Twenty miles west of Zhu Si's army camp, a Jin army scout is active. They have been observing the changes on the battlefield. There are about thirty people in this scout. The leader is called Yu Linhai, a thirty-year-old from Yuyao County, Yuezhou.
Yu Sui is an experienced old scout. He has been in the army for more than ten years and has participated in dozens of battles, large and small. He has been promoted from a soldier to a captain step by step.
Yu Linhai brought more than a dozen trust eagles with him to deliver the message to Yanzhou. Currently, the general Li Bing is leading an army in the southern area of Yanzhou.
That afternoon, while they were riding along a small river, a soldier suddenly pointed ahead and shouted: "Colonel, there is someone in front of you!"
Yu Linhai also saw it. A hundred steps ahead, there seemed to be someone lying down by the river drinking water. Except for deserters from Zhu Si's army, there would be no one else here.
Yu Linhai waved his hands to several of his subordinates. They understood, and everyone surrounded him from all directions.
When I got closer, I saw a man lying on the ground, whether he had fainted or died. He was holding a knife tightly in his hand, as if he was trying to stab a fish with it.
"Go up and have a look!"
A soldier urged his horse forward and hit the man with his spear. The man groaned and slowly raised his head, noticing the cavalry around him.
He finally saw hope, struggled to get up and begged: "Please, give me some food, I promise that I will not be sick! I am not infected!"
When a soldier was about to step forward, Yu Linhai stopped him. He took out a piece of wheat cake, broke it in half and threw it to the man, and then threw him a water hyacinth.
The man grabbed the cake and wolfed it down. He almost choked. He drank two mouthfuls of water and ate the cake completely. Not even the crumbs were left. It was obvious that he was very hungry.
"Give me more! Please." The man stared at the half piece of cake in Yu Linhai's hand.
Yu Linhai didn't give it to the other party anymore. He asked: "Friend, what disease have you contracted?"
"I'm not sick, I'm just hungry. They're sick and they're all dead."
When the scouts heard the word 'plague', they were all startled and reined in their horses and retreated.
"Tell me clearly, who is infected?" Yu Linhai asked again.
The man hesitated, and Yu Linhai sneered, "If you don't tell us, we'll go find someone else!"
"let's go!"
He turned the horse's head and led everyone away. The man was so frightened that he shouted: "Don't go, I say! I say!"
Yu Linhai reined in the reins and looked back at him coldly.
"General, there was a plague in the military camp. Many people in the rear army were infected. Xiao Wanding isolated us and we all escaped. Too many brothers fell to the ground and died along the way. I was scared and turned around and ran back. I
I haven’t eaten in three days.”
"Have all the rear troops escaped?" Yu Linhai asked.
"Yes! All the more than 10,000 rear troops escaped. At least several thousand people were infected with the disease. Those who were not infected could not survive. There was no food at all along the way. Some people were killed and shared in the night." At this point, the soldier burst into tears.
.
The soldiers looked at each other, and they actually killed each other. Yu Linhai threw half a piece of wheat cake to him again. This time, the man didn't gobble it up so much, but he still finished the cake in one go.
"Are you not infected?" Yu Linhai looked at him in disbelief.
"General, I am indeed not sick. If I am sick, I can't eat at all. I have diarrhea and vomiting, and I can't do it overnight."
Yu Linhai saw that he had eaten something and his complexion improved a lot, and he didn't look like he was sick.
Yu Linhai still couldn't believe it, so he threw him another piece of wheat cake and shouted: "We will come back tomorrow morning. If you don't want to live, you can leave as you please. If you want to go home, just stay where you are."
After saying that, Yu Linhai left with his men.
They did not go north, but ran directly to the main camp. They were still several miles away from the main camp. They saw bright lights in the distance and saw countless soldiers dismantling tents in the rear army camp and collecting weapons and items.
"Captain, something's wrong!"
The subordinates were surprised and said: "Isn't the rear army camp infected? Why are they not taboo at all?"
Yu Linhai looked grim and shook his head, "You are mistaken. The enemy's main camp has disappeared. This should be Qiu Jingzhong's army in the city. Xiao Wanding has already withdrawn."
The men were shocked. Didn't this bring the epidemic into the city?
"Captain, do you want to remind them?"
Yu Linhai sighed, it was a bit late to remind him now. He remembered that the rear army camp originally had hundreds of tents, but now there are less than a hundred tents left, and many materials are missing.
But Yu Linhai still urged his horse to gallop forward. The sound of horse hooves immediately alerted Qiu Jingzhong's army. Some soldiers shouted: "There is enemy sentiment!"
The soldiers raised their bows and nocked arrows. Yu Linhai reined in his horse at a hundred steps and shouted: "Don't let go of the arrows. I am a scout of the Jin army and I have important information!"
A general waved his hand, indicating to the soldiers not to fire arrows for the time being, and responded loudly: "Come closer and talk!"
Yu Linhai held a shield and slowly approached. When he was more than twenty steps away, he stopped advancing and shouted: "Burn all the tents, there is an epidemic in Zhu Si's army."
His voice was so loud that it could be heard clearly from more than twenty steps away. Qiu Jingzhong's soldiers were shocked and threw away their tents.
At this time, Yu Linhai had already turned his horse and ran away. General Lang felt uneasy and ordered: "Everyone stop, I will report to the general!"
Hundreds of soldiers washed their hands with water from the water hyacinths they carried with them and left the rear army camp far away. No one touched the remaining supplies.
General Lang found the commander-in-chief Li Mian and reported the situation to him. Li Mian's expression changed drastically. If this was the case, Qiu Jingzhong would not be able to spare him.
He grabbed the general by the collar and said fiercely: "Don't say such unfounded words again, otherwise I will behead you in public for the crime of deceiving the soldiers!"
General Lang said worriedly: "General, if the epidemic is real, it is not a joke."
Li Mian snorted, "In that case, you are responsible for digging out the corpses of those who died of illness and proving that they are true."
General Lang was so frightened that he waved his hands repeatedly, "I don't dare to do this for a humble job!"
"If you don't dare to do it, then shut up, do you understand?"
Lang Jiang wiped the sweat from his forehead and whispered: "I don't dare to talk nonsense because of my humble position. It's just that the brothers don't want to move anything anymore."
"Take your men away and tell them to shut up. I'll arrange additional manpower."
"I understand the humble position!"
General Lang bowed and left in a hurry. Li Mian was really in a dilemma. Should he say this or not?
After hesitating for a long time, Li Mian decided to give Qiu Jingzhong a warning. If the epidemic really broke out and Qiu Jingzhong found out the truth, he would have to kill himself.
Qiu Jingzhong was having dinner. After listening to Li Mian's report, he frowned and asked, "You said they might have an epidemic, but what evidence do you have?"
"I'm just guessing. I saw a lot of people throwing away their armor and personal belongings, and even their money bags. Who would do this, not even throwing away their money bags?"
"This is not evidence, it can only be speculation. But if we conclude that the other party has an epidemic just because of speculation, spreading the word will shake the morale of the military."
"There is really no evidence of being humble. I am worried about the epidemic and afraid of shaking the morale of the military, so I am in a dilemma."
Li Mian did not mention the fact that the Jin army scouts came to remind them. He had an excellent sense of proportion. Since he reminded Qiu Jingzhong, he also shirked his own responsibility.
Qiu Jingzhong is not easy to fool. Since Li Mian said this, maybe he really discovered something?
After thinking for a long time, Qiu Jingzhong said to Li Mian: "You can arrange for military doctors to take a look to confirm whether there is an epidemic!"
Early the next morning, a total of five military doctors were sent. Four of them did not see the reason. This was not like in later generations, where they could just take some samples and test them in the laboratory. In ancient times, doctors relied entirely on experience, and there was no such thing as on-site
Bodies of those who died of illness were found, and no other conclusive evidence was found. Military doctors could not guarantee whether there was an epidemic.
However, a military doctor still discovered the clues. He found a small military camp surrounded by a camp fence. All the tents and items had been removed, but there was a burning pit in the corner, all of which were burned personal belongings. In addition, there were puddles on the ground.
The black stains are very consistent with the conditions of the isolation camp.
The military doctor soon discovered five or six more filled pits. Are there any infected corpses in them? The five military doctors discussed it. They did not dare to dig on the spot, but reported to Qiu Jingzhong.
Qiu Jingzhong decided on the spot and sent a thousand soldiers to dig the largest pit. More than 20 corpses were dug out, and they were soldiers who died of illness.
This discovery caused a great disturbance. Qiu Jingzhong was extremely angry and immediately ordered that all supplies and tents brought into the city be burned.
Outside the city, fire rose into the sky and black smoke filled the air. Hundreds of large tents, nearly ten thousand pieces of armor and countless other materials were burned to the ground. The soldiers looked at the blazing fire uneasily, not knowing whether they were infected.
Qiu Jingzhong immediately ordered that all soldiers who feel unwell should immediately report to the military doctor
At dawn, Yu Linhai led his men to the river. The escaping soldier was standing by the river with a sword in his hand, looking in good spirits.
"Is there nothing unusual?" Yu Linhai asked loudly.
"Everything is fine, no signs of illness."
Yu Linhai asked the soldiers to bring him a mule, which was a strong mule that carried food for them. He divided the food and gave it to the prisoner of war to ride on. No cavalryman was willing to take him.
Yu Linhai threw him another bag of dry food and ordered: "Take him away!"
Five soldiers were responsible for taking the prisoner of war back to Yanzhou to report, while the other scouts followed the general and stayed in Songzhou to observe the enemy's situation.