The Steam Age: Gears and Bones

Chapter 60

On the fourth day after waking up, Perfit was finally able to get out of bed and walk around.

Her body was still weak; she walked with her left hand supporting herself against the wall and her right hand resting on the cane inlaid with a fragment of the Philosopher's Stone.

The journey from the officers' quarters to the main building of the fortress would normally be a short walk, but she stopped twice to rest. Each time, she leaned against the stone wall, closed her eyes to catch her breath, and then pushed away Belfast's outstretched hand to help her up before continuing on her way.

The military doctor advised her to rest in bed for a few more days, but she only replied, "I've had enough of lying in bed," before wrapping her coat tightly around herself and leaving the dormitory.

She spent the entire day walking around the fortress.

It wasn't an inspection tour, but rather like an engineer checking a factory production line, stopping to carefully observe everything from the outer defenses to the wounded soldiers' camp, from the ammunition depot to the kitchen, having Belfast write down every question she dictated.

Her physical strength did not allow her to write while walking, but her efficiency of observation did not decrease at all—the all-knowing eye shone with an imperceptible emerald green light deep in her right eye, breaking down every detail into data that could be analyzed and deduced.

That evening, she summoned Ludwig to her temporary office and read to him the list of questions Belfast had written down, asking him to relay them to the Elector.

The list is not long, but each item comes with specific improvement plans and a priority ranking.

After listening, Ludwig remained silent for a while, then picked up the list, gave her a look that Perfitt couldn't quite decipher, and turned to walk towards the command post.

The first unit to be rectified was the wounded soldiers' battalion.

The western wing of the fortress originally had two large warehouses used to store military equipment, which were hastily converted into temporary wounded soldiers' shelters when the Northern Army retreated.

When Perfit entered, the sight that greeted her made her frown more than anything she had ever seen on the battlefields of Ross—not because of the bloodshed, but because of the chaos.

Hundreds of wounded soldiers were crammed into a poorly ventilated stone chamber, with no gaps between their bunks. Some lay on the ground with only a layer of straw under them.

Used bandages were piled in a wooden bucket in the corner. The bucket was full, and the overflowing bandages were scattered on the ground, the bloodstains on them long since dried and turned black.

The air was thick with the stench of vinegar, sweat, and rotting wounds, so strong it almost choked you.

She wrote in her notes: Wounded soldiers are resettled in three categories according to the severity of their injuries.

The first category, common external injuries—gunshot wounds, fractures, and knife wounds—are concentrated in the best-ventilated eastern section of the warehouse. There is at least an arm's length between the bunks. Bed sheets and bandages are changed daily, and the soiled items are incinerated.

The second category is suspected infected injuries—all wounded soldiers who have been scratched or bitten by infected individuals, regardless of the severity of their injuries, are isolated in separate isolation wards and completely separated from ordinary wounded soldiers.

They were cared for by specialists wearing double gloves and breathing masks, and the accompanying chaplains were arranged to perform requiem prayers to suppress them one by one, followed by the peeling of their skin by alchemists.

These wounded can still be saved and must be treated as a priority.

The third category consists of severely injured patients who have been confirmed to be infected and whose infection is too severe—they are concentrated in the innermost compartment and completely isolated from all other injured patients.

The dying prayers were performed by the chaplain accompanying the army, so that they could rest in peace as human beings and avoid harming others after turning into zombies.

These people are beyond saving. The only way to show them mercy is to spare them from dying as monsters.

The disinfection procedures she listed were so detailed that they astonished the military medical officer.

All medical devices must be soaked in hydrogen peroxide for a sufficient time after use. Gauze and bandages must never be reused. Nursing staff must wash their hands with diluted hydrogen peroxide between contact with different wounded soldiers. The grounds of the wounded soldiers' camp are mopped twice a day with lime water.

The chief medical officer was nodding at first, but when he heard the words "gloves" and "wash hands," a slightly dismissive expression appeared on his face. It wasn't until Ludwig said from the side, "This is the chief scientific advisor of the Victorian Empire. She personally treated those infected with the wilt disease in Langdon, and not a single medical staff member was infected," that the chief medical officer's expression changed from skepticism to silence, and then from silence to compliance.

The second facility to be rectified was the fortress's sanitation facilities.

When Perfit was inspecting the kitchen, he found the cooks washing vegetables and their hands in the same bucket. The water source was a deep well inside the fortress, with no cover over the wellhead. There was also a wooden ladle on the well rim, its handle blackened and shiny from being gripped by countless hands.

The toilet was located at the foot of the eastern wall of the fortress. It was just a row of shallow ditches dug in the frozen soil, without any covering measures. When the cold wind blew from there, the entire eastern wing could smell the stench.

She retrieved knowledge about military health management from her omniscient eyes—not from this era, but from the systems she had seen in history books and military documentaries in her previous life. After being adapted and adjusted by the Jade Record, these systems were made suitable for the current conditions, and then she wrote them down one by one into the list she gave to Ludwig.

Drinking water and domestic water must be taken separately. Wells must be covered with wooden boards. Cooks must wash their hands before handling water. Toilets must be far away from water sources and kitchens. Excrement must be covered with soil and buried daily. New toilet pits must be dug in designated areas every week, and old pits must be filled with lime. A washing station will be added on the east and south sides of the camp. Soap will be distributed by squad.

These measures were as tedious as an old lady's nagging, but there was no room for negotiation on any of them written by Puffy.

After reading the list, the Elector gave orders to his adjutant and then said to Ludwig, "If she were my advisor, I could throw half of the military documents into the fireplace right now."

The third area to be rectified is the defense line.

Perfit stood on the outer wall of the fortress, scanning the outer positions with his binoculars. He then examined the structure of the wall itself, turned to the accompanying Romulus officer, and asked, "What tactical guidelines did you follow in arranging your defenses?"

The officer replied that it was the Imperial Army's standard defense regulations, which emphasized the layered deployment of firepower in depth and the firing arc of flintlock volleys.

After listening, Perfit didn't comment, but simply pointed with his cane to the moat at the foot of the city wall: "What standards were used to dig this moat, considering its width and depth?"

"The standard regulations specify that it is a trench for defending against infantry charges, and the width should be no less than five paces and the depth no less than one person's height, as required by the regulations."

She pulled her cane back, rested it on the ground, and after a few seconds of silence, spoke in a calm tone, as if correcting a student's calculation error in class: "Your enemy is not infantry."

The infected will not stop in front of the trenches, will not scatter because of a volley of gunfire, and will not retreat after the casualties reach a certain percentage.

Their attack patterns are far more direct than those of infantry, and they require far less thought than you do.

They would charge straight through any artillery barrage and volley fire, filling trenches with corpses, and then scaling obstacles.

What's needed to deal with this isn't layered, deep firepower, but rather height, thickness, and spears.