While forcing a smile, Jiang Yuan cautiously asked: “Your Highness, according to what you say, are we truly doomed to lose?”
Li Jiancheng smiled: “If we continue down the ordinary path, we’re certainly doomed to lose. So we must find another way.”
A flash of insight crossed Jiang Yuan’s mind as he probed: “The ‘other way’ Your Highness speaks of—could it be related to those three soldiers?”
“You’re quite clever.” After a pause, Li Jiancheng said: “At this point, I won’t hide it from you. I actually have two bottles of medicine. One I had you put in the Qi River, and the other I had Yuanji smear on those stones and crossbow bolts.”
Jiang Yuan’s face suddenly changed, and he said in shock: “Your Highness means those stones and crossbow bolts were poisoned? Then… wouldn’t the Tang Army be just like what happened at the Qi River before?”
“It’s different.” Li Jiancheng’s body swayed slightly with the carriage’s movement. “The Qi River poison worked from inside out, but this time, it’s from outside in.”
Jiang Yuan was somewhat dizzy from his explanation, saying blankly: “From outside in? What does that mean?”
“The Qi River poison entered through the mouth and tongue into the stomach, then activated inside the body. Initially, it was like ordinary diarrhea—even imperial physicians couldn’t diagnose it. But before long, the toxicity would activate, causing death in a very short time. Am I right?”
Jiang Yuan quickly nodded: “Correct. I saw how those people died, exactly as Your Highness described.” Speaking to this point, he added puzzledly: “But this time…”
Li Jiancheng knew what he wanted to say and said calmly: “This time’s poison is different. It doesn’t need to be ingested—mere contact is sufficient.”
“Contact?” Jiang Yuan looked at Li Jiancheng puzzledly. The latter’s eyes appeared exceptionally deep in the moonlight filtering into the carriage, bottomless. “Do you know about plague?”
Jiang Yuan answered without hesitation: “Naturally I know. It’s a kind of epidemic poison qi, extremely contagious. Once it spreads, it becomes a great calamity. I’ve read in books that during the Han Dynasty’s seventy-plus years, there were seventeen plague outbreaks. Epidemics occurred year after year, leaving people in misery. Even scholar-officials couldn’t escape. So throughout dynasties, what rulers feared most was encountering plague.”
Li Jiancheng smiled slightly: “Correct. If a plague were to spread among the Tang Army now, what do you think would happen?”
“Naturally, military morale would collapse, and they couldn’t continue the siege…” Halfway through his words, Jiang Yuan suddenly stopped, looking at Li Jiancheng with exceptionally terrified eyes. After a long while, he said tremblingly: “Could it be… that what Your Highness smeared on those stones and crossbow bolts was epidemic poison?”
“Epidemic poison is heaven-sent—how could mortals use it?” Hearing this, Jiang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief, but Li Jiancheng’s next words made his hair stand on end.
“Although epidemic poison cannot be used by humans, one can artificially create poison similar to epidemic poison. Those initially infected feel nothing, but after two days, the poison activates. At first, it’s just fever, like catching a cold. Then pustules form all over the body, oozing pus, and finally, the five organs fail, leading to death. Anyone who touches the bodily fluids becomes infected!” Speaking to this point, Li Jiancheng laughed eerily: “All those struck by stones or shot by crossbow bolts were infected with this poison at the moment of death or injury. They’re the first batch of infected. Those responsible for burying or rescuing them become the second batch, then the third batch, fourth batch…”
Jiang Yuan’s entire body trembled uncontrollably, unable to believe such terrifying poison existed in the world. Compared to this, the poison he had put in the Qi River was hardly worth mentioning.
“When the poison fully erupts, if Li Shimin’s army has even half remaining, it would be heaven’s blessing. Then we’ll charge out and achieve great victory. As long as Li Shimin dies or falls into our hands, Chang’an won’t be worth worrying about.”
Jiang Yuan didn’t hear Li Jiancheng’s subsequent words at all. His entire mind was filled with thoughts of that extremely terrifying poison. He knew Li Jiancheng’s character—if he said it, it certainly wouldn’t be false.
“Why aren’t you speaking?” Li Jiancheng’s words startled him back to awareness, and he said frantically: “I… I was thinking, what if this poison spreads into Luoyang and harms Your Highness? What… what would we do?”
Li Jiancheng smiled: “Didn’t I just say? As long as we don’t contact their bodily fluids, we won’t be infected. No need to be so afraid.”
Jiang Yuan forced a smile and probed: “Since Your Highness has such poison, surely… there’s also an antidote?”
Li Jiancheng’s expression turned cold as he said icily: “Originally, Rong’er did say she would create an antidote, but unfortunately, before she could make it, she was killed by Li Shimin. So this poison has no cure!” In fact, an antidote existed, but he wouldn’t and had no need to tell Jiang Yuan.
Hearing the last sentence, Jiang Yuan’s legs went weak. Fortunately, he was sitting; otherwise, he would have made a fool of himself. He wanted to speak, but after opening his mouth several times, he couldn’t produce a single syllable.
Seeing Jiang Yuan in this state, Li Jiancheng patted his shoulder: “Alright, don’t be so afraid. As long as we’re prepared, that poison can’t reach you.”
“But once we leave the city to fight, our soldiers will inevitably touch enemy blood. What should we do then?” Although Jiang Yuan had found his voice, it trembled slightly from excessive fear.
Li Jiancheng stared at him with a half-smile: “What? Afraid I’m sending you to your deaths?”
How could Jiang Yuan dare admit this? He quickly said: “I wouldn’t dare, it’s just…”
“Enough.” Li Jiancheng interrupted: “I admit my methods are sometimes extreme, but think carefully—have I ever harmed our own people? I only deal with those who oppose us.”
“No.” Jiang Yuan spoke truthfully. Li Jiancheng wasn’t a bloodthirsty person. Since taking control of Luoyang City, apart from Wang Zhengfeng and those who refused to surrender or harbored divided loyalties, he hadn’t killed anyone indiscriminately—of course, this didn’t include the innocent civilians who died at the Qi River.
“Exactly. How could I let those loyal to me die needlessly? Although I have no antidote, I have a prescription passed down from Ge Hong of the Jin Dynasty. After taking it, one can prevent epidemic poison.”
Hearing this, Jiang Yuan finally felt somewhat relieved. Regardless of everything else, they were at least safe. As for the Tang Army, though he felt some sympathy… they were originally their enemies, and only one side could survive between them.
At this moment, the question that had been troubling him was finally resolved: “After the great battle ended, Your Highness had the Prince of Qi check those responsible for the stone-throwing machines and crossbow carts to determine whether they had injured their hands while moving stones and loading crossbow bolts, thus contracting the epidemic poison.”
Li Jiancheng sighed lightly: “Those three were also loyal to me, but unfortunately, they contracted the epidemic poison and cannot be kept under any circumstances. However, rest assured, I’ll treat their families well.”
Jiang Yuan nodded helplessly. This was the only way—otherwise, if those three remained alive and the epidemic poison erupted, all of Luoyang would suffer.