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

Chapter 264: Every Failure Makes You Smarter

After hearing this, Xiao Yan suddenly understood.

That's true. Now we are in a dilemma whether to go or not.

In order to retrieve the bodies of the Xuzhou cavalry, it would certainly be encouraging to send troops out in anger, but this might lead to a trap and more people dying.

If we just watch it happen, it will inevitably make others feel sad.

This is the situation.

But it doesn’t affect your reading comprehension.

If this kind of shameless trick was done by the "Big Tigers" and "Stars" with more than 20,000 soldiers, those soldiers would have another idea between the two dilemmas.

--That's it?
No.

You have 20,000 troops here, and that’s it?

The soldiers' subtle changes in mood can greatly reduce the fear in their hearts.

Pei Yuan didn't continue to waste time on these trivial matters.

Now the soldiers in Xuzhou who can fight are either in the hands of Chen Toutie, Cheng Leixiang, or Ding Hong.

Even Xu Feng's elite servants are now in Hou Qing's hands.

It can be said that Pei Yuan has firmly grasped the main force of the camp, which is just right for him to arrange those scattered matters.

Pei Yuan went back to rest early, but the tense atmosphere outside the camp did not stop.

Xiao Yan went to see Gu Dayong, intending to talk to him about Pei Yuan's judgment.

Unexpectedly, Gu Dayong also gave the same opinion that the main forces of "Big Tiger" and "Starry Sky" must have arrived and are resting.

The bandits led by "Little Wu Song" repeatedly harassed the government troops in order to tire them out so that they could win the battle in one go the next day.

Xiao Yan now couldn't help but look at Gu Dayong with a new respect.

As expected of you, you are the eunuch who is in charge of military affairs and is able to command the troops of the whole country. You are a perfect example of learning from your mistakes...

This made Xiao Yan suddenly pay attention to Gu Dayong.

In response to Xiao Yan's sincere request for advice, Gu Dayong confidently said, "The rebels are inherently timid when facing the government troops. They are complacent and conceited when they gain a little. We can have a small number of soldiers pretend to be lured out of the camp to test the waters, and then call them back to create the illusion that the army is unstable."

"In this way, they will feel as if they have gained something, and will enjoy it even more."

"Their current provocation is harmless and will only affect morale. Since Captain Pei has a way to deal with it, we might as well go with the flow and deceive the enemy."

"If they don't see results, they might try something else. That would be a bit of a headache."

Xiao Yan thought about what Pei Yuan had done just now and began to think.

"In fact, we can take turns sending the two teams of Xuzhou soldiers to charge at the rebels. This will also help train their courage."

If the Xuzhou soldiers could dispel their concerns about the rebels' combat effectiveness in addition to their "that's it" mentality, their combat effectiveness and resilience would definitely be greatly improved tomorrow.

After the two of them discussed it, they secretly felt a sense of mutual admiration.

Then, do this and that.

Pei Yuan said he was going back to the tent to rest, but he didn't feel relaxed at all.

From time to time, personal soldiers would come to report and convey what was happening inside and outside the camp.

Pei Yuan was a little surprised. He didn't expect that Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong handled the situation so well.

Jiao Yan'er also realized Pei Yuan's emotional ups and downs, but she couldn't do anything, so she could only ask tentatively, "Do you want me to rub your head?"

Pei Yuan patted the straw mat and motioned Jiao Yan'er to sit over, then he lay down on Jiao Yan'er's legs very neatly.

Jiao Yan'er rubbed Pei Yuan's head with her fingers.

After a while, Pei Yuan, who was enjoying himself with his eyes closed, asked, "Do you have anything to say?"

"Yes." Jiao Yan'er did not avoid the question and asked directly, "I heard that you and General Song arranged an emergency escape plan. How likely do you think you are to escape?"

Pei Yuan didn't open his eyes either, and said slowly, "There is a high probability that there will be no problem."

Jiao Yan'er remained silent and continued to massage Pei Yuan.

Pei Yuan knew that she had more to say, so he waited patiently.

After a long while, Jiao Yaner finally said, "If that's the case, why bother with you going into battle yourself? Why don't we just leave?"

Pei Yuan sighed softly.

But he still explained to Jiao Yan'er very seriously, "I just can't help myself. In this world, I can be all kinds of people, I can be greedy and lustful, I can be corrupt, I can be arrogant and domineering, I can be treacherous, but only..."

Pei Yuan paused to show his seriousness, "The only thing you can't do is be a weakling."

Pei Yuan closed his eyes and lowered his voice, telling a secret that only a woman could tell him, "I'm not trying to be strong, I just can't show weakness."

After hearing this, Jiao Yan'er responded in a low voice, not sure whether she could accept Pei Yuan's words.

But Jiao Yaner's hand movements slowly stopped.

Pei Yuan felt very comfortable when Jiao Yan'er rubbed his head, but he also knew that it was a tiring job.

Seeing Jiao Yan'er stop, he didn't ask any questions and just lay quietly on Jiao Yan'er's lap, thinking about things.

After a while, Jiao Yan'er suddenly hugged Pei Yuan's head.

Then Pei Yuan felt a slight chill on his face. He opened his eyes and saw her crying silently.

Pei Yuan wanted to get up.

Jiao Yan'er was a little persistent.

Pei Yuan didn't use any force and let Jiao Yan'er hold him.

Then Jiao Yan'er said softly, "My dear husband, please don't worry about me. If you fail on the battlefield, I will never let you be humiliated."

Pei Yuan felt inexplicably heavy-hearted, and his mind went back to Gaixia...

Oh my god, this is so unlucky!
Pei Yuan quickly dispelled his delusions, stood up and stroked Jiao Yaner's nose with his finger, and said with a smile, "What are you talking about? I, your husband, am going to use this battle to show my power and let all those who want to see how strong you are know what it means to be unbeatable!"

"Yeah, yeah." Jiao Yan'er nodded repeatedly, and subconsciously wanted to hug Pei Yuan tightly.

Pei Yuan was not a man of strong willpower, but thinking about the fierce battle tomorrow, he felt that it was indeed inappropriate.

He could only touch Jiao Yaner's little hand and whispered, "Not tonight."

Not tonight, but tomorrow night...

Of course he would have some fun after the fight tomorrow night, but Pei Yuan was reluctant to use such a delicate flower to vent his anger after the battle.

Then it can only be my close ally and best friend.

Jiao Yaner blushed at Pei Yuan's words.

She was also afraid of hindering Pei Yuan at such a critical moment, so she didn't dare to provoke Pei Yuan again.

Pei Yuan listened to the noise outside, opened the tent door, called in a personal soldier and ordered, "Don't let them get too excited. The real battle will be tomorrow. Replace them with auxiliary soldiers later." Not long after the personal soldier left, Pei Yuan tried to calm his mind and forced himself to fall asleep.

The next day, while it was still early, Pei Yuan heard Song Chunniang calling him outside the tent.

Pei Yuan went to bed early and felt full of energy when he woke up.

After putting on his armor and leaving the tent, he made some simple inquiries and learned that there were bandits outside the camp, and they were gathering while it was still dark.

Pei Yuan sighed, "Here it comes."

He didn't say much and went straight to the central army to meet Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong.

The two men breathed a sigh of relief when they saw Pei Yuan. "Captain Pei is finally here. We were so nervous this night that we couldn't sleep well."

Pei Yuan explained casually, "We have to fight in the battlefield today, so after weighing the pros and cons, we can't care about anything else."

After hearing this, Xiao Yan and Gu Dayong said sincerely, "It's all thanks to Qian Hu's bravery."

Xiao Yan knew that Pei Yuan pinned his hopes on freezing rain, so he hinted, "If things are impossible, Qian Hu doesn't have to force it. The longer our camp can hold out, the greater our hope."

Xiao Yan had deep doubts about Taoist Zhiwei, but looking at the gloomy sky, there was indeed a basis for rain and snow.

Since there is still hope, the longer you hold on, the more likely you are to succeed.

He still hoped that Pei Yuan would fight in a more discourteous way and not give up.

"Yeah." Pei Yuan didn't know what he was thinking, he smiled and said, "Let's eat first."

It was still a pot of paste made of rice, fat, mushrooms and dried vegetables. Compared with the fishy pork yesterday, Pei Yuan was already very satisfied with this meal.

He ate three bowls of rice in a row before he asked with satisfaction, "How long did those bandits last yesterday?"

Xiao Yan sighed, "It's only been quiet for over an hour."

Pei Yuan asked again, "How are our soldiers resting?"

Xiao Yan replied, "According to what you said, Chen Toutie and Cheng Leixiang's two teams went back to rest in time, and they should be having breakfast now. The auxiliary soldiers took turns to go out several times, and the effect was..."

Xiao Yan paused and replied, "The effect is quite good. Those auxiliary soldiers don't seem to be afraid of fighting anymore. But at the moment, everyone is tired and can't be used for the time being."

Pei Yuan was very satisfied with the result. "Great, let them have a good rest for now. Who knows, they may be useful later."

Pei Yuan asked again, "Where are the young men we captured yesterday?"

Xiao Yan said briefly, "We worked all night digging trenches and wells. After you reminded me to prevent fires yesterday, I burned the exposed pine wood and asked them to thicken the camp with wet mud. Unfortunately, the clouds were thick last night and the temperature was not high enough, so it didn't freeze solid."

"Yeah." Pei Yuan couldn't help but look at Xiao Yan with a high eye. Although this guy was useless, he could do the assigned tasks well, which was already very good.

Pei Yuan thought for a moment and asked again, "How are the prisoners arranged?"

Xiao Yan said, "In order to prevent them from causing trouble, each of them was given a bowl of thin soup and they were all sent to the right side of the camp to guard them."

Pei Yuan had no objection to this treatment.

His original intention was just to hope that these people could transport the baggage.

Subsequently, helping to build the camp into a solid fortress had already exceeded his expectations.

As for the current surplus value, Pei Yuan was too lazy to exploit it.

Compared with squeezing out that little bit of value, the key now is to try to prevent them from causing chaos.

Pei Yuan said to the two of them, "While it is still dark, I plan to challenge the enemy. What do you think?"

After hearing this, Gu Dayong directly asked, "How can a thousand households play around at this time?"

Pei Yuan had his own considerations, so he smiled and said, "Scare them a bit, I'm not stupid. Now is the time to boost morale. If I don't take advantage of their unstable formation, do I have to wait until they attack the village to besiege me?"

The two men looked at each other, and they had some confidence in Pei Yuan's martial arts.

Seeing Pei Yuan say this, he no longer expressed any opinion.

Pei Yuan left the central military tent and called Ding Hong over to give him some instructions.

Then he put on a new overcoat over his cotton armor, tied on his cloak, put on his helmet, and mounted his horse.

After hanging up the Bazhou sword and the golden hammer, Pei Yuan this time held a large spear and rode his warhorse in the camp.

After a while, Ding Hong assembled all the Xuzhou cavalry.

Pei Yuan looked at them and said bluntly, "I heard that after I went to bed last night, those bandits from the Bazhou Army did some sneaky things."

When the Xuzhou riders heard this, they all burst into laughter.

They were the direct targets of provocation yesterday, and they were extremely angry when they saw the bodies of their comrades being dragged by the Bazhou bandits.

Because during this period of time, they have been fighting with Pei Yuan in one battle after another, and they have already established a psychological advantage over the bandits in Bazhou.

In the first battle, Pei Yuan shot and wounded the leader of the ambush troops with an arrow, and the numerous Xuzhou cavalrymen defeated the ambush troops easily.

In the second battle, they dismounted and fought with Pei Yuan. Although there was a certain element of surprise attack, in the subsequent frontal battle, they defeated the enemy that was five or six times their number with minimal damage and captured a camp.

In the third formation, the Bazhou bandits had no room to resist when facing Pei Yuan who came out of the formation. They could only watch as they carried away the baggage and nearly a thousand young and strong men they had left behind.

In the minds of these Xuzhou cavalry, they plus Captain Pei are basically invincible.

Yesterday, the bandits in Bazhou carried out a provocative incident by dragging a corpse, and the Xuzhou cavalry were the first to be angered.

They were originally going to go up and disperse those weak and cowardly enemies, but later they were informed by Captain Xiao, who had the overall situation in hand, that the main force of 20,000 bandit troops led by the two leaders of Bazhou, "Big Tiger" and "Mantianxing", were coming.

Even though the Xuzhou riders felt they were ready, but, but...

By the way, didn’t Captain Pei go back to sleep?

The Xuzhou cavalry's brief caution was exchanged for a long period of doubt.

Doesn't the main force of the rebel army have 20,000 people? With such a huge advantage in manpower, why don't they just press on?

They are just messing around with this and that, and this is their mentality?

The Xuzhou riders felt that their idea was quite subtle.

Those 20,000 bandits with so much momentum seemed to be no different from the small fry we defeated before.

Gu Dayong, the former supreme military commander, took the opportunity to comment, "What's there to be afraid of a bunch of thieves? You are the government troops, they are bandits, and they would be scared to death when they see you."

Therefore, when Captain Pei, who was known for his bravery, planned to demonstrate in front of the enemy army, the Xuzhou cavalry had no objection.

Seeing that the Xuzhou cavalry were ready, Pei Yuan immediately rode forward, went out of the camp gate, and led dozens of cavalrymen behind him to rush towards the gathering rebel army.

The one who was gathering the bandits was none other than "Mantianxing", one of the two leaders.

When he saw the camp gate of the government army open and some people rushing out, he was immediately surprised and asked, "Why do these guys dare to come out instead of just waiting to die?"

Although he was only a small leader in the Bazhou army, he had experienced dozens of battles, big and small, and was quite methodical in dealing with things.

Seeing this, "Mantianxing" was not panicked at all. He turned around and ordered someone, "Chen Dali, where is your cavalry? Go up and charge and see what they are like!"

(End of this chapter)