Qin Official

Hei Fu was a little impressed with Ziying. He thought that after learning that he was suffering from "water poisonous disease", he would cry to the sky and stay in Xiangxian to recuperate instead of going to the new garrison camp where the conditions were even worse.

As a result, Ziying gritted his teeth and said, "Ying is not the only one suffering from the disease. As a deputy supervisor, Ying has a mission, how can he stay alone in the city?" He still insisted on living in Xinying.

Regardless of his status as the "Third Emperor of Qin" in history, it would be really troublesome if the deputy supervisor had any shortcomings. Hei Fu told Chen Wu Jiu to treat him as much as possible and at least save his life.

In early April of the thirty-fifth year of Qin Shihuang, after the camp was moved, Chen Wujiu quickly began to treat Ziying. A bowl of medicinal soup with a strong smell was brought to him...

"What kind of medicine is this?"

Ziying looked at the dark green concoction on the wooden table, frowned, and showed a suspicious look.

When Chen Wujiu was cooking the medicine next door, he could smell a strange smell. Now that it was placed in front of him and under his nose, it smelled even worse.

Smell like this, let alone drink it.

Chen Wu Jiu smiled broadly: "Natural is a good medicine. Although it cannot cure the water poison, it can be suppressed a little, so as not to cause an emergency and death. Good medicine is bitter and good for the disease. Zuo Shuchang, you'd better drink it."

Although Ziying is the grandson of a king, he is not a spoiled child. He has been living in a precarious situation for more than thirty years, and his desire to survive is still strong. Hearing that this medicine can relieve the attack of bugs in the body, he pinches his nose and drinks it dry. Got the concoction...

It sure stinks and is bitter! He has never drank such a terrible medicine!

Ziying quickly drank a large bowl of brown sugar water prepared by his entourage, and the bitterness in his mouth disappeared.

Unexpectedly, Chen Wujiu told him bad news: "You must drink this medicine every day, twice a day, for a month!"

Ziying's face suddenly became bitter.

In recent years, Chen Wujiu has treated many patients with this prescription, either decoction or juice. When he continued to take the medicine, the symptoms almost disappeared, but once he stopped taking the medicine, the symptoms returned soon after.

That's why he said that this medicine only treats the symptoms but not the root cause. It actually alleviates the complications of schistosomiasis and prevents people from getting sick and dying immediately. Taking it for one month may be able to eliminate a small number of Gu insects, but there is no 100% guarantee.

As for those who have been ill for many years and have swollen abdomens, according to Heifu, their whole bodies have become insect nests, their livers are eaten away, their feces are full of insect eggs, and medicine is of no use.

Ziying asked: "Water poison is a terminal disease, but Dr. Chen is able to diagnose and treat it with skill. This medicine must be very expensive, right?"

As a supervisor, he must know the cost of curing this disease before he can repay it to the court.

"It's not expensive either."

Chen Wujiu smiled and said: "Aside from verbena and other medicines, the most important medicine can often be seen in the wild. It can be found on roadsides, wastelands, hillsides, forest edges, and cemeteries. I think Zuo Shuchang has also encountered it. , it is called Artemisia odorifera in the south, but we, the doctors, call it Artemisia annua."

"Smelly?"

Ziying knew a bit about the sufferings of the people and knew that mugwort was a common weed. There are many types of Artemisia. Common Artemisia is not only liked to eat by horses, cattle, and deer, but is also used as a wild vegetable in Guizhou to satisfy hunger, and was written into "Poetry".

Mugwort with a unique fragrance, also known as mugwort, is an extremely important medicinal material. It is often used in sacrificial occasions to drive away snakes and insects. The imperial doctors of the Xianyang Imperial Physician Order also like to give people moxibustion.

Among many kinds of wormwood, only wormwood is disliked by people because its smell is so unpleasant that even cattle and horses are unwilling to eat it. It often grows around cemeteries and ruins, giving people a desolate and ominous feeling. , Qi people believe that the place where the soul returns is "Haoli".

But now, Chen Wujiu was giving Ziying medicine as a medicine that was as low as grass and smelly wormwood, and said that his life depended on it...

This made Ziying have to re-examine this inconspicuous smelly weed.

"This product has the effect of clearing away dampness and heat and reducing swelling and toxins."

Chen Wujiu took it for granted: "It is a good medicine. It can not only relieve complications caused by water poisonous insects, but can also cure malaria!"

…

After Ziying drank the wormwood juice soup for a few days and felt that her swollen hands and feet had improved, she went to thank Heifu and Chen Wujiu.

Hei Fu and Chen Wu Jiu happened to be inspecting the camp. The three of them came to a small stream. Hei Fu pointed to a camp surrounded by trenches and wooden piles at the other end of the stream and said:

"Everyone in the camp has malaria. I asked the doctors to isolate them. No one is allowed in or out except those who deliver medicine and meals."

He sighed: "Although water poison is terrible, it is like a dull knife cutting flesh, making patients miserable, but it does not directly kill many people. What I am most worried about is actually malaria, which is a disease that can pierce the heart with a sword!"

Hearing this name, even Ziying couldn't help but shudder. Compared with water poison, which is rarely sickened by northerners, malaria is a nightmare that is talked about all over the world.

Not only does it occur frequently in hot and humid areas in the south, but it also occurs in the Central Plains from time to time. After all, in the past 550 years, wars have been fought almost every year, and diseases have always been closely associated with wars. The most common infectious disease in the military is malaria.

Chen Wujiu responded from the side: "There is a theory on malaria in "Su Wen". The onset of malaria is first in the hairs of the body, then stretching and yawning, chills, bulging jaws, pain in the waist and spine, and when the cold goes away, there is heat inside and outside. , I have a pounding headache, and I’m thirsty for a cold drink.”

To put it bluntly, the symptoms are just randomness, and severe symptoms include fever, headache, etc. There is a story circulating among the Changsha garrison:

A team of 100 people went to station in Bin County on the upper reaches of the Xiang River. After a month, no one went to the county town to report. The county captain felt strange and sent someone over to take a look. He found that the entire camp was deathly deserted. When he went in to investigate, he found corpses all over the ground.

I thought it was a barbarian attack, but the deceased had no injuries, which was really strange. Finally, they found a survivor hiding outside the camp. The soldier said that not long after they arrived, people in the camp started to get sick. They felt cold on a hot day and started to get nervous. They were all from the north, so they didn't take it seriously. As a result, within a few days, the entire camp became sick, and no one was spared. The whole body was so hot and weak that it was difficult to even leave the camp to seek help. Then one by one they died of illness...

Although the facts are not that exaggerated, it is true that the mortality rate of malaria is very high, especially for outsiders, and the disease comes like a mountain.

It is said that the surviving soldier had also been ill for a year and a half. He could not eat anything cold. He had a high fever and sweat was dripping down. He wished he could take off all his clothes and not relieve the fever. When the cold came, several quilts were needed. It still feels chilly to the bones despite pressing it. After several twists and turns, the patient becomes very weak and often loses his life.

Ziying only felt that her teeth were cold, and she even began to feel lucky that she was suffering from water poisonous poison and not malaria.

"Qi Bo said that malaria is born from the wind and is caused by the feeling of malaria. There is a lot of miasma in the south. Those who encounter miasma will get sick. It will be spread by exhalation and the whole camp will be sick. This is the conclusion of the doctors, but Changnan Hou said... "

Chen Wujiu looked at Hei Fu and said with a smile: "He said it was caused by mosquito bites. When the mosquitoes sucked blood, the poisonous insects on his body entered the human body, and he developed typhoid fever. The mosquitoes bit him all over the camp overnight, and the disease spread throughout the camp. Barracks.”

Chen Wujiu was skeptical about Heifu's statement, thinking it was a bit ridiculous. He always felt that Heifu wanted to blame all his illnesses on invisible "gu".

Heifu smiled: "Didn't the doctors from the Central Plains also attribute all the local diseases in the south to 'miasma'?"

People in the north always talk about how miasma has changed. They say that miasma is rampant in the south. In the mountains and forests, there is a damp, hot and steaming air that causes diseases. Interestingly, people in the Central Plains believe that miasma exists in the Jianghan area, while people in Jianghan believe that miasma occurs only in Changsha and Yuzhang. People in Changsha and Yuzhang insist that miasma occurs in Lingnan.

This thing seems to be in sync with domain discrimination.

Even west of Shu, the Di and Qiang lands are considered to have miasma due to altitude sickness.

In short, this is a very scary and mysterious thing, but no one can tell its truth clearly.

Whether it was miasma or poisonous insects that caused malaria. This was a complicated issue that could only be confirmed through a large number of comparative experiments. Heifu and Chen Wujiu couldn't figure it out for a while.

However, isolating malaria patients is a method recognized by both parties. Chen Wu Jiu also recently found a medicine to alleviate the symptoms of malaria and even cure it thanks to Hei Fu's suggestions.

It's still Artemisia odorifera, but the method of taking it is no longer to boil it, but to add two liters of water and squeeze it into juice.

No matter how ignorant Heifu is, he still knows that "artemisinin" won the Nobel Prize, but many people don't know that the plant from which artemisinin is extracted is not Artemisia annua, but Artemisia annua, and after decoction, the medicinal effect is almost Gone. In the absence of advanced extraction methods, it is best to mash it with water and take it... You can also chew it with Scutellaria baicalensis and other medicinal soups.

The effect was really good. After the camp was relocated, only three out of a hundred soldiers suffering from malaria died, and the symptoms of the rest were relieved.

"So, one thing brings another thing down. There are water bugs and malaria in the south, but there is also wormwood in the south. These things can be found everywhere. I have discussed with Nanjun, Hengshan, Yuzhang, and Changsha counties about the draft tax of the four counties this year. , can be replaced by Artemisia odorifera, one stone of Artemisia odorifera is equivalent to ten stones of wormwood."

"The Marquis of Changnan loves his soldiers as if they were innocent sons."

Ziying was filled with emotion. Only when he was sick himself could he understand that these stinky wormwood can really save lives.

"With so much stinky wormwood, the soldiers will not have to die in vain."

Hei Fu sighed: "Unfortunately, it's still too late. Two years ago, Dr. Chen had not yet prepared a formula to cure malaria and other diseases. Therefore, 80,000 soldiers and civilians marched south, and when they encountered water poison in Changsha, a thousand of them died. Another four thousand people were sick and had no fighting ability, so they stayed, and five thousand of them left."

"When the army arrived in Lingnan, it had not yet fought with the Yue people. Under the raging malaria, 23 out of 10 people died, and another 10,000 people died. There were only more than 60,000 people left, and only 10,000 people were defeated in the great defeat."

More Qin troops were killed by various diseases than were killed by Yue people.

Hei Fu handed over to Ziying: "Therefore, I hope the supervisory army can tell your majesty that the main enemy of the Southern Expedition is not the Yue people, but these invisible insects and diseases. The army is in urgent need of a large number of doctors and medicinal materials. I hope your Majesty can send more."

"Ying must tell the truth."

Ziying knew Qin Shihuang's temperament, and it was unlikely that he would return to the court complaining about his sufferings. With more doctors, his illness would be more likely to be cured...

The Wuchang camp is training new soldiers, and the Changsha camp is curing patients troubled by schistosomiasis. Heifu's next stop is Lingqu and Guilin, where malaria is still rampant. He is accompanied by a baggage cart filled with wormwood.

A sick patient cannot fight, and neither can a sick army.

But just a few days before departure, Li Cang, who had been left in Changsha by Heifu to mediate with the Changsha County Sheriff on the local prevention and control of schistosomiasis, came to report:

"Your Majesty, in the past half month, Changsha County has built dozens of public toilets in the city and in various villages. However, no people are willing to use them. People in the city still defecate in the open and wash excrement buckets by the water as before."

He said with some sadness: "I went to the village and the fields again to take a look. No one in Guizhou followed the military's precautionary measures. The manure of cows and horses was applied directly to the paddy fields without composting. The local children were still there. Playing in the epidemic water, his parents seem to have never been seen!"