Bai Shan nodded, "Er Ge is a suspicious person. Without a convincing reason, he will doubt us."

Is there really a need for such an excuse?

If word gets out, people might think the emperor intends to take action against the grasslands, and everyone is already a bit tense.

But for now, this is only coming from their mouths, reaching the ears of horse bandits. It’ll be fine with some cleanup afterward.

Assistant General Nie comforted himself this way, and his guilt towards the emperor and the Ministry of War was slightly reduced.

He followed Bai Shan’s gaze to the mountains over there, and after watching for a while, said, "Young Master Bai, it’s getting late. Let’s head back."

Bai Shan nodded, turned around, and headed back to the camp.

Assistant General Nie followed a step behind him, observing him from the rear, thinking that someone who could pass the imperial examination at such a young age is indeed not an ordinary person; his mind is much sharper than theirs, and his heart is also quite ruthless.

Reflecting on this, Assistant General Nie remembered that three or four years ago, while even younger, this person dared to accuse the Prince of Yizhou successfully, pulling him down from power.

Assistant General Nie shivered all over.

Manbao and Bai Erlang discovered that Assistant General Nie was much more polite to Bai Shan without any apparent reason. While having dinner together in the evening, he even let Bai Shan have his portion first.

Manbao and Bai Erlang looked at Assistant General Nie, then turned to look at Bai Shan.

Bai Shan’s expression remained unchanged. He accepted the food, thanked him, and casually asked, "When are Governor Duan and the others moving out?"

Assistant General Nie replied, "When people are in their deepest sleep at night."

It was truly when people were in their deepest sleep. Even at night, Bai Shan and the others were already quite alert, but Governor Duan didn’t arrive at the camp until Daji woke them up.

They dressed and looked outside, only to see a large army standing solemnly on the grass, with cavalry at the front and infantry at the back. It was unclear how long they had been standing there in the dark, seemingly frost-covered.

Manbao wrapped his clothes tighter and asked Governor Duan, "Are we setting out now?"

Governor Duan said, "It’s almost dawn. Let the soldiers eat first, encircle the mountain, and as soon as it’s light, we’ll advance into the mountain."

Manbao nodded.

All three of them rode horses to watch the excitement, I mean, to help out.

Zhou Liru and Liu Huan also came. They were called to help, "Yin Huo wanted to come too, but his family’s guards stopped him. His riding skills are average and not suitable for escaping... I mean, running."

Catching Governor Duan’s gaze, Liu Huan quickly changed his wording.

As dawn broke, Governor Duan ordered the infantry to quietly ascend the mountain from two directions. The officers leading the troops had experience in bandit suppression, having been up the mountain twice before and were familiar with it.

After the men went in, Governor Duan deployed troops to possibly ambush the horse bandits in their escape routes, while Assistant General Nie led his men with a detachment of soldiers and left.

Only a few soldiers and a dozen guards remained beside Manbao and the others.

Governor Duan didn’t leave either, as he needed to command the overall situation from there. After everything was arranged, he said to Manbao, "Lord Zhou, do you see those tents over there?"

Manbao nodded, "That’s where the military doctors are. The rear will be entrusted to you, Lord Zhou."

Manbao could only look regretfully at the mountain, then led Zhou Liru to the tent for preparations.

Bai Erlang and Liu Huan, who intended to follow them, didn’t move because Bai Shan didn’t move.

Governor Duan had taken military doctors with the army. Although most of the soldiers brought back after being injured would die, it was better than nothing.

There was only one military doctor. After Manbao arrived and met with him, he went to examine the medicinal supplies they brought.

There were very few types of medicinal herbs, but fortunately, they were all useful for external injuries.

After inspecting them, Manbao said, "Grind these into powder and keep them ready."

He picked out six types of herbs, specified the quantities, and had Zhou Liru divide them into portions, "So that when needed, it can be decocted immediately without having to measure again."

The military doctor on the side, having never seen this prescription used before, couldn’t help but say, "Lord Zhou, shouldn’t we wait for the wounded to come down and then prescribe according to the symptoms?"

Manbao said, "In the military, isn’t it all about speed in treating wounds? Given the supplies you brought, this is the best combination I can think of for stopping bleeding and saving lives. Which herbs do you normally use for hemostasis and stimulating patients?"

The military doctor mentioned two prescriptions, and Manbao said, "These are not as effective as this prescription for stopping bleeding..."

The two of them discussed it, and eventually, the military doctor was convinced, so he and Zhou Liru went to divide the medicinal materials and wrapped them in paper.

Meanwhile, Manbao was cutting and pounding herbs on the side, and curiously asked, "Don’t you usually prepare in advance?"

The military doctor said, "Of course, we prepare. It’s just that this time the call was urgent, and we only had time to prepare the medicinal materials."

Manbao nodded and asked how they usually handled external injuries.

How else could they handle them?

Apply medicine where needed, bandage when necessary, dig where required, and even saw off if needed, "but whether they survive is uncertain."

The military doctor said, "The soldiers brought back are not too severely injured, but half die from blood loss, and after infection sets in, another half die, leaving only half of half alive."

Manbao frowned. After listening for a while, he asked, "Don’t you suture?"

The military doctor’s eyes lit up, "I’ve heard about this technique from others, that there’s a Tai Doctor in the Imperial Hospital who does suturing. Many military doctors know it, but after trying on ten rabbits, only two survived, and their situation wasn’t ideal..."

Manbao: "... How did you try it?"

"How else? We made an incision on the rabbit, then stitched it up..."

Zhou Liru said, "You have to align with the texture and take hemostasis measures..."

She was quite surprised, "Didn’t previous military doctors teach you?"

The military doctor, embarrassed, said, "The previous military doctors were killed in action. Later, the Liangzhou army couldn’t recruit any military doctors, so I, being a wandering doctor, committed a minor mistake passing through Liangzhou City and thus got conscripted as a military doctor."

In fact, he only knew a few prescriptions, treating abdominal pain and cough with a couple of prescriptions. After being conscripted, he learned many things on the spot.

Manbao was amazed and asked, "How long have you been in the army?"

"Four or five years. I have accompanied the Liangzhou army in every battle and saved many people." So he felt quite proud.

Manbao nodded and explained some considerations for suturing. Seeing him listening attentively, she said, "When the wounded are brought down, you can practice with us."

The military doctor said, "How could I delay your life-saving work? Let’s save people first, and you can guide me afterward."

He thought it shouldn’t be too difficult to learn once he’d seen it, as his needlework was quite good, having sewn and patched many soldiers’ clothes in the army.

Manbao nodded, and once the medicinal supplies were ready, he had people boil water. He brought out his medicine box and took out various knives, scissors, clamps, and needles...

And a box of thread.

The gut strings were well stored in a bag, which was in turn placed in a box. Zhou Liru took it to be sterilized with boiling water.

This was the first time the military doctor had seen such a comprehensive set of tools. Many he had never even seen before, causing him to stare in awe.

As Manbao observed his expression, she began to think about whether there should be a dedicated class in the Imperial Hospital for training military doctors.

Let the military send interested military doctors for training before dispatching them back.