Chapter 26: Power is Enough

  "Principal Cheng, you should find an opportunity to tell that female teacher the truth about her grandmother's condition." Just after cutting the ribbon, Zhang Yu rushed to the First People's Hospital of Nanning. The grandmother of the changing face goddess was sent here for treatment, but with this kind of case which is almost developing into the worst condition, even a common cold could easily develop into pneumonia under the medical level of the early 20th century. Cerebral thrombosis is indeed a disease that requires preparation for the worst, which means paralysis.

  "Commander, I'm afraid we can't say that."

  "Director Cheng, what do you mean? The patient's family has the right to know about their relative's condition." Zhang Yu looked at the director who was wearing a white angel uniform and had an awkward expression, and understood what was going on. "I have absolutely no relationship with that woman, don't get any wrong ideas. Hurry up and do what you need to do to treat the patient and notify the family, just go ahead."

  For patients brought by the special car of the highest authority in the autonomous region government, it's not that Director Cheng is overly suspicious, but people who can use such a car as an ambulance must have an unusual relationship with the owner. So Director Cheng also has good intentions. The real relatives of Zhang Yu in the ward would probably be very careful with their tone and words when speaking to the girl. Of course, Zhang Yu's words completely dispelled his concerns, and he smiled awkwardly at Zhang Yu before leaving with the medical record.

  "You are a family member of the patient, so I'll be straightforward. Unlike Zhang Yu, who beats around the bush before getting to the point, Dean Cheng immediately began speaking after having a nurse escort the female teacher to his office.

  To put it simply, cerebral thrombosis is a common disease among the elderly. It's not scary for patients to contract this disease because it's an extremely common condition among seniors. The blood in our bodies constantly flows through blood vessels, transporting various substances whether they're beneficial or not. As people age, their blood flow slows down, causing some substances to settle and accumulate more easily, leading to poor blood circulation and ultimately resulting in the formation of cerebral thrombosis."

  "So you're saying my grandmother won't be paralyzed like some people said?"

  "I'm very sorry, your grandmother's illness is a chronic one, meaning she has been suffering from it for a long time. Due to cerebral thrombosis, she often experiences dizziness, tinnitus, somnolence, and syncope, but the patient may not have taken them seriously, so it has developed into...". Director Cheng stopped there and handed over the diagnosis book.

  "Will this disease inevitably lead to paralysis? Is there no effective treatment?" Anyone with feelings and a sense of responsibility would ask such questions for their loved ones, regardless of the era.

  "I'm extremely sorry, as you know, the autonomous region government has not been established for long, and our health department's directly affiliated hospitals have appeared even less often. It wasn't until last month that a first-class hospital was completed in every city. Our medical level is indeed limited. The reason we can diagnose the patient's condition is not because our technology is good, but because the patient's symptoms are already very obvious and don't require any examination to see the situation. Cerebral thrombosis requires early detection and treatment. We can only do some simple treatments now, such as improving cerebral circulation and preventing further cerebral edema. If you're willing, we can use some new drugs that have not yet completed clinical trials, but all of this carries risks, please consider carefully!"

  Dean Cheng did not hide a single detail, telling the female teacher everything he could share, including some things that were not supposed to be shared. As for all 15 municipal hospitals in the autonomous region, almost all of them are at this level, and some may have even lower medical standards because they were just established recently. Even so, the medical standards of these hospitals are among the best in the world. After all, many medicines needed on European battlefields are exported from the autonomous region. Of course, penicillin and other drugs like those mentioned by Dean Cheng are still in the tense clinical trial stage.

  "Isn't traditional Chinese medicine always our usual way of treating illnesses in China? Can I use traditional Chinese medicine to treat my grandmother?"

  Dean Cheng did not respond directly, but simply shook his head slightly as the most direct response. Traditional Chinese medicine has always been focused on treating diseases, with a long treatment period. However, for this particular disease, medical institutions have not yet started relevant research, so how can there be relevant treatment methods? Even if Dean Cheng just mentioned using Western medicine to treat it, in fact, it's still not about using some antihypertensive drugs or vasodilators, nicotinic acid, sodium salicylate, glucose, etc. Of course, taking certain acupuncture treatments is also possible.

  For a patient who has been showing intermittent hemiplegic symptoms, faster blood pressure reduction and vascular dredging are extremely necessary. However, all of this was dangerous given the medical level of the early 20th century. Even with substantial "special funding" from Zhang Yu, the medical institutions in Guangxi lacked high-tech talent, especially medical talent. The medical system spent a lot of time researching every piece of data, even if the data was very complete, and even if it clearly described the cause of the disease, symptoms, treatment drugs and methods, and post-care, etc. The information on those drugs was so detailed that you could see the molecular structure, but the level of experimental equipment was poor, and some synthetic drugs were impossible to quickly put into use.

  "If possible, you can use some new medicine!" After finishing speaking, the female teacher signed her name on a note handed over by Principal Cheng.

  "Don't worry, we will do our best to help the patient." Dean Cheng said with satisfaction after taking over the signed authorization and medical records. "You can choose to stay and continue to take care of the patient, but we also have professional nurses here to take care of the patient. You can return to your own work position and work with peace of mind. If the patient shows any signs of deterioration or improvement, we will notify you as soon as possible."

  "I'll stay, grandma raised me with difficulty, if I really become paralyzed, I will continue to take care of her." The female teacher stood up and shook hands with the dean, saying that it was a great honor for the dean to come out in person. However, this also gave her a question. "By the way, Dean Cheng, do you know who sent me and my grandma here? I saw their license plate number seems to be from Liuzhou, they should not be low-ranking officials!"

  "What's going on, don't you two really know each other? Don't you know who diagnosed your grandmother?" Dean Cheng said after finishing, and took a look at some information in the medical record. "You are a language teacher at No. 2 Primary School, he is the Commander-in-Chief of the People's Army, it's normal not to know each other. However, next time if someone in your family gets sick, just call emergency or hire a car to come over, don't make such a fuss." Dean Cheng swallowed the last sentence that should have reminded them of their identity and influence, thinking that if this commotion brought Zhang Yu an unusual romance, it would be worth his effort.

  "Is he the commander-in-chief? I was wondering why the diagnosis was made, and now he's not even here. If Dean Cheng has a chance to see him, please thank him again on my behalf! Also, thank you Dean Cheng, I'm going to go through the hospitalization procedures, goodbye!"

  "See you again!" Dean Cheng said lightly, with a murmur in his heart. "If this girl really becomes someone's wife, then the world will be lively."

  A storm soon subsided, but for some people it wouldn't be that simple. After attending the cutting ceremony and arranging to meet the patient, Zhang Yu and his party quickly returned to Liuzhou. As soon as they got off the car, Zhang Yu received the report and found Zhang Yusheng after studying it carefully.

  "This month, there were 12 accidents of various types on the Nanning-Qinzhou highway, which means that almost every two days, a car broke down or had an accident. However, these accidents were relatively minor. The most serious one was a collision with a protective concrete barrier due to brake failure, and the strong impact almost deformed the entire driver's compartment. Fortunately, the empty vehicle did not crash out, and the driver only suffered some scratches. However, tire blowouts accounted for the majority of the accidents. The reason is that the vehicles were overloaded, and the owners had not replaced the worn-out or expired tires. In fact, our tires as well as the entire vehicle manufacturing process are not problematic."

  "We're still reviewing the traffic law, aren't we? Without legal constraints and relevant safety awareness, overloading is consistent with people's eagerness to make money. Look at this report, the British are even better at using our vehicles, increasing the load-bearing beam, installing more powerful engines, raising the carriage, etc. A vehicle that can only carry 12 tons can be loaded with over 20 tons, and the scrapped parts are numerous. The European branch of the Asian American Group has already sent a telegram to the US headquarters and us, asking for more core components in the next batch of transport vehicles. They have not only regular spare parts but also a large inventory, and important ones are no longer stocked."

  After finishing, Zhang Yusheng handed the telegram to Zhang Yu. "Is there any report related to World War I? I heard that the Germans have started using poison gas shells to launch a counterattack on the battlefield, and the situation between the two sides should be quite intense. Our commercial intelligence network is now completely necessary to transform into military and civilian dual-use intelligence network, and it is extremely necessary to obtain valuable battlefield intelligence materials!"

  He didn't answer, but smiled and turned to pour two glasses of water. After handing one to Zhang Yu, he held up the crystal clear glass of mineral water and said: "The situation in the world right now is just like this water. Although it comes from a natural spring, it's refreshing and very healthy. Especially when you look at it, it seems completely pure, but absolute purity doesn't exist. China is like this cup of water - at first glance, it looks calm and peaceful without a ripple, but as soon as the person holding it shakes it slightly, the water inside will quickly become turbulent. We're just a small part of this cup of water, we can see the outside world through the glass, but we really can't control our own destiny."

  What Zhang Yuansheng said was referring to the so-called central government. The proposal of the 21 terms at that time made a nation feel ashamed, but Yuan Shikai really dared to agree for his own emperor dream. Although there were countless deaths and injuries on the European battlefield, China's domestic scene was also bustling with activity. The movement to boycott Japanese goods swept across major coastal cities in China like a tidal wave. However, these people's efforts could not make those who held cups feel satisfied. On May 9, 1915, Yuan Shikai very docilely agreed to Japan's "21 terms". At the same time, there was a fierce counterattack by Germany against Britain on the European battlefield. It can't be said that there were millions of corpses, but the phrase "rivers of blood" really won't be exaggerated anymore. Of course, if the total number of deaths and injuries on both sides is added up, it can also be described as "millions of corpses", because their total deaths and injuries far exceeded tens of millions.

  It wasn't the soldiers who died in the artillery bombardment and gas attacks that were the main problem, but rather the sudden appearance on the battlefield of large numbers of new-style weapons that didn't originally belong to this battlefield. The versatile machine gun, which could fire more happily than a heavy machine gun, had already been used more effectively than the cumbersome heavy machine gun. Soldiers could carry it with them as they advanced with the main force, and as soon as there was a situation, the primary and secondary shooters could quickly lie down and open fire. This was very advantageous for the attacking side, as accurate burst firing and sustained effective continuous firing could inflict heavy casualties on the defending side.

  However, when the attacking side uses fragmentation grenades, mortars, new-type grenade launchers, cannons and other weapons, the defending side is not helpless either. 12.7mm heavy machine guns can almost penetrate any simple shelter, and many people who think their heads are hidden behind sandbags will also be penetrated by powerful bullets, and may even die more miserably and quickly due to the irregular movement of the bullet after penetrating the simple sandbag. The 7.62mm general-purpose machine gun and the new 12.7mm heavy machine gun, combined with a large number of hand grenades, soon became the infantry's reliable defensive configuration. For densely packed attacking formations, it is common for one grenade to kill or indirectly kill a dozen people, and machine gun bullets can penetrate three people, while the last person's waist being blown empty is not considered a miracle.

  When hand grenades were flying around like hail, when bullets of various calibers were flying back and forth, when shells of various calibers were crossing the sky, when landmines were rumbling one after another, on a battlefield stretching for hundreds of kilometers, many people would die on the same day, month and year at the same time. The wounded would slowly die because they fell among the corpses scattered all over the ground, soaked in blood and mud made up of severed limbs. Fear and pain would soon drive a person mad if he dared to move slightly, and what came flying would be bullets or shells. Yet, it was precisely because of his slight movement that many wounded soldiers around him might also be sent to see God by shells from mortars or howitzers.

  Hatred filled the eyes of some soldiers who preferred to pick out those struggling wounded, machine guns were cooling down, raindrops falling on the barrel emitting bursts of white smoke. At this time, old soldiers would take rookies to practice shooting, Mauser or Lee-Enfield were excellent rifles, but various machine guns and rapid-fire artillery were used extensively, it seemed that these rifles were no longer needed on the battlefield. However, soldiers would soon use their shooting speed to tell machine gunners that rifles could not only kill enemy machine gunners in intense battles, but also shoot some overly active people, and now they could also be used to finish off wounded enemies.

  The battlefield is filled with immense hatred and resentment, always accompanied by the smell of gunpowder everywhere. However, it's not just the wind and rain that can blow away the thick bloody smell and wails on the battlefield. The rain will only make more blood from the dead flow with the water, spreading throughout the entire combat area. The reddish hue will soon be diluted by the mud, slowly drying up until it becomes black mud. Flies and mosquitoes love such scenes and are busy, occasionally some stray dogs that are too bold even like to forage here, but they quickly become one of the corpses. However, the sound of gunfire from one side killing the corpse-eating dog will soon make the people on the other side nervous, and the sound of artillery fire will soon rumble again, and some people will either die completely or leave in disarray.

  The mournful battlefield will soon be cleared, the quiet battlefield is as calm as a wheat field, of course many battlefields were once wheat fields, but now they have long since turned into black soil. The land that grows out of it is not wheat, but souls. One by one, the vengeful spirits of war are like the arms of a ripper, cruelly waving, they always make the soldiers on both sides accumulate more and deeper hatred. As long as he has the opportunity, he guarantees that he will rush into the opponent's trenches and tear the enemies to pieces with his own hands. However, those who can run over are lying in between, after becoming spirits, they may have already run through the death zone, but they can no longer tear their opponents apart, because they have long since gone far away.

  The poisonous gas bomb, this evil thing, quickly began to appear on the scene. After the shelling, it was no longer like before, with shell fragments flying everywhere and flesh and blood scattered all over the place. Instead, various colored gases spread rapidly in all directions. However, this weapon could only be used once. The first time, perhaps many soldiers would cough uncontrollably, tearing at their own bodies as if their hearts were being ripped out, scratching their skin and cheeks until they bled, clutching their throats and making desperate noises, with bulging eyes and kicking legs becoming their standard movements, until they strangled themselves or scratched their bodies to death, rotting away like corpses that had been dead for months. The second time was no good, gas masks and protective clothing became standard equipment, the attacking side thought the enemy had long since turned into a bunch of rotten corpses, but what greeted them was still a hail of bullets and shells, their ending was different from that of their brothers before, only in that they wore gas masks, perhaps those who were not hit in the head by bullets might have an easier time identifying themselves one day, but the same was true for all of them - they would all sleep forever on the battlefield.

  The wickedness of the battlefield will not have a great impact on their respective home fronts. Each government is vigorously promoting its own achievements, boasting of its glorious deeds that laugh at the world, but without carefully looking at the workers in the factories, women are gradually replacing men, more and more men are leaving the new recruit training camps to rush to the battlefield but never return like a yellow crane, women can no longer meet the increasingly growing material needs, so the elderly and children start working, the rumbling machine sounds fill the entire factory, children skillfully count the deadly shells, loading each shell or cartridge with shiny bullets, women skillfully operate various machine tools to manufacture guns and ammunition, newly produced cannons, ammunition, and firearms will soon be taken away by large trucks from who-knows-where and disappear in the factory area, production continues.

  The warships are no longer docked in the port, but ships from China, the United States, Japan and other places have filled up every port. The large yellow cranes with a US flag are transporting goods from all over the world, including trucks loaded with parts and standard containers mainly from southwestern China. The high-flying five-star red flag makes many people think they are on the winning side of this war, as each box contains brand new machine guns and accessories, cannons and ammunition, engines and lubricating oil, etc.

  On the highway, it's all trucks with extra wheels, convoys are often escorted by the military, five-ton vehicles have long been plagued by various diseases of the military and have been eliminated, so now on the transportation line are three-bridge twelve-ton heavy trucks, after being modified, they are all used to transport materials, twenty-five or six tons is absolutely no problem at all, and often can even tow a field artillery piece regardless of caliber, so logistics personnel responsible for transportation are mostly lucky, they won't be like soldiers in another time and space who need to transport materials to the front line under the scorching sun, and even if it rains and the road is muddy, maintenance points on the transportation line will quickly dispatch engineering vehicles to repair the highway, rumbling bulldozers and excavators will quickly fill every shell hole caused by heavy artillery, and rollers will quickly restore the road to flatness.

  Of course, they didn't think that what they got also brought evil to the battlefield. The enhanced ability of logistical supply did not bring an end to the war, but instead made it even more frantic. Bullets, shells, food, and medicine were all abundant, so who would still be afraid of each other? Because everyone had wealth and industrial foundation, so it was just a matter of who could hold out first.

  Asia, far away from Europe, is often in a state of confusion. Japan, an ambitious country, cannot find a place to vent its excess energy and can only target Germany's interests in Asia, but ultimately it is aimed at China. Yuan Shikai, who wants to restore feudal rule and has the ambition to ascend to the throne, is Japan's best breakthrough point, but for the Chinese people, he is not a good object because the wind of democratic republicanism has long blown across the country, no one wants to return to the past days of slavery, and no one is willing to accept Japan's Twenty-One Demands to destroy China.

  The contradictions were being compressed, like layer upon layer of gunpowder slowly accumulating in an iron barrel. The more Yuan Shikai was conciliatory towards Japan and the hotter his relations with Chinese consuls in various countries, the higher he blew up his imperialist winds, only to make the gunpowder in the barrel pile up more and more, compressing it tighter and tighter.

  If one day Mars is on fire, accidentally igniting the gunpowder, the large iron bucket filled with gunpowder will shock the entire China, and its destructive power is absolutely astonishing.

  PS: Mid-Autumn Festival, I wish everyone a happy holiday and a reunion. Adding another chapter to the festive season, wishing everyone blessings.

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