Chapter 126: The Graceful Lady of the Army

Dawn was approaching gradually, and the sea water changed from black to deep blue. A rising sun slowly emerged above the water’s surface, casting countless rays of golden light across the vast expanse of the sea.

On the rippling waters of Qinghai, dozens of large ships were sailing eastward with the wind at their backs. It was September, and the westerly winds made their journey exceptionally smooth.

Another advantage of the soldiers from Jiangdu Camp became evident—many of them knew how to sail, which allowed them to leave Haixi by boat before the Tibetan forces arrived.

Li Qingan stood at the bow of the ship, silently gazing at the sea. The Battle of Hehuang in the eighth year of Tianbao had started a full year earlier than usual; history had changed. Could Ge Shuhan still achieve a narrow victory? In historical battles of Hehuang, ships hadn’t played much of a role, but today, they would help him cross Qinghai successfully.

“Qilang, what are you pondering again?” Li Fei Shouyu walked over slowly with a smile.

“I’m thinking that if we build a strong fleet in Qinghai, we might gain some advantage in this Battle of Hehuang.”

“Qilang’s idea is indeed unexpected. I think it’s feasible. We might as well propose it to General Ge Shuhan. After all, we still have four hundred soldiers from Jiangdu Camp.”

At the mention of the four hundred soldiers from Jiangdu Camp, Li Qingan’s heart tightened. Last night, they had stormed Fusi City and engaged in street battles with the Tibetan forces. Although they eventually wiped out the Tibetan troops and burned their supplies, they paid a heavy price—over 300 casualties, including more than 200 slaves. The scouts suffered about 20 casualties, while the Jiangdu Army lost nearly 100 soldiers. Even Nan Jiyun was injured.

He quickly asked, “How are the wounded soldiers now?”

“That’s why I came to see you. Come with me.”

Li Fei Shouyu led Li Qingan into the ship’s cabin. Almost every ship had wounded soldiers, and several military doctors were constantly moving between the ships to provide care. On Li Qingan’s ship, there were 20 wounded soldiers, all from the Jiangdu Army.

This ship was a grain carrier, a large ship capable of carrying a thousand bushels of grain. It was built by Han slaves from Longyou. The cabin was spacious and dry. Twenty wounded soldiers lay there, with a military doctor busy changing their bandages and cleaning their wounds.

Suddenly, Li Qingan noticed something surprising—two rescued Han female slaves were also helping the doctor. One was Zhao Lu, and the other, he remembered, had the surname Shi. They worked skillfully, bandaging the wounds while soothing the soldiers with gentle words.

A scene appeared in Li Qing’an’s mind: the two of them wearing white coats and nurse hats, soothing the wounded soldiers with sweet smiles and meticulous care to save their lives.
“Nurses!” Li Qing’an slapped his own forehead fiercely. How could he have forgotten? In the age of cold weapons, most soldiers died not on the battlefield but in their beds, either from excessive bleeding or wound infections—the two most deadly causes of death at that time.
If he could improve medical care, how many lives could be saved? And nurses were the key to that.
Most of these unfortunate women were now homeless. Why couldn’t he keep them in the army as assistants to medical officers to save more soldiers’ lives?
A pained groan interrupted Li Qing’an’s thoughts. It was Nan Jiyun. Zhao Lu was bandaging his wound on the abdomen, which had been pierced by a Thangka soldier who pretended to be dead.
Li Qing’an quickly stepped forward and asked in a low voice, “How is he?”
Zhao Lu’s face turned slightly red. “General Nan’s wound is starting to fester. I’ve bandaged it, but it doesn’t seem to help.”
Nan Jiyun was pale with pain. He grabbed Zhao Lu’s hand and gritted his teeth, “Please end my suffering quickly!”
“General Nan, it’s just a small wound. You’ll be fine. You’re still young. You need to fight and earn merits to become a great general of the Tang Dynasty and marry the most beautiful woman. Hold on a little longer; I’ll apply the medicine for you.”
Zhao Lu comforted Nan Jiyun gently, wiping the sweat from his forehead with a cool cloth. She whispered to Li Qing’an, “He’s burning up. I need to cool him down by wiping his body.”
“Wait a moment!”
Li Qing’an gently lifted the bandage from Nan Jiyun’s abdomen. The wound wasn’t large, but it was red and slightly infected. He glanced at the water in the copper basin on the ground—it was already very murky. He immediately shook his head and said, “This won’t do. Follow my instructions: boil all the bandages for fifteen minutes. They’re poisoned, so we need to remove the toxin. From now on, each bandage can only be used once, and it must be kept clean. Also, wash his wound with saltwater to disinfect it before applying medicine.”
Li Qing’an spoke rapidly. Knowing the two women couldn’t handle everything, he assigned two soldiers to boil the bandages.

Haixi is rich in salt, and there was plenty of edible salt from the Tubo army on this ship. After a while, Zhao Lu brought over a basin of clean water—fresh water from the ship, boiled and then cooled. She took out a lump of salt and was about to put it in the water when Li Qingan quickly stopped her, saying, “Don’t use too much salt. Just add two spoons of salt to this basin of water. After it dissolves, use it to clean his wounds, and then give him some lightly salted water to drink.”

Li Qingan taught Zhao Lu some first-aid knowledge from later times. Zhao Lu was very smart and quickly learned to apply what she had learned. She said with a smile, “My uncle once said that if injured, one can also wash the wound with liquor. If there’s really no other option, heating an iron red-hot and using it to burn the wound is also a method.”

Li Qingan laughed. “Liquor can work, but no need for an iron. That would kill them from the pain. The key with wounds is to apply medicine and bandage them promptly—first to stop the bleeding as soon as possible, and second to prevent the wound from being exposed to harmful substances in the air. As long as these two things are done well, their lives can be saved.”

Zhao Lu got to work using the methods taught by Li Qingan. Seeing that she was about to wipe Nan Jiyun’s body, Li Qingan left the cabin.

The wind direction at sea changed to north wind, causing the ship’s sails to tilt at an angle and slowing down its progress. This was a type of cargo ship used for navigation on the inland rivers of the Central Plains, over twenty zhang long with three masts, powered by wind. Since the Tubo people’s shipbuilding industry was underdeveloped, they captured shipbuilders from Longyou to build these cargo ships, mainly for transportation along the coast of Qinghai. Unexpectedly, they were captured by Li Qingan’s Tang army.

Leaning on the ship’s rail, Li Qingan watched the ripples formed on the water’s surface. He thought that if the Tang army could form a fleet for Qinghai, neither Chiling nor Dafeichuan would be obstacles to them anymore.

“Qilang, I didn’t expect these women to be so useful. With them around, many wounded soldiers’ emotions have stabilized.”

Li Fei Shouyu was deeply moved. Shaking his head, he said with a smile, “Before leaving, some people complained that these women were a burden. Now, they’re more important than anyone else.”

Li Qingan smiled slightly. “I think we should keep them in the army as female guards, dedicated to taking care of the wounded. What do you think?”

“Female guards!”

It was a term Li Fei Shouyu had never heard before. After thinking for a while, he said, “I also think it’s good to keep them. I’m just worried the imperial court might not agree.”

“You don’t need to worry about that. They’re all women, and those in the court will only think in one way. Besides, our Anxi Army isn’t as averse to women as the mainland armies. I’ll talk to General Gao and have him see for himself the value of these female guards. General Gao is practical; he’ll agree.”

“I support you. After all, Qilang is already the commander of his own troops and can act independently. No one except General Gao can interfere with you.” At that moment, soft footsteps came from behind them. “General Li, he’s fallen asleep.” Zhao Lu appeared behind them and quietly reported to Li Qing’an, “I wiped his body clean, cleaned his wounds using the method you taught me, and applied bandages. He’s now calm, and his fever has subsided.” Li Qing’an was overjoyed—Nan Jiyun was unharmed, and he had retained another capable general. Li Fei Shouyu quickly said, “I’ll go check on Nan Ba!” He strode toward the cabin. Li Qing’an was filled with gratitude. He took a close look at this capable girl, as if he had just met her. She wasn’t beautiful, her simple robe tightly covering her once-torn 16-year-old body. Her hair was cut short and tied into a bun, with a yellow wild chrysanthemum stuck in it. To take care of the wounded, she had cut off her sleeves, revealing dark, rough arms. Years of living and working on the plateau had darkened her skin, but compared to her dull, lifeless appearance when she was first rescued, her skin now had a healthy glow. Her gaze was serene, filled with longing for a new life. Seeing Li Qing’an staring at her intently, Zhao Lu felt a hint of shyness, lowered her head, and said, “General, I’ll go take care of other wounded soldiers.” “Wait, I have a question for you.” After pondering for a moment, Li Qing’an asked, “Miss Lu, would you like to stay in the army?” Zhao Lu was stunned and stepped back in fright. Realizing she had misunderstood, Li Qing’an quickly explained, “What I mean is, our army needs female doctors who can care for the wounded and save their lives. I’ve found that women have a role that men cannot replace in caring for the wounded. With you here, most of my men can survive. Miss Lu, I want you to stay and become part of Tang Dynasty’s first group of female guards.” “General, you just want us to join the army, right?” Zhao Lu asked cautiously. Li Qing’an nodded with a smile. “Just to join the army. Of course, if you wish, you can also marry the soldier you like in the future.” Zhao Lu’s face turned red as she fiddled with her fingers, lowering her head and saying softly, “Actually, we don’t know what to do in the future either. Our families were destroyed, and we were once taken by the Tubo people…”

She suddenly raised her head, her eyes becoming exceptionally bright. A glow of joy illuminated her beautiful eyes and teeth, and her face shone with a dazzling light. She nodded firmly and said, “General, I’m willing to stay. I think the other sisters also want to stay.”
……
An hour later, Zhao Lu finished her tasks. She found Li Qing’an, gently stroked her hair, and smiled, saying, “General, the other sisters are all helping to take care of the wounded on various ships. I want to tell them all the methods you taught me.”
“Good!”
Li Qing’an immediately ordered a few soldiers, “Pass my command: gather all the women on one ship!”
Flags were raised, and the ships slowly approached each other, with bridges built between them. Zhao Lu and another woman staggered onto one of the larger ships in the middle. Soon, the women from the other ships also came over. Once they were all gathered together, Zhao Lu began to teach them the various first-aid skills that Li Qing’an had taught her. She also told them that Li Qing’an wanted them to stay and become female soldiers to care for the wounded. These homeless women all said that since their lives had been saved by the Tang army, they were willing to stay and become part of it.
Thus, Tang Dynasty’s first military nursing unit was born in Qinghai Lake.