Chapter 651: First Aid

Chapter 651: Chapter 651: First Aid

This was Shen Hao’s first time making decisions within the military, even if it was only regarding camp affairs.

However, fortunately, he had followed Chen Zifang along the way and witnessed the internal rectification of several supply stations and military camps, so Shen Hao already had an idea for most problems, while for a few unexpected situations, he would respond according to his own understanding.

Shen Hao even specifically sought out Array Masters to construct several simple, rough Five Elements Fire Attribute magic discs, using general spirit stones as the energy source to boil water, directly solving the problem of insufficient firewood in the camp. Compared to the crude arrays that could only heat things, a single-standard general spirit stone could provide energy for a long time, making the efficiency hardly wasteful.

Actually, there was plenty of bamboo in the not-so-distant Ten Thousand Miles Bamboo Sea that could be burned, but the soldiers didn’t dare to chop it down.

Once Shen Hao had the first example of an array application, it was as if he had opened a new world. He couldn’t help but think of incorporating arrays or magic discs into anything that didn’t require precise manipulation.

Many of these things were once everyday items for Shen Hao, but here in this world they became unusual innovations. Fortunately, the army had plenty of general spirit stones, and the consumption of rough arrays was indeed low. Otherwise, even as Chief of Miscellaneous Affairs, Pan Shigui wouldn’t have let him do as he pleased.

He installed a small flushing array in the latrines, and then set an odor-blocking lid over the cesspool. The bottom of the cesspool was paved with stone to reduce the risk of sewage seepage as much as possible.

Besides that, he asked Wu Kai for a hundred ordinary soldiers without cultivation for unified basic first aid training. Shen Hao would teach some, and the physicians in the camp would teach more. They weren’t expected to cure injuries or diseases, just to provide reasonable emergency treatment for the critically wounded before the physicians could arrive.

Shen Hao didn’t bother inventing another name; he simply classified those soldiers receiving the emergency training as: the First Aid Team.

This was an idea Shen Hao first had after participating in that great battle at the Upper Military Camp of Jianchuan. One can never understand the cruelty of the battlefield for the wounded without having witnessed carnage firsthand. Sometimes, Shen Hao thought that perhaps the reason some mortally wounded chose to take their enemies with them was because they knew they themselves could not be saved and so made such a desperate choice?

What’s more, some could have been saved but died because the rescue was delayed—among the casualties Shen Hao had seen with his own eyes, at least half died this way.

This was because most battlefield wounds were open, and aside from immediate death from fatal injuries, more died of blood loss. Excessive blood loss could be prevented in advance—timely hemostasis would do. These methods could be learned fairly easily.

Of course, the physicians also had some simple and practical methods that they could teach the first aid team; some even taught them hands-on. As the physicians said: these are all basic methods. Once the men learn, they can save lives, so we aren’t left helpless, forced to watch people die when we’re overwhelmed.

This series of actions naturally didn’t escape the notice of Commander-in-Chief Pan Shigui. Right from the start, when Wu Kai detached a hundred of his men to Shen Hao’s direction, it was actually with Pan Shigui’s approval; otherwise, Wu Kai would never have dared transfer his men to let Shen Hao experiment at will.

Others might not know, but Pan Shigui knew quite a bit about Lord Shen. Some of it he’d heard before returning to service, some from various official military bulletins, and more from conversations with Marshal Zuo before setting out. He knew that this was the rising star of the Xuanqing Guard in recent years, a man of ability and means, and also a rare late-bloomer genius in cultivation.

So Pan Shigui was curious what Shen Hao wanted the manpower for, but what he got was an entirely unprecedented "First Aid Team."

This concept was, in fact, not entirely new. The supply battalion had similar personnel assisting physicians in treating the wounded during wartime. But this was the first time there were dedicated personnel, acting independently or in groups of three, whose main duty was emergency rescue: pulling frontline casualties to safety and administering critical first aid.

Pan Shigui was a veteran, and capable. He had a solid reputation in the Jingjiu Dynasty’s military, with a sharp eye. A brief moment’s thought was enough for him to see how crucial such a first aid team could be to the military.

So when Shen Hao completed five days of training for the first one hundred first aid team members, Pan Shigui came himself, saying he wanted to see if there were any results.

How to observe the results? This didn’t stump Shen Hao. If attack and defense battle arrays could be drilled, then so could first aid.

So after Shen Hao organized a "first aid exercise," not only did Pan Shigui’s eyes light up, even the other officers who crowded in to watch were lost in thought. The previously indifferent Wu Kai now watched with burning eyes, secretly thinking himself lucky—after all, all one hundred men were his own subordinates.

"These hundred men can save a thousand in wartime." After witnessing the first aid drill, Pan Shigui gave this evaluation. He then said, "Lord Shen, would you continue training more such first aid teams for my sub-army?"

Shen Hao did not refuse, cupping his hands and saying, "General, rest assured. The first aid team only needs to learn a few basic battlefield treatment methods. Their top priority is to stabilize the wounded—physicians will follow up for further treatment. So it’s actually quite simple to train a first aid team.

Now that we have a hundred, we just need each to lead one new recruit. Before long, we’ll have many times more first aiders.

If we combine the first aid teams and physicians into units by battalion, in my humble opinion, their effect on battlefield treatment will be even greater."

In Shen Hao’s view, medicine and first aid should be unified and managed together, so that the critically wounded can be rescued as efficiently as possible.

"Oh? Lord Shen already has a mature plan?"

"Sir, you flatter me. I wouldn’t call it a plan—just some immature ideas. Whether they can be adopted will depend on how they work in practice, after all..."

Pan Shigui waved his hand and interrupted: "When it’s about saving lives, there’s no need to make it so complicated! There are tens of thousands of fine young men in Shimen Military Camp—surely that’s enough for you to pick and train? Train and refine as you go, and you’ll have your method in no time!"

He wasn’t about to let a good thing slip away. Not knowing how long Shen Hao could be retained at his post, Pan Shigui figured the more he could get out of him, the better—the sooner his brothers got a taste of this boon, the better their chances of survival.

With the commander-in-chief pushing things this far, Shen Hao naturally had no reason to refuse. Besides, it was no trouble for him and would earn him another merit.

By the time Shen Hao had straightened out camp affairs in both the large and small camps of Shimen, and trained more than eight hundred first aiders, the main force from Jianchuan Upper Military Camp finally advanced forward. They passed directly over Shimen, building a new camp eighty li northeast of Shimen.