Practicing Medicine in the Tang Dynasty

When Li Jinxing heard the words "open the coffin for autopsy", he did not accept the idea as quickly as Yi Que.

For a general in command of [-] Tang troops, he has much more to consider than two young and bold doctors.

At the beginning, the order to bury these captives was not only out of admiration for their loyalty, but also to show the tolerance and capacity of the Tang army.The so-called death is the greatest, and digging out those who have been buried in the ground is not only disrespectful to the dead, but it will also ruin the reputation of Tang Jun's hard-to-maintain good treatment of prisoners.

But if, as Wu Yi speculated, these captives who bit their tongues and killed themselves were the source of the deadly epidemic, then the sinister intentions of the Xinluo army would not be able to dispel the hatred in his heart.

While hesitating, he saw a tall and thin figure appearing at the door of the big tent.

"Dr. Shen, you came just in time." Li Jinxing hurriedly greeted, "I have something to discuss with the doctor."

Shen Hanshan walked forward with the dazzling sunlight on his back, and a solemn expression gradually emerged on his face: "But because of my apprentice's coffin opening for autopsy? The little county king has already informed me about this matter in advance."

The two sat down, and the two pairs of experienced eyes looked at the two respectful young people in front of them, waiting for them to give a convincing explanation.

Wu Yi and Yi Que looked at each other, but Yi Que, the old man in front of Li Jinxing, spoke first.

"The first case where the corpse was uploaded was Sanmaoer. He used to be responsible for delivering meals to the prisoners of Silla. He had the symptoms of passing the corpse in April. Then there were a few patients who appeared, or they were the guards of the prisoners. , or the soldiers responsible for burying the captives, more or less had contact with these captives.”

Yi Que finished the words in his chest, and finally raised his eyes to look at Li Jinxing with serious eyes: "If it is true what Wu Yi said, lungworms can invade the human body by spreading in the air, then these captives are most likely buried by Silla. It’s a secret, when they bit their tongues and killed themselves, I’m afraid it wasn’t because they refused to surrender, but because they wanted to cover up their illness.”

"But you also said just now that Sanmao'er's illness occurred in spring and April, and those captives committed suicide in March." Li Jinxing couldn't help but look at Shen Hanshan, seeking the opinion of this old doctor who is specialized in epidemics with his eyes.

Shen Hanshan said: "The plague was passed on from the corpse, and it was infected and developed. In Chang'an, the Queen of Heaven ordered ten condemned prisoners to be infected with pox pulp with lungworms, and it took a month for the first case to become ill. If calculated from the time, it is not nonsense."

Wu Yi interjected: "Although the body may have been corrupted after nearly half a year, fortunately the general buried it in a coffin at that time, and the lesions eaten by lungworms are difficult to decompose, so as long as the autopsy is found, we can know the truth of the matter .”

After the words were finished, the three of them focused their eyes on the face of this not-so-old but experienced general, waiting for him to make a decision.

Li Jinxing was silent for a while, before he could speak, he heard a loud bang, which woke him up from his contemplation.

Yi Que knelt upright in front of him, like a solid and cold stone tablet, with the word firm engraved in his eyes.

"Your official understands that the general is worried about the damage to the reputation of Tang Jun, but has the general ever thought of those patients in the medical account who can't sleep day and night? If you can't give them a clear explanation, you will definitely feel cold. Their hearts are cold, and once their hearts are cold, the morale of the entire army will also be shaken. Although the lower officials are not talented in marching and fighting, they also know how to get help when they are right, and help when they are wrong."

"Getting the right way will help you a lot, but being wronged will help you a lot." From his mouth, he said it like a gust of wind and rain, directly hitting the deepest worry in Li Jinxing's heart.

Wu Yi saw that his face was shaken, and he knelt down with his legs broken, with a solemn expression: "If you want to fight against the outside world, you must first settle down inside. Whether you want the reputation outside or the morale of the army inside, please think again, general."

The two young men knelt side by side in front of them, and told Li Jinxing with a firm expression on their faces that the decision before them was no simpler than any key choice in marching and fighting. If you make a mistake, the whole army may be wiped out.

Li Jinxing is no longer young. Decades of military service have bleached his temple hair, thinned his body, and carved wrinkles on his forehead that are deeper than knife scars.

But none of this extinguished the flame that was burning in his heart, nor stripped the light of wisdom from his weary eyes.

He made a decision quickly.

"Just as you said, open the coffin for an autopsy."

-

Wu Yi has done a lot of autopsy in his previous life, but what is placed in front of him is often a complete body that has been rinsed and fished out of formalin, although the smell is often too pungent. It was tearful, but barely bearable.

Only now did he realize that the tears he shed back then must have been tears of emotion, and if there was no great formalin, what he would have to bear every day would be the smell of dead rats blowing his face like this.

Although the coffins of these captives were sealed in the cold underground, all-pervasive bacteria still quietly corrupted the corpses that had been dead for nearly half a year. The moment the coffin panels were uncovered, it was like opening a sewer manhole cover Yes, all kinds of indescribable smells rushed out, attacking people's mouth and nose.

Those as old as Hu Zhilin could no longer stand the smell, and were helped to rest on the sidelines. Even Wu Yi and Yi Que, the two young men who proposed to open the coffin for autopsy, almost stifled their nausea and forcibly Squatting next to the rotting corpse, he used a long branch to carefully plan the lungs of the corpse.

Fortunately, the calcified foci of tuberculosis did not disappear with the decay of the lungs, but remained conspicuously in the chest cavity of the corpse. Wu Yi even dug out two almost formed tuberculosis balls and placed them on one side of the corpse.

Whether it's a doctor from Chang'an, or a military doctor who stayed behind in Mai Xiaocheng, they are all veterans of this trip, and they have more or less experience in dissection. You can tell at a glance that this is the so-called lungworm. The wormhole that came out, and has been condensed into stone, has been preserved to this day.

All the people covered their mouths and noses and poked their heads to look at it like a horse on a horse, and the two young doctors breathed a sigh of relief.The dead body in front of him is the ironclad evidence of the tricks used by the Silla people, and all the people present are witnesses who can tell a few truths.

Just as Wu Yi took two steps away from the corpse, Li Jing had already come over with a steaming basin, and held it in front of Wu Yi, letting him wash his hands comfortably.

Wu Yizheng was full of nausea from the smell of the corpse, his already weak body could barely stand up, and it was only a little bit more comfortable to soak his hands in the hot water.

Li Jing carefully took out a clean towel from his sleeve, dipped it in hot water, and wiped his face carefully.

Yi Que looked coldly at the viscous vigor of the master and apprentice, striding past Wu Yi with a gust of wind blowing his sleeves.

"Senior Brother Yi." Wu Yi hurriedly called to stop him, "Come and wash your hands too. The corpses of those who have passed corpses are highly contagious, so you'd better be more careful."

Yi Que gave him a cold look, and thought that apart from his professional medical skills, this person is actually a fool in other aspects. This little county king is so considerate and considerate, and he clearly shows that he is only filial to him. It's not until he, an outsider, gets in the way.

He didn't bother to explain more to Wu Yi, he just slapped his hands in front of his eyes, but he couldn't see the greasy and crooked virtues of you two, master and apprentice.

"I'm going to make a few bowls of Lily Gujin soup. Besides, the situation is urgent now, so I have to report this matter to the general quickly."

-

"Is this true?"

Although Li Jinxing already had a vague premonition in his heart, he did not expect that the two young men really guessed the enemy's plot.

"Xiaguan, Dr. Hu, Dr. Qin, and all the military doctors are present, and they can see clearly that those prisoners have already suffered from corpse transfer before they were alive, and there is no mistake." For a long time, the infection does not happen within a day or two, so it can be seen that Jin Famin had already anticipated the defeat of the Seventh City, so he had already prepared these few slain soldiers who dared to sacrifice their lives, and wanted to use this trick to put them to death and survive."

"Crossing corpses, also known as Hu captivity, has always been common in the Northeast border, but it is hard to see in Silla, which shows the sinister intentions of Jin Famin." Yi Que thought of the hundreds of soldiers in the army camp who had suffered such misfortune, and felt a pang in his heart. The knife cut out, every word seemed to be bleeding, "Although soldiers are not tired of deceit, this method is really too low."

There was silence in the tent for a while, only a few cicadas chirping restlessly outside the tent, prolonging the moment of silence.

Li Jinxing quietly listened to Shen Hanshan and Yi Que's statement, his eyes could not help but a flash of pain, he never expected that the decision not to kill the captives at the beginning would give the enemy such a big loophole.

If it is said that Yi Que was responsible for not investigating at the beginning, wouldn't he, the Anton Township Ambassador, be merciful?

"Once the plague spreads, the [-] soldiers will become a group of sick soldiers." Yi Que continued, "Although we have isolated the sick soldiers, there are still many uninfected soldiers, so we can only send lily Gujin Decoction and Yuehua Pills, suppress the illness for now."

Li Jinxing nodded slowly, although Yi Que's method was a bit troublesome, but there was no better way.

"It's a pity that although we have uncovered the enemy's plot, the dead have passed away, the sick have declined, and the enemy's plot has succeeded. I'm afraid this bitter battle is inevitable." He sighed long and looked at the people present. All the imperial physicians had a wry smile on their faces.

"You doctors came to investigate this case under the imperial order, and now the truth has come to light, so you don't have to fight with us rough warriors anymore."

The meaning of these words is to persuade Shen Hanshan and his party to sneak back to Chang'an to enjoy the peace while it is still peaceful.

"The lower officials have a trick, maybe they can turn the situation around."

Among the whispers among the crowd looking at each other, Xu Rong's clear voice was particularly eye-catching.

Li Jinxing couldn't help looking at this young man who had never performed outstandingly before, wondering if he had any good ideas.