Chapter 118 The "Plague" of Warhorses

Chapter 118 The "Plague" of Warhorses

The cold wind howled, swirling snowflakes that pierced straight into the collar.

Tang Li, accompanied by several guards specially assigned by Pei Yunjing, braved the wind and snow, trudging through the snow to the horse farm behind the camp.

Before even entering, a nauseating, sour stench hit me.

It was the smell of vomit, excrement, and the stench of death.

"Halt! This is restricted area! Unauthorized personnel are not allowed to approach!"

The captain guarding the gate of the horse farm, seeing that it was a woman, immediately brandished his spear to stop her, his face full of displeasure:

"There's a horse plague outbreak inside! Going in is suicide! Get out of here!"

Tang Li ignored his reprimand and directly showed the token that Pei Yunjing had given her.

"Get out of the way."

Her voice was cold, but her eyes were sharper than those of a woman confined to her chambers.

Upon seeing the Regent's token, the captain trembled in fear. Though reluctant, he had no choice but to let them pass, muttering under his breath, "They're really courting death... Don't blame me if they get infected later and no one collects their corpses..."

Tangli stepped into the horse farm.

Although she was mentally prepared, the scene before her still gave her a sudden jolt.

The warhorses, which should have been plump and strong, galloping and neighing, were now lying on the ground.

There were hundreds of warhorses lying haphazardly on the cold, muddy ground.

They foamed at the mouth, their limbs convulsed violently, and their once bright eyes were now bloodshot, cloudy, and filled with pain.

Some horses were still whimpering faintly, while others had already lost all breath, their bodies stiff as iron.

Several army doctors, drenched in sweat, stood huddled together, their faces ashen, at a loss for what to do.

"It's hopeless...it's all hopeless..."

The leading old veterinarian shook his head in despair:

"This is severe horse plague! It's extremely contagious! If it's not treated soon, the remaining thousands of horses will suffer!"

He turned around and yelled at the soldier next to him:

"Quick! Get some kerosene! Burn all these sick horses! Burn them along with their hay! Bury them deep! We absolutely cannot let the plague spread!"

The soldiers' eyes were red and swollen; these were their comrades-in-arms who had risked their lives with them!

But military orders are absolute, and they could only wipe away their tears and raise their torches.

"Wait!"

A sharp shout interrupted this tragic scene.

Tang Li strode forward and pushed aside the soldier holding the torch.

"What are you doing?!" the old veterinarian roared. "Where did you come from, woman? Is this a place where you can cause trouble? If this delays the epidemic prevention efforts and leads to the annihilation of the entire army, you..."

"Shut up."

Tang Li gave him a cold look, and the oppressive look in her eyes made the old veterinarian subconsciously fall silent.

She didn't explain, but turned and walked to a dying black horse.

This is a magnificent black horse; its skeleton alone tells you it is a steed capable of traveling a thousand miles.

But at this moment, it lay on the ground, its mouth full of white foam, its abdomen heaving violently, clearly suffering great pain.

Ignoring the dirt on the ground, Tangli knelt directly in front of the horse's head.

She reached out and gently stroked the black horse's wet nose, then pressed her forehead against its forehead, activating her beast language magnetic field:

Brother, hang in there.

Tang Li's voice echoed in Black Horse's mind, carrying a soothing power:

Tell me, where does it hurt? Did you eat anything wrong?

The dark horse, who was already in a daze, felt this communication from the depths of his soul, and his eyelids trembled slightly.

The next second, a heartfelt voice, filled with pain and confusion, echoed back intermittently:

[It hurts...my stomach...it hurts so much...]

It feels like a knife... cutting into my intestines... a burning pain...

Tang Li's heart stirred.

Cut with a knife? Burn with fire?

These don't seem like symptoms of the plague, they're more like...

"What did you eat?" Tangli asked.

The black horse twitched painfully:

[Damn...the newest guy...]

That grass... has thorns... it's so bitter... and it tastes weird... my tongue is numb...

Don't burn me... I don't want to die... I want to run... I want to go to the battlefield...

Upon hearing the words "I want to go to the battlefield," Tang Li's nose tingled with emotion.

This was a true warhorse, thinking of charging into battle even in death.

"Don't worry, you won't die."

Tang Li released her grip, stood up, and her gaze swept across the hay in the manger like lightning.

Bitter taste. Numbness on the tongue. A cutting sensation in the intestines.

This is not a plague at all!

This is poisoning!

Tangli strode to the manger, ignoring the old veterinarian's attempts to stop her, and grabbed a handful of chopped hay.

She carefully searched through her hands, even bringing them close to her nose to smell them.

Soon, she discovered some small, dark purple leaves mixed in with the withered yellow fodder.

The leaves were cut into very small pieces, so small that they were almost indistinguishable unless you looked closely.

Tangli picked up a few broken leaves and tasted them on the tip of her tongue.

A sharp, numbing sensation instantly spread from the tip of my tongue.

"Pooh!"

Tang Li spat out her saliva, a cold glint flashing in her eyes.

Found it.

This is "heartbreak grass"! It's also known as Gelsemium elegans!

This herb is extremely poisonous. If a person eats it, their intestines will rot and their stomach will be ruined. If a horse eats it, it will cause a severe neurotoxic reaction. The symptoms look very much like the plague, but it is actually acute poisoning!

"Such a vicious mind..."

Tangli gripped the bundle of fodder tightly.

This could not have been an oversight.

Such a large amount of Gelsemium elegans mixed into the army's rations is clearly a deliberate act of poisoning!

They wanted to cripple the Great Sheng's cavalry without losing a single soldier!

"Your Highness! What are you doing? There's plague on that hay!"

The old veterinarian was terrified when he saw her tasting the grass.

Tangli turned around and slammed the handful of fodder in her hand in front of the old veterinarian.

"Open your eyes and look carefully!"

Tang Li's voice was clear and bright, echoing in the lifeless horse farm:

"This isn't a plague! It's poisoning!"

"This is poisonous grass! Someone has poisoned our hay!"