Chapter 53: Who Says a Wounded Warrior Must Die (Part 2)

"Xu Scarface?" Xu Scarface turned to look at Li Qing, then turned back. "You're called Han Gang?"

"I am indeed."

Xu Scarface faced the outside of the house again. Li Qing's shocked expression was like a frozen porcelain statue, showing no change. Xu Scarface found it strange and pointed at him, asking Han Gang, "Is he an acquaintance of yours?"

"No, I've never seen him before!" Han Gang spoke the truth, but he could easily deduce the identity of the young man. Seeing his reaction and the look on Qi One-Eye's face when he heard his name, as if he had seen a plucked duck flying in the sky, Han Gang could not have failed to guess the situation if he had any brains.

A sense of relief from a hot bath spread through his body, and Han Gang felt a weight lifted from his heart. Since leaving Qin Prefecture, the dark cloud over his head had finally dissipated. The means Chen Ju could use had probably been exhausted here. With the receipt in hand, Qi One-Eye had lost his most effective weapon against him. Even if he still had a bit of influence in Gangu City, it would be difficult to find a legitimate excuse to get rid of him. As long as he stayed in Gangu, his personal safety would no longer be a concern.

After days of hard work, everything finally had a resolution. Han Gang stood in the street, feeling somewhat lost. After delivering the military supplies to the location designated by Qi Scarface, the civilian laborers had been arranged to go to the labor camp. Han Gang also had a bed in the labor camp. Now that he had the receipt, he could go to the labor camp, sleep for a night, and set off for home the next day...

But that was the worst choice!

What could he do when he got home? Chen Ju might be eliminated by Wang Zhao, but it was more likely that he would be unharmed. To deal with the deeply rooted Chen Ju, even the Chief Military Advisor would need to plan and obtain the approval of the Governor Li Shizhong, which would definitely take time. What would he do then? Accept a third assignment or seek Wang Zhao's protection? Han Gang was unwilling to do either!

Whether from ambition, pride, or consideration for his own safety, he must stay in Gangu for a short time and find a way to advance himself!

The curfew in Gangu City had been lifted, and the jubilant civilians and soldiers were still celebrating in the streets, drinking and singing wildly. A group of messengers heading south to report the victory was blocked at the city gate, forced to drink a bowl of celebratory wine. After days of worry, they could finally let loose, and even Zhang Shouyue did not want to emphasize military discipline at this moment.

Han Gang stood in the center of the street, looking indifferent and standing out. A drunk man, holding a wine pot in one hand and a cup in the other, staggered up to Han Gang, "Brother! Why are you standing there like a fool? The old supervisor led two thousand soldiers to repel over ten thousand Western barbarians. Today is a great day! Come, have a drink."

"Two thousand repelling ten thousand... one general's success is built on the bones of many, isn't it?" Han Gang's voice was low, and in the dark night, his dark eyes seemed even deeper.

"Ah?" The drunk man was scared by Han Gang's gaze and involuntarily took a step back.

Han Gang chuckled, bowed to the man, and pushed through the crowded crowd, walking briskly to the labor camp.

"Crazy... crazy!" The drunk man shook his head, looking at Han Gang's back, and then staggered off to drink with others.

The labor camp in Gangu City was in the northwest corner. Han Gang took some time to get there. Upon entering the camp, he found his team. Wang Shunmin had gone to the city hall and had not returned. Except for him, everyone was gathered in the barracks assigned to Han Gang.

As soon as Han Gang entered the room, Zhu Zhong hurried over, his face anxious, "Scholar, someone from the city hall just came. They said they need to rebuild the defenses of Gangu City, and Old Supervisor Zhang ordered that all the civilian laborers coming to Gangu be detained. We are the first batch. Scholar, what should we do?"

As soon as Zhu Zhong spoke, over thirty civilian laborers gathered around, hoping Han Gang would give them a plan. In the middle of winter, they would have to work hard, and they might lose half their lives. If their luck was bad, they might not survive.

"We risked our lives to get to Gangu, not to be laborers," someone in the crowd muttered.

"Exactly, exactly."

"Don't panic, I have a plan. I guarantee you won't suffer." Han Gang's authority was high, and when he spoke, everyone quieted down. He was inwardly laughing: 'This is truly heaven's help.'

After calming the crowd, he found a few injured men, "Pack up, when Wang Military Officer returns, follow me to the medical camp."

"To the medical camp?"

"The medical camp in Gangu City has military doctors. Your injuries need to be examined by a doctor. I heard that the Medical Bureau only sent four doctors to Qin Prefecture. Two are in Qin Prefecture, and the other two are in Jichuan Fort and Gangu City, the two front-line forts. Your wounds need to be re-treated, and it will be much better with a doctor from the capital."

"Brother! No military doctor will treat civilian laborers!" Wang Shunmin entered the room just as Han Gang was speaking, "The medical camp is next to the crematorium and the mass grave. If you get infected, you'll die in a few days."

At that time, the military already had a rudimentary hospital system, where patients were placed in one place for treatment. However, this was just an excuse for convenience. The main concern was that the moans of the injured would affect morale. The doctors sent by the Medical Bureau usually only served officials and did not treat civilian laborers or soldiers.

All soldiers and civilian laborers who fell ill had to endure, at most receiving care from a few close friends. Since these friends also had to work and patrol daily, the care was intermittent, and most of the sick and injured were left to die.

Seeing Wang Shunmin tear down his plan as soon as he entered, Han Gang glared at him. Didn't he know this? It was better that there were no doctors!

Wang Shunmin, startled by the glare, shrank back, not knowing what he had done wrong.

Han Gang walked past him, pulling him out, "Let's go to the medical camp first. If there is a doctor, we can get treatment. If there isn't, as you said, we should still go and see!"

Taking a few injured men to the medical camp in the south of the city, the atmosphere was different from the outside. The dilapidated camp was eerie and silent. There were no doctors in the barracks, only over a hundred injured soldiers lying on the communal beds, their faces blank. The air was filled with the moans of the injured and a foul smell.

The ground was covered with pus, dirt, and the bodies of rats and cockroaches, showing that the camp had not been cleaned since winter began. As Wang Shunmin said, this medical camp was directly connected to the crematorium and the mass grave. Just standing there, Han Gang felt his lifespan had shortened.

The four injured men, anxious, pleaded with Han Gang, "Scholar, don't leave us here. We're not seriously injured, we can drive carts and walk. Take us back! This place is full of people who can't be saved..."

"Who said that?" Han Gang's voice suddenly rose, interrupting them, "With proper care, who can't be saved except those with severe injuries?"

Han Gang's voice startled the barely surviving injured men, who raised their heads, looking at the strangers who had entered the camp, their eyes full of questions:

What do they want to do?

Han Gang stood straight, meeting hundreds of questioning gazes, and raised his voice, "Who said this place is a death sentence!"

"Han Brother, are you really going to stay in this cursed place?"

Wang Shunmin had already spent a night in the medical camp. He watched as Han Gang brought the civilian laborers, directing them and the injured men's companions to clean the barracks, change the sheets, and treat the wounds of the injured. But he still couldn't understand why Han Gang was doing all this.

"This is the third time you've asked that!" Han Gang, without turning his head, focused on changing the bandage of an injured man with an arrow wound in his shoulder. After a night, the injured men's eyes had changed, their confusion still there but with more gratitude, "My answer is the same. Since I saw this, how can I leave with a clear conscience?"

Ignoring the angry gazes of the injured men, Wang Shunmin still tried to persuade Han Gang, "This really isn't your job, Brother!"

"Confucianism teaches to love others, and Buddhism says saving a life is better than building a seven-story pagoda. Whether Confucianism, Buddhism, or Taoism, they all emphasize benevolence. Seeing these injured men about to die, how can I not help? What does it have to do with my job?" Han Gang turned, his face showing a slightly tired smile after a sleepless night, "First help others, and they will help you in return."

Han Gang, without avoiding the filth, personally cleaned the wounds of the injured with salt water, sprinkled some of the unknown effectiveness of the wound medicine left in the barracks, and carefully bandaged them with clean fine linen, "Do everything with a benevolent heart, and don't worry about other things."

Han Gang's impression on Wang Shunmin was of a decisive and ruthless nature, a brilliant mind, and a generous and bold personality when drinking, but a very irritable temper when insulted. But Wang Shunmin had never thought that Han Gang could also be so compassionate, almost like a woman's heart, as the literati would say, "womanly kindness."

Wang Shunmin wasn't sure if this description of Han Gang was accurate, but he thought that going back to report first and then coming to help wouldn't be too late! Saving the injured soldiers was a good thing, and Wang Shunmin, who had been saved by Han Gang, certainly didn't think it was bad, but why should he get involved?

He hadn't guessed that Han Gang might have another motive, but even after much thought, he still couldn't figure it out. He scratched his head in frustration, following Han Gang around the barracks, even though he had no official connection to Han Gang, he felt that if Han Gang didn't leave, he shouldn't either, but he had to wait anxiously for Han Gang to change his mind and return home.

After changing the bandage of another injured man, Han Gang straightened up, rubbing his back. After a night of bending over to change bandages and walking around the camp, his waist and legs were almost numb. Looking back, he saw Wang Shunmin still following him.

"Wang Brother, you should go back to Qin Prefecture to report. Staying here will delay things..."

Wang Shunmin shook his head firmly, "We came together, so we should leave together. Am I the kind of person who lacks loyalty?"

Seeing this, Han Gang pulled Wang Shunmin outside, "Wang Brother, it's not that I don't want to leave, but I can't. Wang Jiayi needs more time to deal with Chen Ju. If I go back now, I'll be walking right into the trap..."

"Brother, you're lying! Have you ever been afraid of Chen Ju?" Wang Shunmin had thought that Han Gang might be avoiding Chen Ju, but from his behavior on the way, it seemed the opposite.

"I'm not afraid of Chen Ju, but he has a lot of influence. Fighting him is like walking on a knife's edge, and I might get cut at any moment, making it hard to sleep at night."

Wang Shunmin looked at Han Gang's bloodshot eyes, "Can you sleep soundly in Gangu City?"

"Can anyone harm me here if I sleep now?" Han Gang's counter-question left Wang Shunmin speechless. He continued, "After you return, go and visit Wang Chudao. With his recommendation, Wang Jiayi will certainly trust you..."

"Like how Wang Yannai recommended you the other day? I don't have the energy to deal with Wang Jiayi's trust!"

"Don't be stubborn! You and I are different. My future is in Gangu, but yours is in Qin Prefecture! If I'm not mistaken, both you and Zhao Zigian will be heavily relied upon by Wang Jiayi!" Han Gang's voice became stern, with an air of authority that brooked no refusal.

Wang Shunmin, a warrior, was needed by Wang Zhao, and through him, he could connect with Wu Yan. Wang Zhao would not let this opportunity pass. As for himself, Wang Zhao was not unwilling to use Han Gang, but he wanted to give a slap before offering a reward. Han Gang was not interested in the slap, so he would have to find the reward elsewhere.

Wang Shunmin, though not stupid, was no match for Han Gang, who had lived two lives, and scratched his head, "I can't figure it out."

"You'll understand in the future. If I tell you now, it won't work. Listen to me, you'll know when you return."

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(End of the chapter)