Kong Huaying wiped the blood from her hands. “The critically wounded have all been treated. What’s left now are injuries that aren’t life-threatening.”
Her progress had been tremendous, especially after she became involved in the profession of military medicine.
With systematic training, combined with the foundation she already possessed—and the guidance her father, Kong Xinshu, occasionally gave her—her skills had improved rapidly.
The wars that had raged over the past year or two had also given her plenty of opportunities to practice. Her medical expertise was now quite impressive.
Jiang Jin looked toward the few rooms in the distance that had been turned into a temporary pharmacy. “Do we have enough medicinal supplies?”
Kong Huaying nodded. “We do. Lord Qiu had people move most of the medicinal herbs from the city’s pharmacies here.”
Jiang Jin had brought some medicinal supplies as well, though not a great deal. She knew that Wenxia City would certainly have its own stock, so she had brought mostly emergency medicines and the remedies newly developed by Gefeng.
Besides Liu Mi and Kong Huaying, the medical team that had come with them included ten male and female physicians and more than thirty apprentices.
Seeing that everything here was in orderly arrangement, Jiang Jin gave a few instructions before leaving the temporary infirmary and heading toward the county office.
In the area south of the military camp, Chu Qing and the others had washed themselves clean and changed into Jinyang Army uniforms for the first time. They were curious and delighted, filled with a strong sense of belonging.
“These clothes are wonderful. They’re soft, comfortable, and even smell nice,” Li Feng exclaimed.
They had lived amid filth for far too long and had almost forgotten what it felt like to wear clean clothes.
Their hair and beards had been so tangled that they couldn’t be combed out, so they had simply cut them all off. Now they all had short hair and looked fresh and neat, feeling refreshed both in body and mind.
Chu Qing looked at Wei Tai, who was quietly drying his hair nearby. His heart was filled with excitement, along with a dull, hidden ache. The days when they had once been young and spirited were gone forever.
He walked over and patted Wei Tai on the shoulder. “You rascal. You joined the Jinyang Army before the rest of us.”
Wei Tai smiled. “Of course. If you count it up, I’m a veteran, while all of you are just recruits.”
Everyone burst into laughter, but as they laughed, tears began to stream down their faces.
After a while, they finally regained their composure. Just as they were about to speak, the door was violently thrown open with a bang, and Nan Wen rushed in, visibly agitated.
“I finally found you all.”
His eyes were rimmed with red. He went forward and embraced Chu Qing, pounding him hard on the back.
Chu Qing: “…”
He was deeply moved too, but this manner of greeting was far too exuberant. He couldn’t help pushing Nan Wen away. “Stop grabbing and hugging people like that. Have you no sense of propriety?”
Nan Wen ignored him. He went on to embrace Li Feng and the others one by one. When he finally prepared to hug Wei Tai, Wei Tai retreated several steps, making his refusal perfectly clear.
Nan Wen didn’t mind. “Good lad. You’ve got the backbone of a true man.”
Then he glanced at Wei Tai’s bandaged arm. “Your arm is all right, isn’t it?”
In the past, he had disliked Wei Tai, the Young Marquis. His life had been refined, his possessions extravagant, and he had always been surrounded by attendants.
Looking back now, Nan Wen realized that he had been narrow-minded.
A refined lifestyle and extravagant possessions only meant that Wei Tai had been born into a good family. They did not mean he lacked courage.
Wei Tai shook his head. “It’s only a minor injury.”
Chu Qing looked at Nan Wen, who was still as carefree as ever, his feelings complicated. “I never thought I’d live to see you all again.”
He truly had never expected to survive—to live long enough to kill Ji soldiers, capture Ji Duoyan, and meet Nan Wen, Qiu Liao, and the other soldiers of the Northwest Army.
Nan Wen nodded heartily. “Back then, I even drew a picture for that kid Ye Shang so we could find you.”
Chu Qing stared at him. “You drew a portrait?”
Nan Wen gave an affirmative sound. “Yes. Speaking of which, I hadn’t picked up a brush in ages, so my hand had gotten rusty. Fortunately, I managed to draw it. I don’t know whether it was ever useful.”
Chu Qing had no doubt whatsoever. “It definitely wasn’t.”
Nan Wen was puzzled. “Huh? How do you know?”
Chu Qing waved a hand. “That’s not important.”
He changed the subject. “Where’s Strategist Qiu?”
Nan Wen didn’t understand why it wasn’t important, but he answered honestly. “That fellow is probably at the county office. He’s likely very busy right now.”
“Come on, let’s get something to eat in the mess hall first.” He beckoned everyone outside.
“There’ll probably be another fierce battle this afternoon or tonight. We only have two hours to rest, and then we’ll have to take over for the others.”
Because of the battle the previous night, they were covered in blood and grime. Washing up alone had taken half an hour, leaving them little time.
Everyone knew this was no time for reminiscing, so they followed him to the mess hall.
The food was prepared by the Jinyang Army’s cooks. Although they were cooks, their combat abilities were by no means weak.
When Chu Qing and the others saw the bowls filled with white rice and meat, along with several unfamiliar dishes and a thick, white soup, they all fell silent.
“Does the Jinyang Army always eat this well? There’s meat, vegetables, and soup? And the rice is pure white?” Li Feng couldn’t help firing off three questions in a row.
Nan Wen declared proudly, “Of course. Our lord has high-yield grain seeds. In any case, you can eat as much as you want.”
Wei Tai sighed with feeling. “It really is good.”
Although this was his first time eating at the Jinyang Army’s mess hall, he had lived alongside Yun Yu and the others for a while and knew that the Jinyang Army’s food was genuinely excellent.
At the county office, Qiu Liao hurriedly rose and saluted when he saw Jiang Jin. “My lord.”
Jiang Jin nodded. “How is the situation in the city?”
Qiu Liao handed her a statistical report. “Please take a look. There are roughly fifty thousand Han Chinese civilians and servants in the city altogether.”
In addition to the Han Chinese, there were more than twenty thousand members of the Ji people.
They were called civilians, but most of them were actually members of the Ji royal family and nobility, along with the families of certain generals and soldiers.
“My lord, how do you intend to deal with these Ji civilians?”
Jiang Jin thought for a moment before saying, “Perhaps we can bundle them together with Ji Duoyan and exchange them for some benefits. There’s no need to hurry. Let them go hungry for two days first.”
There were too many of them to kill—it would be a waste. They could certainly be exchanged for something valuable.
Qiu Liao acknowledged this, then asked, “Does my lord intend to use Ji Duoyan and the others to exchange for cities?”
Jiang Jin smiled. “What do you think?”
Qiu Liao pondered for a moment before saying, “It should be possible. The question is which cities we can get in exchange.”
Jiang Jin nodded. “Exactly. But there’s no need to rush any of this. We have plenty of time.”
Qiu Liao nodded. Then, thinking of the soldiers who had fallen in battle, he hesitated briefly before asking, “We have no way to return to Fengzhou at present. What should we do with the soldiers’ remains?”
These were extraordinary times. Even if they buried the bodies in the mountains outside the city, they would not feel at ease. The Ji army was still outside, and if they happened to find the graves, they might very well dig them up and desecrate the bodies.
That was something they could not tolerate.
Likewise, the Ji army could not bear to watch their own soldiers’ bodies be dishonored.
Jiang Jin recalled the layout of the city. “Choose a section of land in the west of the city and make it a martyrs’ cemetery. The civilians living in that area can first be settled in the homes previously occupied by the Ji people.”
The western part of the city was where most of the Han Chinese civilians lived. The houses there were low and dilapidated, and many were even dangerous.
They could be demolished and replaced with a cemetery for the fallen soldiers.
Qiu Liao furrowed his brows. “There’s already a cemetery in the city. Wouldn’t that be inappropriate?”
Jiang Jin looked up at him. “This will be the cemetery of our Jinyang Army—a martyrs’ cemetery. It will contain nothing but righteousness and honor. You don’t need to worry.”
Cities of this era rarely had cemeteries within their walls. On the one hand, there was not much land inside a city; on the other, people were generally somewhat superstitious about such things.
None of that was a problem for Jiang Jin. Wenxia City was not small, and the number of soldiers who had fallen was limited. They would not need much space.
As for taboos, they simply did not exist.
These soldiers had all died protecting this city. It was nice to let them continue watching over its development.
Hearing her words, Qiu Liao froze for a moment. A smile touched his eyes, but his throat tightened.
For the Han people, it was their good fortune to encounter a wise ruler like their lord.
Thinking of the situation in the city, he sighed. “The housing situation here is extremely divided. The homes where the Ji army and the Ji people live have all been preserved intact, but many of the houses in the area where we Han people live are no longer fit for habitation. There’s no way to rebuild them at present, either.”
Jiang Jin pondered for a moment. “Those that truly can’t be lived in should be moved into the houses where the Ji people used to live.”
All the Ji people, including the civil and military officials captured in the city, had been thrown into the prisons. They were packed in so tightly that there was hardly any room to move.
Even that was not enough. Several warehouses had to be cleared out before all the captives could be confined.
