Chapter 232: Repeated use of the same trick

In mid-June of the first year of Jianwen, a long-storage war finally broke out. The 200,000 coalition forces of the two kings of Qin and Jin went out of Jingxing to march towards Beiping, but their advancement was very slow. They arrived at Zhending Prefecture five days later, and then to the north was Baoding Prefecture, and after passing Baoding Prefecture, they were Beiping. Perhaps because they were worried about conflicts with the imperial army, the 200,000 coalition forces did not continue to go north after arriving at Zhending Prefecture, waiting for the imperial army to evacuate from Beiping.

The Ming army stationed in Hebei had received the will of the court to avoid the conflict between the three kings of Qin, Jin and Yan, and temporarily evacuated from Beiping. In fact, starting from the Qin and Jin coalition forces leaving Jingxing, 200,000 imperial troops had evacuated from Beiping and evacuated eastward. When the Qin and Jin coalition forces arrived at Zhending Prefecture, they had already crossed the Lu River.

On the night of June 18, just as the imperial army had just evacuated Baoding Prefecture, a 50,000-strong Yanshan cavalry passed through Baoding Prefecture like mercury and rushed south. The night was covered with darkness and fog. Two miles away on the right was the endless Baiyangdian. The army marched silently. A village not far away was still sleeping in a deep dream. The villagers knew nothing, and only a dozen dogs rushed out and barked at the rumbling and rushing shadows in the distance.

Zhu Di was supported in the team. He was wearing golden armor, with a golden helmet on his head, holding a bright silver spear, and staring at the West with cold eyes. He had already received news that the vanguard of the Qin and Jin coalition arrived in Pingshan County, Zhending Prefecture, and the main force was still forty miles away from Zhending Prefecture, and more than two hundred miles away from Anzhou County where they are now. According to spies' intelligence analysis, it is very likely that the two kings of Qin and Jin were also among the main forces. This main force was not a mob, but a guardian who had been commanded by the two kings of Qin and Jin for many years. It can be seen that they bet all their old capital on this attack, attempting to annihilate the Yan army in one fell swoop.

Of course, Zhu Di would not fight against the two kings of Qin and Jin with his few troops. He had already made arrangements and kept Yao Guangxiao and his eldest son Gao Chi to lead 70,000 troops to defend Peiping. He jumped to the periphery to avoid his edge and attack his weakness.

At this time, a team of cavalry rushed from the south, and they rushed to the front of the King of Yan. An officer reported: "Report to Your Highness, our scouts found the vanguard of the King of Zhou's army near Handan."

"How many people are there? What marching route?" Zhu Di asked coldly.

"Report to your Highness, about three thousand men, all of them were cavalrymen, and they went straight to the north."

Zhu Di pondered for a moment and resolutely ordered: "Tell me my order, the whole army will accelerate its march and turn to the southeast. Be sure to arrive at Wuqiang County before dawn."

The cavalry suddenly accelerated, and the black cavalry could not see at first sight, galloping southeastward with a landslide and cracked momentum.

In the Liao Palace in Guangning City, Liaoxi, the headache-torture of Liao King Zhu Zhi had another attack. He locked himself in a small house and threw it crazy and hit the wall. From a distance, he heard his beast-like howls. The people in the palace were all frightened and no one dared to get close to the cottage. Several doctors in the palace were even more trembling. After the last time the wind attacked, he killed two doctors who were delivering medicine. I wonder who would be his turn this time?

In fact, some doctors suspected that the King of Liao was poisoned, not a headache, but no one dared to say it. If he could not be cured, it would be a dead end. The King of Liao's disease appeared more than a month ago, that is, he had just returned from the capital. He fell in love with the three sisters on the way back to Beijing and brought them back to Liao. At this time, one of his doctors in the royal palace gave him a dose of aphrodisiac, which was very effective. Zhu Zhi became obsessed with this drug. Soon after, he developed heartache and asked the doctor to provide medicine for treatment every time. But ten days ago, the doctor suddenly ran away, and Zhu Zhi's disease had no medicine to cure. In ten days, his headache occurred three times in a row, which was more serious once and each time, which made everyone very worried.

"It hurts!...I really can't stand it, help me!"

The shouts of King Zhu Zhi of Liao echoed over the palace. Three doctors in the pharmacy looked at each other. They were helpless and no one knew what to do? Suddenly, there was a loud shout outside the door: "The princess is here!"

Before the three of them could react, the Princess of Liao quickly walked into the pharmacy. The Princess of Liao was about 20 years old and was similar to the King of Liao. She was the daughter of Zhao Sui, the assistant minister of the Ministry of Rites. She was appointed as the Princess of Liao by Zhu Yuanzhang the previous year. Her husband's illness made her feel so angry that she rushed into the pharmacy. The three doctors in the royal palace were so scared that they knelt down.

"You three don't have medicine yet, do you still have the time to chat here?" Princess Liao was furious when she saw that the three of them did nothing.

The doctor was so scared that he kowtowed repeatedly, "The princess is angry. The three of us are discussing how to cure the King of Liao's disease, which is definitely not a chat."

"Hmph! This is not the first time that the King of Liao's disease has occurred. What have you done in normal times?"

One of the doctors finally plucked up his courage and said, "Princess, we suspect that His Highness of the King of Liao was poisoned."

"Poisoned!" The princess was stunned, and she quickly asked, "What is the basis for you?"

"Reporting to the princess, the key is that the escaped Doctor Liu in front of him was the one who presented aphrodisiac to His Highness. We suspect that the medicine is poisonous, and that Doctor Liu's identity is very suspicious."

Princess Liao blushed, then turned into cold frost. She didn't want to mention the aphrodisiac, so she said coldly: "What's the suspicious identity of Doctor Liu?"

"The princess has no idea. Doctor Liu had worked in the Yan Palace and was transferred to the Liao Palace three years ago. We suspect this and the Yan Palace..."

"Don't say anything more!" Princess Liao interrupted them and said coldly: "No matter whether your highness is sick or poisoned, what should we do now?"

"Empress, there is only one way now." A doctor sighed: "It's better to knock Your Highness out first, just like last time, to relieve his pain."

"Then what?"

"Then we will post a bill to recruit doctors and offer a reward for those who can cure the disease of the King of Liao." The three doctors finally said what they didn't want to say the least.

Princess Liao pondered for a moment, and finally nodded and said, "Okay! That's it."

In the afternoon of the same day, Guangning City was filled with a notice of seeking medical treatment: "If anyone can cure the King of Liao's headache, he will be given a silver of 5,000 taels."

Under the heavy reward, there must be a brave man. For a few days, there have been endless strange people and strange people who came to treat the Liao King, but no one knows what disease the Liao King had. At this time, after the last serious illness, the Liao King became extremely weak and extremely listless. He lay on the bed and couldn't even speak.

That afternoon, Princess Liao sat by the bed and fed her husband porridge. Seeing that her husband had become pale and thin, she was dull and could not help but feel heartbroken, so she whispered in his ear: "Your Highness, otherwise we will go back to Beijing!"

Although Zhu Zhi was listless, he did not faint. He shook his head slowly, but could not say a word. Princess Liao sighed and his eyes turned red. At this moment, a rapid running sound came from outside the door. A guard loudly reported outside the door: "Report to Your Highness, Princess, General Li of Liaodong sent military doctors to treat His Highness, and is waiting outside the door."

The Princess Liao was overjoyed. She was about to ask for it, but she hesitated again and asked the King of Liao: "Your Highness, can Li Weizheng's military doctor let him see a doctor?"

Zhu Zhi nodded gently, and the princess immediately ordered: "Come in quickly and ask the military doctor!"

After a moment, an old military doctor entered the ward under the leadership of several guards. Generally speaking, the princess cannot meet a man, except for the doctor who sees a doctor, but he must also meet under the guards or eunuchs.

The old military doctor walked in, knelt down and bowed, "I am Gao Shide, a military doctor in Liaodong. My general heard that the prince had a strange disease, so he ordered me to treat it."

The Princess of Liao knew that since Li Weizheng sent this person, this person must have been of extraordinary medical skills. She suddenly remembered someone and asked quickly: "A few years ago, there was a famous doctor Gao Shide in Liaodong Town, but he was a gentleman?"

Gao Shide nodded and smiled, "It's a villain. I treated the navy in Lushun two years ago, but General Li forced me to join the army, so I had to obey."

The Princess of Liao was overjoyed. She had heard her husband say that Gao Shide was the most famous doctor in Liaodong and had seen him. She quickly bowed and said, "It turns out that it is Mr. Gao. My prince has received his treatment from him before. I beg him to save my prince again this time. I will thank him very much."

Gao Shide shook his head and smiled bitterly, "I don't need to thank you. I am now in a military order, so I'll see a doctor first!"

As he said that, he sat forward, three fingers hit Zhu Zhi's pulse, and then flipped over Zhu Zhi's eyelids, and hesitated: "Your Highness doesn't seem to be sick."

"What is that?"

"It's poisoning." Gaushide said affirmatively.

The Princess Liao was shocked, and the doctors in her palace said the same thing, but she didn't believe it. When the same words came out of Gao Shide, she believed it without doubt. She asked in horror: "What should I do?"

A doctor next to him was a little suspicious. Can you definitely say that it was poisoned by diagnosing the pulse and looking at the eyelids? This was too simple. He asked in disbelief: "How do you know that my prince is poisoned?"

Gao Shide smiled faintly and said, "Of course you can't make a conclusion when you diagnose the pulse and look at the eyelids. However, the poison in His Highness the King of Liao is the same as the original commander of Jinshan Guard and Chen Zhian. When the disease occurs, it's like crazy. You can't survive or die. That's right!"

"Sir, right, is there any help?" The princess's voice trembled with nervousness.

But Gao Shide glanced at the doctor just now, and the princess immediately understood, and she immediately scolded: "You two go back."

The two doctors in the royal palace were reluctant to ask for it, so they hurried down. Gao Shide apologized to the princess: "My colleagues are enemies. I never see a doctor in front of other doctors. Please forgive me."

"I can understand, but the prince's illness is not! What should I do if the prince's poison is caused?"

Gao Shide stroked his beard and sighed softly, "The prince's disease is the same as Chen Zhian. He is infected with a kind of Goryeo poison. This poison is slowly accumulated, but once it occurs, it means it has invaded the lungs. At that time, Chen Zhian came to find me two months after the disease attack, so I couldn't save him in the end and died. I don't know how long it took for the prince to get sick?"

"My prince fell ill for half a month. Is there any help?"

‘Half a month?’ Gao Shide pondered for a moment and said, “You can give it a try.”

He first prescribed a prescription and handed it to the princess and said, "Go and decoct the medicine immediately."

The royal mansion had complete Chinese herbal medicine, so he quickly boiled a bowl of medicine to bring it. At this time, Gao Shide took out a crystal bottle from the medicine box, poured out a pill of walnut-sized pill from it, broke it up, and threw it into the medicine soup. After a while, the medicine dissolved in the soup, and the whole bowl of soup emitted a strange fragrance. He handed the medicine bowl to the princess and said, "This bowl of medicine can temporarily control the toxicity of Your Highness, but it cannot be removed. Moreover, if it is not treated in time, the toxicity of Your Highness will be even worse next time. The princess decides whether to take it or not."

The princess was holding the medicine, feeling a little embarrassed. After all, this was Li Weizheng's military doctor. She didn't know whether she should believe it. At this time, the King of Liao, who was lying on the bed, smelled the strange fragrance in the medicine bowl. He suddenly became excited and sat up. He grabbed the medicine bowl and drank it dry in one gulp. He lay down heavily, which made the princess stunned.

A knowing smile flashed in Gao Shide's eyes.

After Zhu Zhi took the medicine, he fell asleep. Two hours later, he woke up and became energetic. His morbidity was wiped out. The princess was surprised and quickly invited Gao Shide to ask.

"Your Highness, Princess, after Chen Zhian passed away two years ago, I felt deeply uneasy and decided to conquer the poison. I studied it for a year and also picked up similar medicine in Goryeo. The pill I took just now was actually a similar poison."

"Poison!" The princess exclaimed, covering her mouth in fear, but Zhu Zhi's expression remained unchanged. The strange fragrance just now was indeed very similar to the aphrodisiac. In fact, he already understood that the Doctor Liu, who gave him aphrodisiac, had worked in the Yan Palace for five years and only transferred to him three years ago. Needless to say, this must have been the King of Yan who poisoned him, wanted to poison him, and then took the opportunity to seize the army in western Liaoning.

He waved his hand and said, "Mr. Gao, please continue."

Gao Shide continued, "I just told the Empress that this medicine can temporarily control the toxicity of Your Highness, but it cannot be removed. Moreover, if it is not treated in time, the toxicity of Your Highness will become more serious next time you attack. That's what I mean, I am using the method of using poison to fight poison."

Zhu Zhi nodded. He understood Gao Shide's words. He sighed and said, "This kind of poison attack really makes me feel in pain. Sir, can I have a way to rescue me."

"There is only one way. There is a hot spring in the original Jurchen land called the Five Lotus Ponds. The water of the hot spring can cure strange poisons. If Your Highness can soak in the hot spring for two hours a day, I will give you acupuncture and medicine. In two months, the poison in Your Highness may be able to be eliminated."

"Then I'll send someone to get the water."

"Never! Water is living water in the lotus pond, and leaving it will be dead water. Not only will the disease not be cured, it will aggravate the condition. Please think twice."

Zhu Zhi lowered his head and said nothing. He was worried that the King of Yan would take the opportunity to call after he left western Liaoning. When the princess heard that there was a cure, she was ecstatic and quickly advised her husband in a low voice: "Your Highness should leave secretly and don't let the news come out. The King of Yan would not know. Moreover, if the King of Yan takes action, we will notify Your Highness to return immediately."

At this time, Gao Shide said again: "Your Highness has taken my medicine. If you don't treat it early, the poison in your body will be recurred within three days, and it will make Your Highness even more painful at that time."

Zhu Zhi shivered, as if he felt the pain again. He nodded again and immediately nodded, "Okay! I'll set off immediately."

In mid-June of the first year of Jianwen, Liao King Zhu Zhi went to Liaodong for treatment. Half a month later, Zhu Zhi suddenly returned from Liaodong and issued an order to his generals: Since the war in Hebei, his Liaoxi army could be temporarily led by the Liaodong General Li Weizheng to prevent the King of Yan from advancing east. Then he returned to Liaodong to continue his treatment.

On the second day after Zhu Zhi ordered, Li Weizheng immediately divided his troops into two groups. One was led by the navy general Chen Wanli, leading 10,000 navy troops and 50 warships to march into Shanhaiguan. He personally led 30,000 troops across the Liaohe River by land and advanced towards the western Liaoning Corridor.
Chapter completed!