Since the Accounting: A Chronicle of the Roman Khanate

Chapter 801 Zhu Wenkui, who is unlikely to become a philosopher

With the arrival of this batch of reinforcements, the overall situation on the battlefield has been basically determined.

Upon realizing the situation was dire, the enemy cavalry on the infantry side began to retreat first. Seeing some nobles even carrying their own banners and leading the retreat, the Slavic infantry who were still fighting desperately on the front lines finally lost their will to fight and began to flee the position in droves.

Jessica and his men had originally planned to send men to outflank the enemy, but the allied forces were moving too fast. They dared not rashly break formation to give chase and could only watch helplessly. Zhu Wenkui's side fired a few more shots at the fleeing enemy, but this was more of an emotional outburst than a practical action.

After the enemy fled, they saw that the allied cavalry on the right flank also began to retreat. Those who had besieged Lili scattered before Tang Sai'er's troops arrived. Those in the center of the line were in the worst situation, because those behind them ran even faster than those at the front, leaving them without support. Although Tang Sai'er's forces were limited and could only attack the enemy formations without truly encircling them, it still terrified them, and they all fled for their lives.

However, the troops on this side are much more mobile.

This chaotic situation was unlikely to be a feigned defeat—or rather, even if it were, the current state of affairs would allow it to appear as a genuine rout. Therefore, the various generals began their pursuit, expanding their gains.

Tang Sai'er's unit, outnumbered by horses and burdened with artillery, was already the slowest. The other cavalry units were all chasing the enemy, moving even faster than her. Even Li Li's side had already sent men into the forest to find the horses that had scattered earlier, preparing to remount and move forward.

Some Lithuanian and vassal cavalrymen attempted to flee into the forest, only to be blocked by Le Li's forces. However, many others realized something was amiss and managed to evade them. The plains were vast and crisscrossed with roads, so despite Le Li's efforts to extend his ranks and intercept more enemies, large numbers of men bypassed them and escaped in a flash.

The Polish knights in the enemy ranks, however, were far more conspicuous. On their side, the German and Bohemian knights were scrambling to pursue the Poles, fearing that others would capture prisoners while they would miss their chance to make a fortune. Some even abandoned everything on their horses, carrying only a longsword, trying to maximize their speed.

Under their relentless pursuit, the enemy quickly crumbled. However, their formation also completely disintegrated, and the open ground was filled with knights running around frantically, chasing after people.

Zhu Wenku felt that there was nothing more to pay attention to in the battles to come. However, Jessica was still thinking about the enemy at the ferry crossing. He believed that if their deception plan was successful and allowed this fresh force to arrive on the battlefield without hindrance, it meant that the enemy was still waiting there foolishly.

If they haven't been notified yet, they will certainly be caught off guard by the attack; if some fleeing soldiers have already run over and informed the other side, they will also hastily evacuate, which will definitely cause chaos and separation among them. It would be a pity to let this opportunity slip by.

However, the right-wing cavalry was now in complete disarray, and no one knew who could be called upon. Therefore, he temporarily changed his plan, concentrating the mobile forces originally intended for a flanking maneuver. Led by Prokopf Jr., his remaining cavalry, which had not yet engaged, spearheaded the attack. He also gathered the large wagons to help the infantry march quickly, thus assembling a force of over two thousand men. Jessica sent messengers to order those remaining at the crossing to prepare a feint attack, while this force charged directly at the enemy at the crossing, aiming to crush them in one fell swoop.

After making these arrangements, he sent someone to inform Zhu Wenkui, and then busied himself leading his men forward to fill the gaps left by the scattered cavalry and attack the remaining enemies.

More than an hour later, the battle finally came to an end. The knights who had been capturing prisoners returned one after another, and the remaining enemies had completely fled the battlefield.

Before they came here, they had heard that European armies had become much more flexible. Not to mention during battle, they were already adept at escaping if they lost.

Their retreat was swift and decisive. Furthermore, the Ming army lacked a contingency plan for encirclement, allowing their command structure to escape as well, significantly reducing losses. Currently, only the infantry has suffered substantial casualties; many nobles have successfully escaped. Perhaps it is this skill that allows this nation to be so resilient, able to quickly rebuild even after a defeat…

However, Tang Sai'er was in charge of the pursuit, so Zhu Wenkui wasn't too worried. He stayed where he was, had people put away the artillery, then sent people to clean up the battlefield, gather the wounded, and inventory the supplies, beginning to handle the aftermath.

The Ming army also had medical officers. Moreover, Zhu Wenkui had learned a lot when he accompanied Guo Kang and his men on their southern expedition, so his battlefield medical system was quite comprehensive.

Whether it was the present-day Purple Horde or the Ming Dynasty, the army already had a medical system. Because even in this era of limited resources, a normal army would do its best to save as many wounded soldiers as possible.

On the one hand, this reassures soldiers that they won't be easily abandoned. On the battlefield, swords and spears are indiscriminate, and anyone can be injured. Guaranteed medical care encourages soldiers to fight even in situations where injury is a risk. Furthermore, it provides a psychological advantage when facing enemies lacking medical supplies, which greatly enhances the army's fighting spirit and initiative.

On the other hand, wounded and recovered soldiers are also a huge asset. Those who have experienced war and recovered can serve as the backbone of any army. The more of these people, the better.

Logically speaking, this line of thinking shouldn't be hard to come up with. Guo Kang told Zhu Wenkui that as early as the Han Dynasty, there was already a relatively complete system in place. Superiors would arrange for medical officers to make rounds, and the distribution and storage of medicines would be meticulously managed down to each unit, with people regularly checking whether the medicines were complete.

Logically, after so many years, everyone should have become aware of this by now. Unfortunately, it seems that many things in history don't necessarily improve over time; and "normal" armies have been extremely rare in any era.

However, because Guo Kang had begun preparing for the plague very early on, he paid great attention to hygiene and medical care. He was constantly researching how to maximize efficiency under the existing conditions. Even during the Black Death, he insisted on conducting daily inspections to personally observe the actual effects, making assessments and adjustments. Many of his experiences were written in letters, which were later circulated. And many of these findings were adopted by Zhu Wenkui and his team.

These experiences, tested by the Black Death, were indeed quite reliable. Therefore, they proved highly effective in both civilian and military settings. Although the implementation period was short, Guo Kang's experience already contained much about how to quickly organize medical resources and how to train people with basic knowledge. Their main problem was that the level of medical care there was even lower than that of Egypt under Mamluk rule, which had suffered from internal strife. Local traditional Western doctors often lacked basic knowledge; although some had participated in systematic learning and received professional training, much of what they learned was directly incorrect—it would have been better not to learn at all…

However, Guo Kang also stated that their main task is ultimately to build a new medical system. It would be better if the original doctors could help, but it's not a big deal if they can't—to be honest, it's sometimes hard to say whether their positive or negative effects outweigh each other.

As for those vacancies, there are ways to address them.

Previously, Guo Kang attempted to promote the procedures he had compiled for caring for postpartum women. His pilot programs in several regions were quite successful. However, his attempts to popularize these procedures nationwide were not so smooth.

In some areas newly controlled by the Purple Horde, people were happy to accept it and felt it was a good thing; however, in the heart of the Greek region, it encountered a lot of resistance.

In fact, the stronger the medical tradition and the higher the professionalism and social status of doctors in a place, the greater the resistance to its promotion. For example, Greeks in mountainous areas are more likely to accept it, while the opposite is true in plains areas, especially in culturally developed places.

Furthermore, Joanna attempted to bring this system back to Italy, hoping to gain prestige in the city-state by promoting population growth while simultaneously generating profits from hospitals. However, she also encountered overt and covert resistance in the more culturally vibrant districts.

Guo Kang was initially very puzzled and specifically commissioned Joanna to investigate. After visiting several locations, they discovered that in the pilot areas, from Crimea to the foothills of the Carpathian Mountains, many doctors and pharmacists were happy to join and help promote the program. However, in Greece, many local doctors and medical students refused to join these programs.

Staff interviewed the organizers and professors from several medical schools. They stated that they were financially secure and had respectable jobs, so they had no motivation to participate in the project. Furthermore, based on fundamental value judgments, they would not recommend that their students or colleagues participate.

They explained that the role of medicine is very clearly defined. Ancient Roman medicine truly took shape through the work of Celsus: he organized and translated the findings of Greek medicine, creating a work called *De Medicine*. This book remains in use today and is one of the main textbooks in medicine. Celsus is therefore known as the "Hippocrates of Rome." The medical principles, instrument usage guidelines, and established terminology he proposed have been used ever since—and will likely remain unchanged in later generations. The opening of *De Medicine* specifically emphasizes that medicine is a form of philosophy.

Later scholars largely shared this view. Even during the Christian era, little change was observed.

Isidore, the 6th-century Spanish bishop, is known as "the last ancient scholar." After the fall of Rome, much of the academic system of the so-called "Middle Ages" was established by him. For example, he defined the classification of the "seven liberal arts," first proposed the concepts of "natural law," "law of nations," and "civil law," and extensively collected and preserved ideas from the classical era and early Christianity. His works remain among the most authoritative and comprehensive textbooks in the European Christian world, making him arguably the founder of medieval scholarship. His classification of medicine is considered "second philosophy."

This is the prevailing view, especially in Greece, a region that prides itself on preserving the most complete classical culture. Greek scholars generally adhere to this view, and physicians hold themselves to the standards of philosophers. To be considered an excellent doctor, one must not only perform surgery and administer medicine to treat illnesses, engaging in these technical tasks, but also possess a philosophical understanding.

This is why such a strange situation occurs. The more accomplished and ambitious a doctor is, the less tolerant they are of someone on their team delivering babies.

Of course, they were not against gynecological research. On the contrary, they supported Guo Kang's research conclusions and agreed to his promotion of them. In fact, the first medical work on gynecology was written by Solanus of Ephesus, a Greek physician in the Roman era, and its title was "Gynecology." After being Latinized, it was written as "Gynecology," meaning "the study of women." This is not something to be ashamed of, because medicine is also philosophy. Just as natural philosophy studies all sorts of strange and unusual things and animals, studying women is certainly not a problem.

Furthermore, Solanos himself had observed the significant impact of disinfection on production and cautioned everyone to take note. It's unclear how Europeans later forgot this... Therefore, Guo Kang's direction of effort is definitely correct.

However, the treatment of women's illnesses was not suitable for doctors; it was the responsibility of specialized midwives. This role was also precisely defined in Solanus's writings as "a woman who is knowledgeable about all the causes of women's diseases and skilled in general medical practice." This work was not lowly; for example, Socrates' mother was a midwife with considerable research achievements.

However, no matter what, men shouldn't be allowed to perform this role, nor should doctors do it part-time. Gynecology is a discipline that "studies women," while medicine is a profession that heals human beings. To attempt to midwifery would be overstepping boundaries and, under today's professional ethics, is highly indecent behavior.

Finally, the doctors offered suggestions: they stated that they weren't simply venting, and therefore, while expressing their opposition, they would also try to provide solutions. For example, regarding this situation, they suggested that Guo Kang hire a veterinarian—because veterinarians also have some physiological knowledge, and unlike doctors, who have high-end jobs, they don't have as many attached face-saving requirements and wouldn't be too resistant.

The staff took their advice and visited some local veterinarians, finding that they were indeed willing. In the end, Guo Kang had no choice but to accept it.

So, things are pretty good for Zhu Wenkui right now—at least he hasn't had to go looking for a veterinarian to fill the vacancy yet...

Zhu Wenkui never quite understood the complex system of definitions in Greek language, but it's widely acknowledged that the renowned Greek philosophy originated from this system. In essence, the various definitions within a language form the foundation of philosophy.

Guo Kang had also mentioned to him several times that science—that is, natural philosophy—originates from Greek philosophy. To improve the power of firearms and develop better weapons, science is ultimately indispensable. Therefore, one cannot do without studying philosophy.

But this is indeed too difficult for Zhu Wenkui; perhaps he will never become a philosopher...

(End of this chapter)