Destroy Jin and conquer Song, and carry the Northern Expedition through to the end

Chapter 419 King Xiang is interested in the goddess but not interested
As a screw in the huge machine of the Jingnan Army, medical officer Xu Erya keenly felt that the atmosphere was becoming increasingly tense.

Xu Erya joined the Loyal Army with Cheng Ada in Dayi Town. Therefore, although she was only fifteen years old, she was considered to be a veteran. In theory, she was even older than people like Wang Xiongyi and He Boqiu.

Xu Erya's family was killed. Knowing that she would not live long raising a three or four-year-old child, she donated her family property to the army, became Wei Rujun's maid, and was given a very artistic name: Xu Erya.

Although she was called a maid, Xu Erya was actually an assistant and a student, learning martial arts, cultural knowledge and basic medical methods from Wei Rujun.

Thanks to the fact that Xu Erya was raised as a child bride, she had a certain cultural foundation. In addition, she was well fed and well clothed, and was almost a fully employed technician. She learned things quickly and grew up rapidly during the war. She became one of the eight supervisors in the logistics and medical brigade of the Loyal Army, and also the youngest one.

Xu Erya experienced two major changes in her life. Both her original family and her adoptive family perished in the chaos of the North. This taught her a lesson: to survive in troubled times, one must ultimately serve a powerful force. Furthermore, a higher position would ensure they weren't treated like dirt and killed.

It is wrong to try to survive in troubled times without seeking fame and respect among the princes. To be more precise, only by seeking fame and respect among the princes can one survive in troubled times.

Therefore, when the generals of the Loyal Army decided to march south, Xu Erya led the elite medical staff to follow the Jingnan Army to the battlefield of the Song State.

The idea of building the Jingnan Army was to follow the organizational method formulated by Li Jing for the Tang Army. Technical workers such as military doctors, blacksmiths, and carpenters were all key protected targets. Due to time constraints, they only brought hundreds of logistics personnel with them when they went south. After arriving in the south of the Yangtze River, they expanded their personnel on the spot. By this time, the field hospital under Xu Erya's charge already had fifty doctors and nurses.

Although the medical skills of these people would become a model of disregarding human life in modern times, it is self-evident how important a disciplined and standardized team of doctors could play during the Song and Jin dynasties.

Therefore, the field hospital, which was originally protected only by Liu Huai's order, was finally taken seriously by everyone from top to bottom after experiencing several major battles.

This is naturally a good thing.

Many veterans' comrades and even themselves have stayed in field hospitals and received careful care from doctors. It can be said that the field hospital is half their life, and the doctors are their reborn parents. Most of them respect Xu Erya.

Although the new recruits in Lianghuai had been warned by their officers that field hospitals were a lifeline and that they shouldn't cause trouble, they hadn't experienced it firsthand. It would be strange if they weren't curious when faced with a field hospital staffed by young women.

Although Xu Erya is only fifteen years old, she has grown up. In addition, as the person in charge of the field hospital, she has a unique temperament because of her frequent rescue work. It is normal for her to be widely pursued.

Even though Xu Erya had said many times that she already had a husband and even had her hair combed like a married woman, some young soldiers still didn't believe it.

This annoyed Xu Erya, and finally he could no longer bear it after being harassed by a soldier today, so he informed the military judge Shen Longzi.

Shen Longzi was one of Liu Huai's personal guards. He didn't give anyone any face and immediately asked the soldier's commander to take him back. He read out his crime in front of his headquarters and whipped him ten times in public.

The young man named Du Kang was quite tough. He didn't say a word under the whip and just endured it.

In the field hospital tent, Huang Jie applied medicine to Du Kang while complaining, "You, idiot, have offended Doctor Xu for no reason, and you've made me suffer as well. In the past, when I came here, I could always have a cup of hot soup, but today, I didn't even see a bucket of hot water."

Du Kang lay bare-backed on a bed made of a bench and a door panel, gritted his teeth and endured the pain, saying, "It's not my fault. Who could have thought that Doctor Xu would suddenly turn against me?"

Huang Jie was also furious when he heard this, and slapped Du Kang on the arm: "You bastard, your brain has been kicked by a donkey. The ladies in the hospital cannot be messed with. This is what Commander Ding and Captain Zhao have repeatedly said. Didn't you hear it? Not to mention that Doctor Xu is already married, even if she is unmarried, can you not obey military orders?" Both of them were remnants of the defeated army who fled to Dongcai Shi with the Huaixi army. They supported each other before Yu Yunwen arrived in Dongcai Shi, and their friendship was quite deep.

They were also ambitious people. After the Jingnan Army showed actual combat achievements and raised the slogan of fighting back to their hometown, they joined the army and became soldiers of Luo Shenyan's army.

Hearing what Huang Jie said, Du Kang chuckled a few times and then whispered, "I've found out everything. Doctor Xu is a three-year-old child bride. Moreover, these two were entrusted to the governor's wing because their families were in trouble. So, they are said to be husband and wife, but in fact they are no different from mother and son.

Huang Dalang, you said I have martial arts skills and am young, and the Jingnan Army has a clear system of rewards and punishments. After this battle, I will follow the commander-in-chief to Shandong, where I will be given a few hundred acres of good farmland, buy a house, some slaves, and take in some refugees as tenants. Wouldn't that make life wonderful?

"When the time comes, I will marry Doctor Xu, raise the three-year-old as my own brother and son, and then arrange a good marriage for him a dozen years later. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

As soon as he said this, Huang Jie slammed Du Kang's shoulder again: "You better get some merit first! What's the difference between empty promises and marriage fraud? It's a good thing you didn't succeed. If it was considered a marriage fraud, it wouldn't be resolved by ten lashes."

"That's right." Before Huang Jie finished speaking, a cold snort came from outside the tent. Ding Daxing came in with a paper bag. He first glanced at Du Kang, then handed the paper bag to Huang Jie: "Use this, the best wound medicine."

After saying that, Ding Daxing sat on a bench nearby and said to Du Kang, "Do you think I was too harsh today?"

Du Kang lowered his head and lay on the bed: "No..."

In reality, Ding Daxing had restrained his force during those ten lashes, leaving Du Kang's back covered in bruises. After all, Du Kang had only been harassing Xu Erya, not even harassing her, so enforcing military law was a minor punishment.

Ding Daxing shook his head. "I can see you're just not convinced. You're lucky you didn't do anything out of line. Let me tell you, some of the captains and captains in the frontline were all dug out from the pile of corpses by Doctor Xu. Even though most of them are recovering in Shandong, how could their friends in the army sit idly by and watch Doctor Xu be bullied? If you dare to have any evil thoughts, you'll die without knowing how you died!"

Du Kang remained silent.

Ding Daxing knew this fellow still hadn't given up on this thought, so he could only shake his head. "You'd better think about it carefully. As you just said, you have courage and talent. Why do you have to marry Doctor Xu? If you have made great contributions, there will be countless people willing to marry you when you arrive in Shandong."

Du Kang said in a muffled voice, "Doctor Xu is different."

Ding Daxing stood up and cursed with a smile, "Of course I know she's different. Alas, I came here this time because I was worried that no one would apply the medicine for you, so I came to take care of the aftermath. Since Huang Dalang is here, I'll be leaving first. Du Liulang, think about this carefully."

After saying that, Ding Daxing shook his head and walked away slowly. When he reached the door of the tent, he remembered something and turned back to say, "This wound medicine was given to you by Doctor Xu. She also specifically told me that this is a secret recipe contributed by the genius doctor Li family. It contains raw chalk. It will sting a little when applied to the wound, but don't worry about it being poisonous.

Doctors are kindhearted. Doctor Xu didn't get angry with you just because you were pestering her. But you should also be sensible and not mistake this kindness for Doctor Xu looking at you differently. I also have one thing to say as a commander: We are facing a formidable enemy, so don't mess with us!

After saying that, Ding Daxing lifted the door curtain and strode away, leaving Du Kang struggling to stand up. He and Huang Jie looked at each other, not knowing what to say for a moment.

(End of this chapter)