All the hundred-men captains nodded repeatedly and felt that Pei Rumo"s arrangement was extremely reasonable.
Of course, there will definitely be confusion among the captains. One of them asked, “What if Your First Highness fails to send a messenger pigeon? How should we make our report?”
“Impossible. I will definitely send a messenger pigeon regardless of the situation.” Pei Rumo replied quickly to rea.s.sure the captains.
“What if an emergency happens?” The captain continued to ask.
Pei Rumo wasn"t annoyed at all as the captain had served him for a long time. He knew that the captain was a prudent man and his questions all made sense. Pei Rumo was actually happy that he was able to think so far ahead.
“That is indeed possible...” Pei Rumo nodded and said, “If an emergency happens, leave the Desolate Region and never come back.”
“What does Your First Highness mean?” The hundred-men captain didn"t understand Pei Rumo"s instruction. After all, the original Pei Rumo would rather die in battle than to retreat.
“If we fail to send messenger pigeons, leave the Desolate Region. If that were to happen, it would mean that the entire vanguard team has been killed in the central region. It would also mean that fleeing is the smartest choice.”
Pei Rumo spoke calmly as though it was no big deal for him to die in the central region. The captains were frightened stiff and they turned to look at Bai Luochu with pale faces. It seemed like they were waiting for Bai Luochu to persuade the First Prince against acting recklessly.
Bai Luochu sensed the gazes from the captains and quickly mediated the situation, “Everyone doesn"t have to worry. I will be there as well. I will definitely stop His First Highness from risking his life.”
The hundred-men captains gradually relaxed after hearing Bai Luochu"s promise.
Bai Luochu glared at Pei Rumo before speaking, “I already prepared all the elixirs we might require during the trip. I will check again and ensure that we have enough medicine for the soldiers staying behind. As for the medicinal effect and the dosage to consume, I have already put the labels on the bottles. Retrieve it from my tent if you need anything. If anyone suffers from a serious illness, write a detailed report about the symptoms in your report. I might return to provide emergency treatment if the situation calls for it.”
The hundred-men captains looked at each other in dismay. They didn"t expect there would be a day when the physician would be meticulous enough to prepare everything in advance. Feeling touched, tears nearly streamed down their face.
Bai Luochu never knew how to deal with emotions and she quickly resumed her brief in order to avoid an awkward situation from forming.
“The most important supplies are food and water. There is a saying, "illness enters the body through the mouth". If anything happens to the food supply, we will be in trouble. If something is wrong with the water, relocate immediately. Include the location of the new camp in the report.”
After ensuring that the briefing was complete, Pei Rumo dismissed everyone and asked Bai Luochu to stay behind in the main tent. They had to discuss the schedule of the captains" s.h.i.+ft.
“These are your soldiers and you know them better than me. You should be the one to decide the order of rotation.” Bai Luochu prepared to leave Pei Rumo alone to settle the problem.
How could Pei Rumo possibly allow a genius like Bai Luochu to leave? He immediately called out to her, “Hold on, I don"t need you to plan the list, but I need your opinion on some matters.” Pei Rumo felt that Bai Luochu wasn"t a mere physician. Be it her foresight or ability to scheme, she had the makings of a vice commander and military advisor.
Now that the general situation was fixed, Bai Luochu became rather relaxed as she made fun of Pei Rumo, “Does Your First Highness need to consult me when making your decisions? I am a military physician, not a military advisor. I am only receiving one portion of pay but you want me to do two portions of work. This isn"t a worthwhile deal…”
Pei Rumo burst out laughing in his heart and he sighed, “You are truly a money-grubbing la.s.s! How did you grow up to be such a huge money-face? Enough of that, hurry up and speak of your thoughts. When we return back to the capital city, I will give you two carts of medicinal ingredients.”
After hearing Pei Rumo"s promise, she made a rough estimate of the ingredients a cart could contain before agreeing to help. Now that it was a worthwhile deal, she immediately asked Pei Rumo, “Your First Highness, ask away! I will reply if I know the answer.”
After Bai Luochu agreed, Pei Rumo muttered softly, “Little miser.” He immediately changed the topic, “I want your opinion about the pairing of the captains on duty.”
Bai Luochu raised her brows in contemplation. “Easy. Pick a junior to work with a senior. The senior captains will have great experience and they usually do things prudently. Their flaw is that they are too inflexible and they rely too much on their experience. The junior captain will be able to help out with their shortcomings. Young people are creative and they can look at a problem from a new point of view. In the unpredictable Desolate Region, coming up with new solutions are a must. We must also consider the fact that they might be too conceited and pairing them up with a senior captain will prevent them from doing anything excessive.”
Just as Pei Rumo wanted to say something, Bai Luochu suddenly changed the topic, “Of course, this is just one factor. The most important part will be their personalities. They cannot be paired according to their age as some might be more mature despite being younger. Whatever the case, they are your soldiers and you know them better than me. You can do as you see fit.”
“I shall thank Divine Physician Bai for the brilliant plan and amazing insight...” Pei Rumo teased Bai Luochu when he saw that she was only doing it for the two carts of medicinal ingredients.
Even though she could sense that he was mocking her, Bai Luochu didn"t get angry. Instead, she retorted, “If there is nothing else, I will return to my tent. I still have to continue preparing the medicine for the rest of the troops. This way, we have one less thing to worry about.”