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

Chapter 262 Basic Archery Practice

Looking at Xiao Yan's eyes full of questioning and condemnation.

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Your son's head is gone."

Xiao Yan, "..."

This is really disturbing.

Xiao Yan felt that it was necessary to clarify Pei Yuan's attitude on this matter.

He asked angrily, "What does Captain Pei mean by this?"

"Oh." Pei Yuan seemed to have just discovered his own speech error. "I said, I plan to give the head of Mantianxing to someone else. Your son is doomed."

Xiao Yan saw that Pei Yuan spoke so naturally.

Only then did I start to doubt whether I had been overthinking.

Moreover, seeing Pei Yuan's calm attitude, Xiao Yan actually had an unrealistic idea. Maybe...

Can Pei Yuan really do it?
However, Xiao Yan's long-standing rationality still made him say firmly, "Why do you tease me, Captain? Besides, my uncle has always taught me that to be an official outside, I must rely on my own efforts."

"Okay." Pei Yuan didn't insist.

Seeing Pei Yuan's indifferent attitude, Xiao Yan fell silent again.

The heads of "Mantianxing" were enough for his beloved son to jump from a ninth-rank official to a third-rank commander in one breath.

Otherwise, please convince me again. Come and convince me...

Pei Yuan was just casually throwing a bait to Xiao Yan, hoping not to be hindered by him in the next plan.

As for military merit, Pei Yuan doesn't need it now anyway.

If Chen Toutie and Cheng Leixiang want to be promoted to centurions, they have to wait until the two old men, Tan Tai Fangtu and Si Kong Sui, pass away.

When the time comes, we will have to consider how to arrange the huge amount of military merit we will earn.

While Pei Yuan was thinking, Ding Hong came over and reminded him, "Captain, there are bandits coming out of the forest."

Pei Yuan came to his senses and saw that a large group of bandits had emerged from the forest where the ambush had been set.

Ding Hong took the initiative to ask, "Should we ask the brothers to prepare for the battle?"

Pei Yuan sneered and said, "Don't worry, they don't dare."

As he said this, afraid that people would not believe him, he explained, "If they had the courage to fight us head-on, they wouldn't have dared to dig holes on the road secretly."

"At the beginning, we only used about 40 people to destroy their camp of 300 to 500 people, and we killed them in large numbers and drove them away."

"The main force of the government army is here now. What can they use to fight us?"

As Pei Yuan was speaking, someone from the swarm of bandits rode forward, shouting loudly.

The two sides were still far away and Pei Yuan couldn't hear clearly.

Looking at Ding Hong, Ding Hong immediately rushed forward bravely to ask, and then reported.

"Captain! That man said that as long as we release those captured young and strong men, he is willing to live in peace with us. If we are unwilling to release them, let us see the power of the 100,000 Bazhou Army."

Pei Yuan was too lazy to waste time talking to those bandits.

As long as the bandits are good at fighting, it is impossible for them to reason with others.

Pei Yuan whispered, "Help me get the bow."

Ding Hong immediately recalled the famous scene when Captain Pei shot the leader of the bandits in the forest with one arrow, and excitedly handed over his bow, "Captain Pei, my bow is very powerful, and can help you."

Pei Yuan took the bow and quietly put an arrow in his hand.

The bandit leader who came out to shout saw that no one responded, so he took a few steps forward.

Seeing that this was a rare opportunity, Pei Yuan immediately rode out on his horse, drew his bow with all his strength and shot an arrow.

The bandit leader had heard that there was a sharpshooter in the government army, so when he saw the cavalry charging forward, he quickly ran back.

The bandits who were supporting behind also held up their shields and stepped forward to provide cover.

Pei Yuan aimed at the leader's back and shot an arrow.

A cold light flashed on the tip of the arrow, and the arrow flew away with a hiss.

Ding Hong and Xiao Yan on the government army side secretly felt sorry for the bandit leader, as he was very defensive and had long been on guard against being targeted by hidden arrows.

Pei Yuan rode out on his horse and drew his bow and arrow. The time he had was enough for him to escape into the crowd.

Isn't it true that Captain Pei's much-anticipated arrow will end up in vain?

Just as everyone was thinking about it, they saw a flash of arrow, and the large flag held high by the bandits fell to the ground with a loud bang.

This arrow actually directly cut the silk ribbon hanging the big flag.

Ding Hong and Xiao Yan were both shocked and cried out, "Captain Pei is truly a god!"

Pei Yuan looked at the fallen flag and began to doubt his life. He aimed so accurately, but...

Wait until the flattery of the crowd sounded one after another.

Pei Yuancai recovered and responded somewhat reluctantly, "Basic exercises, basic exercises."

Captain Pei's powerful arrow really frightened the bandits.

In addition, they were really unwilling to fight the government troops head-on, and could only watch as the government troops escorted thousands of young and strong men and transported the baggage they had coveted away.

The government troops escorted a large number of prisoners and transported supplies back.

Gu Dayong and Xu Feng, who were in charge of staying behind, could hardly believe their eyes.

Even the auxiliary troops who were busy cutting and transporting wood were in an uproar.

He was clearly on the brink of life and death before, but how come he returned happily in the blink of an eye?

Not only did they bring back the baggage that had been abandoned in the morning, they also captured thousands of young and strong men.

Looking at the soldiers, it seemed like they had hardly any experience in fighting or killing.

This is absolutely outrageous!
After Gu Dayong and Xu Feng asked him about what happened in detail, he was completely speechless.

So you were running away like a dog in the morning in order to trick the enemy into helping you build the road?

And they captured so many prisoners when they returned.

Comparing the strength of the two sides, even if they fought head-on, I'm afraid the result would not be like this, right?

Pei Yuan saw that everyone was stunned and reminded them, "There are bigger troubles waiting for us, so don't be careless. The Bazhou bandits roaming in Shandong may appear in front of us at any time."

After receiving this reminder, everyone seemed to wake up from a dream and broke free from their previous outrageous thoughts.

But now everyone had nothing to say, they all praised, "With Captain Pei in charge of important matters, we have nothing to worry about."

Pei Yuan was not vague and immediately began to assign tasks.

"Leave some of the auxiliary soldiers to build the camp, and send some others to continue cutting wood with the captives."

"With the help of these young and strong captives, our logging efficiency can be greatly improved."

"Chen Toutie's team of soldiers can rest while keeping an eye on the prisoners."

"Cheng Leixiang, be prepared to fight the enemy at any time. The main force of the remnants of Bazhou will arrive at any time. Once there is an emergency, you must be able to take charge at any time." After hearing this, everyone agreed solemnly.

Pei Yuan also instructed Ding Hong, "Deputy Captain Ding's cavalry should not rest, but spread out in all directions to serve as eyes and ears for the camp. You have made great contributions in retrieving the baggage earlier, and I will reward you later."

After hearing this, Ding Hong immediately understood what Pei Yuan meant.

Captain Pei is planning to take this opportunity to help them launder their hidden money.

The main credit for being able to recapture the baggage this time was of course Pei Yuan’s planning.

The cavalry just did some surveillance work.

They would be satisfied if they could launder the money in an honest and fair manner.

Ding Hong thanked him happily.

Pei Yuan did not forget the most important thing.

"Come here, get the pots and bowls and food from the baggage cart, and quickly feed everyone."

After hearing Pei Yuan's words, all the soldiers cheered from the bottom of their hearts.

The leaders looked at each other and breathed a sigh of relief.

With food in hand, there is no need to panic. No matter what subsequent troubles we face, we must first ensure that the soldiers have enough food.

The auxiliary soldiers were busy making fires and cooking. Xiao Yan took a few free ones and went for a walk in the woods again. In the end, they didn't find anything good and only caught a few rabbits.

He saw Pei Yuan patrolling the camp, and remembering what they had discussed before, he couldn't help but want to go up and talk to him.

When they got closer, they saw Pei Yuan arranging the auxiliary troops to reinforce the camp.

With the captured young and strong men, the manpower was suddenly sufficient.

Moreover, the prisoners were just filling in the potholes and building roads, and they happened to have tools in their hands.

Pei Yuan asked them to continue expanding the trench around the camp.

When Xiao Yan passed by, he glanced at the trench and frowned slightly.

When he saw Pei Yuan, he asked bluntly, "Captain Pei, do you intend to hold on here?"

Normally, we wouldn't dig such deep trenches when setting up camp. It's not worth wasting manpower on such a thing.

Pei Yuan raised his hand, signaling those guys to retreat, and then said to Xiao Yan, "Not bad."

He raised his hand and pointed near the camp.

"This is the battlefield I chose. What do you think?"

Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, and then tried to persuade him again, "We have already got our baggage back, and we have a lot of young and strong men available. Should we hurry to Dongchang Prefecture at full speed?"

Pei Yuan said calmly, "It's too late. Our only hope now is to fight the bandits here and kill them all in the wilderness. Otherwise, we will be like sheep being stared at by wolves, struggling in vain and wasting our energy in vain."

Xiao Yan thought for a moment and said, "Maybe we can give it a try. Let's try to go north first. Even if they catch up with us, it will be just like this. If we must fight, we can find an opportunity to fight them when we are closer to Dongchang Prefecture."

Pei Yuan sighed and asked directly, "The Bazhou rebels are known for their bandits from Hebei. Even if they are the rear guard, don't they have a cavalry that can threaten us?"

"As long as they find our tracks, they can quickly attack with their cavalry, bite our team, and then let the main force slowly rush over. By then, we will be caught off guard and unable to eat or sleep. Not to mention fighting them to the death."

Xiao Yan was silent.

He also understood that what Pei Yuan said was very likely to become a reality.

It was not until this point that Xiao Yan finally gave up his hope of success.

He glanced across the camp and discovered that this time the tents had been additionally reinforced.

The tent was supported by more wooden planks, and additional hay was placed under the warm felt on the top of the tent.

The felled pine trees were being chopped into pieces and stuffed into the tents.

Xiao Yan asked Pei Yuan, "How confident are you?"

Pei Yuan said firmly, "I have the right time and right place. As long as we work together, we have more than 70% chance of success."

Xiao Yan listened to this and asked, "What do you mean?"

Pei Yuan just mentioned the right time and right place, but what is lacking is the right people, so of course he has to take this opportunity to persuade Xiao Yan.

Xiao Yan didn't have much silver with him. Given his status and background, he wouldn't have to worry about money in the future. He was the most likely to leave the front line if he saw the situation was not good.

Xu Feng always follows Xiao Yan's lead. Once these two people encourage them, the Xuzhou soldiers will most likely follow them.

Once this psychological defense is broken from the inside, it will eventually turn into a disorderly and scrambled escape.

By then, facing the Bazhou bandits who are roaming Hebei, everyone will have no way out.

Thinking of this, Pei Yuan decided to cut off Xiao Yan's retreat first. He stared at Xiao Yan and asked, "Captain Xiao has been talking about escaping from here just now. Could it be that he has the idea of ​​breaking out with a small number of elite soldiers?"

After hearing this, Xiao Yan not only did not deny it, but hinted, "Even if we leave, it should be Captain Pei who is in charge of this matter."

Pei Yuan didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "You want to leave, but you just want to leave these soldiers and supplies here as bait to attract the attention of the Bazhou army. As long as you run faster than others, you will have a chance to survive."

Pei Yuan said calmly, "Am I right?"

Xiao Yan didn't answer and looked into the distance.

Pei Yuan sneered, "Captain Xiao has a good idea, but unfortunately, I am not the kind of person who would sacrifice myself for others."

Xiao Yan felt something was wrong and was about to explain to Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan said, "I can tell you clearly that as long as you take your men away, I will immediately abandon these baggage, disband the troops, and let them escape on their own."

"Without this huge bait, the Bazhou Army will definitely split into many groups and conduct a large-scale hunt. Whether we live or die will depend entirely on God's will."

"How much hope do you have to survive in that situation? Are you putting your hopes on Xu Feng?"

"Haha, at this critical moment of life and death, does anyone still care that you are Eunuch Xiao's nephew?"

Pei Yuan’s words made Xiao Yan break out in a cold sweat.

He had indeed had such an idea before.

Xiao Yan was different from Pei Yuan and Gu Dayong, who were both greedy for money. He just wanted to keep the lives of his father and son safe and didn't think about so much.

But I didn't expect that Pei Yuan would insist on tying everyone together tightly.

Xiao Yan cursed in his heart and was also very afraid of a madman like Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan saw Xiao Yan's expression change drastically, so he gave him some time to think, and then asked, "Are you still running?"

Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, trying to maintain his final dignity.

But Pei Yuan looked at him encouragingly, "How about you try your luck? What if I'm the kind of person who's willing to stay and cover you?"

Xiao Yan cursed in his heart, but he tried to force a smile on his face, "Captain Pei is so meticulous, I still think it's safer to follow Captain Pei."

Pei Yuan stared at Xiao Yan for a while and solemnly gave him a final warning.

"If you run, I will definitely run faster than you! By that time, I will also be one of the people who doesn't care about Eunuch Xiao's identity."

Xiao Yan immediately understood what Pei Yuan meant.

If it came to that, it was unimaginable what Pei Yuan, who had always been hostile to them father and son, would do to them.

(End of this chapter)