Chapter 812: Return to Original Form

  Thanks for the reward from Rain Leaf!

  Yue Yun and his group, due to dragging Yu Yunwen's old father along the way, slowed down a lot compared to before. Originally, they could have arrived at Chuzhou in two days, but it ended up taking six days.

  Niu Tong and some of the soldiers had some reservations about this, but Yue Yun repeatedly warned them not to be rude to Yu Yunwen and his son, otherwise they would be severely punished! It was no joke that after much difficulty, they had finally won over Niu Tong, how could they let him slip away from their own eyes.

  On the way, Yu Yunwen was also thinking about Yue Yun's words repeatedly. In fact, he had already been moved in his heart, but he always felt that if he did so, it would go against the oath he made to his mother before she passed away, and he always felt a little uneasy in his heart.

  He thought to himself that this young master Yue was a versatile talent, not only was his martial arts unparalleled, but his eloquence was also impressive, and he was indeed a formidable figure. Following him didn't seem like a bad idea either, but he had already sworn an oath to his mother on her deathbed, how could he go back on his word? His heart was still somewhat conflicted.

  Alas, let's wait until Father gets a bit better before saying anything! Yu Yunwen deliberated for a long time and finally made this indecisive decision.

  Just as Yu Yunwen was troubled in his heart about whether or not to serve, Chu State City had finally arrived.

  Looking at the towering city wall and the "Han" character banner fluttering in the wind, Yue Yun and his entourage all showed a relaxed smile. After ten consecutive days of rushing to catch up, even the elite troops were somewhat exhausted. The crowd rode their horses to the city gate, just as they were about to enter the city, but were stopped by two listless soldiers.

  "We are under the command of General Yue Yuan, and I am his eldest son, Yue Yun. We have important matters to discuss with General Han!"

  He was also very surprised at this time, the north of Chu State is the Huai River, and after crossing the Huai River, it is the occupied area of the Jin army. Such a city on the front line, how can there be only two soldiers at the gate, and they look listless? Is it that the Great Song Dynasty, apart from his own Yue Family Army, are all other generals' troops so poor?

  As soon as they heard that it was someone from the Yue family army, the soldier barely lifted his spirits. After verifying the official documents brought by Yue Yun, he still said listlessly: "Since General Yue has arrived, please follow me!"

  Yue Yun and his group followed the soldier into the city with a belly full of doubts.

  However, as soon as they entered the city, they were shocked: all along the streets, people were lying on the ground, gasping for breath, with pale faces, including soldiers and civilians, all of whom seemed to be suffering from a serious illness.

  Meanwhile, beside them, there were soldiers and officials rushing back and forth, some carrying stretchers and others holding medicinal herbs, who were sending away the patients lying on the roadside. In front of many civilian houses, there were also people kneeling on the ground, holding a few incense sticks, as if begging for something.

  The scene before them gave everyone a feeling of horror.

  Yue Yun couldn't help but feel a chill in her heart, and Yu Yunwen hastily asked the soldier leading the way: "Sir, what's happening in Chu State? Has there been an outbreak of plague?"

  "Yes! It just started the day before yesterday! It came too suddenly! More than half of the people in the city have fallen ill, and I'm relatively lucky to not have gotten sick. But now there's a shortage of manpower in the city, and I've been stationed at the west gate for two days straight!" The soldier replied with a tired face.

  Yue Yun was shocked and turned pale, almost wanting to turn back immediately. This is indeed a disaster! Originally, he wanted to come to Chu State to borrow grain from Han Shizhong, but he didn't expect that Chu State would be plagued by an epidemic. His men were in this city where the plague was rampant, and they must not contract the disease themselves. At present, medicine was not advanced, and those who contracted the disease would likely die rather than live.

  Just as Yue Yun was pondering whether to go back or not, a young general wearing black clothes and armor, riding a cyan horse, walked towards him. The young general looked about the same age as Yue Yun and had a rather handsome appearance.

  Although he also had a worried face and dark circles under his eyes, as soon as he saw Yue Yun and the others, he immediately exclaimed with surprise: "Brother Yue, how did you come to Chu State?"

  Yue Yun was taken aback when he saw the young general, and at first, he wondered who this person was. But before he could react, Guan Ling beside him spoke up, "General Han, we have come to discuss important matters with General Han."

  General Han? Could it be Han Shizhong's son, Han Yanzheng?

  Yue Yun recalled that before Chu State, Yue Lei had told him that due to the good relationship between Yue Fei and Han Shizhong, their two brothers also got along well with Han Yanzhi.

  "Alas, Brother Yue, I originally wanted to have another round of shooting with you, but now the city is plagued by an epidemic! If you don't have anything urgent, it's best to hurry back! This time, I really can't keep you for a few more days!" Han Yanzhi sighed and said seriously.

  "Yan Zhi, I have an urgent matter to discuss with Uncle Han this time. Is Uncle at home?" Yue Yun asked hastily. Since they had already met Yan Zhi, it would be impolite not to pay their respects to Han Shi Zhong before leaving.

  Han Yan nodded subconsciously and said, "My father is in! He's worried about the plague in the city. Fortunately, no one in our Han Mansion has contracted the plague yet..."

  After a pause, Han Yan straightened his face and said with a worried expression: "Yue brother, you come then. However, after you're done, please leave as soon as possible! This plague is really worrying, if it weren't for my duties, I'd want to leave too..."

  In the commander's mansion of Chuzhou City, a man in his fifties was pacing back and forth in the main hall of the house, clearly anxious.

  He wore a red robe, his hair was already white and sparse, with an anxious and uneasy expression on his face.

  At this moment, a middle-aged martial arts general walked to the door and saw the old man's anxious face, hesitating.

  The old man saw the middle-aged martial general come in and hurriedly asked: "Geng Zhong, what's the situation at the North Gate?"

  Geng Zhong, a middle-aged general with a worried face, said: "Commander, it's not good! Many soldiers at the North Gate have also fallen ill, vomiting and diarrhea, and even standing up is a problem, let alone holding a knife to stand guard. Moreover, many civilians have also shown symptoms of diarrhea, it seems that the plague has spread!"

  The elder known as General Han heard this and couldn't help but feel even more worried, thinking to himself: Now is truly a time of many troubles! Fortunately, the Jin army has not yet attacked, otherwise how would Chu State be able to withstand it?

  He was Han Shizhong, whom Yue Yun had come to find on this trip, but now he was worried about the sudden outbreak of plague in the city.

  "Right, Marshal! Didn't Dr. Xu already examine those patients? Does he have a solution?" Geng Zhe asked.

  Han Shizhong shook his head and sighed, "Xu Shuwei is a good friend of mine, and his medical skills are indeed very impressive. However, he specializes in treating cold damage illnesses, and for such a ferocious plague, I'm afraid there's no effective treatment. Now he has opened several prescriptions to detoxify the poison and let the sick soldiers take them, but it's unknown whether they will work!"

  Just then, a joyful voice came from the entrance of the hall: "Dad! Look who's here!"

  Han Shizhong and his deputy, Geng Zhongwang, looked on as Han Yan walked into the hall with a young general in white robes, followed by a young scholar.

  Han Shizhong was overjoyed when he saw the young general in white, and immediately stepped forward to say: "Yue Xiong's nephew! How could your father bear to let you come here? My son Yan Zhi has long been saying that he wants to cross swords with you again!"

  Yue Yun looked at him, only to see his face full of knife-cut and axe-chopped wrinkles, with straight facial features, two bright eyes, a big beard that fell to his cheeks had already slightly turned white, but his body was still standing upright, showing that his physique was still very robust. Although he was wearing only an ordinary red cotton-padded jacket, from the pace of his walk and the aura emanating from his body, a discerning eye could see at a glance that he must be a seasoned general who had been through many battles.

  Yue Yun knew in his heart that this was none other than his own cheap old dad Yue Fei's most intimate good friend Han Shizhong.

  He hastily knelt down on one knee and saluted: "Young nephew Yue Yun pays his respects to Uncle Han!"

  Han Shizhong hastily helped him up, then sighed: "Yue Xiang, you've come at a bad time! We're having an outbreak of the plague in Chu State. By the way, how's your father doing? Has the Yue Family Army withdrawn as well?"

  Yue Yun sighed and shook his head, saying: "Our Yue family army did receive the imperial edict to withdraw, but because many civilians want to follow us back south, they need some time to sell their property. Moreover, our army's food is also in short supply. This time, my young nephew came to visit Uncle Han, actually wanting to borrow some grain from Uncle Han, I wonder if there is any extra grain here?"

  Han Shizhong's face suddenly showed a look of embarrassment at this time.

  He rubbed his palms together and let out a sigh, saying: "Yue Xian, nephew, your uncle's military supplies are also somewhat insufficient. This is not because your uncle is not being considerate, intentionally pushing you away, but rather because of the recent outbreak of plague, those grain merchants do not dare to enter my Chu State City. Now our army's food can only be said to be barely enough to eat, and there is no extra grain to lend!"

  "Yes! Brother Yue, those grain merchants' ships are now downstream in the canal, but they only dare to anchor far away and stop in the river, not daring to get close to the shore. If this plague doesn't pass soon, I'm afraid that these grain merchants' ships will all return!" Han Yan Zheng also said with a worried expression.

  Yue Yun also knew that the Jianghuai region had been plagued by war for many years, and the people were displaced. The stationed army's food was mostly transported from the rear, while Han Shizhong's garrison in Chuzhou was located at the confluence of the Grand Canal and the Huai River, making water transportation convenient. Most of the grain needed was transported through the canal. It was reasonable that the grain ships did not dare to dock after the outbreak of the plague.

  "By the way, Uncle Han, where did this plague come from? What are the symptoms of those who have fallen ill?" Yu Yun asked reluctantly.

  He now deeply understands that whether he can borrow food depends on when this plague will end. Although he has no medical knowledge, as someone who has experienced the SARS period, he has some experience in preventing the spread of the plague.

  Han Shizhong sighed and said, "This plague started from the day before yesterday. On the day before yesterday at noon, two battalions of soldiers at the south gate had severe abdominal pain shortly after eating lunch, followed by vomiting and diarrhea, which was unbearable. At first, I thought someone had poisoned them, so I closed the city gates and searched the city thoroughly. However, except for catching a few petty thieves and rascals, no suspicious people were found. But after dinner, the troops stationed at the west gate and east gate, as well as many civilians in the city, began to show the same symptoms, with diarrhea and vomiting that wouldn't stop, and even some weak and sickly individuals were on the verge of death. Over the past two days, the situation has become even more severe, not only have the troops at the north gate been infected with the plague, but also the number of civilians and soldiers in the city who have contracted the disease is three times that of the day before yesterday, to the point where there are not enough guards to man the city gates."

  Yue Yun listened and asked with a slightly furrowed brow, "Uncle Han, apart from vomiting and diarrhea, are there any other symptoms in the sick soldiers and civilians?"

  "For the time being, there is no other way. My good friend Xu Shuwei is currently in Chu State, and he went out to see patients this morning. I hope he can find a solution!" Han Shizhong said with worry.

  "Is that Xu Shuwei?" At this time, Yu Yunwen, who had been silent beside him, suddenly lit up and immediately bowed to Han Shizhong before asking: "General Han, is Lord Xu Shuwei the same Xu Shenwei who was a Hanlin scholar in Huizhou?"

  Han Shizhong saw Yu Yunwen, although he was dressed in a simple and unadorned manner, but he came with Yue Yun together, and his behavior and speech were all very proper, so he didn't dare to underestimate him. So he also hastily returned the courtesy, then said: "Xu Shiwu is skilled at treating cold damage illnesses, has written books such as 'Cold Damage Theory', indeed his medical skills are quite excellent, may I ask if this young brother is looking for Uncle Xu?"

  Yue Yun only then remembered that he had been talking to Han Shizhong all along, leaving Yu Yunwen out in the cold. He hastily introduced him to Han Shizhong, saying: "Uncle Han, this is my new friend Yu Yunwen. His father has contracted typhoid fever and, upon learning that Dr. Xu was here with you, he came from Sichuan all the way to Chu State, hoping to ask Dr. Xu to treat him."

  Han Shizhong listened and was a good friend of Yue Yun, so he didn't dare to neglect it. Moreover, Xu Shuwei was not very good at dealing with the plague, and he was also worried that Xu Shuwei would be infected. So he hastily called over a servant and asked him to immediately go find Xu Shuwei and bring him back.

  But before he had gone out of the hall, a servant came in to report: "Sir, Mr. Xu Shuwei has returned!"