Can't a princess ascend the throne?

Chapter 307 Infected

Jiu Que had been to the Northern Border before, having just returned from there, but she hadn't expected to be heading there again so soon. Thinking of her soldiers, who might already be fighting the steppe people, Jiu Que felt incredibly anxious. Therefore, after bidding farewell to His Majesty, she practically raced towards the Northern Border, spending all her time traveling except for necessary rest.

Therefore, she was able to arrive in the shortest possible time. However, as soon as she arrived at the military camp, she clearly sensed an unusual atmosphere. The entire military camp was like a pot of water about to boil, seemingly calm on the surface, but actually already beginning to bubble.

When she arrived, the northern border had just ended its day's war; everywhere was filled with the cries of despair, and the air was thick with the stench of blood, a sight that made one's heart ache. However, Jiu Que was already used to this. She only felt deep sorrow seeing the soldiers covered in external wounds, some even with limbs severed. Although the soldiers were happy to see her, this fleeting joy seemed unable to dispel the gloomy atmosphere that permeated the military camp. This was completely different from her last visit.

In particular, she was unable to see General Yuchi immediately.

Regardless of their past relationship or her current status, General Yuchi should have met with her. Why would he repeatedly make excuses to avoid her, and why was he nowhere to be seen at the front lines? After yet another evasive response from her personal guards, Jiu Que finally lost her temper. She drew the Emperor's sword bestowed upon her by His Majesty, charged recklessly, and after threatening the guards, finally succeeded in arriving at General Yuchi's residence.

Even at this point, the guards leading the way still tried their best to prevent Jiu Que from entering.

“At this point, I can no longer deceive you, my lord. It is true that our great general has contracted smallpox and is not fit to see anyone at this time. You are of noble birth and high status. What if you also contract the disease? Our Northern Frontier Army cannot be without its commanding general.”

Although the soldier had little understanding of the Nine Gates, it was still much better for Lord Ying to lead the Northern Frontier Army than for the court to send a civil official who was at odds with them.
"Didn't the imperial court introduce a method for smallpox vaccination? Why hasn't the Northern Frontier Army had time to implement it yet?"

At this point, Jiu Que realized that this method had only been introduced for a short time. The Northern Frontier Army was already at the northernmost edge of the Great Jing Dynasty, so it probably hadn't been implemented there yet, or had only just begun. Thinking of this, Jiu Que felt a rare sense of anxiety. However, she quickly rallied and prepared to find the highest-ranking general in the army.

This general was none other than Lin Chongshan. After all, among the high-ranking generals who hadn't been infected with smallpox and still had the ability to fight, she was the one with the highest combat strength.

The guards at the gate tried their best to stop Jiu Que from entering, no matter how she explained that she had been vaccinated against smallpox and would no longer be afraid of it. Helpless, Jiu Que could only shout loudly to General Chunyu inside the tent.

"Uncle Yuchi, don't worry, I brought the latest solution to smallpox this time. That's right, Physician Xie and I found a way to inoculate smallpox. Once you get it, you'll never get smallpox again! Look at my wrist! I just got it before I came. Along the way, I have indeed met quite a few smallpox patients, but I am still healthy and have not gotten sick at all."

Upon hearing Jiu Que's voice, the soldiers around her—whether patrolling, treating patients, or simply passing by—involuntarily focused their attention on her raised wrist, where a recently healed cross-shaped scar was indeed visible. Seeing Lord Ying's confident expression, the soldiers were also somewhat excited. They knew Lord Ying; she was closely connected to their Northern Frontier Army, and had helped them immensely during her last visit. Many families of Northern Frontier Army soldiers were still working in the factory left behind by Ying Jiu Que. Compared to the unfamiliar general sent by the imperial court, everyone trusted her words more, especially since she had shown her smallpox vaccination scar. It was inevitable that they would whisper among themselves.

"Vaccination with cowpox? What's that? Does getting that prevent smallpox? I've never heard of it before."

"There are plenty of things you haven't heard of. Did you know that chicks could hatch without a mother hen incubating their eggs? I think this Lady Ying might be blessed by the gods, otherwise how could she produce such good things? Look, even though we're on the frontier, we've heard of her reputation. Wasn't she the one who produced the salt? Now, we have enough salt in our daily meals, if nothing else. Maybe she really has the ability to come up with a way to prevent smallpox."

"Speaking of this, it seems that everyone in the capital, whether they are officials or not, whether they are ordinary people or not, has been vaccinated against smallpox. Even the emperor's people have been vaccinated, so how can we be more precious?"

In short, everyone has different opinions now, but General Yuchi, who was recuperating in his tent, couldn't help but feel overjoyed when he heard Jiu Que's voice.

He could have led his generals in a counterattack, but that old bastard Sachi not only sent soldiers infected with smallpox to fight, but also splattered large amounts of blood and clothing from smallpox patients on his soldiers, and even threw the corpses of smallpox patients into the water source. He, who had been so powerful for over thirty years, never expected to be infected so easily in one night. Now he was burning up with fever. The more sick he became, the more anxious he became; the more his heart burned, the worse his illness became, creating a vicious cycle. Now he couldn't even get out of bed. Before this, he had worried that His Majesty would send someone he didn't know to assist him, but unexpectedly, it was Jiu Que who came. He could say he was genuinely relieved.

A general in battle is not afraid of a fierce enemy, but he fears a bunch of fools in his own rear. If a coy one comes along and insists on arguing with him about the newly appointed rank, it's not worth the effort to argue with him.

Moreover, they heard that Jiu Que had brought a method to prevent smallpox, and Jiu Que did not come alone. She also brought Xie Mingchen and a large number of trained doctors, as well as doctors recruited from the civilian population. This greatly relieved the pressure on the military doctors.

"Jiu Que, I really can't get up right now. I'm leaving everything in the army to you and Lin Chongshan."

General Yuchi was reluctant to disclose his physical condition to others, so he could only carefully inform them by posting the message on the door.

Jiu Que hadn't expected that his uncle, Yu Chi, had already contracted smallpox. Smallpox was extremely effective for those not yet infected, but less so for those already infected. However, they had brought enough medicine; they were determined to cure his uncle, even if it meant using piles of herbs.

(End of this chapter)