After entering Dingsheng Pass, the Eldest Grand Princess bypassed her princess mansion and led everyone straight to the military camp.
Administrator Liu had previously been ordered to fight the epidemic. Due to his poor medical skills, he couldn't cure the epidemic in Dingsheng Pass with the prescriptions from Bianzhou City, and he even lost his own life because of it.
However, he still carried out two basic operations. One was to cremate all those who died of the epidemic, and the other was to isolate all the infected people.
At first, when there were only a few sporadic patients, Grand General Wen arranged a mansion for Administrator Liu to diagnose and isolate patients. But when the situation got out of control, the ordinary mansion was no longer enough, and Grand General Wen had to vacate a military camp.
The Senior Secretary of the Eldest Grand Princess's mansion greeted everyone at the military camp gate. He distributed face - covering handkerchiefs to everyone and briefly told the Eldest Grand Princess the situation:
"Grand General Wen started having a fever three days ago. Realizing that he might have contracted the epidemic, he voluntarily entered the military camp. The general fell into a coma due to high fever that night and hasn't woken up yet. Moreover, the northern barbarians sent people to harass and attack the city yesterday, and they haven't retreated for two consecutive days."
After dispersing the accompanying soldiers, the Eldest Grand Princess only took her confidants, Zhu Qingyu and others into the military camp.
Although her husband was in a coma at the moment and there were strong enemies outside the city, there was not much panic on the Eldest Grand Princess's face. She calmly asked:
"How many people did the northern barbarians send?"
The Senior Secretary replied:
"Nearly two thousand."
The Eldest Grand Princess stopped and frowned slightly:
"Only two thousand? General Wen is ill. What about Vice General Ye? With our one hundred thousand soldiers in Dingsheng Pass, how could we be trapped in the city by these two thousand people? Why didn't Vice General Ye go out of the city to fight the enemy?"
There was an inevitable sadness in the Senior Secretary's eyes. As soon as he opened his mouth, he choked with sobs:
"Vice General Ye died of the epidemic half a month ago."
With the main general critically ill and the vice - general dead, it was exactly the time when there was a shortage of troops and generals, and the northern barbarians took advantage of the situation to cause trouble.
The situation was so bad that even the Eldest Grand Princess couldn't help but let out a long sigh. Then she continued walking and asked:
"In this case, is Vice General Sun in charge of defending the city now? With his impatient temper, why didn't he go out of the city to fight?"
The Senior Secretary replied:
"Before entering the military camp, Grand General Wen specifically told General Sun not to go out of the city without his order. He was worried that if there was no one to hold him back, General Sun might be impulsive and fall into the enemy's trap."
The Eldest Grand Princess sighed:
"Oh, General Sun."
After entering the military camp, Zhu Qingyu followed behind the Eldest Grand Princess. Passing by the barracks, she saw that in nearly a thousand barracks, the beds were densely filled with patients infected with the epidemic.
From time to time, soldiers carried the breathless people out of the barracks and put them on the large wooden carts to be transported to a special place for cremation.
Perhaps sensing someone's gaze, the soldier in charge of carrying the bodies looked back instinctively, then naturally shifted his gaze, pulled the cart to the next room, and went in to check again.
Although it was just a brief eye - contact, Zhu Qingyu's heart was severely touched.
The soldier's eyes were almost numb, showing no sign of life.
When she first came to this world, she had seen too many such looks. Just one look reminded her of Bianzhou City, which had been ravaged by the epidemic.
If the people around you suddenly left one by one, and you might be the next one at any time, staying in such a situation for too long would really kill emotions such as pain, sorrow, fear and grief. Naturally, all that would be left was the numbness of that soldier, who could do nothing but wait for death.
Grand General Wen was placed in the side hall of the military camp's conference hall. When entering the side hall, even the Eldest Grand Princess's steps became hasty and disordered.
Seeing Grand General Wen lying in a coma on the sickbed, the Eldest Grand Princess touched his forehead. She wanted to say something, but held back. She looked at Zhu Qingyu:
"Doctor Zhu, please."
Finally, the Eldest Grand Princess couldn't hold back. She choked with sobs and then said:
"Please take a look at him."
Zhu Qingyu walked over. Aunt Zhuyue had already moved a stool for her.
Under the eager gazes of everyone in the room, Zhu Qingyu calmed herself down and felt the general's pulse.
I don't know if the virus had changed during this period, but Grand General Wen's symptoms were not exactly the same as those of the Emperor at that time. The prescription had to be changed.
The Eldest Grand Princess remained calm. After Zhu Qingyu finished diagnosing the pulse, she asked:
"How is it?"
When it came to diagnosing diseases, Zhu Qingyu never made a 100% promise, even when she diagnosed the Emperor's illness before. She replied conservatively:
"There are many possibilities. I need more time to compare the symptoms and try some prescriptions before I can draw a conclusion."
Just as they were diagnosing the illness, someone rushed in, covered in blood and holding a blood - stained knife:
"Your Highness, the scout sent an urgent report. The main force of the northern barbarians is on the way! According to their route, they will definitely pass by Jiufeng Mountain. No wonder the northern barbarians sent the vanguard troops. It was simply a distraction! Your Highness, I'm willing to lead the troops to ambush the main force of the northern barbarians at Jiufeng Mountain!"
The Eldest Grand Princess looked at the blood - stained knife in General Sun's hand. General Sun was a fierce warrior, but just a warrior.
As a local general, he even personally went into battle to kill the enemy in the city - defense battle. How could one expect him to lead the troops to fight an ambush, which required the most planning and patience?
The Eldest Grand Princess's eyes scanned the room and she said:
"General Sun, the northern barbarians know you. You need to stay in Dingsheng Pass. Only when you stay here will the northern barbarians think that we are still in the dark."
After scanning for a while, the Eldest Grand Princess's eyes finally fell on Gu Zhao and she asked:
"Vice Minister Gu, I heard from the Empress Dowager that you are good at fighting wars?"
Things happened so fast. As the Eldest Grand Princess said this, Zhu Qingyu just realized what was going on when Gu Zhao stepped forward, bowed and replied:
"I'm willing to share Your Highness's worries. I'm willing to lead the troops there."
The Eldest Grand Princess threw a word to the Senior Secretary and then walked outside:
"Doctor Zhu will be in charge of diagnosing and treating the epidemic. The Senior Secretary will stay and follow Doctor Zhu's instructions. The rest of you, follow me to the general's mansion."
Gu Zhao was going to war?!
Zhu Qingyu stood up and looked at Gu Zhao's departing back. Her mind went blank.
Gu Zhao walked to the door, quickly glanced back at her, gave her a reassuring smile, and then left in a hurry.
Most of the time, partings in the world don't give advance notice. They are always so sudden.
Zhu Qingyu didn't even have a chance to tell him to stay safe. Gu Zhao had already followed the Eldest Grand Princess and disappeared from sight.
On this New Year's Eve, on this day of family reunion, she and he were each on their own battlefields, going their separate ways.
