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

Chapter 260: Military morale is turbulent
Without the burden of baggage, the team quickly arrived at the hill.

Pei Yuan personally rode his horse and chose a place with slightly higher terrain nearby and asked to set up camp there.

He then gave an order that, except for a small number of archers who needed to be on guard, everyone else should help build the camp.

Pei Yuan quickly distributed the tools, assigning axes, saws, and shovels to the auxiliary soldiers.

Those who got the shovel were responsible for leveling the camp and digging trenches, while those who got the axe and saw followed Pei Yuan to the pine forest on the nearby hill to cut wood.

I don’t know how many years this pine forest has been there, and there are many dry pine trees in it.

Pei Yuan ordered the soldiers to cut down as many trees as they could, and then drag them back to the camp for preparation.

Cheng Leixiang's team of soldiers were also arranged to take off their armor and help transport the felled pine trees.

Pine wood is naturally light and is easier to transport when dry.

Xiao Yan stopped Pei Yuan in a bad mood and reminded him, "Captain Pei, don't just focus on setting up camp. It's almost noon now, and the soldiers are hungry. When we broke out just now, we didn't bring any food with us."

Pei Yuan seemed to have just remembered something and asked Chen Toutie's team of soldiers to search the forest to see if they could catch some wild animals.

After hearing this, Xiao Yan could no longer bear it and complained, "There are more than a thousand people here. What's the point of catching wild animals?"

Pei Yuan was still very confident at this moment, "It's useful."

Having said that, without waiting for Xiao Yan to ask any more questions, he raised his chin towards him and pointed to the distance.

Only then did Xiao Yan notice that someone had been staring at this place from a distance.

Judging from his appearance, he is most likely a spy from the bandits.

Xiao Yan was just about to ask whether they should find someone to drive these scouts away, but he reacted quickly and immediately realized what Pei Yuan meant by this.

The words turned around in his mouth and he changed his tone and said, "Are you doing this for them to see?"

Pei Yuan said, "Yes. The more embarrassed and panicked we act now, the more those bandits will let down their guard."

"These guys have been repeatedly defeated under the attacks of the imperial court."

"So they understand better than any other army what an army on the verge of collapse looks like."

"Tired, hungry, and yes, what else should I feel?" Pei Yuan said, looking at Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan was speechless.

Is Pei Yuan sick?
He changed his mind and asked Pei Yuan again, "What if those Bazhou bandits take the opportunity to attack us?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "I rushed to their army alone to challenge them. It was such a good opportunity, but 'Little Wu Song' didn't dare to take advantage of it and use a large force to surround and kill me. That's why I know he is not the kind of person who is decisive."

"That guy has some plans. If we just sit here and wait for death, we will only get weaker and weaker. Time is completely on his side."

"So there is no need for him to come over here and face our desperate struggle at this time."

Xiao Yan was still puzzled after hearing this. He frowned and said, "Even so, our predicament has not changed at all. Our soldiers are losing energy and can't collect much food. At most, we can hold out for another day or two, and I'm afraid the team will be in trouble."

Pei Yuan didn't want to say more. "Let's wait and see. Since it's meaningless to attack us now, it's time for 'Little Wu Song' to do something meaningful."

At this point, Pei Yuan emphasized, "And what we are doing is not in vain. We do need to cut down a lot of trees right now."

"Taoist Zhiwei has already told me that he is very sure it will rain tomorrow and the day after tomorrow."

"Since we don't have time to get to Yanggu City, it's best to make some preparations here so as to avoid panic when the time comes."

When Xiao Yan heard this, he felt that this was not very reliable. "Rely on this to build a camp? Without those wooden boards and felt cloth, how can we use this stuff to build a camp that can withstand wind and rain? How easy is that!
Pei Yuan smiled and said perfunctorily, "Aren't the camps of those bandits built using local materials? Didn't we stay there last time?"

Xiao Yan thought about it and sighed.

That’s right, the bandits didn’t care about that, and now the government troops can’t care about that either.

Thinking of the Taoist Zhiwei whom Pei Yuan had just mentioned, Xiao Yan looked up at the sky.

The sky is still overcast and there is no sign of snow for the time being.

Xiao Yan was lost in thought when, as luck would have it, the gloomy clouds thinned, allowing a beam of light to leak through.

Xiao Yan suddenly lost his composure.

He asked Pei Yuan, "Did you see what that was just now?"

Pei Yuan also caught a glimpse of the sunlight. At this moment, he of course denied it decisively, "I didn't see it."

Xiao Yan turned his head and wanted to point at the beam of light to question Pei Yuan.

Unfortunately, the clouds in the sky moved quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the ray of sunlight disappeared into the thick clouds.

Xiao Yan was silent for a moment, and did not dwell on Yang Guang's matter. Instead, he said to Pei Yuan solemnly, "Do you think Taoist Zhiwei is reliable? Don't let us all down."

The day is already halfway over, and let alone snow, the sun was actually out just now.

Pei Yuan said firmly, "I know that you are a Taoist with profound Taoism, and you will never lie. The most important thing now is to prepare for the coming rain and snow, so as not to be caught off guard when it really snows."

Xiao Yan endured it again and again, and finally did not question it again.

The reason why Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong were so tolerant of Pei Yuan was because they had no other options and could only try their best to save the situation.

At least compared to their panic and anxiety, Pei Yuan still had some ideas.

After a busy day, the soldiers gradually felt hungry and started to complain from time to time.

Chen Toutie led the archers into the woods, but didn't catch much prey.

Just before leaving the mountain, someone luckily discovered a nest of wild boars, which was barely a gain.

After Chen Toutie and his men hunted the wild boars, they encountered a new problem.

All the baggage was left behind, and there was not even a pot to cook.

Seeing this, Pei Yuan had no choice but to have the wild boars gutted, smeared with mud, thrown into the fire of pine branches, and roasted them directly.

After the wild boar was roasted, they cut it into strips with a knife, regardless of whether it was fat or lean, so that everyone could eat a few bites.

The roasted wild boar was fishy and greasy, and there was no salt added. Many people could not eat any more after eating one piece of cooked meat. This was an alternative way to solve the team's hunger problem.

However, as the hard-to-swallow meal went down their stomachs, the Xuzhou soldiers became more and more aware of the predicament they were facing.

The panic atmosphere began to spread secretly.

In the afternoon, Pei Yuan still ordered the soldiers to cut wood. However, as the morale of the army became unstable, even the efficiency of the cutting work began to decline significantly.

Pei Yuan did not adopt an unusual high-pressure management approach. Instead, he adjusted the pace in accordance with the changes and allowed the soldiers to take turns to rest.

On the leveled campsite, more and more wood was piled up.

But with just these things, it doesn't look like they can be built into a camp.

Seeing the situation, Xiao Yan became flustered and found Pei Yuan again.

This time he simply gave a direct hint. With the existing fast horses in the team, a small number of people were able to break out of this predicament.

As for the soldiers lost by Xuzhou Wei, he could also try to get Lu Ting to coordinate and suppress the matter. Pei Yuan listened, but seemed not to listen.

He completely ignored Xiao Yan's words and continued to carefully observe the bandit scouts who were monitoring this side.

Seeing that Pei Yuan was adamant, Xiao Yan had no better solution for the moment.

Now there are only two relatively large cavalry teams in the entire team, one is Pei Yuan's Jinyiwei personal soldiers, and the other is led by Ding Hong, a thousand households of Xuzhouwei.

After Ding Hong attacked the bandits in Bazhou and assisted the main force here to break the siege, he urgently withdrew from the battle and wandered to the periphery of the battlefield.

Now there is no trace of him.

If you want to escape, it is impossible without Pei Yuan's help.

Xiao Yan patiently went to see the scouts.

He was a thoughtful person. After careful observation, he found that the scouts were obviously much more scattered, and some of them were quite close to this side.

Pei Yuan explained as he observed, "When we were eating just now, some scouts rushed over to observe closely, and then they boldly stayed where they were and did not retreat."

Then Pei Yuan said to himself, "Our army is in such a mess, the enemy is too arrogant."

Seeing that Pei Yuan was still observing the enemy scouts' reactions in this situation, Xiao Yan began to wonder again.

Does Pei Yuan have an idea of ​​the current situation or not?
At this moment, a fast horse suddenly came running towards this side from a distance.

Pei Yuan and Xiao Yan both looked at it with serious expressions.

On the side of the Jinyiwei personal guards, two men immediately mounted their horses and rushed out to meet them.

As the two sides approached, the speed of the war horses slowed down at the same time.

Pei Yuan said to Xiao Yan, "It seems he is one of us."

Soon, the two Jinyiwei brought a cavalryman over.

The cavalryman was the Xuzhou cavalry under Ding Hong. When he saw Pei Yuan, he excitedly said, "Captain, it is just as you expected. Deputy Captain Ding, let me come over to report."

Pei Yuan stood up suddenly, a look of joy on his face, "Okay!"

Then he shouted to the guards around him, "Immediately ask Cheng Leixiang and Chen Toutie to bring their troops here. Then ask my Jinyiwei to move and kill all those bandit scouts."

After the messenger left, he instructed the soldiers beside him, "Prepare my horse and find me a suitable coat of armor."

Pei Yuan's last armor was almost destroyed in the battle, so Pei Yuan naturally would not risk going into battle wearing a tattered armor.

After hearing this series of orders, Xiao Yan immediately realized that this was the opportunity Pei Yuan had been waiting for.

He didn't dare to disturb Pei Yuan's command at this time, but he couldn't help but feel excited.

Soon, following the shouts of the messenger, the soldiers transporting the wood stopped one after another, waiting for their officers in a daze.

Chen Toutie and Cheng Leixiang came running from a distance and quickly gathered their troops.

The two of them had heard Pei Yuan mention the plan before, and in the afternoon, they took the opportunity to vent their dissatisfaction with the soldiers and have a good rest.

When he received Pei Yuan's order, he immediately began to call for soldiers.

When the noise of the soldiers gathering was heard, everyone, whether on the government army side or the bandits side, realized that a big move was about to take place.

Those scattered bandit scouts immediately became alert.

But before they could give an urgent report, the Jinyiwei soldiers, who had been gathering their strength, rushed forward on horseback and killed the scouts who were riding inferior horses and had not yet started running.

The Jinyiwei soldiers brought by Pei Yuan attacked for the first time, and their clean and neat skills immediately made Gu Dayong, Xiao Yan and others change their expressions slightly.

Soon, the Jinyiwei who had gone out to attack came back on horseback, dragging the scout's body and dumped it in front of the camp.

The actions of the Jinyiwei and the corpses thrown on the ground slowly changed the atmosphere in the camp.

The government troops are now in a state of panic, and this is the time when they need hope the most.

No matter what Pei Yuan planned to do, it was better than waiting to die here, right? !

Therefore, when they saw Captain Pei about to take action, they were extremely excited.

Even the auxiliary soldiers who were busy cutting wood had more hope and their steps became lighter.

Pei Yuan put on his armor and rode his horse back and forth in front of the formation again and again.

He waited until Chen Toutie and Cheng Leixiang's soldiers had gathered before he stopped and boosted their morale.

He looked at the soldiers, his eyes moving across their faces.

Then, with just one sentence, he ignited the fighting spirit of these government troops who were already at the end of their rope.

"Let's go! Let's steal food from me! I'd rather die in battle than starve to death!"

The soldiers had eaten disgusting wild boar meat for lunch and were now worried about the upcoming food shortage. When they heard Pei Yuan's words, they immediately cheered.

Xiao Yan's heart moved. Could it be that the cavalry sent out by Pei Yuan found a nearby village?

Are you ready to plunder villages and towns now?
Xiao Yan immediately followed suit and said, "I would like to go with Captain Pei!"

With food, we can overcome the current crisis.

When we return to the capital, we can come up with solid evidence to impeach Pei Yuan.

It's a win-win.

The soldiers thought it was just a slogan and shouted, "I want to go with Captain Pei!"

Pei Yuan didn't waste any words and shouted, "Go!"

Soon, he led the guards consisting of selected servants and gangsters and walked in the front. The team behind him now had the idea of ​​fighting to the death.

They were all convinced by Pei Yuan's sincere words.

Compared to starving to death in this wilderness, dying on the battlefield really seemed like nothing.

A large group of soldiers followed Pei Yuan aggressively, mentally prepared to fight to the death with those bandits.

These soldiers of Xuzhou Guard were physically strong, and although their performance on the battlefield was not satisfactory, they gradually built up their confidence after experiencing several small battles.

They certainly did not have the ferocity of the bandits, nor did they have the determination to risk their lives in the face of bloody fighting.

However, in the era of cold weapons, combat still depended largely on physical fitness.

As the number of battles of the Xuzhou soldiers increased, they soon realized the advantages of their physical fitness.

When they realized that they were strong and that those malnourished and ferocious bandits were no match for them, the soldiers gradually gained momentum.

However, not long after this murderous team set out on the journey, they became more and more hesitant and confused.

Isn't this the direction we just fled to?

(End of this chapter)