Chapter 85 — The Medicine Bearer Through the Chaos

Battle Drums In Front Of The Imperial City

In just one day, the entire capital city of Yen Phung transformed from daily life to a state of full-scale war preparation. The sound of war drums rang out from the guard towers every hour. The troops stationed around the surrounding area were ordered to rush back to reinforce the city walls, while people from the suburbs rushed in, carrying their meager possessions packed on old carts.

Ve Khai Trach was officially appointed by the Holy Emperor as one of the three generals commanding the defense of the capital, in charge of the West gate line - the direction expected to suffer the first attack from the Northern enemy army based on reconnaissance reports. Thanh Phong, although the wound in his side had not yet completely healed, firmly asked to be assigned an army under his father's command.

"You're still not healthy enough to lead an army, Thanh Phong." Ve Khai Trach said, his eyes were both stern and unable to hide the worry of a father. "I don't want to lose you again, even at the slightest possibility."

"Father, if the capital falls, none of us will have anything to regret." Thanh Phong replied, his voice resolute. "I have faced death at Go Say, and I understand clearly that the scariest thing than death is watching others sacrifice when you yourself have the strength to contribute and choose to stand aside."

Finally, Ve Khai Trach gave in, assigning Thanh Phong to command a smaller army, stationed in a second defensive position, which was less dangerous than the first line but still required solid command. Tinh Yen, when hearing the news, did not object, just quietly prepared an extra bag of special medicine, giving him detailed instructions on the signs to pay attention to if an old wound was at risk of recurring in the middle of battle.

"I know I can't stop you from going to war." She said, her hand squeezing his hand tightly before parting so they could each return to their positions. "But I need you to promise, if you feel your body is not okay, immediately retreat, don't try to force yourself for the sake of dignity."

"I promise." Thanh Phong replied, gently squeezing her hand in response, his eyes filled with respect. "And you too, please keep yourself safe, even though I know that's the hardest thing I can ask of a physician who always puts his patients before himself."

Meanwhile, at Thai Y Vien, Tinh Yen and Kinh Ba Van worked tirelessly to reorganize the entire treatment network of the capital. They divided the city into several areas, each with a field ambulance station set up near the city gates and places expected to receive the most casualties, and mobilized all medical staff, including those still in the probationary period, to participate in preparations.

"Your experience in Nghinh Phong will be extremely valuable at this time." Kinh Ba Van said, as the two stood in front of a large map of the capital, marking each ambulance station location with red ink dots. "I have never organized a medical defense for a real siege, but you have been through it, and know exactly the mistakes to avoid."

Tinh Yen nodded, recounting in detail the painful lessons she learned in Nghinh Phong — the importance of triaging wounded soldiers from the beginning, the risk of disease outbreaks when refugees are crowded into a small area, the necessity of storing clean water completely separate from regular domestic water sources.

"If the city is besieged for a long time, disease will be as dangerous an enemy as the enemy's sword." She spoke, her voice serious, memories of the July epidemic and the epidemic between the military camp where Lieu Nguyen died rushing back to her mind. "We need to prepare for that possibility now, we can't wait until it actually happens."

Nhuoc Lan and Ngan Ba Thuyen were also assigned important roles — Nhuoc Lan was in charge of the ambulance station area near the West Gate, which was closest to the positions of Ve Khai Trach and Thanh Phong, while Ngan Ba Thuyen, with the long experience of a veteran Royal Physician, was in charge of intensive training for young medics who had never experienced real combat.

Three days passed in a hasty pace of preparation, and at dawn on the fourth day, the horns and alarms rang out from the sentries - the vanguard of Bac Dich appeared on the northwest horizon, black flags embroidered with wolf heads fluttering in the morning wind, the cavalry formation stretched so far that the end could not be seen.

Tinh Yen stood on the citadel wall for a moment, allowed to observe before the battle officially began, looking down at the sea of approaching enemies, a strange feeling of fear and determination arose in her heart. She found Thanh Phong's figure in the second defensive position, neatly armored, ordering the soldiers under his command to enter fighting positions.

"The first attack is about to begin." Kinh Ba Van said, standing next to her, his voice was heavy. "Are all the aid stations ready?"

"Ready, Lord Chancellor." Tinh Yen replied, turned around and left the city wall to return to his position. "Now we just have to wait and see whether we are prepared well enough or not."

The sound of battle drums rang out from the North Dich army, a deep, steady sound, like the heartbeat of a giant monster approaching. Immediately afterwards, the first fiery arrows soared into the pink sky of dawn, marking the official beginning of the battle that the entire capital had been preparing for all these days — a battle that none of them knew for sure if they would live to see the end of.

The first attack on the city took place fiercely from the first moments, with rattan ladders and destroyers rushing close to the city wall under a dense rain of arrows. Tinh Yen, at the central ambulance station, began receiving the first casualties less than a moment after the war drums sounded, and in that moment, she knew clearly that the coming days would be even harsher than anything she had ever experienced before.

The first wounded person to be carried was a young soldier, the arrow was still deeply embedded in his thigh, his face was white from blood loss and panic. Tinh Yen quickly signaled the two medical assistants to hold the patient's leg tightly, personally pulled out the arrow with a decisive movement that had been practiced countless times, then immediately pressed the wound with a clean cloth while constantly reassuring the soldier who was groaning in pain.

"Hold your breath, don't let yourself panic, fear will make the blood flow faster." She spoke, her voice both stern and warm, a skill she had learned during her days on the front line in Nghinh Phong - knowing how to reassure a person standing on the line between life and death with just her voice.

In just the first half hour, the number of wounded soldiers brought to the central ambulance station had reached nearly thirty people, forcing Tinh Yen to quickly apply the correct classification system she had built in Nghinh Phong - marked with different colored pieces of cloth tied around the patient's wrist, helping the young doctors not to be overwhelmed by the overwhelming number of casualties but still clearly know who needed priority for treatment first.

In the midst of that chaos, a message from the West Gate line made Tinh Yen's heart skip a beat - Ve Khai Trach's army was under the heaviest pressure, the enemy's breaching vehicles were approaching right under the wall, and there were rumors that a few second defensive positions, where Thanh Phong was commanding, were also beginning to record their first casualties. She put aside her own worries, focusing all her thoughts on her hands that were quickly handling one medical case after another, telling herself that the best way to help him right now was to ensure that each soldier brought here had the best possible chance of survival.

As the sunset dyed the western sky red, the first wave of Northern Dich army's attack finally retreated, leaving the city wall strewn with corpses and piles of broken rattan ladders in front of the city wall. On the citadel walls, tired cheers rang out mixed with cries for the fallen, while at the first aid stations throughout the capital, the medical team still did not have a moment of rest, continuing to work under the flickering torchlight until late at night.

Near midnight, when the last number of wounded soldiers had been stabilized, Thanh Phong himself stopped by the central ambulance station. A small cut on his temple had been temporarily bandaged, but his posture was still steady. Tinh Yen immediately dropped the tools in her hand and ran to check his wound, feeling so relieved that she almost burst into tears.

"I'm fine." Thanh Phong said, holding her hand to reassure her. "It's just a small scratch from a flying piece of rock. It's not worth worrying about so much."

"Let me judge that for myself." Tinh Yen replied, her voice still shaking slightly, quickly cleaning and bandaging the wound more carefully. After finishing her work, she looked up at him for a long time, as if wanting to engrave the image of him intact in front of her in her mind, in case tomorrow was another battle, another wait full of uncertainties.

"The first attack has passed." He spoke softly, his voice carrying both fatigue and a faint ray of hope. "But my father said, this is just the beginning. Great Khan Chasing Phong will not stop after one failure."

Tinh Yen nodded, looking out at the dark yard where the torches were still burning, the weak light keeping a small amount of warmth for the people who were trying to endure the first night of a siege that no one knew how long it would last.