Without money, what is the point of being a traitor?

Chapter 249 Gathering People’s Hearts
Pei Yuan considered himself a very decisive person, but faced with such a stalemate, he could not come up with any better solution except to grit his teeth and persevere.

He could only keep raising his knife and slashing randomly.

The armor on Pei Yuan's body had been torn in many places, revealing the iron pieces sewn inside.

This gave the bandits hope of defeating the man in front of them.

Many people holding spears, almost subconsciously, tried hard to pierce through the defense there and deal a fatal blow to the demon in front of them.

The long sword in Pei Yuan's hand was not made of very good material. After several consecutive passive attacks, it broke directly.

Pei Yuan's hands were empty, and the change in weight when he chopped almost made him stumble and fall to the ground.

Immediately, he felt a chill in his heart and noticed that the weapon in his hand was broken.

Several bandits around him suddenly shouted in ecstasy, "His knife is broken! His knife is broken!"

The shouting and noise here immediately attracted everyone's attention.

The breaking of the weapon in Pei Yuan's hand seemed to send a strong signal to both sides in the battle.

This is the final turning point that determines the outcome of this war!
The silence at that moment made Pei Yuan quickly realize that his next move would undoubtedly affect the situation of the entire battle!
As long as he showed the slightest sign of weakness, the besieging bandits would pounce on him like hyenas, knocking down these heavy infantrymen who were wrapped in heavy armor and could not run at all, and killing them one by one!
However, as long as he can still perform vigorously, the balance will undoubtedly be weighed down heavily.

Pei Yuan made a judgment in an instant, and his eyes quickly swept across and fell on a corpse on the ground.

When the bandits bravely came forward with their guns drawn, Pei Yuan simply grabbed the corpse's ankle from the ground, then swung it and smashed it towards the enemy in front of him.

The bandit looked in disbelief at the hideous corpse falling with its eyes open, and almost subconsciously stabbed out with the spear in his hand.

Then the long spear that was thrust out with great force seemed to have hit the wall, and the bandit was knocked to the ground by the body that was smashed down!
The bandit struggled on the ground for a few times but couldn't get up.

His chest was stuffy from the beating, and he couldn't escape. Just as he was feeling lucky that he hadn't received any fatal injuries, he felt a tightness around his ankle.

The subconscious association made the bandit's soul almost rush out of the top door.

He quickly shouted, "Mercy!"

But it's too late!
The repeated application of "the more desperate you are, the stronger you become" has caused Pei Yuan's power to be almost uncontrollably released.

Pei Yuan picked up the injured soldier, grabbed him in his hand, and slammed him heavily to the ground in front of him.

The bandit soldier was smashed to the ground by Pei Yuanmeng, like a blood bag being broken, and a large amount of blood burst out.

Pei Yuan picked him up casually, and saw that his head and face were already bloody, with a lot of blood flowing out of all his orifices!

Pei Yuan was so eager to kill that his original rational judgment of the battlefield turned into an emotional outburst.

He roared angrily and threw the corpse in his hand at the surrounding enemies.

The powerful terror and obvious unstable emotions made both sides start to feel scared.

The bandits began to retreat step by step, and even the soldiers of Xuzhou Guard were trembling and moving closer to each other.

I don’t know who it was, but he fell to the ground while retreating.

Then someone turned and ran away.

Immediately, more people turned and ran.

Those guys in the bandit camp didn't have much will to fight to begin with, and their morale completely collapsed in front of this vicious guy.

Pei Yuan seemed to be driven by the mysterious atmosphere, or pulled by the energy of the battlefield, and his body began to chase uncontrollably.

When the bandits in the camp were completely scattered, Pei Yuan looked around in a daze, as if he came to his senses. He threw the corpse in his hand away, and sat down on the ground dejectedly, as if his body was hollowed out.

An intense feeling of fatigue came over me in an instant, and the place under my ribs that had been stabbed many times began to hurt terribly!

What was strange was that the victorious soldiers of Xuzhou didn't even dare to breathe.

Those people didn't even dare to approach their nominal military attaché.

Ding Hong, who had been to the gates of hell once, recovered relatively quickly. He approached Pei Yuan cautiously.

As they got closer, Deputy Captain Ding suddenly remembered some rumors he had heard from somewhere.

It is said that wild beasts do not like to be approached from behind, otherwise they will easily turn around and eat people.

So, Deputy Captain Ding, who was approaching quickly, actually moved slowly and meticulously before appearing in front of Pei Yuan.

Fortunately, the fear of Pei Yuan by the Xuzhou guards and Deputy Captain Ding's emphasis made them wait for Pei Yuan to escape from the battle by coincidence.

Otherwise, Deputy Captain Ding, who was unaware of the situation, would probably be subconsciously attacked directly by Pei Yuan, who was out of rhythm.

Ding Hong carefully observed Pei Yuan's words and expressions and asked, "Captain, we have dispersed the enemy. What should we do next?"

Pei Yuan's mind was heavy and he no longer wanted to think about anything.

After a long while, he regained some energy and asked Ding Hong, "What did you just say?"

Ding Hong said it again carefully.

Pei Yuan looked around and saw the overturned pots and the randomly lit fires. He said, "Let's eat first."

Ding Hong got the confirmation from Pei Yuan, and then he hurried down to make arrangements.

He also noticed that Pei Yuan had consumed too much energy, so he immediately began to arrange the remaining matters.

First, someone was asked to divide the fire to avoid burning down the camp.

He also asked someone to pour out all the rice in the pot, wash it again, and find some rice to cook.

He also sent a few soldiers who could move to the outside of the forest to inform Xiao Tong to bring all the war horses over.

After all the instructions were given, Ding Hong carefully ran to see Pei Yuan and reported his arrangements to him.

Pei Yuan had recovered most of his energy by this time.

He praised Ding Hong, "Well done."

He added, "It won't take much effort for Xiao Tong to be on guard in the surrounding area. If the bandits come back, or if the wave of defeated soldiers who ambushed us the first time come to join us, we can just ride away on horseback."

"This charge is enough to frighten them."

Ding Hong agreed repeatedly.

While the soldiers were cleaning up, Ding Hong went to find the Bazhou sword that Pei Yuan had dropped earlier, as well as the golden melon hammer that had killed countless people.

The Xiuchun Sword had been broken, but Ding Hong still asked someone to find it, cleaned it, and placed it in a convenient place for Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan sat on the ground, pulled out the Xiuchun Sword that had many cuts on it, took a look at it, and threw it out.

He looked at the Bazhou sword again.

This knife was made of extraordinary material and had some spirituality. Pei Yuan was reluctant to fight with Sun Siniu, so he abandoned it halfway, which was better for preservation. Pei Yuan put the Bazhou knife back into the sheath and slowly stood up with the golden melon hammer.

Then he took off the armor with great effort.

As soon as the armor with many iron pieces sewn on it was removed, Pei Yuan immediately felt a lot more relaxed.

He stretched his sore muscles, wanting to check if there were any bruises under his ribs, but it was still cold and they were in a dangerous situation, so he did not dare to take off his cotton armor.

After a while, the aroma of rice wafted from the cooking pot.

Ding Hong searched through the camp, picked out a complete bowl, washed it carefully, and filled a full bowl for Pei Yuan and placed it next to him.

Pei Yuan took a look and lost his appetite for a moment, and looked at the layout of the camp.

Pei Yuan had been in the Bazhou army for some time and was no stranger to this kind of messy camp.

Looking at the specifications of this camp, it fits with my judgment of the defeated soldiers from Bazhou.

Unfortunately, Pei Yuan didn't have any capable people around him this time.

If those Jinyiwei who had fought together with him for life and death were there, or if that old fellow Tan Tai Fangtu was there, he would not have been in such a miserable state in this battle.

Among these soldiers of Xuzhou Guard, except Ding Hong who has some brains, the others have no combat experience at all.

After rushing into the camp, relying on the armor on their bodies and the swords in their hands, they rushed up and hacked at the enemies when they saw them, without using any strength at all.

When their physical strength was almost exhausted, at first glance it seemed that they had killed a lot of people, but the enemy's manpower still got the opportunity to regroup.

Pei Yuan thought about it and said to Ding Hong, "Deputy Captain Ding, come here."

Ding Hong quickly put down the meal he was eating and moved towards Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan then told Ding Hong some of his previous views.

These cannon fodders are still useful at the moment, and Pei Yuan doesn't want to use up his own assets.

If the situation really got out of control, Pei Yuan still counted on the dozen or so Embroidered Spring Swords to protect him and help him escape.

In this case, some necessary reinforcements will be required.

At least let them understand some basic ideas.

Ding Hong felt quite embarrassed after listening to what Pei Yuan said.

The Xuzhou Guards usually focus on shipbuilding, and those who serve as cavalry are already elite soldiers at the level of selected vanguard servants.

If the commander of Xuzhou Guard had not felt that completing this escort mission would please the three eunuchs Lu Ting, Xiao Jing and Gu Dayong at the same time, he probably would not have been willing to do it.

These selected servants are already in a bad condition, and if a fight really breaks out with the other soldiers, there will probably be bigger problems.

Ding Hong said quickly, "I will teach them a lesson when I return. I hope Qian Hu will give them some advice."

When Pei Yuan heard this, he looked at Ding Hong and paused.

Just when Ding Hong was feeling anxious, he heard Pei Yuan say indifferently, "Don't you still have to listen to Commander Xu? I've said too much."

Ding Hong's heart trembled slightly after hearing this. He guessed that Captain Pei might have some conflicts with Commander Xu.

But faced with such a terrifying and powerful man and that cowardly Xu Feng, everyone knows what to choose.

Even if he returned to Xuzhou and told this matter to Commander Guo of their Xuzhou Guard, I'm afraid Commander Guo would agree with his judgment.

Ding Hong immediately said, "I and other brothers were temporarily assigned by Commander Guo to escort Eunuch Gu back to Beijing under the order of the eunuch Lu Ting. Commander Guo only told us to do our best in this matter, but he did not say that we must obey Xu Feng's orders."

When Pei Yuan heard Ding Hong say this, he couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

Ding Hong immediately made his attitude clear, "I am willing to follow Captain Pei's lead."

This is a flexible fence-sitter.

Pei Yuan hesitated for a moment and asked directly, "Xu Feng is the commander of the Hangzhou vanguard. He has the highest position here. It is only natural for him to command you."

Seeing that Pei Yuan did not refuse but only expressed his concerns, Ding Hong had some idea in his mind.

He quickly added, "We are all from Xuzhou Guards, there is no reason for us to listen to the Hangzhou Vanguard Commander. Besides, Commander Guo asked us to escort Eunuch Gu, which is not about the person but the matter. As long as it is about escorting Eunuch Gu, of course we should listen to whoever is right."

After hearing this, Pei Yuan was very impressed by Ding Hong's logical consistency.

No wonder this guy was so successful in becoming my man before. He is indeed a person with flexible principles.

Pei Yuan nodded in satisfaction, but said nothing else.

Ding Hong was left guessing wildly, thinking over and over what he had just said.

Pei Yuan looked at Ding Hong and said to him, "Our goal this time is to escort Eunuch Gu to Beijing. We have just left Xuzhou and we have encountered such a big trouble. We still have a long way to go. What are your plans?"

Ding Hong has completely turned to Pei Yuan.

Apart from anything else, if he offended Pei Yuan now, this vicious man might tear him to pieces.

But he offended Xu Feng, and Xu Feng could do nothing to him.

When he returned to Xuzhou Wei afterwards, why would he care what the commander of the Hangzhou vanguard thought?
Ding Hong immediately expressed his position, "I will do whatever Captain Pei says."

Pei Yuan finally let out a definite answer. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "You are very good! Follow me and work hard. I will not treat you unfairly. I will find an opportunity to help you move up in your official position."

Ding Hong didn't know how much he believed it, but he said with a look of surprise, "Thank you very much for your cultivation, Captain Pei."

Pei Yuan knew that Ding Hong was just being polite, so he gave him a hint, "Do you know what Xu Feng is doing in Beijing this time?"

Ding Hong is really not sure.

The main thing was that the fact that Xu Feng, the "plaintiff", was going to escort the "defendant" to Beijing was truly outrageous, and Commander Xu was too embarrassed to bring it up.

Pei Yuan hinted to him, "You can ask around, and then you will know the value of my promise."

Ding Hong refused repeatedly after hearing this, "Of course I believe the captain, there is no point in asking about this kind of thing."

Pei Yuan didn't care how true Ding Hong's words were.

He said to himself, "If you have found out, you can ask the brothers you know well if they are willing to make the road more convenient. If you are still unsure, you can ask Eunuch Gu to see what he means."

Ding Hong enjoys considerable prestige among the soldiers of Xuzhou Guard.

The last time Pei Yuan dealt with him, many people wanted to help him. If they could subdue Ding Hong, they might be able to keep the Xuzhou Guard soldiers firmly in their hands.

Pei Yuan was not greedy, as long as he could be used temporarily, it would be enough.

With the actual control of the Xuzhou Guard, Pei Yuan will have much more room to maneuver.

(End of this chapter)