Epidemic

Jiang Xun gave an awkward laugh, "Is that so?"

Xue Jin said sternly, "Master Xun, I know you have an extraordinary background, but you absolutely must not do such things as slandering the emperor anymore. These days, I often interact with Grand Tutor Shen, the Vice Minister of Rites and Grand Secretary of the Eastern Pavilion of our dynasty. He also agrees with what I say."

Grand Tutor Shen was Shen Que.

Jiang Xun coughed, using his veiled hat to cover it, and a rare sense of curiosity arose in him, "What does he agree with?"

"He agrees that the emperor is not as incompetent as he appears on the surface."

Xue Jin sat a bit closer: "Grand Tutor Shen told me that His Majesty has a youthful temperament... um, his way of doing things is a bit unconventional and erratic, but his true nature isn't bad. Judging from how he has handled affairs recently, he also has good talent."

Saying this, he rubbed his nose.

Shen Que's exact words weren't this, but the original words were a bit offensive. Xue Jin was embarrassed to say them, so he paraphrased a bit.

The original words were: "His Majesty has a youthful temperament; you have to stroke his hair in the right direction and coax him."

"Let me tell you, previously Shen Xiu was practically pointing at his nose and cursing him. Master Shen even thought he was going to have to collect his corpse, but nothing happened. The emperor let him off lightly and merely transferred him to Lianghu to serve as a military advisor. I see that Shen Xiu, far from being sad, is living quite comfortably. A couple of days ago, he sent me a box of peaches, saying they were from 'fruit trees cultivated by damming streams in the ravines.' Oh, and it was the method you told him."

Opposite Xue Jin, Jiang Xun lowered his eyelashes. All of his expressions were hidden behind the veiled hat, unable to be seen clearly.

He was silent for a good while, so long that Xue Jin had finished gnawing the peach in his hand clean and reached out for another one, before he said softly, "Is that so?"

In Shen Que's eyes, he actually wasn't beyond redemption?

Xue Jin bit into the peach: "Of course. Anyway, you must never say such things again. If someone with ulterior motives hears you, it will be very dangerous. This Capital City is fraught with danger at every step. If this reaches the emperor, even Grand Tutor Shen won't be able to do anything."

His tone was sincere, earnestly considering things for Jiang Xun.

"..."

Wasn't the biggest source of danger in this Capital City sitting right in front of Xue Jin?

The little general had absolutely no awareness of this. He drank the clear wine in his cup clean, looked at the peach pit in his hand sent by Shen Xiu, and began to feel melancholic again, "Shen Xiu is having fun growing peaches, but I don't know if he can be transferred back to the capital, or if I can return to Saibei. When I drank with him at the hunting ground, I truly didn't know we would be separated for so long."

After the hunting ground incident, Xue Jin was imprisoned. Before he was even released, Shen Xiu was banished.

Jiang Xun then comforted him, "Soon. It's time to change the military advisor in Lianghu."

Once the corrupt officials were killed, Shen Xiu would no longer be the best candidate to govern Lianghu. Jiang Xun remembered that at the beginning of spring this year, there would be a major epidemic in Lianghu. This epidemic was sparsely recorded in the history books, and he couldn't tell exactly what disease it was. Anyway, he needed to send an administrator born into a family of doctors over there.

As for Shen Xiu, he had other arrangements.

For that fierce battle after the start of spring, Jiang Xun planned to throw Xue Jin, Shen Que, and Shen Xiu over there together.

Historically, in this war, this dynasty suffered a crushing defeat. The Northern Di drove straight in and fought all the way to the Capital City, a disastrous defeat indeed.

This campaign was not like those set-in-stone events. Jiang Xun wanted to win, but he had no information to reference, nor did he know whether the currently young and inexperienced Xue Jin could shoulder the heavy responsibility. Having no confidence in his heart, he could only make things as comprehensive as possible.

Saibei was thousands of miles away, beyond the reach of the Capital City, and highly dependent on the strength of the officials on the scene. Jiang Xun could only do his best in this regard.

Xue Jin at the front, Shen Que as the military strategist, and the transportation of provisions in the rear handed over to Shen Xiu. These three were recognized as the golden triangle in the history books, and it was also the best lineup Jiang Xun could think of.

In the following months, he released Xue Jin back to Saibei ahead of schedule and also gifted him a good horse, requiring him to keep a constant watch on the movements north of Qingping Pass and report back immediately at the slightest sign of trouble.

The little general hurried all the way back to the Zhenbei Marquis Manor. When the Old Marquis heard that the child he hadn't seen for months had returned, he couldn't help but shed tears. Leaning on his cane, he tremblingly came up to welcome him and walked a circle around Xue Jin, "Child, you've suffered. How did you get so thin... uh, so much more muscular?"

During his few months in the Capital City, Xue Jin had grown taller, and even his already exaggerated chest muscles had become even more exaggerated.

Thousands of miles away, Jiang Xun coughed, hiding his merit and fame.

It was just that when Xue Jin came to him to scrounge for wine, System 55 commented on Xue Jin's muscles and mentioned a couple of modern fitness tips, such as eating more chicken breast to supplement protein, which Jiang Xun then relayed.

Jiang Xun couldn't let his great general go hungry either. The little general ate and drank well in the Capital City, and when he had nothing to do, he went horseback riding under the moon. As a result, not only did he not emaciate as the Marquis of Zhenbei thought he would, but his body lines also became much more handsome.

The Old Marquis looked around him for a long time, almost suspecting his own eyes were playing tricks on him: "Child, does His Majesty treat you well?"

The little general said: "Pretty well. He occasionally rewards me with food."

In his past life, Xu Ping and Xu Ying made trouble for him. In this life, the two unlucky bastards were sanctioned by Jiang Xun right from the start and couldn't stir up any trouble.

Meanwhile, Shen Xiu's career was in full swing. Following his memorials, Jiang Xun slaughtered all the corrupt officials in Lianghu, and the floods were quelled. When Shen Que tallied this year's tax revenue from Lianghu, it was several million taels more than last year.

In short, everything was developing in a good direction.

Except for one thing.

Jiang Xun wasn't quite able to grasp his relationship with Shen Que anymore.

For the sake of intimacy points, Jiang Xun had to summon Grand Tutor Shen every day and have him stay overnight in the Qianqing Palace every night.

He would generally follow the script, saying some innocuous sarcastic remarks, and Shen Que would maintain his usual expression, calmly saying "This subject knows his guilt," and then try to pick up some meat for Jiang Xun.

Jiang Xun ate a couple of bites, and when he really couldn't take it anymore, he would put on a cold face and ask Wang An to clear the table of dishes and reward them to Xue Jin.

And every night, they would always sleep in the same place. At first, Jiang Xun was afraid Shen Que would be uncomfortable, so he slept against the corner of the wall. But as they slept, they ended up rolling together.

He hugged the Grand Tutor's waist, buried his chin in Shen Que's shoulder blade, and smelled the scent of Wenyuan Pavilion's ink, brushes, and books.

It was like the scent from when he was young in the Hongwen Pavilion, staring blankly at the ginkgo trees outside the window.

Jiang Xun went from being astonished at first, to feeling awkward, and finally, he was numb to it.

As the river water thawed and spring arrived, Shen Que also became increasingly busy. Jiang Xun would occasionally go to the Loquat Courtyard to write back to Xue Jin and Shen Xiu. The rest of the time, he often stood at the watchtower at the highest point of the palace wall, gazing north.

On this day, a heavy rain fell north of the Capital City. Looking out from the Imperial City, one could only see dark clouds bearing down on the city, stretching endlessly as far as the eye could see.

At the same time, two letters were dispatched from Qingping Pass in Saibei, sent as eight-hundred-mile urgent dispatches. One was written personally by the Marquis of Zhenbei and sent to the Wenyuan Pavilion in the Capital City. The other was dispatched by the heir of Zhenbei, Xue Jin, and sent to a small courtyard filled with loquat trees in Baili Hutong.

Two fine steeds galloped on the official road, their hooves covering hundreds of miles of the journey, and then parted ways at the Jinshui Bridge. Jiang Xun and Shen Que, one in the Wenyuan Pavilion and the other in the Loquat Courtyard, almost at the same time, raised their hands and opened these two letters respectively.

This war that historically decided the fate of the dynasty had finally begun.

And prior to this, Jiang Xun, under the identity of Master Xun, asked Shen Xiu to volunteer to be an imperial envoy. Then, he approved the memorial at light speed, transferring Shen Xiu to Saibei, responsible for escorting the provisions sent from Lianghu to Saibei.

Afterwards, Shen Que himself submitted a memorial saying he wanted to go to Qingping Pass. In the previous life, Jiang Xun didn't allow it; in this life, without a moment's delay, he packed the Imperial Tutor's bags for him.

Shen Que looked at him, slightly hurt.

Archery and equestrianism were among the Six Arts of a Gentleman. Although Shen Que had lived in the imperial palace for a long time, he still knew them. He paused in front of the horse, hesitated for a moment, and instructed, "Your Majesty, place a pillow at the edge of the bed before sleeping. Do not roll around anymore."

Jiang Xun: "..."

He said in a muffled voice, "I know."

This departure lasted for about two months.

During this period, memorials flooded into the Wenyuan Pavilion like snowflakes. Shen Que had memorials submitted to Jiang Xun, but he always reported the good news and withheld the bad. To know the true situation at Qingping Pass, he still had to rely on Shen Xiu and Xue Jin.

The chatterbox Shen Xiu was especially endearing at this time. As Jiang Xun read his rambling letters—saying they had an extra meal today and ate sugar-roasted chestnuts, saying he and Shen Que tasted a couple of mouthfuls of frontier wine, only to choke on it because it was too strong—reading these useless things, his anxious heart relaxed.

Shen Xiu sent letters over almost every day, but one day, this routine was suddenly interrupted.

At first, Jiang Xun thought it was because the war was getting tight, but even Shen Que's memorials hadn't been delivered to the Wenyuan Pavilion for several days.

He started to panic a little.

Xue Jin, on the other hand, was still writing as usual, and there was nothing unusual in his letters. Jiang Xun hesitated for a moment and asked, "How are Shen Que and Shen Xiu?"

A few days later, Xue Jin's letter came back: "... An epidemic has broken out in the wounded soldiers' camp. They have caught the disease. Shen Xiu's condition is more serious; he is bedridden and resting. The Grand Tutor is also coughing and lacks energy."

The little general was an honest person and couldn't lie.

Jiang Xun immediately crumpled the letter tightly.

There was no such ordeal in the past life.

However, when two armies clashed, there would inevitably be many corpses that couldn't be disposed of in time. Bacteria breeding and spreading in flesh and blood was the best hotbed for giving rise to an epidemic.

Jiang Xun also remembered the epidemic in Lianghu in his past life. It also happened after the war, when the Northern Di marched south to Lianghu. Perhaps the disease had already started spreading before then.

System 55 poked him, "Host, your complexion looks terrible."

Jiang Xun's constitution was poor to begin with, and now his face was as white as gold leaf. System 55 suddenly recalled the first time it saw Jiang Xun, the way Jiang Xun coughed up blood.

The little system asked worriedly, "Are... are you okay?"

Jiang Xun didn't answer, merely lowering his eyes and stuffing the letter back into the envelope: "Shen Xiu is usually very healthy. In the past life, even after I beat him up, he was still alive and kicking. Moreover, he has a stubborn temper; even if he has to crawl, he would get up. Whatever has made him bedridden is not a minor illness. This is very troublesome."

This wasn't the twenty-first century. This was Great Wei, where the medical level was relatively backward. The average life expectancy didn't exceed 40 years, and reaching seventy was rare since ancient times. This era lacked effective means of diagnosis and treatment; a cold or a boil could take a person's life, let alone an epidemic of unknown origin.

Besides, there weren't many doctors accompanying the army; spread out among all the soldiers, it was even fewer.

If even people in positions like Shen Que and Shen Xiu had caught it, what must the military camp be like right now?

Jiang Xun took a deep breath. Melancholy gathered in his heart, making it difficult for him to breathe. He could only lean against the wisteria at hand to sit down. After a long while, he shook his head and said, "Man proposes, but Heaven disposes."

In his past life, he studied history, studied water conservancy, and studied many, many things, but he uniquely hadn't studied medicine.

"..."

What if, because of this epidemic, Shen Xiu died there?

With one missing from the golden triangle, could they still usher in a peaceful and prosperous era where the seas are calm and the rivers are clear, as happened in later generations?

Jiang Xun closed his eyes, almost not daring to think further.

What if Xue Jin's prevention and treatment efforts were ineffective and he also caught the epidemic? What if the border army was paralyzed, the Northern Di drove straight in, and the past life repeated itself...

... What if Shen Que also died there?

Would that Blue-robed Chancellor, whose name shook the annals of history, also die there?

System 55 revealed its form. It perched on Jiang Xun's shoulder, rubbing its screen against its host's cheek: "Host, your hands are shaking."

"... Yeah."

Jiang Xun couldn't help but shake.

From his past life to his present life, Jiang Xun had changed too many things. In his past life, Qingping Pass only held out for two days before surrendering; in this life, it had already been in a stalemate for half a month. Yet, even though Jiang Xun understood the past life, he couldn't match up every detail one by one. For instance, the epidemic was one detail he could never have anticipated.

And no matter how much he struggled, it only took the collapse of one detail to cause all his schemes to crumble and disintegrate.

... Why did he have to be lacking solely in medical skills?

System 55 watched as its host lost the color in his face overnight and also felt a little upset. According to regulations, it wasn't allowed to provide too much extra help. But Jiang Xun was its favorite host. It remembered how gently Jiang Xun's fingers rubbed against it, and how calmly Jiang Xun spoke to it—completely unlike the previous four hosts—and it couldn't help but quietly perk up.

"Host, actually... actually our system's database periodically connects to the Main Brain's database and updates in real-time. Um, that is to say, as long as the disease can be found in the database, I would also probably know the solution."

It said weakly: "As long as you take me to Qingping Pass to take a look."