Three Kingdoms, Myth

A few days after Liu Bei left Donghai County with his army, Chen Xi, who had just finished organizing the troops, found himself overwhelmed by the worsening plague in the rear. When he returned with the deployment orders, he discovered that the epidemic in Langya and Donghai had begun to spread.

Fortunately, whether due to Tao Qian's change of heart or Chen Gui's attempt to show goodwill towards Chen Xi, the Xuzhou troops had arrived before the Taishan militia could be mobilized.

"How are things progressing lately?" Chen Xi asked, rubbing his temples after taking a sip of strong tea. He motioned for someone to pour Chen Gui some tea as well.

Whether it was a misconception or not, Chen Xi felt that ever since they started fighting Cao Cao in Xuzhou, his mental strength seemed to grow at a much slower pace, almost stagnating. He had consulted Hua Tuo about it, and after examining Chen Xi for a long time, Hua Tuo had said, "You're probably just reaching adulthood..."

At that moment, Chen Xi almost spat out his tea. Was he really not considered an adult before? Was this some kind of joke?

What Chen Xi didn't know was that if the people under Tao Qian's rule hadn't begun to accept Liu Bei, his mental strength wouldn't have stopped growing. After all, this situation was akin to expanding territory. However, with the spiritual support from Taishan and Qingzhou, these newly added regions didn't even require the use of the reserved free-floating spiritual energy, leading to a strange balance. Unfortunately, this balance also meant that Chen Xi's mental strength stopped increasing.

"In Langya, Donghai, and several nearby counties, the people have been relocated from high-risk plague areas and are being quarantined. The tents from Taishan have arrived, and the deep wells you've requested have been dug at each relocation site," Chen Gui reported in detail after taking a sip of tea. It seemed he had fully integrated into Liu Bei's administration.

Chen Gui had great admiration for Chen Xi's methods. Since the discovery of the plague, the series of actions taken had effectively controlled the situation. Even if they stopped managing it now, at most, only about ten thousand people would die.

"Is there any panic? Has anyone tried to stir up trouble?" Chen Xi asked.

"None so far," Chen Gui replied, shaking his head. "We've informed the people that they need to relocate due to the potential plague, and we provided them with plenty of tents. For those who had already lost their homes, this was a relief. As for troublemakers, I've dealt with them. As per your instructions, we've also attributed the blame to Cao Cao."

"Those are minor issues. What about the medical supplies? Are they sufficient? And can Hua Tuo's treatments be simplified any further?" Chen Xi waved dismissively. Hua Tuo had developed an effective treatment for the plague, but the issue was the same as in history—it couldn't be widely distributed. Hua Tuo had made the prescription public, but one of the ingredients was too rare and expensive to be mass-produced.

"Hua Tuo has already developed three different formulas that can cure the plague," Chen Gui sighed, feeling that Chen Xi was being too demanding.

Chen Gui was at a loss for words. In his view, Hua Tuo was already a miracle worker. He had lived through dozens of plagues, big and small, and had never seen anyone come up with a cure. Once a plague struck, there was nothing to do but accept fate. Yet Hua Tuo had developed a cure, and Chen Xi was still pushing him to simplify it further. Was this even humanly possible?

Chen Xi was frustrated. He was baffled by the medical practices of this era—why did a single herb have twenty different names? And why were there multiple herbs with the same name? How was he supposed to deal with that? To make matters worse, without illustrations, who knew what any of these plants looked like? He knew that something like Ge Gen Tang could cure the plague, but how was he supposed to know what Ge Gen looked like? And what was it called a thousand eight hundred years ago?

"I can't take this anymore!" Chen Xi muttered, watching dozens of people die every day. It was frustrating and disheartening. He had gathered so many medicinal herbs, yet people were still dying by the dozens daily. It was driving him crazy.

Chen Xi knew that if things continued like this, the plague would eventually pass with fewer than ten thousand deaths. Compared to the plague in history that killed millions, his efforts were practically a monumental achievement.

But as a modern person, it was unbearable for Chen Xi to watch ordinary people die powerlessly before his eyes, knowing he could save them but being unable to do so due to certain constraints. The frustration was overwhelming.

"Please calm yourself, Chen Hou. Let me finish my report on the plague situation," Chen Gui said humbly. He found Chen Xi's behavior puzzling—sometimes, Chen Xi seemed to have everything under control, and other times, he acted like an impatient child.

"Go ahead. What else is there?" Chen Xi said, trying to regain his composure.

"Recent intelligence indicates that the plague has resurfaced in Yinping and Changlu," Chen Gui reported with his head bowed.

"What? Didn't I relocate the people from those areas? How could the plague still spread?" Chen Xi asked, puzzled.

"It's believed that refugees from Pengcheng may have carried the disease with them," Chen Gui speculated.

"Cao Mengde, even in death, you leave us such a mess!" Chen Xi muttered, furrowing his brow.

Due to the protective effects of cloud energy in the army, there was no risk of infection within the military, so Chen Xi hadn't worried about the plague spreading from Cao Cao's camp. He assumed that any outbreak would be manageable after defeating Cao Cao. But now, it seemed the displaced population fleeing from Cao Cao's forces had brought the plague with them, creating a potentially deadly situation.

"It appears this is our fault. Because of the war, the people fled from Cao Cao, and among the tens of thousands of refugees, some must have carried the plague. This is disastrous! Quickly send a letter to Xuande, informing him of the situation, and include detailed instructions on how to prevent the plague," Chen Xi ordered, slamming the table and rising to his feet.

Chen Xi was utterly frustrated. He hadn't even fully dealt with the outbreaks in Donghai and Langya, and now, if things got out of control in Pengcheng, all their efforts in Xuzhou would be for nothing. What he feared most was a repeat of the plague that had devastated four provinces, leaving them in ruins.

"Chen Hou, please wait," Chen Gui said, nodding before instructing someone to fetch paper and ink.

"You can send the letter under my name. I'll go check on Hua Tuo. If this situation doesn't improve, I may need to take matters into my own hands!" Chen Xi said grimly.

Rather than allow history to repeat itself with a plague ravaging four provinces, Chen Xi would rather personally oversee the testing of all available herbs. Even if it meant risking a few hundred lives, it was preferable to losing millions.