Damn it, I'm in the garbage book I wrote

Chapter 846 The Plague God Came from the East

Xia Lin's finger slowly traced across the map, finally stopping at the border between the Northern Han camp and several small oasis tribes.

"Liu Min has 50,000 troops stationed here. With food and supplies for men and horses, the meager aid from the Li Tang dynasty is just a drop in the ocean." He spoke calmly, but his eyes were full of calculation: "He will inevitably have to levy grain from the surrounding tribes. This is his usual practice and also his weakness."

Sun Jiuzhen immediately realized: "Does the commander-in-chief want to manipulate the grain requisition process?"

“No,” Xia Lin shook his head, “We’re not doing anything, we’re just helping those tribes out.” He looked at the Moon Group leader: “I remember last year you reported that a few small tribes in the west had a plague outbreak. Although it was brought under control, their winter hay and some of their grain might have been contaminated with the disease, so they haven’t dared to feed them large quantities to their healthy livestock, right?”

The Moon Group leader nodded: "That's true. Those tribes are very worried about it."

"It's good that you're worried." Xia Lin smiled slightly. "Go and disguise yourself as a merchant from the more remote west, who is not well-informed, and buy up these fodder and grains. Then, put something in the grain supplied by Li Tang, and also put something in this batch of grain infected with the epidemic."

Zhuo Heng pondered: "The Northern Han grain requisition team is used to suppressing prices and even forcibly requisitioning grain. If they know there is a bargain to be had, they will definitely intercept this batch of goods."

“That’s right.” Xia Lin nodded. “Our people need to show some resilience and put up a fight when they are intercepted by the Northern Han army. Then let the Northern Han military forcibly take them away. We are the victims.”

He continued his instructions: "At the same time, have our men, who are stationed around the quartermasters of the Northern Han army, hold back when they are counting this batch of rations. Once this fodder has been distributed, fed to the warhorses, and eaten with meals made from these grains..."

Sun Jiuzhen chimed in, "Both horses and personnel could be infected. Especially warhorses; if a large number of them fall ill, the Northern Han army's mobility will be halved!"

"Moreover, the most important point is that we've provided them with double insurance, so it doesn't matter whether they have problems after eating the grain supplied by Li Tang or after eating our batch. They'll just use the other batch by default," Xia Lin added. "We can even remind the surrounding tribes to be wary of any potential epidemics from the Northern Han army camp and to prepare for quarantine in advance."

"When the Northern Han army is exhausted, the epidemic is spreading, and people are panicking..." Xia Lin grinned and looked up, "then we will send a medical team with medicine to provide humanitarian aid. The reason is to prevent the spread of the epidemic and endanger the Western Regions trade routes and civilians. Even if Liu Min is suspicious, he can only swallow his anger and owe me a favor."

This plan was extremely ruthless, completely using the enemy's strength against them. By exploiting the Northern Han's own greed and bureaucratic practices, it planted a hidden danger within its own ranks. Xia Lin not only cleared himself of all suspicion but also portrayed himself as a benevolent person who maintained stability and saved lives. At the same time, it created a significant rift between the Northern Han and the Tang Dynasty, since it was highly likely that the disease was contracted from their grain. Xia Lin didn't believe that the Northern Han's tracing technology was so advanced that it could identify the same pathogen in two batches of grain.

What happened next unfolded exactly as Xia Lin had predicted.

The Northern Han grain requisition team indeed intercepted the batch of grain.

The quartermaster naturally chose to conceal the truth. In fact, due to the chaotic management of the Northern Han camp, the collected grain was even mixed with the grain supplied by Li Tang, which was an overbearing and tyrannical way of exceeding Xia Lin's poisoning KPI.

These contaminated fodder and provisions were quickly distributed to the various camps. Initially, only a few warhorses appeared listless, and a few soldiers developed low-grade fever, diarrhea, and some even vomited. However, because the symptoms were mild, they were treated as common colds and acclimatization issues.

But the plague, like a spark, found itself a prairie fire in the densely packed military camp. In less than half a month, more and more warhorses collapsed in the Northern Han camp, and soldiers began to vomit and suffer from diarrhea in droves.

An ominous gloom began to hang over the military camp. The bitter smell of herbs mixed with the increasingly strong stench of filth, making people nauseous.

The Northern Han army doctors were at a loss; their familiar wound medicines and remedies for colds had little effect.

The epidemic spread rapidly, non-combat casualties increased sharply, and more critically, a large number of warhorses, the main force of the cavalry, fell ill, and the Northern Han army's mobility advantage vanished in an instant.

Liu Min was in a state of utter distress and tried to keep the news under tight control, but rumors were spreading throughout the camp and morale had plummeted.

At this time, rumors were circulating that the Li Tang dynasty, in order to save expenses, had collected some of the grain in their reserves that had been contaminated by excrement and rats and sent it to the Northern Han as aid.

The entire camp was now cursing Li Tang. Liu Min vaguely sensed something was amiss; after all, no problems had been found during the initial inspection. But things had come to this point, and he had no better explanation. After all, the plague was colorless and odorless, and no one knew what Li Tang's group had experienced on their long journey. Although he tried to suppress the news detrimental to Li Tang and the Northern Han alliance, this kind of thing was impossible to suppress. People in the camp began to fall ill in droves, from a few deaths a day to two or three hundred a day, and the losses only increased. Watching the bodies of his former comrades burned in the fire every day, the soldiers, whether sick or not, were basically on the verge of collapse…

And this guy's supposed to be in charge of the Western Regions and suppress Xia Daosheng? He'd be in a mutiny if he died any longer!
Just when Liu Min was almost in despair, a group of people arrived from the direction of Shanshan City. They were carrying the flag of the Western Regions Construction Corps. The leader was a middle-aged man dressed as a civil official, who claimed to be the manager of the Medical Administration Department under the Corps. Behind him were more than a dozen doctors carrying medicine boxes and with calm expressions.

"General Liu," the steward said, bowing respectfully, "I have recently heard that there seems to be an epidemic in your camp. My commander is concerned about the peace of the Western Regions and fears that the epidemic may spread and endanger trade routes and the people in the surrounding areas. Therefore, he has specially sent us here to see if we can do our part."

Liu Min's first reaction was suspicion and anger, believing that Xia Lin was there to make a fool of him, or even had ulterior motives. But when he saw the scene of despair in the camp and the expectant eyes of his soldiers, his initial resolve was eventually worn down by reality.

Left with no other choice, he could only grimly approve the medical team's entry.

The doctors from Fuliang were very experienced. After all, everyone in the world knew how advanced their medical standards were. Even royalty and nobility from various countries would specifically request treatment from them when they fell ill.

The doctors quickly isolated the ward, examined the patients, and soon determined the source and type of the disease, and immediately developed targeted prescriptions. The prepared medicines and herbs they brought were quickly distributed, and the treatment work proceeded in an orderly manner.

When a truly skilled medical team takes action, the results are immediate.

The situation was quickly brought under control, new infections decreased significantly, and patients' symptoms began to improve. The atmosphere of despair that had permeated the camp gradually began to be replaced by a glimmer of hope.

Liu Min's feelings were incredibly complicated.

He knew Xia Lin had ulterior motives and was undoubtedly connected to the plague, yet he was genuinely relying on Xia Lin's help to stabilize the situation. This favor felt like a fishbone stuck in his throat, impossible to swallow or spit out.

The medical team leader seemed to have read his mind. During the handover of medicines, he casually remarked, "General Liu, this epidemic seems to be a mutation of intestinal plague circulating among livestock, mostly caused by improper storage of grain or fodder, or by unclean sources. We must be more cautious when requisitioning grain in the future. After all, the health of our soldiers is the most important thing."

These words, seemingly a reminder, actually shifted the blame back onto the Northern Han, leaving them with no way to refute the situation. Liu Min's face turned ashen, but he had no rebuttal.

Xia Lin's medical team stayed at the Beihan camp for more than ten days until the epidemic was basically under control, at which point they politely declined Liu Min's superficial offer to stay and returned to Shanshan.

Before their departure, the medical team leader presented them with an "epidemic prevention manual" and kindly offered to provide the Northern Han with a batch of medicinal herbs and clean rations needed for subsequent recovery at a preferential price, in order to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Liu Min clutched the thin manual, watching the other person's departing figure, his heart filled with mixed emotions. He owed a huge favor and had his back broken, because for a short time his army lost its offensive capabilities and even needed to rely on the goodwill of his opponent to maintain basic operations.

When the news reached Shanshan, Xia Lin merely smiled faintly. This was exactly the effect he wanted. The Northern Han army had suffered a significant loss of strength in this battle and would not pose a threat in the short term. More importantly, the favor Liu Min owed would become an invisible shackle around the neck of the Northern Han.

"Tell the Chamber of Commerce that we can start contacting the Northern Han and sell them the medicinal herbs and grains they need. The price... should be 10% higher than the market price, as a friendly price," Xia Lin instructed. "Also, have our caravans travel around the Northern Han camp more often to see how their reconstruction is progressing and how their morale is."

Sun Jiuzhen laughed and said, "General, Liu Min is probably like a frightened bird right now, hating and fearing us, yet having no choice but to rely on us."

“That’s exactly how we want him to be.” Xia Lin walked to the window. “A weak, suspicious neighbor who owes us a favor is much easier to deal with than a strong, united, and menacing enemy. Next, it’s time to get Li Tang’s side moving as well.”

He turned to the leader of the Moon Group: "Take a slightly embellished version of how we helped Northern Han control the epidemic and send it to Chang'an. Emphasize Northern Han's predicament and our humanitarianism. Let Changsun Wuji and Third Sister know that their plan to use Northern Han to weaken us has not only failed, but we have also taken the opportunity to win people's hearts. Also, remind my Third Sister that the people of Northern Han are like wolves, vengeful and vindictive. Tell her to be careful."

"Furthermore, let's not wait for the enemy to make a move; let's just do our job well." A sly glint flashed in Xia Lin's eyes. "Let our people in Kucha and Yanqi begin to make contact with their royal families. Right now, the Northern Han is preoccupied with its own problems, and the Li Tang can't extend its reach that far either. This is a good opportunity for us to expand our influence. We can relax the conditions we offer them appropriately."

(End of this chapter)