A divine healer, a general, a young marquis! Who can rival them!

Before Yang Hu could even get a clear picture of the military supplies investigation, an even more dangerous calamity struck first.

An epidemic broke out in the camp.

At first, only a few wounded soldiers were vomiting, having diarrhea, and suffering from persistent high fever, so no one took it seriously. But within a few days, the disease spread like wildfire. In one large camp, over a hundred people fell ill, and the wounded soldiers' camp was filled with cries of agony.

The soldiers were filled with dread. Before the barbarians' swords even struck, their own men were falling in droves, a sight more chilling than a defeat.

Some people started spouting nonsense like "a plague god has descended from the sky" and "the military camp has been disturbed by evil spirits." Several timid soldiers secretly burned incense and kowtowed in the corner of the tent, praying to the gods and Buddhas. In an instant, the entire camp was shrouded in a layer of gray, deathly aura.

Yang Hu had no time to pay attention to these things. He squatted down beside the sick soldier, examined his tongue, felt his pulse, and inquired about his daily life. He quickly figured out the root cause of the illness.

This is an epidemic.

He examined seven or eight patients, all with identical symptoms: sudden onset, vomiting and diarrhea, persistent high fever, and a yellow, greasy tongue coating. After inquiring about their daily routines, he was absolutely certain of his diagnosis.

The army camp was filthy, with unclean drinking water, filth everywhere, and the sick and healthy crammed together, eating, drinking, and relieving themselves all mixed up – the perfect breeding ground for an epidemic. This disease doesn't discriminate; it only targets the dirty. It spreads rapidly through water and foul air, one person infecting another, and once infected, it spreads far and wide. If it's not contained in time, within half a month, this formidable camp guarding the pass will collapse on its own, crumbling before even seeing the barbarians.

Having witnessed countless epidemic prevention methods in his previous life, Yang Hu could easily manage this situation even with his eyes closed. However, since no one in the army understood these principles, he didn't explain them further, but simply demonstrated the methods.

"Relay my message." As a medical officer, Yang Hu gave the order decisively this time.

As soon as he issued his orders, the order of things in the camp changed instantly.

The first measure was isolation. Anyone who contracted the disease was moved to a separate shed downwind of the camp, separated from the healthy individuals, and cared for by designated personnel. They were not allowed to wander around the camp.

The second measure is clean water. All drinking water must be boiled and cooled before consumption; the wells that have been contaminated with filth must be sealed off.

The third step is to clean up the filth. The patient's vomit and soiled clothes must be buried deep or burned; they must never be thrown around indiscriminately.

These three methods were all quite strange. Separating the patients was one thing, but the procedures for boiling water and burying filth were unprecedented in the army.

The old soldier who had guarded the camp his whole life grumbled, "Why bother drinking boiled water when you can just take your pants off and fart?" and "Soldiers' lives are cheap, why all the fuss?" Others complained that moving the wards and digging deep pits was too much trouble, and they outwardly complied but inwardly resisted.

"Boiling water can save half the lives." Yang Hu's words were cold and left no room for negotiation. "If another sick person is added to the camp, the city walls will lose a sword that can fight again. Anyone who doesn't follow this advice and dies from the epidemic will bear the consequences themselves."

With the medical officer who had just given the order to save the entire camp and was backed by Captain Chen, those who outwardly complied but inwardly defied him no longer dared to be negligent and obediently followed the rules.

Physician Liu now obeys Yang Hu's every word, taking the lead in following his instructions and personally overseeing the isolation of the ward and the sealing of the well water, not daring to be careless in the slightest. He has been practicing medicine for forty years and has personally witnessed this young man snatch people from the jaws of death, stop the bleeding during a night raid, and gouge out the legs of those sentenced to death. He is already completely convinced of this unheard-of method.

Captain Chen also issued a strict order: all matters related to epidemic prevention in the entire camp must be directed by this young medical officer, and anyone who disobeys the order will be punished according to military law.

As the epidemic prevention measures were implemented, Yang Hu himself didn't rest. He stayed in the ward day and night, writing prescriptions, dispensing medicine, and testing drugs.

The epidemic was dangerous; what was most frightening was not the disease itself, but the dehydration caused by vomiting and diarrhea, which drained people dry. Many who contracted the epidemic did not die from the disease, but from dehydration.

Yang Hu then dissolved salt and sugar in rice water, making bowls of seemingly bland but incredibly life-saving soup, which he spooned down to the dehydrated patients. This method was so simple that it astonished the doctors in the army, yet it was precisely this bowl of salt and sugar rice water that pulled soldiers who were on the verge of death back from the clutches of the Grim Reaper.

With the addition of herbal decoctions to clear heat and detoxify, and to stop diarrhea, the condition stabilized and improved day by day.

Qin Ying, disguised as a medicine boy, stayed by his side the whole time, handing him medicine, preparing decoctions, and recording his condition. Her hands, which had once held knives and guns, were very steady when doing these delicate tasks.

The ward reeked of filth, filled with the vomit and excrement of the sick, something most people would avoid at all costs. But she followed Yang Hu, staying there day after day, without even flinching. She had led troops and was used to the carnage on the battlefield, and she knew that Yang Hu's seemingly insignificant procedures were gradually pulling her brothers back from the brink of death.

Seeing that Yang Hu had been working non-stop in the ward for three days and three nights, with bloodshot eyes and chapped lips, she quietly softened her movements when handing him water and spoke less than usual, but she kept up with the work even more closely.

In about seven or eight days, this raging epidemic was brought under control and suppressed.

The number of newly infected people decreased day by day; those who had fallen ill before gradually recovered from their fevers and diarrhea and were able to get out of bed. A large camp that was on the verge of being destroyed by the plague was snatched back from the clutches of death by this young medical officer.

"Amazing!"

"It's amazing. I've never seen an epidemic brought under control so quickly."

The soldiers' gazes toward Yang Hu changed from initial skepticism to heartfelt respect.

The old soldier who used to mutter "taking off your pants to fart" now praises Dr. Yang to everyone he meets, and is more enthusiastic than anyone else about boiling water and burying the dead. Those who had prayed to the gods and burned incense have also come to understand: the one who saves lives is never the gods and Buddhas in the sky, but this quiet young doctor in his early twenties.

This time, Yang Hu saved not just one or two wounded soldiers, but the lives of an entire camp. If this camp could hold its ground, the smoke from the chimneys of countless households behind this formidable pass wouldn't be extinguished by the barbarians' iron hooves. Medicine is the foundation of the army, and this battle clearly demonstrated this.

Captain Chen inspected the sick wards, looking at the rows of soldiers who had recovered from critical condition, and patted Yang Hu heavily on the shoulder.

"Good lad," his voice was filled with undisguised admiration, "your move is worth a thousand troops."

Medicine is the foundation of the army. No matter how sharp the swords and spears or how thick the walls of a large camp, if a plague erodes its interior, it will still fall.

A medical officer who can stop a major epidemic in the army and protect the entire battalion's fighting strength is just as important as a brave and skilled general. Captain Chen is a veteran in the army, and he understands this better than anyone else.

Yang Hu thanked Captain Chen, but his hands, hanging at his sides, showed no sign of relaxation.

He stayed at the ward for three days and three nights, always keeping a tight rein on things.

Because he knew better than anyone that the root cause of this strangely occurring epidemic might not lie solely in the matter of "timing".

How could a perfectly good camp, where water sources and waste have always been properly managed, suddenly become so polluted that it caused an epidemic? The onset of this disease was too coincidental, as if someone had given it a push from behind.

And in his mind, a shadowy figure had already formed in his mind who could push filth into the lifeblood of a large camp. That bloodsucking sewer, that hand that leaked military supplies and harmed morale, had probably reached here once again.