeing that both the sunshade cloth and the narrow strips of cloth and silk were made of top-quality materials, they couldn't help but take a deep breath.

At a time when currency was scarce due to years of war, both white silk and cloth were used as currency.

In particular, these noble generals saw that there was a wounded soldier lying on each mat. The soldiers were washed clean and their clothes were starched. As for the injured parts such as arms, legs, chest, etc., they were wrapped with cloth strips and white silk that were just like those hung out to dry.

"Such precious cloth and silk are worth more than the lives of these low-class people, but they are torn into pieces to bandage their wounds and hung on their heads to protect them from the sun and rain?" The noble generals suddenly realized and couldn't help but feel sorry for them. In their opinion, these low-class people died and died anyway. They could reproduce like weeds and would always grow again. Was it worth the trouble and money to treat them like this?

At this time, a woman's angry scolding was heard from the house on the inside of the yard:
"Didn't I tell you to lie still and not move? You just got disinfected, applied medicine, and got up again. Can't you be a little more honest?" The voice was clear and youthful, and you could tell it was a beauty just by listening to it.

Then a young man with a simple and honest voice said, "The guy on the mat next to me kept saying he was in pain and wanted to turn over, so I helped him."

"Take care of yourself first!" The anger in the woman's voice disappeared, but she still sounded unhappy.

The eyes of the noble generals lit up and their hearts skipped a beat: There are women in this wounded barracks?

With some impatience, the nobles and generals rushed into the house, and saw rows of mats neatly laid out in the house. Dozens of beautiful young women came and went in a hurry, busy bringing water and food to the wounded, cleaning their wounds, changing their dressings and bandaging them.

The wounded lying on the mats in the house were all seriously injured, with missing limbs or holes in the chest and abdomen.

Ding Gu and other noble generals could not imagine that the quality of these female doctors was so high, even better than their concubines, and they couldn't help but reveal greedy looks.

Ding Gu, who was staring at these beauties with other thoughts in his mind, suddenly changed his expression and lowered his head hastily, not daring to look again. The other noble generals also noticed it at the same time, and they all looked shocked and a little panicked, and slipped out of the house. These beauties were all maids and concubines of the Overlord and Xiang Sheng and other Xiang clan members.

No wonder those old bachelors and wounded soldiers who had seen sows with double eyelids in the military camp for so long were so respectful to these beauties and did not dare to act rashly. Their king asked his concubines to take care of their injuries. For these lowly people, wasn't it a death sentence? How could they dare to have any bad thoughts?
The noble generals made a tour of the camp for the wounded and found that everything was in order and orderly, without any chaos. Every wounded soldier was treated, and they were secretly amazed.

You have to know that in the past, the number of military doctors was limited, and they had to give priority to taking care of many generals and officers, so they didn't have much time to stay in the wounded camp. After a war, thousands of wounded soldiers poured in like a tide, where could they be treated?

Therefore, the wounded soldiers who could be rescued were given a rough rescue, and those seriously injured who were not worth rescuing were thrown into a corner of the yard and left to fend for themselves.

That’s right, the reason why the wounded soldiers’ camp in the past was hell was that once you were injured and entered there, it would depend entirely on whether you were strong enough to survive. The mortality rate was shockingly high!

The generals looked at each other and shook their heads secretly. They strongly disapproved of Xiang Chang's prodigal behavior of spending so much money, medicine and goods on the wounded soldiers.

When the noble generals were leaving the seriously injured room, a warm voice suddenly sounded beside them: "Hey, General Ding, are you here to treat your injuries as well? Well, the wound on your face is very serious. Let Doctor Li Zhong use the 'detoxifying medicine' to clean your wound."

Ding Gu looked down and felt that the face looked familiar, but he couldn't remember who it was.

"General Ding, it's me, Wang Baishi, one of the generals under your command." The soldier was a low-level officer. Seeing that Ding Gu didn't seem to recognize him, he hurriedly introduced himself.

Ding Gu still didn't remember, and said a few perfunctory words to comfort him. Wang Baishi's legs, right arm, chest and abdomen were all wrapped in white silk, almost like a dumpling, and his injuries were indeed serious.

Wang Baishi was startled, and the enthusiasm on his face faded. His injuries were caused by Zhongli Mei leading his troops to charge out of Gaixia City a few days ago, and fighting with the Han army. Ding Gu, who followed him to the battle, was surrounded, and he and several soldiers risked their lives to rescue him. At that time, several brothers died in the hail of bullets, and he was also shot several times by the Han army, but luckily he survived.

As for his boss, General Ding Gu, he had no impression of him at all.

Wang Baishi suddenly smiled: These noble generals have been like this for a long time, why am I so depressed? Facing Ding Gu's comfort, he grinned and said, "I didn't expect that I could still be alive. This injury is worth it. I have salted fish soup and brown rice to eat, and the king's concubine will bandage my wounds. I heard that the seriously injured will get money, and the dead brothers will have a lot of money sent home. The brothers all said that it is not a loss even if they die for the Great Chu."

Looking at Wang Dashi's honest face, Ding Gu suddenly felt extremely irritated. He sneered in his heart and became more and more disgusted with Xiang Chang's behavior.

Following Wang Baishi's instructions, Ding Gu walked to the end of the courtyard of the wounded camp. In a huge stone house, dozens of wine jars were densely stacked in the corner. In the center was a huge strange vessel made of a steamer and a cauldron, covered with a large iron lid, with firewood constantly burning underneath, and a strong aroma of wine emanating from it.

The noble generals understood at a glance that the fine wine Xiang Chang had collected from the military camp and the city was being steamed in this newly made strange-looking vessel.

In an iron pipe extending from the cauldron, clear liquid continuously flows out with a "gurgling" sound as the fire continues to burn and boil.

"Is this the 'detoxifying medicine'?" Looking at the liquids, Ding Gu's heart moved and he asked.

"That's right! Haha, General Xiang Changhou's method is really effective. Except for the first two days, most seriously injured soldiers died. Since yesterday, the death toll has dropped sharply. Especially for the lightly injured soldiers, we used the 'detoxifying medicine' made from this fine wine to clean the wounds, then applied white medicine for healing metal wounds, bandaged them with starched and exposed cloth strips, and changed the dressings on time. There was no more suppuration and ulceration, and no one died."

Li Zhong, an old military doctor with a goatee, naturally knew Ding Gu. He walked up to him and began to treat his wounds while speaking with a smile.

After hearing what Li Zhong said, Ding Gu no longer had any doubts about what Xiang Chang said, and looked at the strange-looking huge vessel with burning eyes.

Among the noble generals following Ding Gu, there was a drunkard who could not resist smelling the strong and rich aroma of the "detoxifying medicine". He found a container and stepped forward to scoop up some of it, then poured it into his mouth with a bit of impatience.

(End of this chapter)