My younger brother Zhuge Liang

Chapter 685: No need to suffer even if the bones are scraped

The barbican tower and the main city tower at the west gate of Fancheng were successively completely controlled by the besieging forces.

Guan Ping also beheaded Guo Jia's body, opened the inner and outer city gates to let the army into the city. The Battle of Fancheng thus completely entered the garbage time of mopping up.

The rearguard troops left behind by Cao Ren actually consisted of only a few thousand hardcore warriors, all of whom were specifically placed in Xicheng by Guo Jia as the general reserve.

After these thousands of people suffered heavy casualties, the remaining abandoned pawns, cannon fodder, and auxiliary soldiers of the second-line troops actually did not have much fighting will.

As Guan Ping led the rear army to control the main street in Fancheng, the remnants of Cao's army were almost defeated. As long as they were caught by Guan Ping, they would surrender after a brief fight.

Some of them ran fast and broke through the north or east gate on their own.

The troops going through the north gate inevitably ran into the blockade line left by Zhang Fei, and were eventually captured. They were really in a panic and had no choice but to go.

The deserters who went through the east gate simply walked on the ice and snow on the surface of the Baihe River and escaped.

However, that direction was not the direction to Xinye. They hoped to escape back to the area controlled by Cao's army, but after crossing the river they would still have to turn north, which would still risk them being discovered and intercepted by the pursuers.

The only way to escape the fate of being captured is to abandon your weapons and weapons, become a deserter, or hide your identity and pretend to be a civilian.

Guan Ping spent several hours taking control of all the main gates and treasuries of Fancheng, and also put out several fires that Cao's army had set in order to create chaos and buy time before escaping.

As for the scattered remnants of soldiers and bandits in the corners of the city, Guan Ping estimated that it would take at least a few days to eliminate them. And searching for the deserters outside the city would probably take even longer.

After a war that lasted for months, the cleanup work was already annoying. Now it was almost the end of the twelfth lunar month, and it would take at least until the end of the year to restore order.

……

Guan Ping temporarily took on the task of clearing out the remaining enemies in the city, and Guan Yu and Gao Shun were also able to relieve themselves of the burden and were urgently placed in the Fancheng County Government to treat their injuries.

There is a villa next to the Fancheng County Government Office. It was originally the place where Guo Jia recuperated before his death. The house is clean and tidy with complete facilities, making it very suitable for patients to live in.

After Guan Ping captured the place, he first conducted a quick inspection, immediately had it cleaned, replaced the sickbed, and hung an extra gauze curtain boiled in wine on the wall. Then he had his father and Uncle Gao brought in and settled them down.

No matter what, no matter how good the sanitary conditions of the tents outside the city are, they are definitely not as good as the existing government offices.

After Guan Yu and Gao Shun were settled, the army's doctor immediately carried out some careful cleaning of the wounds, bandaging them where necessary and wiping them with distilled liquor where necessary, to stabilize their injuries first, and then wait for the master doctors to carry out follow-up treatment.

After all, there are only a few famous doctors in the army, and it is impossible for them to be by Guan Yu's side all the time and obey his orders.

In this life, because Hua Tuo was won over by the Zhuge brothers with the generous conditions of the "Guangling Microbiology Laboratory" a few years ago, Hua Tuo's fate also changed greatly.

In recent years, Hua Tuo has been mainly devoted to the research of medicine, microorganisms, bacteria, and writing books, and he has rarely treated patients in person.

However, Hua Tuo's passion for teaching and research was very helpful to the overall medical development of Liu Bei's camp and the level of his apprentices.

Hua Tuo's two great disciples, Wu Pu and Fan A, have finally become fully accomplished masters after several years of systematic training.

Taking into consideration Hua Tuo's advanced age, Zhuge Jin allowed Hua Tuo to concentrate on his studies in Xuzhou during the years when he was in charge of Guandong, instead of traveling around the country.

You should know that in history, Hua Tuo's achievements in medical research actually have a lot of room for improvement. Because doctors in ancient times did not have a high social status, they dared not refuse to respond when they were summoned by nobles, and they wasted a lot of time traveling and rushing on the road, and they actually had little time to calm down and do things.

Now, other dignitaries wanted to "squeeze out high-quality medical resources" and act like big shots by asking Hua Tuo to travel thousands of miles to see patients when they had minor illnesses, but they were all blocked by Zhuge Jin.

With Zhuge Jin's signboard, who dares to disobey in the Guandong area and the jurisdiction of Liu Bei's camp? Everyone sees that Situ has set an example by not forcing Mr. Hua to consult a doctor over a long distance, so the people below must also restrain themselves.

Of course, Zhuge Jin is not unkind. He knows that everyone wants to enjoy high-quality medical resources.

So he then set down two additional unspoken rules:

First, if you really want to see Mr. Hua in person, please come to Guangling for consultation in person. We do not accept door-to-door service.

Second, since Mr. Hua's two most talented disciples had both graduated, Mr. Hua himself was stationed in Xuzhou, and his two senior disciples went to Yangzhou and Jingzhou to open clinics respectively. This was considered to be a fair deal, taking care of the medical needs of the states south of Guandong.

Wu Pu opened a clinic in Wuchang, and Fan A opened a clinic in Moling. As for the northern provinces, Hua Tuo's other disciples could open clinics there in the future, but for the time being, there were not so many famous doctors to share.

Liu Bei's Northern Expedition was of a very high standard. Wu Pu, who opened a clinic in Wuchang, was summoned by Liu Bei to Yicheng after Liu Bei's army captured Yicheng to handle the unexpected illnesses of high-ranking civil and military officials in the army. Wu Pu himself also taught many disciples and brought them with him to help.

Later, Guan Yu flooded Yuliangzhou and defeated Cao's army and crossed the Han River to the north. Considering that Yicheng was relatively far away and there were not so many casualties, Liu Bei sent the navy to escort Wu Pu's team from Yicheng to Dengxian.

Deng County is right next to Fancheng and was also Guan Yu’s attack base when he besieged Fancheng. Here, the wounded transported from the front line of Fancheng could be dealt with in a timely manner every day.

After Guan Yu and Gao Shun were injured today, Guan Ping immediately sent someone to Deng County to ask Wu Pu's team to come for treatment.

Guan Ping sent someone to invite a famous doctor, and the news of Guan Yu's injury naturally spread among the high-ranking military officials.

So before Wu Pu arrived, Zhuge Jin went into the city to visit the patient that morning.

When Guan Yu heard that Zhuge Jin was coming to visit, he quickly asked people to prepare a reception, but Zhuge Jin also stopped him in a friendly manner.

When the two met, Zhuge Jin personally gave them some hygiene tips, and then said with a little emotion:

"I didn't expect that Yun Chang would be injured like this in the attack on Fancheng. I wanted to prevent the rich and powerful from disturbing Mr. Yuan Hua's medical research, so that he could study in Guangling with peace of mind. Now, it is a pity that Mr. Yuan Hua cannot come to treat Yun Chang in person."

Guan Yu certainly didn't care about this, and quickly waved his other hand, saying, "Zi Yu, why do you say that? It's just a small arrow wound. As a general, I have been exposed to arrows and stones for decades, and I don't know how many times I have suffered this.

Any skilled doctor can cure it, why do we need Master Yuanhua! Master Yuanhua's disciples are young and strong, and their hands may be steadier. When the time comes, Ziyu will accompany me to eat, drink and play chess, and I can cure it at the same time."

Zhuge Jin was stunned when he heard this. He thought that since the battle of Xiang and Fan was advanced by eleven years, Ma Liang is still a young boy now. Could it be that when the bone is scraped to treat the poison, it will be his turn to play chess with Guan Yu?
However, Zhuge Jin was a math teacher in his previous life, his IQ was high, and he also knew a little about Go. If Guan Yu really wanted to play against him, he would definitely be beaten severely.

……

Deng County and Fancheng were forty miles apart, and Wu Pu and his party arrived there in half a day.

By the way, "scraping bones to treat poison" is an act of Guan Yu in official history. It was not made up in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, but was clearly recorded in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

However, it was not Hua Tuo who scraped Guan Yu's bones in the official history. Because the age did not match, Hua Tuo was killed by Cao Cao in history and did not live that long. It was just an unknown military doctor who scraped Guan Yu's bones.

Therefore, in this life, it is absolutely sufficient to let Hua Tuo's most talented disciple Wu Pu treat the disease.

Their medical skills were already far superior to those of their contemporaries. Inspired by the Zhuge brothers, they also learned considerable knowledge of microbiology, using the strengths of modern medicine to complement some of the shortcomings of ancient surgery.

Wu Pu and several assistants were personally led into the government office by Guan Ping. They examined the injuries of Guan Yu and Gao Shun one after another and quickly made a judgment.

"General Gao's injury is more serious, and his bones must be set immediately without delay, otherwise he will be lame for life.

General Guan's crossbow wound was not serious, but the arrowhead was dirty and contained poisonous bacteria, so he had to cut off some of the flesh and scrape off the injured bones to prevent the poison from spreading.

You guys, prepare the medicine for General Guan, I will fix General Gao's leg bone first."

After all, Wu Pu was still young, less than 40 years old, in good physical condition and full of energy, and was more suitable for surgery than his mentor Hua Tuo.

As he spoke, he began to prepare the splint for positioning after bone setting, and then helped Gao Shun set the bone and fixed it carefully.

The size and shape of the splint were also adjusted on site to make it fit Gao Shun's legs perfectly.

Gao Shun was a quiet man, and after being tortured like this, he just grimaced and groaned a few times, without making much noise. However, considering that the bone setting process does not require additional new trauma, this behavior is in line with ordinary people's imagination.

Everyone praised General Gao for his courage, perseverance and composure, which was truly extraordinary.

After the surgery, Gao Shun looked at Wu Pu with gratitude and said, "Mr. Wu, you deserve the title of a miracle doctor. I have been a general for 20 years and have broken bones several times. Before this, no military doctor could set bones as well as you.

The splint of this legging fits the leg perfectly without getting loose or causing pain. It is truly miraculous.”

Wu Pu did not dare to take credit for it, but simply explained: "When I first followed my teacher to learn the art, I only used two wooden sticks or boards to straighten bones and clamp legs.

Later, my teacher was in Guangling County and was fascinated by the "laboratory" built by Zhuge Lingjun. Although the main focus there was on studying the growth of wormwood, when Zhuge Situ and Lingjun visited, they always had some clever ideas that benefited my teacher a lot. Later, when we set bones again, we learned to carve wooden splints according to the size of the injured's hands and feet, trying to fit the hands and feet as closely as possible, which could also help the injured recover better and prevent the bones from growing crooked when healing. "

As Wu Pu explained, Gao Shun listened with great interest.

It turns out that the high-end splints they use can be customized and carved according to each person's size. Although it is not as good as plaster in later generations, it is much better than the original method of fixing bones with two wooden sticks.

According to the original medical technology of the Eastern Han Dynasty, although Hua Tuo could set bones, the equipment was too simple, and the bones he finally set were more or less crooked. This is why the ancients would still have a little limp after breaking their legs, even if they were set up.

This kind of problem is difficult to solve in traditional medicine. Not to mention the Han Dynasty, even in the Qing Dynasty, before Yuan Shikai became famous, his eldest son Keding broke his leg and was left lame after it was reattached. Later, after Yuan Shikai became the commander-in-chief, he asked his eldest son to go to Germany for orthopedic treatment, but he went too late and was not completely cured in the end.

Now Zhuge Jin can instruct Hua Tuo and his apprentice to use splints that fit the injured person's arms and legs as closely as possible when setting bones, which is already a leap forward.

But this kind of thing is expensive, because it needs to be carved and adjusted by expert craftsmen, which is definitely much more troublesome than the plaster molds that can be mass-produced in later generations. It can only be used by military generals, and ordinary soldiers do not have this treatment.

……

It took an hour or so to fix the bone. Wu Pu also needed to recover his strength, so Guan Yu ordered someone to prepare a meal for Wu Pu. After he finished eating, he also let him take a bath and take a nap, indicating that there was no rush to cure the poison.

Wu Pu knew that he would have to operate in the afternoon, so he had to keep his hands steady. Moreover, he had ridden forty miles to Fancheng today, and his physical strength had been somewhat depleted before he began to practice medicine, so he did not refuse.

He ate, drank, bathed and slept until the beginning of the 3:00 p.m., then put on his clean boiled gauze "surgical gown" again. He also instructed people to boil the knives and dressings and disinfect them with distilled liquor in advance. At 3:00 p.m., Wu Pu finally started to treat Guan Yu.

Before taking action, Guan Yu remained calm and asked Wu Pu about his condition: "Sir, have you rested enough? If you are still tired, it would be fine to treat him tomorrow."

Wu Pu quickly stood up and bowed, "General Wei, you are so considerate of me. I and all the other disciples are deeply grateful. I have indeed rested enough and am now refreshed. Your injury is more important, so please undress."

Guan Ping helped Guan Yu take off his outer robe, and his injured arm was exposed again.

In winter, smokeless charcoal fires are burned indoors and burn very fully. There are also slight air vents left for ventilation, so there is no need to worry about the cold and there is no risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.

Wu Pu made a final inspection and ordered his servants: "Take the iron ring and cone rod, stick it into the ground, put General Wei's injured arm through the ring and tighten it. Then take the boiled gauze eye mask and cover General Wei's eyes."

After hearing this, Guan Ping and others were confused and didn't know how to cooperate.

Zhuge Jin was also watching from the side. He had just taken a special shower and changed into a clean robe that had been boiled, disinfected, and then dried, in order to reduce the bacteria in the ward environment.

Zhuge Jin was not surprised when he saw Wu Pu's operation: after years of guidance from him and his second brother, the medical equipment and medical environment of Hua Tuo and his disciples had made considerable progress.

For example, they would originally choose to pick up a stick as a marker, and then temporarily nail an iron ring on it to fix the injured person's arms and legs to facilitate surgery.

Today, it has been replaced with a whole casting, like an enlarged version of a sewing needle, with a steel ring at the tail, just enough to put hands and feet in. There is a steel spike in the front, which can be inserted on the table or the ground, anyway, it is very convenient to fix.

Even Hua Tuo's original practice of covering people's heads and faces with a quilt was replaced with a gauze eye mask, which looks much lighter.

Guan Yu, of course, refused after hearing what Wu Pu said. What iron rings and eye masks, does Guan Yu need such things?

"What's the point of these things? It's just a pain to scrape the bone, just scrape it directly."

However, Zhuge Jin still advised him: "Yunchang, you don't have to do this. Your bravery is known to the world. No matter what kind of injury you have, how can you be afraid? In my opinion, it's better not to cover the eyes with this blindfold. It's a good opportunity to do something else while you are healing.

"But the armband still needs to be worn. This is to prevent the tendons from twitching when the knife is cut, causing inconvenience to the doctor. This is beyond human control, so there's no need to force it."

Zhuge Jin knew the principles of modern physiology. He knew which muscles and organs controlled by the sympathetic nervous system could be affected by the brain and will.

However, other organs controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system and autonomic nervous system have nothing to do with the human brain and willpower, and will have instinctive reactions when subjected to external stimuli.

Just like the knee jerk reflex, when a person's knee is suddenly hit, he will kick out.

This is not because someone is afraid of pain, but because this thing has nothing to do with the brain and willpower at all.

The modern human soul in Zhuge Jin still strongly rejects the idea of "suffering without suffering".

When Guan Yu's muscles were cut and his bones were scraped, he could not help crying out in pain, but he could not help sweating and his muscles could not help twitching.

So this suggestion is reasonable, but if someone else said it, Guan Yu would definitely not listen.

Since it was Tzuyu who said it, we must give her this face.

Guan Yu also went down the stairs and turned to Wu Pu and ordered: "Since the Minister of Justice has given the order, just tie him up. There is no need to blindfold him. I want to see how to cut him."

Wu Pu quickly glanced at Zhuge Jin, and when Situ nodded, he hurriedly did as he was told.

Guan Yu's arm was put into the iron ring and tied up. New gauze that had been boiled and dried was stuffed around the iron ring to isolate sweat and prevent too much sweat from flowing into the wound. The conditions were much better than those in the same period in history.

After doing all this, Zhuge Jin personally poured two large glasses of strong distilled liquor for Guan Yu and himself, and then started playing chess.

Zhuge Jin specially used a tall and solid wooden lacquer cup, which was not easy to spill the wine due to shaking hands, nor was it easy to tip over. Moreover, a large cup was enough, and there was no need to add wine in the middle.

Guan Yu also knew that the wine was very strong, so he did not dare to drink it all at once. He just took a big gulp first, and then made his move while he was still in high spirits.

The two sides only attacked each other for dozens of moves. Zhuge Jin was also very good at mobilizing the opponent's emotions. Guan Yu's chess game soon became dangerous, which really drew his attention completely.

Seeing this, Wu Pu took out the cooked knife, dried it over the fire, and then started to work.

He was cutting flesh and scraping bones, and soon a small basin was filled with black blood and infected filth.

When the sharp knife entered the flesh, Guan Yu frowned and his moves slowed down a little, but there was nothing unusual.

Zhuge Jin didn't interrupt him and played chess seriously.

Guan Yu's arm was inserted into the iron ring with gauze tied around it, and he didn't move at all, except for the natural twitching of the muscle bundle, which occasionally caught the blade. The dripping sweat was also completely absorbed by the gauze wrapped around the iron ring.

Wu Pu showed a look of awe and admiration, and moved quickly, finishing the scraping in less than half an hour. He even had time to check it, and then began to sew it up. Finally, he finished the whole process of applying medicine and bandaging, and it took less than a quarter of an hour in total.

Guan Yu's chess game was in danger at this time because of Zhuge Jin's killing. However, Zhuge Jin seemed to make small mistakes occasionally, which gave Guan Yu some illusion of hope for a comeback.

Amidst the emotional tug, Guan Yu thought about how he had never beaten Zhuge Jin in his entire life of chess. He was so caught up in this game that he even forgot that the pain of scraping his bones was over.

"General Wei is truly a god. My arm has been healed. Please rest for a hundred days, don't get angry, and change the dressings on time."

After washing his hands and finishing his work, Wu Pu saw Guan Yu was still playing chess, so he coughed lightly and bowed to explain.

Zhuge Jin also stopped letting Guan Yu win at the right time and dropped a piece with a "pop", which perfectly cut off Guan Yu's idea of a comeback.

"Yun Chang's chess skills have also improved. Today he almost beat me. If he hadn't been distracted by the bone scraping, he might have won."

Guan Yu was disappointed when he saw that he had lost the game of Go. He pulled himself out of his own world and was in a daze for a few seconds before turning to Wu Pu and asking, "Is that all?"

Wu Pu bowed again, and Guan Yu quickly supported him: "Such medical skills are indeed not inferior to Mr. Yuanhua! When Mr. Yuanhua scraped the bones, he could make people more alert than usual. It is incredible! I have played chess with Situ all my life, and today's game is the one I lost the least in my life!"

How could anyone dare to answer this question? After being stunned for a while, Guan Yu finally reacted and looked at Zhuge Jin, smiling and teasing:

"Tzuyu, you are so calculating! You can actually control people's minds. Just now I felt that a turnaround was in sight, but the next moment it seemed to be in vain. Was this also part of your calculation?"

Zhuge Jin was not arrogant: "It's just a trivial skill, it can only guide people's mind to focus, it's not worth mentioning."

Gao Shun, Guan Ping and others beside them were also sincerely impressed by this scene. They all said that Zhuge Situ's fascinating calculations, General Guan's courage to scrape bones while talking and laughing, and Mr. Wu's medical skills were all miracles of the time.

-

PS: I put too much effort into yesterday’s big chapter... I haven’t figured out how to deduce the subsequent maps yet.

So I will slow down the pace of the transition chapter for now, it will be ready tomorrow, sorry.

(End of this chapter)