"Awake?"
Inside the side room, Pang Tong's voice quickly carried over.
Lu Yu and Hua Tuo woke up almost at the same time. Lu Yu was still rubbing his sleepy eyes, while Hua Tuo had already walked to Pang Tong's side. Zhang Zhongjing had not slept at all.
For a moment, two pairs of eyes, bloodshot with worry, stared intently at Pang Tong's forearm, not blinking.
"How do you feel?"
Hua Tuo asked in a low voice...
"It's a bit painful... but much better than when it was broken before." Pang Tong replied truthfully.
After the anesthetic effect wore off last time, Lu Yu had introduced himself and his companions to Pang Tong.
Therefore... Pang Tong recognized the two people before him. No... counting those who arrived later, there were three in total.
One of them was the renowned Marquis of White Horse—Lu Ziyu!
"Shouldn't we uncover the bandages to take a look?"
Lu Yu reminded him.
Hua Tuo gently waved his hand. He didn't rush to uncover the bandages but asked Pang Tong many more questions. After Pang Tong answered them all, he turned to Lu Yu and said.
"You can uncover the bandages now."
This was the rigor of medicine.
As he spoke, Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing cooperated, carefully peeling off the layers of gauze. Lu Yu was somewhat nervous. If the surgery failed, they would have to perform another amputation immediately, and by then... he didn't know how desperate Pang Tong would be.
Looking at this young man, who was the same age as him, but whose life hung in the balance because of the hot air balloon design he had drawn, Lu Yu was filled with sympathy.
Fortunately...
When the last layer of gauze was removed, Lu Yu finally breathed a long sigh of relief.
There was no sign of necrosis at the joint of his upper and lower arm. Blood circulation was clearly evident. Although it was slightly purple, a clear redness could be seen, indicating... blood was circulating.
As long as blood and qi circulated, the rejoining of the arm was considered complete.
Lu Yu could only grasp the general situation. He asked Hua Tuo.
"Divine Doctor Hua? How is it?"
"This arm has no major problems, and the wound has not suppled. Everything is fine," Hua Tuo explained. "The next step is to rest well. In a few more days, you can start moving the joints of your upper and lower arm."
Hearing these words, Lu Yu finally let out a long breath of relief.
It was not easy...
Not only was the Phoenix Chick healed, but it was also of great benefit to Great Wei in solidifying its hold on Jingzhou. More significantly, it meant a leap forward in medicine for this era.
Hua Tuo would definitely focus on this project from now on.
In the future, it might be possible that even if a soldier's hand or arm was severed on the battlefield, it could be reattached with immediate rescue.
Setting aside the impact on the soldiers' future, this alone would be a tremendous boost to morale.
"Lu... Lu Zi..." Pang Tong's voice was as faint as a thread.
Even so, halfway through his sentence, he seemed to realize he was wrong. How could he address his benefactor by his courtesy name?
Pang Tong quickly corrected himself, "Marquis of White Horse, will my arm... be able to recover completely?"
"It's hard to say," Lu Yu replied. "It depends on luck."
This was the truth. Even with a leap in medical standards and the personal treatment of the divine doctor Hua Tuo, it still depended on luck.
Being able to avoid amputation was already a great fortune.
However...
"Actually, it's not that pessimistic. Under the guidance of Divine Doctor Hua, try to do some rehabilitation exercises. Although it will be difficult and painful, there is still hope for recovery. Of course, don't expect to be able to carry a bag of rice up five flights of stairs like before; that's truly impossible now."
"Ha, ha..."
In the midst of intense pain, Pang Tong laughed, a remarkably cheerful laugh. "Thank you... thank you, Marquis of White Horse. If... if I can recover, I... I Pang Shiyuan will surely repay your kindness with all my might, going through fire and water without hesitation!"
"Alright, you rest well..." Lu Yu gently patted his other arm, then said indifferently, "Aren't people saying that if you have either the Sleeping Dragon or the Phoenix Chick, you can gain the world? The Sleeping Dragon is still with Liu Bei, and I'm still waiting to see the drama of the Phoenix Chick fighting the Sleeping Dragon!"
With that, Lu Yu left with a big smile and walked out of the silkworm room.
In front of the door, Pang family members were already crowded tightly...
Seeing their red-rimmed eyes, Lu Yu could guess that while he slept soundly in the side room, these family members of Pang Tong had guarded outside the door all night.
"Doctor Lu Xian..."
"Let me say it," Lu Yu said concisely. "The surgery was smooth and very successful. There's a high probability that the arm has been saved, but... it still needs observation. I will leave Divine Doctors Hua Tuo and Zhang Zhongjing here for treatment. As for the rest... I have other important matters to attend to and cannot remain in Xinye City."
As soon as these words were spoken...
With a "snap," a young gentleman, about Lu Yu's age, immediately knelt down.
Lu Yu recognized him clearly as Pang Shanmin, the son of Pang Degong. Among the entire Pang clan, his relationship with Pang Tong was the closest...
Of course, Lu Yu knew he had another identity: Zhuge Liang's second brother-in-law.
If history were to follow its original trajectory.
The aristocratic families would employ their usual tactics. The Pang family would diversify their investments, with Pang Tong joining Liu Bei, and Pang Shanmin joining Cao Cao. Pang Shanmin... also served as Huangmen and Libi Lang in Cao Wei.
"Doctor Lu Xian saved my elder brother, which is a grace of rebirth for my brother and for me! I have no way to repay you, except... to kowtow in gratitude!"
Immediately, Pang Shanmin intended to kowtow.
Lu Yu quickly supported him. "Young Master Pang, there is no need for this. However... if you truly wish to express your gratitude, I do have a humble request, and that is to borrow your wife for a while."
Ah... Ah...
Borrow? Wife?
Pang Shanmin's heart skipped a beat. He had heard that Cao Cao was fond of other men's wives, but... Lu Ziyu had never brought another wife into his household. Why... why would he choose his wife?
Pang Shanmin's wife was named Zhuge Ruolan, and she was the person Pang Shanmin cared about the most, even more so than Pang Tong.
Uh...
Because of Pang Shanmin's strange expression, Lu Yu knew he had misunderstood, and he immediately explained.
"Young Master Pang, it's not what you are thinking."
"I have a disciple, the third son of the Zhuge family, named Zhuge Jun. He misses his second sister very much, so I wish to borrow your wife for a moment so that my disciple and his sister can be reunited."
As soon as these words were spoken...
Pang Shanmin let out a long sigh of relief. "This is a matter of sibling affection. Even if the Marquis of White Horse hadn't mentioned it, I would have invited my wife to visit her brother."
...
Here, Zhuge Ruolan met her third brother, Zhuge Jun, and there were naturally many exclamations.
Thinking back to the scenes in Langya Commandery back then, Zhuge Jun was only a few years old then.
A long-lost reunion naturally brought forth a flood of tears.
Over there, Cao Cao accepted the nine prefectures of Jing and Xiang offered by Lady Cai and Liu Cong...
At this moment, he was triumphantly moving through the Liu residence with his old friend Cai Mao, who commanded more than 200,000 troops in Jingzhou.
Of course...
From today onwards, this Liu residence would change hands.
The women inside would remain the same, but the master of the house had completely changed.
"'Degui' (Cai Mao), you and I are finally reunited after a long time, aren't we?" Cao Cao clasped Cai Mao's hand.
Indeed...
Cai Mao and Cao Cao were old acquaintances. Their acquaintance traced back to the second crackdown on eunuchs. At that time, the Yuan family secretly provided assistance. Yuan Shao, at the suggestion of his uncle Yuan Wei, resigned his post as the magistrate of Puyang and returned home to observe mourning, establishing the "Running Friends" alliance to secretly rescue suffering party members.
Cao Cao and Cai Mao were also members of this "Running Friends," totaling twelve people like them.
"My aunt's husband was recommended and promoted by Mengde's grandfather, so my aunt often took me to visit Mengde's family when I was young..."
Cai Mao recalled the past. "Honestly, at first, I didn't quite approve of Mengde, nor did I approve of Yuan Benchu. I thought you were all spoiled brats, often going out with servants and leading dogs, harassing decent women in broad daylight, and even hijacking a bride with a knife. Until that time... during the second crackdown on eunuchs, you took me to a secret room in your house. I saw a strapping man with his upper body bare tied up there. That scene is unforgettable to me."
Old friends meeting naturally required a session of reminiscing.
"Hahaha..." Cao Cao laughed heartily. "Yes, if it weren't for this incident, Degui would probably still misunderstand me and Benchu!"
"Haha..." Cai Mao also laughed. "When I saw that scene then, I was so scared that I ran away, but you stopped me and explained in detail that this was the time of the crackdown on eunuchs, and the eunuchs were persecuting the officials and scholars. Yuan Benchu created the 'Running Friends' to rescue officials and scholars in secret, and Mengde was also a member of the Running Friends. Your behavior of bullying men and women was all a pretense. Your true purpose was to secretly rescue officials and scholars."
Cai Mao paused at this point. "The one you tied up was an official being sought by the eunuchs. Mengde was clever and disguised him as a slave, asking me to take him to my hometown in Jingzhou for protection. At that time, I naively asked Mengde why it had to be me!"
"Hahaha..." Cao Cao's laughter continued, and he also began to recall. "It's because your aunt's husband is Grand Commandant Zhang Wen. Zhang Wen is from Nanyang, and the 'Running Friends' were founded by Benchu and people from Nanyang. Over the years, your aunt's husband introduced you to us, wasn't it all for you to join the 'Running Friends'?"
This is different from the story in the novel where Zhou Yu used the counter-espionage trick to induce Cao Cao to kill Cai Mao and Zhang Yun.
Historically, Cai Mao had strong connections, and he and Cao Cao were childhood friends. Cao Cao even openly told Cai Mao, "I cannot give you soldiers, nor can I give you power, but I can let you have inexhaustible wealth and prosperity!"
In the end, Cai Mao settled on Cai Island.
Historical records describe his house as very magnificent, with all four walls cornered with bluestone, hundreds of maids and concubines, and forty to fifty separate properties, making him a leisurely and carefree rich man.
As for...
The so-called "Running Friends" alliance, besides Cao Cao, Yuan Shao, and Cai Mao.
It also included Huang Zu, Huang Gai, Kuai Yue, Liu Biao, Sun Jian, Yuan Shu, Zhang Wen, and others, totaling twelve people!
These people had briefly formed an alliance to rescue party members, and they had also become sworn brothers.
However... the subsequent story is the much-anticipated one where some of the twelve "brothers" allied with each other, while others attacked each other. As of today... how many of the twelve are still alive?
"Hoo..." Cao Cao seemed to be thinking far ahead, filled with emotion. "Not many of those brothers are still alive!"
"Yes!" Cai Mao also sighed. "Back then, when the eighteen lords attacked Dong, Yuan Benchu told me and Kuai Yue to stand by. He secretly helped Liu Jingsheng take Jingzhou, and even killed Sun Wentai... From then on, when the twelve of us met, we were no longer friends reuniting, but drawing swords against each other!"
At this point, Cai Mao stopped.
Cao Cao also stopped.
"Yuan Benchu is dead, Yuan Gonglu is dead, my aunt's husband is dead. Huang Zu and Sun Jian both died in Jingzhou. Huang Zu's clansmen surrendered to the Sun family of Jiangdong, while I and Kuai Yue defected to Mengde. It feels like the reincarnation of our twelve destinies."
Not only were Cai Mao and Cao Cao old acquaintances, but even Huang Gai and Cao Cao were old acquaintances.
Otherwise, in the historical Battle of Red Cliffs...
Huang Gai's feigned surrender, how could Cao Cao have believed it so easily?
Similarly, because of this relationship between Huang Gai and Cao Cao, even though he made great contributions at Red Cliffs, he was still not heavily relied upon!
"The deceased are gone, and those who are alive can only carry their hopes and continue to move forward."
Cao Cao patted Cai Mao on the shoulder.
At this moment... the two arrived at a courtyard pavilion.
This was Lady Cai's courtyard. As soon as they entered the city, Lady Cai waited in her chambers, already made up and dressed, awaiting Cao Cao's arrival...
Unexpectedly, it was her own brother who led Cao Cao there.
"I will go in first."
"King of Wei..."
"You can still call me Mengde. This reminds me of the good times we twelve had working together," Cao Cao said emotionally.
"Okay... Mengde!" Cai Mao corrected himself, "My sister... is pregnant. Mengde, please be careful..."
"Rest assured," Cao Cao turned around and smiled at Cai Mao. "I will be very careful, because the one in her belly is also my Cao Cao's 'son'! Ah... ha ha... ha ha ha..."
With a hearty laugh, Cao Cao strode into the chamber.
And it was precisely this remark that made Cai Mao, who held 200,000 heavy troops, sincerely loyal to this old friend!
Speaking of which...
In this life...
Cao Cao had many adopted sons, but... such a "buy one get three free" situation was a first for him.
Haha...
Cao Cao walked and laughed.
Well done, Jian Jun Si, well done, Yu Er!
He had actually bought Lady Cai, and as a bonus, got nine prefectures of Jingzhou, plus a young child, and a fetus in the womb!
This deal, in Cao Cao's opinion, seemed quite profitable!
"Hahahaha..."
The devilish laughter was deafening...
Even Lady Cai was drawn by the laughter.
"Why does the King of Wei laugh!"
"You'll know later!"
...
...
On the official road from Xinye City to Jingzhou.
Lu Yu sat in his carriage, his mind racing with thoughts...
If Lady Cai offered the nine prefectures of Jingzhou, Cao Cao's first priority would be to win over the Cai family and the Kuai family.
Of course, this wooing would not be limited to words. Perhaps Cao Cao's actions would make this wooing smoother.
Then...
For Lu Yu, the first priority was to win over the Pang family, led by the "Phoenix Chick." The second priority...
Suddenly.
Lu Yu thought of a name... a name historically underestimated.
If in the Shu Han camp in history, Zhao Zilong was the ever-victorious general, then in the Wei camp, there was also an ever-victorious general, and he was Great Wei's most scarce ever-victorious general in naval warfare!
As an urgent matter, Lu Yu must go and win him over...
Speaking of naval warfare, a Gan Ning would be equivalent to a Xiahou Dun, while this brother of mine would be at least equivalent to fifteen Xiahou Duns!
Of course...
Lu Yu would also remember his domineering lines in a certain Three Kingdoms card game.
"If you dare to attack again, I will still make you return without success!"
"Even with a hundred thousand troops, I will make you have no path forward!"
...
...