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When wind, cold, dampness, and heat pathogens are scattered throughout the *couli* (interstices of skin and muscles) of the entire body, there is no method to annihilate them all at once; therefore, one should follow their scattered nature and disperse them. When phlegm, blood stasis, fluid retention, and food stagnation accumulate within the stomach, large intestine, small intestine, and bladder, they have already become tangible pathogens that are difficult to dissipate by force; thus, one should follow their aggregated nature to purge and渗利 (percolate/drain) them. When pathogens reside in the upper epigastrium (*Shangwan*), causing a sense of oppression and the urge to vomit, this indicates an attempt to ascend that is obstructed; hence, one should induce vomiting to follow this trend. When pathogens reside in the large intestine, causing tenesmus (*lijihouzhong*), this indicates an obstruction in descending and defecating; hence, one should promote bowel movement to follow this trend. This constitutes treatment that facilitates the disease's momentum.

When warm-heat pathogens are intangible and scattered within the membranes and collaterals of the stomach and intestines, neither escaping outward nor aggregating inward, one should use sour-astringent agents combined with purgatives to capture and exhaust the pathogens. When blood stasis is tangible and aggregated within the membranes and collaterals of the stomach and intestines, its quality is coagulated and stagnant, making it impossible to be captured and removed easily; thus, one should use acrid-warm agents combined with blood-invigorating formulas to warm the blood and resolve the stasis. When Kidney Qi fails to receive and anchor, causing root instability, manifesting as asthma, vomiting, and vertigo, one should use sour-saline heavy-settling agents to suppress the upward rebellion. When Middle Qi is deficient and sinking, leading to uncontrolled diarrhea or dysentery and shortness of breath, one should use astringent, ascending, and tonifying agents to lift the sinking Qi. This constitutes treatment that corrects the disease's momentum and restores balance.

For diseases treated erroneously with descending methods, rescue requires avoiding immediate ascending methods. For diseases treated erroneously with ascending methods, rescue requires avoiding immediate descending methods. For diseases treated erroneously with cooling methods, rescue requires avoiding immediate administration of great-hot herbs. For diseases treated erroneously with heating methods, rescue requires avoiding immediate administration of great-cold herbs. Errors of cold and heat may sometimes be corrected urgently, but errors of ascending and descending must never be rushed. I have witnessed cases where *Chengqi Tang* (Gut-Purging Decoction) was mistakenly used for purging, causing Middle Qi to sink, followed by an urgent use of *Renshen* (Ginseng Radix) and *Shengma* (Cimicifugae Rhizoma) to lift, resulting in floating deficiency Qi, severe asthma, inability to eat, and death. In such cases, one should strengthen the Middle and astringe the lower bowels, not lift the Upper Qi.

All diseases generally require attacking pathogens, but sometimes supplementation is necessary due to internal deficiency. "Internal deficiency" has two meanings: first, the body's righteous Qi is inherently deficient; second, pathogens are on the exterior, making the exterior excess, while the interior remains deficient because pathogens have not yet entered the interior. In new diseases with shallow pathogens, adding Qi- and Blood-tonifying herbs to pathogen-attacking formulas allows the disease to be eliminated without residual complications. However, in chronic diseases where righteous Qi is injured and pathogens have sunk inward, adding tonifying herbs will clash with the pathogens, preventing the attacking herbs from exerting their full effect. Therefore, in the works of Hua Yuantuo, Zhang Zhongjing, and Sun Simiao, formulas for treating chronic diseases heavily emphasize attacking pathogens without accompanying tonification, because the pathogens are located in the interior. These methods are usually formulated as pills rather than decoctions to administer potent drugs slowly. After the pathogens are expelled and the interior pathogenic momentum subsides, tonifying herbs are then used to clear any remaining pathogenic remnants, ensuring rapid efficacy without residual issues. Later physicians, lacking the insight of the ancients, often claimed that when wind-cold first arises, righteous Qi is undamaged and supplementation is unnecessary. Others argued that supplementing when pathogens are on the exterior would draw pathogens inward. Consequently, attacking herbs often lack the support of tonics, leading to lingering pathogens, damage to righteous Qi, and inward sinking of pathogens. This drawback stems from a failure to understand the ancients' principle of "urgent tonification." Conversely, when treating chronic diseases with stubborn pathogens, some incorrectly mix in tonifying herbs, or even use only tonification without attack, believing that sufficient righteous Qi will gradually cure the disease. They fail to realize that when pathogens are entrenched in the interior, tonifying herbs tend to act on the interior and remain centered; their energy directly confronts the pathogens rather than supporting the righteous Qi. This often solidifies the pathogenic roots, making them unshakeable and leading to incurable delays. This drawback stems from a failure to understand the ancients' principle of "urgent attack." Generally, when combining attacking and tonifying methods, the primary prerequisite is to carefully determine whether there are pathogens in the deficient areas. If pathogens exist in deficient areas, tonifying herbs will inevitably consolidate the pathogens. This is the most difficult aspect of treatment. The ancient method of "tonifying the mother and draining the child" likely originated from this principle. For example, if Lung Qi is deficient while substantial pathogens like wind-heat or phlegm-fluid are present, one should tonify the Spleen and drain the Lung, rather than simultaneously tonifying and draining the Lung.