Chapter 2711: Imperial Arrival

General Qibi Heli cleverly took off his clothes and sat by the fire. His injury was simple, it had burst open, but Manbao was well-prepared and quickly treated him, then went to treat other wounded soldiers.

He stayed by the fire with his eyes closed, resting, while the wounded soldiers couldn’t help but groan in pain.

Manbao didn’t have a great solution either. They didn’t bring much anesthetic so it was reserved for the most critical cases.

For example, certain major surgeries that were time-consuming and in dangerous positions definitely required anesthetic. Without it, the pain was unbearable, causing convulsions and potentially fatal agony.

Pain also caused the blood to flow faster, and in such cases, pain relief injections couldn’t reach the desired effect, so Manbao resorted to administering anesthetic.

Others could only rely on acupuncture for pain relief.

The most difficult to treat were soldiers who got injured by trampling during night battles. Many were still alive when carried back, but upon inspection, Manbao found them already dead, their bodies still warm.

Manbao treated three, but two died midway, only one survived.

Frowning tightly, she quickly changed the prescription and told someone to prepare a remedy, “This stops internal bleeding, apply it first.”

But the effectiveness in such situations might not be good.

Manbao was in a bad mood.

Busy until dawn, everyone took out their dry rations to eat, while staying alert, preparing for battle.

The Goguryeo army trapped in the center looked more haggard than the Jin army. They were anxious and afraid all night, and surprisingly, the opposite camp was wafting the scent of medicine.

Their wounded soldiers were still lying on the ground, with many yet to receive any treatment, let alone medication.

Such comparisons deadened the soldiers’ morale.

At night they were scared, but come daylight, they were even more afraid.

General Qibi Heli stood on the main road, looking at the other side and said indifferently, “Prepare for battle.”

Jin soldiers immediately began to act in order. Before dawn, they were eating the dry rations they carried, drank some water, and prepared their horses and weapons.

Manbao napped by the fire for less than half an hour. Upon hearing the commotion, she awoke, stood up to take a glance, and said to Su Mu, who was groggy and bewildered, “Wake up, soon we’ll be retreating with the wounded.”

Staying here would be a burden.

General Qibi Heli also thought the same; Zhou Man was important. In a battle between two armies, he would not allow Zhou Man and the medical tent to remain, thus deploying people to escort them away.

With the battle imminent, there weren’t many to escort them, as they had to carry the wounded too, roughly a hundred people in total, while the number of injured was quite high.

Manbao had to act as a guard while accompanying them.

After walking for a while, they faintly heard the sound of the ground trembling. The flagbearer’s expression changed slightly; he jumped off his horse and lay on the ground to listen.

He jumped up immediately, “A large number of cavalry is approaching, everyone hide in the forest.”

Manbao became alert and asked Keke, “Is it enemy or friendly forces?”

Keke replied, “It’s the emperor.”

Manbao let out a sigh of relief, just about to speak, only for Keke to add, “But there are some unrecorded plants in the forest, would the host like to record them?”

Manbao swallowed her words and asked it in her heart, “Didn’t we record quite a few before? I thought we’d recorded almost all the unfamiliar species here.”

“Have you recorded ginseng?”

Manbao’s eyes lit up, “There’s ginseng inside?”

Keke confirmed, it’s in the forest.

So Manbao followed everyone to move into the forest. The flagbearer wasn’t sure if the army coming from behind was friend or foe, but hiding wouldn’t be wrong.

Their main force was essentially here, only a thousand troops were left stationed at Baiyan City; it’s impossible for such a large number of cavalry to come from there.

The flagbearer suspected the Goguryeo army had maneuvered around. He was very concerned; if that were the case, wouldn’t their general be cut off?

He found two relatively clever soldiers and whispered, “If it turns out to be the enemy army, you two rush through the forest to report to the general.”

“Yes.”

Manbao squatted on the ground and asked Keke, “Where is the stuff?”

“We’ll need to walk a bit further forward.”

Manbao glanced into the depths of the forest, continued squatting, and didn’t move, “We’ll have to wait a bit longer; now is not the right time.”

Since arriving in Liaodong, Manbao often took the opportunity under the guise of collecting herbs to dig around in the forests encountered while passing through. But due to being busy, she only had the leisure to do so when stationed in a particular location; otherwise, she could only listen to Keke’s chimes and take note for later.

She wished to stay for around ten to twenty days to dig before returning home in triumph.

The flagbearer was listening closely to the noise on the ground, then lifted his head slightly, whispering, “Here they are.”

So everyone silently lifted their heads from the forest, peeking through the foliage to glimpse the main road. Manbao observed while asking Keke, “Did Bai Shan come along?”

“Yes.”

Manbao felt ecstatic inside.

Upon recognizing the imperial flag, the flagbearer was equally joyful, “Lord Zhou, it’s His Majesty!”

Everyone excitedly looked at Zhou Man.

Manbao stood up; yes, she held the highest official rank and had to go meet Him.

Protected by the flagbearers, Manbao ventured outward. The vanguard troops spotted them, prepared knives, swords, spears, and bows ready. Upon realizing it was Zhou Man, they lowered their arms. The leading Imperial guards approached, greeting, “Lord Zhou!”

Among the accompanying court officials, perhaps none knew her, but Zhou Man was conspicuous as the only female official — hard not to be recognized.

Manbao clasped her hands, asking, “Is the royal entourage here to aid General Qibi?”

“Yes, where’s the vanguard?”

Manbao pointed ahead, “Ahead, they should have engaged in battle. The medical tent is a burden, hence we’re retreating.”

The Imperial guards led Zhou Man to meet the emperor.

The emperor appraised her about the battle progression. He learned that General Qibi Heli pursued them overnight, and Sharpened Foot met them in the rear: both sides fought blindly in darkness. The emperor frowned, asking, “What’s the casualties of the troops?”

Manbao reported some figures, these just concerning General Qibi Heli’s side; unsure about the other side.

The emperor sighed, feeling Sharpened Foot was unfortunate.

Indeed, fighting at night brings higher casualties than daytime, and the army is more easily scattered.

Originally, if Sharpened Foot hadn’t maneuvered around, or had been slower, letting them withdraw wasn’t an issue; their goal wasn’t solely to capture these enemies, as long as they’d leave Baiyan City unchecked.

In short, General Qibi last night chose to engage to protect Sharpened Foot and his troops.

But since the people were intercepted, capturing them seemed preferable.

The emperor immediately dispatched Yin Li to assist, himself going too; however, not intending to join the battlefield, rather observing from the rear.

Naturally, Zhou Man had to follow.

So Manbao ordered the wounded to the nearby medical tent; she and Su Mu brought medicine and supplies with the emperor.

With the emperor present, the medical tent could be set up again.