241: Chapter 241 The alarming prevalence of lungworm disease!

In ancient societies—whether agricultural, nomadic, or hunter-gatherer—the heavens were the natural factor with the greatest significance for production.

For the nomadic Xiongnu people, good weather favored the breeding and growth of livestock.

If they encountered extreme weather such as heavy snow or rainstorms, their livestock would die from the cold, bringing immense losses to the herdsmen.

Therefore, the heavens became the primary deity among the various gods of the Xiongnu's Shamanic faith.

The Xiongnu people 'must worship the heavens on the first day of the first lunar month, and likewise during the Double Fifth Festival... not a single matter is not attributed to the heavens. Before drinking wine, a libation is first offered to it. Their custom is to revere heaven and earth, and for every matter, they must invoke the heavens.'

In their belief system, the eternal blue sky holds the paramount position.

In the Xiongnu mindset, the eternal blue sky is not only the ruler of nature but also the primary god of the steppe nomadic tribes; it grants power to the leaders on earth, making them the spiritual leaders of the nation.

The Earth God is another major deity revered by the Xiongnu.

For the Shamanistic Xiongnu, choosing a place with lush grass and abundant water for grazing is vital.

The idol of this god is covered with felt, and every household offers sacrifices to it.

In addition to believing in the gods of heaven and earth, Shamanism also reveres natural deities such as mountains, rivers, the sun, the moon, wind, fire, thunder, and lightning.

Shamanism also worships fire, believing it comes from the celestial realm and is the most sacred and pure element, capable of dispelling all filth and driving away demons. No religious ritual can be performed without fire, and a portion of every offering must first be given to the Fire God.

The totem of the Chiyanju Tribe is fire, and their faith is centered on the Fire God.

The sun, moon, stars, wind, rain, thunder, and lightning are also objects of worship in Shamanism.

The Shamanistic Xiongnu believe that thunder is the shout of the heavenly god.

Whenever they hear thunder, they cover their ears and crouch to the ground as if hiding.

If a clan ancestor was killed by a lightning strike, it is believed that the eternal blue sky entrusted the Thunder God to communicate with the clan.

In Shamanism, all natural things are deified into spirits. The worship of natural deities is the core content of Shamanism and the fundamental characteristic that distinguishes it from other religions.

This has led to the Xiongnu being extremely superstitious.

This also had its benefits; when the Qin Army used mortars and revolvers, in their eyes, the Qin Army was no different from gods.

Gods were not something they, the Xiongnu, could defeat, nor something they had any way to oppose.

This greatly reduced the cost of conquering them.

The prevalence of pulmonary hydatid disease was extremely high in the Xiongnu Tribes. People of these tribes would invite shamans who could communicate with the spirits, hoping the spirits could cure their disease.

But the shamans' blessings often failed to cure the illness.

Anyone who contracted pulmonary hydatid disease mostly died in agony.

To the Xiongnu, pulmonary hydatid disease was akin to a terminal illness.

Even when the best witch doctors from the Royal Court came to see them, they could only shake their heads, powerless to help.

The specific medicine synthesized by Zhao Fusu, albendazole, had an immediate effect on pulmonary hydatid disease, proving more effective than the gods.

If Zhao Fusu were to promote albendazole within the Xiongnu Tribes, he would surely cure a large number of patients suffering from the disease.

Then, Zhao Fusu would naturally become a deity who saves lives in the eyes of the Xiongnu.

Once Zhao Fusu became the object of the Xiongnu's faith, their Great Qin could better unite the Xiongnu Tribes and make them a part of Great Qin!

Zhao Fusu felt that Lu Jia's proposal was feasible.

He decided to entrust this matter to Lu Jia.

Lu Jia's eloquence was far superior to Zhao Gang's.

If Lu Jia hadn't fallen ill, this integration of the tribes might not have been so difficult.

After finalizing the plan, Zhao Fusu immediately wrote back to Lu Jia, saying he would produce a large quantity of albendazole and have it transported to the Qinglan Base.

He asked Lu Jia to tally the number of people suffering from pulmonary hydatid disease in the Qinglan Base and, if possible, to count the infected in all tribes within the Right Worthy King's jurisdiction.

Upon receiving Zhao Fusu's letter, Lu Jia immediately gathered herdsmen and formed an investigation team to tally the number of pulmonary hydatid disease patients in each tribe within the Qinglan Base.

He intended to finish the tally for the Qinglan Base first before moving on to all the tribes in the Right Worthy King's territory.

After the tally, Lu Jia wrote down various data on paper and sent it to Zhao Fusu via carrier pigeon.

Looking at the contents of the letter, Zhao Fusu fell silent.

The Qinglan Grassland now gathered the Qinglan Tribe, Liefeng Tribe, Chiyanju Tribe, Shuangzong Tribe, Lingyu Tribe, and Tuan Tribe—six tribes in total, with a population of about one hundred thousand people. Roughly thirty thousand were suffering from pulmonary hydatid disease!

This accounted for one-third of the total population!

The prevalence was far too high.

Aside from Tian Ju and Lu Jia, over a hundred soldiers of the Qin Army stationed at the Qinglan Grassland had also contracted pulmonary hydatid disease. They were all individuals who had frequent contact with the Xiongnu Tribes and had eaten food provided by their herdsmen.

"Food!"

Zhao Fusu suddenly discovered the key point; he had some idea why the prevalence in the Xiongnu Tribes was so high.

The key point lay in the food!

Illness enters through the mouth; many diseases are caused by a lack of attention to diet.

Consuming food or water contaminated with bacteria, viruses, or parasites can lead to gastroenteritis, dysentery, hepatitis, and other diseases. For example, eating food contaminated with E. coli can cause symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.

The herdsmen on the grassland were eating food containing parasite eggs, which allowed the eggs to enter their bodies.

Hygiene was also crucial; the Xiongnu even slept on horseback. If the horses carried parasite eggs, they would also enter the human body.

Just like his neighbor, who slept with a dog every day. As a result, the eggs carried by the dog entered his body, causing him to contract pulmonary hydatid disease!

Zhao Fusu rubbed his chin. It seemed that besides the infected people needing albendazole, the diseased livestock also needed to take it.

Hygiene training was also necessary to let them know the cause of illnesses entering through the mouth, to prevent them from drinking raw water, and to make them pay attention to the sanitation of water sources.

In pastoral areas like the Qinglan Grassland, humans and livestock likely drank from the same water source; there was no hygiene to speak of.

For people with strong resistance, it was naturally fine.

Like the 'Third Brothers' who could drink Ganges water and be perfectly fine.

But not everyone's constitution was so robust. It seemed the first step was to improve hygiene and establish numerous health clinics.

This way, whether it was the people of the Qinglan Base or the herdsmen in the Right Worthy King's territory, they would have a place to seek medical treatment when they fell ill.

This measure could greatly enhance the sense of well-being among the Xiongnu herdsmen, increase their goodwill toward Great Qin, reduce their sense of alienation, and allow them to better integrate into Great Qin.