NOVPUB"Let me explain, I’ve been doing these tedious tasks lately." Liu Ye said helplessly as he took out a comparison of the costs of herbs and emergency aid with the expense of consolation money for fallen soldiers, as well as the survival rates and combat power of the troops in various aspects.
"Take a look at this." Liu Ye took out the data analysis he had started in April of this year and handed it to Jia Xu, "I have to admit that Zichuan is very foresighted, and some things can indeed be resolved purely through the method of numerology. When Zichuan first asked me to record this, I didn’t understand, but now, Wen He, you can see for yourself."
"Are you sure you haven’t made a mistake in your statistics? The mortality rate for a troop drops this much just by adding one medic? And is this recovery rate not exaggerated?" Jia Xu was directly startled, unaware of the situation until he saw it for himself.
"We can amass veteran soldiers and build up elite brigades, don’t you find that odd?" Liu Ye pointed to the city enforcement officers wandering outside and said, "In a year’s time, we could save twice as many old soldiers compared to not deploying any medics."
"This proposal passes; my intelligence system will allocate resources to this area," Jia Xu chose to approve the proposal without hesitation after confirming the truth, "Ten thousand veteran soldiers against ten thousand new recruits, this is directly a war of annihilation."
Having said that, Jia Xu passed Liu Ye’s statistical data to Lub Su, "You take a look as well. This medical system needs to be perfected. If necessary, doctors could be moved from their current ’worker’ category and be reclassified."
"Is this true?" Lub Su quickly scanned through the statistics and, with a shocked face, asked Liu Ye.
"Do you think I would make a mistake with numerology statistics?" Liu Ye said with a wry smile, "Zichuan was right about one thing, sometimes a detail is enough to change a lot."
Chen Xi casually tugged at the corner of his mouth. He could say that this was still the era of cold weapons in warfare, noting that during the onset of World War I, the British People found that adding a certain number of medics to a unit could reduce postwar casualties by 42%.
That was an era dominated by cannon and bullet wounds, where instant fatalities were much higher than in the era of cold weapons. On the battlefields of this era, direct combat deaths were actually rare; most casualties were due to injuries that couldn’t be treated, leading to death.
Oftentimes, when there were over a thousand casualties in ancient battles in the Central Plains, only a few hundred might actually be fatalities; the rest were injuries, and of those, maybe only about 10% could return to battle. That’s why injuries and deaths were usually counted together.
The main reason for the high death rate among the wounded was various treatment issues. Chen Xi’s methods of using spirits for disinfection, stitching up wounds, and wrapping with coarse cloth, followed by a dose of blood-replenishing medicine, could save about half of the injured.
Okay, the truth is, those who still didn’t make it were mostly due to untimely rescue, and of course, there were also many mistakes in Chen Xi’s rescue techniques. The medics were not professionals, but even so, the number of lives they managed to save was not insignificant.
"Everyone, take a look. According to these statistics, if we train a group of apprentices under a good doctor, we could significantly reduce combat casualties," Lub Su handed Liu Ye’s compiled data to Fa Zheng sitting across, then turned to Jia Xu and spoke, instantly recognizing something important from the data.
"Right, Wen He, gather all the formulas related to these medicines," Chen Xi reacted instantly to Lub Su’s remark. Indeed, this was the simplest and most effective method; what he had at best was just a blood-replenishing medicine.
Fa Zheng and Zhuge Liang looked at each other after reading it, both seeing the shock in the other’s eyes. With such a strategy, Lord Xuande’s soldiers would become increasingly elite.
"As for external injuries," Liu Yan looked up at the ceiling, "Physician Hua is very skilled. I remember he once cut open a person’s abdomen to remove rotten tissue and then saved him. He has many medicines that are extremely effective for various kinds of wounds."
"Bingo." Chen Xi said with a mischievous smile. Then everyone present rejoiced, for this was indeed good news.
"I wonder what herbs his prescription requires. We should stock up on whatever is needed. If the prescription is particularly effective, then we should include it in our strategic reserves," said Chen Xi, looking at Liu Yan.
"I’m not sure about that," Liu Yan shook his head, "But obtaining them shouldn’t be too difficult. I’ve never seen him use any overly expensive herbs. Although he charges a high price when dealing with wealthy households, the herbs are basically easy to come by. There shouldn’t be a problem."
"Zijing, issue an order later to have the herb-gathering experts from Mount Tai come to Fenggao to assemble. I have a task for them. Tell them that their food and lodging expenses will be reimbursed and they will receive a daily allowance of thirty coins," Chen Xi ordered, turning to Lub Su.
"Oh, no problem. There are probably only a few thousand who can be considered experts. What do you need them for?" Lub Su asked curiously.
"To get the prescription, and then to grow the required medicinal herbs. Relying on foraging for herbs is never reliable. Once a major war breaks out, it won’t be practical to forage everywhere. It’s better to harvest them like we do wheat," Chen Xi said helplessly, "Anyway, it’s best to plan ahead."
"I think your idea is even less reliable." Everyone looked at Chen Xi, and finally Liu Ye spoke up, "I’ve never heard of cultivating herbs. Medicines are supposed to grow naturally. Cultivated ones would surely be different from those that grow wild."
"We’ll know once we try planting one. If trees can be grown, why not grass?" Chen Xi said indifferently.
"Makes sense, we won’t know until we try." Zhuge Liang, after all, was a child who didn’t have much regard for authority. Despite his refined appearance, he was actually filled with pride. Confident to the point of defiance, at his age he needed to verify even the things that might be wrong, this stage of life brimming with rebellion.
"Then let’s plant." Lub Su nodded his head. Having witnessed many of Chen Xi’s marvels, this minor matter wasn’t worth worrying about.
No one else objected. They figured it was just a minor matter that didn’t concern them, so they let it be. Even if Chen Xi wasn’t so miraculous, they would only question him a little. After all, even if you disagreed, he would just go back and plant it himself, and it was not as if it would be a big waste. Moreover, the peculiar marvels of Chen Xi had become so abnormal, if he liked planting, then let him plant; it wasn’t too wasteful.
Zhuge Liang looked at Chen Xi curiously. The way his word became law, whether reasonable or not, was something that puzzled Zhuge Liang. Every person present was exceedingly intelligent, yet they seemed to quickly submit to Chen Xi’s orders. Yet this very situation made Zhuge Liang feel a bit envious; how he longed to be able to command and have everyone submit like that.
"Weishuo, when the time comes, please invite Physician Hua over. We need to meet him, and he should give all these people a thorough health check to avoid any unexpected issues," Chen Xi called out to Liu Yan, inwardly sighing with relief that he had finally pulled the medical foundation over.(To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it at Qidian (qidian.com) with recommendation tickets and monthly passes. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
