Great Shang's Western Expedition had been plagued by setbacks from the moment it began.
First, Dou Rong, who had been stubbornly defending Sishui Pass, could no longer bear remaining on the back foot. He seized the initiative, sacrificing the lives of the pass's officers and soldiers to burn more than half of Nangong Shi's Army in a single blaze.
Fortunately, that merely sounded tragic. Viewed properly, Dou Rong's fire had created a crucial opening for the Western Expedition and firmly bogged down Nangong Shi's Army. Even judged solely by the losses on both sides, it had been well worth the cost.
But once Lu Xiong took command of the Western Expedition Army, trouble came thick and fast. Attacking the ruined Sishui Pass, which had neither supplies nor defensive equipment, he had not only failed to capture it but suffered a crushing defeat with heavy casualties. It was an ill-starred start, a cudgel blow straight to the head.
Thus, the generals took Zi Shou's sudden collapse and spitting of "blood" as a fit of rage striking his heart, and hurriedly summoned physicians.
During the Shang-Zhou period, armies had no physicians. The same held true even in the world of Investiture of the Gods. After all, immortals could handle such things with a wave of the hand; saving eight hundred thousand or a million soldiers posed no problem.
However, the earlier battle against the Zhou Army led by Lei Zhenzi had left many wounded in the ranks. Zi Shou had specially requisitioned houses from wealthy households nearby, brought in physicians, and made a few alterations to turn them into a Field Hospital.
There was actually no need to requisition houses. Putting the wounded in temporary barracks would have worked just as well. But humanity came first, didn't it? Treating injuries called for